Whenever Temari was afraid, it was usually because of her youngest brother. He terrified her with his glare and his abilities. He could not be harmed, the sand would always protect him. She could not remember the last time Gaara had smiled, if he ever had. As a kid he was isolated from them and when their uncle died, he was already too damaged. It broke her heart despite everything.

She once discussed it with Kankuro, but he had snapped at her and refused to bring it up. Temari thought that he was being a jerk and had scolded him but at night she heard him cry underneath his blanket. The curse and blessings of having siblings, she supposed. Though whenever she resumed her duties as a shinobi, she could only feel the curse. Like when they were briefed of their mission during the Chuunin Exams, or when they met the Uchiha. The pressure and Gaara's foul mood ever since he ran into the Konoha Genins drove her mad.

She herself didn't particularly like the Konoha teams. They were too happy, too undisciplined and all bright eyed. They didn't have to suffer the same gruesome training as she did. However, one of the Genin stood out to her in the worst possible way. She remembered her name, Chi, but she remembered her eyes more.

In the forest she faced the three of them alone as her teammates fled. Stupid, she had thought. Gaara would kill all of them anyway. That was before Chi bared her canines and her eyes started to glow red. Gaara's sand rose warily around him. Kankuro frowned at Temari but she was too busy with the squirrels.

She had been pretty damn sure that she had killed the two on the ground when she shredded a branch. Now the little rodents had gotten back to their feet and were stiff as Kankuro's puppets. Temari felt her mouth run dry as she saw the cuts on the furry bodies. They were held together by some miracle and no blood was flowing. Then she looked back at Chi and made her first mistake. Temari swung her fan out and send a gust of wind towards her foe.

Chi was gone quite literary with the wind. Around them the forest came to life. Spiders, bugs and rodents appeared from the bushes. A pigeon without a head stumbled besides a four-legged spider the size of a puppy. All of the creatures suffered horrible wounds that should have been fatal to them, but it didn't seem to stop them. It was no Genjutsu, that was confirmed when the first of the bugs shot at them. They were very much real and solid. Temari blew them all away and jumped to a higher branch, following her siblings. There she made her second mistake.

As she landed she didn't pay attention to the falling leaves around her. When she felt the chakra flare next to her, it was already too late. Chi appeared instead of a dried leaf and bit her calf. Temari's scream was stuck in her throat as an indescribable sensation spread up her leg. A split second later Kankuro shooed Chi away with a kunai. Temari stumbled and fell, her leg stretched in front of her. Bruises already formed around the wound, blood still flowing freely.

Chi landed on the ground beneath them and smiled. Blood was smeared over her teeth and her lips. Her eyes turned yellow as the Sand siblings watched.

"You lost." She grinned.

"What did you do?!" Kankuro reached for the bundle on his back. Temari shivered as cold sweat started to break out on her forehead. Her hands supporting her, slipped and her head hit the branch.

"I drank." Chi's voice came from a distance.

"What the hell?!" Kankuro appeared at her side, lifting her by her arm. Temari's head rolled to her chest.

"We're leaving." Gaara's voice came unexpectedly. Temari wanted to thank him, but her mouth was too dry. Kankuro muttered some curses but lifted her up in his arms. The last thing Temari saw before they were up in the trees, was Gaara staring down from his position. His lips were curled up as the sand rose around him. Then he turned and she averted her eyes.

Back then she wasn't that scared. At least not compared to her battle with the Ketsueki. Temari gulped, standing straight only because of her determination. Sweat ran in rivulets down her cold skin. The two eyes in front of her stared right through her. Around her was nothing. It was a void that moved when she was looking the other way. The air was thin and cold, but tasted sweet and metallic, with a sour undertone. Morbid thoughts entered her mind but she forced them away. Chi was nowhere to be found. Temari clenched her fists and asked again.

"Where am I?"

The eyes, giant, yellow and without eyelids, didn't blink.

"Who are you? Let me out!" Temari didn't care for her cracking voice. She just wanted to get the hell out of here, competition be damned. The black void gaped at her. Her skin tingled.

"Where am-"

"In your head." A voice suddenly spoke.

Temari spun around, heart beating fast in her chest. She ran to the eyes but they never came closer.

"What are you doing? How can you look in your own head for someone else?" Chi's voice came again.

"What the hell is this?! Get me out of here!" Temari shouted, spinning around again.

"It's your head. I can't control it." Chi commented lightly.

"Bullshit. This isn't my head!" Is it?

"Oh? It isn't?" Chi's voice still carried that breezy tone. "Then it must by mine."

Something flickered in the darkness in front of her feet. A drop fell from high above, hitting the ground behind her. Temari jumped forward, turning around and keeping her eyes trained on the spot. A gray circular shape appeared, forming a thick circle. The circle then rose up to form a cylinder. It came to a sudden halt near the height of her chest. A deep gurgling sound filled the quiet of the void. Curiosity got the better of her and Temari came closer to peek over the edge. The cylinder was filling to the brim with a dark liquid, sloshing lazily against the walls.

"You can touch it if you want, drink it, even." Chi's voice was gentle and kind. It send shivers down Temari's spine.

Despite that, she still reached out with her hand. Temari held her breath as she dipped a finger in the liquid, and then slowly relaxed. It was pleasantly warm and thicker than water. She drew eights with her hand and wondered if she could jump in it for a quick bath. It would be like swimming in cream. A soft chuckle came from around her and Temari rolled her eyes. The warmth had chased the horrible iciness away and left her much calmer than before.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"I ask-" Chi began and Temari's inner alarm started to blare at her sweet tone "that you tell me what is inside the well."

Temari's hand stilled and her head snapped to the construction, which now that she had heard was definitely a well. Suddenly the warm liquid seemed to hide a deep secret, like a monster that would pull her in and drown her. She imagined gulping down the sticky stuff in a battle to get to the surface and a sick idea planted itself in her mind. Slowly, she lifted her hand and watched as the liquid dripped of her fingers. Her hand shook as she brought it closer to her lips. Swallowing once, she opened her mouth and licked her index finger.

Iron. Sweet. Blood.

Jumping back, Temari spit on the ground, gagging and heaving. In the background Chi started to laugh. With tears in her eyes, Temari mentally promised retribution. The blood wouldn't come off her hand by shaking so she swallowed the bile back and rubbed her hand on her pants. Dark stains appeared against her light clothes. She was sure that the stains were spreading too, soaking through the cotton and clinging wetly to her skin. She shuddered.

"What's wrong?" Chi gained her composure again though her mirth echoed in her voice. "It's yours. At least some of it. Most of the blood comes from my clan."

"What- How-?" Temari began weakly, not knowing where to start.

"I drank your blood, remember?" Chi replied.

Temari slowly turned her leg to get a look at the bite wound. It was dark and the veins were pulsing, sending something black through her body. Strangely there was no pain. Only an immense feeling of being chained to the ground. She reached out and touched her leg, only to find it as cold as ice. The warmth of the blood leaked away from her and she almost missed it.

Temari snapped up, turning to the eyes. "What the hell is this?"

"Stop asking stupid questions." Chi sounded annoyed now. Temari could almost picture the scowl and the yellow eyes.

"Tell me, what are you doing here?" Chi hissed, voice edging towards a whisper. The darkness grew darker and the eyes became bigger. Like ink in water, orange started to spread at the edges.

Temari couldn't look away anymore. A shiver ran down her spine and her knees gave in but she didn't fall. Her lower body was encased in ice, senses numbed and feeling detached from the rest. Memories flashed in front of her eyes. Distantly she noticed a hand traveling up her thigh to her waist and over her stomach. The hand reached her neck and clamped around it, leaving a trail of ice. Temari choked as it clenched. The hand pressed her down as the well started to groan behind her.

Temari wanted to turn, but instead found herself enveloped in ice. It crept up passed her spine, to her shoulders. Frost bit down on her arms and rose up her neck. Temari felt the ice touch her chin and curl around her lips, freezing her tongue and going in her throat. When the cold reached her forehead, she started to panic. Her arms didn't move and her legs were completely useless.

Chi's voice came again, sweet and cruel. "If you don't tell me, I will be forced to hurt you."

Temari wanted to say something but her voice never came out. The hand around her throat cut off air and sound. She wanted to claw at it, to free herself. Hell, she wanted to confess, but it seemed like Chi had already set her mind on tormenting her.

There was a beat of silence, in which neither made a sound. Then hot liquid poured over her. It hit her head first and gushed passed her shoulders, forcing Temari to close her eyes. It ran over her frozen body and sizzled when it hit the ice.She remained with her eyes closed and lips clamped shut as the contents of the well soaked her to the marrow.

The sound was deafening and only after it had become quiet for some seconds, Temari looked up again. Her body tingled and her skin was burning. Every bit of skin hurt. Temari gasped and found that she could breathe again. Nevertheless, her lungs protested and she only managed short, squeaking breaths. With each she inhaled some of the blood and bile rose again.

"Did you warm up again?" Chi asked.

Temari hated how she flinched at the sound. In her head she compared the girl to Gaara and knew damn well that Gaara would never use torture, but simply killed his opponents. Gruesomely, yes and with a lot of unnecessary pain, but he never tortured. Chi was nothing like a regular Genin. Temari wanted to throw up, and curl in her bed. She wanted a bath but she wasn't sure if she needed a cold or a hot one. Tears spilled passed her cheeks.

"Will you tell me what you are doing here?" Chi's voice would return in her nightmares, she was sure of it.

Nodding, Temari realized that she was already talking. Guilt clamped at her stomach but she ignored it. With a bit of luck, this would all be a dream. All she saw were the yellow eyes. The light coming from them enveloped her, hushed her thoughts. Her shivering stopped.

When she was finished with her story, she was panting.

"Thank you, Temari." Chi said. Simple and sincere.

"Y-you're welcome." Temari replied because that was normal and therefore it was alright. Still, she had one gnawing thought. "M-my brothers-"

Chi's voice echoed over her head. "Don't worry Temari, I figured it out. This is your head, so your secret is safe."

"Okay..."

Then it was light and warm again. Temari blinked and felt no pain, only a hand on her head. She froze again, but the hand fell away. Chi, weary and grim, looked her dead in the eyes and spoke.

"You lose."

That was when Temari realized that she was in the arena and not covered in blood. She saw the Hokage sitting in his chair, eyes focused on the two of them. She noticed the deadly silence around them, but felt the gazes of everyone. By the time her eyes got back to Chi, she no longer breathed. Chi's eyes were no longer yellow, but the gash of her slit throat was still black.

"Wh-"

Chi tilted her head, expression carefully crafted. "You lose."

And with that pain exploded in her head, her vision turning white. Her mouth opened and a blood-curling scream escaped her.

Chi looked back at the audience, ignoring the writhing girl in front of her. The Genin were clutching their ears, pale as sheets and horrified. Her eyes wandered to her team. Ryuya and Shinji were similar to the rest. Ibiki was stone faced, his eyes wide and boring into her.

Then Hayate signaled for medics to come and tend to the still hysterical girl before she crushed her own skull with her tight grip. Said medics carefully avoided Chi and went about with their needles and potions. Temari's screaming thankfully stopped and she slumped against one nurse, drool coming out of her mouth and her eyes rolling back. Chi stepped back and looked at the Hokage. Her blank expression crumbled. Her shoulders slumped and tremors ran through her hands as she pulled her haori close.

"Winner: Chi!" Hayate called out in the awkward silence that followed.

No one clapped. Chi staggered to the stairs and climbed them with much more effort than usual. No one seemed to breath until she reached her team. The board flickered on again and the attention was drawn to the next battle.

Chi barely managed to reach the bench and fell down on it. The presence of her teacher in front of her, made her open her eyes again. Ibiki's face was unreadable.

"What was that?"

Chi shrugged halfheartedly "Jutsu."

"What did it do?" Shinji piped up, unsure of what to do.

Chi swallowed but her mouth was dry. "I went in her mind. Got the thing."

Her eyes were a deep ruby color. Ryuya grabbed Shinji's hand and led her away, smiling gently at Chi. Ibiki remained there and didn't seem like he would move.

"What are you doing?" Shinji whispered at her blue haired friend.

Ryuya's smile faded as fast as it came. "Can't you see she's not willing to talk? She's super tired, just let her."

"But I want to know what she did!"

"So do I! But I don't want to get killed asking it!" Ryuya burst. Thankfully she still kept her voice down.

Shinji bit back her own feelings "How can you say that?! She's our friend!"

Guilt flashed over Ryuya's expression but it was soon replaced with fear "You know her. Or actually you don't. No one knows her. Her clan was filled with murderers and you saw the way she fights. You saw this fight!"

Shinji's throat felt like sandpaper. At that moment a cheer rose from the arena and Ryuya was distracted. Shinji stole another look at her other teammate and found her fast asleep against the wall. She marched over to the balustrade, staying far from the destroyed part, and tried to focus on the battle in front of her. She could do this.

Kakashi looked at them from distance, too busy with his own team to read their lips. He was sure that Sasuke's blood lust had upped another notch after seeing this... unusually disturbing battle. The boy might try to gain power through massacring Konoha.

Snorting a tad hysterically, Kakashi turned to Sakura. She tugged on his sleeve with wide eyes and asked for help. He twirled her around and gently pushed her out of the door that lead to the maze inside the walls of the tower.

"Tell me." He said.

Sakura didn't seem to hear him. He couldn't blame her, she was breathing rather loudly and in a nails-on-chalkboard pitch.

"Sakura." He urged.

She snapped to attention. "Sensei."

For the love of anyone, I need some assistance. "Tell me what's wrong."

Sakura took a shivering breath. "I- In the forest, when Naruto a-and Sasuke were sleeping, we were attacked."

Her voice was small and lowered into a whisper at the end "I killed them."

Oh crap, this was part of the course... The course was given by experienced teachers and the academy teachers. It taught the Jonin instructors how to deal with situations and their students. It was the course that Kakashi had skipped all together because there was no way he would approve of a team. Damn me.

"Sakura, what is really the problem?" He probed, praying that he didn't say the wrong thing. "If you hadn't killed them, they would have killed you and the boys." And then I would have killed them so the outcome would be the same.

The girl in front of him wiped her nose on her sleeve. "I don't know. I won the battle and I got the scrolls. Because of me, we passed that round! But- but was it right?"

Kakashi's eye softened. "You mean, was it worth it? Was killing them worth winning the round?"

Sakura nodded. He put his hands on her trembling shoulders and leaned forward. "Unfortunately in our profession it is. We achieve our goal, regardless of the consequences."

She looked away but Kakashi wasn't done yet. "The fact that you feel guilt is important, Sakura. It means that you are human, and know compassion. I know plenty of Jonin who have lost that. They are now empty shells, machines who kill on command. You are stronger, you can show mercy and you will not take an innocent life just because someone asked you to. Guilt is a good thing."

Sakura looked at him and flung her arms around him. "Thank you sensei."

She squeezed tightly and let go before he could even remember to hug her back. He watched as she went back to her team just in time to see her own name on the board, paired against Ino. She squared her shoulders and ran down the stairs. Kakashi walked back in his own pace, trying to look as calm as possible as he turned his head slightly.

There, that shadowy corner near the statue. The temptation to shoot a kunai became greater. He looked back on the battlefield where the girls were attacking each other. Sakura didn't hold back but even then she avoided the most dangerous spots. Kakashi smiled, feeling victorious.

Yeah, guilt is a good thing.