It had been a very long day.
Only having made it to the tower in the nick of time, finally having attained both scrolls we were ushered straight into the area where the preliminaries were to take place. Battered and worse for wear we headed to take our spots amongst the six remaining teams, some of which I didn't recognise or remember at all.

When names started to flash cross a high screen I took a moment to breath. My fight with Ino had been almost halfway through the preliminaries, giving me some time to recoup my energy and rest my sore aching body.
A swift nudge to the shoulder brought me out of thought to the sight of my name plastered across the screen with another I didn't recognise. 'Oh shit..'

Naruto offered some hurried words of encouragement while Sasuke said very little, giving me a tiny nod. Everyone had started to make their way to the the balcony, ready to watch the fight leaving me standing ground level with one remaining participant. He was a full grown man, twice my size. His large arms and shoulders rippling with muscles. displaying them openly for all to see. He smirked at me confidently, certain he would win this fight but I knew better.

From an outsiders perspective this was the worst possible match up for me.
I was known to have little physical strength or speed at this age but I wasn't really 'this age.'
Sure I still wasn't to fast but I was strong enough and my knowledge of Taijutsu was sound. I may not have the physical abilities I once had but if it came to a one on one scrap, I was confident I could hold my own no matter what the size my opponent was.
It made me want to smirk back at him but I held it in knowing the element of surprise was too valuable to just throw away on ego. So I stayed small and meek while I calculated a plan, not listening to the proctors rules any longer.
When it was finally time to start, we squared off.

"Hmm, I guess they really want me out here killing children then. Are you ready little girl? I won't go easy on you." He spoke obnoxiously, putting on a show for those watching above.

"Are you going to keep talking or are we going to do this." I spat annoyed, bored of waiting and ready to get this over with. He looked pissed then.

Moving fast, fists raised he ran at me striking out harshly as he did.
I dogged, ducked, jumped, slipped and swept around the barrage of hands and feet coming at me. He was quick for his size and my untrained body was struggling to keep up with the more advanced Taijutsu I was trying to utilise. He eventually was able to nab a wrist and land a heavy hit to the side of my head throwing my meters back as he did only slowing when I hit the wall behind me.

Vision blurry and head pounding, everything sounded far away. I could hear Naruto's voice somewhere, yelling for me to get up but I was so disorientated that it took me a second to realise I was already being pulled up and held hard against the wall by the edges of my open jacket.

"Such a shame." He growled in my ear while I tried to get the room to stop spinning for a second. "You're cute for a Kunoichi but just as weak as expected. How disappointing." He chuckled at the end glowering down at me in judgment.

'Weak. You're weak..'

And suddenly all thoughts of trying to win in a subtle manner went out the window. I brought my legs to my chest fast, tucking them close to me as I did still pinned against the wall. I kicked out hard with both legs into the stomach of my opponent sending him flying back to the middle of the floor with a thud.
Forgetting for the moment where I was I kept on him, jumping his scrambling body as he tried to stand and catch a breath that wouldn't seem to come.
I was on top of him then when I felt something sharp in my side, the adrenaline numbed the pain but not the fight or flight my brain had slipped into as I started laying into his face.

I punched hard, then harder as I felt his bones break beneath my fist and blood spray across my face. His arms, flailing wildly in an attempt to push me off or hit me back slowed as moments passed. For a moment that's all there was, the sound of my hands coming down restlessly and the squelch of flesh and blood. I hadn't notice when he stopped moving beneath me, only realising when I felt a hand on my shoulder tearing me off his body by force.

"Thats enough. cough.. cough" Gekko the proctor drawled out with a pointed stare, finally breaking the trance I had been in.

I found myself blinking down at my hands dripping in blood, confused by what had happened.
Medical ninja had rushed towards the body of the man on the floor, moving him with urgency towards the medical bay as they worked.

I finally stood, looking up to the balcony to find my teammates eyes but instead found the shocked and disturbed faces of fellow Shinobi and future comrades. My eyes swept around only stopping when I caught sight of a wide toothy grin that seemed out of place in the crowd. Till I recognised who it was on.

Gaara was gripping the railing hard, wide unhinged eyes looked pleasingly down at me causing a shiver to run over my skin at the sight of him. I could already feel the tightness on my face as blood started to dry like a mask, increasingly becoming more uncomfortable with every second I turned to walk away ignoring the medical ninja speaking at me as I went.

Letting my face drop again, I moved slowly up the stairs towards my team keeping my eyes averted from those around me as I went. Familiar orange pants came into view as I finally allowed the breath I'd been holding to release in relief. Looking up to meet their eyes I noted a genuinely anxious Naruto stepping away when sudden rough hands grabbed the neck of my jacket pulling me in close, forcing me to look into Sasuke's intense gaze.

"What the fuck was THAT?!" He snarled into my face, pushing me back a few steps as he did. I was caught so off guard by the barely concealed rage that I just stared dumbly at him in shock for a moment.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" I seethed, pushing him back just as harshly and breaking his grip as I did. "You may be my teammate but grab me again and I'll break that that fucking hand." I snapped threateningly, fed up with his bullshit ego or whatever the hell had him in a tizzy now.

I'd had enough and stormed off.
I didn't want to hear anything else they had to say, not caring anymore about watching the stupid exams.
'What had I done that was so bad? I was defending myself, that's what we trained to do. So why look at me with such eyes..'

"Arghhh, FUCK!" I yelled out into the empty hall in frustration, pissed off with how unfair everything seemed and rattled by just how far I had let myself go.

The stab wound was still freely bleeding down my side causing some discomfort now as I pulled myself together to keep moving towards the medical bay. Taking a step something rough had run over the exposed skin of my legs and feet, stopping my steps and holding me in place.
There were soft footsteps trailing behind me as I froze in anticipation realising I'd felt this scratchy feeling running over my skin once before. Hot, deep breaths fanned across the back of my neck causing my own breath to hitch in my throat.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gaara had spent most of his life relying on his instincts to direct him.
Instead of trying to act like everyone else did, he acted on impulse and urges to fulfil his basic needs.
His need for blood that was so overwhelmingly consuming or his need for death that proved he was still alive.

So when he watched the small pink haired civilian girl who had clung to him days earlier ruthlessly and relentless beat a mans face in, it made his body sing in pleasure. The sight of her dripping in blood made him want to be closer to her, to touch her again like she had touched him but for what reason he was unsure.
It may have been the first time in Gaara's life that his instincts weren't telling him to go kill but urging him to do something he wasn't quite sure about. He knew he wanted to be closer to her but he couldn't understand how exactly.

He kept his eye glued to the floor as she looked up and around catching his gaze finally.
How deceptive she was to look the way she did and do what she had just done. It was almost laughable when she looked back down in shame, how could one be ashamed of being strong and proving ones existence.

Waiting for the next fight to be decided some random names stilled across the screen, it wasn't his so he didn't care bringing his eyes back to watch the girl.

Gaara's eyes trailed her as she walked away from an altercation with the Uchiha boy, pleased to see the way she had shoved him off her. He moved to follow discreetly.

He could hear yelling and swearing in the hall when rounded the corner, using his sand to keep her in place as he did. The thrill of being near her blooded form had him breathing hard with eyes wide and unseeing he moved to stand behind her. Suddenly unsure of what he was to do he span her fast so her back was to the wall and he could move to face her more fully.
He hated what he saw when he met her eyes they were wide and seemingly filled with fear of him.

"Are you scared of me Kunoichi?" He rasped deeply into the small space between them.

Expression hardening she looked at him with a scowl, glaring hard into his eyes in defiance bringing him immense pleasure at the fact. Reaching out uncertainly he put his hand to her throat feeling the pulse running fast beneath his hand and gently brushing a thumb over the dried blood on her skin.

He didn't know what he was doing or why he was doing it but it felt good so he moved in closer pushing his body against hers like the time she had run to him. Feeling her body freeze against his he pushed his face down to her ear.

"Why are you scared." The rasp in his voice came out more like a purr catching him off guard. After a few tense moments he felt hands pushing his chest trying to create space once again between them.

"Gaara get off me, I need to go to the medical bay." She hissed at him frustrated. Even her small hands moving over his chest trying to shove him back felt good giving him thoughts of pushing her harshly against the wall again but he still didn't understand for what reason he would want to do such a thing so he let go and stepped back.

She glared up at him with anger, arm crossed over her bleeding side as she walked slowly away towards the medical bay leaving Gaara to wonder exactly what had transpired between them and what it all meant.