Silver-Ringed Emotions

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any kind of way, and I absolutely think Gaara is total bad ass.

Author's Notes: This story will be broken up in different parts, like the Chunnin Exams will be an entire chapter, just split up in separate parts. There will be some slow parts, just like in the series, but that is just so you get a better feel for my Original Characters: Rai, Misaki, Jomei and Makai. Ookami is also a very important part to the plot and will be understood later in the story. This will be a Gaara/OC, and you the readers can tell me who you would like as other pairings, and you are more than welcome to give me ideas on any love interests for my OC's as well. Just to forewarn you, I am not a Sasuke fan, and honestly Naruto would have always been my best friend, cause I have always been of a different breed.

Do leave reviews just so I know if something is bothering you, or what you like, or even your input on some situations (like romance).

For now, enjoy!

Prologue- Betrayal

I move through the encampment, gazing over the two sleeping figures and relieved to see no harm around their persons. Turning away from the sight, I move through the outskirts of our perimeter, stopping just at the edge of a clearing. Looking up at the starlit sky, a heaviness seeps into my body, a strain that someone of only thirteen should not feel.

"Rai?" I grunt in reply, feeling Makai drop from the tree he had been placed in to keep an eye out for any attackers. "You should be sleeping."

"I find myself restless. What do you think will happen if I am to be discovered?" I ask softly.

The older man beside me sits on the grass hill, looking over the Hidden Leaf Village, Kohona, "Kohona is one of the most peaceful places amongst the five countries. As far as I am concerned you will always be a vital Genin to Yamana."

Yamana, the Village Hidden in the Mountains, is the only place I have been able to call home since...forever. My gaze moves away from the beautiful sight of Kohona to stare down at my gloved hands, the fingers cut out at the second knuckle on the index and middle fingers of each hand. These hands that have caused so much pain. These hands that have performed horrors that no one of my age should know of. Yes, all ninja kill, it is ingrained into our mindset when we are just Genin, but the things I have done are unspeakable.

"You shouldn't be worried about successfully passing the Chunnin Exams. You are a very gifted ninja, and not only have you fought to better your abilities, but you saw to it to help your teammates as well," Makai states suddenly, "That is the kind of thing a leader must need for their team to succeed."

"It's isn't their inability to become Chunnin that I have trouble dealing with," I state softly, looking back up at the sight before us, the sun slowly creeping along the horizon, bringing a soft breeze with it. "I don't even have a problem with trusting my team. I don't trust myself to do the right thing when the time comes."

Makai sighs from beside me, standing up from his spot, arms stretching over his head before they fall to his sides, "I have tried so hard in the past four years of knowing you to get you to realize that you're decisions have always been true. The time Misaki had been injured in the pursuit of that Missing Nin, you had made the decision to tend to your teammate rather than continue your pursuit. Sure, the mission may have been a failure, but in the eyes of Misaki, you saved the girl's life. Back when Jomei had been ganged up on, you stepped into the fray to help your comrade instead of leaving him to fend for himself. While many people see these as weakness in a ninja, it is what separates ninja from being killers. A ninja must always know when to persue a fight, and when to walk away, and you have always known both."

I shake my head, "No. I stopped pursuing the Missing Nin because Misaki's injury would have slowed us down and Jomei was talking so loud the whole way, the Nin could have killed us with us being unaware. I stepped into the fight between those brats and Jomei because I have always believed a fight should be fair, and I didn't really like those kids to begin with. None of it was for their sake, but for my own selfish desires."

A sigh leaves Makai's lips once more, the man placing a hand upon my shoulder, my muscles twitching slightly at the touch, "You should not allow the betrayal of your past to stop you from living in the present. If you cannot trust in yourself, then at least know there are three people in your lives that do place their trust in you."

I close my eyes as memories flood my mind. I was barely eight years old when the ninja of my own birth village tried to kill me, slaughtering my own family. I barely made it out of the village, most likely deemed dead so the ninja that had been giving the mission would not be punished for letting me go. To this day, I can't remember why. I just know that it had something to do with my eyes.

I had been born with silver eyes and as I gained knowledge of emotions through age, they frequently changed depending on my mood. The only thing that will ever set my eyes apart is the fine silver ring around the irises, but it is damn near impossible to distinguish at a far enough distance. I know that it isn't something I inherited from either parents, not any predecessor.

I move to sit on the ground, Makai having returned to our camp, my eyes closing again as a breeze brushing against my cool skin. Hearing a faint growl to my left, I allow a small smile to form on my lips, my eyes sliding open only to stare at the wolf. The deep ebony of his coat speckled with fine silver hairs gave him a mystical feel in the moonlight of night, only to reflect the beautiful colors of dusk or dawn, disappearing from sight all together in broad daylight.

"At least I have you, Ookami," I whisper.

Piercing gold eyes stare back at me before the powerful beast laid at my side, as if he is a tame pup. Running my fingers through his coat, I smile as I stare back at Kohona, thankful that I could call the creature at my side my friend.

Maybe, just maybe, Makai is right. Maybe I can do this.