What Have They Done To You?

An xxKaaat Original - Beta; SkellingtonZero

Chapter Fourteen

Sasuke stood at the head of the group, his eyes turned red as he stared at the destruction before him. Where he grew up, this place he'd kept hidden so well was in pieces; metal, open ground, burned grass and memories were scattered on the ground. Without even thinking, Sasuke knew Gaara had been here. But at this point, the vampire was already three steps ahead.

Slowly Sasuke turned to face the men. Their faces were blank. "Men, they've begun the attack. Those vampires did this." He took a few deep breaths to get control of his emotions. "If they can do this, they can surely defeat us. Therefore we must train!We must be able to bring them down!" He looked around at the faces staring up at him. "WHO'S WITH ME?!"

At once supportive cries emerged from the group; yet once again Deidara and Pein were silent. The blonde looked up at the man calmly. "The vampires are clearly stronger than us." He then looked forward again.

"He's brainwashed these men. They think their capable of doing something they aren't, won't and will never be able to do."

Gaara had been out for almost sixteen hours now and every vampire in their group had gathered in his room waiting. Hoping their leader would wake up soon. No one talked, they only moved to shift positions. Every few hours a small group would step out to feed, and within the hour they would be back. Tension had began to grow in the group; the one person who knew anything at all wouldn't leave his room. He'd secluded himself to wait until the man woke up; he even activated his force field to avoid having his thoughts be read. He was completely alone in isolation.

Bit by bit, the vampires began to sort through the papers and chemicals they'd found; all except Ino who tended to Gaara's wounds. One thing the hunters didn't know about her, was her ability to heal others. This was to the groups advantage.

In the group, each vampire read paper after paper before finally Neji spoke calmly. "Sasuke Uchiha, Kisame, Hidan, Zetsu, Deidara, Pein, Naruto Uzimaki, Konan, Suigetsu, Jugo, Kakuzu, and Sasori. That's the list." Everyone turned to face him. "We're out numbered, minus Konan. She's the one who's been murdered. Every man is skilled with anti vampire weapons, and they've been trained." Slowly he met everyone's gaze, just to make sure the gravity of the situation was understood.

Slowly Ino spoke. "That means, we'll all have to fight." She paused. "It'll only be a few days at the most until Sasuke knows, Neji. Gaara won't be able to fi-"

"The hell I won't." A voice intrupted. "I'll be damned if I let you go alone."

At once everyone's head spun round to stare at Gaara and once again Neji spoke. "If you're unable to fight you won't. Simple as that. I don't care what you say or what you try to do. It's a unanimous decision." His face was stern and unemotional.

At once Gaara locked eyes with everyone in the room. "So, you've already decided..." He looked away. No one noticed that Gaara was now sitting up. His posture was poor, and he looked pale. "Neji... why...?"

"Because we're sick of yousaving our asses, that's why." At once everyone looked to the door to see Shino standing there. His arms were folded against his chest. "We're strong just like you, and we're ready to show you that. You've taught us all we know, you've been there for us and we all thank you, but now we want to show you what we're really made of Gaara." He took a few more steps, smiled, then held out a hand to Neji. Once again he looked at Gaara. "We're ready to show you, what you've raised Gaara. We're your army, you've taught us right from wrong. You've taught us new techniques to save ourselves. You've shown us what family is, and you've shown us that you can start from scratch to rebuild your life. You gathered us Gaara. You've been our parent, our savior." Shino looked around to now see the other vampires now standing behind him. "And for that we thank you. We're ready to show you what you've made. We're ready to fight alongside you, not just in your shadow. And even if we are out numbered, we can kick their asses Gaara. All because of you."

At once the red head knew he was defeted. But slowly he smiled. He knew Shino was right, ten years ago he gathered these vampires and raised them. He taught them how to fight, how to feed, how to love. He picked them up and built them into what they'd become. To them, he was their father figure. And for that he was grateful. Slowly he began, "I-I don't know what to say. I'm touched, happy..." He paused. "My little babies are grown up." He then gave a weak laugh as the group raised cheer.

Neji walked forward and stood beside Gaara. Gently he laid a hand upon the mans shoulder. "You've been my role model Gaara. Thank you." He then leaned down and hugged the man tightly.

Sakura tossed and turned in her bed as a uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Worry? Anguish? Fear? It was something. This was something new. Mixed emotions, what was this?

Slowly she sat up. With every second, the room seemed to spin, she grew nauseous, her throat dry, her mind raced with images of Sasuke; the time in the kitchen. Then images of a red head quickly replaced them and calmed her for a split second; their kiss, the way he spoke her name. She longed to see him again, but it'd been days since he had replied to her last message, and it tore her apart.

Once again Sakura laid back down, and at once the room stopped spinning. Yet still she felt like something was wrong. Something bad. She felt like something was coming, but she didn't know what.

Gaara's room was now empty and he sat in silence. The house didn't stir, and near the red head sat another man who held a beer in his hand. He stared out the window, clearly lost in thought. Where his mind was, he didn't know. The red head didn't want to know. His light green eyes fell upon the man though, and they couldn't leave his face. The mans jaw line had become a little more broad, and he looked older. He'd clearly been working out because his muscles had grown. His face was pale in the moon light but he was perfectly healthy. From the moment everyone left, Shino sat like that. He never moved, never spoke.

Without hesitation, Gaara spoke. "Shino." The man looked his way, only giving a small 'hmm' for him to go on. "Why'd you come back?"

Shino smiled and looked back to the window. "Because I had a feeling. Good thing I did, you might have died."

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"Shino?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you always wear those sunglasses?"

The man shot him a mischievous look. "What?"

Gaara gave a weak smile. "Why do you always wear those sun glasses? Night time, during the day, in the rain. You're always wearing them."

At that, Shino set his bottle down and slowly walked to Gaara's bed side; he hesitated for a second before he sat down. "Gaara, there's a story I never told you." The red head stared at him. He never spoke, but his body language said it all. "When I was a kid, back in Shore Line..." He paused. "There was this really bad accident. My dad, he worked with welding tools. And one night I got into his garage, and I turned on the welding torch." Shino rubbed at the back of his neck.

The man looked away, he acted as if he was hiding something. Slowly he collected his thoughts and began again."I was caught in a fire, and I'm lucky I didn't burn myself alive. The only damage it did was dry my eyes out...my skin melted shut, except for a little bit in my right eye." Slowly Shino removed his glasses and watched as Gaara took in every feature. His left eye was a smooth, leathery texture, it was as if an eye had never been there. Completely gone. As for the right eye, the skin was wrinkly and dry. In the center, was a small slit for his eye. It was as thin as the thickness of a dime, and it was no wider than an inch. Slowly Gaara raised a hand to the mans face and felt the skin. So this is why Shino did what he did.

After taking everything in, Gaara spoke, his voice barely about a whisper. "How do you fight then? If you can barely see? You're moves are precise and always easily read. If you can't see the enemy, then how...?" His voice trailed off. "The computer work..."

"I developed a power in which I can see perfectly through my right eye. Only when I'm wearing protection though. Without these glasses, I'm completely blind. With them, I have perfect vision." He smiled proudly. "My disability doesn't make me any weaker, only stronger. I've learned to live with it, and I'm fine with that."

Gaara returned his smile. His eyes were glossy, yet they were growing paler. "You've had me fooled this whole time. Your power, it's incredible Shino."

"There's one more thing Gaara." The man held his hand out for the red head to take. "You know how sometimes I get lost in thought? I zone out and lost track of time?" The man nodded. "I've developed a power. I've been working on it since the incident last night." Slowly the man stood up, and took a seat on Gaara's bed. He then leaned over and held his hand over the man's heart. Within seconds a purple flame began to glow.

"What's happening?" Gaara looked like a child, mesmerized by the technique.

Shino smiled and at once the flame grew brighter. "Just relax, and let me do my work."

What Gaara didn't know, it that this "power" Shino developed, was none other than a life transferring technique. When the time came, and Shino gave half of his power to Gaara, the flame would stop. Once is was done, Gaara's wounds would be healed, making sure he was ready for the fight. Shino on the other hand, would be slightly weaker as long as he fought using the right actions. If he didn't waste his power, then his body would be able to withstand anything. If he used himself like a fool, his power would fade quickly.

With every passing minute, Gaara's body became warmer. "Just relax." He repeated.