MasterOfFate- I'm really glad you like it. Just to let you know, I do have ideas for the chunin exams that I hope you like as much as you liked the first few parts.

Diamond-Rose Sisters- Haha, indeed he is. I'm a sucker for putting the title in the story somewhere. In all of my ideas/old stories I do it. All the Gaara ones, the Lee one, and the L one. Man, I hope I have time to write them all.

Pretty Cute for a Red-Head(Part 4: Anger of the Beast)

'Soft? Why is my spot soft?' ~Uh Ami…~ I looked down to see another pair of legs under mine. I jumped up faster that a hand on a hot stove pulls away. "What are you doing here? I'm sorry for the rude awakening but this is my roof and that is the spot I always sit on when I want to think or star gaze. Please, explain yourself," I rushed the words out.

I hadn't even looked to see who it was yet, as I was averting my pink eyes from embarrassment. Finally deciding to face the stranger I looked up to see strikingly red hair and piercing eyes. They weren't quite blue, but they weren't quite green either. Teal didn't seem right, but neither did aqua. I would decide on a color later. What was important now was the one I had discovered was Gaara, and that he was the one I had landed in the lap of.

"I was simply sitting here. I did not know this was your roof, or that you usually sat in this particular spot. I apologize. I do wonder though how you did that. You were right on top of me and my sand did nothing," Gaara mused. "Perhaps because my arrival was instantaneous your sand couldn't react in time. You still have not told me why you are here," I pressed. I did not like people I didn't know being on my roof let alone being as close as I had been to them. Ever since I had been dragged into 'his' life I developed a space rule. Everyone was at an arm's length away from me at all times.

"My sand is instantaneous. It always shields me at all times. Watch," he said as he quickly drew a kunai. I immediately put myself on guard. Instead of turning on me as I predicted he went to stab himself in the wrist. An unexplained concern rose in me. I did not know him, but I didn't want to see him hurt himself, that was not the kind of behavior I could be passive about. Before I could act I witnessed what he had initially wanted to demonstrate. Sand immediately guarded against the kunai. "Even I cannot get through it. Why would it allow you to pass so easily?" he questioned accusingly.

"Why are you here?" I asked, completely ignoring his accusations. I was tired of him sitting there as if he wasn't on my property uninvited. He looked at me with an emotionless face. "I don't like people and I wanted to be alone," he said. That was reasonable enough. "Well, I am here now and I wasn't planning on leaving as this is my place, so if you want to be alone you will need to go someone else," I said matter-of-factly.

After a few moments of silence I realized he wasn't leaving. I let out an exasperated sigh as I asked, "Can I at least have my spot back?" Without saying a word he simply scooted over a few feet. I sat down with my legs criss-crossed Indian style. We sat there for hours without saying a word. We had been there so long that the moon was now high in the sky.

His presence was starting to annoy me. He just sat there like he owned the place, like I wouldn't or couldn't make him leave. I had to figure out more about him. Even if he wouldn't answer my questions they might bother him enough to make him leave so I could sit without all these thoughts buzzing about me.

"Earlier, when you were scolding your teammate, you threatened his life. I could see in your eyes that you meant it. Why would you hold such contempt for someone in your team? They are the key to your success on missions and to further yourself as a shinobi," I prodded. He looked at me with an empty stare and said, "He is not just my teammate, but also my older brother. Temari, the girl, is my older sister."

'That makes what he said even stranger. I know siblings tend to threaten to kill each other when they are getting on each other's nerves, but the threats are nearly always empty. The only exception I know of is Sasuke, but in that case Itachi killed his entire family and clan.' ~This boy is quite interesting. Spend enough time near him and I'm sure you'll find out the answers to all of your questions.~ Anei always seemed to know more than she would tell me about.

"I do not care about anyone. They are unimportant to me. Love for others is vulnerability. For true success, for me to fulfill my purpose I must love only myself. Idiots like my siblings are annoying inconveniences I must deal with until they are no longer of use," he continued coldly.

His answer stunned me into silence. He fired a question of his own at me, which caught me off guard. "You told me I didn't know the difference between fear and concern. You are correct. I have to ask, what is?" I sat there for a moment, pondering how to answer him.

"You do not wish to answer? Or are you afraid to?" he asked calmly. "I am not afraid, I am just thinking of the right way to answer. You don't scare me as much as you seem to wish," I informed him coolly. A few moments passed before the right words came to me.

"Fear is an emotion that consumes. It fills you to the brim, triggering survival instincts. Other thoughts are tainted by it. It clouds even the most rational minds and drives people to do things they might not normally do. Concern, on the other hand, is not as self focused generally. While you can fear for someone else, that person has to be very close to you and have to be in big trouble before it is sparked. Concern usually isn't as big of a deal. It's more of a worry, generally for someone else or for something outside of you, such as my concern for my teammates, or my concern about my future. Concern generally isn't imminent where fear is. More examples include how people fear death but are concerned for their health. Do you understand?" I wasn't sure if I had gotten it quite right.

"That is an adequate explanation," he said before sinking back into silence. I sighed. It was not that I didn't like the quiet; it was that this strange boy was sitting on my roof, perplexing the hell out of me. As the sun started to peak up over the horizon I slipped down through the window into my room. I got out a clean version of my outfit and then went into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Fifteen minutes later I stepped back into my room in nothing but a towel and ran into none other than the boy who had been on my roof. "What the hell do you think you're doing Gaara? Get out of here! Now!" I screamed at him, my blood boiling and my red eyes glaring daggers at him. ~Why are you tolerating this? Kill him… Kill him now… He has defiled you…~ Anei egged me on. I was teetering on the edge of losing it when he turned and walked out. After a few deep breathes I had calmed down enough to get dressed and prepared for the rest of my day.

Gaara's POV

It had been about fifteen or twenty minutes since that girl had gone inside. She was quite the curiosity. She didn't run from me, and even allowed me to sit here on her roof. There was definitely something different about her, and I needed to know what it was. I moved through the window she had gone through before, hoping to observe her a bit more.

As I came in I heard water shut off. A few seconds later she came back to this room. Her black hair was wet and was clinging to her figure. A towel was the only thing covering her body from view. She bumped into me since she wasn't paying attention. I witnessed her violet eyes change to blood red. "What the hell do you think you're doing Gaara? Get out of here! Now!" she shouted at me. She had the audacity to shout at me. Did she not know who I was? Did she not realize the stupidity of her actions? I could kill her. I could kill her right here right now and not even blink.

~I wouldn't push it kid. It may not be as easy as it looks. For now just walk away. Not that I particularly want to stop looking at her…~ I listened to him but questioned him in my mind. 'Exactly what are you implying Shukaku? Also, I would appreciate it if you'd stop being such a pervert. It's unbecoming.' ~I'm implying she's more than meets the eye. Figure the rest out for yourself. And don't tell me not to be a pervert. I'm stuck in your body, and you don't ever do or even look at anything. I take what I can get.~ 'You are disgusting.'

I pushed his thoughts away as best as I could. I was tired of him constantly tainting my thoughts whenever a girl crossed my path. I was sitting in a chair downstairs in the kitchen when I heard Ami's door open and slam shut.

Ami's POV

I was still angry as I walked down to fix myself a quick breakfast. 'He's still here…' ~Kill him… Kill him…~ Anei's bloodlust was mixing with my own anger at his actions. "Why are you still here? You should leave. After what you did, spying on me like that…" I trailed off, fighting to control myself. "I did not mean to see what I did. I just wanted to find out more about your power," he said nonchalantly. His lack of remorse was not helping. Grabbing a granola bar I headed for the front door and he followed. "I have to train with my team today. So if you'd mine following someone else I'd really appreciate it," I said as I opened my front door.

"Hey Ami, I just came to walk with you to practice…" Sasuke trailed off as he saw the red-head walk out of my house. Without a goodbye or anything, Gaara vanished in a whirlwind of sand. After walking for a few moments in an awkward silence Sasuke piped up, "So… What was he doing at your house?" The accusation stung worse than a kunai in the back. Once again, my anger flared. "What you are suggesting is not only impossible, but it is an awful terrible showing of what you think of me," I spat before dashing away with inhuman speed.

At the training ground I began with taijutsu, hoping to use up all of my anger energy. This idea wasn't working out so well. I ended up cracking a few trees in half and smashing the training posts. "Ami? Are you ok? You seem really upset," Naruto asked with concern. "Leave her alone Naruto, she just needs some space right now," Sakura warned. "Ami's my best friend, I'm going to help her anyway I can," he said while performing the single worst act he could have while I was in my condition.

He had put his arm around my shoulders. A simple enough gesture to most, it was usually a death sentence for whoever did it to me. That broke the strand of control I was keeping. My eyes drained of color, leaving them pure white other than the pupils and the circles around the irises. A busy black tail sprouted from me as well as a pair of black wolf ears. My teeth sharpened into fangs and my nails became claws. I was still the dominant mind, but I was using Anei more now, letting her powers fuse with me. Watching in horror as this happened all of my teammates started backing away from me in fear.

"What's the matter everyone? Scared? Good, you should be," a demonic voice came out instead of my natural one. Immediately I grabbed Naruto's arm and threw him across the field right into a tree trunk. He hit it with astounding force, causing it to fall over. Next I turned to Sasuke, "So, the mighty Uchiha is frightened? You talk so tough but can't back it up. I'll teach you to regret making smug remarks at other people's expense."

I sprinted straight at him, my snow white eyes glaring into his activated Sharingan. They weren't any help, as my movements were too fast even for the legendary kekkei genkai. He managed to dodge a few punches but I soon landed a kick straight in his gut. It sent him flying across the field until he skidded to a stop. Sakura jumped in front of him, hoping to shield him from me. I laughed at her efforts, "You pathetic little girl. What hope do you have of standing up to me? You can't do anything. All you're good for is standing there looking frightened as the rest of us actually do something about what's happening. Trying to protect him is futile." I could see my words stung her but I didn't care. I was out for blood.

A swift punch in the face dealt with the pink haired kunouchi easily. Once she was out of my way I turned my attention back to Sasuke. "Such a shame. The last of your clan and you're such a weakling. What would they think of you? What would your parents say? How does it make you feel know that Itachi was right?" I was trying to heart him. I wanted him to lash out at me. My plan worked. He ran at me in rage at my words. I smirked at his feeble attempt to smite me. I jumped over him with a flip and then stopped him in his tracks.

Sasuke screamed in pain as I manipulated his shadow. Pulling it away from him was causing him excruciating pain. I let out an inhuman laugh when Naruto rose to face me again. "Ami! Stop this right now or I'll make you stop," he threatened. I did not care what he did. In fact, I could go for having some more fun. Just as he began to rush towards me, something, or someone, stopped him.

"Ami, I know you can control this. You need to get a hold of yourself," Kakashi had arrived late as usual. I glared over at him. "You're hurting your friends. Stop and see what you're doing. I know you don't really want this," Kakashi tried to soothe me, all the while prepared to fight me himself. "Friends..?" I mumbled. I met the eyes of all my teammates as I dropped to my knees. The ears and tail disappeared, my nails and teeth went back to normal, and my eyes became a deep sapphire blue. "I… I'm sorry…" I barely managed to say. Noticing a foreign object I shot my hand out, snatching it right out of the air.