A/N: The next few chapters are going to be pretty simple in terms of dynamic. Neji and Sasuke's journey will be shown, and then the exploration and discovery of stuff in Uzushio with Naruto and Gaara.

Very soon, the fighting will start.

Time for chapter 31

Enjoy!

Naruto's eyes cracked open slowly as he was roused from his sleep by the passing of time. It was still dark, but it always was. The place in which he and Gaara had chosen to make their home lacked lighting, and sunlight was unable to reach it. That was because their current dwelling was underground. In the two weeks that had passed since their arrival in Uzushiogakure, the pair had discovered a number of things. First of all, they had discovered the true scope of Uzushio's area. According to Gaara, who had apparently walked a lap around the entire city during one of her sleepless nights, it was eight miles long and six miles wide, with a total area of forty-eight miles. It was a large settlement, and save for a few small animals scattered throughout, they were all alone.

The second thing they had found was that the enormous library had a basement of sorts. Though, 'basement' likely wasn't the right term. It was much more of a small, hidden chamber. It had clearly been lived in at a time, most likely by a librarian. It was equipped with a decently-sized bed, a table, and several old lanterns that no longer worked. Overall, it had still appeared habitable, and given that the residential districts on either side of the river were mostly destroyed, it had been their best choice. In total, they had slept in the underground room nine out of their fourteen days in Uzushio.

The bed was fairly comfortable despite its long retirement from use, and the chamber itself was quite warm when compared to the cold December air above ground. The only recurring issue was the lack of light. They generally spent their days exploring the village above, and retreated back under the library when the sun set, but waking up at a proper time was practically impossible. Sleeping or one hour felt the same as sleeping twelve when you had no light to tell you what time it was. At present, Naruto was contemplating this issue. He had just awoken, and he felt fairly well rested, but there was no real way to know if morning had come other than ascending to the surface. Doing so would likely cost him his ability to return to sleep if it was still dark out.

There was also another predicament. Gaara was still very much asleep, and she had unconsciously latched herself onto his back while they slept. He was effectively being backpacked. Gaara had joined him in sleep seven out of the nine nights they had stayed underground, and each time had produced its own odd position upon their awakening. Naruto was always the first to wake up, and he had done so with Gaara draped on him in a number of ways. The first night, he had come to with his redheaded companion entirely attached to him with her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs hooked around one of his own. Several other times, she had simply rolled on top of him in the middle of the night.

She was incredibly mobile while sleeping when unrestrained. The blonde found it to be endearing for the most part, which made it more a positive than a negative. As of now, though, it was something of a bother. The girl needed sleep more than almost anybody else, and peeling her off of himself would almost certainly wake her. If she were to awaken, she would almost certainly insist on following him about until sundown. For all that she was a gentle and loving partner, she was also greatly protective and possessive. She hardly ever let Naruto out of her sight if she could avoid it. It was both comforting and unsettling.

'I'd get used to it, if I were you. It isn't going to change.' a voice rang from the back of Naruto's mind as he pondered Gaara and her habits. The Jinchuuriki's face scrunched up in discontent at the sound of his demon's voice.

'Quit reading my mind. It gets old real quick.' he grumbled back at the enormous fox. Predictably, the response he was given was a mocking laugh. Patronizing as always, the beast took his sweet time responding.

'My point is this: You're trapped. If you ever begin to have second thoughts about that girl, don't think you can just walk away. This is your life now. She is your life now. I've seen types like her before. They don't let go of what they consider theirs easily. Most of the time, not at all.' he said. Naruto scoffed at the dark being.

'What do you know about people? All you do is destroy them.' he asked sarcastically. He could then feel the demon shifting around within his mind.

'I'm an ancient being, my naive vessel. I have inhabited countless people across the ages, and I've roamed the globe. I know the human race well, and I've conversed with an endless number of you apes. She's of a specific class. I think the right word would be 'parasite'. One who clings and drains.' he said. Naruto scowled and tried to push the dark being away to no avail.

'Why does everybody say that kind of thing? I mean, sure, she's made her mistakes, and she's done some awful stuff, but...just look at how she's been lately. She's just a lonely girl.' the Jinchuuriki snapped back. The fox audibly sighed.

'I understand that you aren't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but you can't possibly be this blind. Have you noticed that her mercy extends to quite literally three people? Those being yourself, and her siblings. It's quite possible that the latter two have faced the brunt of her insanity before, so you may be the only true recipient.' he replied tiredly. The former leaf genin furrowed his brow.

'What are you getting at? Quit being so vague about this.' he questioned, sounding quite puzzled by the implications of the demon's point.

'Let me answer your question with another question: If a person's morals only show themselves when it suits their desires, does their morality really exist at all? She's been fairly transparent about the way she feels about human life. It means practically nothing to her. You alone stand in her good graces.' the fox said, fully expecting a fiery reply from his container. Much to his surprise, no such thing came. When it didn't, he filled the silence.

'It's all up to you, in the end. I feel much the same about people as she does, but I know that you don't. I won't say too much, but you'll soon get your chance to choose. Push comes to shove, you'll be reminded of who she is without you to sate her.' he said before disappearing into the deepest depths of Naruto's mind. For several minutes, the blonde lay still with Gaara's body pressed to his back. Try as he might to deny it, he knew all too well that the redhead was a criminal. He knew that she was a killer.

And yet, he loved her.

A small part of himself loathed it, but that self-hatred was still overridden by his affection for the petite girl who he had met in the forest. He had come to know her, learned to understand her, and, in the end, he had slept with her. It had been tumultuous and bloody, but she had won him over. There was no disputing his feelings. They were perfectly clear.

'There's no point in caring about what she's done anymore. I made this bed, so I'm gonna sleep in it.' he swore to both himself and Gaara. At this, he turned around and faced his lover. He then leaned forward and softly kissed her lips. When he lightly pulled away, he saw her eyes flutter open in the dark.

"Is it time to wake up?" she asked with a sleepy, half-lidded gaze. Naruto shrugged his shoulders at the question.

"No idea. Can't tell what time it is down here." he replied. Gaara then locked her hands behind his back and pulled their bodies together. She was now flattened against him under the covers with her face hovering centimeters from his.

"In that case, let's just stay like this. Now, kiss me till I pass out again." she said. Before Naruto could accept or refuse, the redhead covered his mouth with her own. For all that she was soft and gentle with him generally, she was a domineering kisser. Even while half-asleep.

'This is your life now. SHE is your life now.'

The fox's words rang loudly through Naruto's mind as Gaara indulged herself on his lips. This was what he would wake up and fall asleep to for the rest of his life. The taste of blood. An ever-present reminder of who exactly this oh-so-sweet girl was. A daily gut-check. Soon enough, Gaara messily removed her lips from his and wiped them clean with her wrist.

"So addicting…" she murmured before closing her eyes and beginning to breathe evenly. As he watched her drift away into unconsciousness, Naruto made up his mind.

He enjoyed the taste of blood.

"It was never going to be enough, Sasuke."

Gaara's grip on his throat then tightened, putting tremendous pressure on his windpipe as he dangled over the edge of the stark dropoff. His face was streaked with blood, his body ached, and he was utterly exhausted. He had nothing left. The end was near, and there was nothing more that could be done to stave it off.

"Nothing to say? I'm not sure whether to be disappointed or elated. Endlessly irritating as you are, I'm not so cruel that I wouldn't let you have a few last words.' the demonic girl jeered him. Sasuke grit his teeth and opened his mouth to snap back, but found that he could do no more than make strangled groans. At this, Gaara gave him a sickeningly sweet smile and tilted her head off to one side.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you." she asked mockingly. The Uchiha gave her a hateful glare as she admired her handiwork. Then, he felt her stranglehold on his neck ease up just a tad.

"Oh, do you need to breathe? Alright then. Take in as much air as you'd like." she said before releasing him and letting him plummet downward. As he crashed towards the mercilessly solid surface below him, Sasuke's eyes remained glued to Gaara. For a brief moment, he understood. He had once been told that evil came in many forms, and that was a lesson he had learned the hard way on the night of the massacre, but now that teaching had returned to haunt him. First, he had lost his family because of it. Now, he was losing his only friend.

With that dark thought, his back hit the floor.

Sasuke snapped awake and sat up straight. He was in a cold sweat, and he swore he could feel her bloody hands on his throat. His heart was racing at a horrible pace, he was shaking slightly, and most of all, he was shaken mentally. Nightmares were commonplace for him. They had plagued him from a young age that predated the massacre of his clan. But this had been horrific. Dreams tended to bounce right off of him, since they usually held no real meaning and were fairly random thematically. Unfortunately, this most recent nightmare had been anything but off-topic.

It had been vividly realistic. Every squeeze on his neck, every drop of blood that ran down his face, it had all felt so intensely real. Heaving a heavy sigh, Sasuke threw his blanket off of him and exited his tent. It was still dark out, and the air was bitter cold. Winter was coming, and it was coming quickly. Fourteen days still lay between the inevitable clash between himself and Neji and the pair of Jinchuuriki, and there was bound to be snow on the ground by that time. It was fitting for such a potentially negative encounter to take place in the cold. For all that there was potential for a resolution, the chances of it all going horrifically wrong were significant.

A number of things had to go perfectly for the mission to be a success. Most importantly, Gaara needed to be suppressed, but not killed. The task of overcoming her in combat was within reach, or at least, Sasuke believed it to be. She was more powerful than he was, but she was susceptible to fairly basic works of trickery. She was smart given enough time to adjust, but she tended to take quite some time to figure a way around a problem. The issue was that any mistakes at all on the Uchiha's part could cost him his life. He needed to walk a fine line, and he needed to walk it perfectly. Allowing the fight to devolve into chaos would be suicide.

He would need to cripple her rather than kill her. Gaara dying would be disastrous for the mission. With her gone, Naruto would likely become impossible to convince, and he was far too strong to force into surrender. It was a difficult problem. Gaara was beatable, but only with perfect execution, and Naruto was completely unstoppable for either himself or Neji. Sasuke smirked. It would have been infinitely simpler to simply send Guy or Kakashi after them, but doing so would have been a poor look.

'The public probably wouldn't mind it if Naruto came back covered in his own blood, but they'd riot if they saw Gaara beaten up. Most people probably weren't paying enough attention to know that the monster fighting Naruto was actually her.' Sasuke thought to himself. He then let out a low, short laugh.

'People are so superficial. Only reason they'd even be angry about it is because she's cute and short. Well, that, and they don't really know who or what she is. Reports never referred to her by name or really by appearance. Just as an 'enemy Jinchuuriki'. They don't have a clue.' he mused. It was sad, but true. Perception was reality, and Naruto was perceived as a problem.

'The only reason they sent us out is because they could label it a triumph of 'friendship' and 'comradery'. Naruto and I being on the same team is common knowledge.' Sasuke thought to himself. He then shivered slightly as a wind blew across the terrain.

"You really should be sleeping, you know."

The Uchiha glanced back over his shoulder to see Neji emerging from the flap of his own tent. The Hyuga slowly made his way to his companion's side and stared out over the same dark horizon.

"I could hear you thrashing about in your sleep. Night terrors, I assume?" Neji asked, earning a delayed, reluctant nod from Sasuke.

"Always is. I can usually just sleep through them, though. This last one was a little too real for me to sleep again." he explained stoically. The Hyuga cast him a knowing look.

"Let me guess, it had something to do with what is to come and how it may go horribly wrong?" he inquired. The Uchiha raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds to me like you're speaking from personal experience. Are you?" he asked curiously. Neji maintained his silence briefly, but soon gave a response.

"Likely about different aspects, but yes. Personally, I've been struggling with dreams of what will happen when I inevitably return home with news of my impending loss. Things improved for me slightly after Naruto and I fought, but Hiashi-sama is still a tremendously harsh man." he admitted. Sasuke shuddered at what Neji was suggesting. Hiashi Hyuga was infamously proud and taciturn. Facing punishment by his hand would be hellish.

"That...sounds rough. I don't know what that would be like, but I'm gonna guess that it probably isn't fun." Sasuke said awkwardly. The Hyuga shrugged his shoulders.

"I've grown used to it. I despise plenty of things about my life, so it sort of blends in past a certain point. What have your dreams been about?" he asked, changing the subject smoothly in the process.

"I keep dreaming about Gaara. About what she might do to me. I feel ready for her, but I...still can't shake this feeling that I'm not." he said honestly. Neji put his hands in his pockets to shield them from the wind.

"Do you fear her? I certainly wouldn't blame you. What she did to you last time was horrific. You have every right to be afraid." he asked. The Uchiha's hands curled into fists and tightened to the point of numbness.

"It's more than that. I'd be lying if I said facing her again doesn't make me nervous, but I'm also becoming less and less sure of what I'm really fighting for." he said. At his words, a sudden ray of sunlight pierced out from the horizon. The sun was rising.

"I've been getting that feeling from you for quite some time. Maybe I'm stepping out of line by saying this, but, I feel as though you're more invested in punishing Gaara than you are in retrieving Naruto." Neji said. Sasuke didn't respond. Instead, he simply stood in silence. He was fighting within himself. After a time, the Hyuga sighed.

"What do you want to be fighting for? What is it that you feel is the right thing to do?" he asked. Sasuke glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and then shielded his vision from the newly-risen sun's rays.

"I can't let go of what I've seen in her. She's a wolf in sheep's clothing. She'll eat him alive. I can't let that happen. I want to get rid of her, but I can't. I hate this. I hate it so much." he said. Neji put a hand on his shoulder.

"I can't say that I care all that much on a personal level, but I do understand how you feel. I don't have a solution for your problem, but I do have a suggestion: Should we be beaten and sent away empty handed, let it go. Forget about them." he said. He then removed his hand from Sasuke's shoulder and made his way back to the tents.

"Let's save the stress for the moment of truth. That tension could serve us well." he said as he began to pack up his shelter. Though it took him several minutes, Sasuke eventually followed suit.

The boys ran in silence for the remainder of the day.

A/N: A few things. "The taste of blood" was a metaphor, and it isn't meant to be taken LITERALLY. Also, that scene was NOT cute. Regardless, I hope you were able to enjoy this one. Tell me what you thought :)

See you next chapter! Read and Review!