Regular disclaimers apply.
Author's note: This one may come across as pointless, but it's significants will make itself known in the near future, but so you wouldn't have to actually read the words because they're mainly korean and one japanese, I gave you links so you could watch the videos and heard the actual songs, I hope that makes things easier.
Author's note 2: This chapter has been edited and such, though not much else was done to this chapter. Grammatical errors were fixed though, if that counts for anything. Strangely enough, I don't really like this chapter. It's only purpose was to get from point A to point B in the plotline...that's probably why it took me so long to fix it even though it's a short chapter...oh well. R & R!
"Naruto, do you know anything of the Two Tail?" Gaara questioned.
"No. I only know that there are demons like the Kyubi and Shukaku. I have the nine tail, you have the one tail-"
"And Sakura is the two tail now." Gaara cut in.
"WHAT!" half of the homes occupants exclaimed, shock written on all there faces.
"Are you sure?" Tsunade demanded, attempting to grab his shoulders, activating his protective sand in the process. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it, and yes, I'm sure...Shukaku told me." Gaara informed with eyes down cast and unseeing.
"That's not possible...!" Naruto gasped, legs giving out beneath him and forcing him to fall onto his rear.
A sinister laughing was then heard coming from Gaara's general location, but not from his lips. Sand slowly eased the cork from Gaara's gourd before the golden grains slithered out from the available opening. It writhed this way and that, shifting around as it formed a miniature head of Shukaku. With an expression of animosity, Shukaku let his presence he known.
"She's supposed to be dead!" The creature growled vehemently, an unknown emotion shining in his eyes.
"You mean that cat we saw?" Naruto questioned, his fear of the demon minimal. He'd defeated the demonic tanuki before; he could do it again if the need arose.
"What cat?" Tsunade demanded, Naruto's words snapping her out of her fear induced stupor.
"When we went looking for Sakura, she-" Naruto began, only to be cut off.
"I think it would be best if I began first." Sakura interrupted, leaning against the door in pain, clad in a long T-shirt that could be later recognized as Naruto's. The pain killers were wearing off, causing Sakura to arise from her slumber and making her wince in pain.
Ino, snapping out of her daze, ran to her friend's side and helped her walk to the couch beside Gaara. She dared Shukaku with her eyes alone to do anything to the ailing kunoichi, her expression promising retribution if he did.
"Thank you..." Sakura wheezed, her eyes smiling where her lips could not.
"What happened?" Kakashi prodded gently, not wanting to force her, but at the same time wanting answers.
"I just finished my training when I saw this cat creature hiding under a bush. She was so injured that if I waited any longer she would've died. It was a miracle the creature even lasted that long. I healed it, she hadn't even put up a fight when I was healing her so I thought she understood what I was doing and thought nothing of it. I didn't even notice that I couldn't move until she started to stare at me with her white eye glowing. My body wouldn't obey the commands I gave it. The cat then turned into an arrow, went through Gaara's sand cocoon that surrounded me, and pierced my heart. I began hearing a woman's voice after the initial pain of the arrow."
"What did she say?" someone urged, but Sakura couldn't tell who.
"She told me that she was sorry about the inconvenience and the pain that would ensue. She then explained to me what was going on. She told me that...that she was dying and was desperate to ensure her survival, saying that I was her human counterpart. What's that mean?"
"It means Kitten, that you are not the dead cat's container. You are her. EVERY demon has a counterpart in the human form, graced with the same looks, the same talents, the same power; the only difference is that the human is only a fraction of the demons power." Shukaku hissed, head moving closer to the unflinching Sakura, before grinning with malicious glee. "Just you wait. Mating season is just around the corner and with a female demon around" he paused to laugh. "I'd be watching my back if I were you, you'll never know who's lurking around the next corner."
Sakura just stared, too tired and too cranky to take in the possibility of a threat as she huffed indignantly. She bore her teeth as if to say bring it, but the look was wiped from her face instantly when the mild throbbing pain took over again.
Curling into a protective ball, she howled her pain as her gums began to bleed. Her teeth felt as if they were being rearranged violently. Shukaku laughing at her all the while, a wicked sound, like the ominous sounds of thunder, but there was something else in his voice, something she hadn't expected to hear at all; pity.
Sakura glared at the sand created head, wishing with all her might that it would spontaneously combust. But, as previously proven, she wasn't lucky. She was very unlucky. But that didn't stop her from wishing, her irritation keeping her from showing this creature any more of her emotions. Sakura refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry out again, keeping her eyes open and trying almost desperately to uncurl and sit up properly.
Tsunade, Kakashi and Naruto were by her side almost instantly as Gaara just watched from a corner, gaining more control over Shukaku.
Shukaku was no longer pleased, feeling an insistent tug on his current solid form. Turning, completely ignoring the suppressed groans of Sakura, he glared daggers into Gaara whom merely looked at him indifferently. But in his eyes he saw something; something very interesting...I may enjoy watching how this turns out. He finally relented, knowing that he would have his fun later in crushing his counterpart.
Shukaku finally gone, Gaara joined everyone else in surrounding Sakura, placing his hand on her back while not completely sure what to do. But something told him that this was enough. He felt her muscles quiver and tense under her smooth skin, breaking into a sweat that drenched through her clothes.
Her chakra levels were fluxuating, on a constant rise, before soon matching that of Naruto's and that of himself. Gaara didn't have to be a medic nin to know this could kill her, and that worried him. He had to do something but didn't know what, but he owed her that much. Sakura was one of the reasons he was alive today.
Strengthening his resolve, he slipped behind her, placing his legs on either side of her and holding her to him, much to everyone's surprise. Even the sand acted weird as it formed a cocoon around them, enveloping her with his scent. Gaara took that information and filed it away for another time, since it was not him in control of the deadly grains.
Sakura could only sigh in gratification as the small gesture soothed her, the combination of darkness and heady scent lulling her to sleep; A painless, dreamless sleep, and for that she was grateful. She twisted and turned till she was comfortable with her head tucked under his chin, purring all the while, thoroughly enjoying his scent. What a unique and sultry scent it was; A wondrous combination of roses, chocolate, blood and a hint of his sand. His sand smelt faintly of earth and gore. The smell was strangely intoxicating.
Once completely positive she was sound asleep and unable to be disturbed, he coaxed his sand back to his gourd. Hearing everyone's collective sigh of relief, he turned to them with his eyes begging for what more to do. He couldn't help but growl when Temari and Ino began giggling uncontrollably.
Troublesome, Shikamaru thought as he stared at them, slowly pulling Ino away so that she was out of Tsunade's way.
Naruto looked at the two blonds with his head cocked to the side, not comprehending what was so funny to them. He scooted closer to Gaara and Sakura, effectively distancing himself from the giggling duo. He turned his attention back to two of his best friends, eyes searching.
On hind sight the position the two were in could be interpreted as a bit risqué, and Gaara tried to place Sakura more comfortably on the couch. Though for all he tried, Sakura was being a little clingy and was far from willing to give up her human bed, claws digging into the fabric of his shirt when he tried to pry her way. An indignant growl slipped passed her lips before she tightened her hold and resumed her purring.
It was almost too much to take for all present to watch the scene. All the girls were a mass of giggles and most of the guys a collection of chuckles and smirks. All of them needed the chance to laugh, no matter how small, to alleviate the pain and sorrow they had all witnessed.
Gaara understood this need, but wished it wasn't at his own expense.
"Looks like you're stuck with her for now," Tsunade smiled, placing a comforting hand on Gaara's available shoulder. She was tempted to join in on the laughter, Sakura's form painting an image that was odd in this setting.
Sakura just screamed 'pet and cuddle me', the large t-shirt making her look smaller than she really was. But Tsunade finally breathed easy, thanking every god that she could recall that Sakura's pain had ended, if only temporarily. Tsunade had a feeling she would've suffered a breakdown if Sakura was in pain any longer. Tsunade couldn't help it. She'd practically raised her from a girl to a strong young woman and almost saw Sakura as a daughter she'd never have.
"I think she took this better than most." Tsunade said seriously. "But I doubt the rest of Konoha will accept this. It's one thing to have a demon sealed within someone, bound and never to be seen again, but something entirely different for there to be an actual demon. I'm also worried about what she'll do when she sees how everyone reacts to her change. She may have already accepted this, but I doubt the rest of the village will. Another issue is what'll happen if this...mating season were to happen. I personally don't like what Shukaku had implied."
"Whadaya mean?" Naruto asked, not really understanding the said implications.
"I think that he meant that the demons in both you and Gaara would take over and...pursue Sakura." Tsunade explained. "Gaara, do you know when such a time is?"
"The last month of winter, it's pinnacle being on the night of the full moon before it begins to die down again. But that's just when it happens for all. But a very similar affect would occur if she were to go into heat, only at a smaller scale. But personally, I think that the mating season has more of a threat because not only will Naruto and I be drawn to her, but so will every demon and nonhuman in the country." Gaara informed, switching to Kage mode.
"What do you mean? You and Naruto are the only demons present, are you not?" Tsunade pressed, not liking Gaara's choice of words.
"You don't honestly believe that, do you?" Gaara inquired cryptically. "There are far more dangerous creatures lurking within the shadow than just the nine tailed beasts, I can assure you that."
"Some even reside in our village," Naruto added, his eyes shining with hidden knowledge.
"Like what?"
"The greatest dangers lie within demons and their offspring, all other threats are near impossible to come by…" Gaara decided to leave it at that, not wishing to scare the home's occupants more than he already was.
"Oh my god," Tsunade's legs gave out as she collapsed to a seated position on the ground. "Is there anyway to avoid this?" Terrifying scenarios formulated in her head of what could happen when the time came.
"I'm sure there are, but I only know of one. However, this one Shukaku seems rather pleased about." Gaara sighed, already feeling a migraine forming due to Shukaku's dying laughter.
"Well?" Tsunade urged, not bothering to hide the urgency in her voice. "What is it?"
"She could choose a life mate. This would mean that she and her chosen demon lover would always be bound and if she were to go into heat her scent would be masked so no other male could pursue her." Gaara explained, barely suppressing the blush that was trying to crawl its way up to his face.
"Just say period, heat sounds as if I'm some animal." Sakura mumbled, slowly waking up from her nap.
"Sorry." Gaara shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat.
"Ah..." Sakura smiled sheepishly, setting her feet on the floor and stretching out her limbs. Everyone could hear her muscles pop and see a nice portion of thigh much to most of the guys' delight. Her tail swished side to side and her ears twitched while she yawned, newly developed fangs making themselves known in the dying light. Her stomach growled a few moments later causing her to blush and giggle. "I guess I'm hungry."
"Oh! And dinner's ready!" Ino announced to everyone, pulling Temari and Tenten by the sleeves to the kitchen with Hinata trailing close behind.
Kakashi smiled, ruffling her hair as if nothing happened. "Why don't you go get dressed and then we can eat."
"Okay." she complied, walking to her room in swift strides and not even bothering to turn on the light. Once in the safety of her room she pulled on a pair of black biker shorts, cutting out a hole for her tail before putting them on. Her stomach gave another growl before she jogged out of her room, already smelling the food.
Everyone was seated around the long dining table, almost at the point of being cramped, but there was enough space for everybody to eat without hitting somebody.
Sakura smiled at the sight, deciding that she would never forget it. Pulling up her seat next to the head of the table with Kakashi to her left and Tsunade to her right the seating continued as such; To the right of Tsunade was Shikamaru, then Ino, followed by Chouji and then Lee. At the end were Neji and Hinata. At the other end sat Naruto and Kiba. Akamaru was at the corner with a rather large steak just for him sitting in front of him. Across from Kakashi was Gai. Gaara sat across from Sakura. To his right was Kankuro and Temari, then Tenten, followed by Shino.
It looked so festive. But looks aside and with a cry of "Itadakimasu!" from all, they began to devour their food. And devour she did. Not only did Sakura devour her food, but she also ate seconds, thirds, and was about to go for her fourth. That is if Naruto hadn't gotten a hold of the last serving of the delicious curry.
"Hey! I was going to eat that," Sakura whined, pulling his plate towards her.
"It'll ruin your figure," came Naruto's witty reply, pulling the plate back.
"But I'm still hungry," she growled, pulling again.
"You'll get fat," he retorted, pulling back to his side of the table.
Growing irritated, Gaara reached across the table, taking the plate from them both. He then promptly ate it, earning an indignant "Meany!" from them both. He just looked at them, fighting the urge to comment on their childlike behavior. Everyone had to laugh at this.
"Sakura, I must ask you, how are you able to handle the change so well?" Tsunade questioned, everyone around the table silenced, they also wanted to know.
"It's simple really. Naruto and Gaara had to live with demons all there lives. It would be wrong of me to accept them completely, demon and all, and turn around and wish that this never happened to me. It would allmost be like I'm rejecting part of them." Sakura explained, strangely unfazed by the question.
"Sakura..." Gaara gasped, touched by her logic, but he went unheard due to Naruto jumping from his seat and giving her a bear hug, exclaiming his happiness the only way he knew how.
"Besides, in a way I actually agreed to this, through the whole ordeal, I never asked for it to be taken back, only for the pain to end." Sakura continued, picking up all the dishes and taking them to the sink to be washed later and following everybody back to the living room.
"Sakura, for the time being I want you to always travel with someone, even if it's a trip next door, is that understood?" Tsunade commanded.
"Why?" Sakura asked, not understanding at all.
"It's more for your safety than anything. The rest of Konoha won't be as accepting of you. They may even try to hurt you. I don't want to risk the safety of my number one student." Tsunade allowed for a little praise to be put in her explanation. "It's just until things get better." Tsunade finished with a smile. "Well, I've got work to do, so if you'll excuse me. Sakura, if you need anything, no matter how big or small, let me know?"
"Okay. Bye," Sakura agreed, smiling as Tsunade patted her head before leaving.
"Would you like for me to stay the night?" Hinata murmured, barely above a whisper.
"That'd be great Hinata-chan," Sakura beamed, causing most to look at her curiously. "She just asked to stay the night is all... ehehe..." Sakura blushed slightly embarrassed while explaining.
"I didn't even hear her," Naruto gasped. "You must have really good hearing." the rest of the nin looked at him as if he said the stupidest thing. Sakura's ears twitching as she grinned.
"I'll stay too," Ino offered.
"Yeah, it'll be like a sleepover or something," Tenten added before looking over to Temari. "How about you, Temari?"
"This'll be my first sleepover, of course I'm staying," Temari grinned ear to ear.
"This'll be my first sleepover too," Hinata admitted.
"Can I stay?" Naruto asked, earning another set of stares, but Sakura decided to take pity on him and nodded her head.
"Then I'm staying too. Who knows what he'll do." Neji informed, but Sakura knew otherwise. Neji just didn't want to risk the possibility of Hinata and Naruto being alone together. She also knew that Naruto had a thing for Sasuke, though he was still in the denial stages. All that was left was for Hinata to get over her crush. Sakura had plans for them, but they're going to have to be pushed back.
"Why don't you all stay?" Sakura asked, eyes almost pleading, getting a collection of agreements.
"It would be for the best. Tomorrow and on is going to be very hard for you." Kakashi informed, hiding almost successfully his sorrow. He already had a good idea about how Konoha's reaction would be, and quite frankly, he wished for it not to happen at all. But there was nothing he could do for her. Not to his knowledge anyway. But that wouldn't stop him from trying. He's already promised that he would give Sakura the same alone time as he did with Sasuke and Naruto. He would teach her some new jutsu and maybe that would make things more bearable for her.
"I'll be right back then. I need to go get some extra cloths for Hinata and myself," Neji told them, walking briskly toward the exit.
"Thank you, Neji-kun." Neji was happy nobody saw him blush as he continued his trek, smiling back at her when he got to the door before he ran out toward the Hyuuga estate.
"I'll go get our things," Temari piped up before Gaara and Kankuro could say anything. Hopping out of the broken window and pulling out her fan, she glided towards the Godaime's estate, where the sand siblings were staying.
"I'll get everybody else's. And if I were to fail, I would make you new clothes by dawn with my own hands!" Gai insisted with his nice guy pose, making Lee cheer.
"Suits me fine," Ino began before turning to Sakura. "Do you still sing?"
"Yea-WHAT? Oh, no, no no." Sakura replied, shaking her head in the negative.
"Do you still have your karaoke machine?" Ino continued, wicked grin settling over her lips.
"Why?" answering with a question, Sakura didn't like where the conversation was going.
"You used to love to sing. But you stopped for some reason, why?"
"It wasn't becoming of a Shinobi. Besides, I was terrible. So what do you guys want for dessert."
"Hey! Even I know that's a lie!" Naruto exclaimed, ignoring the change of subject.
"Yeah, I even still have the CD I made you make. I brought it since I figured it would keep you occupied and all," Ino's grin only grew as Naruto exclaimed a 'found it'. "Let's do some Karaoke. And I'm not giving you a choice." Ino's eyes darted over the room's remaining occupants, shining with unspoken threats.
The girl is fearless, I'll give her that much. Kankuro thought with a grin, watching as Ino stared Gaara down.
"Has anyone ever told you your evil?" Sakura just had to know if her sediments were shared.
"Every damn day," Ino answered from her spot by the TV as she hooked up the machine. "When everyone gets back, your singing." she left no room for an argument as Neji hopped back in through the shattered window with a backpack. Temari was not to far behind, just barely catching the end of Ino's statement.
"Sounds like fun." Temari grinned, several wicked thoughts of her own coming to mind.
"Doesn't it? All we need is for Gai-sensei to return." Ino agreed. Shikamaru was very afraid at the moment, watching the two scary blonde women plotted and schemed in a corner.
"I HAVE RETURNED!"
"Perfect timing, Sakura, could you please sing Evolution?" Ino requested, smiling sweetly. "For old times sake."
"What do I get out of this?" Sakura had every intension of staying put on the arm chair until her ears picked up a promising offer.
"I've got some free admissions to a hot spring resort."
"...Okay, let me just hear the song to remember," was all that Sakura had left to say as she put on headphones and listened, bobbing her head to the unheard music.
"This had better be good. I don't want my ears to bleed." Shikamaru voiced, much to almost everyone's agreement.
"After she sings, you won't have the same notion. When we were little and whenever Sakura was down or nervous she'd sing, but she stopped doing it suddenly. I have a feeling it had something to do with her parents." Ino explained, confident that Sakura wouldn't here them over the music. She then signalled for everyone to stop talking when Sakura got ready to sing.
At first her voice and movements were shaky. But, gradually, that passed. Her voice became clear and lovely; the emotion of the song being heard through the happy notes. Her movements matching the lyrics, but at the same time she remained stationary, as if too afraid to let go and let the music take over. The song came to an end before she could fully shake off her nervousness. Her singing was marvelous either way, but her fear took a little away from it.
"Still think she can't sing?" The collection of open mouths answered her question. "Moto!" Ino demanded.
"...fine." Sakura just sighed, not entirely against it right now. It felt so good to sing again and she was having fun, even if she wasn't entirely pleased with her previous performance. Her body was still shaking a little from her nerves, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. "But not by myself!" Sakura decided. "You two are dancing with me!" Sakura pointed at both Ino and Hinata.
"Wha-?" Hinata choked on a glass of water.
"You heard me. If I'm going down, you going down with me, and don't think you two are off the hook Temari, Tenten!"
"Fine." Ino was unfazed, pulling Hinata up with her and dragging her and Sakura to Sakura's room so they could change into something 'more appropriate' as Ino put it. Sakura's anime tears did not go unnoticed.
"I didn't think you'd agree!" she whined before the door was slammed behind her.
"This I have to see." Shikamaru stated, eager to see what Ino had planned.
"Don't hope for the worst just yet." Neji defended, he too was eager to see this, but for a different reason.
A commotion seemed to be coming from Sakura's room with a series of 'I'm not wearing that now!' and such.
"At least Sakura's more relaxed now. You gotta' give Ino points for that." Kakashi grinned. "Ino is just better than us when it comes to such things. Without anyone knowing what's really going on she can make you feel better."
"Must be a girl thing." Shikamaru concluded.
Ino had just closed the door before ordering the two girls to sit on the bed. She then yanked open the closet door and pulled out whatever article of clothing interested her. This ranged from skirts, hip huggers, halter tops, tank tops, vests, belts and an assortment of jewelry.
"I'm going to need your claws for a minute Saku-chan." Ino told Sakura, pulling out a marker and drawing all types of lines on the clothes. "Cut where the lines are."
"...okay." Sakura surveyed the chosen clothes, seeing that none of them where her favorites. She began to run her claws over the fabric, finding a strange pleasure in using them. Filing this tidbit of information away to analyze later, she finished the task at hand. "What next?"
"We're wearing them, what else did you expect?" Ino wanted to laugh at Sakura's blush of discomfort.
"I'm not wearing that now!" Sakura retaliated with her ears flattening against her head, blush evident on her cheeks.
This time Ino did laugh, seeing that Hinata wanted to say something along those lines too but was to shy to say it. "Once you put it on, you'll see it's not so bad." Ino comforted, watching as they reluctantly made their selections before stripping down to their undergarments. Once she had made sure neither of the two kunoichi would need her help, Ino selected what was left and dressed.
Ino's outfit was a black jean mini, never been worn much to her disbelief, along with a black jean vest. Her hair remained in her high ponytail. Knee high boots and an assortment of chains, bracelets and a black chord around her neck finished her look.
Hinata had shredded hip hugging jeans with tares around the thighs and several chains wrapped around her waist. A white undershirt was tied up at the back to show her flat stomach. She also had several bracelets and a chord around her neck as well, but the chord was brown with a bird hanging from it. Her long hair was in a low ponytail. Ankle high boots gracing her feet, though secretly she thought they were unnecessary.
Sakura also had shredded pants but they were made of leather, shredded similarly to that of Hinata's. She wore another black jean vest and a collar around her neck. The bracelets and chains were a reoccurring theme for them. Her boots rose to mid-calf.
"Now for the make up." Ino pulled out the little used makeup kit out from Sakura's vanity and pulled Hinata in front of both her and the mirror. She then applied liquid eyeliner to Hinata's top lid and a faint pink lip-gloss. Then it was time for Sakura. For her, Ino used the eyeliner to give her the Egyptian cat-eye look with the same faint lip-gloss. Sakura's tail twitched at the strange feeling, not used to the feel of makeup. Ino did the same for herself as Hinata.
"Now we're done." Ino giggled, already leading them out of the room, but was forced to stop.
Both girls had dug their heels into the carpet, defiant looks painted onto their faces. They both refused to get out.
"Temari! Tenten! Help me get them out," Ino ordered, poking her head out of the room.
Not knowing what else to do, the girls listened. This made everyone rather curious. But the squeal that the girls made brought that curiosity to its pique. They didn't have to wait long as Ino stepped out, dragging out Hinata with Tenten pushing her in front of the TV. Everyone couldn't help but stare, making Hinata feel like a deer stuck in the headlights of an oncoming truck. Looking both ways, she tried to find a means of escape. But Sakura soon followed, putting up a better fight by holding onto the doorframe. But it wasn't enough; she was pulled out anyway, gouging out some of the wood as she was pulled away to the living room.
"I'll only make you sing two songs, I promise," Ino lied, having no intension of doing so and knowing all the ways around the promise without breaking it. "First 'My Name' then 'Moto', but if you want and if we can get someone to do the rap, 'Girl's on top'."
"...fine."
If one were to gauge the performance as it started, one would say that Ino danced the best. Nervousness was nonexistent for the blond. But Hinata and Sakura caught up, Sakura's singing never faltering. My name had a simple enough dance for the girls to gain confidence in their movements before the choreography was completely destroyed, pulling themselves together around the middle of the song.
Moto, however, was an entirely different matter all together. The dance was more complicated, but they nailed it perfectly. Their confidence had boosted to a point of being unwavering. They matched their movements perfectly to the beat.
"If you do one more I could do the rap for the Girl's on top." Kiba offered.
"...I don't know..."
"A hundred bucks says yes." Kiba bribed.
"No, a hundred bucks and expensive perfume says yes for one person." Sakura stated.
"Done!" Temari announced "Gaara would be glad to pay it." Temari finished, completely ignoring her little brother's death glare.
"Fine, Spark then Girl's on top, then somebody else can sing." Sakura then marched to the machine and changed it to the right song.
Needless to say, the kunoichi were almost flawless.
Author's note: part 2 will be up in 1-5 days and then, the real story. Hope you liked.
Author's Note 2: Yeah, the songs are as follows:
Evolution by Ayumi Hamasaki
My Name by BoA
Moto by BoA
Spark by BoA
Girls on top by BoA
Onward to chapter 3, but before that, CLICK THE BUTTON! Review, I know you want to. It's so hard to deny. CLICK the damn BUTTON!