Naruto and Gaara didn't leave immediately after dinner was finished. Since they hadn't left, neither had Karin. Usually Karin staying late with them didn't bother either twin. But on this particular night, all they wanted was for the redheaded fox to just go home. Karin was downright irritable in the presence of Naruto and Gaara.

Hinata persuaded Karin to help with the cleanup. Naruto followed the two into the kitchen, carrying the dirtied dishes. Xin's eyes strayed towards Gaara. He was posted at her window for whatever reason. She asked herself if she really wanted to talk to him but she'd rather not talk to Karin so towards Gaara she went. The only acknowledgment he gave was his eyes flickering towards her. Other than that, he didn't say anything as she stood idly by his side. She didn't know what had him so focused, there was nothing out on the streets but humans and he didn't care for them, so what the hell was he looking at?

"You smell like snow and moon dust," Gaara spoke up first, surprisingly. She visibly jumped at the sound of his voice, frowning softly. "Underneath your natural scent. I suppose the enchantments you spoke of earlier masked the purity," He spoke casually, like they were discussing the weather. She didn't know what to say back. For one, what the fuck does snow and moon dust smell like?

"Does it make you want to eat me?"

"Not in particular," Gaara answered casually. "I'm not going to eat you, woman. Only weak, mindless demons seek to consume priestesses. You are safe in the sense that I will not eat you. Stop asking."

Xin wasn't sure if his words made her feel better or not. "But I'm not safe in general around you, am I?" She asked with a frown. Well of course she wasn't safe around him. He tried to choke her out, at least twice. She didn't feel completely safe around him but she also didn't feel completely threatened. It was an odd thing to feel and she didn't bother to say it out loud. Knowing him, he'd take offense.

"Are you safe in general around any of us?"

Point taken.

"You and Naruto seem really close, like best friends," She said instead of giving him an answer. She did not fear any of her friends. Karin, Suigetsu and Tenten were annoying as of late but they were just doing what they thought was best for the twins. They annoyed the shit out of her but they meant well. She had no reason to be afraid of the three of them.

"You humans and your need to place a title on everything."

"Call us sentimental," She shrugged languidly. "Have you been friends for a long time?" Xin pressed on, wanting to know why the two meshed together so well. Naruto was all sunshine and grins while Gaara was darkness and scowls. How the two managed to get along so well was beyond her. They must have years of friendship under their belts.

"It has been a century or two."

Xin turned to study the man beside her. Physically, he looked about twenty-six, at the least. Much older than her mere twenty-one but his eyes were far older than his appearance led her to believe. She was mere child to him, most likely. Naive and ignorant to the world around her. "You're old as fuck, aren't you?"

"Perhaps you're just young as fuck."

Xin's head twitched back on her neck and she found herself grinning. "So you do have a sense of humor when you aren't trying to strangle me, fascinating," She teased lightly. A streak of horror suddenly ran through her. Was she actually joking around with this psycho? This was not how this was supposed to go. This was not how any of this was supposed to go. "Did your friends track you down?" She asked a couple of seconds after her lighthearted teasing.

"Friends?" he visibly craned his neck to look down at her. Xin cursed her meager height. He quite literally dwarfed her, adding insult to injury. She and Hinata were both short while their sister, Hanabi was steadily outgrowing them. The troll.

"Yeah, you know, one guy, one girl," She began to explain, their names momentarily escaping her. "Both have brown hair and brown eyes. The guy is about ye high," She raised her hand up to his neck. "The girl is a bit shorter but much taller than me," She made a face at the mention of the girl. Gaara's face twisted in frustration. Xin ignored his gaze, face set firmly as she tried to remember her stalkers' faces. "They were following us around for awhile and I confronted them about it. I think they think I'm crazy," She rubbed her chin in thought. "And then the guy came to my job to talk to me. He warned me to…." She finally looked at him, brows furrowed. "He said it would not be for the best if I get involved with you."

Gaata grunted, his harsh scowl back. Xin's mouth pulled into a more delicate frown. They were getting along so well, it seemed, and she ruined it with the mention of his friends. "Jura!" She snapped her fingers, her frown morphing into a delighted grin. "Jura and...Matsuri. They were looking for you."

"They approached you?"

Xin shrugged her shoulders. "They had reason to believe that we've interacted. Jura says he thought he saw you with me but I doubt that's the truth."

"You said you confronted them?"

"...Yeah?"

"You confronted two demons."

"They were stalking us, what was I supposed to do?"

"Not confront them? They're dangerous. What would you have done had they attacked you?" Gaara asked, turning fully towards her. Xin's shoulders hunched defensively. The hell did he care? He literally attacked her more than once and now he was going to lecture her about confronting demons? Just what the hell was with everyone lately? What was she supposed to do? Not take up for herself just because someone may or may not be a demon?

"I probably would have stabbed one of them in the eye with my keys," Xin answered tonelessly. Gaara stared down at her for a full second before a snort of disbelief rattled his big shoulders. Her eyes widened while staring at him. The snorts turned into chortles and the chortles turned into outright laughter. He bent over, hand pressed against to his face. Xin found nothing funny, folding her arms across her chest.

Naruto peered into the living room, frowning at the sound and sight of Gaara's laughter. It wasn't like Gaara was an emotionless bastard or anything. But hearing his laughter and knowing Xin was out there with him, he was expecting to see her corpse or something.

Instead he found Gaara laughing and Xin looking none too pleased. Instantly, he thought of Matsuri, the closest thing Gaara would call a girlfriend. The demoness was nice, Naruto recalled, but he couldn't remember if Gaara had laughed like that in her presence. Now that he thought about it, Naruto wasn't sure if Gaara was ever this at ease in Matsuri's presence.

Uh-oh.

Whatever the fuck this was, it wasn't going to turn out right. He glanced to his right, feeling his cousin's presence at his shoulder. Karin's eyes were narrowed at the sight, teeth pressing into her lips. The two never really could get along, different opinions often keeping them at odds. But now with Xin and Hinata in the equation, Karin's hatred had reached new heights. Karin folded her arms across her chest stubbornly. "I don't like this," She seethed, turning away sharply. "Hinata, how can you allow this?"

Hinata remained at the sink, seemingly not bothered by anything at all. For several minutes she focused on her task before granting Karin a reply. "What can I possibly do?" She asked calmly. She wasn't thrilled about Gaara and Xin's odd relationship but what could she say to either one of them? Xin already knew how she felt on the matter. "I'm not sure if I like his presence but you try telling Xin not to do something. You know how she gets."

Karin huffed in annoyance and Naruto finally turned away from the sight of Xin and Gaara. "Sounds like a real rebel," He prompted, crossing the kitchen. Hinata was Xin's opposite in every aspect but Naruto could see a fire in her eyes that was ready to rage if the time called for it.

She threw him a fleeting glance and then turned back to her dishes. Naruto almost grinned. Turning your back on a demon was either a sign of arrogance or a sign of foolishness. Hinata remained unaware of the taboo with her small back facing him. "That's a nice way to describe her, I suppose. I like to think of her as a free spirit. You simply can't tell her what to do. If you try to do that, she'll do the exact opposite."

"Free spirit my ass. She's just petty," Karin grouched. "I don't like this at all. He shouldn't be left alone with her. Who knows what he might do to her?" She worried, flaming eyes flickering to the doorway of the kitchen.

"I think you're being a bit ridiculous, Rin."

"He strangled her."

"She stabbed him."

"Because she was being strangled."

"She hit him with her car."

"And he responded by strangling her yet again."

It's not like he really cared of Xin's treatment towards Gaara, he found it hilarious. Gaara didn't seem to hold a grudge against the woman for her antics, after all, she was still alive. It was probably because of her antics that she was still alive, to be honest. But even so...Gaara was a dangerous person and Xin seemed to seamlessly get under his skin.

Naruto glanced at Karin once more. Deep down, he wondered if Karin was more worried about Jun's soul over Xin. He'd only met the miko twins once or twice in his life but remembered them meaning a lot to Karin. When the twins perished, Karin had taken it hard. Back then, he couldn't understand her behavior. It wasn't like humans lived long anyway. He'd grown since then, understanding how important Jun and Junko had been to his cousin. He wondered if Xin and Hinata were just as important as the ones before them. He wondered if they were only important because of the ones before them. They were such nice girls and their friendship with Karin was obviously genuine. Whether or not Karin was genuine was the problem.

Nope, none of this was going to turn out okay.

Karin threw open her front door in what would be deemed in a dramatic sense. In the living room, Tenten and Suigetsu leaned back against the couch, wondering what all the fuss was about. "That girl is going to get herself killed!" She exclaimed, voice bouncing off the walls. Suigetsu tried not to slump into the couch. There was too much friction in their group of friends as of late. Every other day, somebody was huffing in frustration. One of these days, one of them was just going to throw a punch and then he'd have to break up a physical fight. And each of these girls had a mean swing.

"Did'ja bring any food?"

Karin scowled and shoved the bag of containers at Suigetsu. He got up with a grin, heading towards the kitchen. Tenten followed after him, smiling in amusement. "You know, with all the money you two have come into over the years, you could probably afford a better apartment. You could probably even hire an actual cook," Tenten commented while sitting at the kitchen table.

"Well yeah," Suigetsu nodded, his grin widening. Karin had gone out of her way to keep the containers warm with her energy. "But I like Xin and Hinata's cooking. You want some?" He held up a pair of chopsticks for her. Tenten took the chopsticks before remembering Karin's earlier statement.

"Who's going to get themselves killed?" She asked calmly. Karin dropped next to Suigetsu, ignoring him when he leaned over to kiss her cheek in greeting. "And why are they going to get killed?"

"Xin! Who else?" Karin growled, rubbing at her temples. "Remember when she reacted all nonchalant when you told her about demons and she had some bullshit excuse?"

"Mm."

"She's very familiar with the idea of demons, apparently."

"And why's that?"

Suigetsu shot Tenten a look. Karin's temper was at its end and her own nonchalance wasn't going to help the situation. "She knows Gaara!"

The kitchen sank into silence. "Of Suna?" Suigetsu asked with a frown. Karin shot him a look, rolling her eyes. It's not like they knew any other psychotic motherfuckers named Gaara. "How does she know him?"

"Oh apparently they have quite the relationship! We had dinner together. Naruto was there."

"Karin, none of the shit you're saying makes sense. You can't just spring all of this information on us and not explain anything. Where the fuck does Naruto come into the equation? And what the fuck do you mean you all had dinner?" Tenten asked, her own temper flaring. Lately they've been clashing too much for her tastes. Karin jumped into it, explaining the story the twins had fed her. When she was done, Tenten slapped her forehead. "Fuck, she's going to use this against me."

"Use what?"

"When I told her about demons, I felt like she was hiding something. I kept asking her about it and she finally said that she hit a demon with her car and he wouldn't leave her alone. But she explained it in such a way that I thought she was bullshitting. Now, if I ask her about it, she's going to argue that she did tell me the truth."

"Well, she is Hiashi's daughter," Karin reminded them sourly. "What's more is that she told those two morons that they're priestesses. I think some of the enchantments are still enacted because they couldn't quite tell."

"She told two demons that they're priestesses?"

"To be fair," Karin wrinkled her nose. "She asked if they've ever eaten human flesh before."

"What is wrong with that girl?"

"I don't know but I don't like it at all. For as long as I've known Gaara, he's never been kind to humans. Now he and Naruto expect me to leave a human priestess alone with him?"

"Karin, Gaara has changed a lot since our younger years."

"He tried to strangle her. Twice."

"Course he did."

"But in his defense, he says, she stabbed him."

Suigetsu nearly choked on his food. "Wait, wait, wait," He uttered dramatically. "Yer' telling me that our hobbit actually stabbed that 6'4 psycho and she's still alive? Christ, she's insane."

Tenten shook shook her head, stabbing at her food. "Perhaps he's losing his edge. Hanging out with Naruto and Kushina will do that, won't it?" She smiled slowly at the thought of Karin's kindhearted aunt.

"He hasn't lost much of his edge since he's willing to strangle her."

"Aren't we all a little willing to strangle her? How many times have I pulled you off of her?" Suigetsu pointed out.

"Or her off of you?" Tenten reminded them of the fact that Xin, despite being human, was no pushover. Yes, she was quite small with the face of a cherub but that never stopped Xin from throwing some punches. Suigetsu was not kidding when he said each of his friends had mean right hooks. Her love for boxing certainly didn't help. There'd been several times when the redhead and blunette came to blows. Mostly when they were still in high school, when Xin was still an entitled brat and Karin was still an uppity asshole.

"That girl has no problem sucker punching someone. Jun wouldn't have—"

"Jun is dead and Xin isn't her," Suigetsu interrupted the redhead. "And honestly? Yes Jun would. That woman was hardcore as fuck, especially with that damn bō of hers."

"My grandmother spoke of Jun and Junko a lot since she had a lot Ruolan's memories. She was a takes no prisoners sort of woman, she said," Tenten spoke up. "She has inherited some of Jun's quirks just like Hinata inherited quirks from Junko. But still…they're different people. You can't keep comparing them. You know they hate when they're compared to other people. They barely like it when people compare them together."

Karin sank into the chair, saying nothing else. The front door swung open and Neji came striding in. He looked positively exhausted but he politely greeted everyone before slumping down next to Tenten. Suigetsu silently offered food. "This tastes like the twins' cooking," Neji noted. Unlike the twins, who'd inherited Jun and Junko'a soul, Neji was relatively normal. He did possess a strong spiritual energy and Karin often said he reminded her of the Jun and Junko's older warrior of a brother, Youta. "Anything new?"

"Your cousin is a fuckin' moron."

"Well, that's a relatively known fact."

"Any portal openings?" Suigetsu asked before Karin could go off yet again. For some odd reason, he felt like Neji wouldn't be as nonchalant as him and Tenten on Gaara's involvement. He was fiercely protective of his cousins.

Neji made a face and Tenten reached over to rub at his shoulder. "A couple but it was easy to handle it since Naruto and several demons have come from their realm to control the problem," Neji hefted a sigh, large shoulders heaving with the motion.

"What a coincidence," Karin nearly crowed. At this point, Suigetsu and Tenten gave up trying to steer the conversation away. Karin wanted someone on her side and she knew damn well Neji would not take kindly to her newfound information. "I just met with Naruto and Gaara."

"Really?" Neji quirked a brow. "I thought you were with the twins."

"I was."

Neji placed his chopsticks down and turned his attention to her. "What did she do this time?" He asked through yet another sigh. Karin sat up a little straighter, glancing at Suigetsu and Tenten. Suigetsu had gone back to eating and Tenten offered no help. If she wanted to invoke Neji's rage, that was her business.

"Naruto and Gaara had dinner with me at the twins' apartment."

Neji was always an interesting case. He didn't possess any reincarnated souls of his ancestors nor was he blessed by some benevolent dragon king. He was a relatively normal human compared to his enchantress girlfriend and two demonic friends. However, he did possess an odd strong amount of spiritual energy. He couldn't use the energy to purify demons like the twins possibly could so he used it in a similar way that Tenten did. It was hard keeping it from his cousins and he would be lying if he said he wasn't relieved that they knew the history of the Hyuga.

"You let those two near my cousins?" He finally asked after a long pause. Tenten looked down at her food and wondered if she would be able to finish eating tonight. Maybe she should just head home, or maybe to the twins. She doubted the two would already be in bed by now. Xin would possibly be cleaning and Hinata would be trying to stop her.

"I'm not the one who let them in," Karin huffed irritably. "Xin invited them in, not me. I didn't want them anywhere near Gaara and Naruto," She pointed out with a scowl. Nevermind that Naruto was actually a good person. It was risky having demons near the two. Some demons just couldn't help the primal need to devour pure beings. Fortunately she'd been relatively young and Ruolan made sure to teach her that devouring your friends was wrong when she met Jun and Junko. "She hit Gaara with her car and now it seems he won't leave her be."

Instead of blowing a damn gasket like the originally thought, Neji became oddly quiet. He glanced around the table at his friends and wondered for the umpteenth time that day why couldn't he just have a normal life. He cursed his father's insistence on training him to hone his spiritual energy when he was young instead of just letting him have a normal life like the twins. But then, had Hizashi done that, Neji would be in the same boat as the twins. Tenten told him that they weren't really taking the latest revelations too well. Not that he could blame them. How were you supposed to react when suddenly there's demons and other supernatural beings gunning for your body and soul because you're a priestess reborn?

Neji placed his chopsticks down and slowly began to rise to his feet. "Well," He sighed like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Now I have to kill them," He said rather simply. Tenten made a noise in her throat and reached for his shoulder.

"You don't have to kill anyone!" She snapped, forcing him back into his seat. "Let's not forget that Gaara and Naruto has been helping with those rogue demons running around. We can't kill them because they might be a little dangerous around the twins."

"A little?" Karin nearly squawked. "Neither of you know what either of them are quite capable of. A demon is a demon," She reminded them hotly. "Sure, Gaara has calmed down a lot but he's still a sadistic psycho who dislikes humans and doesn't mind killing them if he feels like they're being bothersome."

"Karin," Suigetsu's eyes flickered towards her in a silent warning. "If that's the case and a demon is a demon, then we shouldn't be allowed around the twins. We've done some nasty things in our past. Once the last lingering enchantments finally vanish, we'll probably have urges to consume the twins like any other demon."

Tenten considerably paled. For some reason, she never once thought to worry over Suigetsu and Karin having urges to kill the twins. They'd been around Jun and Junko as long as they had without threatening to consume either of them and not once did they show any need to devour Xin and Hinata. She looked in between the couple, frowning hard.

"That is not true!" Karin snapped angrily. "I wouldn't ever want to harm them like that."

"That doesn't matter, does it?" Neji asked in that same tone of voice. He remained calm, unshakable and firm. "You are demons, after all," He continued, not bothering for an answer from Karin. This conversation had gone south very quickly. Karin glared at Suigetsu. "I don't care how little of a threat someone poses to my cousins," Neji glanced in between the couple. "Whether it's Gaara, Naruto or you two," his eyes hardened. "If, for whatever reason, they're in a situation I deem not safe for them, I will eliminate the problem. Friend or not."

The room became quiet once more.

"Yes, Neji, I know I'm an idiot. You really didn't have to call me at work to tell me this," Xin paused, allowing her cousin to rant and rave at her before opening her mouth again. "Yes, I know they're dangerous but what was I supposed to do?" Xin held the phone away from her ear when Neji's ranting turned to errant shouting. She sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Neji, stop shouting before someone overhears you," She tried to remain calm but all of his shouting was starting to get under her skin.

She was going to punch Karin right in her mouth the next time she got a hold of that redhead. "Neji, shut the hell up for fuck's sake. I'm fine, alright? What's done is done! The motherfucker got the information he needed so I doubt I'll be seeing him again anyway so just drop it. I don't know who you and Karin think you are but I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, alright? Now, if you don't mind, I have to lock the bakery up! Goodbye."

Xin stabbed at the 'end call' icon, scowling at the blank screen. She didn't understand anyone as of late. Okay, maybe she didn't understand much about the supernatural world but she was still alive. She didn't need them constantly breathing down her neck about every damn choice she's made. So she knew Gaara. What the hell was yelling at her going to do? And why was everyone yelling at her like she actively sought the weirdo out? Last she checked, he'd been the one to constantly pop up at her apartment, uninvited. Now that he finally knew why she'd been able to fend him off during their first encounter, he would finally leave her the fuck alone.

Neji called to chew her out right when she was beginning to shut the bakery down. She'd been stuck on the last shift with Ami, of all people, and the little shit had split as soon as she could. The girl was still upset about Xin dissing her haircut, not that Xin really cared. She moved around the bakery with ease, shutting the machines and lights down.

Xin pressed her hand to the back of her neck and twisted her head to the side, sighing when a resounding crack emitted from her neck. She threw her phone into her bag, locked the bakery up and headed home. She failed to tell any of her friends that she planned on walking home by herself that night. Her apartment was barely fifteen minutes away, what could happen? But just to be safe, she called Hinata. Her sister was not happy about her deciding to walk home by herself. "Yeah, I know sis but what's the worst that could happen?"

"When people make statements like that, the worst usually happens."

"Way to be optimistic, sis," Xin snorted, noting that it was oddly deserted. It was late but it wasn't that damn late. A shiver ran a course up her spine and she tried not to say anything. She didn't want to worry her sister or prove her right. As she walked by an alleyway, she heard a distinctive tearing noise followed by a loud pop. Frowning, she paused long enough to peer into the alley. A portal stared back at her with the image of crackling flames in its depth.

"Oh shit."

"Xin? What's the matter?"

Xin stared at the portal with a frown before turning and hurrying away. "Nope. Nope. Not today, motherfuckers. That is none of my goddamn business. I'm signing the fuck out," She said, eyes darting around to find anyone who could possibly help her. But for some odd reason, there was not a soul in sight.

"Xin, what is going on? What's none of your business? Talk to me!"

The younger twin ignored the older twin, another chill attacking her spine when she heard footsteps behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and nearly felt her heart drop out of her ass. A tall gangly humanoid-looking thing following after her. His skin was a ruddy red and his possessed a long face, mostly resembling a moblin from the Legend of Zelda of series. "Fuck, I'm going to die," Xin hissed into the speaker, speeding up noticeably. She could hear her sister on the line, panicking and asking her what in God's name was going on. Xin turned a corner sharply, wondering where in the hell anybody was.

"Priestessssss," the moblin hissed from behind her, forked tongue slithering from nonexistent lips. Clearly the enchantments had finally faded away for good.

"There was a portal and a demon came out of it. It's following me and there doesn't seem to be anyone around who could possibly help."

"Oh my God."

She heard running footsteps and barely ducked out of the way when a heavy arm swiped at her head. Xin hissed, knees hitting the pavement roughly. The ground tore through her thin leggings, ripping her skin open. "Hinata, I'll call you back," Xin said through gritted teeth. She hung up before her sister could say anything else. Xin shoved her phone into her bag and without a second thought, took off into a mad dash. She could hear the demon coming after her, letting out excited cackles at the prospect of a chase. Xin darted across a lone street, running into an abandoned park. She wasn't sure if it would help but maybe ducking and dodging around trees could give her the slip.

She ran deeper into the woods, hoping her plan would work when she ran face first into something hard. She ricocheted off of whatever she ran into, hitting the ground flat on her back. Stars and colors burst behind her eyelids and she let out a long groan before slowly opening her eyes. Another demon stood over her, this one much larger than the first one that had been chasing her. Xin's eyes widened at the sight, speechless and cursing her awful luck. The demon had grey skin with bumps and boils adorning its body, much like the one who'd attacked her and Hinata.

The demon stared down at her, lips pulling back to reveal cracked and dulled teeth. In his right hand, he carried a large spiked club. Xin struggled to sit up, the world spinning around her as she did so. She let out a choked gasp and barely rolled out of the way when the demon swung it's club down. It crashed into the ground, destroying it with practiced ease. Xin staggered to her feet just as the red-skinned demon came upon the scene. Her eyes darted between the two, at a loss for words. Clearly running into the goddamn woods was easily the worst decision she's ever made.

Something came crashing through the trees closest to the grey-skinned demon. "There you are, fucker! Thought you could get away—Xin?!"

Xin blinked and turned, surprised to see Naruto staring at her. He seemed just as surprised to see her. The red demon took the opportunity to come flying at Xin. Naruto was luckily a tad bit faster, managing to catch Xin and dodge out of the way of an attack. "Xin, what the fuck?" Naruto growled, jumping away to put some distance between them. Xin only stared at the blond, blinking slowly. She felt like she was going to throw up any second. "Oi, man, we got a problem! Heads up!"

Naruto tossed Xin much like she was a ragdoll. She crashed into something hard but didn't bounce off of it like she'd done with the gray demon. If fact, whatever she crashed into hadn't been expecting to have to catch her because they went down with an audible grunt. It took her a full moment for her to realize that shed actually fell on top of a person.

A resounding growl from underneath caught her attention. Xin sat up, ignoring the pain radiating from her knees, to plant her small hands against a hard chest. "Xin, what the fuck are you doing here?" Gaara asked from underneath her, eyes narrowed at the sight of her on top of him. Her fingers coiled into the material of his jacket but she didn't answer right away. Gaara sat up but Xin didn't budge, not the least bit bothered that there was nothing separating them from each other. He reached up, large hands clutching her face. He pulled her closer, quietly studying her face. "Did you hit your head?" Gaara asked after a moment of just staring into her face.

"Uh," She blinked hard. "Yeah, I think so. I hit the ground kind of hard when I ran into that….thing," She waved a lazy hand at the grey demon. The demons were now teamed up against Naruto, determined to get him out of the way so they could get to her.

"You smell completely like that blessed dagger. Those enchantments Karin spoke of must have completely faded. You smell like a buffet to any demon within a five foot radius. Where's your sister?"

"Home, I think. Karin or Sui probably went over to hang out with her since I had to work late."

"And you didn't think to call them to walk you home? Not even Tenten or Neji?"

"I didn't think I'd need to."

"Right and look where that landed you."

Xin didn't have a chance to reply when Gaara got to his feet. He pulled her to her feet, letting her use him to lean her weight against him. He shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped it around her, rolling his eyes. "Hopefully my scent masks that damn scent of yours until we're done," He said through a growl, easily picking her up. He jumped into the trees, landing on a low but thick branch. "Just sit still until we're done. Do not move, woman, unless you want to fall and break your neck."

"Ohhhh no, who wants that?"

Gaara stared at her for a couple of seconds, slightly disturbed by her nonchalant attitude. He was positive that she had a concussion. They would have to finish this encounter soon if they wanted to get her to Tenten to take care of her injuries and get her from out in the open.

What felt like mere minutes later, Gaara was back. He studied her for the second time, noting the dazed look in her eyes. He sighed heavily, wondering how her friends would react if he just left her in the damn tree. He shouldn't have gotten involved with this human woman in the first place. Knowing he didn't feel like fighting with any of her friends about abandoning her in a tree, he reached forward. "Come on, we need to head back," He slipped his arms under her, easily carrying her slight weight. Her head rolled in a circle before settling against his chest.

"Whatever the handsome demons says," Xin sung blearily, lazily throwing her arm over his shoulder. Gaara paused, looking down at her in disbelief before dropping out of the tree to join Naruto.

"Well, at least there wasn't any human casualties," Naruto grinned slowly at the sight of them. He approached his friend, studying the delirious human. "Looks like a concussion," He said, holding his finger up. He drew it back and forth in a horizontal line, watching Xin's delayed gaze. "We need to get her to Tenten, I'm sure she can take care of it with that crystal ball of hers. I'll call ahead."

Gaara only kept his gaze focused on Xin, sighing heavily.

Karin nearly ripped Xin out of Gaara's arms as soon as the door open. His fingers curled tightly around her and he jerked her away, eyes narrowed. "What the hell did you do to her?" She demanded angrily, smelling blood.

Naruto shouldered by Gaara, hands held up placatingly. "Calm down, Rin. We didn't do anything to her. She was about to be eaten by a damn rogue demon," Naruto rolled his eyes and pressed his hands to her shoulders. They really didn't have time to just stand around arguing over who did what to Xin. Karin's anger and blame-game could wait until Xin woke back up. "Where's Tenten? She has a concussion."

"Living room!" Tenten called from down the hall. Naruto led Gaara down the hall, not surprised to see Tenten trying to comfort a red-faced Hinata. The older twin nearly jumped at the sight of her sister but was held down by Suigetsu.

"Calm down, Hina. We can't jostle her right now if she has a concussion," Suigetsu said in a soothing tone. He leaned over the couch and wrapped his arms around Hinata's shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. Neji suddenly came from the bathroom, eyes locking on the sight of his unconscious cousin. The room was awkwardly quiet as everyone seemed to just stare each other down. The only ones who seemed to have no ill-will towards anyone was Naruto and Hinata. Naruto glanced at Hinata, noting the tear tracks down her cheeks and sighed heavily.

"Listen, guys?" He decided to speak up. "I know there's as couple of us in here that don't necessarily get along for whatever reason but don't you think we should focus on something a little more important? Like, oh I don't know, the fact that Xin's eyes kept straying back and forth like she's strung out on crack before passing out?"

Suigetsu moved first, coming around the couch to guide Hinata up and away. He kept an arm around her waist, rubbing a comforting hand up and down her back. Gaara deposited Xin on the vacated couch, deciding to take Suigetsu's spot at the back of the couch. He wasn't going to budge, even if Karin and Neji were giving him the evil eye. Tenten hovered over Xin, frowning softly. She summoned Lóngyǎn with an open palm and began to wave her hands around the glowing crystal ball. Red energy seeped from the glass, dancing across her hands. Lóngyǎn vanished once more, sinking into her hands like it never appeared in the first place.

She sat at Xin's side on the floor, glowing hands hovering above Xin's face. "She hit her head really hard. Do you know how she hit her head?" She glanced briefly above her at Gaara. His gaze, for whatever reason, had yet to leave Xin's pale face.

"She said she ran into one of the demons and hit the ground. I'm assuming she was running from the other one that was chasing her."

"And her knees?"

"They were already like that when we ran into her," Naruto piped up from behind them. "She probably hit the ground trying to get out of the way of an attack," He explained, eyes straying towards Hinata. She was nervously wringing her hands together, only stopping when Suigetsu laid his hand against her hands. The energy danced across Xin's face, soaking into her forehead. Tenten pressed her hand to Xin's forehead, seemingly waiting for something before she moved down towards her bloody knees. Bits of rock and dirt mixed in with the blood, sticking to her raw skin and causing Tenten to frown. She held her palm above them and used her energy to pull the debris from the blood.

It didn't take long to stitch her knees back together with her energy. Tenten smiled slowly and started to nudged Xin awake. "Oi, Xinny, come on. Wake up."

Neji glanced at Naruto and Gaara. He wanted to be angry with the two but it was quite obvious that Xin would be dead without their help. But hell if he wanted the two around her. Trouble seemed to cling to them like second skin and if Xin insisted on keeping their company, she'd be put in unnecessary danger. It was enough that she and Hinata had gone and broken the enchantments since Karin, Sui and Tenten couldn't keep their damn mouths shut.

A weak groan resounded from Xin, drawing everyone's attention back to her. Xin placed her hands against her face and groaned again, turning on her side in a fetal position. "Oh dear God," She complained, voice muffled by her hands.

"What were you thinking?" Karin demanded hotly as soon as Xin pulled her hands away. She regarded the redhead quietly before slowly sitting up. "Why didn't you tell anyone that you had a late shift tonight? This wouldn't have happened if one of us had been there. God, Xin, why can't you just accept the help when you clearly need it?"

"Great to see you too, Karin," Xin grumbled, rubbing her face. Karin's face turned red to match her hair. "Gaara and Naruto showed up, didn't they? Doesn't that count as accepting help?" She asked with a voice full of sleep and ache.

"And what if they hadn't showed up, Xin? What if you had run into a demon that they hadn't been chasing down, huh?"

Xin's eyes narrowed at Karin's tone. For what felt like the millionth time, Suigetsu decided to interfere. "Karin, that's enough. I know we're all upset about what happened but what's important is that Xin is alive. Naruto and Gaara were there to save her. That's all I care about."

"Why are you always taking everyone's side but mine, Sui?" Karin whirled around on him, eyes flaming angrily. "It's not enough! It's not going to be enough until a fuckin' demon plucks her eighty-nine pound ass up to fuckin' devour her! And then what? Huh? Then what?"

Xin rolled her eyes but slowly got up, waving her friends off when they reached for her. "I just want to get some water," She muttered, leaving the argument in favor for her kitchen. Xin reached into her fridge, trying her best to ignore more voices joining in on the argument. She fumbled with the water bottle, for some odd reason struggling to unscrew the cap.

A much larger hand swiped the bottle from her hand, successfully unscrewing the cap. Gaara handed the water bottle back to her, seemingly bemused by her her plight. "Can't open it by yourself, hm?" He prompted, leaning on the door of the fridge. Xin pinched the bridge of her nose and halfheartedly shoved his arm away. It did nothing to move his arm but he pulled it back anyway, letting her swing door shut. "You have an interesting group of friends."

"I liked them better when I thought we were all human," Xin sighed, sinking down at the kitchen table. "Ever since this entire demon business came to light, they insist on treating my sister and I like children."

"They worry for you. Our world is far more dangerous than yours."

She was kind of surprised that he sat down at the table with her but didn't make a comment on it. "Yeah, I get that but what do they want us to do? Wrap ourselves up in bubble wrap and never leave the apartment? I can't stop living my life just to appease them."

Before he could reply, Hinata and Naruto shuffled into the kitchen. Naruto's usual bright grin was dimmed into a more weak smile. He had a hand pressed to Hinata's lower back, guiding her to the table. Their friends were still arguing. Xin tried to smile at Hinata but it seemed more like a grimace. "Here," She offered her water bottle to Hinata. "All the crying is going to dehydrate you, sis."

"You alright, Xin?" Naruto asked while Hinata drank half the bottle. Xin glanced at him, head tilted to the side. She realized that her friends had been so busy arguing, they hadn't had the chance to ask if she was actually okay. It surprised her how much the simple question and sentiment made her feel.

"Yeah, I guess I am. Just...tired."

"Wanna talk about what happened?" Naruto folded his arms and settled them on the table top. He slouched down and dropped his chin against his arms. He'd just met the girls but something told him that asking them something over telling them what to do would mean a lot to them. He understood where the group of friends were coming from but the twins still had their lives to live. They couldn't just...stop.

Xin shrugged with a deep sigh. "I left the bakery—"

"You work at a bakery?"

"Yeah, both of us. It's called Mad Batter."

"Wow, cute."

"Shut up and let her finish, Uzumaki."

Hinata laughed softly at the banter, shaking her head. "I left the bakery, I was on last shift and I was walking home with Hinata on the phone. I heard a portal opening but I tried to walk away to avoid whatever was going to come out. Unfortunately, my scent, or whatever the fuck it is that attracts you motherfuckers, attracted that thing and I heard it following me. I started walking faster but broke out into a run when I realized it was chasing me down."

"I was screaming the entire time but she wouldn't talk to me," Hinata let out a small snort. "All I could hear was her running and this insane laughing in the background. I thought she was going to die."

"Yeah, well, I thought I was going to die too," Xin shrugged her shoulders. "I ran into a park for the woods because I thought maybe ducking behind some trees and all the smells from the forest would help but I ended up bouncing off the chest of the second demon. My head smacked into the ground and he tried to club my face. I rolled out of the way and kind of just stood there because both demons were staring at me. That's when Naruto showed up."

Naruto's smile light up. "So I saved the day, huh? Not a surprise, it's what I do best, after all," He sat up enough to nudge at Hinata in a joking manner. She looked over at him, looking exhausted and completely through but still managed to give him a smile. "Cheer up, Hinata, she made it out alive, yeah?" He continued to nudge her side.

"Yeah, I guess she did," Hinata glanced towards the entrance of the kitchen. She wished everyone would just go home already. She wanted to take a long shower, pull some comfortable pajamas on and climb into Xin's bed to sleep because there was no way in hell she was sleeping by herself tonight. Now when she was so close to losing her sister.

Xin seemed to read Hinata's mind because she slowly stood up. She neared the entrance, leaning her hip against the archway. "Oi, you guys!" She called, just barely managing to speak over their combined voices. "Not that we don't appreciate all the loud bickering—believe me—we do," She shot them a wry grin. "But it's been a long night and I would like to go to bed, if you don't mind?"

"Xin…" Neji trailed off, finally realizing that Gaara and Naruto were alone in the kitchen with his cousins. He frowned darkly, not liking the idea one bit. He was fine in general with them but he didn't trust either of them around his cousins. Not when they apparently smelled so appetizing to demons. He still wasn't sure how he felt about Karin and Suigetsu being around them. He only allowed it so far because Tenten was usually around.

There'd been several occassions, apparently, when Xin was left by herself with Gaara, of all people. That definitely didn't sit right with him because Gaara had a notorious reputation. He feared his cousin's short temper would get her into hot water with the surly demon. He was far too dangerous and Xin meant far too much to him to just let them be alone together.

"Neji, please," Xin blinked hard, arms folded across her chest. "You guys are all right in your own ways. Except me being eighty-nine pounds—fuck you Karin," She sneered at the redhead. She was very proud of her one hundred and eighteen pounds, thank you very much. "I'm an idiot and walking home by myself is arguably the stupidest thing I've done so far but it's late and I'm tired. Hinata is tired. Please, can we just talk about this later? I just want to go to bed."

"Alright," Tenten conceded first, seeing the pure exhaustion in her face. "We're definitely talking about this later but we'll let you get some rest," She approached first, hugging Xin tightly. She ducked passed her to hug Hinata as well, giving both Naruto and Gaara odd looks. She backed off, however, and went for the front door. "Come on Neji, let's go home."

Neji moved slower, reaching for Xin and pulling her into a tight hug. He rested his chin on her shoulder and blatantly stared Gaara down. He may just be a human but he had enough spiritual energy and training to take Gaara on. Gaara coolly returned his gaze, not the least bit bothered by the Hyuga's hard look. He let her go and gave Hinata the same tight hug. Suigetsu clapped his hand over Karin's shoulder, steering her towards Xin. By this point, Hinata had gotten up to save the two a trip further into the kitchen to say goodnight to her. Suigetsu gathered both twins up, hugging them tightly with a grin. For a moment, Karin didn't do anything before she quickly pulled them in for a hug.

The twins watched their friends go quietly, both sharing a sigh when the door closed behind Karin. Xin peeked over her shoulder to say something to the two remaining demons but made an odd noise in her throat. Hinata turned as well to see what bothered her sister only to frown.

The demons were gone.

TeeBeMe: Yikes. It's a lot of clashing going on. Who do yall agree with? Neji, Tenten, Sui, Karin or the twins? Naruto is my favorite so far. He really is such a sweet boi and clearly just wants everyone to get along. However, he sees a lot of shit going south for everyone.. We'll see how that turns out yeah? Even though I wrote this chapter, I'm not sure if Gaara likes Xin yet. Not in a romantic sense, just in general. So far he's just been interested in her because of her miko heritage but he's acting a bit different, don't you think? It's all so exciting.

I don't have time to reply to reviews but I hope yall know that I love and appreciate every single last one of you, whether it's a review, a follow or favorite. Reviews are my favorite though, just saying. winkwink-nudgenudge . Anyway, as usual, I hope you guys enjoyed the update and tell me what you think. Until next time.