In the Monster's Eye

She opened her eyes, the same thick walls pressing in on her, like a bug caught in a child's hand.

Rin took a breath and willed more of her chakra, fighting her way through.

"Gaara, it's me."

There was a rippling in the force surrounding her, opening itself up and allowing a few easy steps.

She pulled through the last bit of resistance and made her way into his subconscious mind. "Well, that was easier than last time."

The same dark abyss greeted her, empty and echoing her steps, as she stumbled down new passages.

Raising her hand, Rin produced the torch she'd used previously, but unlike the last time, no child guide came to her.

"Hm. Now where could you be?"

Rin continued along the pathway, searching for anything Gaara was willing to show her.

She wondered if the massage was too effective and he wasn't receptive to her presence?

"No, you're good, but you aren't THAT good. Get over yourself, Ito."

She put a hand on her hip, trying to decide whether to continue on or stay there, when a voice came out of the shadows.

"You're here."

Rin jumped, nearly dropping her imaginary torch. "Gaara?"

She searched the darkness, but found nothing. "Where are you?"

His voice changed into something she hadn't heard from him before. If she didn't know any better, she'd almost say it was a growl.

"I am."

She moved closer to where she thought the sound was coming from. "Are you coming out?"

"You're not ready to see me."

Rin stopped in her tracks. "That's completely up to you. Is this something you want me to see?"

There was silence.

She waited, trying to make it seem like she wasn't searching for him.

When he didn't say anything back, she lowered her torch. "Ok then, would it help if I closed my eyes?"

Her ears picked up a brushing sound, like something shuffling on the ground and then an angry voice rocked the world around her.

"Close your eyes?! Of course, that's what everyone did, so why shouldn't you?"

The dark walls pulsated and a heat, she wasn't expecting, filled the caverns.

Two drops of sweat rolled down her back, but she maintained her calm stance, even though the small hairs on her neck were standing on end.

This felt different than last time, the energy wasn't playful like that little boy.

She'd gone deeper... darker.

"What would you like me to do, Gaara?"

The shuffling sound echoed with a thumping she couldn't identify.

She peered into the darkness, trying to focus on the shadow moving amongst it. Whatever version of him she'd stumbled across, it was big and she knew, from some place deep within her, it was dangerous.

The shadow stopped for a moment and Rin nearly took a step closer. "Gaara?"

Suddenly a misshapen, mockery of a creature shot up into her face, filling her vision with its terror. "What do I want you to do? What do I want you to do?! I want you to die! I want everyone to die!"

Her feet begged to run. Every fiber of her being screamed out to escape, but she remained where she was.

Though her heart pounded in her chest, Rin refused to turn away. "Gaara, do you remember who I am?"

The monster before her smiled, drool cascading from its fangs and pooling on the floor.

Half of his face looked the same, if not younger, but the other was something that made her insides twist.

It belonged to something wicked; a creature which shouldn't dwell in the mortal plane and certainly not within the body of a young man.

"Oh, I remember you. You're the pretty girl who's trying to probe my mind. Use my secrets against me."

"That's not true."

He snarled, swishing his tail back and forth, foul smelling breath choking the air around them. "Why else would you help? You can't save me. No one can save me. Everyone is out for themselves."

"I hear your fear talking. You're afraid I have ulterior motives. That no one could want to help you because of the monster within."

He said nothing in reply, so Rin continued, gaining a few steps on him. "The creature you're afraid of doesn't live here anymore. The Akatsuki removed it, remember?"

Gaara stopped backing up and growled. "It's not gone. It's never gone. The One Tail is inside of me. I'm a monster, everyone knows I'm a monster."

"You're not."

"I am. Look at you now. You're sweating, the stench of your fear is thick. You're just as afraid of me as everyone else! You're no different!"

Rin swallowed, her voice coming out more powerful than she felt. "It's true. When I look at how you are now, I'm afraid of you. I won't deny that and I won't insult our friendship by lying to you."

"I don't have any friends. Everyone who gets close to me dies. They all leave or die!"

One massive claw swiped out at her and it was all she could do to duck out of the way. The imaginary torch flew from her hands, leaving her in the darkness with the monster.

Even if it were all in his mind, he could still hurt her. She wouldn't show any physical scars, but he could damage her mentally, if he saw fit.

Rin leapt out of the way, narrowly avoiding another assault, when her voice rang out. "There was a person! One person who was your friend in the beginning. Remember?"

"No! No one! You're lying! You want to hurt me. Want to come for me like all the others. Those sent to kill me... but I killed them first. Every single one my father brought against me, I crushed them into dust. That's how it will always be. I'll crush you too. No one will stand against my darkness... my purpose."

She fell hard on the ground, crawling away from the attacking shadow, until her back came to one of the walls. Though it wasn't encouraged to manipulate the subject's mental plane, Rin felt she had no choice.

Her hand slammed against the wall and she released a wave of chakra, changing its darkness to light and pulling out an image.

"Whatcha doin' Gaara?"

The bright light filled the cavern, revealing everything that hid there.

The monster Gaara was becoming, stood up straight, fixated on the image. "N..Naruto?"

Memories of the legendary ninja filled the plane, shooting around like film.

Rin stood up from her crouch, feeling her energy draining with each second she showed him. "You see? There was someone. A person who cared for you, when you thought no one would."

"Come on Gaara! What are you staying in the dark for?" Naruto's voice echoed through his mind.

Gaara stumbled back a few steps, his grotesque form rippling. "My friend..."

Rin focused, flipping through other faces. "And he wasn't the only one."

Images of his siblings appeared; Kankuro smiling, Temari looking proud as she always did. "Time is wasting, little brother."

"My family."

Rin nodded, using the last bit of her strength to show the faces she'd seen in the village. "Hail Lord Gaara! Hail the Kazekage!"

"My people."

Suddenly it went dark, the last bit of her chakra used up.

Rin faltered on her feet, but managed to walk closer to him.

She lit a small firelight between them, so he could see her face in the shadows. "And me. I'm here for you too, Gaara. You aren't alone anymore."

"Rin."

"You're not alone."

Time came rushing back.

Gaara's eyes opened, shooting around the stone ceiling above him.

His breathing came out hard, sweat pooling on his brow. "Wow. That was intense. Why in the world did my mind go to that place?"

He turned to face the woman, who was still tied to his wrist. "Rin?"

She swayed a bit and fell forward.

Before she could hit the ground, Gaara untied their wrists and moved her to the bed, so she was laying beside him. "Ms. Ito? Rin? Are you all right? Can you hear me?"

She moaned softly. "Mm hm."

"What can I do? What do you need? Did I hurt you?"

"Sleep."

"What was that?"

Rin's voice was so quiet, he had to place his ear to her lips to hear her. "Drained. Need sleep."

"Oh. All right."

Before he finished speaking, she was out. Gaara scooted away from her, trying to give her all the space she'd need.

He looked out the window; still dark.

The Kazekage fretted about what to do.

She clearly needed rest and he wasn't going to be roused for his duties for another few hours. He should get up and give her privacy, let her recuperate in peace, but...

Gaara laid back down, keeping a safe amount of space between them and studied the woman who came into his life like a thunderstorm.

Her hair stuck to her face, sweat-lining her brow from the chakra she'd used up.

"You're not alone, Gaara. I'm here for you too."

With a shaking hand, he brushed away a few strands, revealing her sleeping expression. The sight of it made his heart ache.

He scooted a bit closer, so his whisper would reach her, without disturbing her slumber. "I'm sorry, Rin."