EDIT 2: I seem to have forgotten that this chapter has scene breaks as well. Ooops. Also, I was laying in bed last night and realised that one of my dividers sounded...bad...So I'm changing it for something that wont accidently offend someone.

EDIT: Adding dividers and reminding you that beta reading brings good karma.

Okie-doo, seeing as how there is a three-way tie between yes, no, and undecided to the great Shukaku question (at least as it stands right now), I gave it a bit more thought and I think I know what I'm going to do. But that doesn't mean you can't still vote on it. I can always pull it wherever you guys would like it to go. What can I say? I'm a complete whore for my public. (Smiles approvingly at the grand total of four people reading this, two of which are my friends)

Oh, I tried to make dividers in chapter 3, but for some reason they didn't show up. So if they don't show up this time, I'm not ignoring the request, it's just being a hoochie when it uploads. I don't like hoochies. Hoochies are bad . . .

...I just noticed that the majority of profanity in this story actually comes from my own personal fowl mouth and not actual content . . . Heh heh . . . :)

I'm starting to babble again . . .

Naruto equal Kishimoto brain child

(Yay! Story time!)

Dante described seven circles of Hell in his Inferno. Tenten discovered the eighth. Blistering hot, freezing cold. Blistering hot, freezing cold. There is absolutely no happy medium in the vast torture that is the Wind country desert. Tenten was far from pampered, but this was unbearable.

And the grand mystery is that her traveling companion seemed completely unshaken like the whole trip is some sort of pleasure hike. But after a while Tenten had given up on trying to figure out Gaara's resolve of steel, and concluded that he just wasn't human. Or he really did die in the Akatsuki fortress, and he's now haunting her and the whole journey has actually been her transporting his remains back to the village. 1

After that last thought, Tenten decided it would be a good time to pause and drink some water.

Mysteries aside, hanging out with Gaara hasn't really been that bad. Ever since the parasol incident, Tenten decided it would probably be wise to listen to him while traversing the desert. After all, he does live in it, and she had fully succeeded in making an ass of herself by being stubborn. Soon after employing the "shut up, you don't know what you're talking about" rule, Gaara has been a bit more pleasant.

He doesn't say much, but when he feels the need to converse, he is actually a very engaging conversationalist. They will walk in silence for a bit, then he'll ask her something. The subject can go on for hours or minuets, depending on the topic. It can range from philosophical to the mundane (Her personal favorite being "Why is it you park in a driveway, and drive in a parkway?"). 2 While most boys his age were contemplating boobs, Gaara contemplated life.

He seemed to listen to what she had to say more than having a back and forth conversation. He'd fuel her with more questions about what she had said, but rarely stated his own opinion. Though she had to admit that she wished he did speak more often. She decided that she liked the sound of his voice. Quiet, but powerful. Soft, but masculine. Even a bit melodic. It was pleasant.

"Do you ever sing?" She blurted out during one of their silent spells. He paused, turned to her, slowly shook his head in response, and continued on his way.

She wasn't afraid of him and that's probably what intrigued him most about her. Most people did not need to know what he was, they just instinctually knew to keep away. Like some primal warning in the back of their mind whispered: Danger. Stay away. Predator.

Perhaps he lost that aura. He no longer carried the Shukaku, so perhaps there is no longer a need to worry. No. His actions were his own. The demon never made him do any of it. It's the frightening truth of it all. He enjoyed the kill. He invited the alienation. When everyone stays away from you, they can't hurt you. With or without the demon he still bares the mark of a killer. So why isn't she afraid of him? Perhaps she's just daft.

So he asked her questions. And to his surprise, she didn't dodge his questions like everyone else does. But perhaps she answered because she's not afraid of him. He listened for key words in her answers. She didn't seem stupid. But there was still one question that usually separates the focused from the simple. "You dating anyone?"

"Why? You wanna be my boyfriend?"

It certainly wasn't the answer he was expecting. Most girls would go on and on about the boy they're with or the boy they like. "Just casual conversation."

She laughed. "Are you always so serious?" She laughed again and shook her head. "I think if you want to be serious in our chosen profession, you have to hide your heart away until you can afford to fall in love. What about you, Kazekage-dono? Have you been bitten by the bug? Looking for advice from a girl on how to impress your lady?"

It was a more practical answer than he had originally expected. It also brought a new turn to the conversation that looked promising to figuring her out. Most people rely strongly on their emotions, particularly those of romance. So what is love to her? "And if I am?"

She smiled at him. "I knew under all those frowns and black articles of clothing you're a softie."

"Hardly."

"Well, you better start letting a bit of that go if you expect this girl to warm up to you. Girls like sincerity. But don't overdo it! Too much of your attention can easily become stifling."

"What if I'm not very sincere?"

She stopped and turned to him with a look of shock. "You're not looking for a . . . a . . ."

She didn't finish what she was going to say, just continued to stare at him in shock. What is she talking–"No!" He chose poor words in trying to get to what he really wanted to know. "I meant that I'm not sure how sincere I am."

She sighed with relief and started to laugh. "I'm sorry I should have known better by now. It's just . . . well . . . most boys are a bit . . . Anyway!" She chuckled again. "How do you feel around this girl?"

Here we go. "I'm not sure I could accurately describe it."

"Oooo. Sounds serious."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I think when you love someone, really truly love someone, it's like nothing you've ever felt before. It's everything wonderful, and sometimes everything horrible, all wrapped into one."

"Why would it be horrible? Isn't love supposed to be the ultimate high? The perfect feeling?"

She shook her head. "Maybe if the other person returns those feelings. But . . ."

"There's always the chance that you open your heart to someone, just to have it thrown back at you."

"Exactly."

"So what do you if that happens?"

"Just pick up the broken pieces and move on."

"That's far easier said than done."

"Yeah."

(SCENE BREAK)

That was intense. Tenten's insides were still squirming from the conversation. It seemed to hit dangerous territory for both of them. It brought back a few memories that Tenten could go without reliving. And Gaara sounds like he's had his heart broken a few times. Heh. Who knew? Though she had to admit that she had been wondering why he had "Love" tattooed on his forehead, she decided that she wasn't ready for the answer to that puzzle.

They had stopped for the night and built a fire. Gaara was looking up at the moon with an unreadable expression. Tenten was tired, but she hadn't seen her companion sleep at all for over a week and she was starting to worry. Gaara didn't seem like the type to take the night watch simply because it was gentlemanly of him to do so. He always says he'll take first watch then wake her halfway through the night so she can take over. But he never wakes her up. "Hey Gaara I'll take first watch tonight. You get some sleep."

As always Gaara was doing his routine moon gazing (though lately it doesn't have the dangerous effects on him that it used to) when Tenten told him to get some sleep. She must have noticed (it's a bit hard not to notice someone staying awake for a week straight). Even without the Shukaku Gaara found it hard to sleep. His body is trained to reject sleep so even though he takes first watch with full intentions of waking her up, he just doesn't get tired. "Don't worry about it. You look tired."

She glared at him. "Alright I'm just going to say it; you're creeping me out with your loony insomniac act. Also, you're injured, you need as much rest as you can get. So as your care giver, I order you to go to bed."

"It's not an act."

"What?"

"It's not an act. I am an insomniac. My body isn't use to sleeping."

To Tenten that made about as much sense as "My body isn't use to breathing." Which, for the record, didn't make a lick of sense. "Gaara, how could you not be used to sleeping?"

"It's a long story." She wait for him to elaborate so he added "And I don't feel like telling it to you."

"Oh come –!"

"Go to bed. I'm not going to sleep so you staying up will only accomplish more bitching tomorrow about how tired you are."

Oh that is it. Now it's a matter of principal. Tenten sat up straight, pulled her knees to her chin, and initiated a staring contest. If he's going to stay up, so is she.

It wasn't long before Tenten's eyelids dropped and she drifted to sleep sitting up. Women just can't handle being wrong, can they? She even had her sleeping bag out, but a little argument made her so stubborn she ignored her need for rest. She shivered. He waited till she started to snore softly before he laid her down and covered her up. She sighed and pulled her covers closer to her.

He watched for some time. It made no sense. Why does she insist on arguing with him over something so ridiculous? The trip has been wearing her down and if she's not careful she could over exhaust herself. Gaara had grown accustomed to the harsh desert climate so very little bothered him. "You just don't like weakness do you?"

(SCENE BREAK)

"Sleep well?"

Tenten wanted to kick him. Oh how she wanted to kick him. She could see herself beating that smug expression off his face then laughing like she had never laughed before.

They continued on their way, stopping, like they always do, mid-day while the sun made it hard to move. By the time they stopped for the night, Tenten had a plan. "Take off your armor."

"Why?"

"Just do it." He stared at her defiantly. "Please?" He complied and she sat behind him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to help relax you so you can sleep."

He rolled his eyes. "Will you please let it go. There is a reason why–AAAAH! What the hell are you doing to me!"

Tenten smirked and continued to rub his back. "You're stress levels must be sky rocketing. This will help relieve your pent up tension and make it easier for you to sleep."

"Stop."

"Calm down you big baby. It won't hurt so much of you relax."

"Now."

"No." Tenten wasn't sure if it was they way she pressed harder into the knotted muscles of his back or her open defiance to his request, his order, that made him spin around and grab her neck, but she was soon an arms length away from him.

He stared her down with a horribly dangerous look on his face. "Don't touch me." With that he stood up and walked off.

(End)

As always thanks for reading. C & C is always welcome.

1. I was so tempted to run with this. You have no idea. But I thought it would be too much like the Sixth Sense or High Plains Drifter . . . How DOES a ghost rape someone! Clint Eastwood is silly . . .

2. I will give you something if you catch that reference. I'll write something for you, draw something for you, bake you a fucking cake, whatever! Oh yeah, if you read the interview with Kishimoto in Shounen Jump's Sept. 2005 issue (DON'T JUDGE ME!), he says that there may be planes and some other vehicles. If they have planes, they probably have cars. So there! (Raspberry)