DISCLAIMER - I do not own Naruto. I did just write this in twenty four hours though. Man, I'm beat.

Rated 'M' for sexual situations and lemons, violence and bad language.

So explain to me how it came to this,

Take it back to the night we kissed.

- The Script, Before the Worst

Shikamaru was right, it was starting. In the corner of my eye, I saw Kakashi-sensei lean back into the bench and fold his arms, relaxing. For him, this was leisure time, watching a good few battles.

The competitors walked out onto the stage, the terrain exactly the same as it was for the exam last time, all green trees and patches of grass, a little too precise to seem realistic. And it certainly wouldn't stay like that for long.

Gai-sensei was already on his feet, cheering as two of his team filed out onto the pitch, although I suspected it was a little more for his spandex-clad protégé than Neji.

I clapped politely and my heart skipped as I could just see the splash of blood red hair and the indifferent expression.

"Is that Gaara... of the Desert? The Fourth's son?"

"Yeah. I heard he's changed, you know. He saved Tai's daughter, Matsuri when she was kidnapped."

"Huh. He certainly seems calmer. I'm putting my money on him. After all, I didn't come all this way not to support one of our own."

I smiled warmly as I heard the Sand shinobi's conversation from behind me. Was he finally starting to win the trust of his people?

People were betting on him.

He was flanked by his brother and sister who looked confident and stern in equal degrees, Temari's huge fan glinting in the sunlight. All that polishing looked like it had paid off.

In my heart, I felt myself cheering them on just as strongly, if not more so than my Leaf comrades because they were my comrades too, my friends... my family.

The proctor this time was Kotetsu. I was used to seeing his dark spiky hair and knowing eyes at the front gate with his counterpart, Izumo but here he was, commanding the Chunin exams with exceptional prowess, it seemed.

"May I have your attention everyone?" he called to the crowd in a steady, austere tone. "Welcome to the third test of these Chunin exams. The first match will be Kankuro vs Temari-"

"What?!" I spluttered, turning to Shikamaru, shock evident on my features. How had he not told me this earlier?

"-Followed by Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame. After that, we will have Rock Lee versus Neji Hyuga and finally, Za Haiboku versus Gaara. I ask that you, the audience, be respectful and courteous to each participant."

I giggled and elbowed Shikamaru who was smiling wryly. "Not like that time they started throwing things at you, buddy, right?"

But still, as he called forth Temari and Kankuro, I wondered how difficult this last month had been for them, having fought on a team all of their lives. They were a family. They ate together, grew up together, laughed together, cried together.

And now to have to be pit against each other like this?

I couldn't imagine the inner turmoil, having all the intel you needed on your opponent already, but having no intent to harm at all. How would they do this?

Would they do this?

Because at that moment as Kankuro and his elder sister faced off against each other, with Kotetsu in the middle, ready to signal the beginning of the match, Kankuro raised a shaking hand.

"I withdraw," he yelled firmly, quite the contrast to the obvious shaking in his raised hand, which he clasped into a fist. "I refuse to fight my sister."

Temari looked just as shocked as he did, frozen uncharacteristically. Kankuro stepped forward then and reached one arm around his sister in an awkward hug. He whispered something to her, too far away for me to hear.

"He's withdrawing? For his sister?" Ino asked incredulously, no longer caring as she had a moment ago about Choji munching too loudly.

"It's understandable, I guess. If I had to fight Sasuke, I'd withdraw too," I commented, without realizing I'd said it aloud. Kakashi-sensei gave me a strange look then as if what I'd say had some ethereal profoundness. But it didn't, it was just an observation.

"Still, that's the second time he's withdrawn from the Chunin exams. Doesn't he want to be a Chunin?" Sakura asked, beginning to sound a little frustrated as she watched Temari playfully shove her younger brother as they stalked off, back toward the participants' viewing area.

"He probably wants to be, it's just not worth him hurting his teammate and sister. He's making a sacrifice," Kakashi-sensei observed, just as Kiba and Shino came out together onto the battlefield. "That's a valuable trait for a chunin, being able to make a very difficult sacrifice in order to protect the life of someone important, being able to draw the line and to know your limits. While it shows logic, it also shows compassion."

"Kakashi's right, it's a trait that doesn't come along very often, especially in shinobi. It speaks to his character," Gai agreed, nodding and folding his arms, in a similar position as his "greatest rival".

"Hmm. I never would've figured that," Sakura commented serenely as she and Ino turned back to the battle that was about to commence.

In my heart, I so wanted to go down there, to hug Kankuro and Temari, to thank Kankuro for his sacrifice because I could not have handled watching the two of them go all out to the death.

"After all, they would've either killed each other or one of them would've had to withdraw," I concluded, as Kiba and Shino faced off against each other.

Kakashi-sensei and Shikamaru both nodded.

"Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame..." Kotetsu began.

"Isn't it a similar situation in this match though? And Lee and Neji's? They're teammates. This must be hard for all of them all," I surmised.

"It's different for Kiba and Shino," Kurenai stated, turning to us now from the row below and allowing a smile to grace her beautiful features.

"As it is for Lee and Neji," Gai agreed. "They've been rivals ever since Team Gai was formed. So for them, they've been anticipating this, to settle once and for all who's better."

"Exactly the same with Kiba and Shino," Kurenai said, nodding. "They're polar opposites, and for them, this is a war of ideologies. It's a battle between passionate ferocity and calm logic."

"Does it remind you of anyone, Aimi?" Kakashi inquired, as if he were merely asking my opinion on the weather.

I nodded fiercely. "Naruto and Sasuke."

Kiba and Shino's fight began in earnest, with Kiba wasting no time getting started. Akamaru was only getting bigger, seeming to have transformed into the size of a small wolf since I'd last seen him. He was growing with Kiba, the two of their lives intrinsically linked.

He attacked Shino with everything he had but he couldn't get a handle on him. Every time Kiba attacked him, Shino's body dispersed into nothing more than a pile of beetles. Before long, Akamaru had been taken down by the beetles, sprawled out across the battlefield. Kiba was far too distraught about his best friend's downfall to notice as Shino sprinted toward him, moving faster than I'd ever seen, possibly faster than Kiba himself could move.

Then, Shino punched his teammate in the stomach and sent him flying across the field, a rivulet of blood streaming from Kiba's mouth, staining the battlefield.

He landed, splayed out unnaturally and Hinata, Ino, Sakura and I all gasped.

"Kiba!" Hinata squeaked, one dainty little hand over her mouth.

"Hinata, he'll be okay," Kurenai reassured her calmly, although her frantic eyes didn't seem so sure.

"Since his opponent is unable to continue, the winner is Shino Aburame," Kotetsu declared, just as medical ninjas ran onto the field and gathered Kiba onto a stretcher. Applause rose up from the stadium for the heir to one of the great noble clans of the Leaf village.

Lee and Neji were next.

"What do you think, Tenten?" Sakura asked, turning to the older kunoichi. "Who do you think will win?"

"It's hard to say. Lee works really hard," she said, but with a glance at her sensei who was watching her closely, she added, "But Neji's... well... like I said, he's a genius."

"Even so..." Gai countered, watching the battlefield as the two rivals stared each other down. I wondered vaguely which was stronger - their rivalry or their bond as teammates.

"Begin," Kotetsu declared, leaping back immediately, out of range.

The match began slowly, with them staring each other down initially, fathoming each other out. It was futile, however; they knew, as did anyone else who knew them, that they knew each other's strategies inside out. There would be few surprises in this match.

As Tenten predicted, Neji proved his genius and no matter how much Lee tried, he could not overpower Neji, who slowly cut off every single one of Lee's chakra points.

Lee was on the verge of collapse.

I had faith that one day, he truly would beat Neji, but I did not think that day was today as he sat on his hands and knees panting heavily, truly broken.

"Lee, please give up," Neji urged, his voice holding notes of desperation. "I do not want to do this to you."

"No," Lee rasped. "I must-" he panted, "continue. I will not lose. I have my own-" he grunted in pain, "-ninja way".

"Lee, please don't make me do this," Neji said, readying himself as Lee got to his feet one more time, swaying unsteadily.

How did Gaara feel watching this from afar?

"Gai-sensei, you have to make him stop. If this continues, Lee will die! You saw what happened to Hinata last year in the preliminaries!" Tenten pleaded with her sensei, as Hinata turned around and nodded, concern etched in her pretty features.

I waited with bated breath, biting my thumb and leaning forward. Would Neji really do it? Would he kill Lee to win?

"He wouldn't," Ino breathed, as if she read my mind. She was in a similar position as me, leaning forward with Sakura identical next to her.

"Lee," Sakura whispered, watching the boy who had held a torch for her for so long.

"Neji, please," Gai murmured, his hands together and his eyes towards the heaven as if he wasn't directing it at Neji but at a higher power. "You wouldn't. Please don't do this."

Just then, Neji ran at Lee. "I'll end this, right now!"

"NO!"

"Neji, stop!"

"Lee!"

Everyone in our group was on their feet, yelling, except for the senseis - minus Gai, of course- and Shikamaru. But still Neji ran at him and all Lee could do in his weak, vulnerable state was cross his arms over his face to protect his eyes.

Neji's fingers came up to meet Lee's temple and it looked as if he jabbed him so sharply, he might pierce through his very skin and through his brain.

"Is that the final chakra point?" Sakura asked, turning to Kakashi-sensei and me, relying on us, the remnants of Team Seven.

"No, it can't be," I breathed, watching as Lee began to fall. It seemed as if he might have hit the ground hard but Neji caught him in strong arms. "He already hit the ones on his head earlier."

"Lee," Gai repeated, sounding truly heartbroken. "Oh, Lee."

"He hit a pressure point, didn't he, sensei?" I asked, turning to Kakashi.

"He did," my teacher confirmed, bowing his head solemnly in respect, his one visible eye shut. "Rather than winning the battle by killing Lee, he ended the battle by knocking his teammate unconscious in the safest way possible."

Confusion seeped around the stadium as the civilians mused over whether or not Lee was dead, being less observant than shinobi. We were the first to start clapping. Gai-sensei looked like he might burst with simmering pride at his two students.

Soon, there were hundreds of whoops and cheers as Neji hoisted Lee onto his shoulders and carried his teammate toward the oncoming rush of medics.

"Since his opponent is unable to continue, I'm declaring Neji Hyuga as the winner."

So his teammate was more important to him than rivalry after all, I thought, feeling gratified and pleased. We were truly coming together now, all of the genin from last year.

"Gaara, Za Haiboku, please come down here."

My heart stuttered as I heard his name. I was about to watch Gaara fight, to watch him unabashedly take down an opponent. Would he be ruthless? Would he be gentle? I wasn't sure. Anticipation gushed through my veins.

Gai looked like he was close to tears when Kakashi-sensei asked, "Hey, Gai. You okay?" He was teasing him, wanting to see if he could embarrass his rival just a little further. After all, what did Kakashi have to worry about? None of his students were even participating in these exams.

Gaara appeared then, followed by a young blond man wearing a long midnight raincoat with a slow steady gait, like a drum beat. He was carrying a sheath containing six midnight umbrellas on his back. That must've been Za.

Gaara looked the same as always, calm, easy, his huge beige gourd slung on his back, white cloth wrapped around his shoulders and hips. He was totally stoic as he faced off against his opponent and I took comfort in his unconcerned expression. He was unfazed as always.

Yet somewhere in my soul, I longed to see his head thrown back in pleasure, to see his eyes closed, the black markings on his eyelids standing out boldly as they clashed with his pale skin. I imagined how his fingers gripped tightly to the bed sheets and how my name was on his lips along with various other profanities and promises.

But here he was, arms folded, sea foam green eyes focused on his opponent, as cold as I'd seen them for so long.

And it was kinda hot.

Man, I'm weird, I thought wryly. Turned on by him being all cold and indifferent. I'm glad I'm not that other guy.

"Begin," Kotetsu instructed, removing himself from the battlefield once more to allow carnage to ensue.

"You haven't got a hope in hell of beating me, kid. I mean, I know you're strong but do you honestly think you can defeat me?" Za taunted Gaara, a smirk playing on his lips. "I saw you in the preliminaries, it didn't seem like your sand enjoyed all that water from my brother, Moushiku. But I shall avenge his defeat. I wouldn't get too confident if I were you. You just got lucky."

Gaara said nothing. He'd probably figured this guy was the trash talking type, not that Gaara ever retaliated to taunting. He was as calm as a millpond, keeping totally still. He hadn't even uncorked his gourd; he just gave his opponent an icy glare.

"It's just too bad you got me as an opponent. Now, you're gonna die!" Za threatened menacingly.

Suddenly, the cork in Gaara's gourd dissolved into sand, the contents of which surged out, spilling into the air around him like a poison gas. This guy was in trouble.

"I've heard enough out of you, let's get this over with. I don't wanna waste my time on you," Gaara said coldly, humiliating his opponent significantly in merely a few words, his sand flaring out around him dangerously.

Za grunted in frustration. "You have no chance against me, punk! I'll kill you right here!" he shouted, reaching over his shoulder, grasping at his umbrellas and unfurling them out, thrusting them at Gaara. Gaara remained unmoving and the man named Za threw them into the sky.

"What the-!" I began.

"Ninja Art: Senbon Rainstorm!" the Rain ninja barked.

"D-don't worry. I... I saw someone use the same jutsu on Gaara's team in the Forest of Death last year and his sand shield saved him," Hinata whispered, albeit much more boldly than usual. She was growing a lot, and she was a little less nervous without Naruto around I noticed.

"Gaara'll be fine then," I remarked, feeling reassured of myself, of Gaara's abilities. He wasn't described as the Ultimate Weapon for nothing. But as the senbon hurled toward Gaara, I noted that he wasn't the Ultimate Weapon to me, or the Shukaku or the Fourth Kazekage's youngest son; he was Gaara, just Gaara.

Sure enough, Gaara's Sand Shield came up, just as the umbrellas fell back to earth, splintering up out of the ground unnaturally like severed limbs on a battlefield.

The senbon stuck out of Gaara's sand shield like the spikes on a porcupine, and it would've been almost comical had his expression not been so deadly.

His opponent looked incredibly taken aback and gasped, taking a huge step back. "No! It can't be!"

"What happened when Gaara was attacked with this jutsu last time, Hinata?" I asked the Hyuga heiress, exuding polite disinterest but on the inside, feeling a worried urgency.

"Er," she started, looking down at her hands. "Well, I, erm... he k-killed...them."

I nodded at her and sat back in my seat, crossing my legs and biting my thumb again. "He wouldn't," I murmured to myself, watching the man I'd had oral sex with closely.

"Aimi." Shikamaru gave me a look I didn't fully understand at that moment, cautious undertones and calming top notes.

Just then, I saw Gaara raise a hand and no more than a dozen senbon headed for Za Haiboku, spearing his body. He fell to the floor, unconscious, as the others had, and the match was over.

"And the winner is... Gaara."

I was first to my feet and first to cheer, so pleased about his victory and the fact he did it without killing his opponent. Vaguely, as I jumped on the bench and whooped, I wondered how many other girls were doing the same thing. Gaara was beautiful, strong and silent and girls would fall at his feet. He'd never have any problems getting a girl.

"As for this tier, it is now over. We'll be taking a thirty minute break to allow combatants to recuperate, after which Temari will face Shino Aburame and Neji Hyuga will fight Gaara."

I got to my feet immediately and turned to Shikamaru. "Come on, let's go see them!"

He nodded and we began to walk up the steps to the top balcony when we heard, "Hey, wait up, you two!" and "Yeah, just because you're chunin already doesn't mean you can leave us behind."

Ino, Sakura and Tenten were all in tow, wanting to talk to their friends, to see Lee, Neji and the others. I had a sneaky suspicion Shikamaru may have wanted to see someone else, however.

We arrived at the combatants' viewing area and the guards, one rather tall and handsome, the other stout and freckled let us in no problem. They were already close friends with Shikamaru apparently.

I saw Gaara immediately, deep in conversation with Temari but as soon as we walked in, he cut off.

"Hey, you," Temari greeted Shikamaru, beaming.

"Neji! How's Lee?" Tenten squealed, running to him, half immersing him in a hug that he did not return very purposely and half interested in her other teammate. Sakura and Ino were striking up a conversation with Temari, Kankuro and Shikamaru now so I walked to Gaara's side nervously, staring at the floor.

When I looked up, I felt my heart do a backflip as his striking eyes surveyed me, his wild hair fluttering around his face in the breeze. He didn't speak. It was silent and it was awkward, so very awkward.

"How've you been?" I asked, running my fingers through my hair self-consciously and folding my arms like I had seen him do so many times.

"Good."

More silence.

We just watched each other, waiting for the other one to speak first.

Man, this better awkward phase better pass, I hoped internally as I watched him run his eyes down my body and back up to my face.

"You're different," he assessed, his voice complacent.

"How? I don't feel different. Is it bad? Do I have something on my face?" I reached to my face and brushed at my cheeks, relieved to find it was the same as always. "Is it a bad different?"

He gave me a small smile. "It's good."

"How do you mean different? I'm still the same person, right?" I asked, blushing, hoping I wasn't different in a "you're-different-so-I-am-no-longer-attracted-to-y ou" way.

His smile continued to play about his lips and he murmured, "You're stealthier."

With that, he turned on his heel and went to join Kankuro.

I felt the heat and blood rush to my cheeks, flushing my skin. Things might be okay, I thought to myself, as I committed his words to memory. After all, stealth is sexy. It's that awesome cat sage training. Shiga did say I'd reap the rewards sooner than I thought.

Just then, I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned to see the tall, handsome guard from earlier, with a huge, boyish grin plastered across his face.

"Hey! You're Aimi Uchiha, right?" he inquired, standing very close to me, his eyes raking my body just as Gaara's had earlier. Except this time, I didn't like it.

"Yes," I said, nodding and beaming, although inwardly feeling a little threatened.

"I'm Shoichi Nakamura, I'm a Leaf chunin. I know Shikamaru," he told me, that grin still on his face, lighting up baby blue eyes and long eyelashes.

"Really? Cool. I know Shikamaru too... as you can tell," I said, tailing off at my own stupidity and grimacing.

He laughed then and I looked at him, really looked at him. Medium length black hair contrasting with warm baby blue eyes and a mesh undershirt. I was known to appreciate a mesh undershirt. I tried to see in him what I saw in Gaara but it just wasn't there... because he wasn't Gaara.

"Say, what're you doing after the tournament? Are you free to come out for some barbecue or something?" he asked, lacing his hands behind his head and laughing, probably trying to cover up his nerves.

Just then, at that moment, I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist, pulling me into a warm body. I looked up and saw the unruly red hair and the green eyes, the embers of anger evident in them, stained the color of green, the color of jealousy.

"She's busy," Gaara said, his husky voice cold.

"Hey, buddy, I was asking h-" Shoichi began but he was cut off.

"Aimi is busy," Gaara repeated and tugged on my waist, taking me to where Temari and Shikamaru were discussing battle strategies in hushed tones.

As they saw us coming, they waved us toward them and we began conspiring with them, Gaara glancing over his shoulder at Shoichi every few minutes to check he wasn't trying to advance on me.

I caught his eye a few times and he gave me an indifferent look.

But I had known him for a long time. Gaara wasn't as indifferent as everyone seemed to think.

Author's Note: When do you guys want the next chapter? :)