A/N: Alright, here I am, having just got home, and I'm doing something I don't believe I have yet done before. I'm posting a second chapter in one day. (Although since it's technically after midnight… but you'll get another chapter tomorrow/later today, so it'll still be two in one day.) You know why I am doing this?

Because you guys are amazing.

Because I've had a terrible three days that just got ten times worse, but when I open my laptop and see your reviews, I smile again. :) I laugh, and just for a moment, I can forget, right?

So this chapter is dedicated to you guys—to every single one of you who reviewed, and especially Mellolicious, whose reviews had me laughing incessantly, and Liz, whose newest chapter of her Suefic was freakin' hysterical.

So this is for you guys.

(Even though every single one of these chapters is for you; why the heck else would I be posting them?)

-o-

A/N: Guys, this is totally unrelated, but I just finished watching the Kentucky Derby (and by the time you see this, it will probably be a week after the Derby, but still), and I want to ask… Well, the second place horse, Eight Belles—the first filly to run the Derby in nine years, and she got second place—fell at the end of the race, breaking both her front ankles… They had to put her to sleep right away. Remember her, okay? Even if you don't care about horses, think of her. She literally ran her heart out.

(On another, lighter-but-still-sad note, the horse named 'Pyro' was predicted to do really well… but had some issues out of the gate and ended up way near the back. D: Abura… TT.TT)

For Eight Belles…

-o-

The whirlwind burst apart and the leaves danced to the ground, leaving two shinobi in their place. One was the long-awaited Uchiha Sasuke; the other, his silver-haired sensei.

"Your name?" inquired the proctor, grinning with pleasure. Coldly, Sasuke gave it.

After that, the assortment of shinobi in the ring dissolved into conversation, mostly consisting of Uzumaki berating Uchiha for being late. I tuned it out, wishing I could yell at them to shut up and get on with it. However, the fact that I was hidden in close proximity to my village's most unstable weapon was somewhat detrimental to that desire.

"See…" Gaara hissed, demonic eyes trained on his opponent. "He came."

His gaze remained focused on the Uchiha. A few minutes later, Sasuke turned his face upward, and their eyes locked.

Naruto twisted to look. "Don't you dare lose to a guy like him!" he ordered, eyes narrowing in enmity.

"Yeah…" Sasuke replied absently, but his attention wasn't in it.

Neither was mine. I was too busy being furious on Gaara's behalf. 'A guy like him'? A guy like him is impossible to beat! I wanted to snarl. Aspiring to survive through the match, though, I kept it to myself. Gaara wouldn't let me live if he knew I was there.

Excited mutters raced through the crowd, swelling into a roar of anticipation. All eyes were on this match.

My heart inflated in my chest, choking me with apprehension. If anyone could put up a fight in the face of Gaara's demon, it was Uchiha Sasuke; I could tell that just by listening to people talk, but I had seen his first match, too. Over in an instant.

I was worried.

"Gaara, come down," Genma ordered from the ground.

A wicked smile half-twisted Gaara's face, creasing his forehead in demonic anticipation. Worry coated his siblings faces; sweat trailed down Kankuro's painted skin as he stuttered, "…H-hey, Gaara… Don't forget about the plan, all ri—"

Hurriedly, Temari's hand closed over his mouth. "Don't talk to him right now," she hissed. Gaara's eyes widened, the maniac grin spreading across his warped features.

"He'll kill you!"

Gaara trudged away, toward the stairs that would take him to the battlefield. Unhesitating, I slipped after him.

-o-

Voices sounded at the end of the long hallway; I thought one of them might be Shikamaru's, and the other was definitely loud enough to indisputably identify itself as Naruto's. Glancing at Gaara's face, I worried for their safety, and prayed they would stay out of his way.

Of course, I should have been more worried for the two shinobi in front of me instead.

Not that I felt any allegiance to them as they called for Gaara to halt. He paused, face blank, yet unquestionably intolerant, and I knew they would die.

Even as I trembled and wished I could stop him somehow, I grasped at the fact that it served them right, trying to order Gaara around like that.

You cannot command a god.

"Low-level tournaments like this Chûnin Exam are ideal for gambling, you know…" one began conversationally. "There are a number of lords who have come just for that reason."

"And so," the other sneered, almost smirking, "this match… We want you to lose it…"

Fury boiled within me, quenching my fear, and any sympathy I might've had. They wanted him to lose it? Tough! They could—

My hands trembled uncontrollably, tightening around a kunai as I clamped down on my thoughts, on my anger. Neither would exactly give me away, unless I lost control and attacked these idiot shinobi, but my heart was pounding with rage, and it almost felt like Gaara could hear it, if he just stopped and listened for a moment…

But he was far beyond listening.

There was almost nothing left in his eyes that was human as the sand rose into the air around him, hissing and sighing as it twisted upward like a snake to the charmer.

If the shinobi had time to scream, they did not have time to give it any volume. Or at least, I didn't hear it; all I heard was the squelching and the crunching and the splattering of blood and bone.

Crimson spattered across the wall in a gory redecoration of the hallway, leaving the broken bodies abandoned on the floor. I was hit in the spray of scarlet and struggled not to be sick as I felt my face stain red. One hand quivered on the floor, straining to rise as the sand slid away, returning like a dog to its master. But life fled and the hand fell back to the ground, leaving me pressed up against the wall as Gaara traipsed away.

Shaking uncontrollably, barely able to maintain my balance, I pulled myself to my feet, leaning heavily on the wall, and followed Gaara.

The red-haired shinobi walked right past Shikamaru and Naruto without a glance. I cast them a fleeting look as I scurried by, noting the terror on their faces, but glad they had survived.

"I've never met anyone who killed so automatically," Shikamaru stated quietly, unaware of my presence moving past him. "Even Sasuke better watch it…"

I halted at the bottom of the stairs as Gaara continued out into the sunlight. Everyone had better watch it, I thought, watching him go, face etched with worry. He's dangerous—and our mission is about to begin.

-o-

Gaara and Sasuke faced each other in the center of the stadium, eyes radiating simultaneous cold and the burning desire to fight. Though it was possibly not the safest place to watch from, I stayed at the edge of the field, sitting on the bottom step and praying I could hold the shadows around me throughout the match.

"Now then… at long last…" Genma paused; the tension swelled, ready to burst at the slightest touch. A maniac snicker slipped from Gaara's lips; I could see the unease flash across Sasuke's face.

The anxiety peaked. I held my breath. Genma's hand came down.

"Begin!"

A fluctuating, pulsing snake of sand bursts from Gaara's gourd as Sasuke leapt backwards, fleeing from a hissing, golden strike. But Gaara didn't attack; with a throb of pain, he hunched down, clutching his forehead in agony. Puzzlement flickered in Sasuke's eyes; I clenched my fists, knowing I had to keep myself in check. My teammates weren't here to stop me now.

"Please…" Gaara whispered, eyes squeezed shut. "Don't be so angry…" His breathing grew erratic, uneven, labored. "Mother…"

The sand spread over him in a grainy umbrella, greedy tendrils reaching out toward Sasuke. "I… gave you bad tasting blood earlier, didn't I…? I'm sorry…" I shivered, unable to tear my gaze away from the red-haired demon, his words echoing again and again in my head. Mother… I'm sorry…

"But… don't worry… this time… I'm sure it'll be really tasty…"

A violent tremor ran through Gaara's body; he let out an agonized sound as he struggled to gain control. A moment later, he settled, breathing heavily, then raised tired eyes to stare at Sasuke.

"Come."

Silence. Then—

"Here I come," Sasuke confirmed, and in one smooth motion, flung two shuriken at his demon opponent. A geyser of gold surged into the air, catching the whirling blades and forming into a sandy clone. Sasuke dashed closer, and the clone spewed sand outward; the Uchiha leapt into the air to avoid it and flung himself downward in the wake of more shuriken. The clone blocked a flurry of strikes until it finally dissolved, leaving a path open to the real Gaara. Sasuke took it, but it didn't matter; a wall of sand shot up to stop his punch.

But his punch never connected with the blockade; Sasuke twisted, and was suddenly behind his opponent, fist pulled back in the beginning of a new strike. Gaara, turning much too slowly, saw the punch coming, but could do nothing about it. His eyes widened in shock and Sasuke's fist collided with Gaara's face.

I squeaked, biting deep into my lip in an effort to hold in the sound as Gaara was flung backwards, slamming into the ground. He struggled to his knees, sandy mask blank and cracked.

"Is that your sand armor?" Sasuke inquired. Gaara regarded him coolly, not bothering to answer such a foolish question.

Sasuke smirked, fingers twitching Gaara toward him. "Come."

The red-haired shinobi remained where he was, gathering his sand back around him. Fury flashed in Sasuke's dark eyes at Gaara's lack of reaction.

"If you're not going to come to me, I'll go to you!"

He flew around behind the crouching demon, sliding in to attack. His foot snapped out, colliding with Gaara's chest and flinging him back onto another mattress of gritty gold.

"What's the matter?" smirked Sasuke. "That all you can do?"

It took all my self control not to shout that it wasn't, but in truth, I wasn't sure I could've if I tried. My throat felt clogged, my voice faint; what was Gaara doing?

He could fight better than this. I knew he could. I had spent half my life following him; I knew what he could do!

Breathing heavily, Sasuke took off, chasing the golden river around the red-haired shinobi in an intense race for Gaara's wellbeing. Again, the Uchiha won, blurring in to send Gaara flying.

I could feel tears trailing down my face, mingling with the blood still there from Gaara's slaughter. Watching Gaara struggle back to his feet, I didn't bother to wipe them away; they'd only be replaced. What was he doing? What was he going to do? Why the hell wasn't he fighting back?

He had to do something.

My eyes flickered up to the Kazekage, watching the Uchiha drive his son into the ground with perfect impassiveness. Somehow, I wanted to shake him, to make him see, to make him care.

When my gaze returned to the field, great, grainy jaws were raising into the air, ready to swallow Gaara whole.

-o-

A/N: I know, I know, we're in the middle of the battle… But I don't want to spoil you guys with chapters that are too long! :D Besides, this means that I'm going to start 27 right away, because I'm in intense-battle-scene-mode, which possibly gives me the time to—gasp!—get 28 written this weekend, too. XD Unless I do my homework… :D

Anyway, I'm getting really excited… The Chûnin Exams are almost over! :o This means that, soon, I can do something about a plot! And be creative! YAYZ!! -faints-