All I Ever Wanted Was Love
Chapter 2- Cause It's All That I've Known
Naruto sat up, screaming.
Sakura, who had been anxiously straining to see if Sasuke was okay, turned back to her blonde comrade in surprise. Beads of sweat rolled down Naruto's face as he tried to make himself believe that everything that had happened was just a bad dream.
"Naruto?" Sakura ask hesitantly.
The boy didn't hear her, he just stared straight ahead with terror-filled eyes.
"Naruto? Daijoobu?" Sakura asked again, this time shaking his arm.
Naruto blinked and looked down at his shaking hands. His teammate watched him, puzzled.
'No sand…' He blinked again and looked towards the pink-haired girl next to him, "It… it… was a dream… then?"
Sakura noticed the shakiness in his voice and grew concerned. She rarely ever saw Naruto like this, and when she did, something extremely terrifying must have happened.
"Hai." Sakura nodded but looked serious, "Naruto, Sasuke… I think he's hurt. That Gaara-person hit him pretty hard… I don't know if he's…"
Her voice was tuned out as Naruto realized what must have happened while he was unconscious.
'Gaara… the one in my dream…' Naruto raised his eyes from the distressed girl next to him to a red-headed figure above them.
Saliva trickled down the side of the demon boy's mouth as he intently watched his prey struggle to stand.
'Heh heh.. heh.. Sasuke. It's a pity you can hardly fight now. I might as well stop playing around and kill you now. Oh yes, all the blood will come raining down. I'll let it rain down for you, Okaa-san.'
More sand came from the gourd and began taking the form of a giant hand, reaching for his fallen prey.
'You'll see, Okaa-san.' Gaara smiled, licking his lips. 'Okaa-san… I'm always a good boy… you'll see.'
About 35 yards away, under the thickest part of the foliage, where barely any of the sun's rays even touched the upper branches, a pair of pitch black eyes watched the battle carefully.
The giant hand started to come closer to the spot where Sasuke sat injured. Sasuke watched the levitating mass of sand with glaring eyes even though he was worried that Naruto might not be able to pull through. His jaw clenched tightly as he remembered the look of terror on Naruto's face when they first saw the demon within Gaara unleashed on the left side of its medium.
Just as the hand was approaching the Uchiha, Gaara saw a flash of pink and red out of the corner of his eye.
'That girl!' he clutched his forehead as once again, images of Yashamaru and the beautiful green beast's sensei (A/N: XD) seared into his mind again.
Sasuke looked up to see his teammate standing in front of him in a defensive stance.
"Sa- Sakura?" the boy questioned the reality then realizing the truth he hissed, "Sakura, get out of here! You can't stop him!"
The girl turned to look at him when she was suddenly tackled.
"Naruto? What the hell do you thi- ?" she was cut off short when she noticed something behind the blonde ninja. There lodged on the trunk was a long spike made of sand at the height of where her heart was just a second ago. Sakura froze, taking in the fact that the only reason she was still alive was because Naruto had saved her.
"Sasuke is right, you know." Naruto whispered softly to her as the sand dissipated above them. "You can't stop him…"
Sakura's eyes turned downcast, remembering all the times they had to come save her… especially just then.
"Only I can." The pinked-haired genin looked up as Naruto stood, facing their opponent.
"Sakura-chan, take care of Sasuke." Cold, red eyes filled with surprise looked up at the person whom everyone used to call 'dead last' as he sped towards Gaara to begin the battle between the kitsune and the tanuki.
The two shinobi, left behind on the large branch of the giant tree, watched silently as their partner went headfirst into the fight. Naruto used his Bunshin no Jutsu several times, but they were unsuccessful attempts due to Gaara's use of Sand Shurikens. Sasuke and Sakura watched in amazement at the two boys' stamina as they kept attacking each other. Their strengths were equally matched as to see that every time one of them attacked the other could counter it in an instant.
Naruto clenched his jaw, trying to formulate a plan to get past Gaara's defenses. He listed out in his mind all the arms he had brought with him to the Final Chuunin Exam Matches.
15 kunai.
30 shurikens.
Thin wire string (which he never used other than on missions that took more than one day, where he used it to floss his teeth).
4 smoke bombs.
A fire summoning scroll (don't ask- but if they have scrolls to seal fire, they must have ones to summon it, right?).
Explosive notes.
'Wait.' Naruto stopped listing, for he had come up with an idea. 'If I can get an explosive note on him… sand can't absorb the full impact of explosions, can it?'
He quickly dug out an explosive note, and wound it around a kunai. He wasn't sure if it would work… but it had to. He was depending on it.
Livid, yellow eyes watched the blonde ninja as he fumbled with something in his hands. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to work against him. Nothing would work.
"Sakura, you must hurry… I have to help Naruto. He can't fight that monster alone." Sakura reluctantly tore her eyes away from their teammate. It was true. If they ever wanted to overcome this person… it would take the strength of more than just one shinobi alone.
She formed a star-shaped seal, hands over-laying each other, with her palms facing Sasuke's chest.
Sakura had learned this chakara-transfer technique in the academy's special course. Being one of the few genins that could control her chakara better than others could, she had been nominated for the course by Iruka-sensei. Of course, it was up to her if she wanted to take the course in the end. However, due to the idea of how she could tend to Sasuke's wounds and always be able to take care of him whenever he was hurt, she eagerly joined, enraging her blonde rival, Ino. This chakara-transferring technique was also considered as a healing method, since it did regenerate a ninja's mind and body energy, even though it was at the expense of the jutsu-user.
Sakura started concentrating all of her chakara into her hands- her mind was troubled by the fact that she wasn't too good with this jutsu. If she failed to properly transfer the chakara into Sasuke, then they might all be finished for good.
An explosion sounded behind her as she prayed with all her heart that this would work. Having gathered almost all her chakara, she pushed her hand seal onto Sasuke's chest.
"Kai!"
How had it come to this?
Gaara glared at the three shinobi in front of him with murderous intent.
How did that Naruto-guy figure out how to injure him in his half-demon form?
Sand slowly poured onto the ground from its once solid form.
How did that Uchiha Sasuke get healed so that he could use the Chidori on him once again?
Gaara clutched his side and blood oozed out from in between his pale fingers.
The two boys from the Leaf were breathing heavily as Sakura sat on the ground, holding her leg.
The Sand nin had attacked her just as she landed on the forest floor with Sasuke. He had sensed a nin with little chakara left and attacked with the intention of killing because he thought it was Sasuke, but wound up crushing Sakura's leg as Sasuke blocked off the most of the sand.
Now the three of them were facing the worn out Sand nin, ready to strike if he made any move. But of course, not all three of them were patient.
'I'll finish this now.'
Black pupils changed suddenly into a violent red as a spiked ball of blue formed in the left hand of Sasuke. Gaara, who was too weak now to do anything to protect himself, stared at the boy with widened eyes.
"STOP!"
A figure landed in front of the Sand nin and took a defensive stance. The four genins who had been in a mortal combat, stared at the newcomer protecting Gaara. A girl that looked no older than the genins themselves was wearing a short white tank top with a short black leather skirt. In fact, everything she wore was short, except for her hair. Her hair was brown and thigh-length, bluntly ending with a red piece of cloth tied several inches from the end. Fastened about her waist where the skirt began, a forehead protector on a red piece of cloth matching the one in her hair reflected its emblem in the light of the fading Chidori.
Gaara looked up at the girl standing before him. The red piece of cloth, tied to the end of her ponytail, swayed in a breeze that had blown its way through the forest. A hazy memory flashed through his mind.
A small hand held out a red piece of cloth to a little, brown-haired girl sitting close by.
'That hair tie…'
"Stay away from him. If you make even one move I'll have t-"
"Ki-Kisa?"
The girl standing before him turned around in shock.
"You… remember… me…?" the girl asked cautiously as the boy behind her grabbed the kanji on his forehead and groaned with agony.
"Gaara?"
An aquamarine eye appeared between the darkened eyelids, reflecting the girl's brown swirling pupils with something that looked something like relief. The eye closed again as the boy passed out.
"Gaara!"
The girl whom Gaara had called Kisa caught the unconscious boy just as he fell backwards and embraced him. The three Leaf shinobi stood transfixed by the sight of a girl hugging the fearsome monster-like boy, who was just trying to kill them less than a minute ago.
"I'm sorry, Gaara… I'm so sorry…" the girl repeated over and over quietly to the unconscious boy in her arms. Sasuke and Naruto were awestruck by the way the girl could show such an open act of affection to someone who had stated that he had never felt any love from anyone ever before and that he hated everyone. Sakura, however, recovered from her shock first and pushed herself up off the ground, careful not to move her broken leg.
"Kisa…san?" she asked tentatively. The girl stopped her incoherent words.
"You wouldn't happen to be the Kisa Kawamura from the Hidden Leaf Village, would you?" Sakura continued, carefully picking her words.
Kisa hadn't moved from her position on the ground with Gaara lying in her lap and arms.
"And what if I am?" she questioned her back without looking up.
Sakura silently gulped and took a deep breath to calm her quickening heartbeat. Naruto and Sasuke had snapped out of their daze and were listening cautiously to every word exchanged from one girl to the other.
"Sa… Sakura-chan. Who is Ki-?" Naruto began to ask but she cut him off.
"Kisa Kawamura was not born here in the Hidden Leaf Village. She moved here from another country when she was just 5 with her partially crippled brother, who was 18."
The brown-haired girl turned her head to glare at the genins behind her.
"It seems as if Konoha hasn't forgotten about me yet," She spoke calmly as her glare turned into a smirk.
"Well, its not as if we could, considering you almost killed your teammates," Sakura stated more confidently.
"Heh," Kisa chuckled slightly, her smirk turning back into a glare. "They deserved it… to the very last bit of their missing body parts."
Naruto felt slightly nervous in front of this girl. She seemed to be more dangerous than she let on.
But that didn't sway him from being his obnoxious and loud self.
"You're from the Leaf, aren't you? Your forehead protector says so. Why are you helping that shinobi from the Sand? He and his village are trying to destroy Konoha!" Naruto yelled at the girl.
"I have my reasons… just as you have your reasons for attacking him."
Sasuke, who had been quiet this whole time, looked at the girl. She didn't seem like anything more than a slut, with the way she was attired.
"You know, I don't care who you are or what you've done to make yourself a name in Konoha, but my orders were to beat that guy up…" his eyes narrowed, "And I plan to do that."
With that, the Chidori formed in the palm of his hand again, tearing apart the ground beneath. The giant ball of spiked chakara emitted a shrill noise that sounded like a thousand birds, giving it its famous name. The Uchiha boy began racing towards the girl on the forest floor as the noise drowned out his teammate's cry of warning.
"Sasuke-kun, don't!"
'Too late,' Kisa thought, and with one arm holding Gaara in the same position, she stretched out her other arm towards the dark boy coming at them. Just as the Chidori came within range, her hand shot out, backwards grabbing Sasuke's wrist. Sasuke felt all his energy leave him and fell to the ground, only a few feet away from where the brown-haired girl was sitting.
"I told you not to come any closer," She said to the pitiful-looking boy crumpled on the forest floor.
The blonde genin looked at his female companion.
"Sakura? What happened?"
"That's her ability. It's a blood inheritance limit. You remember Akadou Yoroi? In Kabuto-san's team? He sucked out Sasuke's chakara during their fight in the preliminary matches. She is from that clan that has that leeching power. Well, she's one of the last one of them."
"Nani? Didn't that Yoroi-person also have that ability?"
"Yes, and no," the genins looked at Kisa, surprised that she would contribute in the explanation of her past.
"Yoroi is not my relative, so he doesn't possess the same blood as I do- meaning his power is nothing compared to mine."
Sasuke glared at the girl from his spot on the ground as Naruto gaped open-mouthed and Sakura narrowed her eyes.
'Kuso She can't be that strong…' Naruto thought, trying to coming up with a plan before that girl got away with Gaara. 'I guess this is the only way.'
"KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" Hundreds of clones appeared, surrounding the small area that they were in.
'Good thinking, Naruto!' Sakura thought, smiling inside.
"Sheesh. I thought that by telling you that much about me, you wouldn't try anything as stupid as this. Oh well…" She sighed as she shrugged.
Laying Gaara on the ground, Kisa stood up. She formed her left hand into the half tiger seal while her right palm was faced up. Closing her eyes, she mumbled something that none of them could make out. Suddenly, all the Naruto-clones disappeared with a poof as Naruto and Sakura felt themselves being drained of all their chakara and fell to the forest floor.
A bright ball of three different shades of swirling blue collected in the palm of her hand as she closed it into a fist. Forming the seal of the ram with both hands, she turned both her hands so that her palms faced upwards to see red gem-like glowing spheres embedded in a bracelet bound to each of her wrists. She smiled slightly as she lifted Gaara up again, glancing around at the semi-conscious genins lying on the ground. Making sure that her work here was done, she jumped up into the higher branches and headed off in a southeasterly direction.
He was alone again.
The children of the Hidden Sand Village played their game of soccer oh-so-happily.
And there he sat on the swing.
All alone.
He watched them out of the corner of his dark ringed eyes and listened to their laughing.
He wished he could be a part of that.
He so desperately wanted to be friends with the other children of the Sand.
However, he could never be.
Nevertheless, it did not stop his deep desire.
Nor did it stop his body from getting up or his feet from walking towards the other children.
And it definitely did not stop the children from running away when they saw him.
He sighed and held back the tears.
He looked down at his teddy bear for comfort.
Or at least where his teddy bear should have been.
'Where was it?'
He looked around, then remembered.
'The swing… I must have left it…'
Turning around, he walked back to the swing with his eyes on the ground, wondering why everyone was so scared of him and called him a monster.
When he came near the solitary swing, he lifted his sad eyes to look for his companion.
And there it was.
On the swing.
In a girl's arms.
Gaara gaped at the brown-haired girl as she slowly swung back and forth a little, playing with his brown teddy bear. Then, as if sensing someone nearby, she looked up expectantly at Gaara and smiled.
"Konnichi wa."
Gaara froze. Did she actually just smile at him and say hello?
"Nani? It's not nice to not answer someone who says hi to you!" the girl said with a cute pout on her face.
The little boy had an urge to glare at the girl, but decided not to since it was the first time that he could remember that anyone other than his family actually had a conversation with him.
"This is your teddy bear, right?" the girl asked while Gaara was still trying to decide if he should glare or not.
Gaara nodded.
"It's cute." She commented, holding the teddy bear up in her lap. "Neh… What's your name, nii-san?"
Gaara stared incredulously at the girl. Everyone knew what he looked like and most definitely knew who he was. This girl was… different.
But still..
"Gaara of the Desert…" he cast his eyes down and waited for the girl to scream and run away. Hence, his longest friendship with another child in the Hidden Sand Village would end. However, the girl didn't scream.
He heard the sand crunching underneath her feet as she stood and walked around the swing. She was going to leave now- he just knew it.
He lifted his eyes to plead with her not to leave him alone, but she had come only a few feet away from him, still holding his bear. He watched as her eyes scanned him, as if examining if he was really a human. He noticed that her eyes had a swirl to each of them, making the brown travel in a spiral around the black center. She squinted as she leaned closer to him so that their faces were only several inches away. She lifted a finger and placed it on the tip of his nose. Naturally, his eyes crossed to look down at her small index finger. A small giggle came from the girl as a big smile came onto her face. She stood straight again and held out his teddy bear towards him.
"Let's be friends. I'm Kisa Kawamura."