So, already back with the next chapter to Chosen Insanity! Let's get the show on the road ;) I hope you're as excited as I am! Don't forget to read the character description at the end of the chapter.

This is what happens when you pull an all-nighter then spend the morning typing away in the dark. I just hope you all like it. Enjoy!

Thank you so much for my first reviewer for the first chapter of the story!: Shadowgirl608

Disclaimer: Out of every single thing written on this page, I only own the rants and the plot, not the original characters. But I will proudly own up to the author's notes! Well... Maybe not proudly.

Chapter 2: Air Travel Sucks

Location: Cairo, Egypt.

"Sir. Sir, I'm sorry but you can't take that on board. Sir! Please, listen to me and stop trying to force your way into the loading gate. This is a private plane." The flight attendant put his arm out as a barricade to block the young teen from getting on his flight. Gaara kept his gaze trained straight in front of him, blatantly ignoring the arm that was desperately trying to hold him back and the wide berth he was getting from the crowd of people around him. He shifted the strap slung over his shoulders and felt the electric keyboard slide down his back to a more comfortable position on his small frame. He tried to walk forward again, only to feel a large hand grab his shoulder from behind. He turned his head slowly, catching a glimpse of a shock of blonde hair on a tall, older male, who appeared to be arguing with the irritating flight attendant.

Gaara nodded slightly to the blonde, who caught his eye before gently nudging the short red-head discreetly towards the loading gate. Gaara walked forward at a rather swift pace, the keyboard that was almost the same size as him bumping against his back with each step. There were a few minutes of peace before he once again felt the large hand on the same shoulder.

"Hey kid, you alright? Flight attendants can be a bit hard to deal with sometimes, huh?" Naruto looked Gaara in the eyes for a moment, eyes skimming over the kanji tattoo on his forehead and all of the piercings that littered his features, before the teen turned his head back in the direction he was originally walking, and set off at a slightly slower pace than before. Naruto crammed his hands into his pockets and let a small smile dust his features lightly. He hastened his pace to catch up to the kid he'd helped at the loading gate and pulled his plane ticket from his pocket.

The small company of two was stopped by a flight attendant at the plane's entrance to see their stamped tickets, and Naruto was immediately let through, yet his much smaller companion continued to just glare blankly in front of him, not even giving the poor young woman that asked for his ticket again a glance to show she had his attention. Naruto waved his ticket in Gaara's line of sight and watched as the ginger's teal eyes widened almost imperceptibly before he slowly brought his hand from inside the pocket of his red pants. He simply lifted the ticket up in front of him, and waited once he'd felt the slight tug on it for the lady to return it to him. He pocketed the ticket yet again, and followed the blonde onto the small, sleek aircraft.

Naruto stepped aside to let Gaara inside first and ducked to follow the teen into the back of the plane.

"You're lucky you're short, huh?" Naruto questioned from behind him. There wasn't even a pause in the red-head's steps until he abruptly paused, turned to his right, dumped his keyboard gently on the floor and then sat down in the farthest seat in the back of the empty plane directly beside the window. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the strange kid before following him to the back and sitting down in the plush seat opposite him after throwing his carry-on into the luggage carrier above his head.

"Want me to get that?" Naruto pointed to the piano at Gaara's feet, and watched the young man's eyes follow the movement, then return to his face in a blatant stare. Naruto was beginning to feel unnerved. "You know, put it up there, out of the way." Naruto pointed to the piano again, then up to the rack above their seats. Gaara nodded. Naruto sighed a slight breath of relief at the release of a little bit of the tension.

Naruto sat back down on his leather chair and fastened the seat belt over his waist, waited while Gaara seemingly did the same a few moments after, then turned to stare out the window and into the desert outside. It was almost depressing. He looked back over to the kid across from him, who had his eyes closed and seemed to be ignoring him.

This was the second stop on his trip, then he was supposed to stay on this plane when they touched down somewhere in Scotland for another pick-up, then a final stop in Tokyo. This was going to be a long flight. Naruto cranked the air above his seat up and crossed his legs in the seat, tugging on his gym shorts to pull them back down to his knees. He untied, then retied the laces on his high tops before settling back to look at the kid sitting across from him. He hadn't appeared to have moved at all during Naruto's fidgeting. Naruto took one look at what the kid was wearing and immediately felt like his was sweating buckets. He'd been in Cairo for maybe an hour, sitting in the incredibly small airport waiting for his loading time, and he'd been all but dying in the heat, and he was only dressed in some Nike shorts and an orange tank-top. The boy must've been wearing at least six different layers of clothing, all black aside from his red pants, and to top it off, combat boots that laced up to just under his knees, which Naruto had to admit that he wouldn't mind owning.

"So what's your name?" Naruto mused aloud, and waited for any kind of response; Gaara didn't even open his eyes. "How old are you?" And again, he received no response. "Do you know what this Sound company wants us for?" Not even a twitch.

'Why on earth do they want this kid? He's just a punk.' Naruto settled back in his seat just as he felt the engine of the plane start and the flight attendant come up from behind his silent companion's seat. She leaned her weight suddenly on his seat, and Naruto saw the boy suddenly jump ever so slightly, put his hand directly below hers above his head, and if the blonde was correct in his judgement, there was the slightest glint from inside his sleeve from something reflecting the sunlight coming from the window beside them. Naruto's eyes widened in shock at the kid's revelation, then turned to the flight attendant, who seemed to be running through a list of flight protocol to the two passengers on board the plane, not realizing the threat on her life or that neither of them was listening to a word she was saying.

Gaara lowered his hand from below the girl slowly, sliding the knife back into it's hidden spot in his sleeve so discreetly that if Naruto hadn't been looking for those exact movements, he'd never have known the kid had a weapon. Naruto's heartbeat slowed down a bit once the flight attendant had left, scurrying very quickly up to the front of the plane. 'Just what kind of kid is this?' Adrenaline was pumping wildly through his body, and he suddenly felt jumpy.

"Would you like to sit with the others?" Naruto turned to look around the back of his seat, surprised to see three young men climbing on board the plane, one of them almost doubled over in the short cabin. The tall one peered over the seats, then sighed heavily and hurried to the back and sat on the other side of the separating lane and folded the arm rest up between two seats before sprawling himself over both, his feet dangling over into the lane.

The man's two companions followed quickly behind, opting instead to choose the seats beside the other passengers. Naruto glanced over them both quickly, giving them a fast once-over as they packed up their belongings and settled into their seats. There was a short brunette that glanced between Naruto and the kid that Naruto still didn't know the name of, and shrugged before plopping down beside the younger of the two and fastening his belt. Naruto briefly registered that his toes barely touched the ground, and his silent seat partner wasn't even close to kicking the dust on the ground, even if he stretched. He suddenly felt like laughing.

Naruto's attention fluttered to the final new addition to the party; an average-height male with an odd hairstyle that was the color of ink and bright red contacts that quickly unnerved him. 'Okay, real pretty, but I feel as if the air conditioning has suddenly become a bit to much with this guy on board.

"You guys talk right? Because I just got off of a 14 hour flight with Snores-a-Lot and the Human-Ice-Block and I'm seriously craving more than an occasional grunt in response." The brunette suddenly said, and Naruto felt an immediate liking towards the man.

"Well, he doesn't, but he did pull a knife on a flight attendant just a minute ago. I'd watch it bro." Naruto said, gesturing to the red-head that, once again, had his eyes closed, arms crossed across his chest.

"Woah, seriously? Hey, kid. What kinda gear you packin' under all that stuff? How are you not dying in this heat?" The brunette asked as he turned towards the teen on his left, grabbing his shoulder roughly. There was a split second of panic as everyone's heart skipped a beat, the knife against the loud-mouth's Adam's apple slid up to his cheek and traced the dark circle under his left eye. Naruto held his breath tighter than the red-head held his latest interest's jaw. He turned the brunette's head from left to right slowly, his greenish-blue eyes sharper than the knife in his hand. He slowly receded back to his sitting position, but kept his eyes trained on the young man next to him.

Naruto cleared his throat quietly. "So, what're your names?" Naruto glanced quickly between the three new travel partners nervously.

"K-kiba." Kiba swallowed roughly before slowly regaining his composure. He folded his hands in his lap, nodded to the man beside Naruto, who simply stared in return.

"Sasuke." The raven haired man said lowly, before casting his bloody gaze over to the man that appeared to be out cold in the seat across the lane. Kiba kicked him harshly in the leg, and they waited for a few moments in silence before a sluggish sounding "Shikamaru" floated over the empty space between them.

"Naruto." Naruto reached his hand across the small space between the seats and shook Kiba's hand enthusiastically, then Sasuke, who seemed almost reluctant to do so.

Kiba jerked his thumb over his shoulder to his small companion. "His name's Gaara I guess."

"How did you-" Naruto started only to be cut off by Kiba's laughter.

"It was engraved on the knife blade." Naruto was quick to join in the brunette's contagious laughter.

. . . . .

It was two hours into the flight, and Naruto quickly learned why Sasuke had slipped earbuds in approximately one hour and fifty-eight minutes ago. Kiba liked to talk. Naruto glanced over to Gaara and quickly wondered how he wasn't bothered by the constant noise, but he hadn't so much has opened an eye in several hours. The turbulence outside the plane was horrendous, jostling the passengers about inside the cabin like a rag. Something inside of Kiba's jacket began howling, and he was quick to try and shush it.

"Dude. Is that a dog?" Naruto asked while pointing at the jacket Kiba was wearing that seemed to have come alive in the past few moments of the flight.

"Yes." Sasuke mumbled from his seat, pulling his earbuds out, wrapping them around his iPod and stowing it in his cargo pant's side pocket. "Stupid thing gets nervous when flying."

"Does not, it's just the wind outside. It's not exactly an easy, smooth flight, now is it Ice Queen?" Kiba taunted, shoving the small, white head with brown, floppy ears back down into his jacket. "Isn't that right, Akamaru?"

"I'm not an Ice Queen, you just annoy me." Sasuke glared at Kiba, but Kiba just returned with a smile.

"We've known each other for 3 days now and this is the most I've heard him talk."

"I like Knife Boy over there better than you, and I have no doubt he's probably thought of at least 11 different ways to kill me." Sasuke raised his eyebrows in Gaara's direction who was staring at the raven haired young man. Shikamaru sat up for the first time, bumped his head on the ceiling, and muttered "Ouch" before spinning his seat around to face the other passengers.

"So, anybody know exactly why we're going to some random company in Japan at personal request?" Shikamaru asked while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Been wondering the same thing myself." Kiba said while scratching the back of his head with nails that Naruto noticed were slightly pointed. Sasuke just shook his head, and Naruto followed suit. They all turned to face Gaara who was resting his head against the window with his eyes closed, then looked at Kiba expectantly.

"Uh uh, bros. I did it last time. I ain't about to die again."

Naruto clapped loudly, once, twice, then three times. "What's wrong with this kid? He understands us, because he was nodding to a few things earlier." Kiba brought his hand out to hover in front of Gaara's face. The boy opened his eyes and turned to look at the three older men looking at him quizzically.

Naruto suddenly grinned. "I've got an idea. Hey Gaara." Gaara didn't acknowledge the blonde. He continued to stare with interest at Shikamaru, who held a suspicious gleam in his eye. "Gaara? Hey, kid!" Naruto waved his hand in Gaara's line of vision, finally got his attention then quickly signed 'Hello' to Gaara in sign language. Gaara's eyes widened just slightly for just a split second before returning to normal.

'What.' Gaara signed back in a smooth movement, the corner of his lips quirked up in a near unnoticeable smile, which Naruto returned with a stunning, megawatt grin of his own.

'I had a foster brother for a while that was deaf, so I had to learn sign back about 11 years ago. I'm a bit rusty though, so, sorry for anything I say wrong. Do you know why we're being called to Japan?' Naruto leaned forward a bit and rested his elbows on his knees, trying his best to read Gaara's response, which he quickly discovered was a long and confusing way of saying 'no' which was probably just meant to give him trouble.

'Well, I guess it could be for individual skills depending on what you all can do. Keep that between us for now though, and you can bring it up when we pick everybody up.' Gaara's hands moved smoothly and silently through the air like a dance, but his almost angry, and obviously natural, expression ruined the overall appeal. Naruto simply nodded to Gaara's suggestion.

"The kids' deaf, heh." Shikamaru said, accenting the end of his statement with a wide yawn and a clear attempt at a stretch in the cramped quarters. "How old is he?"

Naruto quickly signed the question to Gaara, who was a little slow in his response this time. Naruto could practically see the gears turning in his head behind the expressionless mask, obviously contemplating telling him or not. The other men leaned in a bit closer to the silent conversation.

'12. And before you ask, my name is in fact Gaara like dog breath here said, and in response to Duck-butt over there, it's 17 ways, not 11, not including hidden explosives.'

Naruto felt the distinct need to crack up hidden under his shock. '12?!' Gaara just nodded in response. Naruto slumped back in his seat and ran a hand through his blonde locks before turning to face the others in the space. "12." Naruto chuckled out. "And he's got bombs." Sasuke let out a chuckle.

"Told you he was planning our deaths. He's just got that look to him."

"And you don't Mr. Red Eyes?" That earned Kiba a glare from 'Mr. Red Eyes.'

Shikamaru fell back in his seat again after a small awkward pause. "I'm 16, just saying to see if anybody cares."

Sasuke groaned. "You two make me feel old. I'm 19."

"18." The blonde smiled brightly while he signed what everyone was saying to Gaara the best he could.

Kiba was frozen in shock before mumbling out, "24," at which everyone stared at him in shock, aside from the deaf passenger who chose to stare out the window blankly instead. Kiba buried his face in his hands and absentmindedly swung his feet at the ground that he could just barely reach and sighed in shame when most of the company began laughing, Sasuke even adding in a few chuckles. "Yeah, yeah! Make fun of the old, short guy!"

'Hey, Blondie, how tall is the midget?' Naruto almost fell out of his seat at Gaara's rude question. Kid obviously didn't have any manners even if he was finally 'talking' in a sense.

"Kiba, the kiddo here wants to know how tall you are." Naruto relayed the message to Kiba while leaning on the arm rest of his chair.

"5'5"! And a quarter!" Kiba yelled from his seat, throwing a fit, Akamaru occasionally making distressed noises from inside his jacket.

'5'5", that's his height.' Gaara let out what could've very easily been a slight cough, but from the small time knowing the kid, they all suspected was a laugh.

"Well how freakin' tall are you?!" Kiba screamed at Gaara, who just glared menacingly at him once Naruto told him the message. Kiba turned to Naruto expectantly, who had a smirk on his handsome face.

"He said 5'3"."

"Hah! Put that in your juicebox and suck it babycakes!"

"Dude." Shikamaru swung up in his seat, bumped his head again, and swore lightly a few times before facing Kiba. "He's 12."

"I really don't think I should relay that message to him. He might seriously throw you out the window with no regrets." Gaara smirked evilly at Kiba, who all but cowered away in fear.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I'm 6'4"." Shikamaru offered.

"Shut it Brainiac!" Naruto's laughter filled the cabin, Sasuke and Shikamaru chuckling along quietly, Gaara glaring and completely unnerving Kiba. "Air travel sucks!" He rushed to his feet and threw his hands above his head in exasperation, his fingertips brushing the ceiling. "Life hates me..."

This was going to be a long flight.

. . . . .

End Chapter 2! Time for your character :)

. . . . .

Gaara:

Age: 12

Height/Weight: 5'3"/110 Ibs

Origin: Africa/Egypt

Appearance: Bright red hair that is shorter in the back and longer and layered on top, swept forward and to the right over his forehead, spiked up in back. Blonde, nearly invisible, eyebrows. Blue-Green eyes, heavily made out with eyeliner. Fair skin. Tattoo of the kanji for 'love' on the left side of his forehead. Wears a ton of layers of clothing to cover his skin, yet usually wears only a fishnet shirt under his jackets and wraps. 10, in total, piercings in his ears from the lobe up to the tips, 5 in each ear. Has a piercing that goes through his eyebrow just below his tattoo. Average height (for his age), slim shoulders and slight breadth, athletic build, with precisely chiseled muscle (wiry). Has scars that crisscross all over his back. He is deaf, and wears hearing aids on chain around his neck at all times that hang under his shirt since he believes them to be "pointless" due to the fact he cannot hear at all, but precious enough to wear in some way.

Background: Born in Abu Simbel, Egypt. Was part of a royal family in the small town. When he was 3, it was decided he would be a sacrifice to the gods as a peace offering, but when the townspeople sent him to the Abu Simbel temple, one of the stone statues was struck by lightening in the midst of a storm, and caused him to be trapped inside for 28 hours. When he was recovered, many people believed him to have been possessed by a demon while trapped inside the temple because he would not respond to anyone or anything, and had even ceased speaking and often sleeping. He was shunned by the village. He became violent towards those who continued to attempt to heal him by the age of 6, and killed two women with a knife and injured a local holy man. He was sent away by his father to the desert to train in a secret militia service when he showed military promise at the age of 8. He returned to Abu Simbel shortly after turning 10 after murdering everyone at the compound in a fit of rage when several officers took a whip to him in an attempt to rid him of his "possession". He killed his father before fleeing to Aswan to seek medical help. It was later discovered that the explosion at the temple had destroyed his hearing completely, and that he was suspected of schizophrenia (this was later disproved and shown to be extreme anxiety). He was to be admitted to a local hospital. He spent 1 year in Aswan learning sign language, piano and guitar as an outlet for his anger (both of which turned out to be a special talent), and receiving medical care before the city was attacked by a group of thieves passing through on their way to Cairo. The hospital was destroyed along with everything he had known. He killed the group of thieves using stolen explosives before stealing their supplies and leaving everything but his hearing aids, a specialized gift from the person he considered the only friend he'd ever had, Yashamaru.

Cause of Insanity: Loss of hearing due to trauma, physical abuse, and torture.

Current Location: (Rumored) Cairo, Egypt

Family/Relations: -Older Sister (location unknown)-was sold to be a harem girl at age 16 before she disappeared from the convoy she was traveling with. -Older Brother (location unknown)-disappeared soon after Gaara killed their father and is rumored to be selling illegal specialty weapons in cities all along the Nile. Yashamaru (deceased)-personal care-taker for Gaara while he was in Aswan.

Personality: Ruthless. He is unable to speak more than a few small words due to loss of hearing at a young age, but is known to hum a few very simple tunes he heard as a child before he became deaf, and is believed to have a beautifully deep voice for his age. He comes across as incredibly rude because he will not look people in the eye when they speak, show any sign of giving you his attention, or give any sign of recognition due to his inability to hear. He never lets anyone know he is deaf as he views it as a weakness caused by his father. He is bitter and resentful of most people, and has an incredibly low tolerance for human interaction. He is often viewed as creepy by most people, and inwardly enjoys getting fearful looks from people older than he is. He has never built a bond with anyone besides Yashamaru, who taught him to play music. He is only content when he can play any kind of musical instrument he can lay his hands on. He rarely sleeps due to his mistrust of everyone, and is generally unhappy with everything. He feels no remorse and will not hesitate to kill on site.

Special Skills: Blade master, above average hand-to-hand combat, explosives expert, poor long distance fighting, and average tactical skills.

. . . . .

1. Normally, Gaara is my favorite character no matter what, but I'm actually very proud of this version of him. Please please please tell me what you think about his development for the story!

2. Soooo... Random useful skill that Naruto pulled out of a hat from back when he was between homes as a kid. I mean, everybody has got moments where something from 11 years ago actually comes in handy right?

3. Next chapter, be prepared for some more character development!

4. Short Kiba?! Random thought, but with that kind of personality, how can you NOT make some obvious thing about his character that will get him seriously worked up around other guys? I've gotta have some fun.

5. Alright, this chapter was actually pretty fun to write, what with all of the interactions, and I'm trying my best to keep the guys in character and also play everything along with my little twists and quirks. Please let me know how I'm doing!

6. Who do you think will join the group in Scotland on the way to Japan? Make a guess, and if you guess right, I'll send you that characters' profile ahead of time so you can get a sneak peak of the insight of the character! You only get one try. Bribes galore!

Well, just remember that AMB11 loves you, and that's why you got two really long chapters all before lunch time. R & R! And recommend to your friends :D