(A/N) My new Naruto story! I'm psyched about it! Sand sibs-centric, of course.

There will be six chapters plus an epilogue. Takes place post Kazekage-rescue arc.

I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. If I did, Gaara would be the main character and Sasuke would be dead already. ^^

The day started out as normally as could be expected; I woke slowly, pulling myself groggily from the sweet vacuum of sleep I could now appreciate. Pulling on my clothes, I brushed my teeth and splashed my face quickly with water. Then, nodding to my reflection, I turned and headed downstairs.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" my sister called, ruffling my hair playfully. "Rest well?"

I began to answer, but was cut off by a yawn. Swallowing it, embarrassed, I saw her smiling warmly.

"I'll get some coffee," she said, moving off towards the kitchen. Then, she called over her shoulder, "Kankuro's making chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, so hurry in here!"

I licked my lips unconsciously at the thought of my brother's cooking, something I truly missed when I was away from home. Enjoying the fact that I could actually take my time, for it was a rare day off for me, I wandered though the living room I shared with my two siblings. Sending my eyes slowly across the shelves, I saw pictures back from my genin days; pictures of myself and my siblings and our sensei Baki; pictures of later days, these more warm: photos of my leaf friends; framed images of my siblings and I in happier times; pictures of my family.

"Gaara!"

I turned to my brother, who had stuck his head out of the kitchen. My mouth twitched with the slightest smile.

"Breakfast's on! Get in here!"

Padding quickly to the dining room and small kitchen, I was greeted by my two siblings. Sitting down on the creaky wooden chair almost gingerly, I noted how Kankuro had cut up the pancakes on my plate as though I was still a child. Once again a smile tugged at my mouth. My elder brother did take great pleasure in treating me like a child, as though to make up for lost time. And for my part, though I acted annoyed and indignant, I didn't actually mind it all that much.

"Feel good to be out of that stuffy office of a while?" Temari asked, indicating the place I could usually be found day in and day out.

I nodded, picking up a strip of pancake with my chopsticks. "Yeah."

"It's great to have you home, at least for a day or two," Kankuro said, using a thread of chakra to snag the maple syrup. "We don't spend enough time together."

I looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling, my eyes narrowed with placid contentment.

"True," I murmured softly, "But we've got time." Freed from Shukaku, Kazekage of Sunagakure, I seemed to lead the life I had subconsciously longed for. Loved by my siblings, and returning that love; accompanied by my friends whenever I needed them and revered by the villagers; I could never, in five lifetimes, have asked for it, let alone expected it. And now…

"We've got all the time in the world."

… … …

Have you forgotten?

The voice tingled along my spine, making my eyes stretch wide.

Have you forgotten everything in this charmed life? Has the haze of bloodlust been replaced by the haze of complacent contentment?

I shivered, and experienced a feeling I hadn't experienced since the Akatsuki ridded me of it forever. I felt cold, blinding, deafening, muting terror. It clawed at me like the claws of the demon I so feared.

And yet, boy, it will not last.

Mother.

Shukaku.

This life is not yours to keep. You have been living on borrowed time, heartbeats bought by that senile old fool. But our bond, the connection between demon and host, can never be broken, let alone by such feeble jutsu. You think of yourself as the Kazekage Gaara, as the brother Gaara, and perhaps even as the human Gaara.

You are still nothing but the Jinchuriki Gaara.

I tried in vain to convince myself that it was all a dream, that these were vivid but imaginary words, and nothing more…

But I knew I once again walked in her cage.

I suddenly felt her paws sliding across my naked back. One, single claw sunk into the skin, and I cried out sharply. It slipped neatly in between my shoulder blades, clipping my spine and brushing my pounding heart. Her breath ruffled by hair, and her next words were whispered in my ear.

You will die in three days. My curse will spread across your shoulders and chest, and when it reaches your heart, your little fairy tale will be over, and I will claim any tatters of your soul which remain. You will become part of me, as I was part of you for so very, agonizingly long…

My flesh seared as she pulled out her claw, leaving me gasping for every pain-laden breath. Her gaze transfixed me, appearing before my eyes.

I'll see you soon, my boy, she crooned, her tail tracing along my paralyzed body. So very soon.

… … …

With a muffled scream, I bolted upright in my bed. The barest hint of dawn seeped though my window, and for a moment I dared to think that it had only been a dream. But then… then I felt the steady pulsing of a warm spot on my back, just in time to my heartbeat. Dread tightening around my chest like a constricting snake, I stumbled out of my bed and into my bathroom, desperately seeking a mirror. As I pulled my nightshirt off, my stomach tightened at the sight of the large, ragged hole in its back.

Arching my spine and craning my neck, I peered in the mirror and stared at the mark numbly. It was a tightly packed orb of tangled blue lines which, even as I watched, twitched and extended, spreading like poisonous worms across my skin.

Three days, I thought numbly, staring into my reflection, meeting those blue eyes that were suddenly so foreign to me. I have three days to live. Shukaku's laugh echoed though my brain, and I sat down abruptly on the cool stone of my bathroom floor. Three days to life…

(A/N) What did you think? Stay tuned for chapter two! =^^=