A/N: Next chapter compliments to my beta BriarBainRose for editing

A/N: Shout outs to

hieissoulmate5by5

grounded_angel2

I still don't own Naruto!

Enjoy

"Let me down damnit!" Aya growled "KANKURO!"

Almost apologetically, the puppeteer ninja looked over his shoulder at where she'd propped her upper body up by using her arms against his back; one eye closed and one open. "Sorry Aya-san, but Gaara doesn't trust you after you tried to punch him in the alley, and then made a run for it at that glass building with those weird bushes."

She sighed, in retrospect those actions had been pretty stupid; the first one being beyond stupidity and entering the territory of the mentally unstable. It had been a double whammy of failure anyways. For one she hadn't hit him and two she now had sand burns up and down her arms so deep they were still bleeding and a bruised face from where he'd personally delivered retribution after her swing had been deflected. The second action… well that had just been pure anger driving her. She'd seen a chance to escape the person who had hurt her and she'd taken it no questions asked. Somehow she'd forgotten the whole 'I-can-transport-myself-short-distances-in-the-blink-of-an-eye' ability he had and ended up being dragged across hot sidewalk and blacktop for nearly seven minutes with her shirt and jacket riding up.

"Where are we going?"

"To your house- you already gave us directions remember?"

Aya scowled. "Sorry, my memory's not what it used to be, what with being punched, dragged and cut up. When did I tell you where my house was again? Because if I did it was purely a psychotic break on my part that I should have myself severely medicated for."

Kankuro grunted but seemed to be making sure not to make eye contact with her. "It was when we were still in the alley. Gaara asked you-" Demanded and or threatened, Aya filled in, "-to tell us where you lived so we could have somewhere to stay."

Finding it useless to argue the classifications of their actions against her she changed the subject back to what it was in the first place.

"Why can't Temari-san carry me?" Aya asked tiredly.

"Because Gaara doesn't trust her, he thinks she might let you go freely."

"Oh and he trusts you?"

"Hai" Kankuro nodded then stopped abruptly. "Ne ne, what are you saying here?"

Aya snorted. "Kankuro you're sort of distracted easily."

"How so?"

"Every skirt with legs under it that has walked by makes you stop and drool for at least a minute. In that time I could easily escape down the street."

"I do n-" A group of preppy girls strutted past in frilly skirts and heals and low and behold, Kankuro stopped walking and panted after them like a blood hound on a trail. Aya huffed in annoyance and, to prove a point, easily extracted herself from his hold and landed besides him on the sidewalk.

"Kan-kur-o!" She said, trying to get his attention. He was too busy focusing on a particular blonde with a skirt riding too far up with each step and any second now Aya was guessing she could be fined for indecent exposure if the hiking up continued. Can we say, Dead Brained Hormone Driven Pervert? Trying again Aya waved a hand in front of his face. "Umm hello? Person that's supposed to be preventing me from escaping, are you even listening? Oh come on, earth to my captor, come in, Kankuro!" she sighed and leaned against said idiots shoulder.

"He's a goner."

Then something struck her.

She was practically alone with Gaara nowhere in sight-most likely still stuck in the fast-food place with Temari.

This was a perfect time to escape!

Smiling brightly she stepped away from the teenager, glanced in all directions to make sure it was all clear and in a blink was gone around the corner and back into the labyrinth of alleys she was familiar with. 'That was too easy.' Aya thought with a chuckle. She ran a complicated weave through the maze and then made a hasty exit out onto a street far away from where Kankuro was skirt gawking and slowed to a casual stroll with her hands in her pockets to blend flawlessly in with the crowd.

"And they're supposedly ninja?" she muttered under her breath. She snorted. "Ha! Maybe they lost their touch when they came into the real world." Abruptly she frowned. She still couldn't really believe they were actually here. She'd run through hundreds of scenarios in her mind from the time she'd been detained to now and it still made absolutely no sense. They could be cosplayers… but what about the fact that the so-called 'Gaara' had actual moving sand? That was just something she would never get over: the feeling of sand crawling over her body. A shiver shook her form and she sighed. It would be no surprise at all if she had nightmares over it.

She was suddenly shoved out of her thoughts by a hard body and she stumbled.

"What the Hell-" The words froze on her tongue as she looked up to see who it was she'd collided with.

"Girl" a rough voice mumbled. Teal pools of anger focused on her and Aya suddenly felt cold even though she had on pants and a short sleeved jacket. She cringed downward some, shoulders curling in as she tried to scoot away and be swallowed up into the crowd again.

Before she could, a pale hand shot out and she was tugged back to his side in a rough motion that drew the curious stares of people hustling past. She saw him take note of this and scowl deeper before pulling her closer and leaning down slightly. "Walk." He growled. She didn't want to, in fact she was toying with the idea of kicking him in the what-nots and running, but the killer intent she caught flashing in his eyes was an effective determent and she obediently proceeded. His hand released her abruptly when she complied. Aya grinned secretively at the opening it provided her. 'If I can just…'

As if reading her mind sand materialized around her wrist in a tight bracelet and the red head shot her a warning glance from the corner of his eye. Now she wouldn't be able to escape at all. The girl snarled slightly then pushed the emotions away. Once they got to her house she'd go straight for her weapons stash and get them the hell out of her life.

"Oy, Gaara! Aya-chan's gone!" Kankuro hollered, his black cat-hat sticking out even in the large crowd as he rushed towards them. Aya bit her tongue not to lash out at the 'chan'. "She must've snuck away when-" he stopped when he spotted the glaring girl at his brothers' side. "Guess you found her then, ne?"

The sand tightened around Aya's wrist and she winced as old cuts reopened and blood seeped into the band. Damn that was going to hurt later.

"You're an embarrassment Kankuro," Gaara stated. "A ninja who loses his prisoner is a ninja who deserves to choke on his own blood just before death takes him." Suddenly uncomfortable with standing so near the blood thirsty psycho Aya tried to inch away from him but found the sand only allowed her to stray half a foot from his form. She mentally cursed.

At the same time Kankuro was flinching at his younger brother's words. It hurt to be considered weak by ones younger brother. On top of that Kankuro was pretty sure that Gaara was giving him a hidden warning that if he screwed up again he'd personally kill him.

"H-hai Gaara," he said sheepishly, unsure whether he should be running or not. "Gomenasia. Temari's right behi-"

Said girl bopped him on the head. "Otouto-baka." She blew a bit of blonde hair from her eyes then looked to Gaara. "I got what you asked Gaara." She hefted up a bag pointedly. "Took a while to find someone that spoke Japanese but I got it done. Oh," she flicked her gaze to Aya, "And thanks for lending us the money. You were right, stupid shop keeper wouldn't take my yen."

"Like I had a choice," Aya grumbled under her breath then lifted her head and smiled brightly. "No problem Temari-san, just helping friends in need." She slightly choked on the word 'friends' but recovered with an even brighter smile.

"Hn," Gaara crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "Let's go."

Immediately both siblings nodded and waited for Gaara to catch up before walking towards Aya's neighborhood; leaving her to trail after so she wouldn't get her wrist severed.

Craziest. Day. Ever.

"This is your house?" Kankuro asked poking his head around the corners from the entry way. Apparently it wasn't any bigger than what he'd surmised from looking at the white outside appearance. It was a small sized house with two stories in height. There was only a living room and kitchen downstairs from what he could see. "It's tiny!"

Next to him Temari snarled and kicked him hard so he face planted on the carpet. "Be polite Kuso!"

Aya peeked out from behind Gaara where she'd somehow gotten squished even though she'd been the one to one the door. Her purple gaze swept the house and she shrugged. It looked fine to her. She smoothly slid around Gaara and in front of Temari and Kankuro; happy to note the sand still circling her wrist like a live snake didn't violently react. "The Kitchen, living room and two guest bedrooms are down here, along with the laundry room." She gestured to the ceiling. "My room's up there and so is my…" she bit her lip harshly and glanced away before continuing "mothers'. The bathroom is also upstairs so if you need it be quiet about it. You're free to go anywhere accept my- m-mothers room. I'd say my rooms off limits to but I can see you'd still barge in anyways. Only one rule is crucial because I doubt you'll follow any of the others so I won't bother repeating them. The one rule is: Don't. Ever. Disturb. Mother." She met each of their eyes, her own hardening to flint as she spoke. "This includes entering her room, loud noises outside of it and letting her see you." She suddenly smiled. "Make yourselves at home."

Not waiting for anything else Kankuro jumped up and walked over to flop on the couch. "No problem there."

"Hn." Gaara walked away towards the kitchen not bothering to release the sand twitching at Aya's arm.

Temari was left behind and scrutinized Aya sharply, eyes narrowing slightly then flicking towards the ceiling. "Aya, do you want to talk about something?" she asked.

"No, why?"

The older girl frowned and crossed her arms, bag still in hand. "Aya. The smile you're wearing is fake. I know you're not happy with us being here but-"

Aya waved her off. "What's done is done. No use brooding over something that I'm not going to get out of without meeting death." She smiled even more and tilted her head to the side. "Is there anything else you need, Temari-san?" The blonde looked like she wanted to pursue the matter but side in defeat.

"Hai. Actually I wanted to ask you how you're going to get passed your mom with this. Gaara wouldn't like someone else knowing that we're here-"

"Don't worry, she doesn't leave her room much and she has a bathroom in there." Aya looked at the clock hanging in the kitchen and frowned. "I should actually be bringing some stuff up to her…" she bowed to Temari, "Please excuse me." With that she turned and headed into the kitchen, leaving a pensive Temari in her wake.

Immediately Aya went over to the highest cabinet and hoisted herself up onto the counter so she could comfortably go through the mass of bottles up there. "No… These… Not them… no… headaches? Maybe…" she sifted through them and placed several on the counter, making sure they would be okay taken at the same time. "These with a sandwich and some water should be fine." She twisted around to hop down and caught sight of a stoic Gaara half hidden in shadows she didn't realize were there across the room. Her feet slid softly to the ground. Should she greet him? Her eyes went to the sand at her wrist and she decided against it. He'd most likely sand her if she did anything other than ignore him.

Stealing herself against the fear and anger she held towards him she calmly walked over to the fridge and swung the right door open. Light flooded out and she leaned forward to inspect the insides. Food and drinks were stuffed into the shelves everywhere, mostly fruit and healthy choices. A specific drawer positioned dead center had a label 'mother' slapped across it. Aya reached forward and pulled it out. Pre-made sandwiches, salads and other meals were neatly piled there. Selecting a plastic wrapped triangle cut sandwich that had a pink sticker for turkey on it she shoved the drawer and door closed. She tossed the package on the counter, grabbed a glass and filled it with tap water and finally placed all of what she'd carefully gathered on a flat tray with handles. She glanced around to make sure she hadn't missed anything then headed up the stairs.

"Oh, what the Hell am I doing?" Aya muttered under her breath as she walked. "I'm letting a bunch of ninja stay at my house after they threaten my life. Should've just let them do their worst and refused."

She paused in front of the foreboding double doors and swallowed the lump in her throat. How many times had she entered this room to find all manner of insanity? Aya shook her head and balanced the tray in one hand so she could fish under her shirt for the key. Fingers curling overt the old metal she bent slightly and inserted it with a practiced twist. The door creaked open.

"Okaasan!" she called through the door softly as she entered, closing it gently behind her. Abruptly she inwardly smacked herself. Her mother didn't speak Japanese! Purposefully Aya switched the language in her brain and took a step forward into the shadowed room. "Mother… Mother where are you? I brought up your medication and meal…" Her eyes found the empty bed and her brow furrowed. She placed the tray onto the bedside table and looked around. The picture frame on the desk was shattered and all the lights had been smashed again. She sighed. Perhaps she would just stop trying to replace them. "Mother…"

A high pitched whimper captured her attention and with a sigh she dropped to the floor to peer under the bed.

A woman lay curled there with faded purple eyes and crazy grey streaked hair. Aya felt like cursing a star in the sky but kept her calm façade in place as she reached for the lady she referred to as mother.

"It's okay to come out. Come on, nothings here." She cooed soothingly.

The female's attention snapped to her and her form rocked slightly. "It's here, it's here." She muttered. "The darkness is here. Here to take me."

"It's not going to take you." Aya reassured her. "It's dark because you smashed all the lights again…"

"Don't let it take me. Please don't let it take me."

Guilt swept over as she scooted further underneath the furniture in attempt to grab her. She sounded so afraid , so helpless. Aya shook her head out of that train of thought. Ever since that night at the prison her mother hadn't been the same. She had been a doctor at the local prison but a year ago there was a security break and a power failure. Something had happened that the prison personnel had said was 'classified' and now… the nightmares just didn't go away.

She attentively put her hand over her mother's curled one and tugged slightly. "C'mon now. Don't be afraid I brought you turkey. You like turkey right?" seeming to be placated by that the woman nodded slightly and shifted towards her. "Good… come closer…" Aya guided her out from under the bed before bending down and swiftly sweeping the frail woman up into her arms and laying her on the bed. "The trays on the side table, okay?" she brushed hair from her haggard face and tugged the blankets up to her chin. "Just eat when you feel like." Turning away she twisted the caps off the pill bottles she brought with her and put the pills on the tray, gathering the bottles up since it seemed like she'd have to get the tray later. "I have to go now but-"

A hand shot out and latched onto her wrist lacking the sand. Aya hissed at the pain but looked at her mother.

"You smell different." She whispered, eyes dilating slightly.

"No, mother." The girl replied steadily. She carefully detached her mother's hold from her arm and placed it on the bed beside her. "I smell just like always. I just got home from working in the Dojo- remember?" when the adult nodded she continued. "Now, I'll be in my work out room; call if you need anything." She backed away slowly before hurriedly exiting and locking the door.

In the light of the hallway she breathed a sigh of relief. It always weirded her out when her parent was in this sort of mood. It made her seem… like someone else.

"So this is your mother's room right?"

"Huh?" Aya spun around to find an amused Kankuro leaning against the wall, one eye closed the other peering sideways at her.

"Your mother," he repeated. "This is her room, correct?"

Realizing that for some reason she didn't have to switch manually to understand the Japanese she switched over so she could reply. "Hai, and I thought I said no making noises around here?"

"I'm not!"

"Talking is considered noise, Puppet-boy." Aya retorted venomously.

"I'm not even being loud! I-" he suddenly opened both eyes. "Wait." He demanded, straightening. "You just called me puppet boy!"

Aya rolled her eyes. "Would you rather I call you Dolly-boy?"

Growling Kankuro surged forward and picked her up by the collar of her shirt; suddenly the deadly shinobi from the manga she recognized. "How do you know what kind of weapons I use?" he snapped, all guises of friendliness gone. Aya froze, mouth opening and closing as she tried to think of what to do in a situation like this. If she told them about the show they could alter reality but if she didn't… When she didn't answer Kankuro snarled and slammed her against the wall and pinned her so her feet dangled helplessly, hand shifting to her neck. "TELL ME."

Black spots danced in and out of her vision. She needed to get air fast or she'd pass out. Aya grunted and with a trembling hand grabbed hold of Kankuro's thumb; twisted.

"Itai!" He released his hold and Aya dropped to the floor gasping. But she couldn't stop to catch her breath because the Ninja aimed a kick at her and she had to dodge. With a lurch she scrambled to her feet and made a hasty escape for the stair case as Kankuro came after her throwing punches she barely missed.

"Get back here, damnit!" His sandaled foot connected with her leg and she shrieked, flipping head first down the staircase. With a limber movement she twisted and curled so she Aikido rolled out of the landing to scamper towards the living room. Each step she made sent a pang ringing through the side that had met with the floor but she ignored it.

'Damn me and my big mouth' she thought angrily.

The two sped passed an eating Temari and she shot up. "KANKURO WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" she hollered fiercely. Before he could respond she grabbed him and yanked him away from the panicked girl who kept running to the back door. She didn't know why she was heading there; because kami knew she wouldn't be able to out run them and Gaara's sand but instinct was overriding common sense.

Abruptly said afore mentioned grainy substance constricted around her wrist and she yelp, being wrenched into the air and against a wall where sand swiftly trapped her. Gaara. Inside she screamed out in fury but externally her heart was racing with the fear of prey.

"What… is going on." Gaara's voice grated.

Silence.

Moments passed and the sand began to stir in agitation around him. Kankuro finally stepped forward.

"G-gaara, she knew a-about my puppets." He said shakily.

Cold jade eyes locked on Aya and she shuddered, making sure to avoid his eyes as best as she could. The whole ridiculous: if-I-can't-see-him-he-can't-see-me ploy came into play and Aya decisively closed her eyes tight. She wasn't usually like this; no, she was usually the one making others use this kind of tactic. But of course there was the fact that this was Sabaku no Gaara she was dealing with and his feminist/machoist big sister and delusional puppeteer extraordinaire older brother.

'Oh I'm so incredibly dead.'

"Look at me."

Look at him? Aya was closer to slitting her own throat to save them the trouble of it later than looking at the Demon container. There was absolutely no way in Hell, that she was going to look anywhere near him. There was a reason she'd closed her eyes. It was that she didn't want to see anything. Anything included him- no, anything highlighted Him- so in conclusion she'd refuse to look at him to. Because she was. Not. Opening. Her. Eyes.

Sand hissed angrily as the Shukaku Jinchuuriki turned the full force of his attentions onto the girls form still held helpless to his sand. His siblings cringed back slightly at his sudden anger, knowing that his rage was nothing to be trifled with for it had brought lives to an end within seconds of its manifestation. They could only hope their brother would not kill the girl; she seemed to be the only one willing to help them. Not that that would make any difference, because if Gaara decided to kill her it wouldn't matter if she was the one keeping the entire world from dying, he'd still kill her.

The sand around her tightened aggressively, grinding bone against bone and cutting into soft flesh effectively ringing a startled cry from the captives lips stained with pain. In answer, a pleased glint flashed within her captors lifeless eyes.

"Look. At. Me." He growled again.

At his words his element constricted further and Aya bit her lip hard to quell the scream trying to bubble out of her throat. She wasn't going to let him bully her into anything. She had always despised bullies, what with using their larger mass and power to force people into submission and that was exactly what the Sand Shinobi was doing at the moment; so she wasn't going to concede. Of course then there was the fact that she couldn't stop him from torturing her into something…

As if agreeing with her thoughts, the sand convulsed in such brutal force against her Aya's body reacted so that her eyes popped open and blood was launched from her mouth to the tile beneath her accompanied by an ear splitting scream. Across the room the older Ninja siblings flinched at the sound but their younger brother merely took a step closer to peer directly into her eyes with a deadly gaze. He grunted when he saw only pain and determination hidden in her purple orbs. Determination for what, he didn't know; but he planned to find out.

"Is what Kankuro said true?" Gaara asked. He already knew the answer of course. Kankuro wasn't stupid enough to blatantly lie over something as important as this no matter how perverted and immature he was.

Swallowing the bitter taste of her own blood Aya made a choice as the fact that she was helpless against these people sank in. 'Helpless…' she mused. 'I've never been helpless before.' She did not like the feeling, nodding as best as she could she sighed. "H-ha-i." she croaked.

Unaffected Gaara blinked. "How?"

"I-" Aya bit her lip in hesitation. Could she tell them? Sure they weren't evil in the manga per say and Gaara probably couldn't care less but Shukaku… Aya eyed the Host warily… he was a wild card. She thought up all the lies she could tell them then swiftly discarded them. Shinobi weren't stupid. "E-everyone knows here."

"Nani?" Temari demanded from behind.

Gaara shot her a glance that silenced her before looking back at Aya. "Explain."

A/N: Hope you are still interested in the story! The next ones on the way