Rebirth

by Passionate Crow Rat

The twisted truth is out. Sasuke doesn't see Kagome as his sister, but as his possession. He desires her, and Naruto does as well. But they aren't the only ones. A certain weasel has staked his claim. What Uchiha Itachi wants: Uchiha Itachi will get.

21. Chapter 21: Suitors

Title: Rebirth

Author: Passionate Crow Rat

Rating: M

Main Pairings: Kagome/Itachi/Naruto/Sasuke

Side Pairings: Kagome/Gaara, (a very, very deep friendship that can be seen as one-sided love) Kagome/Neji (one-sided love- however, these two will have a very… interesting relationship. Read, and you'll find out.), Sakura/Lee (Hey, the power of youth prevails. Poor Sakura-chan is gonna have to run for his cheesiness)

The side pairings are subject to grow, as the fic progresses, but the main pairings (a.k.a: The Harem) will never, ever ever change.

Warnings: Language, Suggestive Themes. Slight Gore, and Epicness (This last one is from KibaSin)

Summary: The twisted truth is out. Sasuke doesn't see Kagome as his sister, but as his possession. He desires her, and Naruto does as well. But they aren't the only ones. A certain weasel has staked his claim. What Uchiha Itachi wants: Uchiha Itachi will get.

Disclaimer: I wish I own both series, but sadly, I do not.

Crow Rat's Notes: This chapter contains a creepy Gaara. But since you survived the last chapter you'll probably be able to make it through it. If not. Then I apologize for traumatizing you.

Happy Birthday to Whispering Kage, Kira-The Weasel Sage, and Sailorjennifer.

Dedications: KibaSin- She's awesome, and deserves the praise. So please, love her.

---

Chapter 21: Suitors

---

The entire field was covered in pools of blood, the scarlet liquid resembling puddles of rain water after a heavy storm. The battle that just recently raged on had done extensive damage… but that was not what held the attention of the watching genin.

All eyes were focused intensely on the new comer.

Rock Lee was silent for only a moment. "A new arrival!" the young male enthusiastically exclaimed, as the fire of youth burned brightly in his passionate eyes. That boy didn't exactly look like good news! This could only spell trouble for poor Naruto and the youthful Kagome.

After that insane ordeal with the now sane Sasuke, they would not be able to defend themselves!

Which meant it was up to him, Rock Lee, to aid them in their plight to victory-

"Lee," Neji abruptly spoke, not bothering to turn his stare upon the zealous genin. He already knew what his foolish teammate was planning to do. Lee was always reckless; so ready to jump into a fray that was not his own. How many times would he have to tell the other genin to stand down? Honestly, he was beginning to feel like a broken record. "Stay put."

Lee's brows were knitted tightly together, but before he could once again express his dislike with the order, TenTen spoke up.

"I think we should leave," the weapon mistress wisely suggested, glancing warily in Neji's direction. Of course she saw the intelligent Hyuuga as the leader of the squad, therefore she awaited his approval. After witnessing the previous events, she no longer wanted to remain around this ongoing dilemma that surrounded Team Seven.

The male Uchiha's earlier appearance, and his perverse behavior towards his own sibling, had been enough to sicken her. He may look normal now, but that did nothing to erase his deeds.

Then the bloodshed, and the mutilated corpses that were sprawled across the entire clearing weren't helping to appease her churning stomach.

Sadly, though, she did not receive her wish.

Neji felt no need to acknowledge her. He had no intentions of leaving, not yet, and his eyes were shifting between Kagome and Gaara.

'Obviously she knows this boy, seeing as she greeted him.' he silently mused, still ignoring the probing stares being bestowed upon him by the weapon mistress, 'She seems to attract a great deal of attention.' He now realized the fact that she had gained his attention as well, and his attention was not easily gained. He would not have remained here had it not been for his budding curiosity of her.

"Now what?" Ino squeaked out from beside Shikamaru; baffled by the appearance of yet another individual. "Is this bull crap ever going to end!" This guy didn't look all too sane. The fact that he'd seemed to magically show up; clutching his head and groaning, while several grains of sand twisted around his body wasn't exactly reassuring, or normal.

Why in the world was so much crazy stuff happening!

First there was the psycho, incestuous- 'I want to screw my sister' Sasuke, and now this! A seemingly crazy red-head that must have had one hell of a headache. Really, why else would he be grasping his head and loudly moaning in pain?

This was too much! She was worried that she wouldn't be able to remember all the important details! How the hell was she supposed to relay the gossip to her friends, when she could barely keep track!

"It's never going to end," Shikamaru replied in a stressed, but assured voice. Just as he'd briefly mused before: this entire mess would only escalate from here. Especially with the ever talkative Ino bouncing about. The girl couldn't keep her mouth shut to save anyone's life, not even her own.

The bizarre red-head suddenly showing up must have been a bad omen; events would only grow worse.

'Yeap. I just knew I wouldn't enjoy this exam. Should have dropped out in the beginning.'

Shikamaru only wished that he could avoid the backlash that would come forth, due to the Uchiha siblings. He would never hear the end of this sick mess. And to think, he wouldn't be in this predicament had he not foolishly jumped into a battle he knew could not be won. Anxiously, he looked about the open field, his worried eyes searching.

He and his team had long since overstayed their welcome. "Listen up, guys," he quietly addressed his squad.

From his crouched position in the far back of the undergrowth, Chouji glanced at him.

His poor friend was still terrified, and he could see the fear etched onto the chubby boys face. He had even gone as far as to drop his chips, and that itself spoke volumes of how spooked he was. Chouji,literally loved his potato chips, so leaving the prized possession on the dirty forest floor was a true indicated of his terror.

He felt extremely guilty for dragging his friend into the battle, and the only way to rectify his stupid mistake would be to get him out of this mess. "When I give the okay, we're getting the hell out of here. Just follow me, and stay low to the ground." It was important to not draw attention from the others; hence they needed to flee while the focus was elsewhere.

Chouji was quickly nodding in agreement. Fleeing seemed like the perfect idea to him.

Ino, on the other hand, wasn't so eager to go along with the plan. "You want to leave?" she dubiously gasped, since that wasn't what she wanted to do. Nope. The blonde had her own plan, and the last thing she would do was leave without further observing Sasuke's interactions with Kagome. "I need to know all the juicy details! I'm not going anywhere, so we're staying!"

At that moment, Chouji wished that there was a really huge rock which he could crawl underneath. He just wanted to hide himself away from the horrors of world. Shivering pathetically, he ducked further into recess of the roots. 'Why me…? All I wanna' to do is eat my chips in peace!' It figured that Ino wouldn't want to leave! She just wanted to pry into matters that weren't her business.

Speechless, Shikamaru could only gawk at his female teammate. It took him a long moment to find his lost voice. "Juicy… details?" he exasperatedly repeated back, in complete disbelief. Yes. He knew well enough that she loved to gossip. A dirty scandal was like sweet bliss to her, but the fact that she was willing to remain in an unsafe environment just so she could soak up the 'juicy' details, made him wonder about her mental state.

'She has issues.' Females where troublesome beings, and most couldn't keep their mouths shut. Every last one of them was a pain, and eventually they would be the death of him.

By now he was feeling quite fed up with Ino's foolish behavior. While he didn't like to take charge, or even argue with anyone, much less a girl, he knew that he couldn't let her have her way. Not this time. Not when they were sitting in the midst of a massacre, and their very lives were at risk. "I don't care if you want to stay or not. When I give the okay, we are leaving, and that's final."

When he saw the clear look of defiance in her eyes, he seriously threatened, "Look, I don't feel like doing this, but if you keep acting like an idiot… I'll just knock you out, and drag you off." The team was his responsibility, and he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if something happened to either one of them. Even more so since they wouldn't be in this predicament had it not been for him.

"Ugh… I-" Ino was flabbergasted; her mouth opened and shut, giving the impression of a drowning fish. She was shocked by his unyielding tone, and she couldn't come up with a good retort.

Basically, Shikamaru had just laid down the law, and the only thing that she could do was listen.

Somehow she knew there was no way to get around his order. The eerie thing was that he had never, ever spoken in such a way. Never did he take things seriously, choosing to whine, complain and avoid anything that involved the slightest hint of labor.

However, now…

He was actually sounding like a leader, and that simply surprised her. She would have never expected such behavior from Shikamaru.

'Whatever…screw you, too.' She griped in sullen silence, not pleased with his behavior. It was annoying, but it didn't really matter… as her observant blue eyes trained themselves back onto the opening field.

As long as she was still here, she would be sure to not miss a single thing.

---

Uchiha Kagome cautiously observed Gaara, and immediately she took notice of the layer of demonic sand that cloaked his body in a faultless union. Invisible to the normal eye, yet obvious to hers.

Hopefully, he wasn't harboring a killer grudge toward her.

After all, she had stabbed him with a kunai, and she just knew he hadn't forgotten about that. Sure, she was sorry, but that really didn't mean anything. 'What if he's here to kill me?' She felt like she was treading on pins and needles. The tension was just way too much to bear.

Another soundless second ticked by, and nothing happened-

This was no surprise.

Thanks to their last meeting, she suspected that he wasn't quite use to conversing with others. The sand container didn't interact with people on a regular basic, which, in turn, meant that he wasn't very adept when it came to conversations or manners. In fact, it appeared as if he'd zoned out once his eyes met hers, but she knew better.

He was alert, and he was looking right at her.

Intensely.

He ceased to clutch his head, his arms dropped to the side.

It was then that she realized something that slightly quelled her fear.

There was no menacing rise in his demon's chakra, which meant that he wasn't planning an aggressive assault yet. That was very reassuring to know, but it only raised another question. If he was not here to kill her for her transgression against him, then why had he come? Then, the fact that he wasn't going to attack now, didn't mean that he wouldn't change his mind.

For all she knew, something could easily set him off, and send him into a violent rage.

The last time they'd met, Gaara had been especially rude, but he had not made a move to attack until Sasuke foolishly threw a kunai at the back of his head. After that moment, it was like a systematic series of homicidal events…

The sand Jinchuuriki completely lost his temper, and went in for the kill. So… it would probably be rather easy to 'set him off' again, which would send him into another rage. But there had to be a way to successfully handle this, and without blood being spilled.

She just wasn't sure of how to do so-

Sasuke was breathing anxiously, his heart pounding eccentrically. His mind racing, and just like Kagome, he too was trying to locate some possible means to escape this mess.

First things first, he couldn't very well make any attempt to fight with Kagome sitting in his lap. Still mindful of her injuries, he gently nudged her off of his lap and onto the forest floor beside him.

"Nii-kun," Kagome hesitantly whispered, anxiously reaching out to seize his wrist when he made a move to stand, "Please don't-"

"I know." Sasuke harshly interrupted her cautious warning. He knew she was worried that he would repeat his previous actions with the vessel. He was a lot of things, but imprudent was not one of them. He wouldn't make the same reckless mistake twice.

Still, he was not pleased with the long observant gaze that Gaara was gracing Kagome with. The vessel's previous words had never left him. The sand Jinchuuriki had pondered killing her before, therefore the odds of him contemplating the same thoughts again were likely.

For all he knew, Gaara could be thinking of going through with the notion at this very moment-

His mind went into full defense. The need to protect the helpless girl at his side was tremendous. It was because of that feeling that he made an attempt to active his sharingan, but he was quickly reminded that he hadn't the charka to do so. Teeth clenched, sweat formed at his brow, and in an inner show desperation, he pushed himself, urgently trying to draw upon energy that he knew he did not possess-

His desperate actions caused an instant result.

The curse mark along the back of his neck began to pulse painfully, throbbing with hot, near excruciating intensity.

It was trying to offer him the energy that he lacked. Trying to entice him with the allure of power. This was a set-up; he knew that for a fact. This demonic tattoo was designed to force the user into becoming reliant on its' power. Due to his earlier use of the foreign mark, his normal ki had been depleted.

Or rather, devoured by the mark.

The chakra the curse had fed him was potent enough ki to transform his entire body into something deviously demonic. A powerful fiend whose speed, techniques and overall physical attributes had been increased tremendously. He'd been able to do things, hideous things, that he hadn't thought possible.

Breaking another person's bones could never have been so easy.

Power seemed to call to him. It always had and always would. It was a requirement. He could not kill Uchiha Itachi if he did not have the power. Despite that foreboding knowledge, he felt slight hesitation in using the chakra of the mark. Not only had he put Kagome through hell, greatly putting strain on her already anguished mind, but he'd lost control of his own actions.

He had said things that he hadn't meant to say. Yes, he was well aware that he would soon be informing Kagome of the truth, but it wasn't supposed to be revealed in the way that it almost had been.

Power, regardless of where it came from, was good… but losing control of his actions and turning into a raging psychopath was not.

Regardless of all the seal's obvious downfalls-

Sasuke knew that if push came to shove, he would use the power again. Just as before, he saw the red-headed bijuu container as a threat against Kagome, and if he sensed for a moment that she was in danger, he'd quickly succumb to the dark, demonic chakra so that he could protect her.

He would just have to remain in control of his own psyche during the process. Control the power, and not let it control him.

Sasuke easily pulled his hand from her grasp and stood. He kept his attention on Gaara, who had completely ignored his movements and had continued to stare at Kagome.

He now knew what he would do.

This time he would watch and wait in silence, for if the sand genin would attempt to attack her, then he would take action against him…

Using the curse seal to aid him-

Naruto had already picked up on his teammates' stress. To him it was obvious, and naturally this caused him to become defensive. 'I have to do something. Kag-chan can't fight, and Sasuke ain't looking to great either,' he frantically thought, having already noticed the Uchiha's strained features.

He and Gaara… they were both Jinchuuriki, but that didn't mean he would show benevolence. In his opinion, the other container shouldn't have been stalking and making offhanded comments about killing Kagome. That was simply unacceptable, and he would have reacted in the same way that Sasuke had.

Regardless of what had happened, threatening or harming his family was not something he took lightly.

If only he had access to his kitsune, then this wouldn't be an issue. 'Damn that snake. We wouldn't be in this shit if it weren't for him.' Hiswhiskered features steeled in unwavering resolve. Obviously he would have to handle this without the aid of Kyuubi, and since Gaara's gaze was on Kagome, he did the first thing that came to mind. With one brazen step to the right, he stood in front of the sitting priestess, completely blocking her from the red-head's piercing scrutiny…

And now those narrowed, cyan eyes were suddenly on him. The sudden frustration in the sand bijuu's expression was noticeable. He had gone from appearing outwardly detached, to showing great infuriation.

A rapid mood swing.

It looked as if Gaara wasn't quite pleased with having the object of his attention blocked from his sight.

Nevertheless, Naruto didn't give a damn. "What the hell are you looking at, you freaky eyed bastard?" he snapped crudely, returning the cold glare with one of his own.

Gaara's jaw clenched, his temper flared in frustration. It wasn't the words of the other male that angered him, it was the fact that he'd just got in his way, 'I did not notice before, but I smell the kitsune on this human. Another host.' The voice suddenly growled out with disgust, and his frustration grew greater, 'Arrogant Kyuubi, always thought he was better than me. I am better. Me!'

The voices comments were perplexing; and the anger that it was expressing was affecting him.

It was then that Gaara decided to speak-

"Move." The sand bijuu callously growled, his expression darkened with heated exasperation. "Now."

A loud scoff came from Naruto, and his blue eyes hardened, "I'm not doing shit! Just because you say move, doesn't mean anything!" Raising his fist, he began his raging threats, "If you don't leave, I'll kick your sorry a-"

"Naruto-kun!" Kagome frantically shouted his name, interrupting him mid-rage. "Don't do anything. Just move, Naruto-kun." As soon as the blond stepped in front her, she had sensed that familiar, but menacing rise of demonic chakra from Gaara. She finally had a plan. A rather thrown together plan that might not work, but a plan nonetheless.

Perhaps, if this was handled in a calm, placate manner, then the sand bijuu would not lash out? It was only a speculation on her part, but when Gaara had stalked them, he hadn't once made a move to harm them. It wasn't until Sasuke's hostile actions that he'd completely snapped, and went in for the kill. He only wanted to interrogate her about her abilities.

So maybe…

He was here because he wanted to know something? Just like before? If that were the case, talking, and giving him his answer, would result in him leaving, 'I'm making a whole lot of assumptions, and I'm going to hope that I'm not wrong.'

Naruto hesitantly glanced back at her, and he didn't move as she'd ordered. "But Kag-chan, he's-"

"Not going to do anything," Kagome tersely finished, and while her voice was soft, as always, it was still firm. "Please move, Naruto-kun."

Said boy could only blinked, completely puzzled by her self-assured words. What made her believe that Gaara wouldn't try anything? The guy had attacked them before, and while she looked relaxed on the outside, he just knew that she was a nervous wreck on the inside.

So why would Kagome say such a thing?

"Kaggy," the blond tried to reason, pointing a finger at the glowering red-head he thought to remind her of what she obviously knew. "He attacked you and the teme-"

And, just like before, the little miko quickly interrupted him, "Naruto-kun, please-" she curtly began. Then, much more forcefully: "Move."

That only caused him to feel more confused. For a short moment, he remained in his spot, before finally nodding.

In spite of his confusion, he decided to obey.

Gaara giving him an order was one thing, but Kagome was another.

She wanted him to move… and he would-

However, if the other vessel dared to show any aggression against Sasuke or her, then he and his clones would be quick to pounce.

Gaara immediately dismissed the blond. He hadn't a single ounce of interest in the other boy. Without delay, he turned his intrusive gaze back to Kagome and he felt this unusual bout of excitement, although it did not seem that way to those watching. The devious voice literally cooed out in sinful pleasure, as he once again looked upon her small, injured body.

What sounded like nails being dreadfully dragged against metal bars reached his already throbbing ears from without within hid mind. 'I like this.' It eagerly cackled, as the loud purrs continued to come forth, 'My new trophy mate is all covered in blood, and surrounded by carnage. I like this a lot.'

Interesting… the voice was being very, very talkative. Yes, it had spoken many times before. Demanding offerings of death and destruction, but never had it spoken so clearly. Nor had it shown hints of having a true personality that expressed any other desire besides the craving for blood.

But now it was doing just that, and sadly he did not understand the meaning.

'Trophy? Mate?' he repeated slowly, his eyes still fixated with alluring hazel. She was a trophy? A mate?

This made no sense to him…

He had not come to kill, so why was he here?

He heard the screams… her scream, and then the howls overtook his mind, urging… no demanding that he go. It had been simple to locate her, seeing as he could literally smell her thick aroma. And now that he was closer, that spiky, yet sweet scent, as well as the smell of her blood, flooded his nostrils.

Addicting.

It burned his nose, but at the same time he found it to be enthralling. Exhilarating.

But… he did not come to kill. He knew that to be true, so why had he come?

Taunting cackles echoed from within his mind, 'You came to take, to taint, to steal. This time I will have the Shikon! Arrogant Kyuubi had her before, but not this time. I want…' The entity fervently explained, and the awful sounds of nails grinding on metal continued; this time louder than before. 'Take, take, and take some more.'

It was almost like a demented mantra, one that he did not understand. He always gave the voice what it wanted, but that was only because he understood its desires.

He understood blood.

He understood death.

But this time he didn't understand what it meant by its' strange demands. He felt confused; therefore he sought to ignore the chanting entity. A task that was easier said than done, for ignoring something the spoke from within was impossible. However, focusing on the wounded female who'd penetrated his defense, thus becoming a constant obsession of the mind, made the task slightly easier.

'Wounded...'

It was then that he sought to satisfy his own childish curiosity.

"You are hurt."

When those words left the sand vessel's mouth, a few shivers ran down her spine. 'Calm down, Kagome.' She told herself, keeping her outward expression even, 'He's only talking, and talking is way better than getting a huge load of killer sand to the face.'

Gaara was very good at being intimidating, he was just talking and she still felt nervous. That was understandable though, given her condition, and his erratic antics. Due to her being a very strong-willed individual, she was able to maintain a pseudo that was free of emotions…

Even though those cyan orbs were blatantly straying over her body, taking in every single cut, bruise and speck of blood.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He was well aware of the obsessive gaze that was being bestowed upon Kagome. 'No.' The sand vessel had stared at her the last time they met. Now, however, something about the look seemed more intense, or rather intrusive. It was like the red-headed boy was fixated on her. All he knew was that he did not like this, and his nature was demanding that he attack, regardless of his earlier plan to wisely wait it out.

"Hai, I am." The nervous miko very quickly answered, as she realized that the alarming rise of his demons chakra had suddenly ceased. 'No threat.' So far, so good, although it was odd that he was randomly pointing out her horrible state of health, which was obvious to anyone that possessed the gift of sight.

With her reply given, Gaara finally decided to briefly take his attention away from Kagome.

He gazed at the clearing, leisurely taking in the massive gore that lay around them. He didn't even flinch at the sight, but the ever psychotic voice began to cackle in glee.

'The blood makes me squirm with pleasure… but… I like looking at my pretty new trophy better.'

He did his best to ignore that confusing comment.

His intense stare was turned back onto Kagome.

"They hurt you?" Gaara curiously asked through unblinking eyes, while avidly observing the appealing bruises that peppered her skin.

By now, Naruto was visibly fidgeting in his spot. He was tempted to jumped right back in front of her so that he could continue his earlier threats. The only thing keeping him from doing so was his love's unyielding assurance that the other vessel meant no harm.

Sadly though, he didn't believe her to be right, despite her words.

Kagome kept the grimace from crossing her features. She wasn't irritated with Gaara, just confused. She couldn't figure out what he wanted to know, and his questions weren't making any sense. "Hai, they did hurt me." She felt as if her replies to him were becoming near identical.

Just… where was this going? Was he only curious to know who had caused her injuries? If so, why?

"Gaara…" Kagome lips pursed together in bewilderment, and she couldn't help but ask, "Why are you here?"

Gaara didn't bat a lash, but his eyes widened slightly, and a hand came up to clutch his head when the loud, malicious laughter screeched viciously from within. 'Hahaha,' laughed the entity; heavy, rumbling breaths reverberated in his mind, and it obviously found her question amusing. 'To take and taint.' It hungrily repeated, quick to remind him, 'Easy while she is weak. No resistance. Take her from my arrogant sibling and flee.'

He still did not understand. Nonetheless, out of all that had just been spoken, he focused on one word. 'Weak. She is weak.' He had the feeling that she hadn't even sensed his arrival, judging by the wide-eyed, shocked gape given when he'd shown.

This meant that she had not the strength to penetrate his defense.

She had not the strength to cause him injury.

She could not kill him… but he-

His hand slowly fell to the side, and in a tone that was dead, he stated, "I can kill you now."

And those inattentive words set off a chain reaction.

Kagome took in a deep breath. Although she knew it was a metaphoric statement- Gaara's chakra remained lax, therefore he had no plans on following suit. He was merely speaking the obvious, but her teammates would not see it as such-

Thus, she was not shocked when she felt another spike of demonic chakra, but this time is wasn't from Gaara.

It came from Sasuke.

That black, twisted tattoo of the cursed mark was rapidly slithering along his body and face, and not a single ounce of his skin was left untouched. The white of his eyes bled an abyss-like shade of ominous black, and the menacing gleam of his evolved Sharingan boldly glared forth, as if daring his opponent to attack.

'No… not again.'

She had just brought him out of this corrupted state by clinging, crying and begging him to stop; therefore, she wasn't against doing it again.

With that thought in mind, she made a move to stand, only to find out that she literally couldn't manage the simple task. For some strange reason, her legs weren't obeying her mind's commands to move. 'Oh god…the lower half of my body,' she made another mental attempt to shift her legs, and just as before it was futile, '…just locked up on me.'

In other words, she didn't have the strength to get up, and wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. The previous ordeal had truly taken a horrible toll on her body, but she hadn't realized it until now.

Having no choice, she remained sitting, and found herself staring up at Sasuke's back, or rather at the two large holes in his shirt; this due to the featherless wings that he'd previously grew. Through all of that, the Uchiha emblem had stay in perfect condition-

Despite her liability, she didn't hesitate to attempt a verbal approach.

Frantically shaking her head, Kagome hurried to speak, "Nii-kun, no! Wait, please, Gaara isn't going to-"

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

And that happened to be the heated voice of Uzumaki Naruto.

With that phrase came the echoing sounds of smoke, and as the smoke began to clear, several of Naruto's fuming doppelgangers stood around them. "I KNEW IT! YOU'RE A CRAZY BASTARD! YOU'RE NOT TOUCHING KAGOME!" he angrily howled out; his hands were locked together, forming the ram seal.

By now, Kagome's skin had turned an ashen white. They were overreacting, and if this continued, the after-effects would likely become dire. "Both of you listen to me! I told you-"

Once again, she was cut off, this time by Sasuke.

"Just stay there and keep quiet, Kagome." He coldly snapped, shoulders stiff, with his eyes locked dangerously on Gaara.

The nervous miko was completely taken back by his callous voice. He barely sounded like himself, and more like the monster he'd once become. Apparently, he had no plans on listening, and her alarm only grew when she once again felt the rise of demonic chakra coming from Gaara.

All of her cautious actions were so that the red-head wouldn't attack, but the boys were undoing all of her hard work. "I'm not going to keep quiet, nii-kun! You need to listen to me!" by now, she was becoming quite frustrated, and while that was not quelling her alarm, it was still beginning to show, "He isn't going to attack! It was a rhetorical question!"

Sasuke purposely ignored her, but out of the five clones that Naruto created, one of the replicas did take notice of her distress, and gazed down with a very solemn stare. "Sorry, Kagome," the shadow clone tersely apologized, "But he shouldn't have said that."

From beneath the safety of the roots, Ino loudly squeaked out, "Holy crap! The crazy shit is happening all over again!" Throughout the whole ordeal her eyes were locked on Sasuke, and of course she had taken notice of his appearance, which was slowly beginning to alter. "He's gonna spout those freakish hand-wings! Oh my GOD!"

"Keep your voice down!" Shikamaru immediately snapped, ignoring the quick glare Ino shot him. He knew that she wasn't pleased with his constant reprimanding, but he didn't care. Her shrill, melodramatic squeals could possibly gain the attention of the others, and that was something that he didn't want.

At this point he wasn't even sure if it would be a wise idea to leave, as he originally planned. So far, no one seemed to be paying attention to his team, but the slightest movement could change that-

And as a result… they could end up dead.

'Damn. I don't need this stress.'

"Are we going to go now?" Chouji hopefully asked from his cowering position.

Shikamaru shook his head, having decided that it would be safer to wait, "No, not yet. Sorry, Chouji."

One quick glance into the tree limbs above showed that the prodigal Hyuuga and his two squad members were still hanging around. That seriously surprised him. He didn't know too much about the Hyuuga, but from what he gathered, the boy didn't not seem to be the type to observe affairs that were not his own.

He could not understand why Neji and his team remained, or why they'd shown in the first place-

Uchiha Sasuke kept his calculating stare on the foreign Jinchuuriki. Gaara was paying him no attention, most likely he'd already assumed that he was no threat. Just like the last time, he saw him as nothing, and that thought pissed him off.

At first glance, it would seem that the vessel was open for an attack, but he knew that was not the case. He learned that from their previous encounter. The sand was his weapon, as was it his defensive. In order to kill the container, he would need to get around that defense and penetrate the cloak that covered the body.

Before, he had been unable, but now…

He felt as if he could kill Gaara.

Forcing himself to sit in silence, as Kagome spoke with the demonic child, had been difficult enough. He had attempted to wait it out, only to see if Gaara would leave, but as he continued to watch, he'd come to realize something.

The sand genin had somehow developed a fixation with Kagome. That was the only thing that could explain his mannerisms towards her.

'Unacceptable.'

Unlike the clueless Naruto, he had long since realized that the vessel's statement was rhetorical, but that no longer mattered. Charka continued to flow through his veins, and he fed off the dark energy as if starving for nutrients. With the demonic chakra, he could be rid of this pest who appeared to want what did not belong to him.

He just needed to-

'Control… maintain control.' He inwardly reminded himself of this, as he felt his psyche falter. His mentality was already under pressure, and the strange part about it, was that he hadn't even transformed into his winged-state. Because of that, he only allowed small amounts of the chakra into his network…

And it seemed to work.

It was a little less difficult to hold on to his state of mind when feeding upon tiny portions of the demonic ki, but it still was not simple. He could do this… but he would go about it carefully. Not only would he need to stay in touch with reality, but the enemy was a demon container like Naruto.

Sharingan orbs narrowed at the thought of the blond. It was strange that he hadn't bothered to tap into his kitsune's red chakra. Naruto always took advantage of the bijuu's ki, even when he didn't need to. It seemed to have turned into a habit, or rather an addiction.

Then again, now that he looked back on previous events…

That snake had obviously done something to the kitsune's seal seconds before he interfered and prevented him from being killed. Therefore, he could only surmise that Naruto was not using Kyuubi because he could not.

While this made him less powerful, it did not mean that the blond would be useless in aiding him.

"Yo, teme…" From the left came the voice of one of Naruto's Kage Bunshin. The rest of the clones, and the blond, were keeping their eyes on Gaara.

This doppelganger was cautiously studying the Uchiha's body, and observing the twisted, black tattoo that covered his skin. A grimace marred its' whiskered features. "You're starting to look freaky again," stated the clone, clearly not too pleased about the fact, but not knowing how to prevent it.

Sasuke merely scowled, not caring at all about how he looked, or how the mark was changing his appearance. "Just make more clones," he curtly ordered, disregarding the comment, "Keep his attention off of me."

The clone's grimace deepened. It seemed as though the Uchiha had some sort of plan in mind. Despite that, he didn't appreciate the typical condescending tone Sasuke used. "Fine," it grudgingly agreed, "but you better not go psycho on me again. I'm not dealing with that shit this time."

"Just do it, Naruto," Sasuke sharply retorted, in no mood for the blond's quips. With a calculating gleam in his crimson eyes, he added: "And send only your clones at him."

Kagome listened to their interactions with a feeling of dread. Gaara's chakra still remained lax, so she knew he had no plans of attacking. Actually, he hadn't spared either of her teammates a second glance, his eyes still engrossed with her. But, if they followed through with their plans of aggression, his temperament would not remain lenient, and he would lash out with deadly intent.

She did not want to witness more bloodshed, so, while she knew that her pleas would have no effect, she was preparing to make yet another attempt to stop them-

"GAARA!" a loud female voice suddenly exclaimed, "WHERE ARE YOU!"

The sand vessel narrowed his eyes towards the dark vegetation at his left, gazing through the trees coldly.

He recognized that voice.

The sound of leaves being crushed under the weight of several footsteps reach their ears. Within seconds, Temari, as well as Kankuro, stumbled into the ruined clearing. Thanks to the trail of sand that their little brother left behind, they had been able to easily track his unexpected, yet quick movements. Briefly, the two gaped at the crazed scene before them.

The puppeteer was the first to speak, "What the fuck…?" Kankuro cursed quietly, his features contorted in bewilderment as he took in the sight. Not only were there dead people strewn about the field, but the air reeked of the ghastly scent of blood and decay.

What did his crazy brother do now? Then again, this didn't look like the boy's handiwork. When Gaara killed, he didn't mutilate the bodies, he only crushed them, and, in the end, they barely resembled the human they once were-

Overlooking the blond's clones', he glanced at the Uchiha male, whose body was covered by a strange black design, but that didn't hold his attention for long. On the forest floor, in-between her teammates, sat Kagome. She seemed rather shocked to see them there, however, her expression was not what held his attention…

Kankuro's brows knitted together as he took note of the bruises, "Damn…" He muttered, incredulously, "What the hell happened to her?"

The attractive little girl was seriously lacking her usual beauty. It looked liked she'd gotten socked in the face a few times. 'Gah, it happens.' He finally thought with an indifferent shrug; a ninja was bound to get punched around sooner or later. It didn't matter if you were an ugly old man, or a cute young female. Enemies didn't show favoritism, neither did he.

It didn't take the observant puppeteer long to noticed that there were two leaf teams camping in the trees. Well, three of them were in the high limbs of the tree, while the other three were under the roots. He blinked once again, and despite his confusion, quirked a brow in slight amusement.

What was this?

A twisted slumber party for Konoha genin?

If so, Gaara must have been the one to crash the party.

"What… What is going on here?" Temari finally found her voice; she was just as lost as her baffled brother. Taking attentive steps towards her Otouto, she eyed the small boy in the usual trepidation, "Gaara?"

The red-head said nothing, but his eyes further narrowed at her inquiring call, and she tensed, her steps halting.

Of course, Naruto was unperturbed by the arrival of the sand siblings. "Hey, Sasuke," he voiced snidely, a grin at his lips, "It looks like we get to kick more ass."

Sasuke only scowled, not happy with the turn of events. "Always the idiot, Naruto," he tensely retorted. He wanted to kill the sand vessel, and he wished to do it now. But, it would not be so simple. Not only that, but he was still fighting to maintain control over his own mind, and the task was not easy.

Actually, he was barely managing, and he knew that if he were to take too much demonic chakra, he'd turn into that beast…

Loosing hold of his psyche for the second time.

His scowl deepened, "Most likely they'll aid him, and only complicate things."

Naruto responded by rapidly creating another set of doppelgangers. "See, problem solved!" He grinned, shrewdly. Still as impudent as ever, he and his fifteen clones arrogantly howled out: "BRING IT ON YOU BASTARDS! WE'LL OWN ALL YOUR SORRY ASSES!"

Kankuro only scoffed. "Still loud and annoying. Something's will never change," he muttered, rolling his eyes.

Hearing the blond's taunt, Gaara dismissed his older siblings and turned back towards Team Seven-

His eyes immediately met with bright hazel, and he once again found himself locked in a stare, completely immersed by her. 'Pretty.' The word fleetingly crossed his mind as he thought over some of the things that the cackling entity had spoken.

'I told you to take and taint her. Now. I want the Shikon now. ' The impatient voice urged. A high-pitched, annoyed growl came forth when he didn't move from his spot, and it quickly began the chants: 'Now, no-'

'I don't understand.' Gaara abruptly replied, thus interrupting the demented mantra before it could even be completed. There came a long moment of strained silence, and then heavy, agitated breaths. He had never, truly replied back to the entity. Yes, he had his own thoughts, but he didn't make direct comments to it.

He only obeyed, and gave the being what it desired so that it would ceased the howls.-

But this time… he did not understand what it wanted; therefore he could not give into its desire.

Finally, there came a long, bestial-like whine, one that was so shrill and so horrible that he felt as if his ringing ears would bleed out... and then, to his upmost surprise… all grew silent.

Silent.

He tilted his head to the side, eyes slightly wide with shock.

His poor ears were still throbbing, however, the voice had strangely gone quiet.

This made no sense.

The voice never grew silent until he gave it what it wanted, and even then the silence didn't last long.

"Gaara," Temari reluctantly tried again, ignoring the presence of the multiple leaf genin. She didn't know what was going on, but she didn't want her unstable Otouto to lose it and transform into that hideous, nightmare inducing monster that haunted her dreams on a nightly basis.

Gaara had been acting more bizarre as of late, and she hadn't a clue as to why. He'd run off after that scream, and then they find him surrounded by this madness.

When he paid her no attention, Temari followed his line of vision and saw that his gaze was on Kagome. She frowned. Why was he so interested in the girl? She couldn't recall him ever observing another person, whether they be male or female, for such a long period of time. That is, unless he happened to be killing them-

And clearly, he wasn't doing such a thing.

So why…?

Another of the blond's clones noticed Gaara's leers, and stepped in front of Kagome, thus blocking the view of her. "You crazy bastard, stop staring at her!" it furiously howled, shooting the red-head a heated glare, "Try looking somewhere else!"

Immediately, Gaara's features took on a malicious appearance, cyan orbs darkening. Somehow Temari knew that it was not due to the clone's rude words, but because he could no longer see Kagome. Her eyes widened, in both disbelief and comprehension. Could it be that her insane little brother had actually developed a… crush?

Now that was a terrifying thought. Perhaps she was wrong, seeing as she and Gaara didn't spend any time together, besides the usual missions, hence she didn't truly know him. Only his psychotic tendencies.

But what if it were truth?

Then she already pitied for the dark haired girl.

Nevertheless, this entire squabble needed to be stopped before it went too far. She just wasn't sure if he would listen to her. Cautiously, she took a few more steps towards him, stopping mere inches away. "Gaara, please…" Temari carefully spoke, "We have our scroll, so we really should go to the tower."

Much to her disappointment, he did not budge.

They really didn't need this type of situation.

"Yeah, Gaara, we really need to leave," Kankuro decided to add, hoping to convince him, since Temari was having no luck. Briefly, he glanced over at the leaf genin that still occupied the limbs and roots of the tree. With clear amusement, he spoke the following words, "I think you wrecked their little slumber party already."

Gaara turned his glare onto his elder brother, conveying his displeasure with the single glance. "Shut. Up," he growled out, black ringed eyes narrowing into a tiny slit.

Kankuro's smirk fell, a bead of sweat rolled down his temple, and a shiver of fear traveled through his body. His joking comment was clearly not welcomed. It appeared that his Otouto was still pissed off at him.

Temari was quick to intervene, eager to save Kankuro from their little brother's wrath, "Come on now, Gaara. Don't be so cruel to us. We just want to-"

She stopped, for the sand vessel suddenly turned around, walking coolly in the direction that they'd arrived from. "We are leaving. Now." He suddenly ordered, and as he continued his walk toward the darkened foliage of trees, his body was swiftly overtaken by a whirlwind of sand and then-

He vanished.

Temari didn't bother to give a parting word to the Konoha genin, saying, "Come on, Kankuro." With those curt words, she, too, disappeared from the clearing.

The puppeteer didn't hesitant to follow suit.

---

'It's over…? It's actually over?'

Kagome released a much needed breath of relief, having realized that she'd began to hold her breath throughout the overwhelming ordeal. She actually felt faint, as if she could collapse onto her back. At this point, she could only handle so much, and now it seemed as if all the stress would finally come to an end.

After all of that, it was actually over.

She had assumed that there would be more bloodshed, but Gaara simply left. At this point she didn't even understand what had really taken place. He'd came… to ask a few odd questions about her 'health,' after which he proceeded to stare at her, and when Naruto prevented him from seeing her-

He grew angry.

Being the perceptive girl that she was, Kagome instantly picked up on that fact.

'What just happened? Did he only want to talk to me? Or maybe look at me?' She couldn't make sense of it. If anything, he shouldn't have cared about her health, or about who harmed her. She had literally stabbed him in the gut; plunging her blade though the defensive sand, and into the flesh. Blood had flown freely, and he'd given a horrible scream that still hadn't left her mind. Because of that he should have, at the very least, wanted her dead. And, with her weakened, this would have been the perfect opportunity.

This made… no sense…

But then again, she'd already surmised that the sand vessel wasn't sane, so it wouldn't do her any good to ponder over his behavior.

Despite that, she still found herself doing so-

The numerous puffing sounds of Naruto's clones dispersing reached her ears and disrupted her deep deliberation.

"Kag-chan!" the blond energetically exclaimed; with the danger now gone his full attention was on her. He dropped to his knees, and while he desperately wanted to embrace her, he pushed aside the urge due to her obvious injuries. "I… um, Kaggy?" he muttered hesitantly. The more he looked her over, the more depressed he grew. Plus, the guilt he felt had never left him, "Are… you okay?"

The moment the question left his mouth, he felt quite idiotic. 'Way to go, you dumbass,' he angrily berated himself, 'that was a stupid thing to ask.' Of course she wasn't okay, and inquiring about the obvious was just moronic.

"I'm fine, Naruto-kun." Kagome quickly assured, smiling softly, "It's not as bad as it looks." She could see the concern, and hear it in his voice, so she purposely (at this time) left out the fact that her legs weren't functioning. Not to mention that she also felt extremely tired, somewhat faint, famished, and had to fight just to remain conscious. But there was no need to further his worry, not that it mattered, seeing as her attempt worked.

Naruto quirked a brow, his eyes vigilantly roamed over her small body. "Ugh… Kagome," he paused, shoulders slumped with the heavy burden of guilt. It figures she, being the sweet girl that she was, would say that. "I'm so sorry." He apologized again, staring her directly in the eyes, "I won't mess up again, I promise."

Kagome blinked slowly before a smile graced her lips. He'd already apologized earlier, she hadn't forgotten. Nevertheless, she saw no reason for his guiltiness. The entire conformation with Orochimaru had not only been unanticipated, but the ninja was also out of their league.

'That abomination…' quickly she pushed the thought of the creature out of her mind, having no desire to remember the repulsive events. "You didn't mess up, Naruto-kun," she sweetly assured, tenderly cupping his whiskered cheek. Her charming smile grew wider, as she lovingly gazed into brilliant blue, "You were absolutely amazing."

His face flushed an adorable shade of red, and he coyly rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks… Kag-chan," he weakly muttered, not agreeing with her words. True, he did love her praise, but this moment he didn't feel as if he deserved it. Not after all that had happened.

"Kagome." Sasuke unexpectedly spoke up, having been watching them in silence. He knelt down before her, and the first thing she took notice of was that the curse seals markings had receded, no longer blemishing his skin. He had actually stopped using it, and that caused her to grin happily.

"Sasuke-nii!"

Her hand quickly left Naruto's cheek and she wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling him into a tight, affectionate embrace, "No more using that mark," she softly whispered in his ear. "Besides, you look so much better this way."

His breath hitched and he shut his eyes, briefly relishing in the innocent touch. He would have rather stayed in her hold for hours, but at this moment that was not possible. Grudgingly, he moved away, but only because his concern was on more important matters.

Those of which dealt with the little female that sat before him.

Due to all of the drama, he'd been unable to focus on the full extent of her injuries, but now he'd quickly taken note to all of them. What he had just realized was that she was only using one of her hands. The other remained limp at her side, and he knew that it was damaged. He just couldn't see the severity. "Kagome," he firmly spoke, his dark eyes narrowed warily, "Show me your wrist."

She cringed at his command, having been doing her upmost to ignore, and hide, the injury from them.

"Kagome," the exasperated Uchiha repeated again, not pleased with her lack of compliance, "Show me."

Confused, Naruto scowled, leaning a little to the right in a failed attempt to get a better look. When he couldn't, he squinted suspiciously, "Kaggy?"

Kagome peered between the two, before sighing heavily. Well, she would have to look at it sooner or later, and with the boys around, it would obviously be sooner. With one bated breath, she mentally prepared herself for the worse, and slowly raised her right hand so that they could observe the damage-

Hazel orbs widened; to her shock, there was no bone protruding hideously from the flesh. It wasn't so horrible, at least not in her opinion. Her wrist was bruised, badly swollen, and happened to have a rather unsightly blackish blue hue surrounding the skin. It looked somewhat deformed, a little misshapen… but only by a tiny bit.

She couldn't help but feel very optimistic.

"Oh!" Kagome flippantly exclaimed, smiling happily. Looking at each of the eerily silent males, she piped out in a very cheerful tone, "It's not as bad as I thought!"

Sadly, though, neither boy felt the same way.

Sasuke jaws tightened, sullen features grew darker in silent, but seething anger.

Naruto's rage, however, wasn't hush. For half a second, his eyes grew ample, before abruptly narrowing. How had he not noticed that before? Probably because he'd been to focused on the bruises that marred her pretty face. "I'LL KILL EM!" he furiously yelled, more than ready to go on a murdering spree.

Already on his feet, he began to glare about the clearing with killer intent…

And then he noticed the disgusting corpses that were still just lying around the field. 'Oh yeah…' a brief image of a hideously winged, rampaging, demonic Sasuke flashed though his mind, 'The teme…' This was actually quite nasty. Here they were sitting in the middle of death and destruction, while idly talking and conversing as if carnage wasn't surrounding them.

'Yeah…this is gross…'

"I've already killed them, you moron," came Sasuke's belittling jibe. He wasn't the slightest disturb by the scene, and he actually took the time to observe his handiwork. His impassive features did not give away the deep seeded glee he felt from the horrid sight. His only regret was that he'd slaughtered them so quickly. If there were some way to bring them back from the dead, then he would do so.

After which he would happily murder them again.

At a loss, Naruto sat back down, purposely scooting closer to Kagome, his shoulder touching hers. "Ugh, yeah… I forgot." He awkwardly admitted.

Kagome only smiled at his typical absentmindedness, and his defensive display. Unlike the boys, she hadn't even dared to take another look at her surroundings, simply because she didn't want to observe the bloodshed. At this point, she just wished to forget it all. They were all alive, and that was the only thing that mattered.

Everything she had done for them had not been in vain.

With that pleasing thought, she leaned over and kissed the clueless blond on the cheek. Amused, she watched as his face turn a coy shade of red.

"Heh," Naruto grinned, sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "What was that for?"

"For being so cute." Kagome honestly answered, smiling impishly.

Already aggravated by the tender show of affection, Sasuke growled out through clenched teeth, "What we need is a medic ninja." Glaring irately at both of them, he harshly continued: "Not senseless flirting."

Annoyed by the reprimand, Naruto glared at him, scowling. Of course, he hadn't forgotten about the eerie obsession the Uchiha held for his 'sister'. "What do ya' know. It looks like the creepy teme is still being a jealous, possessive ass."

Precisely then, Sasuke seriously wondered why he put up with the blond, and why he hadn't killed him during his psychotic rampage against the sound trio…

Oh, right.

Because he, for some absurd reason, actually 'cared' about the moron. Even while under the full influence of the curse seal, he still couldn't kill the boy… all because he…

Cared.

That thought made him ill.

Kagome pouted, lips pursed together cutely. "Don't be silly, Naruto-kun," she lightly chastised, not at all upset by their typical bickering, "Nii-kun has nothing to be jealous about."

'I'm not being silly. He is too jealous,' Naruto inwardly griped, watching the Uchiha dryly. Sasuke shot him a rather rude glare, which he swiftly returned with strong vigor. 'The bastard's still creepy, even when he isn't running around with freaky hand wings.'

---

TenTen, the teenage weapon mistress, gazed down at the rookie seven. She was frowning, her expression laced with abhor. This display of team affection wasn't helping to ease her disgust. She found nothing eerie about the interactions between Naruto and Kagome, but Sasuke was a different story. 'This is so gross.' She just wanted to leave this clearing, and she wanted to do it now.

"Neji-"

She glanced to her left, just in time to see the attractive Hyuuga casually step off the branch, dropping quickly to the forest floor and landing gracefully on his feet.

"N-Neji! Where-" Confused, she paused, scowling, as she watched him walk towards Team Seven, "What… is he doing?"

"Oh!" Lee suddenly exclaimed, a knowing gleam in his round eyes. Turning to TenTen, he vigorously explained, "Neji is going to check on Kagome-chan! He shall make sure the youthful little fires' wounds are taken care of!"

The weapon mistress blinked. "Wait, what?" She stammered out, shaking her head. Why would Neji check on that girl? From what she gathered, judging by the way he'd been glaring at her post exams, he didn't care for her. Therefore, Lee's self-assured comment didn't strike her as sensible, "What are you talking about, Lee?"

Looking quite excited, Lee didn't hesitant to further explain. "Neji is quite interested in Kagome-chan! He was worried for her safety, which is why he wished to remain!" And he had picked up on the fact pretty quickly. Neji was his rival, and he sought to defeat him in battle, and since the forming of the team, he wisely studied the impassive, arrogant male. One might not guess it, but he knew more about the other boy than many would think!

While TenTen had assumed that Neji 'glared' at Kagome out of dislike, he, on the other hand, knew the shocking truth.

The Hyuuga has actually developed an interest in the Uchiha female and he found the fact quite amazing! He hadn't a clue as to what could have brought on this curiosity, but the truth of it was shocking. In the past, he'd actually suspected that Neji was… eh… to put it simply, 'gay,' and didn't like girls.

Not that he saw anything wrong with that, but he was quite sure that if Neji found out about his presumptions, he'd probably beat him to a bloody pulp. (Not that he wouldn't eagerly welcome a good fight, even if he were being plowed into the earth!) But really, his arrogant teammate never paid other females any sort of romantic attention, and he always did have a huge load of good-looking fan-girls trailing behind him.

TenTen stood, just stood there, not truly believing Lee's words. That just couldn't be the case. Neji had never shown hints of being interested in any female. Even when he approached her, it was only because he wished to better his defensive jutsu. He only wished to enhance his abilities, and realized she could aid him in that goal. He had never shown 'interest' in her, and she had known him for a year. She only admired the genius boy, but for some reason she couldn't help but to feel the pricks of jealousy.

Why had he never shown such 'interest' in her?

They, at least, knew each other, while he knew nothing of the Uchiha girl. In fact, he'd spoken no more than a few harsh words to her! Let's not forget all of the crazy, twisted drama that obviously followed her. In her opinion it would be best to steer clear of that girl! Focusing her brown eyes on the retreating Hyuuga's back, she knew that there was nothing she could do but watch the scene play out.

Akimichi Chouji had finally ceased to cower. He took a few hesitant glances to his left, and then the right. Looking past his teammates and out from the roots, he warily examined their surroundings. "Its… over…?" he stammered out, feeling far safer thanks to the red-head's departure. His bag of barbecue potato chips were laying at his side; most of the contents on the dirty floor and were covered in grim.

He sniffed pathetically at the demise of his precious possession. There was no saving them, but thankfully… he had another unopened bag in his pouch.

"Shikamaru, come on, man…" he asked, with anticipation; he wouldn't feel completely safe until they were no longer around this mess, "we get to go now right?"

"Yeah… we-" The Nara paused, a frown suddenly on his lips. Glancing back at his friend, he saw that while Chouji was no longer shaking, his features were still stressed.

Once again, he felt guilty.

His interference in the battle saved Kagome's life, and of that he still was grateful of. Even though he felt as if his actions had been a reckless move, it was pleasing to know that it hadn't been in vain. Despite that, the truth of the matter was that his team didn't gain anything besides the fright.

They still did not have their scroll, and the fact that they were literally the weakest squad in the forest meant that they probably wouldn't be able to achieve the feat.

Unless…

Shikamaru gazed out into the clearing, eyes narrowing on the dead bodies of the sound trio. 'We are not leaving here with nothing.' He could only hope that the sound genin had been in possession of an 'Earth Scroll'.

"Hey, where are you going, Shikamaru?" Ino inquired, just now taking notice of him due to his sudden movement. She'd been much too entranced by the two Uchiha's to see or hear anything else.

"Shikamaru?" muttered Chouji, a little confused. "Are we leaving now?"

"In a few minutes," the Nara answered. Crawling out from the undergrowth, he stood. "Just stay here and wait until I give the okay."

Chouji only nodded, while Ino shrugged. Truthfully, she wasn't all too concerned about what Shikamaru happened to be doing. Her attention reverted back to Kagome and Sasuke. She was still taking mental notes on the ongoing events. Inquiring blue orbs focused on the proud Hyuuga, who had just come to a stop when he stood right before the rookie seven.

'This is just getting crazier!' What could that egotistical, bastard of boy want with them? Of course, she didn't have much of a liking for Neji, after his earlier dismissal of her flirtatious advances. He may have been pretty damn hot (that long, silky-smooth brown hair only added to his natural appeal), but that didn't overshadow his cocky personality.

The same held true for Sasuke.

The Uchiha was still strikingly attractive; possessing gorgeous features that caused the majority of Konoha's young female populace to swoon on their feet. However, that didn't change the fact that he was totally psycho. 'Hot and insane. Talk about a crazy mix,' she dryly mused, inwardly laughing at the irony. The nice-looking ones always came with their share of issues…

"Oh, Neji-san?" Kagome curiously gazed up at the boy, surprised to see him.

While she had noticed Shikamaru and his team, seeing as they had aided her, that hadn't been the case for the Hyuuga and his squad. Her gaze drifted from his face, promptly focusing on the mark that lay hidden under his hitae-ate. Blinking slowly, she stared at the brand that marred his forehead.

She found it quite difficult to see 'him' due to the ugly beacon like tattoo.

Neji's expression hardened, for he knew exactly what had caught her eyes, 'She can see my curse…' he thought in silence. Had he any doubts, then they would have been instantly quelled. But he'd long since realized that she possessed the 'ability' to see what others could not. Which was one of the many things that continued to plague him. She possessed the power to see it, and because of that, wouldn't it be logical that she could indeed abolish it?

'She can see it... then she can remove it... but... no, she is clearly not a god. Gods do not bleed... she does not have power over fate-'

His thoughts seemed to be conflicting with one another.

Sasuke suddenly stood; a regal, if not dominating air surrounded his dark figure. Narrowed obsidian orbs clashed with chilling, impervious lavender. "And your reason for being over here is?" the dark haired Uchiha coarsely hissed. His glare intensified when Neji only regarded him with a contemptuous, unyielding expression.

This boy refused to flinch under his stare.

Of course the Uchiha wanted others to submit to him, thus, when one did not, it brought on a bout of anger; but that wasn't the only issue that annoyed him.

This was the same male that Kagome had spoken to in the halls of the Academy. That wouldn't have been too much of a concern had it not been for the way she'd addressed him. In his view, it had been much too friendly, and he did not want another male becoming romantically interested in her.

Problem was that now Neji had approached them, and he was obviously showing an interest in Kagome.

Sasuke was not pleased with this.

Not in the slightest. It was very easy to anger him, and right now he felt as if another challenge was being issued. Neji's refusal to break eye contact told him of such. This male dared to step up to him. First it was that sand Jinchuuriki, and now this. The contestants continued to line up, and clearly, he would have to cut each of them down.

Naruto's brows knitted together, "Geez…" At the rate this was going, Sasuke would soon be getting into a brawl with Neji, and he, being the good buddy he was, would have to jump into the fight to help his haughty rival.

His stomach suddenly growled, loudly announcing its' hunger.

At this point, a meal (preferably chicken ramen) would be nice, and then a nap. He was a very overexcited preteen, but even he, at times, wanted a break from the drama.

"Um," Kagome nervously glanced at up Sasuke, she then turned to Neji and her smile finally fell away. She didn't like where this was going, and already did she sense the sparks of aggression in the air. "I would really appreciate it if you two would stop… looking at each other like that."

Neji turned away, breaking eye contact, thus the silent battle between the two feuding males ceased. The Hyuuga genius disregarded Sasuke, choosing to once again examine Kagome, or rather… her injured wrist. Channeling a precise amount of chakra to his eyes, numerous vessel-like lines spread out around the corners of his eyes, slightly traveling down the cheeks.

Using his Byakugan, he was able to easily distinguish the amount of damage that had been caused to the bones in her wrist. 'It is severe, but it could be worse. Although, I am sure that moving the limb causes excruciating pain...'

Thankfully for her, the gods had decided to show some benevolence. A closed fracture was less serious than a open fracture, which could become infected due to the bone protruding forth from the skin. 'The fact that she is able to disregard her injuries is impressive.'

Kagome looked away from the brand, and focused upon the protruding vessels around his eyes. She'd never seen anything like that before, and although it wasn't very attractive, she couldn't help but find it intriguing.

He didn't have any pupils, but the lavender color of his eyes had lightened slightly; a noticeable gleam shone. 'How bizarre…'

By now, Naruto was feeling a little grossed out. Understandably, he didn't find the whole sight pleasant. Who would? "Ew!" He impolitely pointed up at the Hyuuga, "What the hell is going on with your eyes? That's freakin' nasty!"

"What do you think you're doing?" Sasuke promptly snapped, resisting the strong temptation to recklessly attack. He cast a cautious glance into the trees and saw the Hyuuga's teammates watching the scene. Attacking would cause those two to jump in, and his squad was, of course, not at their physical peak.

He'd most likely need the full power of the curse mark to handle all three of them, but then he risked falling into insanity. When no answer was given, the temptation to attack grew stronger, despite the obvious consequences that could result. "I just asked you a question. Either answer it or leave."

And if he didn't leave, he would just kill him, and then somehow manage to deal with his remaining teammates without using the seal's full power-

"I presume that you have no clue of how to treat a fractured wrist," Neji replied at last, turning his incisive gaze from Kagome to Sasuke. He had intentionally disregarded the question asked of him, just as he'd ignored Naruto's loud, but rude comment.

Obsidian orbs darkened; the tone in which Neji used was patronizing. He felt as if his intelligence was being deliberately mocked.

In the Academy, it was a required that one take a basic medic class. It hadn't been all that extensive, going no farther than the essentials. Advanced healing techniques, which involved the use of chakra, had not been a part of the lessons. However, treating fractures were, and the Hyuuga knew this because he, too, would have taken the same lessons.

"And judging by your tone," Sasuke derisively retorted, eyes narrowing dangerously, "I take it that you enjoy making idiotic presumptions at random?"

Neji arrogantly smirked, crossing his arms. Unlike Team Ten, he hadn't been frightened by Sasuke's murderous rampage. Thus, the glare that he was receiving did nothing. "You waste your time taking offense, when you should be tending to your… sibling."

For some reason, he was really enjoying this.

After the psychotic display of sexual intent to his sister earlier, he'd decided that he didn't care for the Uchiha, and was intentionally trying to aggravate the dark haired boy. "Seeing that you don't have access to a medical ninja, you will need to immediately start treatment by splinting the fracture-"

"Um… what's a splinting?" Naruto curiously interrupted, squinting slightly. Yes, he, too, had taken basic medical class… he just hadn't paid any attention. Sleeping and dreaming about ramen - and Kagome - had been far more favorable.

Neji's brow twitched at his lack of knowledge. Yes, he was a natural genius, but he had expected for others to at least have a small amount of understanding. And to think that the Uchiha girl, who obviously possessed a high amount of intelligence, was interested in someone who happened to be so foolish. "A splint is a material or a device used to protect and immobilize a body part. In this case, the preferable material would be a stick, as well as gauze to wrap the injured fracture."

Naruto's mouth fell open; he was already lost. All he knew was that didn't sound very good, in fact, it sounded painful! "Ugh… stick?" he sputtered out, dubiously. Her injury look painful enough, but to mess around and tie a stick to it was just insane! "On Kag-chan's wrist! Are you crazy!"

Kagome reached out, and softly patted his back. "Oh, Naruto-kun…" she sympathetically muttered out, "Don't worry about it. It's not as bad as it sounds."

Naruto grimaced. Crossing his arms, he began to brood. "Sounds bad to me, Kaggy," he griped, annoyed by her unflustered disposition.

"I know how to apply a splint." Sasuke sneered, "This is none of your business, nor I do I need your step-by-step instructions."

In a very demeaning manner, the Hyuuga nonchalantly replied, "Of course you know how to apply a splint. However, I assumed that you might need aid with the process. So, do you need me to help you?"

Sasuke's expression changed immediately, turning furious, as the mark along his neck pulsed. Obviously he had been correct, and that mocking comment proved that Neji was purposely attempting to demean him. Every word the Hyuuga spoke was meant to mock him. 'That's it… I'm going to kill him and be done with it.'

Kagome sensed the rising hostility, and quickly spoke to quell the situation, "Thank you, Neji-san, for your… concern…" She hadn't been too sure of what to call his sudden inference. It seemed to her that he was trying to offer assistance, but, at the same time, he was deliberately trying to frustrate Sasuke. That was something that she didn't care for. "I am grateful for it, but I will be fine, so you can leave now."

She was hoping that those blunt words would be Neji's cue to go away, before Sasuke completely lost his temper and pounced.

'…She is taking this very well. Although, I suspect my behavior towards her brother may have angered her,' Neji wryly mused; he was a very perceptive individual, and realized details that many would overlook. Overall, though, her anger was quite noticeable, judging by her expression and direct dismissal of him. She was still being polite, but also firm, 'No matter…'

He supposed that he'd lingered here long enough.

The Uchiha would more than likely be able to properly mend the wound, for while he did not like the dark haired male, he would admit that the rookie had a reasonable amount of intelligence. Besides, it seemed as if he was back to 'normal' and no longer attempting to strangle his own squad member.

Therefore, there was no need for him to remain.

His team had yet to obtain their scroll, and he planned to do so as soon as possible-

"Neji!" TenTen impatiently called out.

The Hyuuga frowned at the sound of her voice. He turned to gaze up at his squad members, who still occupied the high limbs of the tree. Yes, it was about time for them to finally leave. He gave a curt nod and spoke his simple, yet effective order. "Let's go." With that, the Hyuuga took to the tree, and without a parting word, he vanished into the woods.

TenTen quickly followed his lead, not sparing the ruined clearing another glance, while Lee, on the other hand, lingered behind.

"Good luck, youthful little fire! Take great care in your endeavors, and heal quickly!" he vigorously called out to Kagome, waving energetically before he too followed his teammates, disappearing into the trees.

Kagome quirked a single brow, grinning amusingly. 'Youthful little fire?' Yes, he really was a nice guy. Very strange, in the terms of appearances and antics, but nice nonetheless. A wonderful match for the poor, delusional Sakura.

Naruto turned his squinting gaze onto Sasuke, saying, "Hey, teme..."

"What, dobe?" grunted the aggravated Uchiha. He still felt extremely annoyed from his dealings with Neji. How dare that pathetic piece of crap take a stand against him? Judging by the other male's behavior, he assumed that Hyuugas had this foolish belief that they were better than everyone else, and deserved the right to belittle those who were obviously above them.

"That Neji-guy was an asshole." The blond grumbled, and scratching his head, he carefully pondered the previous events. He'd noticed the other boy's rude behavior, and his belittling way of speaking, as well. But, there was something that he felt he should have picked up on…

Oh yes! He knew what that something was!

Rather suddenly, his expression brightened, as comprehension hit him! Excitedly, he exclaimed, "He reminded me of you! Both of you are total bastards!"

That was enough to warrant Sasuke's anger. The dark haired male glared irately at his idiotic rival and bark out, "Don't you dare compare me with that pathe-" his mini-rage came to a halt when he spotted some movement from the corner of his eye. His obsidian eyes snapped in that direction without hesitation, only to find Shikamaru and his squad.

They were making a feeble attempt to sneak away into the surrounding woodlands.

That wouldn't have been much of an issue to Sasuke, since those three weren't worth his time. That was, however, until he took note of the blood-coated scroll in the Nara 's hand.

His dark eyes glinted dangerously, having already figured out what the lazy genin had done while his attention was elsewhere.

"Where do you think you're going with that scroll, Shikamaru?"

Once those words left his mouth, the three genin froze in silent dread. The hair on the back of their necks rose in an instant, and, slowly, they turned toward the Uchiha. The anxiety they felt was etched clearly into their features.

"Eh…" Shikamaru pointlessly hid the earth scroll behind his back. Luckily one of the deceased sound nin had been in possession of their needed scroll, but he'd been hoping to simply slip out without notice. Now that wouldn't be possible. "About that…" once again he uneasily trailed in his reply.

In his silence, Ino gave the biggest, prettiest grin that she could muster. A few beads of sweat rolled down her temple, giving proof to how frightened she was. "Oh, Sasuke-kun…" she sputtered out, flirtatiously fluttering her lashes, "It's not what it… um, looks like?"

Chouji said nothing, but he was clutching a newly opened bag of chips to his chest and shaking like a chubby little baby.

They were scared, and that caused a very haughty, but pleased smirk to cross Sasuke's lips. It was about time someone showed proper respect toward him. He found himself greatly enjoying this obvious show of fear; perhaps far more than he usually would.

An animalist, predatorily glint was alight in his cold eyes, and he took a daunting step toward the terrified trio. "That scroll belongs to me. Drop it, and leave." True, his team already possessed the needed scrolls, but he did not like the idea of them running off with something they needed when they did nothing for it. He killed the sound trio, therefore that scroll was his. Besides, the less competition the better.

If these three did not pass, then it would only help to improve the odds of his team.

It didn't matter to him if they were Konoha genin or not.

"Nii-kun, don't be that way," Kagome reprimand him, frowning imperially at her temperamental 'sibling', "If it weren't Shikamaru-san and his team I'd be dead. They helped me, so let them have the scroll."

While she hadn't had the time to speak with them during the battle with the sound ninja, she certainly remembered their actions, and happened to be very thankful for it. They did not have to aid her, and yet they did, thus risking their lives in the process. They deserved something for the trouble.

"Whoa, wait. Seriously?" Naruto doubtfully inquired, both brows gaining height. When it came to Shikamaru, the guy was a lazy bum that wouldn't dare involve himself in anything. Why? Because it was 'troublesome,' those being the exact words of the Nara . He'd been like that since they were small, so this came as a surprise.

"Hai, seriously," Kagome curtly confirmed, while staring expectantly at Sasuke. "They keep the scroll, nii-kun."

An exasperated scowl crossed the Uchiha's lips. Of course, he hadn't known that. He didn't notice much of anything but her and the sound nin after waking from his coma. Nor had he come to a coherent state of mind until he'd killed them, and even then his behavior had been rather unstable.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, feeling quite annoyed by the new information. The idea of Kagome's death wasn't a thought that he wished ponder over. They were pathetic when compared to him, but they did prevent her from dying, so for that reason, he decided to make an exception. Turning back to Team Ten, he curtly dismissed them, "Fine. You can leave with the scroll. Just get out of my sight."

Shikamaru and his squad took that as their cue to run like hell. They turned around, but before one step could be taken-

"Shikamaru-san!"

As usual he cringed, slowly peeking over his shoulder. "Hai, Kagome-san?"

Regardless of her condition, she somehow managed to flash him an adorable smile, showing off her pearly white teeth. In a very cheerful, perky voice, she piped out, "Thank you, Shikamaru-san!"

He regarded her in silence, once again thinking over his thoughtless actions. Despite his lack of reply, Kagome's smiled only grew wider and it was then that realization set in. Suddenly he knew why he'd helped-

Why he'd risked his life, as well as the life of his teammates.

Because...

He saw her as a friend.

Sometimes, during the past few years, her constant greetings and bright smiles had caused him to view her as such, but he hadn't realized it until now. "You're welcome, Kagome-san," Shikamaru finally replied, sighing profoundly.

Kagome giggled, finding his exhausted response humorous. As always, he acted as if the weight of the world was upon his shoulders. She shook her head at the thought, and looked to his other teammates, who were fidgeting in their spots. They all looked so anxious, although she couldn't blame them after everything that had taken place. "Ino-san, Chouji-san, thank you for your help as well! I really appreciated it!"

Ino blinked, nervously fiddling with her silky ponytail. How ironic… It actually looked as if she'd gained the scary little girl's favor. Though, now it seemed kind of pointless since she wanted nothing to do with Uchiha Sasuke, "Oh! No problem!" she frivolously laughed as if it hadn't been a traumatic, eye-opening, life-threatening experience, "It was nothing!"

Chouji had only given out a curt nod, before shoving a handful of chips into his mouth. He didn't want to talk to anyone; he just wanted to go-

In silence, Team Seven watched as Team Ten quite literally ran away, quickly disappearing into the vast woodlands.

"I still say they're buncha cowards." Naruto grumbled, rolling his eyes at the fearful display. "They looked like they were gonna piss their pants."

"Be nice, Naruto-kun." Kagome faintly chastised, wearily glancing around the clearing, she tried to avoid the bloodshed that still surrounded them. Sadly, it wasn't all that simple. The gore was literally everywhere, and ignoring it was difficult. Her shoulders slumped, and she sighed once again, feeling the prick of fatigue. Everyone was gone, the drama had ended, and her mind was finally demanding that she rest. She no longer had the mental strength to fight to stay awake, "I'm really, really tired…"

"We will head to the tower." Sasuke responded immediately, while examining her injuries carefully from the corner of his eye.

On the way, they would gather the materials needed to splint her fractured wrist, but in the case of her bruises, he could do nothing. Those would have to go away with time, unless there happened to be a medic nin waiting at the tower, and he seriously doubted that. They would also need to locate a stream, so that they could clean themselves up, seeing as they were both filthy and covered in their own dried blood.

"Wait… what about the lecher?" Naruto abruptly asked, having just remembered the monk.

"Lecher?" Kagome curiously repeated, confused by the term. "What lecher?"

Sasuke raised a single brow, staring down at the blond with a questioning look, "What are you talking about, dobe?"

"Ugh…" Naruto awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. Kyuubi's little nickname for the monk had unmistakably rubbed off of him. "Heh, yeah, sorry. I mean that Miroku-guy."

At the mentioning of the priest name, Kagome's features became firm. "We should just go to the tower," she quietly whispered, having no desire to remember what had taken place before. The mere mention of the priest's name was quickly bringing up events that she had been trying to suppress…

Miroku hadn't come back as he promised he would, and she knew that he wouldn't have lied. Therefore, that meant one thing-

He didn't come back because he couldn't come back.

She was alive, and her teammates were alive, but poor Miroku…

He was-

"I don't want to stay in this forest any longer." She muttered pensively, "I hate this place so much."

Both her teammates immediately picked up on her change in demeanor.

Naruto leaned forward, "Kag-chan?" he had the eerie feeling his words had been the cause of her sudden mood swing, and that caused him to feel guilty.

"What happened, Kagome?" Sasuke tersely inquired, finally thinking back to the battle that had caused all their troubles. Her arrow did not miss. He knew that for a fact, since he saw it coming with his sharingan, but obviously something more had gone on after he fell unconscious.

Kagome's expression contorted in disgust, her eyes widening. For a brief second, she could actually see the repulsive sight of the snake's skin as her holy chakra literally ate away at the living tissue-

The thick, disgusting smell of rotting, burning flesh seemed to instantly flood her poor senses. She was well aware that it was all in her head, but that didn't stop the nauseating feeling from suddenly surfacing…

She covered her mouth, holding back a gag, as her body quivered.

"I do NOT want to talk about it!" Kagome heatedly cried out, frantically shaking her head, and hoping it would help to repress the memories.

Naruto drew back, frowning at her sudden outburst. "Kaggy..." he whispered her name with concern. They hadn't even made an attempt to pressure her about the matter, and yet she acting as if they had. Something had happened, and whatever it was, it hadn't been good.

For her to unexpectedly behave like this…

While he seriously wanted to know, he wouldn't ask. Not now. After all she'd been through, he had no desire to stress her out more.

Sasuke only frowned. "You will have to explain on the way," he finally spoke, for he too knew that something was amiss. The fact that she didn't acknowledge his words only furthered the belief. Regardless, right now clearly wasn't a good time. They needed to leave these woods, and he was beginning to think that he should have ordered the squad to the tower after they'd obtained their scroll.

After all, none of this would have ever happened if he'd done so.

It was then that he felt an inward prick of guilt. Shaking the emotion away, Sasuke knelt down in front of her. Attentively observing her expression, as well as the strained in her features. Kagome gazed up, staring back with wide, naive eyes, and tilted her head to the side. "Nii-kun?" she faintly whispered, confused by his deep scrutiny. With a light laugh, she somberly asked, "Do I look that bad?"

At the question, Sasuke reached out and caressed her cheek. Gently he ran his knuckles along bruised, but soft skin. He was not used to seeing her this way, but that did not change his feelings. Her appearance had nothing to do with his desires.

Kagome could only blink, surprised by his show of affection. He'd never touched her in this way before-

Despite her bewilderment, a very small smile spread across her lips. Leaning away from the touch, she slightly turned her head and pressed her lips against the palm of his hand. "I guess that means that I don't look so terrible, eh, nii-kun?"

'Nii-kun…' He silently repeated the phrase, exasperation filled him. Yes, she was being affectionate to him, but that didn't change the fact that she only saw him as her sibling. It was frustrating, and yet he knew that it was his fault. The day that her heritage was brought into the open, he should have told her the truth. He should have explained to her that he no longer saw her as a sister. Had he done so, he wouldn't be in this position.

Due to his thoughtless lie, she had no reason to see him as a lover-

But now… things would change, and the fear of her leaving him no longer plagued his thoughts. She would never leave him; those words had left her own lips, and he remembered them clearly. It didn't matter what he said, or what he did, for she would remain by his side indefinably, and he would never be alone. Nothing else mattered to him anymore.

The thoughts and disapproval of others were no longer of his concern.

It was about his wants, his desires, and he would allow no one to convince him otherwise.

Kagome rested her head against his chest, grateful that he'd picked her up, seeing as her legs still weren't functioning. She still chose to keep that fact to herself. Briefly looking up at him, she hopefully asked, "To the tower?"

"Hai. The tower." He curtly confirmed.

It was then that Sasuke felt the eyes of another upon him. The Uchiha glanced to the left, and his dark orbs immediately clashed with a familiar shade of brilliant blue. The blond was watching him with a hard, knowing stare.

Naruto had stood silently, watching their interaction. "Yeah, to the tower," he agreed quietly, resting both hands behind his head.

His glance drifted to Kagome. Her eyes were actually closed, she had already falling into a soundless, much needed slumber. His expression softened at the sight of his crush, or rather his love, and he couldn't help but smile. He wasn't deterred by her appearance. In fact, he saw nothing short of perfection. She was simply beautiful, and he could find no fault in her.

"Naruto."

The sound of Sasuke's stoic voice caused him to gaze back at the dark Uchiha. Naruto didn't reply, but there was no need, for Sasuke hadn't expected one. The call hadn't been pointless, for it was merely a gesture of silent comprehension. Both boys knew that things were certainly about to change. From here on out, the dynamics of their team would shift, and a new relationship between them would finally come to pass.

'Things… are going to be way different… I just hope it'll be for the best.'

---

KibaSin: -cough- Errhhmmm. I personally adore this chapter for several reasons: 1. Gaara, 2. Shikamaru deciding to finally take charge, and finally 3. The adorableness between Sasuke, Kagome and Naruto at the end. Dawwwww. Though…I had to read it twice to enjoy it, you know, with the whole beta'ing thing. X3

---

Crow Rat's Note: I've been going through some very tough times lately, dealing with a lot of stress, too much stress, so I don't have much to say right now. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank KibaSin for beta'ing. She did a great job.

---

Update Schedule

Reviews=Update Date (wait time)
45+ Wednesday, June 23 (two weeks)
35+ Wednesday, June 30 (three weeks)
25+ Wednesday, July 7 (One Month)
10+ Wednesday, August 4 (Two months)

Counting stop after 72 hours. The update date will be posted on my profile on: June 12, 2010.

All flames, words of hate, pure detest, and anger will be quickly deleted.