Recap:
We were going to complete our objective when we made camp in a vast field of white flowers. Tenten said she loved them, and you didn't seem to mind staying there. But right as the moon snuck out from behind the clouds, hundreds of enemy appeared out of no where, just at the tree line surrounding our camp."
I stood in a vast field, filled with long wild grass and white flowers. The full moon was out, casting its eerie glow on everything. It made the entire world seem black and white – that there was a right and wrong. No in-between. No insanity. So I stood there for a moment longer, smiling to myself, eyes closed. This scene was so beautiful, so perfect and yet…
"You were the one that noticed them first, and you went straight for them. You were an unstoppable force. I had never, in all of my life, seen you fight like that.. It looked like you were getting pleasure from killing them.. Like the blood was making you smile."
My pale lavender orbs slowly opened, looking over everything again while this sinking, gnawing feeling ate away at my insides... But now, that gnawing feeling wasn't destroying me; it was making me laugh. I was tearing through their bodies, one by one, spray covering my form, but I couldn't stop laughing. I thought to myself, This is too much fun! Come on, bring more!
"Oh, Neji... It was such a grotesque sight.. We had killed all but the remaining two or three when it had happened; one of their ninja used a curse jutsu on you. They.. They made you turn on us, Neji-san. Even after I had killed the last of them, you thrashed and attacked like a man possessed. I was not able to stop you before Tenten was already dead."
Her buns, usually so neat, were loose, casting that chocolate brown hair around her like a veil, hiding her face from my sight. Her chest and stomach, however, were maimed with many open wounds and gashes, and the blood that once kept her alive was now spilling around her in pools. I just stared at her, pale eyes wide, wondering how this could have happened: wondering that, if I would have been here sooner…
"I do not blame you for her death, but that does not mean that you are immaculate in my eyes, Neji Hyuuga. Whatever they did to you at the end does not explain what happened to you when you killed the first one. It does not explain how sick and twisted you looked. I do not know what took away the Neji-san I always knew... But I am, as always, still your friend. I will help you as best as I can."
"Remember, Neji-san. Gaara-san is here for you, too. You are not alone." He attempted a smile, but I stared up at him in shock.
"Lee... Y-You know Gaara? How?"
"Oh, that is right, Neji-san," He chuckled softly, as if remembering something. "You were not with me when I had to finish the mission. Sadly, that is why I could not proclaim you innocent– I was with Gaara-san, giving him the scroll. His village had declared war on the village that cursed you, causing the death of his allies. Konoha joined them in the fight, but it was short-lived.
"Gaara-san unleashed his demon, and destroyed the town before anyone else even arrived.."
Aching. That's the only way I could describe what was left of me; I sat there, on the floor of the Rec Hall, my mind consisting of everything Lee had just told me, coupled with the sense of dread that came with the realization that I had actually killed her. I had killed my teammate, whom I had sworn to protect. I slammed my fists on the wall with a harsh growl before I reeled, curling into myself. It wasn't in me to simply lose all hope now that I knew the truth. If anything, it made me want to fight more; I wanted to find out what the fuck was wrong with my head and fix it as soon as possible. Why I could kill people and suddenly feel happy..
Those eyes.
I had killed like that recently, with full knowledge of what I was doing for those fucking eyes of his.
Speaking of that demon, I glanced around the room again. He was no where to be found. I furrowed my brow. Where the fuck could he have gone? It's not like he should be walking around this place. The last time I saw him, he was still injured-
My thought was completely interrupted when the door to the hall was thrown open [though not hard enough to hit the wall; that would be a 9 out of 10 on the list of 'Things That Piss The Guards Off']. My eyes saw something at that moment that I thought I'd never see: I saw Gaara's sea foam eyes full of worry and, even wore, fear, and it made my heart twist into knots and curl into itself as I rose to my feet, closing the distance between us. He never moved, his eyes tearing away from mine to look at the ground. I reached out to touch him.
"So, did they tell you?"
And my hand never felt heavier. He's upset because you know that he murdered hundreds and thousands of people, Neji. In retaliation for forcing you to kill your friend. God damn it, let the kid know that you're not afraid of him! My mind roared at me, and my logic was right. My hand finally brushed against his cheek, cupping his face in my hand. He looked up, full of surprise and confusion before I closed the gap between us.
A kiss.
When I pull away from him, I hear the words: "So, you don't hate me?"
They're almost a whisper, but those words snap me out of fog that I had been in since Lee had visited. I never could hate the boy in front of me, no matter how many people he killed, how many atrocities he had committed. He was my demon. I couldn't despise him. For the first time in a long time, my signature smirk appeared on my face. Gaara must've noticed, too, from the growl - actually, fuck that. It sounded more like a purring - that came out of his throat, his eyes full of a sort of dark laughter. My digits moved up his face to tangle in his hair, pulling him closer to me. "You could rip my goddamned heart out, and I couldn't bring myself to even utter a single syllable of slander against your name, demon. Now, instead of just standing there looking like you're going to melt, get over here and let me hold you. Now. " I punctuated the last word as I slowly turned over, now sitting Indian-style on the ground.
It was a matter of seconds before I was being straddled by my demon, his eyes full of rage. I guess I knew how to push his buttons just enough. He growled, viciously yanking at my hair to pull my face closer to his. "For the record, Hyuuga, I wouldn't take your heart anyways. Sarcasm tastes like shit," He spat at me before crashing his lips into mine once again.
And, for a brief moment, I considered myself happy.
Well, as happy as someone could be in my position. I mean, fuck. Compared to the days when the most I had to worry about was getting killed by enemies or Gai and Lee trying to put me in those damned green spandex suits, I was miserable. But if I compared myself to the others here, the ones with no hope, no emotion, nothing.. I'd say I was fan-fucking-tastic. It's kind of funny.
I was rather content with myself at the moment.
But then, I heard the words: "So, what did Lee say?" And I thought my heart was going to stop, and that I was going to roll over and die right then and there.. But I didn't. Instead, I smiled a little wider and said: "I did kill her, but I don't remember it.. Something dealing with a curse-jutsu, how it wasn't really me, and that Lee is concerned that I'm going to become a blood-crazy serial killer if I'm not trapped in here with you. With is far from the truth, by the way, since I know you've been keeping my kill count since I got here. What am I at? I'm thinking around seven or eight."
My odd attempt at humor actually worked, and the demon laughed. My heart soared at that, my newfound [and strange, very, very strange] confidence growing with that. "Don't be full of yourself. You're only at five."
I fucking love him.
He got off of me, offering a hand, which I gladly took and got to my feet. How symbolic. You just died on the inside, but all it took was him to get you back up again. My mind teased, and I chuckled inwardly. It was true; this was completely ridiculous. But, then again, everything was fucking ridiculous.
Ridiculous.
"Gaara."
He turned to face me, his look of confusion. My voice was different. Somehow, as this thought grew inside of my mind, I was changing. I was myself still, but now with the news that Tenten had been killed at my hand and I fucking accepted it, I felt.. superior. Better than I had before. I guess its because I officially knew what happened, and that it hadn't [necessarily] been my fault. I tightened my hands into fists, then loosened them. I felt strong. I had nothing to worry about anymore. The only reason I was still here - the only reason that Gaara was here at all - was because people felt that we were too fucking dangerous to handle on our own, so we needed to be locked away somewhere so they wouldn't have to worry about us. Someplace were vultures could sit on their pedestals and peck out our eyes until we finally gave up.
Fucking vultures.
But I was better than they were because I knew. I knew what I had done, what happened to me. I knew that I was going to do in those moments, looking at the people in the Rec Hall that had crowded around us. Mainly just myself, Gaara, Skeleton Girl, and a few others. Most importantly, I knew what I would eventually do. I have a goal, a mission. I had a reason to keep fighting.
"We're leaving."
Gaara gave me a look that made me, for a brief moment, feel stupid. "And how the fuck do you suppose we're going to do that? You don't think I've tried?" He told me, venom in his words. It was like the mention of freedom had stung him, but I wasn't so quick to give up.
"I have it all under control. These fucking vultures have no idea how to stop me from killing them. They just know that I wouldn't leave without you, but you obviously can't go because they still have you."
"They do not have me!" Gaara's voice roared into my ears. He was seething with rage, his eyes poolso f liquid hate. "They took away Shukaku!"
"The demon?" I asked, raising a brow with a smirk.
"Oh, fuck you. Yes, the demon! I could get myself out of here in a matter of seconds with him, but they have him sealed away. I can't even get near enough to him to hear him! How the fuck are you going to fix things?" He was shaking out of his rage by this point, so tense that it made me cringe just to look at him.
But I closed the distance between us. I felt a sudden 'click' inside of me before my chakra over-powered its seals and began to flow through my system. I simply reached up my hand and, with two fingers, poked Gaara on the forehead. He was stunned for a moment as markings appeared on his forehead, the markings of a powerful containment seal. Then, in a blur of motion, I proceeded to unlock all of his chakra pressure points, eventually ending with the head once again. To me, this was easy.
There was one final click before those ink markings turned into actual liquid, dripping off of my precious redhead. At first, he seemed stunned. Confused. In awe. But that face quickly changed into a look of pure demonic bloodlust and happiness. He lunged at me, his lips connecting with mine and I felt a spark within him that I had never felt. When he pulled away, I could see, out of the corner of my eye, some of the sand in the room start to move and shift, awakening to it's new master.
"I told you. I've got this completely under control. But, Gaara?"
His eyes looked up at me. He didn't say anything, but I knew I had his full attention.
"Not yet."
The sand froze in place, and he looked shell-shocked. "WHAT? Why? Why shouldn't I go claw out their insides right now and get the fuck out of here? After everything they've done to me.. To them.. to you.. Why? WHY?" He grasped the collar on my shirt tightly, pulling me down to his eye-level.
I was unfazed by the demon laced in his voice. "Because," I said simply, kissing the tattoo on his forehead, which made him settle down enough to let go of my collar, "I have a plan."
