Disclaimer: I know I'm going to regret this, but I've asked Jiraiya to do the disclaimer.

Jiraiya: SkywardShadow does not own Naruto or any of the characters in it..besides Ikaru and Shara-kun…-eyes Shara-

Shara: -twitch-

Me: -whacks the Pervy Sage upside the head- Gomen, all; gomen, Shara-chan. -.-;

Shara:…I hate you. Quit getting these wackos to do the disclaimers!

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to XXBloodQueenXX; domo arigato for your lovely review! (Mazmysta-san, your review also made me quite happy. :D) YOU ALL ROCK!!

Quick thing; because of the translation I'm using for reference here, there's a considerable bit of language. Dunno if anyone cares, but just in case. Enjoy! -SS

Wanderer of the Sand

Chapter XXXV

……………………………..

After Team Youth (ahem, Team 10) 'scattered', Kakashi got to work on the first token. He peeled it off cautiously; to my surprise, nothing blew up. No way can it be that easy…

"Sakura!!" he ordered. The pink-haired kunoichi raced forward, shattering the gigantic rock with a powerful punch. My eyes just about popped out of my head. Well. She's certainly..changed…

Barrier destroyed, we were now looking at an ominous entrance. Kakashi made a signal, and the others scattered, myself a beat behind.

We stood just inside the entrance of a large but not far-reaching cave. And we weren't alone. I swallowed hard, trying to fight off the sick feeling and urge to scream.

"Well, which one of you is the Jinchuriki, I wonder? Hmm…"

Gaara was lying on the ground, eyes closed. I had never seen him with his eyes closed, so that was an immediate red flag. He looked….

Don't think it!

The blond man, hair in a ponytail, was sitting on top of him, flanked by a large and ugly figure wearing an Akatsuki cloak and a large clay-colored bird.

"Get off of him," I snarled, unable to contain myself. But Naruto didn't give them time to respond. "You bastards!" he shouted angrily. "I'll tear you to pieces!!" I saw with alarm that the whisker marks on his face looked darker and more prominent. His eyes had also changed, becoming more vicious and feral. Does this have something to do with the Fox Demon..?

"The boy," the large figure murmured. "It would seem, hmm?" the blond man commented lightly.

Naruto ignored them, and aimed his agitation at Gaara. "What are you sleeping for?!" he yelled. "Stand the hell up!!"

Silence.

"GAARA!! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!!" he continued desperately.

"Stop, Naruto," Kakashi said softly. "You should understand what's going on here."

"Yeah, don't you get it?" the blond man asked, a smirk in his voice. "He's long dead, hmm?"

No.

No.

"GAARA!!"

I didn't care that I had screamed. It didn't matter. There was no answer.

Gaara was dead.

They had killed him.

"You f---ing-!!!"

My screechy sentence was never finished. I ran at those lowlifes, those bastards who had killed him, loading up chakra for all I was worth.

I reached the blond man, dimly aware that Naruto had tried to follow, and half-finished creating the Phoenix Rain. But I was not about to wait. I wanted to inflict as much pain and agony on this man as I possibly could. Even though nothing I or anyone could do would be terrible enough for him.

I punched him in the face as hard as I could, fire added to the hit by the unfinished fire-style jutsu.

Of course, I also paid the price for attacking with an incomplete jutsu. Fire jolted up my arm, but I didn't feel the physical pain. Oddly, there was no sign yet of inner pain; I figured it was only a matter of time. Rage was the current dominant emotion I was feeling.

The man raised his head, smirking, but with furious eyes. A nasty bruise-burn covered one side of his face. He didn't expect it, I realized in the back of my mind. He expected someone to stop me. But Kakashi had had his hands full keeping Naruto at bay.

Unfortunately, someone else had gotten the wind to keep me from getting myself killed. One second I felt a hand grab my collar, then I was quickly dragged back to the group. "Don't do anything more idiotic than what you already have," Elder Chiyo snapped, not letting go of me. "They will destroy you, understand?!"

I almost started swearing at her too, but the calm part of me was pulling me back to sanity.

I preferred my bloodthirsty side, where the loss didn't hurt.

But there was no choice. I nodded miserably, and the old woman slowly released me.

Naruto was being restrained by Kakashi, looking livid.

"I'll look after this one," the large figure said calmly, glancing down at Gaara's body. "Well, it looks like the jinchuriki wants to take this one back, hmm?" the blond commented in amusement. "So does that one, hmm?" He gestured carelessly at me.

You're dang freaking right I do. I bit my tongue.

"You might not like this," the blond continued, his tone switching to serious, "but I'll take on the jinchuriki."

"One member per beast," the other man growled. "You know that. Don't push your luck, Deidara."

"He's supposed to be very strong," Deidara pressed. "An artist need inspiration, you know."

Naruto broke away from Kakashi. "Stop playing around!!" he roared, using a scroll to summon a windmill shuriken. He flung it at the large man, but a bony-looking tail slid out from under the man's cloak to fend off the weapon. From the clang sound at contact, the tail was made of metal. What in the Five Great Shinobi Nations?

"Deidara, you little…are you trying to anger me?" the large man asked irritably. "I said you wouldn't like it," Deidara responded; the debate continued as if nothing had happened.

"My fine art is explosions," the blond continued, getting up off Gaara's body. "Quite different from your puppet show, hmm?" The clay bird picked the redhead's limp form up in its beak.

"See you," Deidara said cheerfully. The bird took flight, still holding Gaara; its master leapt up on it casually.

And the bird swallowed Gaara's corpse.

What the he-?! "You piece of-!" Elder Chiyo smacked me upside the head-hard-to shut me up. Probably for the best, looking back.

"Wait up!!" Naruto yelled, running to the mouth of the cave. "Relentless," Kakashi sighed, moving toward the adamant blond boy. "He and I will take care of the one that just escaped. Chiyo, Sakura, Shara; you handle this one."

Elder Chiyo and Sakura nodded, but I hurried toward Naruto. "Wait up," I muttered. Kakashi came over, frowning. "Shara-" "That man killed Gaara-sama," I interrupted, scowling, daring him to try and stop me. "There is no way I am going to stay here. If you can go and beat the crap out of him, so can I."

"…Fine. Let's move it, people."

We exited the cave; Deidara was hovering a few dozen feet in the air, watching us with interest. "Gai-come back quickly; you're needed." Kakashi was speaking into his radio. "We can't," was the reply. "We've fallen into the enemy jutsu, so we're rather busy at the moment."

We jumped up onto the gate in front of the cave's entrance while Kakashi pulled down a side of his mask, revealing a scar and-

The Sharingan Eye?!

I would have to interrogate later, though. "You sure it's me you want to fight, Kakashi of the Sharingan? Hmm?" Deidara taunted. "After all, the ladies in there are battling Sasori of the Red Sand.." No way. That was Sasori?!

"Maybe I shouldn't say this," he continued airily, "but Sasori is even more powerful than I am." "Kakashi-sensei, you should go help Sakura," Naruto urged his mentor. "I'll save Gaara!" "Not alone, you won't," I pointed out.

The Jonin couldn't answer; Naruto wasn't going to wait any longer. He shot through the air at the bird, who dodged at the last second. The loudmouth smashed headfirst into the tall riverbank.

That's my cue, I thought grimly, jumping at Deidara while his back was turned. He whipped around quickly, blocking my punch and almost landing me in the river. "Not again, little girl, hmm?" he said in a singsong voice.

He threw a small clay bird-bomb at Kakashi, who threw a shuriken and destroyed it. Out of the smoke came another shuriken, which the Jonin blocked with a kunai. He steadied himself on the dirt wall, which Naruto had popped out of. "I am not letting you take Gaara!" the latter roared.

"You-and Gaara as well-you are quite the odd jinchuriki, aren't you?" Deidara observed. "You actually seem to care about others. Previous jinchuriki…nobody came to save them. Both of you, so pitiful and detested..you just couldn't ignore each other, hmm?" His tone hardened. "Because Gaara's Shukaku was extracted, he died. And soon you will share the same fate, got it?"

"I-I'll kill you all," was the response. Naruto's voice was shaking-in anger, or in grief, I couldn't tell you.

To Be Continued…

A/N: That, oddly, was a really fun chapter to write! I hope you liked it!!

Reviews are so greatly appreciated, but don't feel like you have to. Thanks for reading! –SS