Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

--

Black. Dark, inky black. Liquid black. How was she breathing?

Oh. She wasn't breathing. Her lungs were just beginning to burn from oxygen deprivation. Her body needed air, she needed to get out of this water and why was it so dark?

She couldn't move. Why couldn't she move? Something was holding her down, but she couldn't see what it was. She couldn't see anything.

And then, light. Dim, but enough to see by. Chains? She was chained to something; the ground, she thought. Assuming there was a ground. She couldn't bend her head far enough to see. Should she scream? But that would waste precious air...

The light was spreading, brightening. Except, it wasn't really light anymore. It was more colorful, solid. Shape was added. And then it was Naruto. Salvation.

"Naruto!" Bubbles propelled from her mouth, proof that she had said something, but he apparently couldn't hear her. He wasn't even looking at her, he was looking somewhere else, at more light. Darker light. More shadow than light, really. Twisting. Shape. Sasuke. Good. Her teammates were here.

Her lungs ached. Could they not see her? Why were they just staring at each other?

Naruto was changing. His eyes were sharpening, fading to a dusty red. His canines lengthened, jutting over his lower lip as his nails sharpened. He bared his teeth, silently growling.

She felt her mind go numb. Kyuubi.

– she couldn't breathe–

Energy suddenly flashed and crackled in both their hands, and they were running. Towards each other. She opened her mouth and screamed at them to stop. What were they doing?

She was too insignificant to bother with. They were going to kill each other, because she was too weak to stop them this time. And she was going to die too, because they wouldn't save her. They were all going to die. It was all her fault and she needed air –

Sakura sat bolt upright, eyes snapping open at the same moment Naruto and Sasuke connected, and her dream self screamed.

She was shaking, almost violently. Strands of hair stuck wetly to her face, drenched in sweat. Her shallow pants filled the silence, so similar to that in her dream.

She dropped her face into her palms, almost crying but not quite, and tried to quiet her erratic breathing. Air, she had it, she was breathing. Naruto and Sasuke were fine, alive...

"It's normal. Nightmares are often associated with genjutsu."

Her shoulders lurched with surprise, but she didn't bother to lift her head. She'd already been semi-aware of his presence.

"Is that what he made you see?" His voice had an edge to it now.

She silently shook her head and raised her eyes to look at his silhouette, sitting cross-legged at the foot of her bed. "No. That was just – feelings. This was a dream." She laughed nervously. "A stupid, stupid dream."

"Then is that what you fear?" He refused to relent. "Your teammates killing each other?"

"How did you know that?"

"You were talking in your sleep."

Her heartbeat was slowly returning to normal. "Yes. They've almost, before. And, them leaving me behind, because I'm not as important as each other." She surprised herself with the bitterness of her tone.

He was silent, then –

"You are not weak."

She gave him a surprised glance. "I never said I was."

"You think it, often. Your eyes are too expressive."

She gave him a shaky smile. "If you reword that it can be a compliment."

His eyes narrowed. "No. Giving too much away is dangerous. It would be too easy to use that against you."

The smile dropped. "I thought you just said I wasn't weak."

"You aren't."

She sighed. "Why can't you ever give me a straight answer?"

"Straight answers are dangerous too." His voice had lost its steadiness. He sounded aggravated, as if something had been bothering him. "It would be too easy to twist them into a way to kill me." He gave a strange, unbalanced laugh. "At least, that's what I learned growing up."

There was a strange lurch in her chest. "I wouldn't kill you, you know."

"I have no reason to trust you."

That stung. More than it should have, she realized. She crossed her arms defensively over her chest, her sense of security already slipping away. She closed her eyes and leant into the headboard, unconsciously trying to put distance between them. She felt more than saw him hesitate, as if he knew the effect of his words.

"I'm sorry," she said lowly.

"You have no reason to apologize."

She opened her eyes, uncrossed her arms. "Yes, I do." She crawled closer on her hands and knees, and reached out to brush strands of shaggy hair away from his forehead. He allowed the contact, unmoving. His eyes were bright, hopeful and suspicious at the same time. They probed hers, searching for an ulterior motive, and she almost started crying. What had it felt like, to grow up that way? She'd thought she had it bad...She met his gaze defiantly. "I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you. You didn't deserve it."

She must have been insane, having no idea where she got the courage for this declaration. But, she meant it. He was afraid of people, and he needed help. She didn't like this dark, guarded part of him. She slowly cupped his cheek. She needed to show him he didn't need to protect himself from her.

What ever happened to not being sure about the relationship, huh? Aren't you going a little fast?

Blessed would be the day when her inner self decided to shut the hell up for twenty four hours. As it was she had to just inwardly scowl and shove her to the back of her mind.

His expression remained the same, unreadable, his eyes remaining on hers.

He brought his hand up to cover her own, and her breath hitched. Warm.

"I had an uncle," he said finally. She sighed with relief and settled beside him, interlocking their fingers.

"Was he like everyone else?"

"In the end." His grip on her hand tightened. "But he was the first person who treated me like I wasn't a monster."

She dropped her head onto his shoulder, silently prompting him to continue. He untangled their fingers and rested a hand on the back of her neck. "You reminded me of him, back in the Chuunin Exams."

"What happened to him?"

"I killed him."

She stiffened, instincts telling her to pull away, but forced herself to be still. She'd brought this upon herself by pushing him.

"He tried to assassinate me."

She let out a long breath. Oh.

After several moments, she opened her mouth. "Hey, Gaara?"

"Hm."

"I promise not to assassinate you."

"You couldn't if you tried."

"Yes I could!"

"I doubt it."

He grabbed her chin and cut off her angry retort with his lips. She quieted immediately, hands unconsciously moving to clasp behind his neck.

"Ah..." Err. What had she been about to say again?

She pulled away, face flushed. "I have to tell you something," she slurred, trying to get the blood back into her brain. "Ah, you might have noticed I have sharingan..."

"You're part Uchiha," he stated, throwing her off. "It was in the mission report.

She blinked, slowly. "...Oh." The fact that he had been completely aware of her heritage the entire time she'd been under his care and had never thought to mention it was a little staggering.

"So..." she said carefully. "You know that guy that's after Sasuke and me is still at large..."

The corners of his lips tilted downwards. "Yes."

"Well...I was thinking..." she nervously worried her top lip between her teeth. "He's after Sasuke, too...and...maybe we should stick together. We are a team."

His reply was unhesitant. "No."

Her brows creased with displeasure. "Why not?"

"I'm not letting him touch you."

She wasn't sure who they were talking about anymore. "But it makes sense – "

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his lap. "You're mine."

Her mouth dropped open. For such a possessive statement, he'd said it rather affectionately.

She turned her head as far as it would go to look at him. "Gaara," she said flatly. "He's my brother." And brothers aren't romantically interested in their sisters.

...I hope.

He appeared unmoved. Apparently this had been in his mission report, too. "If you're in the same place, it will be easier to kill you both."

"I don't want to live while Sasuke dies!"

She was being immature, she knew. She was a shinobi, this was they way things operated. The less casualties the better. But Gaara made it sound like betrayal.

His grip on her tightened, lips moving next to her ear. "You love him," he accused.

"No," she said calmly. "Not in the way you think."

Lo and behold, she'd said it. And it had been easy.

He was satisfied by her answer. His arms gentled, became caressing. They sat like that for a while, neither of them wanting to say anything. In the total silence and darkness of the room, it was easy to remember her dream. She shuddered and pressed closer to him, turning sideways to rest her cheek on his chest.

"Cold?"

"No...I'm just a little messed up is all." A pause. "Well, I'm cold, too."

They moved to the top of the bed, Sakura eagerly burrowing beneath the blankets. Gaara watched, looking amused, before joining her. He wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head under his chin. "The genjutsu he used. What was it?"

"Not really a jutsu," she mumbled. "A bloodline trait. It makes you feel...things."

Gaara's voice was low and rough. "Illusions?"

"No...more like, what you're afraid of." She tucked her chin closer to her chest, hunching her shoulders protectively over herself. "I couldn't actually see anything...just felt."

He was silent, obviously waiting for her to go on.

"For me it was weakness. I couldn't see it, but I knew what had happened. My whole team was dead...the Kyuubi had been taken from Naruto, and Orochimaru stole Sasuke's body...I'm not sure what happened to Kakashi-sensei, but he was gone too. But I was still alive. Because I'd been too weak to help."

"You're not weak."

She smiled. "I've heard. But, what if something does happen? We're always in danger, that's guaranteed when you have one of the last Uchiha heirs, the Kyuubi vessel, the Hokage's apprentice, and the famous copy ninja all in one place...but it just seems so much closer than before. What if that guy really manages to kill Sasuke? And, Naruto's here too..."

"He hasn't shown himself in weeks."

"The Akatsuki didn't show itself for three years."

"Sakura."

"Mm?"

"Go to sleep."

He pulled her closer, and she found she could do nothing but oblige.

--

They couldn't see him.

He slipped through the gates, relishing in a moment of self-pride when the guards didn't notice. Months, of developing and perfecting this jutsu...and it was finally useful.

He slipped behind a nearby building, not quite secure enough to drop the genjutsu yet. But he grinned.

He was in.

He was a God.

--

When Sakura woke up, it was to Kankuro poking her in the side. She swatted his hand away and sat up, sleepily glancing around. "Where's Gaara?"

His eyebrows shot upward. "He slept with you?"

Hm. Shit.

By the time she'd gotten him to shut up, it was almost midday. She took note of the sunlight filtering through the roughly cut window. "How long was I asleep?"

Kankuro shrugged. "A long time. Gaara said not to wake you, but I figured you'd have liked to get up before noon."

"Thanks," she said distractedly. "Hey, Kankuro?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you to take me to that hotel where Sasuke-kun's staying."

"I hope you're not thinking about starting another fight. I heard about your escape act yesterday. Temari wasn't pleased."

"No. I promise." She added, seeing the look he gave her.

"All right." He left for the door, and paused. "Personally, I would have chopped the kid in half. But that's just me."

--

Sasuke felt like shit. It just seemed like his entire life was going to hell in a handbasket.

He hadn't meant to use his sharingan...it was instinct. Instinct that had been pounded into him from the day he could walk. And he couldn't even apologize, because Gaara had frisked her away before he'd taken two steps, and Kakashi had him under house arrest.

The man wouldn't leave him alone. At all. He was constantly watching him, and had thus far refused to let him leave the hotel. "Just this feeling I've got," he'd said blandly.

So, while Kakashi had his dirty little books to entertain him (And listening to him giggle was getting more and more disturbing by the hour), Sasuke had nothing but his memories of how he'd accidentally tortured his sister. Fan-fucking-tastic.

"Get the door," Kakashi said, turning a page. No one had knocked, but Sasuke knew better than to argue.

He flung the door open and came face to face with Sakura. She had one fist uncertainly raised, as if debating whether or not she should knock. Kankuro was leaning against the wall behind her, arms crossed.

"...hey, Sasuke-kun."

He blinked. "What are you doing here?"

She hesitated, looking at Kankuro, who shrugged. "Go ahead. I'll wait out here."

She nodded and stepped inside, eyes roaming over the small room. "Hey, Kaka-sensei."

He nodded in greeting, then stood. "I'll just leave, then."

Which was completely unfair. He'd give her privacy, but not him? Favoritism.

Once Kakashi had left the room, she gave him a severe frown. "Machoistic bastard."

What?

"What the hell did you attack Gaara for?"

His expression hardened, immediately defensive. "Why do you care?"

"I care what happens to him, okay?" She glared at him. "How would you feel if I just beat the crap out of Naruto for no reason?"

She seemed to realize this was a stupid question, because she hurried on. "Stop going all male pride on the people I care about, all right? Do you want a repeat of what happened yesterday?"

Excuse him, hadn't he won that fight?

But he just cocked a brow. "Fine. I'll leave your lover alone."

And then, to his total chagrin, she didn't deny it. "Good."

Fuck, they weren't really lovers, were they?

"Are you having sex with him?"

Dear God. Had he really just asked that?

Blood rushed to her face and she vehemently replied. "No!"

He watched her, and she met his gaze. "Naruto will kick his ass if he hurts you."

Which was code for "We'll both fuck him with a rusty spoon if he tries anything."

She smiled. "I'm aware. Is Kaka-sensei keeping you locked up here?"

"He might as well be." Sasuke relaxed, glad her animosity was gone.

"I see. W – "

But at that moment Kakashi kicked the door open, rushing in. "Get down."

Sakura dropped without question, having learned in the past it was best to just obey orders and shut the hell up. Sasuke followed, already reaching for a kunai.

Kakashi went lurching sideways, as if something had hit him. He swiped at air with a kunai, and was bodily thrown across the room by some invisible force. Sakura leapt to her feet at the same moment Kankuro came running in, but Kakashi stopped her. "Stay back. Kankuro, take them. Keep them safe."

Kankuro sprinted to the window. "Come on." As reluctant as Sasuke was to run away, he spared one last glance to his mentor before following his sister out the window and into the air.

They all hit the ground running, veering to the left. Kankuro cracked off three shadow clones. "ANBU headquarters are this way. Guess your mystery man finally decided to show up."

"What about Kakashi?" Sakura sped up to match his pace. "Will he be all right?"

"Kakashi can take care of himself," Sasuke grunted, adrenaline pumping.

"Yeah, I'd worry about myself if I were you."

They turned down an alleyway, and Kankuro began to pant. "Shit. I really need to work on my cardio."

It was such an insane comment that Sakura had to laugh. "I can't believe you...Sasuke, your left."

He dropped to the ground and rolled, watching as something connected with the ground he had been running on second before. Sakura was already bringing her hands together in a seal. "Kai!" When nothing happened, she repeated the process. "Kai!"

"Stop that," Sasuke snapped. "You're wasting chakra."

"Well excuse me," she snapped back, bringing her arm up to block an invisible blow. "At least I'm trying."

He irritably performed a series of seals. "Move."

She jumped obediently into the air, and he let loose a blast of flames. They dissipated almost immediately, except for one, small flicker. There. He darted forward, bringing his kunai down in one, clean arc. He felt it connect with something, and a thin line of dribbling red appeared.

A rattling sound alerted him that Kankuro was removing Karasu from his back. "Excellent."

Sakura came shooting back to the ground with a sharp cry, ploughing her fist into the ground by the bright splash of red. It darted away, then was forced to dodge three shuriken Sasuke sent its way. It was intercepted by Karasu, and managed to escape. Sakura was up again, already powering up for a second attack. Easy.

Something slammed into the back of his head, and his vision blackened. Sakura and Kankuro went on, not noticing. They had been fighting a clone.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted his name as she saw him fall to the ground, world falling away. Fuck, they were so stupid.

He thought he heard a second thump before he blacked out.