Holy shit I've finished my degree! This is madness! (or is it Sparta?)

Thank you so much to the beautiful people who reviewed. All my love to you! Though guys, I had over 100 people read last chapter, and 3 people reviewed. Honestly I'm so incredibly grateful for every review I receive, but numbers like that do hurt a little. Knowing your thoughts means so much to me, it really does. Anyway, on with the chapter!


Chapter twelve - elevation

I'm not surprised to find Itachi sitting in my living room when I get home. I notice he's there the moment my door clicks shut – a shift in the air, a change in atmosphere, and he's sitting on my old worn couch. His fingers are laced patiently in front of his face, and he doesn't look at me when I step inside. Keep the lights off.

I walk cautiously towards him, then sit on my second, smaller and more worn couch; keep my eyes glued on his, lest I should look at the ghostly numbers above his head. I can see that they're there like a glamour in my peripherals, but I refuse to read them.

He waits until I've sat before he speaks. "Why is she not dead yet?" he asks me. Looking for reasons, not excuses. I know he's not trying to rush me; it's his way of asking for an update.

"I haven't had an opportunity to both kill her and get away safely yet," I tell him, voice professional.

"Does it matter if you get away safely?" he asks me, raising a brow.

"If they caught me they'd lock me up and interrogate me. I'm doing this so that I can die. If they caught me then that'd be completely out of my reach." We both know I wouldn't give away any information on the Uchiha. I've been tortured before. I'm prepared for it, but that doesn't mean I'll intentionally face it.

Itachi nods, accepting my reasons, and waits for me to keep speaking.

"I got promoted today. I'm to start guarding her floor. I won't be guarding her, per se, but it could present an opportunity."

He doesn't react to my news, merely sits on my couch, deep in thought. "Good," he finally says. "Do it as soon as you can. My father wishes to take the Hyuuga to war. If he can get them in the aftermath of Hinata's death – when they're consumed by grief and disorganised – then it will ensure our victory."

"The Uchiha are threatened by the Hyuuga?" I ask, almost surprised. I haven't known Fugaku to be threatened by anyone in years. Not since the Senju.

"Father refuses to underestimate Hiashi. He's a powerful man, and has chosen his allies well. To underestimate means to risk mistakes, and father refuses to make mistakes."

We sit in silence for a while, Itachi deep in thought, while I wait for him to speak or leave.

"Do you have any useful information on the Hyuuga? Anything on Hiashi?" he finally asks me, looking me in the eye once again.

"I've heard nothing on Hiashi. He keeps to himself. I don't know where he stays in the building or if he even stays there at all. The building, however, is extremely well guarded. The stairs and elevator are inaccessible unless you have a fingerprint and the permission of the desk clerk. The foyer is filled with guards. All of the windows are bullet-proof. The two guards in charge are Neji Hyuuga and a girl named Tenten. I don't know anything about them beyond that, except that they're making my job annoying."

Itachi inclines his head, storing any important information away to tell his father. I'm not surprised by news of a war – I'd already started to guess that there might be one due to how many Hyuuga staff members had life clocks settled on the same time. I'm curious about why they're all so many months after I kill Hinata, but I'll be too dead to find out so it doesn't matter to me. I need to focus on the task at hand: killing Hinata. According to her life clock it'll happen in three weeks, and I'm itching for it.

Itachi stands up and heads towards the door. "Get it done soon, Gaara. I'll be watching."

I shudder as he leaves, like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, and let out a sigh of relief. Itachi is intense, but I'm not surprised he's been sent to watch me. I wouldn't take anyone else seriously – except maybe Fugaku. But Fugaku is only my boss. Itachi could actually beat me. The only person in the world I know for certain could.

I just have to kill Hinata and then I'm free. Three more weeks until sweet, blissful freedom.


I get to the Hyuuga mansion five minutes before my shift is due to start. First day as a guard on Hinata's floor; don't fuck it up. I might not get another chance at this, so don't fuck it up. Her life clock isn't set in stone. That's been proven twice. So don't fuck it up, dammit.

I walk past all the guards I use to work with, stare at them from my peripherals, watch the looks on their faces go from boredom to why the fuck aren't you going to your spot, idiot? Do you have a death wish? I mean, yes, but not in these circumstances. Satisfaction seeping from my footsteps, I approach the desk clerk: a man with thick black blocks for eyebrows and a black bowl cut. His nametag says Lee.

"Sir, I must ask you what you are doing here," he says, his voice grandiose. It takes me a moment to realise he's being serious and not auditioning for My Fair Lady.

"Uh…" I start, unsure of what to say. Did Neji not tell the desk clerk of my promotion? Is this all some sick joke to humiliate me? Is he trying to make me quit? I gather myself quickly, arrogance back in place. "I'm Gaara. Neji promoted me yesterday. I'm to start working on Hinata's floor."

"Of course, sir!" Lee salutes me (is this guy real?) and then dials a number on the phone. I quickly remember the number (4-9-4-3) and store it away in my memory, noting that I might need to tell Itachi that. War and all that. Could be important. A few moments later, and more than a few extravagant words and arm movements later, my fingerprint has been registered into the database and I'm hustled into the elevator. I'm surprised to note (though I really shouldn't be) that there are two guards in the lift, standing to attention, muscles tense and waiting for action. And it clicks.

The foyer is filled with guards. But they're not specially trained. They all know how to use a gun and they all know how to follow orders, but they're the literal embodiment of what I'm pretending to be: guys who were in the army and just needed a little extra money after they left for whatever reason and so took up a guard job. But it was moronic of me to think that those were the only types of guards that the Hyuuga have. They're almost like a diversion; they're fodder for the slaughter, should it come to that. To let enemies (the Uchiha) assume that the only type of guards they have are generally trained henchmen. Because apart from Tenten and Neji, those are the only guards we see. But of course the Hyuuga have better guards. Specially trained guards, elites, masters of their trade. These guys in the lift are already head and shoulders above everyone in the foyer, and they're only in the lift. I mean, I know I'm better than both of these guys, and every other guard in this building (and I know because I have the reputation. Neji, apparently, has a bit of one, and frankly I've never heard of Tenten, but I know they've heard of me. They just don't know it's me) but the Hyuuga don't know that. Is Neji trying to intimidate me? Probably. Well, jokes on him, I guess.

The two guys in the lift are armoured up to their teeth in hidden weapons, and they glance at me from the corner of their eye as we ascend.

"So… you guys guard the lift?" I ask, only antagonising them a little bit.

They don't answer.

"So your job is to ride the elevator all day."

They still don't answer, though I can feel them get a little more tense. It's funny.

"Guess this job has its ups and downs," I continue as the floor number gets higher and higher. "Bet you two are really close. There'd be so many levels to your relationship."

The atmosphere is so thick it'd take a machete to hack through. I shouldn't be enjoying myself as much as I am.

"I guess this kind of environment really elevates the emotions, doesn't it?"

We arrive at floor 78, and I get out and wave to my two red-faced companions. "Thanks for the chat guys, you really lifted my spirits!" The doors close before they can kill me, and I finally allow myself to grin. They've probably heard all that before, but it made me feel better, and frankly, after Itachi I needed a pick-me-up. I turn around and Tenten's waiting for me, arms folded tightly in front of her chest, feet standing shoulder-width apart, a small arsenal of weapons hidden around her body.

"Antagonising the guards?" she asks with a raised brow.

I shrug. "They make it easy," I say, then follow her as she walks away.

"Hiring you was a mistake," she states.

"Too late now," I retaliate. We pass other guards, and like the ones in the elevator, it's obvious that these guys are on a whole other level than the foyer guards – literally and metaphorically. "Where are we going?" It doesn't look like she's taking me to a station, and frankly I have no weapons on me. I feel practically naked around all these tanks.

"I'm going to assess you. I need to know what your abilities are. Then I can place you." She ushers me to a large, empty room and takes me to a soundproof firing range at the far end. She asks me to suit up and I put on the offered glasses and earmuffs, then take the glock she gives me. "Shoot the target," she orders and, swallowing my pride because dammit this is more important, I aim and fire.

Bullseye. Not that I'd expected anything else.


It's nearly 1am here because sleep is for the weak and I have a story to update. All my writing inspiration comes for this story as I'm getting into bed, not gonna lie.

Anyway, what did you guys think? I'm so sorry there wasn't GaarHina in this chapter, I'd honestly intended to put it in and then the chapter took me in a slightly different direction and ugh. But I PROMISE there will be GaarHina next chapter. Even if I have to write it in myself! Wait…

Can you tell I'm tired? Anyway, reviews are love, reviews are life, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed my exhausted attempt at humour and I hope you're all having wonderful days.

LOVE xoxoxo