Hey all! Sorry about the long wait for another chapter but here you go! Enjoy! Hopefully I'll have Behind Blue Eyes updated soon as well. Finals all this week then I'm on summer vacation so should have some time to work on my writing soon. Anyway enjoy and reviews are loved!
Kyuu sleepily opened her eyes and tried to take in her surroundings. She discovered she was in Gaara's lap, her back resting against his chest and her head leaning against his shoulder. She realized they were still under the cherry blossom tree and Gaara was resting against it while she sat in his lap. Gaara was looking out into the valley deep in thought, his gourd propped against the tree beside him. Kyuu turned to look around some more, the chill in the air, the light fog, and the slowly rising sun told her it was still early morning.
"What time is it Gaara? She asked curiously and with slight yawn.
Gar glanced down at her, pulling himself out of his train of thought. "Somewhere around five I would think." He answered with disinterest.
"Five? Hmm probably. Well shit, Haku's going to be ripping me a new one when I get home. Hell wouldn't be surprised if he sent out a search party for me." She responded with a light chuckle while standing up.
"Haku?" Gaara asked, faking a lack of curiosity. He wasn't sure why a strange clenching sensation suddenly appeared in his stomach at the mention of another boy's name.
"He's my brother. Well technically he's not, but we've known each other since I was seven and he ten. He took care of me for several years and I think of him as my brother." She explained and offered her hand to help him up.
Gaara ignored her hand and got up on his own, swinging his gourd onto his back. "Hn." He responded, pleased that the sudden sensation of his stomach left at her explanation, though confused at why it did that as well.
"Yup." She stated for lack of anything else to say. "Sooo… now for a boring, long walk back home I guess." She stated awkwardly and turned to leave.
She walked a few steps, expecting Gaara to follow and glanced back when she realized he wasn't. He was still standing under the tree, staring at her. She tilted her head a little in curiosity, he looked emotionless as ever, but his eyes betrayed his attempt to show no emotion. Confusion was swirling in his eyes. Before, all she'd see was: hate, anger, sadness, emptiness, pain, and misery, always in his eyes since she met him. He tried to hide them well, but they were clear as day to her. Now however, there were two new emotions she could see, confusion and a hint of fear, along with one other thing swirling in his eyes that she couldn't place. It was there whenever he looked at her, an emotion she saw, but couldn't read. She was mentally aware that she was just standing there staring at him and probably looked like a complete idiot, but she was too drawn to his eyes to care, she found herself lost in their dark depths.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Gaara demanded in irritation and as a way to ignore that he was caught with his own staring.
"S-sorry, its nothing." Kyuu quickly mumbled and blushed faintly once she was caught and pulled out of her stare.
"There was pity in your eyes. I don't want or need your pity." He spat and glared off to the side. Was that pity in her eyes? Or was that something else? He wasn't sure, but he didn't like it, the way she looked at him, it was like she was looking into his soul. There were parts of his soul that he didn't even dare wander to, damned if he let some vampire into there.
Kyuu let out a small sad sigh and walked over to him, a bit surprised by her own actions as she stood directly in front of him, reached up, and placed a hand on his cheek.
Kyuu forced Gaara to look at her again and he begrudgingly complied, though shocked and confused by her gesture, angered that his sand didn't shield him from her touch, and furious at himself when he felt heat rise to his face and his stomach flop at her touch. What the hell was wrong with him?
Kyuu absentmindedly stroked his cheek with her thumb as she stared at him. Confusion whirled in his eyes as she touched him and that emotion she couldn't read spun. "What are you feeling Gaara?" She asked softly.
"I don't feel anything." Gaara answered as if it was obvious.
"You're a bad liar." She smiled softly and a little sad. "Even if you say that, your eyes say otherwise. There's so many emotions buried in there." She elaborated. "Also, you should try getting rid of that blush before you say you don't feel anything." She joked and Gaara smacked her hand away angrily, glaring away from her.
"What the hell do you know about what I feel or don't feel?" He snapped, it wasn't even a question, just an angered statement.
"I know how you feel better than you think Gaara." She answered, little hurt that he smacked her hand away, but maybe she deserved that for teasing him.
Gaara turned his head back to glare at her more."How? What about you then, what do you feel?" He demanded in mock interest, he wanted her to stop studying him; maybe he could get her to shut up by talking about herself.
"Me? I feel hate, pain, misery, and fear. Maybe sound a little familiar to you?" She answered and folded her arms around herself, shifting her weight to one side. Gaara looked at her with real interest now, he wasn't sure why, but now he wanted to know more. "I feel those things because of how the world has treated me.
"How do you feel fear about what the world's done to you? That's the past."
"I fear that they will keep doing it. I fear that there isn't anyone on this plane that would love me as more than just a friend or family. I fear that the world will keep shunning me and I will be alone forever." She answered as if it was simple, and hoping that he'd understand she was speaking for herself and what she felt like was a bit for him too. "I do feel more than just negative emotions though, thanks to Naruto and I realize now Haku too, I can feel joy, hope, love, and excitement for what life may bring." She finished.
Gaara stayed silent as he listened to her, her words had a way of getting inside his head unlike anyone else's before. But, maybe that was because he never had a conversation with someone like this before. "We're not so different Gaara, you and I. You are exactly what I used to be, a festering ball of negativity, and it's only thanks to Naruto that I am the way I am now. I've only been this way for a few years you know."
Gaara remained silent, but studied her intently. He looked at her as if he had never seen something quite like her before. She spoke to him without fear and shared with him personal information that he felt she didn't talk with many others about. Why? And why did she feel he needed to know it anyway? Hell why was he so intrigued by what she had to say at all.
Kyuu approached him once more and he looked at her a bit apprehensively. Hesitantly, she placed both her hands on his face this time. She stared directly into his eyes and Gaara made an odd movement in her grasp, like he felt awkward and uncomfortable with her so close and wanted to get away, but at the same time fought to stay there. Kyuu focused hard as she stared into his eyes, she let herself get lost in his eyes again and this time Gaara noticed a slight glow appear around her eyes as he stared back. An odd sensation washed over him, his thoughts were suddenly harder to form, and his mind felt muddled like the world went into slow motion and took him with it. Then, his mind seemed clouded and a floating sensation ran through his body, he felt as if he was in a trance-like state.
Kyuu dug into Gaara's mind, nervous at first, as she had never used this power before, but she wanted answers to his inner torment. She pulled out his emotions and let them wash over her, the twisted warped sensation was almost enough to make her pull away. She pushed past it though, felt his pain and torment like it was a knife to her own chest, but continued to delve deeper. She wanted to know where all this darkness was linked, wanted to know how deep it went, and wanted to know his soul. As she focused harder and dug deeper the world swirled away from her and she found herself in a barren wasteland. Nothing was around but heat waves, an unrelenting sun, and hard cracked desert sand. Then she saw a small boy with mop of red hair, alone in this desolate place. As she approached the boy she realized he was crying and as she got closer she watched his shadow morph and move around him like a sinister thing- though the child never moved and never stopped crying. She hesitantly reached a hand out to touch the boy's shoulder, tell him that someone was here and he wasn't alone. As her hand neared, the swirling shadow shot up around him, formed a strange animalistic shape, and a pair glowing, yellow, demonic eyes, bared down at her then she suddenly found herself ripped out of Gaara's mind and physically thrown to the ground in reality.
Kyuu groaned from her spot of flat on her back in the dirt. Her head throbbed painfully; she wasn't sure if it was from overexerting herself by using that technique or if it was because her connection with his mind was forcibly ripped from her. She sat up holding her head and looked up to see Gaara was also on the ground, knocked over by the same force. She looked exhausted and drained, he on the other hand, looked pissed and sand was swirling around him dangerously.
"What the hell did you just do?" He hissed at her.
"What did I do? What did you do! What the hell was that thing that threw me out of your mind?" She demanded
"Out of my mind? What the fuck were you doing trying to dig into there in the first place? Stay the hell out of my head." He snarled, understanding now why he felt like he was in a trance right up until a painful ripping sensation went through his mind and he was thrown to the ground by some invisible force. He also pointedly ignored her question.
"I was trying to understand you." She snapped as she stood up and dusted herself off. The sudden forced separation left her with a bad headache and made her slightly irritable.
"I didn't ask you to understand me." He snapped as he got up as well.
"I wanted to know why you're so cold Gaara, I wanted to peek inside you. I...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have invaded your mind like that... especially without asking. I just, I wanted to know what I would see. I have no excuse for myself." She answered as she calmed down, realizing now how stupid she had just been. She realized now she just put him involuntarily into a trance so she could pillage his most private emotions and soul, yet she wasn't even aware of her actions when she had done it, a strange pull lead her to do it.
Gaara stared at her for a long moment, comprehending what she was saying. Finally he spoke up very slowly. "What did you see?" He demanded.
"huh?"
"When you dug around in my head, what did you find in there?" He snapped.
Kyuu stayed silent for a moment. "At first, all I felt was twisted emotions, all your anger and coldness, your bloodlust, the warped state of your mind, then... I dug a little deeper, and I got a peek of something. I think, I mean bare with me I've never even tired what I just did before, but I think, I saw a glance at your soul, at what's buried deep inside you. I saw a boy, you as a young child, completely alone and in tears. When I tried to reach for you, something ripped me away and out of your mind, I don't know what it was, but there were these demonic yellow eyes. Gaara... what was that?" She explained.
"After raping my brain, I don't feel like I have to answer that." Gaara snapped at her. He wasn't going to dignify her words with even considering what she said. There was nothing left of that sad, lonely, little boy he used to be. That Gaara died long ago.
"I…. I guess you're right." She muttered a little ashamed. "I didn't see anything else, but I felt more. I can tell that something happened to you, probably as a child, to make you like this, and that someone hurt you so bad that you're afraid to drop your guard for even an instant. You're afraid to trust and to get close because you don't want to be hurt and that fear becomes anger and the anger becomes venom in you and you lash out against anything or anyone you can. You kill others probably thinking if you kill everyone no one can hurt you." She explained while not really looking at him. "Am I right?" She asked.
"For the most part. You're wrong about one thing though." He answered and she looked up at him, waiting. "I don't kill to protect myself from anyone possibly hurting me; I kill to prove I am alive. My existence is to kill." He finished.
"That's not true; no one's existence is solely to kill. I thought so too, when I was younger, I thought I was nothing more than a monster, but I was wrong. You're just like me. You're wrong too, you're capable of-
Gaara cut her off before she could finish. "You have no clue what you're talking about. Our feelings, they might be similar but we are not the same. You now, are able to feel more than what I can and that makes us different. That, and thanks to my father, I will never be close to the same as anyone, not even a vampire." He snapped. "And, I am completely content with that, I don't want to feel anything more." He added before he was gone in a swirl of sand.
Kyuu sighed heavily and shook her head. She wanted to try to understand him better, but now she felt more confused than ever. She also knew she angered him by what she had done, and if he even had any trust for her at all, she probably destroyed it by doing so. She started walking back home while she dwelled on her thoughts. What was with those eyes? She wanted to know now, know what had broke their connection, but she felt she wasn't going to get any answers anytime soon. She did learn one thing from that experience though; somewhere deep down inside his twisted soul remained part of him still innocent and lost, which meant somehow, he could be saved. That was something she was determined to do now.
As Kyuu entered her apartment, she quietly opened the front door and hoped to slip into her bedroom without alerting Haku so she could act like she'd been there all along. As she reached the kitchen she hadn't noticed him yet and decided to slip to the fridge so grab a blood packet.
"Its about time you came home." Haku stated from the shadows and Kyuu nearly choked on her blood. She spun around and found him standing in the corner. "I've been worried sick about you." He added and she felt a scolding coming on. Suddenly Haku seemed more like a father than a brother.
Gaara stalked through the forest on his way back to the village, when he came across an animal he killed it. He was irritated and bloodthirsty, he needed to kill something. He wished he could kill someone, but he settled for animals for now. Kyuu's head game had stirred up Shukaku and now he needed to calm his bloodlust and his own.
'If that girl tries to get into our head again I will kill her' a voice rung out in his mind.
'It was my mind she was raping not yours' Gaara snapped back mentally.
'You let her get to close. Be thankful I was there to throw her out. Never drop your guard again.'
'I didn't drop my guard; she put me in a trance.'
'Because you let her near you.'
'Leave me alone.'
'I don't like what this girl is doing to you. Let's kill her.'
'I said leave me alone.'
'You don't want her to die? It will be fun. Squeeze her with our sand until there's no life left in her and let her blood rain down on you.'
Gaara slaughtered a bunny furiously while he listened to Shukaku. Though, admittedly he wanted to kill her, at the same time, the thought of it, and his words, left him sick to his stomach. He slaughtered another bunny as he went by and brooded.
'I can feel your bloodlust Gaara. You want to do it too, give in. She'd make excellent prey.'
'Why are you still talking to me? Go back to sleep.'
'The bitch woke me up. Deal with it.'
'Don't... Don't call her that.'
'Ha! Now that is unexpected. Damn she really is getting to you.'
'No she's not.'
'Yeah she is. Hmmm I wonder...'
'What?'
'Just thinking, if you kill her, you'd go back to your normal self you know. All that confusion you feel would end and we can go back to how we were.'
'It's not we, it's me.'
'Right right, I'm just a curse living inside you. You'd make a much better host if you were better at listening to me.'
'I listen to no one, I do whatever I want.'
'mhmmm, you've had no problem listening to my killing suggestions before this girl. I don't like it.'
'Then just go back to sleep and you won't have to deal with it.'
'Nahh, I'm going to stay awake for awhile. Why don't you go to sleep and let me have control for awhile?'
'Not going to happen.'
'Kill joy.'
Shukaku was quite for awhile and Gaara hoped he'd leave him alone now. He was nearing the village and his bloodlust was dissipating. He'd be trouble if he kept pestering him once he arrived to the village.
'Where are you going? Our hotel is that way.' Shukaku suddenly rang out as Gaara walked in a different direction then where his siblings would be waiting. Gaara wasn't even sure where he was heading, he was just letting his feet take him wherever.
Suddenly he found himself standing outside of an apartment complex. He glanced at a window on the second floor and jumped onto the patio outside of sliding glass doors that lead to a kitchen. The blinds were closed but he could see in through the slits of the blinds. 'Really? You're stalking her now.' Shukaku rang out and Gaara glared mentally at him and glared at himself for finding his feet had taken him to Kyuu.
'Well this is good, now we know where she lives so we can kill her in her sleep.'
Gaara ignored him and watched in through the glass. Kyuu was sitting at a glass table across from a boy. Both had glasses with thick red liquid sitting before them and he knew right away what was in them. He turned his attention to the boy, he guessed that was Haku. He looked to be around seventeen and though he was sitting he guessed he was around Kankuro's height. The black hair made him look like he could be her actual brother, though his eyes were brown. It then dawned on him that he was also drinking blood. He was a vampire as well? Had Kyuu been the one to turn him? The two started talking again and Gaara turned his attention to Kyuu, the sliding door was open a crack so he could hear their voices.
"So where were you?" The boy asked.
"I was out with a friend." Kyuu answered with shrug. Gaara's eyes narrowed. Friend? She used that word again. Once more claiming to be something she wasn't. He had no friends.
"Who? Where? After that stunt with Sasuke, no one really saw you."
"What do you mean no one saw me?"
"Well after it got late and you never came home I got worried so I went looking for you. Sasuke said you had gone off with some dangerous people against his advice and a worker at your favorite dumpling spot told me something interesting."
"First, Sasuke needs to mind his own damn business, second they're not dangerous to me, third, what did the guy say?"
"He said you came in with two guys and a girl, shortly after coming, the girl and one of the guys left, leaving you alone with the last boy. Not long after you both left holding hands."
"Wrist actually."
"What?"
"Gaara was holding onto my wrist. We weren't holding hands."
"Whichever, still not ok, where did you go with him?"
Kyuu sighed before answering. "Fine, after the dumpling shop I took Gaara somewhere we could be alone. He was in a troubled mood so I thought taking him to my favorite spot would cheer him up a bit. Neither of us are too fond of people and its peaceful there."
"What'd you do all night then?"
"What is this? Twenty questions? What does it matter?"
"I'm an overprotective brother and want to know, now spill."
"More like overbearing." Kyuu muttered before sighing again. "We just talked for awhile and fell asleep, or I went to sleep, he doesn't sleep. That's all, then this morning we talked for awhile longer, he left, I came home." Kyuu answered.
"He didn't try anything? You guys didn't...you know...?" He asked a little embarrassed.
"Oh. My. God. Haku, are you asking if I slept with him? Seriously? No, of course not." Kyuu answered irritated. "And for the record, if I did, and relax, not going to happen, it wouldn't be any of your business, that's a private matter." She added.
"I know, I know, it's just, I want to know all that's going on with you. You're my family and all I have now. I don't want you to get hurt and already don't like or trust this Gaara."
"You don't even know him. Besides we're just friends so relax. Furthermore, I'm not all you have; you have teammates and friends now. Also, I'm not going to get hurt, I'm a vampire it's not easy to hurt me and strength-wise we're pretty close."
"I'm just saying, Master Zabuza said something about him once before, he has a horrid reputation that expands past Suna. Sasuke also told me about his encounter with him. I also didn't just mean physically hurt."
"So you'll take Sasuke's word and some rumors over my word? Trust me, Gaara is messed up, but he's not going to harm me, I trust him." She stated.
Gaara wasn't sure why her words had a sudden effect on his stomach. She was defending him again, this time against her brother. Why? Why would she keep doing this and why did knowing that she'd keep defending him make his stomach flip all of a sudden. Shukaku muttered something to him, but he ignored him, focusing on Kyuu.
"Just be careful." Haku concluded.
"Hai, hai, I'm going to my room now." Kyuu stated standing up from the table and taking her glass with her. She walked out of Gaara's line of sight and Gaara found himself looking around at the other windows until he found the one he was looking for. He perched himself on a tree this time and blended into the leaves while he looked into the window across from it. He watched her move around the room for a minute before sitting on her bed with a sketch pad. She started drawing, oblivious to being watched.
'How long are we going to creep here?'
'Shut up.'
'Look either kill her, kill her brother, or leave. This isn't very exciting.'
'I said shut up.'
'I wonder if it's worth pointing out that stalking her without the intent to kill her just proves my point that she's getting to you.'
'No she's not. I'm just...' Gaara couldn't finish his sentence; he couldn't explain why he was here and why he couldn't bring himself to leave.
'It'd be easy to kill her now you know. She's not even aware that we're here. Just slip into her room and finish her right there on her bed. Leave a nice surprise for her brother.'
He wanted to do it. He stared intently at Kyuu's figure. She'd make a pretty corpse. Maybe he wouldn't use his sand to crush her body; there'd be nothing left if he did that. There were other ways to kill. She was a vampire so he'd have to be creative. A silver kunai or a wooden stake would do the trick but be quick. He could play a bit first, she heals fast. How many times could he cut her slender legs, or stab her narrow waist before he could make her scream. Then he'd plunge it into her breast and finish the job. He wouldn't mar her face though, he'd leave her face perfect as if she was simply sleeping peacefully in her own blood after he finished his work on her. Gaara studied her face while he contemplated torture methods and as he looked into her eyes he suddenly started to feel sick. Her eyes were focused on her work, but they were so gentle and he'd recall how they'd light up whenever she saw him.
Gaara suddenly found himself vomiting. This disturbed him greatly; he had made himself sick by thinking of killing her? How was that possible? Death and murder didn't make him sick, he lived for it. How it is that thinking up such a brutal way to end this one girl's life caused him such distress that he became sick.
'Well that's gross.' Shukaku's voice rung out. 'Even grosser that she's messed with your head so bad, that it happened.'
'Leave me alone.'
'You were on the right track though! Just go through with it. End her!'
'No.'
'Well...I guess she's just going to make you weaker and weaker until you do.'
Gaara fumed, he wasn't weak. He wouldn't let Kyuu make him weak. He had to get out of here, his anger triggered his bloodlust but he found it wasn't directed towards Kyuu. Quickly he left and stalked off to find something else to kill before he'd return to his siblings and NOT go back to that apartment.
Kyuu looked up from her drawing as the branches outside of her window rustled. A tiny smile formed on her face. She knew all along who had been lurking there, she picked up his scent outside of her kitchen. She guessed he wasn't so mad at her that he wouldn't linger outside of her window for awhile. As creepy as it might be, it was a sign that she had made some impression on him.
Once Kyuu had finished her drawing she took a short nap before getting up and starting training with her team. There she found out Kaji had entered them into the Chunin exams and that meant training was doubled. After their exhausting training she finished up her daily routine and crashed until she was rudely awoken the next morning by someone hammering on her door.
Kyuu groggily opened her eyes as the furious knocking continued. She blinked a few times then slowly sat up and got out of bed. She shuffled to the door and swung it open.
"Yeah what?" She snapped as she answered the door, not at all surprised at who was on the other side.
"Why are there hundreds of pictures of Naruto on my walls?" Sasuke demanded while glaring at her.
"You have a strange obsession with him?" Kyuu answered with a shrug.
"Wrong. Someone put them there and I believe you may know who." He spat, he was so sick of her antics.
Kyuu gave him a cheesy grin and shrugged her shoulders innocently. "Wasn't me."
"The hell it wasn't! Just leave me alone damn it." He fumed.
"Wish I could, but I can't." Kyuu answered, slinging her arm around his shoulder.
"Why?" He demanded.
"Boredom mostly." Kyuu answered while examining her finger nails.
Sasuke fumed and looked like he wanted to murder her. She was insistent on making his life hell because she was bored? Why was she such a pest? She was worse than the fangirls. He made a move to get out from under her arm and she laughed, letting go of him.
"Relax Cockatoo Head; you're just too much fun to annoy. That's all. I mean, let's face it; you can't have every girl alive as your fangirl. You're bound to have someone who doesn't like you and enjoys making your life more difficult. That someone is me!" She laughed.
Sasuke just glared and started walking off.
"Hey Sasuke." Kyuu called after him, but he ignored her and kept walking.
"..."
"Sasuke" She called again.
"..."
"Sasuke"
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"Sasuke"
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"Sasuke"
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"Sasuke"
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"Sasuke"
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"Emo"
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"Sasuke"
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"Sasuke"
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"Cockatoo"
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"Cockatoo"
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"Cockatoo"
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"Cockatoo"
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"EEEMMMOOOO CCCCOOOOCCCCKKKAAATTTOOO" She shouted as he reached the end of the block.
"FOR CRHIST'S SAKE WHAT KYUU!?"
"You forgot to say bye." She laughed Sasuke looked about ready to kill her and stormed off. "Well today's off to a great start." Kyuu laughed before going back inside and shutting the door.
A few hours later Kyuu was longing on the couch watching TV. Haku had gone out shopping for food, blood packets, and everything else the two needed. One thing Kyuu liked about having Haku around was he took care of the shopping, the chores, everything. She didn't ask him to do it, and often offered to help, but he insisted on doing it anyway so she chose just to enjoy the generosity.
"It's open!" Kyuu called when she heard a knock on her door, too lazy to get up off the couch to answer it. She glanced at the doorway as Naruto opened it and came inside. "Hey Naru." She greeted, turning her attention back to the TV.
"Yo!"Naruto greeted, plopping down on the couch beside her. "So, I just ran into Sasuke. How did you manage to get all those pictures of me? He was all pissed off at you for something about taking hundreds of pictures of me and putting them in his room." Naruto asked curiously.
"Oh, well, it was just a harmless prank is all." She laughed.
"But how'd you take the photos?"
"A friend of mine and I followed you everyone taking pictures the past few days to pull it off."
"I've been being stalked. Creepy."
"Its not stalking its called admiring from a far." She laughed.
"That doesn't make it sound any less creepy, but I guess I'm just that awesome!" Naruto laughed.
"Psh ok then." She laughed. "Though if it makes you feel any better, she does kinda like you." Kyuu laughed.
"Seriously?" Naruto asked excitedly, he had a secret admirer? Or a stalker...
"Mhm."
"Who is it?"
"I'm not telling you that. Friend sharing secret vows."
"Please?"
"Nope."
"Give me a hint at least then."
"Fine, she's cute, you and I both know her, she's fun, and if you realized you don't really like Sakura all that much you'd see you like her too."
"Wha? Can I get another hint? That's confusing."
"Nope that's all you get."
"Fine then I'll just guess."
"You do that." She laughed.
"Uhm.. Sakura?"
"Dude, I just said if you realized you didn't like Sakura you'd see you like her instead."
"True.. Hmmm.. Ino? Nahh can't be her."
"Pffttt nope definitely not her."
"Hinata?"
"Uh.. well we're not on the subject of her, try another." Kyuu answered quickly, not the girl she was talking about, but she wasn't going to spill Hinata's secret either.
"uuhhhggggg" Naruto groaned before starting to guess every girl in town.
"Oh my god Naruto just give up!" Kyuu exclaimed in exasperation.
"Never! Let see, that just leaves Tsuki. We're like brother and sister though." Naruto concluded.
"that's what you think." Kyuu muttered.
"Huh?"
"Oh nothing, nothing at all."
"What about Tsuki?"
"Nothing." Kyuu answered and right then the front door opened. "And speak of the devil." She laughed.
"I thought I heard my two favorite idiots. Sorry Kyuu, didn't feel like knocking." Tsuki stated as she let herself in and plopping down between the two on the couch.
Naruto and Kyuu quickly dropped their previous conversation and the three chatted for awhile.
"So where were you the other night?" Tsuki asked. "I came by the other day to hang out and Haku said you had gone and disappeared somewhere."
"Yeah, I was looking for you too, I had this great story to tell you." Naruto added.
"I was out with my friend Gaara, went and camped out under a tree." Kyuu answered.
"Gaara?" Tsuki asked curiously. "Ooooo isn't he the one you met on your mission? The cute one?" She asked excitedly. Kyuu just blushed and nodded, embarrassed for the girl talk in front of Naruto.
"I met that guy earlier that day." Naruto chipped in. "That's what I wanted to tell ya about, met this total weird dude which you apparently already know. His teammates are terrified of him too. Also the other guy is an asshole and was picking on Konohamaru." Naruto finished.
"You're pretty weird yourself Naruto so I wouldn't talk." Kyuu laughed. "And yea, kinda get the asshole vibe from Kankuro." She agreed.
"So…what's he like? Is he nice? To you at least?" Tsuki asked curiously, apparently missing the fact that Kyuu didn't want to have girl gossip in front of Naruto.
"Nope, he's a festering little ball of hate and angst." Kyuu answered with a laugh.
"Well then." Tsuki laughed.
"I guess that'd explain why he'd threaten to kill his own teammates." Naruto added.
"Yeah well, watcha gonna do? I've threaten to kill Sakura sometimes and Sasuke's always threatening to kill me." Kyuu answered with a shrug.
"So, why do you hang out with him if he's some psycho?" Tsuki asked curiously.
"He's not a psycho!... Ok maybe he is, but he's not that bad!" Kyuu defended.
"I think she likes him." Naruto whispered mischievously.
"I do not!" Kyuu blushed.
"Ha totally do!" Tsuki exclaimed.
"I called it!" Naruto cheered jumping up.
"I don't!"
"Do toooooo!" Naruto laughed. Naruto started to tease her and she glared, getting up off the couch and uppercutting him hard under the jaw. Naruto flew into the air and into the wall, face planting against it upside down.
"Oh my god are you ok Naruto-kun!?" Tsuki exclaimed and laughed as she ran to him and peeled him off the wall. Naruto's eyes were spinning in his head but he nodded.
"Should I ask?" Haku asked from the doorway, grocery bags in his hands.
"Best not to." Kyuu laughed and helped him carry in the food.
The rest of the week seemed to zoom by for Kyuu, training took most of the day and when she wasn't training she was doing something with somebody. The night before the exam she had a long conversation with Haku about how they shouldn't use any of their vampire abilities in the exam unless they needed to so that it would keep them on a level playing field with the others. On the other hand though, they had no idea what to expect or how strong some of them may be so they also made sure to be ready for anything.
After her dinner she went into her room to get ready for bed and paused. She felt a familiar presence lingering outside of her window again. It had been there several times over the week. Several times she tried to go to the window to talk to him but he'd disappear as soon as she did. She sighed a bit, apparently he had no desire to talk to her since she hadn't been able to hang out with him all week, but he had no problem stalking her.
Gaara watched from his now familiar spot in the trees. He wasn't sure what made him keep coming back, but he kept doing it, almost each night. He'd sit in the tree and watch her for awhile before moving to the roof of her building and watching the night sky. It was a strange habit and as much as he hated it, he couldn't bring himself to stop doing it. At least now, Shukaku was quiet again and dormant once more so the nights didn't annoy him as much.
Kyuu walked over to her dresser and pulled out some pajamas before pausing for a moment and carrying them into a different room. He wondered if she knew he was there watching her and that's why she didn't change in the room itself. He disregarded that idea once it took her about fifteen minutes to come back and when she did she had her hair wrapped in a towel. Apparently she chose to take shower. That thought made him pause, before shaking his head and clearing it of any mental images. He watched Kyuu dry off her hair and then brush it out before plopping on her bed and picking up a book to read.
Gaara took in every inch of her while he watched. She was wearing very short pj bottoms that exposed nearly all of her legs, including most of her thighs. When she had walked over to her bed he noticed just how short they were as they stopped just after her butt. Which he refused to admit he had been staring at. The shirt she wore with the pjs was a simple plain tank top that fit snug against her and hugged her curves. Gaara watched droplets of water fall off her hair and run down into her cleavage. His gaze traveled higher and he studied her face. He liked looking at her face the most, her eyes in particular. They were entrancing.
Kyuu stretched and put the book down, apparently deciding she didn't feel like reading. She threw her hair up into a bun around her head and laid down on her bed, ready to go to sleep. As she reached for the lamp to turn the light off she stared out the window. Gaara made eye contact with her for a minute before disappearing.
He reappeared on the roof and grumbled to himself. This desire to watch her was really driving him crazy and the fact that she knew he was there and didn't try to stop him, even tried to talk to him a few occasions, confused him even more. Why wasn't she afraid that he was watching her? Didn't she realize each night he came with an urge to kill her and left once he realized he couldn't? Every time he went to that window he studied her movements and thought of how he could do it. The more he'd watch her though the calmer he'd become and the more he studied her figure, the more the blood-lust turned to something so foreign to him that he'd bolt when that sensation arose unsure of how to deal with it. That frustration often led him to go kill another defenseless bunny.
The first part of the exam passed quickly for Kyuu and everyone else. Kyuu discovered she had a new found friend in the goofball Lee, hitting it off with him pretty quickly. She decided Neji would be fun to tease like Sasuke, but decided not to even consider that until she had become his friend first, and thought Tenten seemed alright, if not just a little bit plain and boring. For the test part of the exam she was pleased that she was seated next to Gaara, and disappointed to be set away from her teammates. Haku she knew would cheat using ice to create mirrors, assuming he didn't already know the answers, Tsuki she knew was extremely clever and probably able to answer most of the questions without cheating, she on the other hand was on par with another person freaking out and expected to fail the whole thing being unable to answer any of the questions. Though as luck would have it, and having no clue why, Gaara helped her cheat. Gaara wasn't even sure why he did, but after he gathered the answers himself, he sent his sand over to her paper and it formed the answers on her paper for her to copy. She had attempted to thank him afterwards, but he took off as soon as the exam ended.
The second part of the exam is when things turned more interesting….
Kyuu was deep in the forest of death with her team. The exam must have only started an hour or so before, but they were already deep inside and with both of their scrolls. They had stopped to take a rest when Kyuu felt a familiar sensation wash over her. This forest was filled with so many different scents of both people and creatures that she had been having trouble keeping herself in check.
"How much farther to the tower do you think?" Tsuki asked curiously while Haku studied the surroundings.
"I'm not sure, but I think we're making good progress, we'll probably be one of the first ones there if we keep up this pace."
Kyuu nodded before she inwardly groaned and her eyes flickered red. The hunger was getting ridiculous and due to waking up late, she missed her morning blood helping. "Hey guys, wait for me for a bit ok? I have to uh, go to the bathroom ok?" She spoke up.
"I'll go with you, its dangerous to wander off." Tsuki offered.
"Haha no that's ok, I'll um take care of my business in private. I'll be fine, you stay and guard Haku." She answered and gave Haku a pleading look to hope he'd understand why she was trying to bolt. Haku got the hint and nodded.
"Just don't take too long." He stated and turned to Tsuki "Let's figure out something to eat." He suggested and she nodded.
Kyuu ran off and went on the hunt for something to kill. She was surprised at how thirsty she felt. Luckily this forest had no shortage of animals and she came across something to kill. When she had drained it of its blood she felt ten times better. She felt herself regain control of her hunger and was about to head back to her teammates when she heard people approaching. She quickly dashed into a tree and crouched low into the branches. She watched Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro walk by and smiled. It was nice to see they were making good progress as well, though she wanted to go down and say hi she chose not to, they were opponents at the moment.
Temari and Kankuro were studying the carcass she left with mild curiosity. "What do you think killed it?" Kankuro asked while Temari looked around for a possible culprit. Gaara glanced at it for a moment before looking directly into the tree and directly at Kyuu.
"Come down Kyuu." He ordered and Kyuu smirked lightly, not surprised he found her, before jumping out of the tree and landing in front of them.
"Yo!" She greeted. "Please disregard the dead animal… it was uhh… mutilated when I got here." She laughed.
"Sure." Temari and Kankuro responded, not believing her, though not sure why she'd kill it.
Kyuu looked past them and over to Gaara. He was glaring and he seemed off to her, like he wasn't quite right. "What's the matter with you Gaara?" She asked curiously.
"Uh I'd be careful Kyuu; Gaara just killed a few people so he's still a little edgy. I'd keep your distance." Temari spoke up hesitantly.
Kyuu looked at him curiously. She had seen him kill before and he didn't seem this disturbed. Gaara just glared in response. After having to settle for killing small animals the past week, killing an actual person was such a huge relief to his irritation as of late that it only doubled his bloodlust. Killing more people would bring a bigger relief.
"Why'd you kill them? I mean I know you can, but don't need to resort to that." Kyuu asked, she supposed it was possible that others were killing to get the scrolls too, but seemed extreme to her for a test.
"Are you planning on giving me another one of those boring useless talks about how I don't need to kill?" Gaara drawled
"Well you're a crab-ass today." Kyuu snapped "and no, you don't' need to do it." She added.
"I have no intention to stop killing, Kyuu. I'm not changing how I am and I don't need your help, nor do I want it. Just go away." He responded. He wanted her out of the way; with his current mood he wasn't sure he could stop himself from giving into that desire to kill her. She needed to get away from him. Though he wasn't sure why he was trying to protect her from himself anyway.
"Damn man, what's with the hostility? Take the stick out of your ass." Kyuu retorted, confused at why he was suddenly so pissy towards her and hurt that he tried to shoo her away.
"An idiot named Kyuu is what's with the hostility. What are you doing here anyway? Get back to your team."
"I wondered off from my team for a minute. You're the one that called me down from the tree." She glared. "Now all I was trying to do was say a quick hi to my friends before getting back." She added.
"Well there are you friends, go bother them and leave." Gaara responded, gesturing towards Temari and Kankuro. Both of which were standing around awkwardly while they argued, unsure of what to do, but seriously didn't want to get involved.
"You're my friend too you know." Kyuu retorted.
"I don't want any friends."
"Well too damn bad man. I like you Gaara, you are my friend, and I'm going to care about you whether you want me as a friend or not."
"You're lying." Gaara snapped suddenly. "You don't care about me or like me. You're a liar like everyone else." He hissed. Why couldn't she just leave? Why did she insist on arguing? Didn't she sense the danger? Furthermore, there was no way she really cared about him; he wouldn't let his guard down enough to trust those words.
"Why can't you just accept the truth right in front of your eyes? What more do I have to do to prove it to you?"
"There's no truth in what you say. If I let my guard down and turn my back you'll turn on me. I won't let that happen, I won't trust you."
Kyuu clenched her fist in anger. "I'm getting really sick of your attitude! Why won't you let me in? Why won't you trust me? Not everyone is out to hurt you, you know. If you weren't so blinded by your stubbornness and stupidity you 'd see that there's someone who cares about you more than you even realize standing right in front of your face. But oh no! You're soo determined to believe that everyone in the world is bad and out to hurt you just because of one stupid thing that happened in your past!" She shouted in frustration.
Gaara glared and snapped, her words setting him off. His hand shot forward and in an instant Kyuu found herself being held in the air by his sand coffin.
"You know nothing about me Kyuu! You have no idea what I've been through and yet you'll stand here and preach as if you know everything!" He shouted.
"I'd know what you've been through and understand you if you flippin told me something!" Kyuu snapped back, only slightly afraid of being trapped in his sand.
"You want to know? Fine! When I was born I killed my mother, when I was six my uncle who supposedly loved me tried to kill me because my father wanted me dead and he wanted to do it! After that, I was constantly attacked by assassins sent by my father. Then, he realized he could use me as a weapon and used me as his personal killing machine. I was an experiment of his, one he initially thought failed. He wanted to make the ultimate weapon and put a demon inside me! Those eyes you saw when you tricked your way into my head? That was him, Shukaku the tailed beast. Happy now? I'm a monster!" He snapped at her, his sand tightening slightly from his anger.
Kyuu took in his words for a minute. So that explained why she felt he was so similar to Naruto and why he was the way he was. She glared at him still though. "So that's your excuse huh? So your father was a royal bastard and your uncle was a backstabber. That doesn't make everyone in the world that way. I don't care if you have a demon in you or not. You're still responsible for your actions and don't have to be the way you are because of it. You're not a monster; you're a self-centered brat who uses the demon as an excuse to get away with how he acts!"
Kyuu felt the sand constrict against her tightly after she spoke. "Keep it up Kyuu and I will kill you." He hissed.
"If you're so damn bent on killing me why haven't you already? You've been lurking outside my window almost every night. Why not kill me then? What's the problem? Performance anxiety? Or is it because you know deep down everything I say is true?" She snapped.
"What you say isn't the truth. I've let you live because you've interested me slightly, but frankly the novelty is wearing off." He growled.
"Then kill me. Either kill me or put me down, I'm tired of being held up here." She ordered.
Though terrified Temari and Kankuro were also impressed that she had the gull to stand up to Gaara like she was. They were pretty damn sure by this point that she was insane though and accepting the fact that she was going to die soon. Gaara didn't move or say anything he just stood there watching her with a murderous look while he fought with himself internally.
"Well? Why are you hesitating? Kill me already. You said you would, you probably want to. So hop to it, crush me, see if that makes you feel any better in the long run. See if killing the only person who truly cares about you makes you feel any better." She dared.
The sand constricted around Kyuu again and Gaara fumed at her, his hand shaking, ready to clamp down and end her. The sand got tighter and Kyuu gasped out in pain, a little blood leaking out of her mouth. Gaara stared at the blood running down her chin and the pained expression on her face. His hand shook once more before he lowered it and she was dropped to the ground, sand rushing back to his gourd.
"Leave. Get out of my sight Kyuu, if you anger me like that again. I won't hesitate next time." He threatened, turning to walk away.
Kyuu glared at him from her spot on the ground and got up, dusting herself off. "Prick." She muttered under her breath. Gaara shot her a dangerous look and Kankuro and Temari decided to step between the two of them and talk Gaara into calming down and Kyuu to just leave while she had the chance.
However before anything could happen they heard laughter ring out from one of the trees. They all shot their heads up to look and found a woman looking down at them.
"Well who would have guessed? I snuck into this exam looking for the supposedly great vampire Kyuu and I find her in the middle of a lovers spat." She laughed as she hopped out of the tree.
"Who are you?" Kyuu demanded and cursed the fact that a vampire hunter would show up now of all times and reveal what she was to the other two.
"V-vampire?" Temari and Kankuro both stuttered, turning to look at her in shock and a little fear. Well, that explained why she had no problem with Gaara.
Gaara just glared at the woman.
"I have no need to give my name to those about to die. All you need to know vampire is that I've come for your head and anyone who stands in my way will die." She answered drawing a weapon.
Kyuu jumped out of the way of her attack and drew her own weapons. "You three, stay back." She ordered to the others and turned her attention to the woman. "You hunters never learn do you?" She bated.
Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro watched the two fight, Gaara was only mildly interested and Temari and Kankuro were still trying to come to terms with the truth about her identity.
The woman made several hand signs as she jumped out of the reach of Kyuu's blade and Kyuu watched darkness wash over the area. When it cleared she saw the others had fallen to their knees clutching their heads and freaking out over something she couldn't see. Genjutsu? Great. She turned her attention back to the woman. "What did you do to them?" She demanded.
"Showing them their inner demons. Tormenting them with their own minds. I'm surprised it didn't work on you. Maybe something a little stronger for you." She answered and did more hand signs.
Kyuu watched the black wave rise up again and wash over her; she wasn't afraid she knew it was just a Genjutsu and could be dispelled. But as it washed over her she fell to her knees and clutched her head. Images flashed through her mind, horrible, dark twisted things. Kyuu let out a sob at what she was seeing.
"There we go, much better, easier to kill you when your mind is already attacking you. I'm a little shocked that this was so quick, but then, no one can withstand my genjutsu. I mean look at you! You're shaking!" The woman laughed as she moved closer to Kyuu.
Kyuu kept sobbing and shaking until the woman got close to her then when she neared, her sobbing turned to laughter. Kyuu looked up to her while laughing and her eyes blazed red. "You call that a genjutsu? You call that a torture of the mind? How 'bout I show you just how cruel a mind game can be." She hissed with a sadistic smile. She leaped up and grasped the woman around the throat, eyes digging daggers into hers while they gleamed red. Then the world swirled black.
When the darkness left and they could see again the woman and Kyuu found themselves in a dimly lit house. Kyuu walked up beside the woman and looked around. A man sat on the couch reading a newspaper and two children sat playing on the floor. "Well then, this is what you love the most? Why don't we see what happens when it's destroyed." She laughed.
She turned to look at Kyuu in horror and that horror grew as she found her body moving on its own. "Wh-what are you doing?" She cried.
"Just playing a game." Kyuu sang. "Besides… I'm not doing anything. You are." She added with another sadistic smile, her red eyes the only things glowing in the dim room.
"Wait! Stop! Please!" She cried as her body was forced to stand in front of the man.
"Honey? You're home! You-
The rest of the man's words were cut off by his screams as she pulled out her weapon and ran him through with it. As she did this a scream left her own lips. Horror and agony washed over her by her actions. "Stop this please!" She begged, tears pouring out of her eyes.
"What's wrong? I thought you liked games. Aren't you having fun? We'll be done soon though, don't worry." Kyuu called from her spot in the shadows. She glanced at Kyuu in terror and followed Kyuu's gaze to the two terrified children huddled together.
"NO!" She screamed.
"One down, two to go!" Kyuu sung.
"No please no! I'm begging you please!" She sobbed as her body was forced towards her children; she fought with all her might to break the control.
"Mommy please stop!" They both cried as she approached and raised her weapon. She slaughtered them, their blood splattering all over her while she wailed in despair.
Kyuu looked at her and let her have control of her body again. "Well that was fun." She laughed.
The woman continued to sob and hold herself, rocking back and forth in agony. "Are you suffering? Do you want this to end?" Kyuu asked her as she approached her.
The woman grabbed her bloody weapon and attempted to pierce herself in the stomach with it. It went straight through but nothing happened. "Why can't I die!?" She exclaimed and started stabbing herself repeatedly. "Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! WHY CAN"T I DIE!?" She roared, wanting to end this pain.
"You'll have to live on like this idiot. You will live forever with the guilt of killing everyone you loved and everyone who loved you. No matter how much you want it, your life will not end. You'll spend eternity wishing for death, but knowing it will never come."
"Please no more. I can't take it please. Just kill me and get it over with, I'm begging you." She cried.
"You threatened the ones I care about; I took away what you care for." Kyuu stated as she glared down at her.
Then she closed her eyes and the house swirled around them both and they were once more in the forest. Kyuu reopened her eyes and they had returned to her natural purple. She glanced over to see if the others were ok and they were just now recovering from the genjutsu she had put them under.
"what's wrong with her?" Temari called out as she got off the ground.
Kyuu looked back at the woman. She was sitting on the ground, hitting herself in the stomach repeatedly like she had an invisible sword.
"She's being tormented by her mind. The genjutsu will last for a day and she'll be released, though I can't say it will pass quickly for her." Kyuu answered as she looked at the woman once more. Had she overdone it? Maybe she should have just killed her instead of torturing her like that. She shook her head; maybe she still had a bit of darkness in her.
Kyuu's attention was then turned to Gaara; he was the only one who hadn't recovered from the woman's attack. He was still clutching his head on the ground. If it was meant to torment them with their inner monsters, she supposed Gaara had it the worst. Kyuu walked over to him and touched his shoulder gently.
"Gaara? It's ok now." She spoke gently, trying to calm him. "Come on now, snap out of it. Toughen up and yell at me some more." She spoke.
Gaara responded to Kyuu's voice, it broke through his troubled mind and before he realized what he was doing, he shot his head up and latched onto her. He remained on his knees but buried his face in her stomach and clutched onto her sides. He wasn't even aware of his actions, too far out of it to notice.
Kyuu blushed and looked down at him. Hesitantly she placed on arm on his back and stroked his hair with the other. "It's ok Gaara. I'm right here." She soothed.
"….Sing…" Gaara mumbled and Kyuu looked at him. He seemed so out of it she wasn't even sure he knew what he was saying. Yet she remembered him telling her when they first met that her voice calmed him when she sung. Maybe he remembered that too.
"Sure." Kyuu smiled. She thought for a moment about what to sing and then the words formed in her mind and flowed from her.
((Evanescence: Where will you go))
You're too important for anyone
You play the role of all you long to be
But I, I know who you really are
You're the one who cries when you're alone
[Chorus:]
But where will you go
With no one left to save you from yourself
You can't escape
You can't escape
You think that I can't see right through your eyes
Scared to death to face reality
No one seems to hear your hidden cries
You're left to face yourself alone
[Chorus:]
But where will you go (where will you go)
With no one left to save you from yourself
You can't escape
The truth
I realize you're afraid (I realize)
But you can't abandon everyone
You can't escape
You don't want to escape
I'm so sick of speaking words that no one understands
Is it clear enough that you can't live your whole life all alone?
I can hear you in a whisper
But you can't even hear me screaming
[Chorus:]
Where will you go (where will you go)
With no one left to save you from yourself
You can't escape
The truth
I realize you're afraid (I realize)
But you can't reject the whole world
You can't escape
You won't escape
You can't escape
You don't want to escape
When Kyuu was done singing it took Gaara a few more minutes to respond to anything. When he did however, he pulled back away from her a bit, giving her a blank look, before becoming aware of his position and standing up quickly. A light pink dusted his cheeks as he turned away from Kyuu. What the hell had just come over him? If Temari or Kankuro even think about commenting on what they just saw they were dead.
An awkward silence washed over the four of them before Kyuu felt she needed to break it. "Well umm, I should probably get back to my team before they freak out about how long I've been gone." She stated awkwardly. "I'll see you later guys." She stated and rushed off, worried Kankuro and Temari might have some questions about what had transpired.
Kyuu managed to come up with a believable excuse to her teammates and they headed off again. Both knew she was lying about something and that her mind was elsewhere but neither decided to press the issue and left it alone. When they arrived to the tower they found only two other teams had arrived. Gaara's and Kiba's. When they walked by Gaara watched Kyuu and gave her the tiniest of nods. Kyuu guessed that was s close of a thank you as she was going to get. She waved to him and went to talk to Hinata. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the rest.