Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.
A few months had passed since Uzumaki Naruto had left the village to train with Jiraiya. Now, Asahina stood in Tsunade's office with her students by her side listening to the Hokage's explanation of their latest mission assignment. It would be their last mission before the group was to take the chunin exams again so they were on edge. Yui and Aya were being observed so they were missing. Tsunade was the new Hokage and even if she trusted the good judgments of the Third Hokage, she didn't trust the two former Kirigakure shinobi.
"I'm only telling you this once but you're only going to stay in Sunagakure for one day and then you'll return but the trip is going to take a while. The sun is harsh in the desert." Tsunade warned them, "I hope you've all practiced your speeches like I asked. Baki will explain better when you arrive but you are to promote good relations between our village and theirs. Don't play around."
"Yes ma'am!" The genin chorused.
Gaara stood by silently as Baki explained that Kori and her team would be staying for only one night. It had only been a few months since he had left Konoha after Sasuke's abandonment but it felt much longer. He hadn't seen Kori in a while but his heartbeat raced him to the office when he heard she had arrived even though he walked in silently with his siblings. He found it hard to pay attention to what Baki was saying for some reason as he watched the sweat accumulate on the Hyuga's neck. Kankuro was barely paying attention but Temari was obviously listening enough for the both of them.
"So they're here to promote good relations between Konoha and our village." Baki concluded, "They'll be at the Academy all day and stay here for one night. You three are to be their guides. One person per class, that's all."
Gaara had been given the chance to choose his partner first and he lifted his hand to gesture to the Hyuga girl, leaving Temari to choose Kai, and Kankuro to pair with Toshizo. Kori offered him a small smile but the smile had been wiped from her face almost right away.
"Is there something wrong?" He asked quietly, thinking that she was probably afraid of being alone with him in case he went crazy.
She shook her head, "No. Of course not."
Kai punched her arm as he went by, "You should've seen her in the desert. She was sweating buckets and leaving trails. She even had a nosebleed and when we thought there was a big problem she just had to confess that she wasn't good in the heat!"
Toshizo pushed Kai forward, "Kai-san! You shouldn't make fun of her. That's just rude."
"Well it's true!" The blond punched him in the arm too.
"You're so childish." Asahina pushed her hot tempered student forward, "Just go! We're on a mission, not playing."
The three genin straighten up at their teacher's command and each wiped their sweat, actually only Kori wiped her sweat while the other two straightened out. The Hyuga was a little humiliated by the fact that her companions had so much stamina even in the heat. Asahina had praised her about having the best stamina but in the desert, she was worse than most shinobi and struggle to keep up. It was quite humbling to know that her stamina didn't last through every situation but she was grateful that Gaara didn't make a big deal out of it.
Gaara led the girl to the first class at the Academy and the other two pairs headed for other classes and she had spoken about Konoha and Tsunade and their treaty. He stood by and listened quietly. It seemed like she had practiced a lot for her speech today. She seemed a little flustered when she asked if there were any questions and someone asked if she realized that her guide was a monster. Gaara slid his eyes shut habitually in preparation for a 'yes' but it never came.
Instead, the girl answered confidently, "My guide is a person. Didn't they teach you that yet? You can't be a ninja if you can't tell the difference between a person and a monster."
A child shot back, "Well, you can't be a ninja if you can't control yourself either!"
She smiled, slowly making her way over to the child, "Really?"
"Yeah. Don't they teach you that in Konoha?"
"I'm a ninja."
"We know."
She slammed her fist into the table, snapping it straight in half. It seemed like her stamina wasn't the only thing that was useless in the desert. Her patience was low in the heat too, "But if you keep insulting my friends I'll lose it! Listen up, you half pint! So what if he has a monster inside? He's a better ninja then you'll ever be! If you don't understand him then you should just keep your mouth shut!"
The child looked terrified, "M-Monster!"
"So now I'm the monster?" She smiled, "Good. Now tell me, who's the monster? Me or Gaara."
"Y-You!" The child sobbed.
"That's right." She turned, "Any other terrible comments or questions?"
The class seemed to be holding their breath as she nodded in a satisfied manner. She turned to him and smiled at his wide-eyed expression, "What? Did you expect something else?"
His lips turned up too slightly for anyone else but her to see, "You're going to get in trouble for that."
And that's exactly what happened. Asahina scolded her for hours that night and Baki had scolded Gaara for letting it happen but he thought it was completely worth it. Gaara felt like he wouldn't mind being scolded another hundred times as long as Kori could keep saying that he wasn't a monster. Was this what it felt like to have a friend?
"Enough!" Asahina barked, "Go take a shower!"
"Yes ma'am." Kori didn't seem the least bit ashamed of what she had done but she didn't argue with the jonin.
Kai smirked, "Well… That's what you get for denying the truth."
"Kai-san!" Toshizo hissed, "Shush."
"You want to be the next person I fight, Saizo?" Kori grinned at him, even though her joke wasn't funny, "I'll fight you."
"I don't fight girls." He just grinned right back, thinking, especially not girl's he liked.
That night Asahina said someone was looking for the Hyuga and she stepped out without much worry but that wasn't the problem. Gaara hadn't particularly waited for her but when Kai showed up looking for her, he had to shake his head and say he hadn't seen her. He slipped out of his house to do the only thing that would be considered normal: look for her. He found her in the worst situation possible. The child she had threatened in class had told his father and the chunin now stood above her. His heartbeat slowed dangerously at the sight of the bruises on her skin.
The man's foot came up and slammed into her side, "Why don't you fight back?!"
"…" The girl got to her feet only to be kicked in the side again.
"Anyone who defends that monster is asking for it!" The man yelled as the girl stumbled to her feet again, "You're too scared to even fight back, aren't you? Why don't you say something?!"
"…"
Gaara watched on, his rage building. Why wouldn't she fight back? If she hadn't been fighting back, why the hell was she sweating so much? But that wasn't the reason he was angry. That man had some nerve picking fights with someone much younger than him. Gaara was used to being treated like a monster or like garbage or whatever else people thought he was but watching the man hurt his friend was worse than sitting through torture. Gaara's blood ran cold and he remembered that her team had teased her about her lack of stamina in the desert. She couldn't fight back?
He had never been so deeply concerned for anyone other than himself. His hand flew to the tattoo above his eye and remembered that he swore only to live for himself all those years ago but Naruto had changed his reason for living.
The man lashed out at her again, "Can you even hear me? Are you too scared to say anything?!"
A confident smirk appeared on her features and she looked up at the man, "I have nothing to say to someone who's too stupid to tell the difference between a boy and a monster. You probably just can't accept the fact that he's stronger than you."
"Hah! You're an idiot, aren't you?" The man smashed his fist into her nose, "You don't know how many he's killed. He's a monster and no matter what you say he won't change."
"… He doesn't have to change. He's trying hard to control himself and he works just as hard as anyone else…"
"Don't talk back to your elders!" He pulled his arm back and attacked the girl again.
Gaara crouched in the sand holding his head as it throbbed and pulsed. Let me out you fool! He was going to lose it. He glanced up at watched as the blood rolled out of her nose and into the sand below her and the last string of control snapped. A gurgling scream escaped his lips as his transformation began. Good! Let me out! That's right! Good! His consciousness slipped away from him. It felt like he was watching a movie as his body moved to attack the man and his son. They ran and he began to give chase only to be stopped by someone. A feral growl escaped his lips and he turned to attack whoever had stopped him.
He couldn't remember what had happened in the next few moments but when he regained the slightest bit of his consciousness his heart nearly stopped. The Hyuga was on her knees in the sand only a few feet from him, her shirt was torn and ragged and barely clung to one side of her body. The scent of blood reached his nose and he finally realized the blood was dying the sand. Whose blood was it? Hers. It was her blood. Her bloody limb hung limp by her side as she knelt in the sand holding her arm. Give it to me. Give me her blood! Go get it.
His body seemed to move on its own and she moved but the taste of blood still flooded his mouth. His eyes shook in surprise. She had gotten up and nearly shoved her shoulder into his mouth.
"If you want it so badly then take it! Just give Gaara back." Her voice rang in his ears.
Yes! NOO! What are you doing? Just bite it off!
Gaara remained unmoving until his transformation came completely undone before removing his teeth from her skin and looking over the damage, "Why….?"
"Oh. Welcome back." Her breath came in short quiet gasped, "Fancy seeing you here."
He grasped her good shoulder tightly, "Are you an idiot?!"
She seemed surprised that he had raised his voice but she smiled, "The guy from earlier said I was."
"Why… would you let me do that?"
"I didn't let you do anything. You haven't done anything but grab my arm." She turned her head to look down at the hand on her shoulder.
He felt the guilt sink in as the girl tried to deny that he had played any part in the damage to her arm but in his mind the one who had nearly eaten her was him and the one who caused her pain was him. He nodded slowly, "A medic… Let's get to a medic."
Her face went pale and the white of her skin became lighter than the color of her eyes, "It's really hot…"
"KORI!" Kai had arrived on the scene, being called over by his own curiosity and the screaming of a boy and his father as they fled from this direction, "BASTARD! What did you do to her?! I KILL YOU!"
Gaara's sand moved faster than he did as Kai lunged forward with a raise fist. The impact of the blond's punch softened in the sand but it didn't stop him from continuing his assault. The redhead's mind was unstable and his mind entered a frozen state where the only thing he could hear was the voice that was the bane of his existence. Let me out! We can eat this one as self-defense! His blood began to pound against his head. It was too soon for him to deal with a person in a sane manner. His control was already weak from his previous outburst. He had to get away before something happened.
The Hyuga's good arm lashed out and smashed straight into Kai's nose, "Cut it out! He didn't do anything to me! He came looking for me cause you went crying to him like a baby!"
"I did not!" The boy's face crunched in disgust, "I wouldn't go crying to him even if he was the last person in the world! Get your facts straight, yo-!"
Kai scrambled to catch the girl as her consciousness faded but Gaara moved faster. The blond might've laughed at Gaara's facial expression if the situation wasn't so serious. The redhead looked like he didn't know what was happening or what he should do next. He was contemplating why he was even holding her in the first place. His body had moved before he had even known what he was doing. He pushed the blame for his thoughtless action onto the Shukaku and returned his attention to the scene.
"Hey! Get it together!" Kai looked down at the girl with pure worry etched into his features, "How long are you planning on holding her?! If you're not going to carry her, hand her over!"
"It's hot." Her breath came out raspy and quiet.
The blond snatched her from the arms of the Sand ninja, "You're cold!"
Gaara shook his head not really sure what he was feeling as he watched the two Leaf genin disappear from his sight. Baki dropped down into the sand next to him only moments later, "What happened?"
"Me." He grumbled, "I happened."
"I see." Baki shook his head in shame and disappeared like the genin before him, probably rushing off to tell the Sunagakure elder council members.
"He what?!" Asahina nearly threw a fit as Baki strolled in like he meant business just to tell her that Gaara had nearly killed one of her students, "Who was it?!"
"Hyuga Kori." Baki told her.
"I'll kill that little monster." The Leaf jonin had no thoughts other than revenge for her student.
"I apologize." The man said sincerely, "Gaara is working on it."
"It doesn't matter. I won't let him near her anymore."
"Understandable." He nodded, "Our medics are taking the time to look after her so feel free to stay until she is fully recovered. And as for the… relation between the villages?"
Baki feared that the incident could cause a war or a breakage of their treaty. The Hyuga clan was a noble clan in Konohagakure. The fact that Gaara had attacked a Hyuga wouldn't go by without punishment.
Asahina glared at him, "You're worried about that… Now?!"
"Pardon the rudeness." Baki quickly attempted to amend his mistake.
"She's not Main Branch." She spat, "You don't have to worry about the Hyuga Clan getting pissed."
Relief flooded Baki's senses, "And the rest of the village?"
"I'll have to report it to the Hokage, right away."
"Understood." Baki handed her a clean sheet of paper and a pen, "We'll have a bird prepared for you at once."
"So much for good relations." Toshizo sighed, peeling an apple for his teammates, "Kori-san… You're so pale."
"It's hot." The Hyuga grumbled, kicking off the blankets from the bed, "How long do I have to stay here? It's already been two days! We were supposed to stay here only one day and then go home!"
"Until the medics give you the okay to leave." Kai tossed the girl another bottle of water, "Don't you even need to pee?"
"I want to go home. I hate hospitals."
"This isn't even a hospital. Being in Sunagakure is like being in the ghetto." The blond was from a rich family and Konoha had a well-built hospital, it was understandable that he disliked the fact that the Sand Village didn't have a real hospital.
"That's what happens when you don't have a good leader." Asahina pushed the door open and signaled that she had been listening from her post outside the door, "The reply from Tsunade-sama has arrived. She wants to hear the truth from you before deciding anything without all the information."
"Deciding?" Kori was in the middle of trying to figure out how to get the air conditioner to work.
"Whether or not Sunagakure attacked us on purpose."
The Hyuga glared at her teacher over her shoulder, "Are you kidding me?! Gaara's too ashamed to even come and visit me and you're asking if he attacked me on purpose or not?"
Asahina's jaw went slack, "Actually… He's outside, right now. He just can't come in."
"Why not?"
"Baki and I told him he wasn't allowed to come in."
The genin pushed passed both of her teammates and her teacher to rush out, "Gaara!"
The redhead looked up from his place in the hallway, sitting on a chair all alone, "…"
"Did they punish you?! Are you alright?" She knelt down in front of him to check for bruise or marks.
He reared back like he had been hit. He had been the one to hurt her and she was the one in the hospital but the first thing she asks is if he's alright? He shook his head slowly, "Nothing happened to me."
"Do they already know what happened?"
"I don't remember everything." He admitted to her quietly, lowering his voice so far that he didn't know if he was talking or not, "You can tell them the whole truth."
"Then you'll get in trouble." She hissed, completely aware that her team was listening from the door, "What happens to you if our villages' treaty breaks?"
"I get what I deserve."
Baki cleared his throat as he made his way down the hallway, "Gaara. I told you that they didn't want you near her."
The redhead warily glanced down the hall as his teacher approached them, "She came to me."
Baki's eyes flickered to her bare forehead and nearly had a heart attack. He hadn't known it before due to the hitai-ate that she wore over her forehead but now that it was removed, he could clearly see her forehead was lacking a seal. Had Asahina lied to him? He cleared his throat again as he tried to think of some way out of big trouble, "Hyuga-dono, I apologize for his… outburst and rudeness."
Kori looked up at him with a look that said exactly what came out of her mouth, "What the hell are you talking about? Only Rokuro gets to call my name with a suffix!"
"What's going on here?" Kankuro and Temari joined the rather large group curiously, each holding something behind their backs, "She's up!"
Kori held her arms up like a criminal with a gun pointed in her direction as the two Sand genin brought their gifts out front, "What's this?"
"Uhh… Don't you have fruit baskets and flowers in Konoha?" Kankuro joked around with her comfortably but earned himself an elbow to the gut from Temari.
"Temari! Kankuro!" Baki hissed.
The two fidgeted awkwardly, "You said get something expensive!"
"I apologize for their insolence." Baki gestured to the presents, "I'm sure to the Hyuga's these are everyday things but here in the desert, fruits and flowers are expensive things."
"Whoa." The Hyuga held up her hands, "If they're presents, it would be rude to complain."
"That's our girl." Kankuro threw an arm around her shoulders and shot Baki a glare, "Why are we buying her expensive presents anyways?"
Asahina watched them from the doorway, completely amused, "I told you she's not Main Branch."
"That's what this is about?!" Kori slapped Kankuro's arm away, "You didn't tell him I was Side Branch?!"
The puppeteer shrugged, "I didn't know there was a difference."
"Gaara. Get up." She pulled him out of the chair before he could even think about reacting, "I'm a ninja. Missions come with accidents."
"Not D ranked missions." Kai grumbled but shut his mouth when she glared at him.
"We're here to promote good relations between your village and ours. So… can we just let it go?"
"Can we?" Baki glanced over at the jonin in charge of the Leaf group.
Asahina hesitated, "Tsunade-sama has given permission to deal with it ourselves if the attack was an accident…"
"It was." Kori insisted.
"Apologize." Baki told the jinchuriki when Asahina didn't say anything more.
"I don't want an apology from someone who didn't do anything to me." The Hyuga snapped, "If someone has to apologize it's that demon, not Gaara."
"…" The Sand ninja kept quiet but nodded slightly.
"Please!" The youngest genin pleaded with her teacher quietly.
The jonin finally nodded, "Alright. If you insist, we can just let it go. Let's head home."
"Yes ma'am!" Kai let out a whoop and turned to pack, "I need to get out of the ghetto, now!"
"KAI!" Asahina kicked him in the rear, "That's rude!"
"Pack fast!" The blond ignored everyone and began to pack his things and everyone else's on the way, "HURRY!"
The Leaf group watched him and just hung their heads in shame.
"Kakashi!" Aya screamed as she ran around his apartment excitedly, "Why are you being all mopey?"
"Oh… He's not being mopey at all." Yui shook her head, "He's getting ready to go off to his death."
"Ohh… Okay. Bleed a lot and have fun." The ghostly sadist continued her jog around the apartment.
A knock on the door signaled the arrival of Kakashi's companion. The jonin moved to open the door, "Gai."
"YOUTH!" The normally extreme man screamed, "Are you ready, Kakashi?"
The cooler of the two just nodded, "Yui. If I don't come back, you know what to do."
"Tell Asahina-sensei that you love her." The genin grumbled for the fifth time that day.
"Good girl." Kakashi nodded as the two jonin shinobi shuffled out the door.
Gai looked his companion up and down, "You should've dressed up, Kakashi."
"Kakashi-san!" Izumo called out to him, waving from their agreed meeting place.
Kotetsu glared the jonin down, "Does Asahina even know you're going?"
"No."
"…" The group fell into an awkward silence as they made their way down the street.
Kakashi knocked quietly on the door of the one house he had never been inside. The woman opened the door slowly, her eyes meeting each ninja carefully and silently until she spotted Kakashi among them. Her face twisted in rage, "KOTETSU! WHY DID YOU BRING THIS MURDERER WITH YOU?! WHERE'S ASAHINA?"
Kotetsu just laughed nervously at the sight of Asahina's mother and her anger, "Well… He said he had something to tell you."
"Oh nooooo…." She growled, "I don't think so! Are you here to tell me my daughter is dead too?! What did you do to her?!"
Kakashi shook his head, "I would never hurt your daughter."
"WELL THEN WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY TO ME?!"
"I want to ask for permission to marry your daughter."
"WHOA!" Kotetsu reached out as the woman stumbled back in surprise.
She retreated into the house and returned to the door with a broom in her hands, "Say it again."
"I want to marry Asahina." The copy ninja repeated his words with much more conviction.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!" The woman shrieked and swung her cleaning tool at him, "I would never let YOU marry her!"
Gai and Izumo both ducked out of the way as the woman swung madly at him without any care for the others around him. Kakashi instinctively ducked away with them but he straightened out and let the woman strike him a few times.
"CRAZY MURDERER!"
Kakashi smiled weakly, "Is there any way that you would let her marry me?"
"NEVER!" She screamed.
"Not even if he gets her pregnant." Kotetsu chimed in and instantly regretted it when she turned on him.
"If he gets her pregnant, he has to take responsibility." She growled low, "Is my daughter pregnant?"
"Of course not, ma'am!" Gai screamed, "I, MIGHT GAI, guarantee that she is as cleanly as a goddess."
"So if I get her pregnant, I can marry her?" Kakashi asked carefully.
"I won't let her do anything like that with YOU!"
"Don't you think that's her choice?" The copy ninja had his solution, "What if she wants to have a child… with me?"
"NEVER!" The woman grew red in the face and lifted her broom again, "I'll kill you today so you don't even have a chance."
"RUN!" Kotetsu knew from experience that this conversation was completely over. When Asahina's mother threatened to kill someone, she was completely serious. The chunin shoved Kakashi down the street as Izumo turned pale and ran. Gai howled about youth's dangers as the group of ninjas fled the scene.
The next chapter will be the last to this part of the Naruto series. I'll post it as soon as it's finished and that'll be the end of that.
