Happy Easter, everyone! Here is the final chapter of 'Haunted'! –hops up and down like a rabbit-

OOO

Gaara watched Kira from the only chair in the small room. The sound of her heart beating was slow and steady…too slow.

Gaara had defeated the gang mercilessly, using the poor souls to take his rage out on. The others had all been too frightened to even approach him, and he wouldn't let the unconscious kunoichi out of his sight.

They all rushed Kira back to Suna, where she was immediately placed in an intensive care room. They had tended the rest of her wounds, but she had lost too much blood already. Not only that, but the drug Osaka had injected her with seemed to have put her in a coma or dreaming state. They didn't know what he had used, so all they could do was wait and see if she would wake up while they tried to match the symptoms.

He stood up, walking over to the bed. Her skin was ghostly pale as she had had a rare blood type along with her blood trait, so they didn't have enough for a complete blood transfusion. Her heart was going to have to do most of the work.

He stared at her face, reaching a hand out and placing it on the top, left corner of her forehead where his kanji sing for 'love' had been placed.

Fight only for yourself and love only yourself.

"Bull shit." He muttered, turning back to his seat to sit back down. He leaned his head back against the wall that was there, rubbing his eyes before looking towards the bed again. 'Wake up…wake up…please. I don't want to feel alone.'

The insistent and haunting sound of her heart getting faster didn't help much either

Wait…getting faster? He looked up, watching the black screen as her heart beat began to return to normal speeds. He stood up, walking over to her side.

Kira's hand went up as she opened her eyes, causing him to dodge it slightly as it clutched into a tight fist. "Please tell me this isn't heaven, because I hate hospitals." She said, rubbing her eyes.

Gaara stared. "Why did you do that?"

"Hm?" she asked, turning her head to face him. "I always swing a fist when I wake up. It's a habit."

"Why did you stop me from killing him? It would have been easier and you wouldn't have been injured. It would have been the best way."

She yawned, "Because…I needed to kill him. It's a long story; I'll tell you once I have more strength."

"No. You'll tell me now. I have plenty of time, and you've been pushing it away from me for too long. Tell me, NOW."

She frowned, placing her hands on her lap. She took a few moments to sort her thoughts before beginning.

"As you know, I was Osaka's niece and the heir of my clan and home. But… the thought of a girl becoming the heir was…unfavorable to a few of the members. They began to work with ninjas outside of our walls, which was forbidden, and soon things got out of hand. My uncle was the leader. He wanted to rule over our clan and home." Her hands clenched into fists. "So he killed my father and decided to take the item that fueled our village with the power it needed to survive. But, he didn't know its location. Only those who were the leaders did." She looked to him, seeing that she had all of his attention. It was strangely comforting, despite his impassive outlook.

"Who would have thought a small child would be smart enough to take the gem before it could be stolen? Nobody, apparently, but I did. After seeing Osaka kill my father, he burned my mother alive along with our home while I was still in it. I escaped though by jumping out the third story window and ran ahead thinking maybe my parents could rest in peace if I kept the gem safe. But he saw me running, and stabbed me in the back."

She unbuttoned the first two buttons of her hospital clothes that they had changed her into. "He didn't know I had the gem, and left me thinking I'd die a slow and painful death. But I did have it, and although I did die…the gem brought me back." She reached her hand out. "Give me your hand."

Gaara moved over to her, cautiously holding out his hand. He had to top the urge to pull back as she took them and placed them on her chest. Her skin was cold, but as her hands radiated red as a red gem surfaced from under her skin, he could see and feel the gems warmth as it radiated with a powerful chakra. "This is what Osaka was after. This is what alienated me from others and allowed me to live."

Gaara stared at his hand before gently pulling away. "Shukaku had told me about your unusual chakra. As Kazekage, I'm supposed to take it away from you." He saw anger mixed with pain in her eyes, but more anger than anything. "But I won't. If you took away the gem, what would happen?"

"I'm not sure. The extraction might kill me since the gem's chakra is fused with mine."

"Then we won't try."

"Are you going to tell the others?" she asked, pressing a button on the bed that moved its position so she could sit up.

"No."

"Good." She looked around. "How long have I been out cold?"

"Almost three days."

She bit her lip, seeing the gifts she had received from her new friends. She wasn't used to people really caring, and found it annoying that people worried. "Have you been here the entire time?"

He nodded in response, going back to his chair.

"Oh…why?" she asked, confused on why anyone would do that. She had seen others do it, yes. But those people normally had family or were in a relationship of some sort. She had none of that.

"I didn't want you to feel alone when you woke up."

"Oh…" she said, nodding her head as though that movement would knock some sense into it. "OH! We missed the festival, didn't we?"

He raised an invisible eyebrow. "I thought you hated it."

"I did… but it was supposed to be my first one." She reached over and opened the nearest get well card. "Yu and Mei are getting married?" she laughed, "Am I a mind reader or what, Kina? Wait… where's Kina?"

"At home. They wouldn't allow any pets in the hospital."

Kira frowned, happiness about the news of her friends marriage completely gone as it was replaced by anger. Gaara shut his eyes…his headache was about to get a lot bigger. "How hard is it to see that she's not a fucking pet? Now she's probably hurt that the flipping retards think she's 'just a normal cat.'" She began to speak at a faster rate as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. Gaara stood up, knowing she shouldn't be moving around after being in a coma for the past few days. She stood up though, grabbing some clothes before beginning to change. He blinked, turning around to pick up his gourd. When he turned back around, Kira was already dressed and ready to go. "She's a special cat. Now she feels normal and unwanted, the heartless bastards." She started off again, walking out of her room and down the hall, a silent and arm filled Gaara not far behind. He signed her out, knowing the sooner they got back, the sooner she'd calm down.

'Now I see why Shikamaru calls women troublesome.' He bumped into Kira. "Something wrong?" he asked, seeing that she was standing there as she looked towards the sky with her eyes closed.

"Yeah, just glad to be out in the sun is all. Come on!" she yelled, racing off by rooftop.

He caught up without too much trouble. "You do know you shouldn't be moving around like this."

"I'm fine, mother. When we get to the mansion, I'll go straight to bed like a good girl."

He shook his head. Why even try?

OOO

Gaara hopped on the roof like he did every night, seeing Kira already there. He walked over, sitting down next to her. "You said you'd be a good girl and go straight to bed."

"I'm never a good girl, you know that." She replied, placing her head against his shoulder. He cringed slightly, but didn't pull away much to her surprise. After a few moments he finally relaxed. "Thank you, Gaara."

"Hn."

She seemed to be angry by his reply. "BAKA! You gave me home, became my friend, and saved my life more than once. Why don't you at least say more than 'hn' when I thank you?"

"…" he didn't have an answer for that and knew she was laughing along with cursing at him inside at the fact that he didn't have one. He looked down at her, watching her smirking at him mockingly as she muttered 'Teme.'

"You bitch." He muttered, pressing his lips against hers. He kissed her slowly, savoring the taste of her sweet mouth, noting that small hint of spice that reflected her attitude. He was also demanding, deepening the kiss before she knew what was going on. Gentle was he not, but the aggressive edge of his kisses was like the sweet rush of adrenaline so dear to her.

He pulled back, seeing her frown. Thinking he did something wrong, he opened his mouth to state he had no idea why he had done that, but was shocked to feel himself being tackled down and his mouth attacked by her warm tongue. He laid there, in shock as she relished the taste of his mouth, memorizing every detail inside his mouth. Once he recovered, he immediately fought for dominance, rolling her over so that she wasn't on top of him. She started to laugh, causing him to stare at her in confusion.

"S-sorry, Gaara." She said, calming herself down from her sudden burst of laughter. "You just can't lose, can you?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck loosely.

He shook his head, lying down next to her. "No." he replied.

"Did you know today was my birthday?" She asked as the sun started to rise for a new day.

"You never told me…we'll go out to celebrate." He replied, listening to Shukaku stir. 'I'll have a new story to tell Naruto next time I see him. He'll be a little angry at me again though."

Shukaku laughed, "Yeah, but you're still a virgin!"

Kira nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck, gently nibbling at his skin. 'Not for long.'

OOO

Well, Haunted is now finished. The sequel will come out once I've gotten some things sorted out. But there will be lots of cool stuff… betrayal, a new ally, and

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN 'I'M FINE?!' YOU DIED YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Kira yelled as she continued to yell at Gaara. (which means no Shukaku, maybe next time. Review please, and tell me if I should or shouldn't have Shukaku, the kinky and perverted one-tailed demon spirit!)

Well, thanks everyone who has been in this since the beginning, your reviews have been the ones that kept me typing.

R&R!!!

Fin