So during my adventures over the last few years, I had the opportunity to work on a remote construction site. It was on a logging road, on the other end of another logging road, up past mile 101 (colloquially called Wonowon... I know, right?) on the Alaskan Highway in northern British Columbia, Canada. Waaaaaay out in the boonies. I got intimately acquainted with the wonders of clay roads in the rain. Clay roads really are that gloppy. I skidded all over in 3/4 ton pickups (never buy a Dodge Ram for anything but highway, they're crap on gravel and clay and don't offroad worth a shit... even a Toyota is better than a Dodge Ram... my coworkers told me that the best were GMCs), and walked in my steel-toed rubber boots through mud so thick that I would pick up 10 lbs worth (about 4 kilos) walking from one end of the parking lot to the other. I am definitely not exaggerating what a sloppy mess clay roads can be. So... yeah. 50 km shorter, but a hell of a lot longer in the rainy season. I've seen roads so bad it took nearly two hours by truck to go 10 km (6 miles).

This chapter title is a reference to the Nine Inch Nails song, also from the 90s. For obvious reasons. There are a few lemons in this chapter. The first one skirts non-con. I understand that not all of my readers want to read lemons, and some don't want to read certain kinds of lemons in specific (like things involving sand bondage and things not explicitly consensual and fully agreed upon). Others want to read just the lemons. So to that effect, I have marked where the lemons begin and end. The first lemon ends with the line ~~firstlemonend~~ so if you search for that you can get to the end (it begins right away) and skip back to the story. The second lemon begins with ~~secondlemonstart~~ and goes literally to the end of the chapter. I don't like to break immersion, but I also know that there are people who want to avoid or seek certain content.

As always, thanks so much to 93d1c5 for the beta job!

Chapter 9 – Closer; or, pop goes the cherry

Gaara's mind had ceased all rational thought. Adrenaline and lust surged through him, and his breathing skipped a beat as his sand brought the viper-tongued kunoichi to her knees in front of him. Hot bolts of pure desire lanced to his groin, where his manhood jumped in response.

"Shut up, kunoichi," he snarled. "Or I'll shut you up."

Karin glared at him, red eyes like coals on him, defiant even though she fully expected to end up a pulp in a few moments. She took a breath and opened her mouth to launch another volley of insults. "You—,"

She got no further. Gaara's sand surged up around her, surrounding her totally. Before she was fully engulfed, she took one last breath, figuring this was the end and once more kicking herself over the surge of sexual excitement that burned through her. Seriously, she was going to die here, why the fuck was she turned on? She knew he was dangerously close to snapping, and everything inside her was pushing on her to shove him past that point.

Beyond conscious thought, Gaara's fingers were rapidly at work on his hakama and fundoshi. They pooled to the ground around his feet just as the surge of sand subsided, dragging her to closer to him. He took a step forward, mouth parted in a slight snarl.

"If you can't shut up, perhaps you should use that mouth for something useful," he snapped at her. His cock jumped in its flaming nest of hair. She stared at him like he'd grown a second head. Somehow, she was not dead, and he was going to…

"You perverted ba—," she managed, just before he gripped her hair and filled her mouth with him.

It never occurred to her to bite, which was fortunate, because then she really would have ended up dead, just on his reflex action. Part of her still hadn't fully realized this was actually happening. This was surreal. But it was, indeed, happening. The musky scent of his arousal filled her lungs as she breathed. It did nothing to quell her own heat.

"Suck it, bitch," Gaara snapped at her. Chung-Hee was right. This was the way to silence a shrew.

Karin sucked, trying not to think of how wet she was, or this disturbing new discovery of how much being dominated by a crazy guy got her hot. She'd sucked cock before, and considered herself pretty good at it. Vaguely, she wondered what the hell she'd just gotten herself into, as she went on to prove she couldn't just suck but deep throat.

Gaara hissed, a sound like steam escaping a punctured boiler. He might not know what he was doing, but she clearly knew what she was doing. This was totally different from his own hands. Those were curling in her hair right now – a part of him noticed how soft it was and how striking the bright cherry red locks looked wrapped around his pale fingers. Then she did something with her throat, making some kind of noise, and he realized that he wasn't going to last more than a few moments with her doing that.

She was a little surprised at how fast he came... but then again he must have been seriously worked up just to do this. His hips thrust involuntarily, grinding against her face, and she heard him groan as he released down her throat. She swallowed out of reflex, which produced a sharp gasp from him.

Gaara stared down at Karin, breathing hard. Now that he'd came, some of his senses came back to him, and he realized that he'd just... he'd just totally face-fucked Naruto's pet probationer. Alright, he really wasn't a shining example of sanity and restraint, right now. As he relaxed his grip on her hair, her eyes lifted to meet his. The combination of fury and lust in their red depths shot straight back to his groin.

He looked ... shocked, really, she thought as he withdrew from her mouth. The sands enveloping her quivered and she wondered suddenly if he was into snuff and about to kill her. Gaara's cock was half-mast and rising again. The shocked look in his eyes was swiftly being replaced by a cunning, predatory sharpness. Kami, but he was fucked up. And so was she. Her insides burned with desire and she was probably soaking his sand.

He felt like a furnace, suddenly too hot. His hands were fumbled with the buckles of his flak jacket. He could feel her through his sand, shaking. And yes, he could feel her dampness leaking into his sand, and he wasn't so innocent that he didn't know what that might mean. Kankurō had bragged about getting girls so hot they soaked themselves before in his earshot. The Sand shinobi tossed aside his protective armour, even as he manipulated his sand into hands to peel Karin out of her clothes.

"You are one crazy fucker, Gaara," she snapped, glaring right into his eyes. She could feel what the sand was doing as raspy fingers of it slipped under her shirt. He twitched at her words. Her peripheral vision caught his cock jerking when she spoke. Oh yeah, he was a crazy fucker, alright. Quite possibly literally.

"You just—" he started, his words muffled as he pulled off his shirt, "don't know when to stop. Do you?!" His sand moved, and all of a sudden she couldn't see and everything around her was moving. The sand undulated, grabbing at her, removing the last of her clothing. She attempted to thrash, panicking momentarily. Damn bastard. Was he going to kill her now?

He could feel her struggling, and didn't care. He wanted those damn clothes off, and he always got what he wanted. He wanted to feel her naked skin against his own. His blood felt like it was on fire. The sands parted to his will, exposing her scarred, bite mark-covered form to his hungry eyes. He didn't care how bitten up she was. He just wanted her. He reached for her.

When she felt warm hands that were not made of sand cup her breasts, Karin realized that not only was she not dead, but she probably wasn't going to die right now, and those fantasies plaguing her with more and more frequency over the last few weeks were about to come true. She gasped as the gritty stuff slid away from her face, taking her glasses with it. The blur of pale skin, smudge of greenish blue eyes and bright red hair that was Gaara's face descended on hers, his mouth closing on hers roughly. His hand slid down her flank and his fingers dug into her sides, she could feel his nails pressing into her skin as he pulled her body against his. She could feel his cock against her belly, pressing hard against her. His chakra was like a nimbus around him, ragged-edged and searingly bright.

Feeling her skin, the heat of her body, did absolutely nothing to calm Gaara at all. He kissed her hard, bruisingly, biting her lips. He could feel her in the sand, trying to move, but whether it was towards him or away from him, he couldn't tell. With his sand, he pulled her legs apart and her arms out, spread eagled, and lowered them both to the floor of the cave. With one hand on her breasts, he used the other to reach for her crotch, and he was shocked at how slippery and wet she was. He explored fumblingly, a finger brushing against something nubbly and suddenly sliding into her depths, and he almost ignited right there at her bitten off moan and shudder.

Karin stopped struggling when his hand went for her. She was so painfully aroused that even the light stroke of his fingers against her clit was enough to flare her blood into liquid fire. She desperately attempted to stifle her own reaction. He released her mouth and leaned back, breathing hard, eyes boring into hers, face fixed into a demonic grin. She felt him adjust, felt the sand holding her tighten and shift, and something else joined his hand brushing her nethers. Both of his hands came up to grip her shoulders as he thrust, suddenly, into her.

She couldn't stifle the cry that came as he filled her, his hardness sliding easily into her soaking wet depths. Her back arched. If her hands had been free she would be digging her nails in his back right now. She heard him growl, a primal sound that only served to intensify the surge of pleasure she felt as he began to move with deep, hard thrusts.

Gaara was losing his mind entirely. Instinct had already taken over; he pounded mindlessly into the moaning kunoichi. Everywhere his body contacted hers felt like it was on fire with pleasure, especially his throbbing cock, embedded deep within her. If he hadn't come once already, he would have lasted mere seconds at the feel of her. His senses seemed insanely heightened, particularly his sense of touch. Encasing himself in sand armour most of the time made his unprotected skin incredibly sensitive. Now, that sensitivity was almost more than he could handle. The fire burning in his lower belly only seemed to get hotter, more intense, as he took her wildly on a bed of his own sand.

Gaara's own involuntary moans joined Karin's as he gripped her. Karin was amazed at how hard he was, and how every movement he made inside her and against her skin just seemed to wind her up even more. Her cries got louder, sharper, as he thrust into her harder and deeper. Every inch of her skin burned with his touch. She was going to peak, soon; oh dear Kami, this crazy asshole was going to make come like she'd never come before! She couldn't hold back her vocal cords.

Karin's cries turned into screams, cutting through Gaara's mindless thrusting and dragging his consciousness right back into his head. What the fuck was going on? Gaara had caused plenty of screams before in his life, but those had been of pain, fear, even abject terror. This was totally different. Karin's screams penetrated straight to his core, and he could only gasp in shocked pleasure as she began to shake and arch her back in his sand, insides convulsing around his cock.

"Kami!" he breathed, astounded. Momentum kept him moving for a few thrusts, then his arms and legs seemed to lose all strength for a moment as his whole body was flooded with intense pleasure. The world went white as he came, vision blanking, unaware of his own hoarse scream. Karin's orgasm, which had started to subside, intensified once more as she felt him pulse inside her. Between the sudden, intense flare of his chakra and the incredible pleasure, she almost blacked out.

He collapsed on top of her, momentarily senseless. They were both breathing hard, hearts pounding. While Gaara tried to recover the shreds of his sanity, Karin attempted to parse out what had just happened. She was somehow still alive, despite mashing Gaara's buttons as hard as she possibly could. She apparently really got off on danger and being dominated. And, when Gaara went crazy he turned into the greatest fuck she'd ever had. Or at least, turned her on so much that it seemed that way. That had been incredible.

Gaara wasn't entirely sure what had just happened, but his murderous pre-pubescent self could never have imagined the existence-affirming effect of having a kunoichi screaming underneath him. He felt lightheaded and confused. He hadn't lost control like that since he'd been a homicidal kid. Only… the feel of her heart pounding against his own chest told him he hadn't killed her. Those were definitely not the screams of the dying. No, Gaara had lost control and fucked Konoha's annoying little bitch of a probationer into screaming orgasm on the sand-covered floor of a cave in the middle of nowhere.

Oh Kami, he hadn't just added rape to his list of crimes against humanity, had he? He hadn't exactly asked her consent. His stomach twisted at the thought. Almost involuntarily, he leaned back, his sand suddenly releasing her limbs, and stared into her face, unconsciously searching for something he couldn't understand. What now?

All she could make out without her glasses was the pale green-blue smear of his eyes boring into hers. Karin blinked at him in confusion. Involuntarily, her freed hands went to his hips. His chakra – that beacon which she had steadily become unable to shut out even without Kagura Shingan active – had spiked in a strange way, full of something almost like fear. For once in her life, she had nothing to say. She blinked at him, trying to recover her breath.

~~Firstlemonend~~

Tentatively, he disengaged, pulling away from her. Oh Kami, what had he just done? He sat back, retreating to the opposite side of the cave from her, sitting against the stone wall, sand flowing to cushion him. He closed his eyes.

Karin groped gingerly for her glasses, found them, and put them on her face, brushing away sand before she opened her eyes again. Slowly, she sat up. She ached between her legs – it had been more than a year since she last had sex and Gaara had not exactly been gentle or restrained. She didn't mind, not when it felt that good – Karin had always had a preference for rough play. She had fantasized about what Gaara would be like in bed, and the reality turned out to be as crazy and intense as he is with everything else. Oh holy shit… What do you do after something like that? She settled on pragmatism.

Shame burned through him, and he sat, avoiding looking at her as she rose quietly, picking her clothes and gear out of his sand, shaking off the grains. She slipped on her underwear, and her mesh shirt. Her sudden hand signs caught his attention as she did an unfamiliar jutsu. "What's that?" he asked, his voice almost not working.

"Contraception," she said, simply. He turned even paler than before, and then flushed, still avoiding her gaze. She sat down, opposite from him, and looked at him, while he did his best to avoid her eyes.

He was flawless, she noted. All of his skin was pale, like he never saw the sun even though he lived in the desert, even though he'd been riding alongside her in the great outdoors for the last month. That was due to his sand armour, she figured. There wasn't a scar on him anywhere, in contrast to her own body which was a canvas of bite marks and old battle scars. Underneath, wiry muscles rippled. He was well built and even more attractive without clothes on. And yeah, he was a satisfying size – the ache between her legs attested to that. His messy hair hung over his brows and framed his face, an intensely coloured contrast to his pale skin. The stamp of Shukaku – the dark rims around his pale eyes – only served to give him an attractive exoticism. Even the kanji on his forehead was interesting. And that chakra, oh dear Kami… it was tinged with chaotic emotion and turmoil, but it still blazed, bright and fierce and entirely alluring to her. Remembering the feel of it washing over and through her as he came made her shudder.

The lantern, which had been steadily fading as the charge ran out, chose that moment to go out. Neither of them moved for a long moment. Then Gaara soundlessly rose, grabbed his rain poncho, slipped on his open-toed sandal boots and silently exited the cave, deftly avoiding the wires. Karin watched him go, his chakra a bonfire in her vision. He didn't go far, just outside into the rain near the entrance of the cave, where he apparently sat down and thought about something. In the dimness of the dying daylight, she dug around in her pack, finding a ration bar and eating it. Then she unrolled her bedroll and curled up inside it. His sand was still all over the cave floor – he'd made zero effort to pick up any of it and put it back into his gourd.

Ok, so he was a basket case. That was hardly surprising, it was an occupational hazard for shinobi. She was pretty sure she was just as fucked up. And yeah, she could admit to herself that she had it for crazy fuckers with big chakra. Shiranui Genma had been a zero-expectations one-off, a fling; more out of loneliness and his charm rather than any deep burning attraction. Gaara, though… Apparently, she had a thing for heart-pounding, mortal danger. That had been the most intense sex of her life.

She'd won. She'd goaded him and prodded him until he lost it, and she had the ache between the legs to prove it. If she needed proof that she could affect him, there it was. Since that incident in the forest, she had practically seethed with lust for him whenever he pissed her off. Well, she'd found out. Now what?

The answer eluded her, even as she drifted off to sleep.

Outside, sitting on a rock in the pouring rain in the fading light, naked under his leaky poncho, head bare to the rain, Gaara was lost in thought. He hadn't lost control like that since he had been a murderous little boy struggling to keep Shukaku from overwhelming his psyche. He curled on the rock, with his knees up by his face and his arms around his knees, and rested his forehead on the damp poncho, eyes closing. The rain cooled him, running through his hair, dripping on the heated skin not covered by the poncho. The movement of the air around him pushed puffs of scent from his own body to his nose, laden with the scent of her arousal mixed with his. He almost groaned. Even after that, he still wanted her; he wanted to take her again and again until they both passed out from exhaustion.

This was not how he imagined losing his virginity.

Not that he had given the matter much thought before this unexpected 'trip' with Karin. He'd been so caught up with the duties of running a shinobi village that he hadn't had time for that kind of thing. It's not like he had no idea sex existed or anything like that – he was still a young man. He had noted the existence of attractive women and masturbated on a fairly regular basis. But he'd always been acutely suspicious of the women who had tried to get him to notice them. He had come to power very young, and the circumstances of his life weren't exactly conducive to any kind of normal relationship with another person. He was as yet unmarried, Suna had no heir, and the councillors were constantly pushing for him to get a good wife, preferably one with a kekkei genkai, and make babies – which had him automatically pushing back against anyone who seemed to be too overtly pursuing that goal with him. He figured he'd done his duty pretty well for Suna, in everything but that, and he wanted that choice to be his own.

He briefly wondered if Karin had planned this somehow, and then dismissed the idea as ridiculous. Absolutely none of this had been planned, absolutely none of her actions had been artificial in any way. No one could have anticipated this.

She hadn't said no, to any of it. Even after he had forced her to blow him, she was still ready to crack another insult and fire him up even more. She hadn't said yes, either. He remembered the look in her eyes – fear mixed with something else. Fear, he knew in all its sounds and scents and gazes. He'd been the object of other people's fear throughout his life. Whatever that look was, it was the same thing that had been in her eyes that night in the forest, before they had gotten interrupted. There had been no look of horror or dismay on her face after he had finished in the cave. In fact, she had looked, well, almost astounded. Stunned.

That night in the forest, she had undone as many buckles on his flak jacket as he had gotten to on hers, he recalled. And those had definitely not been screams of fear. He was well acquainted with how those sounded… not so much these. Thinking about them send a shiver down his spine, and a jolt to his crotch. He muttered a quiet curse.

What did this mean? What did this change? What in all the hells was he going to do now? He was still stuck with her until he got to Konoha.

Inside the cave, he could feel her moving around through the sand he had neglected to call back into the gourd. He felt her drag the bedroll across the sand, felt her crawl into it, felt the heat from her body through the bedroll, and felt it when her breathing evened out into the rhythm of sleep.

Had this meant nothing to her? The casual way she had performed the contraception jutsu, the way she had just looked at him in silence, saying nothing – she seemed so collected. But no, he remembered how she had shaken underneath him. Once again, the memory of that scream tore through his core. She wasn't unaffected, simply… pragmatic. Like any good kunoichi should be.

He ran one hand through his rain-soaked hair. Kami, he was so fucked up.

Finally, Gaara realized that he had cooled down perhaps a bit more than he should have and should probably get back into the cave and get in his bedroll before he caught hypothermia. Karin had the right idea – sleep it off and deal with it tomorrow… if ever.

He got up, and went back into the cave. He managed to find his bedroll in the darkness, and curled up in it, reinforcing the warmth with a cover of his own sand. At some point, he even fell asleep.

Karin woke up the next morning to find the cave still covered in sand, and Gaara, wrapped up in even more of the sand, sleeping in his own bedroll across the cave from her. She was slightly relieved. She didn't think he'd gone farther than the entrance last night, but there was no knowing what he did after she fell asleep. He hadn't awoken her, coming back into the cave.

She stirred, and the ache between her legs reminded her sharply of what had gone on the night previously. Damn, they had a lot of walking ahead of them. Today was going to suck. The cause of the ache felt her movement through his sand and came to alertness, eyes flying open. He shifted in his bedroll, getting ready to act – and then realized it was just Karin. And then he remembered what had he had done to spread his sand all over the cave. He froze, eyeing her warily.

"Morning," she said, rising from her bedroll and cranking the lantern awake before dressing quickly and riffling through her pack for a ration bar. She tore it open with her teeth and began eating.

Gaara said nothing, just stared at her while she dressed, before the rumbling of his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten anything the night before. He shifted, getting out of his bedroll, realizing that he had just crawled into his bedroll naked before falling asleep. She was now fully dressed. He wasn't. He tried to ignore Karin watching him through the corner of her eyes as he got dressed. Wordlessly, he followed her example and devoured a ration, pretending she wasn't there.

Some people got weird after sex, Karin knew. It seemed Gaara was one of them. But then he was pretty weird in general. With what she knew about his life, he had a good reason for it.

She finished her ration and took a swig from her canteen, as he did the same. Then he stood up, gave a brief stretch and a roll of his shoulders until he heard and felt the satisfying crack of a kink releasing, and began pulling his sand into his gourd as he slung the harness on. Karin watched, eyes lowered, as the grains hissed back into their home.

The sand still smelled bloody and still had his familiar chakra soaking it, but now it came with traces of Karin's scent – the perfume that never seemed to leave her, her sweat, and the musk of her juices. He smelled himself in there too. Smelling her in his sand was enough to catch him off guard. His face heated.

Karin packed and checked her kit, attempting to ignore Gaara since he was trying so hard to ignore her. Nevertheless, she caught his flush out of the corners of her eyes. Yeah, she decided. Gaara was one of the ones who got weird.

"Let's get going," he said, as they finished packing up their gear. It was the only thing he said all day. Her greeting as he woke was the only thing she said all day. Neither shinobi felt much like discussion. It had stopped raining, but the ground was still slippery and treacherous, and it was slow going.

After a day of attempting to ignore each other while stifling stabs of desire, they found a sheltering ledge and made camp for the night. As they ate their rations in silence, Gaara mused that if this was the way to make Karin shut up, he should have fucked her far sooner. He recalled the funny way she had moved all day, as though walking caused discomfort. His face heated, and he felt another jolt of pure want.

She had nothing to say. She had no clue what to say. What did one even say, after that? All day she had been acutely aware of his presence, and his silence. And the sudden blushes that seemed to take over him every now and then. Those were the only sign he gave that anything had actually happened – that and the periodic sudden surges of his chakra all day long.

Crazy fucker that she was, she still wanted him, too. All day long, flashes of the night before kept returning to her mind. The feel of his sand on her skin. The wild look in his face when he finally snapped. The way he had felt inside her. The explosion of his chakra when he came. Her own arousal at his dominance. All of it. It was unnerving, how much he turned her on.

And it was probably going to be at least a week before they got back to Konoha, oh Kami. She wasn't sure how she was going to survive this without going crazy. Crazier.

They both slept fitfully, dreaming of each other.

The next day at noon, they consulted their map. Travel had been slow, far slower than either had anticipated. The terrain was rough, and with the on and off rain it was even more dangerous and slow going than before. The map showed a town at the half-way point, a small point called Dolseong Oncheon, written in the language that only Gaara could read. There was something about the name that seemed like it should be significant to Gaara, but he couldn't place it just then.

"How did we miss a town?" Gaara asked, rhetorically, then realized it might be because they hadn't even reached it yet.

Karin sighed. She slipped fully into Kagura Shingan, stretching out her chakra senses. There was a town-sized concentration of humans, but it was about 15 km away, and that gave no indication how far the actual distance was on these twisty, up and down mountain roads.

"It's 15 clicks further, if we flew…" she said, chagrined. This was the first time they'd spoken to each other since the other morning.

Gaara muttered a curse. "We'd better push if we want to be there before they close the inn down for the night."

She nodded. She wanted a bath, a hot meal, and a chance to clean her clothes, and she would kill for a night in a real bed. Through mutual agreement, they travelled shinobi-style, heedless of the chakra expenditure. Their effort paid off; they made it into town just as the sun was starting to set. It wasn't a large town, but the buildings were in good repair and there were a number of shops – now closed for the night. The mist in the air had a mineral tang. Everything was brightly painted and actually kind of scenic. The inn was a lot larger than either of them expected for a little middle-of-nowhere mountain town.

Gaara pushed open the door and they walked in, surprised to find a well-appointed inn that only held a handful of people. The innkeeper, who was tending the bar, spotted them and approached. Five countries shinobi came here infrequently, but it was close enough to the border that he knew what the symbol on the man's forehead protector meant. The money of these 'shinobi' was always good. Though why they were coming in the rainy season, he had no clue.

"Greetings, travellers," he said. "Welcome to Stonecastle Hot springs. Have you come to take in the waters? It's the off-season, we don't get many travellers this time of year."

"Oncheon?" Karin repeated the unfamiliar word, as Gaara's face lit up with an avid grin as he finally placed the word.

"Onsen," Gaara supplied the Five Countries word for it, and Karin's grin matched his.

That explained the town, and the size of the inn. This place must be a big destination during the dry season.

"When does the oncheon close?" Gaara asked.

"Not for another several hours, it's open late, even in the rainy season. The rates are good now, too, because it's mostly kept open for the locals," the innkeeper replied. The grins on the shinobi's faces widened. Their eyes slid over to each other and met, mutual accord flowing between them. Neither had really forgotten what had happened two nights ago, but … hot springs…

"We'll need two rooms for the night. And directions to the oncheon," Gaara stated.

The rooms were cheap, for such a nice inn, thanks to the rainy season. The inn gave them adjoining rooms, sharing a door. They paid the upfront and were shown to their rooms, where they dropped off their packs. Then, still grinning, they walked to the oncheon together.

The attendant took their money, eyeing Gaara's gourd of sand curiously, and directed them to the male and female baths.

In the men's pool, Gaara floated on his back in the water, eyes closed. His gourd and towel were resting nearby. The hot spring was deserted except for him. He had thought that word on the map looked familiar. What a lovely surprise. It was almost worth the delay… almost. Not even Karin could ruin his mood right now.

Undressed, and showered, Karin placed her towel by the side of the natural pool and sank gratefully into the water, indulging in the relaxation. Ok, so it had taken days longer than they expected to get halfway to Beullu Sawon, but… there was an onsen. Oh dear Kami. The aches from nights of sleeping on the ground faded away in the steamy water. It was just her here, she didn't think she'd ever had an onsen entirely to herself. It was luxurious. The water was so soothing. If she didn't have to hurry back to Konoha, she would have liked to stay here a few days.

Karin soaked for a good half an hour, reveling in the hot mineral water. Then she decided she was too hungry to wait around, and got out of the pool. She could see and feel Gaara's relaxed chakra in the men's pool. Well, she would go eat, and get to bed. If he wanted to linger, so what. He never seemed to need much sleep anyway, and would probably want to get going early. She toweled off and dressed, strapping all her weapons in place after retrieving them from the lock box. Then she headed back to the inn.

It was still fairly empty, and she was both hungry and tired. She didn't feel like waiting for Gaara. Karin ordered a meal with her limited language, and on a whim, a drink. The food was good; she'd managed to ask for something almost like okonomiyaki, which the innkeeper called 'jeon'. It was served with some kind of rice wine, which she enjoyed immensely. After days of pressed grain rations, she was starving for a real hot meal. She ordered another pancake and another flask of the wine. And then another flask. She was feeling good from the combination of her onsen soak, the food, and the rice wine.

She rose, a little unsteadily, and realized the wine was stronger than she had initially thought. No matter. She settled her bill and wandered to her room, stripping off her gear and donning the robe supplied by the inn. She felt warm and good. A little too warm and good. Her thoughts returned suddenly to that night, the blaze of Gaara's chakra, his wild lust. She bit down a moan and reached for herself. That fucking hot and cold bastard… for two days she could feel his chakra blazing near her, licking against her like flames. She wanted him so badly, and he fucking ignored her like she didn't exist most of the time.

Gaara awoke with a shock, realizing suddenly that he had drifted to sleep in the hot springs. It was a miracle he hadn't drowned himself, but fortunately it had happened in one of the body-shaped sitting places and not while he was floating. He had no idea he was that tired, but long travel takes its toll on everyone eventually. And they had pushed hard to arrive at this onsen town.

He looked up at the dark sky, sighed, and pulled himself out of the water, retrieving his sand and towel. He dried himself and put his gear and clothes back on, donning the gourd once more.

"You were in there a while," the attendant commented as he exited.

"Fell asleep," Gaara muttered, sheepishly.

"Oh, make sure to drink some water, then," the attendant recommended. Gaara nodded absently and returned to the inn. He didn't see any sign of Karin.

"Have you seen my traveling companion?" he asked the innkeeper once he arrived in the common room.

"The redheaded girl? She went up to the rooms just a minute ago," the innkeeper replied. "Would you like to order some food?"

His stomach growled at the thought. "Yes," he replied, and selected something grilled from the menu. He asked for water to drink, and the innkeeper arched his eyebrow. Gaara ignored him and found a seat.

He drank the water and ate like a ravenous wolf, then got another water and drank it. After a moment's thought, he ordered a second plate of food, unconsciously mimicking the actions of Karin earlier. Once he finished that off, he went up to the room. He entered his suite and stripped off his clothes, donning the robe the inn provided, again unconsciously mimicking Karin's actions. But instead of relaxing on the bed, he considered that he had better check on Karin.

He approached the shared door and was about the knock when he heard something that sounded suspiciously like a moan. He froze, listening intently. There it was again! His insides seemed to ice up and then burn. Had she managed to find and seduce some local already? He lost all reason. Sand surged at his call, sliding into the lock and effortlessly picking it. He clicked open the door… and stopped in shock when he spotted Karin with her legs spread and her fingers in her own cake.

Karin heard the door open. Her head shot up, and she saw Gaara staring at her. 'Erk!' she said, legs slapping shut and hands going instantly to her sides. "Gaara! What the fuck are you doing?" she demanded in a slurred voice, clambering out of bed and stalking angrily towards him, fists balling.

Gaara blinked. The scent of alcohol, her fragrance, and… musk… hit him as she approached. He wrinkled his brows. "Are you drunk?" He ignored her demands and inserted his own.

She stopped, glaring at him. "No!" She stumbled a bit trying to keep from weaving.

"You're drunk, kunoichi," he said, coldly.

"M' not. The wine lied to me," she insisted, glaring at him blearily.

He blinked. "What?" His tone was sheer puzzlement.

"What are you doing in my room?"

"I wanted to check on you," he blurted, defensively. "I heard…" He stopped. He could hardly tell her that he heard her moan and thought she was fucking some local.

"You heard what?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. The robe wasn't closed all the way. Tantalizing bits of skin were visible here and there. Gaara's mouth went dry. His heart pounded.

He said nothing. Karin remembered his accusations from two nights ago, and figured it out anyway; he was busting in to paste imaginary lovers.

"You listened in on me and decided to force the door open and 'protect my honour', huh?" she snapped, drawing out the part about protecting her honour as sarcastically as she could. "You're a piece of work, Gaara."

The sudden flush of his skin told her she'd scored a hit. Gaara felt the flashfire surge of his blood as both his rage and lust flared fully awake. How could she dare? His mouth opened, though the retort had not yet fully formed in his brain.

She interrupted whatever he had been about to say. "You hot and cold, arrogant, crazy fucker bastard," she snarled, cheeks burning, stomping forward and closing the distance between them. Automatically, her hands came up and fisted around his collar. She jerked him down towards her.

What was she doing? Oh Kami, had she lost her mind? Karin was aware that she was perhaps more intoxicated than she thought. Here he was, all flashing eyes and sparking chakra, and she was burning up, the curl of fire in her belly surging with every breath. She seized him in a kiss of anger and lust, desperate to taste him, feel that chakra of his flare against her, penetrate her skin.

Gaara was too confused and keyed up to resist as her mouth closed on his. His sand flew everywhere as his chakra spiked. His hands moved seemingly of their own volition, parting the robe and slipping under her arms, fingers digging into her back as he stumbled closer to her. He kissed her back fiercely, angrily, hungrily. The sand hissed around them – he wasn't consciously directing it, it just kind of moved on its own in response to his tumultuous state of mind. The intensity of his own surging need made him feel dizzy. He was dimly aware that he was shaking.

He'd interrupted her earlier, leaving her unsatisfied and aching. Now, Karin felt like she was burning up. She wanted him, wanted to feel his thickness inside her again. His chakra was pushing on her, his sand was hissing around her, coils of it brushing against her legs, sliding under the robe, rasping against the skin of her back. Her hands were already in his robe, holding on to him for dear life. He was naked beneath the robe. She pulled him closer even as he did the same, their chests meeting, skin touching. She could feel the heat of his member against her skin.

~~Secondlemonbegin~~

Her legs felt like jelly as she stumbled backwards. Gaara, too, felt like he was losing the strength to stand upright. The sand rose automatically to break their fall, cushioning and guiding them to the floor. Once again, he was on top of her. He could feel her legs moving, opening, her arms sliding up his sides to his back. He slipped a hand between them, reaching for her. Oh fuck, she was so wet. He fingered her, feeling that firm nub. The sounds of her ragged moans penetrated his ears. Her reaction gave him pause. What was that? How… interesting…

Karin arched beneath his touch, moaning out as his fingers found her clitoris. He paused for half a second, and then stroked it again. She writhed under his touch. Emboldened, he focused on that little bump, slick fingers brushing against it, part of him stunned at her response, the rest of him pushing for more.

She writhed as her tension built, the release he had previously interrupted now threatening to spill over at his touch. Her eyes fluttered closed, her back arched, and she came, hard, her breaths coming in ragged cries. Gaara stared at her. Her chest and face were flushed, and her whole body was jerking underneath him. He didn't understand. Did she just… had he just…? The intensity of the surge of lust that overtook him then forced a strangled 'nnng!' out of him.

He found himself moving, automatically, positioning himself between her legs. Her scent, the feel of her skin, the heat of her body, everything intoxicated him. His cock brushed up against her, and he could feel the hot, slick moisture that his hand had so recently explored. Suddenly, he realized he was losing control again. He froze, conflicted.

Her body craved more of him so badly. When he began to shut down, she felt it immediately. Confused and angry, she snarled at him. "Why are you stopping?! Fucking take me, gods damn you!" He blinked, and met her eyes uncomprehendingly. She gave a snarl of inarticulate fury and raging desire, and wrapped her legs around his, pulling her hips up to bring him inside her. He made a creaky, strangled sound. His eyes fixed on hers, shimmering with the intensity of his rekindled lust, and she saw his mouth curl into that insane, open-mouthed grin from two nights previous. He grabbed her firmly, and pushed hard into her.

The dam inside him broke, all self control fled, and he took her with wild abandon. She came again within minutes, fingers digging into his back, screaming. He kept going, and going, and then she was coming again. And again. And again. His own ragged gasps morphed into full-throated almost-screams of his own. He wasn't holding anything back; he wasn't capable of any kind of restraint. His chakra roared and spiked suddenly, his voice matching it, as he came. He almost blacked out. It almost knocked her out. He made strange, high pitched, strangled sound, and collapsed on top of her, panting.

They both struggled to catch their breath. He glanced at her, seeing a kind of shocked amazement in her eyes that matched his own. He reached for her face, brushing the glasses off, and then kissed her, his eyes closing. Karin kissed him back, surprised at the almost tender way he explored her mouth. For long moments they did nothing but kiss, as she responded to his touch. The little sounds she made as he kissed her burned all the way to his insides. Very shortly after he had begun, he found he was wanting… more…

She felt him shift, and felt the hard thickness of him inside her still, and her eyes flew open. His stamina in battle was legendary, but did that translate into the bedroom? "What, already?" she gasped, as his eyes opened and locked with hers, and he began to move within her.

His mouth opened in a hint of that crazy grin and he gave a ragged chuckle. "I'm going to fuck you until you can't even walk," he rasped, thoroughly enjoying the widening of her cherry red eyes at his declaration. They proceeded to live out his fantasies of screwing her all night long, until they both collapsed from sheer exhaustion sometime before dawn, still on the floor in his sand. They were both covered in it, grains of sand clinging to their sweaty, sticky bodies. Before he lost consciousness, Gaara felt complete, alive, like he had never felt before. Even killing had never given him the thrill of existing that he'd felt tonight.