"Speaking" Thoughts Flashback Summon/Demon talking
Forest of Death
Fear. That was the word that described exactly what Asami was feeling at the moment. They were confronted by the Kusa "lady" that was really the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru. Naruto had to split off and fight a large snake summon, but when he returned, the Sannin had used a seal, the Five Element Seal, which had knocked him out.
Asami looked at her unconscious blonde friend and carefully set him down to help her other teammates who were trying to fight, but failing. Sakura had been using her chakra enhanced strength and was trying to simultaneously heal any injuries.
The pink haired girl jumped up onto a tree branch and charged her fist, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Sasuke had been using his Sharingan and jutsus had been quickly called out as he tried to protect what he had thought of as friends. He looked over to Sakura, who was charging her chakra around her fist and understood what she was about to do. He let out another fire jutsu, trying to distract the Sannin. Luckily, it worked and Sakura had a clear shot. She shot off the tree branch and aimed her fist at his spine. A loud smack was heard as the hit connected and sent to Snake Sannin flying back into a tree.
The man smiled wildly as he stood up. "Fufufu, so do we have another mini-Tsunade?" He stood up and licked his lips as he looked at the sight in front him. Here, was the Last Uchiha and a mini-Tsunade. Both were out of breath and their chakra levels were low, sooner or later, he would get what he wanted. He looked over at the blonde jinchuuriki that was unconscious. He mainly did it because it would have been annoying trying to deal with a jinchuuriki, but he couldn't ignore the glee he felt for knocking out a Minato look-alike. He was still slightly bitter about not becoming Hokage, but he didn't mind as much since he didn't need a title to show that he was powerful. He looked over to the right and smirked. The little red haired girl was trying to attack him while her teammates rested.
Child's play, he thought as he swiftly dodged a water jutsu. It was interesting to him though, seeing the small girl seal jutsus one after another. She had used over three different elements, water, earth, and fire as she fought him.
He winced as one of her jutsus hit him and stood up. "I've had enough of playing with you, girl." He looked over at Sasuke and licked his lips once more; it was time to mark the boy. He extended his neck as he became closer to his goal however; he was forced back by both of the girls attacking with chakra enhanced fists. He snarled and rolled his neck. He needed to get rid of the girls first before he could get the Uchiha.
He shunshined behind the pink haired girl and knock her into a tree trunk. Sasuke ran over to her and tried to wake her up. Using what little time he had left, Orochimaru shunshined behind the last girl and pushed her into the ground with a kunai at her neck. She tried struggling but it was nothing against the Sannin's strength. She glared at him and he laughed, amused at her attempts. Then he noticed something she was wearing. Those earrings, he frowned as he remembered where he recognized them, but it turned into a cruel smirk. He had met Hitomi a few times and when he asked about the earrings, she had told him that they were worn to help protect her body against her own chakra which would slowly try and destroy her body. He was still with Konoha back then and was hailed as a hero.
What he didn't know, was that Hitomi wasn't telling him the truth, that would cost him later on when his name was cursed along with hers.
Orochimaru held the earrings and ignored her protests. He had practice from ignoring the screams of his experiments. Holding onto them, he looked at them, noticing the inscriptions on the red jewels, before gathering his chakra and crushing the accessories.
The girl screamed out in pain as her chakra signature flared and the Snake Sannin smirked as he elongated his neck at the Uchiha who was rushing towards him. Despite the injuries he had, his goal was completed. As the boy fell in pain, he smirked and disappeared, leaving three unconscious genin, a hurt pink haired girl, and an Earth scroll behind.
Sakura groaned as she laid down Asami inside a large tree trunk she found. She had already dragged her other teammates there and now she just wanted to sleep like them. It was unfortunate that she still had to set up traps.
She groaned as finally sat down and sighed in relief. Now that she had time to sit and think, she started panicking. Her teammates were unconscious and both Sasuke and Naruto had a fever. Asami was sleeping, but she had a bad feeling. She had heard the painful scream from her teammate's mouth and didn't know what to do. Her chakra was close to nonexistence so she couldn't use a diagnosis jutsu to check what was wrong.
The strawberry haired girl sighed, in the end, she was still useless.
All of her teammates were unconscious and she couldn't even do anything other than basic first aid and try to make them comfortable. However, she brightened when she remembered Orochimaru say that she was like a mini-Tsunade, that helped boost her self-confidence up in leagues.
Sakura felt her eyes start closing so she pinched herself awake. She would not fall asleep, she couldn't afford it. They had both of the needed scrolls, all she was waiting for, was for her teammates to wake up. After a few more minutes, she had almost fallen asleep, she quickly pinched herself and sighed, tonight was going to be a long night.
Sakura shot up and quickly started berating herself. She had fallen asleep despite her efforts of trying to stay awake. She looked over and gasped, Asami wasn't there! She stood up and wobbled a bit before stabilizing. She ran out of the tree trunk and looked around.
"Where, where?" she mumbled with panic.
Sensing a signature to the left, she looked over and gasped, rushing over. Asami was bending over and sounds of retching could be heard.
"Asami-chan!" The red haired girl dry retched for a few more seconds before wiping her mouth with her sleeve. She looked over and smiled weakly, "Sorry for worrying you, Sakura-chan, but I didn't want to throw up on anyone."
Sakura sighed, "Thanks, how do you feel?" The strawberry haired girl walked over and kneeled next to the girl as her hands glowed green.
"Hehe, well not the best, but thanks for asking," she replied and sighed. "I think something's wrong with my chakra, Sakura-chan. It seems different; I think Orochimaru may have done something when he...crushed my earrings." Sakura frowned, it was true, her chakra was different. As for the earrings, Sakura had learnt it was from Asami's deceased mother and felt sympathy for her loss.
"I wonder why he destroyed them though," Sakura wondered aloud, "It seems kinda strange for him to destroy earrings."
"Well, I'm not quite sure myself," Asami admitted as she thought back. She winced as she remembered the extreme pain she felt. Her body felt like it was burning and yet freezing at the same time. It felt like every cell in her body was being ripped apart and smashed back together without care. Then, right before she blacked out, she thought she heard her mother's voice, urging her to stay strong and just accept what was happening. As she slept, she saw her mother who gave her a brief explanation.
The Uzumaki were known for their sealing abilities, their longevity, and their fast healing. However, their chakra was also known to be special.
Each Uzumaki had special chakra abilities. Uzumaki Mito was known for her specialty in sealing which was used to seal the Kyuubi inside of herself. Uzumaki Kushina's chakra could be turned into chains and used against her opponents. Asami's mother could combine her two affinities, wind and water, creating ice jutsus. She hinted that Asami probably inherited her abilities but she wasn't very sure. The earrings and necklace she had given Asami were to stop her special chakra from attracting any unwanted attention from people like Orochimaru. The necklace was supposed to block her natural abilities such as aiming, and chakra levels. The earrings however, were supposed to make sure she couldn't use her chakra ability.
"Asami-chan?" Asami jumped and blushed. She had forgotten about Sakura who was done using her iryo ninjutsu.
"S-sorry about that. I was just thinking what Orochimaru's motives were."
"Eh? Hmm, what do you think so far?" Asami quickly explained what she had been thinking and waited for what Sakura thought.
Sakura furrowed her brows as she thought about why the Snake Sannin would do something that could help Asami. The man obviously didn't want to help any of them. He had, after all, put her teammates into an unconscious state. "Maybe he thought that if he unlocked your ability, that you'd be thankful and go to him?" she suggested.
"Hmm, maybe, or he could've had wrong information. He seemed like he really thought I was going to die after crushing my earrings," Asami offered. Her suggestion seemed more likely and they both agreed. Then Sakura quickly noticed something.
"Wait, you're an Uzumaki like Naruto?" Asami smiled and nodded as Sakura's eyes widened, "Then that means that he'll also be getting some kind of ability too! I wonder what it could be..." However, before they could ponder on the subject, they were interrupted by Sasuke stumbling out from the trunk. Sakura gasped and ran to him when she noticed a strange black tomoe pattern appearing. Sasuke was gasping in pain as he fought against the invading chakra. Sakura quickly started trying to help ease his pain and Asami crawled over, still slightly weak.
"Don't worry Sasuke-kun! Just keep trying to fight against it!" Sakura encouraged the gasping boy. Asami didn't know any iryo ninjutsu that she could use, her chakra control wasn't exactly as good as Sakura's and she didn't want to risk hurting Sasuke, so she instead rummaged for food in her pouch. She smiled as she found the scroll where Naruto had sealed their food supplies. However, it disappeared when she remembered that he was still unconscious. She handed over some food once Sakura had finished and the two nodded gratefully.
Sakura decided to speak first, "I think we should get to the tower, we have both of the scrolls since Orochimaru left us an Earth Scroll. Plus," she looked over at where Naruto was, "We need to bring Naruto somewhere safe and we should also get that mark checked, Sasuke-kun." The boy looked away and sighed. He didn't like how Orochimaru had left behind the scroll for them, but he wasn't going to refuse it.
"Alright, let's head out in three minutes. That should be enough time for us to pack up and leave." The girls nodded and set out to pack. Within three minutes, they were ready and Asami was able to stand without wobbling. Sasuke was in charge of carrying Naruto while the girls took care of the supplies. With a unanimous nod, they jumped off towards the tower.
Tower
Asami and Sakura sighed and flopped onto their beds inside the tower. After opening the scrolls, they met Iruka who started panicking once he saw Naruto. He quickly took their teammate to get treatment while also informing Kakashi that he needed to visit them. Right now, the girls had decided to take a nap, ignoring that they were sweaty, dirty, and had small injuries.
Asami woke up first and noticed that her wounds were already healed. She smiled and thanked her Uzumaki blood before getting up to take a shower. As she exited her room fresh and clean, she met the blonde girl from Suna.
Asami smiled and greeted her, "Hi, you're Temari-san, right?"
Temari raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, that's me. You're Asami-san then?"
Asami smiled and nodded, before she replied, "Yep! Say, do you know where the cafeteria is? I haven't eaten anything other than a granola bar," she added with a small embarrassed blush. Temari blinked a few times before nodding and leading the red haired girl. Asami decided to break the silence, "So were you guys the first team to arrive?"
"...Yeah," Temari replied as she glanced over at the girl, curious as to why she was trying to make conversation.
Asami's smile grew as they reached the cafeteria. She walked over and quickly ordered ebi chili and ramen. Temari raised an eyebrow, those two foods didn't exactly match with each other, but she shook her head and looked back, only to stare and gape. Asami had sat across from her...brother, Gaara.
Is she suicidal?!
She shook her head and hoped that Gaara was in a good mood.
Asami sat next to Gaara, but she didn't talk. She was going to wait and see if he would talk first. She wasn't lying when she said she would try to befriend the other red head.
He didn't disappoint.
"Do you need something or did you want to die?"
Asami wasn't very used to hostile comments or questions but tried to ignore her fight or flight senses. She smiled and shook her head.
"I didn't want anything Gaara-san. I just wanted to sit here and eat." She paused briefly, wondering if what she was going to say next would be alright. In the end, she decided to add on. "And maybe become friends with you." She chuckled awkwardly when she felt his killing intent at her. Okay...maybe I shouldn't have said that, but at least it was the truth.
She looked over at what he was eating and decided to start a conversation while ignoring the sense of impending doom from Gaara.
"So you like yakitori?"
"If I didn't like it, I wouldn't be eating it," he coldly replied.
"I'll take that as a yes then." Unfortunately for Asami, that was how the conversation went between her and the red haired boy. However, she thought of it as a victory.
So he likes killing, his Mother, and yakitori. That's not a lot but it's something...
Gaara stood up, signifying his leave and Asami copied his actions. She smiled and waved him goodbye.
"Oyasumi, Gaara-san! See ya tomorrow!" A sigh left her lips as no reply met her ears. She sat down and looked at her empty plates. It was nice, though the ramen wasn't as good as Ichiraku Ramen. She frowned slightly when she thought of Naruto. He had been refused by the medical staff so Sakura had to take care of him after Iruka-sensei left. The violet eyed girl looked over at the menu and decided to bring her friends some quick snacks.
She walked with a tray of onigiri and tomatoes back to her room where Team Seven was and surveyed the room. There were four beds with nightstands in-between. The walls were plain, accompanied by wooden flooring.
Sasuke lay on his bed next to the window and reached over for a tomato as Asami rolled her eyes with a smile. For all her teammate's cold behavior and toughness, he still loved tomatoes.
Sakura absent-mindedly grabbed an onigiri and nodded in thanks before returning her full attention back on the still unconscious blonde. Her hands started glowing green and her pink brows furrowed in concentration.
Asami smiled as she looked on while munching on an onigiri herself. Sakura was growing stronger every day and was no longer the crazy, rabid fan girl from their Academy days. She still had a soft spot for Sasuke, but she was growing closer to Asami and Naruto, no longer hitting the boy unless she thought he truly deserved it.
Maybe someday she'll be even stronger than the famous Tsunade-sama, Asami thought as she opened the window.
"Where're you going?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly.
Asami smiled, "Hmm, I want to get some fresh air for a bit. Don't worry; I'll be on the rooftop."
Despite saying that, Sasuke looked at her dubiously before nodding hesitantly. A red eyebrow rose at her teammate's newfound hesitance and smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry, if something happens to me, I'll scream out for help Sasuke." The raven haired boy rolled his eyes but nodded and sat next to the window. Sakura giggled at his worry. She thought it was sweet of him to worry over them. It seems like the boy truly thought of them as family now.
"Find something amusing Sakura?"
Sakura smiled happily, "Yep. I just thought of Team Seven like a family." The Uchiha raised a brow, curious of what his ex-fan girl had to say.
"Think about it, Sasuke-kun. Kakashi-sensei would be like the really strange, perverted, but good-hearted uncle. Asami's the happy-go-lucky older sister that helps out but is easily flustered and zones out a lot. I'd be the polite sister with a strong arm that supports you guys and you'd be the really protective older brother with a tsundere attitude."
Sasuke sputtered at the tsundere remark and Sakura laughed out before continuing.
"And lastly, Naruto would be the gold-hearted, loving but super dense, idiot brother we all love and try to protect," she ended with a fond smile. Sasuke stopped an exasperated sigh from escaping but nodded with a smirk.
"Sounds about right. Good analysis, Sakura." The girl blushed but grinned brightly.
"So I guess that means I'm the youngest?" The two turned to look at Naruto who had a fake pout on. It soon disappeared as the three broke out in laughter.
"Say, where's Asami-chan?" Sasuke pointed a thumb out the window and Naruto nodded as his blue eyes noticed the innocent onigiri sitting on a nightstand. He licked his lips in anticipation.
Those poor rice balls never saw it coming.
Three Days Later
"Winner, Hakumei Asami!"
Relief flooded into the girl's body as she panted for breath and winced. It seemed like the Mist genin bruised her rib cage. The girl slowly walked up the stairs to her team, waving off the medical staff. She sat down on a wooden bench where she was berated by Sakura who started to heal her.
"Gomen, gomen, but I didn't see that one kick, Sakura-chan. I was kinda trying to block the senbons he was trying to kill me with."
The pink haired genin rolled her eyes. Before she could continue however, Naruto sat down with a small grin.
"So, when were you able to use hyoton? Last time I checked, only Haku was able to use it."
Asami blushed profoundly as she quickly answered while Shikamaru fought against a Sound genin.
"Well, I guess I'm just special like that." Naruto and Sakura nodded at her short explanation. There were too many ears and they didn't want to let a secret escape out of the village. Sasuke returned and sat down next to Naruto with a frown. He was immediately met with worried looks from his teammates. His frown turned into a scowl.
"I'm fine, quit worrying. The seal just escaped for a moment." The three nodded but Naruto was still worried. He had talked to Kakashi-sensei earlier about the seal. Kakashi had used a seal that depended on the owner's will. The curse seal the Snake Sannin put on Sasuke showing up meant that Sasuke let it happen.
It was worrying for Naruto. He didn't want to lose his friend to revenge and power. What kind of Hokage would let one of their best friends to walk down such a dark path?
A bad one, Naruto answered as his gaze lingered on Sasuke briefly before seeing Neji. Che, the damned fate talking bastard.
The blonde had seen him beat down on Hinata relentlessly even though she would keep standing up. It baffled Naruto at first and his mouth dropped wide open when he heard the Hyuuga princess proclaim her nindo. It was the same as his. To never go back on his/her words.
They had talked and became something like friends in the Academy. He wasn't sure if they were though. It would've been nice, but he didn't think that a princess would like to be the village pariah's friend. She deserves better, he thought sadly. But, no matter what, I'm going to beat that smirk off of Neji's face! For Hinata-chan!
"-ruto? Oi, Naruto?!" The blonde blinked a bit before blushing and rubbed the back of his head. "Mou, and you guys say that I'm the sister that zones out a lot," Asami teased with a smile.
"Hehe, sorry. I was thinking about something."
"Humph, 'bout time you started. No wonder it took so long, baka," Sasuke pointed out with a smirk.
"Hey! Shut up teme! I can think faster than you during spars!"
A black eyebrow rose up, "Really? I'm pretty sure the score was 10-8 and in my favor, otouto."
Naruto sputtered without a response and Sasuke grinned in victory. Sakura laughed alongside with Asami as the pinkette put her hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Alright boys. I think that's enough now. You gotta stop giving Sasuke-kun so much to use against you, otouto."
"Aww! But I would've won it right, Asami-chan?" Naruto asked as he pouted playfully.
Asami giggled and flicked his nose. "Hehehe, nice try, but maybe next time, otouto."
"Hey?! Why're you guys ganging up on me?"
"Oi, can you guys shut up? You're really loud." The four looked over and spotted Kankuro walking with Temari. Before any of the Leaf genin could retort back, a loud and sickening crunch echoed throughout the room. Gasps were heard as the four turned their attention to the floor and spotted Gaara clenching his fist with Lee surrounded in sand and yelling out in pain.
"Lee!"
"Lee-kun!"
"Lee-san!"
His cry was cut short by Gai jumping in to save his precious student. Anger flared from the Leaf nin except for one-Asami.
She was confused. Hopelessly, utterly confused. Not to mention a bit hurt. Why did he break his promise? He said he wouldn't hurt any of my friends.
Her amethyst colored eyes tried to catch the boy's jade colored eyes, but he wouldn't look up for a few seconds. When she saw them, she expected madness, but instead saw something else flicker in them. He turned away before she could decipher it and walked calmly back to the stands while the green, spandex wearing boy was rushed to an emergency room.
Asami sighed and smiled as she looked up at the night sky. The twinkling stars were relaxing and reminded her of her mother's eyes that twinkled with mischief, signaling that Asami was in for a tickle attack. The night air wasn't very cold, but still carried wisps of fresh air.
"It's quite nice tonight ne, Gaara-san?" She looked over at the boy with a smile. However, instead of a wave or greeting, sand rushed at her and she saw the intent of harm.
She dodged at the last moment and her hands quickly sealed the snake.
"Suiton: Bakusui Shōha!" Water rushed at the Sand genin as Asami aimed to take out his great sand defense. As the sand turned to mud, Asami stopped the unrelenting amount of water from her mouth. She coughed and wiped her lips. Moving on, she sealed once more. "Hyoton: Fubuki!" The water froze and along with it, the sand.
Looking up, she saw shock in the green eyes.
"W-why? Why didn't you attack me?" Gaara whispered, stunned and confused. Despite Asami's attack, the only thing drenched and frozen was his sand; otherwise, the genin was dry.
"Because I didn't want to hurt you. I just wanted to stop your sand from attacking me, Gaara-san."
"Are you stupid? I could kill you."
Asami grimaced, "Yeah, I know you could. But would you be free of guilt if you did?"
Gaara met her eyes in confusion. He didn't know what guilt was. Asami walked forwards and stopped in front of him, still prepared to flee if needed, but close enough to not be invading his personal space.
She pointed to his heart and Gaara was briefly reminded of when He explained what pain and love was.
"Guilt is what you feel after you do something wrong...something that didn't feel right. It makes you feel disgusted with yourself and once you feel it, you can either ignore it or acknowledge it and try to redeem yourself."
"..." Gaara didn't respond, but he seemed to be listening so Asami continued on.
"If you ignore it, it's like pretending that you aren't you. We all make mistakes, Gaara-san, and when do, it's guilt that makes us try better so that we don't fail. Mistakes are a part of us, just like how our pasts are."
Asami dropped her hand from his heart and sat by his side, ignoring the sand that could kill her if she wasn't careful. The boy could easily break her hyoton technique with enough chakra and manipulate his sand again.
"My mother told me that you know," she looked up at the safe sky once more and smiled. "I've always looked up to her. Ever since she passed away, I only have the memories of her lessons, her voice, pictures, and jutsus. However, I won't ever forget them-her lessons mainly. I love my mom, Gaara-san, and I would do whatever I can to keep her smiling and happy."
Gaara didn't know why she was talking to him like nothing had happened, and he really didn't know why he felt his own mouth open to talk despite his Mother yelling and screaming at him.
"I...I also lost my mother, but I know that she's always with me. She's the sand that defends me. She also speaks to me in my mind..."
Asami blinked a few times at the last sentence. His mom is inside his head? How does that work? She wondered silently.
Hmm, time for a conversation starter! Asami thought as a pregnant silence filled the air.
"So, what's your goal in life Gaara-kun?"
The boy stared blankly at her and she chuckled, "Gomen, I can call you that right? That's what I call my friends."
"Friends?" Gaara looked shocked and confused. Asami found it somewhat amusing on his usually stoic face.
She smiled brightly and nodded, "Sure, why not?"
"I just tried to kill you."
"Asami." Another blank look, she sighed, "That's my name. Feel free to use it. I don't charge anyone for using it so there's no interest either. Go on and give it a try, Gaara-kun."
"You didn't answer my question...Asami."
No suffix, but I guess that's better than 'you' or something else, she thought sweat dropping.
"Hehe, you're really perceptive, Gaara-san, but to answer your question of why we're friends, well I guess that's because I want to be friends with you."
Asami chuckled when she saw that he was still waiting for an elaborate explanation.
"It's your eyes." She met his green orbs with a sad smile. "They remind me of Naruto's."
Asami laughed when she saw his face.
"It's nothing to be mad or upset about Gaara-kun. You guys both have eyes that radiate loneliness, neglect, unfair hatred that's been cast upon you, and pain from betrayals and brutal acts. Naruto's slowly starting to heal from those past wounds. But that's only because he had people to support him. I know that this may sound rude or mean, but from what I've seen, you've...you've been alone for a long time, haven't you?"
Asami paused as she waited for a response. Did I go too far? I hope not...she thought as she tried to look at his eyes.
"Do you win something if we become friends?"
"Yes, I do." She paused and met his angry glare before continuing with a smile.
"I get to be friends with you. There's nothing more precious than a bond, Gaara-san. Naruto would say the same thing too. Bonds, they make people do strange things, kinda like love actually. Both have no logic and just happen, sometimes with lots of hard work, sometimes it just happens. When a bond is broken or a love is lost, it hurts so much that it seems almost as if there's nothing else that matters."
"But," the red head continued, "You can't forget other bonds because if you fall, they'll catch you and help you make a new bond or find a new love. And when you do, it's the best feeling in the world! That, Gaara-kun, is the reason why I want to be friends with you. I want to help you when you've fallen and celebrate when you're happy! After all, that's what friends are for, Gaara-san."
A long silence fell and it quickly became uncomfortable for Asami. A blush appeared on her cheeks as she spoke out once more.
"O-of course you don't have to agree if you don't want to! I-I don't want to force you or anything! That doesn't mean I don't want to be friends though! Gah! I-I'm sorry, I'm starting to ramble on-"
"Kun."
The flustered girl paused, confused, "Eh?"
Gaara looked over and into her eyes for once. "Change the suffix back to -kun. After all," he paused and looked away, flinching, "We...we're friends right?"
Asami smiled happily and before the boy could dodge, glomped...er...launched herself at him.
"Hahaha! Yay, I've made a new friend!" She giggled in pure delight, but blushed and started apologizing when she noticed how stiff Gaara was. "S-sorry, I got carried away, Gaara-kun..."
Gaara remained silent, but nodded slightly, still confused at her actions.
"Hmm, so do you have a goal Gaara-kun? You never answered my question."
"I," he paused as he thought and Asami sat patiently, "I want people to acknowledge my existence."
"Is that why you kill? Hmm, there are better ways but I guess you're going to have to get stronger huh?" Gaara nodded, looking up at the sky and wincing every now and then.
Asami bit her lip. Whoever this "Mother" is, doesn't like what we're talking about if she's shouting at him or something. I guess I'll just try to comfort him with talk.
"Then you'll need good bonds, Gaara-kun. Bonds will make you stronger and will acknowledge your existence so you won't always need to kill." Thinking of Haku's sacrifice for Zabuza, she asked, "Do you have anyone precious you want to protect? That'll also help too."
Gaara thought about it. He was ignoring Mother since she was ranting about how if she escaped, she'd kill Asami in the most gruesome ways possible.
There was Temari and Kankuro, they were his siblings, but the problem was that they didn't act like siblings. They were terrified of him and he was sure they probably hated him too.
Baki was another possibility, but he was ruled out once again. Baki was just there to make sure that when he went on a killing spree, those who were supposed to survive would and that if it was unneeded, he would stop Gaara.
His last family member was the Kazekage, or more specially, his father. No, Gaara decided, That man has never been my father. He has always been distant and hates me.
He thought hard. He didn't have any friends in Suna, the kids were too scared of him and the adults feared him too, so they all hated him. He looked back at Asami and instead asked her the question.
Asami smiled fondly, "Yeah, I've got friends and comrades I can rely on. I suppose the closest ones would be Team Seven since they're like a second family. Then I have my own family of course. Next would be the rest of the genin teams of my generation. Specifically, Teams Eight and Ten. There's also Team Gai and although I don't like one guy on there, I like everyone else on it, despite their youthfulness," she added with a grin at his interest.
"There's also my old Academy teacher, Iruka-sensei, the ramen stand owner Teuchi-jiji and his daughter, Ayame-nee-san, and of course there's also my Hokage, Sarutobi-jiji, who's like my grandfather!"
"Are they all precious bonds?" Asami nodded enthusiastically with a thousand watt grin.
"And now, there's also you too, Gaara-kun!"
"...I see. Then you would be my first bond, Asami."
She blushed profoundly and smiled, "Thanks Gaara-kun. I'm pretty lucky that I get to be your first bond! Although, I'll do my best to help you make more bonds so I won't be your only precious person," she added with a softer smile.
Gaara nodded before hesitantly asking, "What do I do with bonds? I don't see how you become stronger."
"Hmm, you become stronger because you want to protect them. I want to do whatever I can for them, and plus, if I want to accomplish my goals, I'll have to become stronger!"
"So you won't let anyone hurt them?" Asami nodded. "I see...I will grow strong to protect my bonds then, Asami." He was once again, caught off guard as she leapt at him.
"You finally called me by my name, Gaara- kun! I was starting to think you had forgotten it!" He had frozen again, not used to human contact, but for some reason, he didn't mind her jumping at him.
Asami laughed at her new friend's face as she got off of him. She had pushed him down unto the rooftop in all her happiness.
"I will also protect you too, Gaara-kun! I promise," she held out her pink finger and motioned for him to copy her actions. It was a new experience for the boy but he held out his pinky anyways.
"I promise that I will protect you and your precious people, Gaara-kun!"
"I will do the same, Asami."
"Come on Asami-chan." She looked over at Naruto who had a grim look on his face.
"We've got a month to get stronger before we fight. Let's go and see our opponents. I hope I get Neji-teme." Asami nodded as the victorious genin walked down to the floor.
There were only ten genin left and after picking out a random piece of paper, looked up to see who their opponents were for the first round. The rounds in order were:
1. Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyuuga Neji
2. Nara Shikamaru vs. Sabaku no Temari
3. Hakumei Asami vs. Haruno Sakura
4. Uchiha Sasuke vs. Aburame Shino
5. Sabaku no Gaara vs. Sabaku no Kankuro
Naruto looked at Neji with determination which was met with an infuriating smirk. Naruto swore to himself, he would not lose, especially after how Neji treated Hinata! Neji was confident with his skills. Fate was smiling upon him or perhaps mocking him, giving him a weak, dead last to fight. This will be easy.
Shikamaru groaned and mumbled "troublesome". Of course, he just had to get a girl to fight against. Temari heard the mumble and scowled. How dare he underestimate me! She thought furiously. She would not let herself live it down if she lost to him.
Asami looked over at Sakura and nodded with a look of determination along with a smile. They would do their best in their upcoming fight with no hard feelings after.
Sasuke glanced at the bug user and nodded. The fight between the two was going to be tough. The kikaichu would be annoying so the fight was going to have to be quick. But it had to be somewhat flashy to show that I know what to do in order to become a chuunin, he added and mentally reminded himself to perfect and learn more fire and lightning jutsus, those would be helpful. Shino calmly looked at his opponent. He quickly came to the conclusion of a basic strategy plan; last as long as possible for his kikaichu to absorb most of the raven haired boy's chakra. I will need to work on evasion and speed. Why? Because it will help extend the fight for my kikaichu to work.
Kankuro was slightly worried. They had planned that, if this were to happen, he would simple forfeit. The puppet wielder hoped that his younger brother didn't want to fight him. He didn't look over at Gaara, it would've been too much for him to handle if it was correct. Gaara had no reason of looking over at the older boy so he didn't. He knew Kankuro's fighting style; after all, they had trained together ever since they could mold their chakra. Instead, he focused on trying to make sense of what Mother was telling him while ignoring whenever she told him to kill Asami or any of her precious people. Asami, he looked over at the redhead who was walking out of the ring with her team.
He knew Asami wanted answers from his battle with Rock Lee.
He had felt the anger flaring from the Konoha genin except for her. She seemed confused and somewhat saddened.
The boy wondered if he should talk to Asami, his first...bond. He didn't know what to do or say, but he felt something sharp and dull in his chest. Is this...guilt?
He walked out of the room, knowing that Temari and Kankuro would leave him alone. He needed time to think about what needed to be done in a month and to leave before he started listening to what Mother told him to do.
Ichiraku Ramen
Team Seven sighed as they reached Ichiraku Ramen. Teuchi immediately started cooking their meals, already knowing what they would order.
As Naruto slurped the rest of his noodles down, he left out a breath before grinning.
"Man, I can't believe we've gotten this far!"
Asami smiled as she joined him in nostalgia. "I'm glad that we're doing well though. I hope we all become Chuunin."
"That'd be nice!" Sakura added, "If that happened, there'd be a chance that we'd be working together ne?"
"Hn-Oi! What the hell was that for dobe?!"
"You were just gonna 'hn' and leave it at that teme! Don't think that I wouldn't know!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes before he retorted with a smirk, "At least you'll use your brain to try and figure out what I meant. Or are you too stupid, usuratonkachi?"
"Oi! I use my-Ouch! Hey what was that for, Sakura-chan?! Why are you hitting me and why is Asami-chan letting you?!"
The girls rolled their eyes before breaking out in grins. "Because we agree with each other," they replied at the same time.
"Plus you guys have already had that fight," Asami added with a soft smile. Naruto huffed and crossed his arms before he remembered his ramen that was calling him.
"So do you guys know who you're training with?" Naruto asked as he ordered another bowl, ignoring the stares from his teammates.
Asami shook her at both her friend's actions and for an answer. "Nope. Kakashi-sensei's a nice choice, but he'll probably train with Sasuke instead since they both have the Sharingan."
Sasuke nodded slightly as he absentmindedly rubbed the cursed seal at the base of his neck.
Naruto frowned, he really didn't want Sasuke to use that seal. That meant that he had to quickly come up with a counter seal and find a way to get rid of the Five Element Seal the Snake Sannin had placed on him. It was interrupting his chakra control and although it was pretty bad, he was able to wrestle it enough so that his seals would work.
"You have anyone in mind, Naruto?"
Naruto shrugged, "Nope, well not really. I just need someone who can help me with my chakra control and my seals." There wasn't really anyone in Konoha who really knew seals except for the Sandaime, Yondaime, and the Toad Sage, Jiraiya. Of course every shinobi knew the basics like sealing scrolls and explosive tags, but those three were either masters or close to masters.
"You could try asking Sandaime-sama, Naruto. If I remember correctly, he taught the Toad Sage, Jiraiya, who taught the Yondaime. I don't know where Jiraiya-sama is and the Yondaime is dead, so that leaves Hokage-sama," Sakura explained.
"Hmm, I guess I could talk to the Old Man," the blonde replied thoughtfully, crossing his arms.
"Do you have anyone in mind, Sakura-chan?" Asami asked her friend as she finished her ramen.
Sakura smiled weakly. "Well, I'd love it if I had Tsunade-sama teaching me, but that's not possible so I'll go and see if I can find anyone who knows some good genjutsus."
"How about Team Eight's sensei? I heard that she was a genjutsu specialist," Sasuke offered. He had been nibbling on cherry tomatoes and some onigiri as he listened. His neck slightly bothered him still, but he was trying his best to ignore it. He had many things he was trying to ignore. There were his teammate's "secret" worried glances, Orochimaru's seal and what he meant about finding him for power, his revenge for his clan, and what he was going to do in the future.
It was nice to know that they were worried and cared about him, but he could take care of himself. As for Orochimaru, there was no way in his life that he was going to the Snake Sannin, especially for power. He could get that without any extra help; after all, he could go to Kakashi. Revenge although important to him, was going to have to wait until he was strong enough to defeat Itachi. Yes, he had decided that although the man was a murderer, he still had a name and...He was still his older brother. Lastly, his future. That was something that he had never thought about before Naruto started speaking about becoming the Hokage in detail. Now, he didn't know what to do. After he killed Itachi, what was he going to do? He could start his clan but that (he shuddered) meant that he had to marry and do THAT with them to get kids.
The Uchiha jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the dobe. "Hey, you alright teme? You just shuddered."
"Hn," He quickly added when he felt his teammates' glares, "It's nothing."
Asami raised an eyebrow but nodded. "You know, maybe I'll go with you to visit Sarutobi-jiji. He might have a few ideas of how some of the jutsus work. Otherwise, I guess I can just use my Ninjutsu book."
"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed as she quickly remembered something, "Asami-chan, you never did explain how you could use Hyoton! Is it because of your mother and your chakra?"
The copper haired girl blushed and nodded. "Yep! It's...one step to my goal of mastering the five elements!" A few eyebrows rose at this, but they all seemed to accept it.
Naruto had been told back in the Academy so he didn't mind, plus he thought it would be cool if his ANBU Captain knew and mastered the five elements. Sakura, although shocked, thought it would've been possible since she could already do two elements with ease. What was three more and mastering all five? Sasuke, well he thought that if the dobe could become Hokage, then her mastering the five elements would be possible. He also wondered if she would be willing to trade a few of her techniques if he did the same...
Asami paused and looked at her teammates. So far, none of them seemed to object to her dream. I hope that they don't laugh...
Sasuke was the first to break the silence that started to grow. "Hn, seems like you have a tough road ahead then. If the dobe can become the Hokage, then it'll be possible for you to achieve it."
Naruto nodded and smiled, before he quickly frowned at the last sentence, "Hey! What the hell?! What do you mean by that teme?!"
The dark eyed boy shrugged and smirked, "What do you think it means?"
The blonde sputtered for an answer and Asami smiled as Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Mou, Naruto, I thought you would've supported Asami-chan and her goal!"
"E-eh?! B-but I do!"
He switched his gaze to the other girl, "I do support you, Asami-chan! I believe in you! And I'll do whatever I can to help you like you've done for me! I promise, and I never go back on my words! It's my nindo!" He grinned and winked as he did the good guy pose. Asami blinked a few times before she started to giggle. She held onto her stomach as it grew into a full blown laugh and just like a night ago, she jumped at her blonde friend and glomped him.
"Thanks, Naru-chan! Thanks for believing in me guys!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes good-naturedly and smiled. "What kind of brother and teammate would I be if I didn't believe in you?" he asked rhetorically.
"You guys believe in me, it's the least I could do to do the same," Sakura added with a bright smile.
The blonde rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed as he was backed up. "Man, you guys are really mean though." At the blank looks he continued as his prankster side crackled. "You guys all ganged up on me again!"
"Hn, deal with it, otouto," Sasuke finished with a smirk.
Konoha Streets
The streets were filled with people who talked and laughed out loud. It was strange.
A red haired boy carrying a large gourd on his back slowly walked through the bustling streets with no clear destination in mind. Gaara had been walking around as he tried to think. He was intelligent, but it was hard to think when Mother kept shouting at him to kill every living thing. He had an entire month to himself and he didn't know what to do. He glanced around and noticed the looks the villagers gave him. They stared at times, but they didn't seem hostile, more curious instead.
He didn't want to kill, but he only had one bond, Asami. She had told him that the more he had, the stronger he would be. Perhaps he would start with Temari and Kankuro? They were siblings after all so that made since. But how to fix their relationship?
A shout from a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. His gaze turned and saw four people sitting at a ramen stand. He couldn't see their faces, but he knew them. It was Team Seven.
He stopped and looked on at the interaction. In a way, it was strange to see the red haired girl hug the blonde in a similar way she did with him. A feeling rose within him and he didn't like it. Gaara was used to knowing how he felt. It was usually madness, anger, and indifference. This however, was something new to him. It was Mother's voice that made him move.
What are you doing?! Move! I want blood! I want to see their guts!
His body had almost responded, but he stopped himself. He would be breaking his promise again, and he felt that if he did, he would experience guilt again. Instead, he started walking away from the scene. Bonds huh? Will I be recognized by them?
Thanks for the review Tensa-Zangetsu102. As for the spacing problem I've been trying to figure out why it's not changing even though I've already edited the chapter. It shows up fine when I'm reviewing/editing it but I'll see what I can do to fix this problem!
Hope this chapter isn't too bad. I still think Gaara's OOC and I've been trying to get him back into character, but it's a lot harder done than said...I have a majority of my own arcs outlined so that's nicely taken care of though.
Yep, that's right! I'm starting to move on with the story! This chapter here, is the last of The Beginning chapters/part! Yay! Oh, and if you were wondering when I was going to make Asami into a "BAMF" *cough* sis *cough* then, you'll be happy to know that I'm starting to make her stronger now.
The next update will be one last omake to finish off the last of The Beginning omakes. I might add more (unlikely but possible), but they should be fitting with the sections/parts. The next update will probably be in another two, maybe three weeks since I've got more reports to write and there's state testing next week...
As for the romance...It's slowly starting to kick in? I'm sorry if it seems really...bad. I'll try working on making Asami and Gaara's relationship smoother and less cheesy. The romance will be hard for me to write without cheese so you'll have to bear with it (_). I'll confess, I love cheesy, sappy, fluffy, sometimes cliche, romances!
Thanks for sticking around and reading this story! I'll do my best to continue on!