Whispers in the Dark

by TeeBeMe

Xin has always had awful luck but she's sure the Gods are just screwing with her for shits and giggles. Out of all the things she could've hit with her car, a demon was the last thing she expected. And he's not happy about it. And he won't leave her alone. Lord give her the strength. AU GaaOC

15. Don't fall in love with someone new

The walk back to the townhouse was mostly quiet. Xin wasn't sure why but there was something between the three demons that she just wasn't in on. She let out a small sigh of relief when they finally reached the townhouse, glad that Jura and Temari would finally leave them be for the night. They stayed down on the sidewalk as Gaara followed her up to the front door. She was reaching for the handle when Gaara reached passed her to grab her hand. She let out a disgruntled noise, allowing him to whirl her around to face him. Xin tilted her head back, staring up at him in confusion. "Is there something wrong?" She asked slowly, not sure what the demon was up to.

Instantly she thought about last night, being trapped against a bloodstained chest. Her face flushed and she quickly looked away, far too embarrassed to look him straight in the eye. She wasn't aware of the sharp turn their relationship had taken so suddenly and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Wherever the fuck it was going, it was staying still until she figured out how she really felt and Gaara's involvement with Matsuri.

"Xin," Gaara reached under her jaw, curling a long finger around her chin to tilt her head back up. Her eyes widened at the contact, thrown completely off by his sudden touchy-feely ways. "I have to leave."

It took her a long moment to register his words. She blinked several times before gathering her whirling thoughts. "Leave? You have to leave?" She dumbly repeated, frowning when he nodded slowly. "Okay...well why? And when are you coming…." She trailed off, snapping her mouth shut. Hadn't she been the one that told him he didn't need to look out for her? That he was free to do as he pleased?

Things were different now. They were different, they felt different about one another.

"I'm not sure, it depends on Rasa."

"Rasa? Your...father, right?"

"Right."

Xin nodded slowly, wondering when he would release her chin. "So you won't know how long you'll be gone either," She said, knowing he could see the unhappiness all in her face. She tried to shake him off but Gaara held on, not willing to let go of her just yet.

"I don't."

She nodded again, stomach twisting at the thought of him not being there. As odd as it sounded, Gaara grounded her. He'd been a firm structure these past couple of months while her life spiraled out of control. He kept her afloat, her mind sharp and her humor cutting. But he had responsibilities, a life, that he'd basically put on pause to be in Tokyo. She couldn't expect him to drop everything just to be her friend. That was selfish and she almost felt guilty for feeling so down about it.

"Are...are you even coming back?" She asked carefully, not wanting to offend him in any way. She steadily avoided his gaze, concentrating on the ground instead. Gaara didn't answer and she almost pouted. Sometimes no answer was an answer.

But then he snorted, as if insulted. "Of course I am," He rolled his eyes, like that was the stupidest thing she could have asked him. "There are some things we need to speak about. I'm coming back," He reassured her firmly, surprising her.

She could only nod for the third time. "Right, some things…" She trailed off, having a feeling he meant their complicated relationship. Hell, did she even want to dive into the mess of their relationship? Maybe putting some distance in between them would actually be good.

The corner of Gaara's lips quirked, "try to stay out of trouble, miko."

Xin snorted and rolled her eyes, having no comeback for that one. She was almost positive that it was impossible to stay out of trouble for very long. "Very funny," She muttered, nearly sighing when he finally released his hold on her chin. His hand reached around her, settling on the back of her neck to pull her forward. He leaned over her, nearly eclipsing her from Temari and Jura's view.

Xin's playful expression faltered, returning to that wide eyed look she seemed to permanently have around Gaara these days. Gaara hovered over her, mouth so close to hers that he practically swallowed her breath. She tensed, anticipating his next move. But Gaara didn't move any further, lips painfully close to hers. Instead, a dry and almost bitter laugh escaped him. It was full of frustration, aided by impatient nails pulling hard at her neck. He pulled back from her lips only to tuck his face into her neck. Her natural scent flooded his senses immediately, causing his shoulders to visibly sag. Xin's brain nearly short circuited but she pulled herself together enough to raise her arms, threading them around his torso. "Stay safe, yes?" She muttered just loud enough for him to hear.

He snorted against her neck, breath warming her chilled skin. "You're the last one that needs to say that. Stay out of trouble, woman," He was gripping hard at her neck, as if she'd get into trouble as soon as he let go. "You're prone to danger and you make dumb split decisions."

"Oh, sure, because every human being is used to some demonic shit hunting them down."

"You should be practicing your ability."

She didn't get a chance to answer because he suddenly pulled away. She shivered, mourning the loss of body heat he'd been providing since hovering over her. He brushed some hair from her face, fingers lingering before sharply turning away. Xin watched quietly as he stomped down the stairs towards Jura and Temari. The blonde looked freakishly interested, a coy smile pulling at her lips while Jura looked frustrated.

Xin kept an eye on them as the trio left, ducking inside when they vanished around the corner. Naruto and Hinata were waiting for her in the living room when she came inside. "There you are!" Naruto noticed her first, giving her his signature grin. "We were wondering what took you guys so long. Where's Gaara?"

Xin frowned thoughtfully as she approached the duo, noticing how close they were sitting to one another. She decided not to comment on it since Hinata looked extremely comfortable. "Um, he said he has to go back to Suna," She answered, sounding unsure of herself. She threw herself down on the couch, stretching to lay across their laps. She rested her head in Hinata's lap, sighing when her sister began to ease her fingers through her hair.

"What? What for?"

"To see Rasa? He didn't really say much. Another portal opened in the bakery and a blonde woman came out of it. I think her name is Temari?"

"Temari?" Naruto repeated incredulously, hands settled on the back of her legs. "Temari came to get him?"

"Yes?" Xin only frowned, not exactly sure how to be any more clear about this Temari woman coming to get Gaara. "Is she a dangerous woman?"

Naruto nearly grinned down at her, noticing her use of the term 'woman' instead of 'demon'. "Is Temari a dangerous woman? Fuck yes. She's one of the three women who can make Gaara do something without getting her throat torn out."

He tried to control his amused laughter when Xin actually pouted. She stubbornly refused to meet either of their gazes, eyelids sitting low. "Three women?"

"Temari, Karura and my mother. Temari is his older sister and Karura is his mother."

"His mother?" Hinata parroted, turning to look at him. "I don't think he's ever mentioned his mother," She looked down towards Xin. Perhaps he might have mentioned Karura to Xin? But Xin only shook her head, pout vanishing swiftly.

Naruto pulled one hand away from Xin's leg to scratch at his cheek. "He doesn't speak about Karura much. She's withdrawn from public eye due to this odd sickness she's had for years."

"Public eye? You say that like their family is royalty or something," Xin hummed casually. Naruto didn't immediately reply, causing her to look back at him. Even Hinata turned to look, just as confused as her sister. "He's not, right?" Xin pressed on, eyebrow quirked.

"Well, we wouldn't call it royalty," Naruto hummed, seeming a bit unsure of himself. "It's more like...his father is the leader of Suna. His word is law but we don't use the terms 'king' or 'queen'. That's a human thing," Naruto tried to explain it as best as he could. Xin made an odd noise in her throat but settled back down, humming in content when Hinata continued to thread her fingers through dark locks. Her finger brushed down towards Xin's neck, causing her to frown when Xin suddenly twitched. She tilted her head to the side and pushed Xin's thick mane of hair to the side to reveal her neck.

Four thin scratches ran horizontally across Xin's neck. "What on earth happened to your neck?" Hinata demanded, curling down to get a better look at the vibrant red marks.

"My neck? Oh..um..Gaara gave me a hug?" Xin answered, sounding unsure of her answer. Was he trying to give her hug or did she just assume that? It felt like it when she wrapped her arms around him.

"He hugged you?" Naruto nearly squawked.

"He hugged you? With what? His teeth?" Hinata questioned with a tight voice. Xin snorted from beneath her, amused with her sister's distress.

"He grabbed the back of my neck," Xin explained shortly. Her neck hadn't even bothered her until Hinata noticed it. "He was in a weird mood tonight, I don't know. I'll go put some bandaids on it," She decided, pushing herself up. She rolled off of Naruto and Hinata, waving them away when Hinata protested.

Hinata watched as Xin went upstairs, frowning all the while. "Naruto, is there something I should know about?" She asked, eyes trained on the staircase. There was an odd feeling settling in the pit of her stomach, tearing at her insides. Her previous conversation with her sister about Gaara was setting off warning bells in her head. Something was developing and she wasn't sure if she liked it. Naruto avoided eye contact, confirming that something was brewing and he had an idea of it. Oh, she didn't like this one bit. "Naruto," She pressed firmly.

"Aww, c'mon, moon pie. It's not my business to tell," Naruto whined childishly. He almost told her that it wasn't her business either but thought better of it.

"Anything that concerns my sister is my business, Naruto. I want to know what's going on and I know you know something," Hinata pressed on in determination. Naruto eased his head back to rest on the couch, pouting all the while. Hinata had every right to be worried about her sister. Xin clearly didn't take anything seriously enough, which was worrisome since dealing with demons tended to be life or death.

"Honestly, I don't really know for sure," Naruto began to say, staring up at the ceiling. "I've never actually seen Gaara behave like this but I think he might have a crush on your sister…"

Hinata only blinked, "you think?"

Naruto didn't have to look at her to see the confusion on her face. "Yes, I think," He reached up, rubbing harshly at his face. "Gaara doesn't act like this. If he wanted Matsuri or any woman, he'd say as much. There was no flirting and dancing around each other. There really wasn't any back and forth like this involving other women, not that I think about it," Naruto began to explain, further confusing Hinata.

"Not even with Matsuri?"

"No, Matsuri made it pretty clear that she wanted the relationship. Gaara just kind of...went along with it."

"That's not making me feel any better about this at all. Doesn't he love Matsuri?"

Naruto finally sat up, sinking into the couch and folding his arms. "Doubt it—ah well, see, it's different for demons. Don't make that face. We usually don't get into relationships for love, we do it for gain," He quickly explained, noticing her frustrated look. Hinata nodded slowly, trying to wrap her brain around the new information. It sounded a lot like the political marriages she heard a lot about growing up. If she just likened it to that, it didn't seem as bad. Although, personally, she could never marry someone if it weren't for love.

"So Gaara doesn't really make an effort to pursue Matsuri."

"Or any women, for that matter. Remember, relationships are mostly for gain so Gaara would be at the top of the food chain. Because of that, he doesn't have to make much of an effort. Women kind of just...fall in line."

Hinata pursed her lips, head tilted to the side. "And Xin has been doing everything except fall in line. She has a knack for that," She admitted, sounding almost tired. The thought of Gaara harboring any romantic feelings for Xin uneased her. Xin didn't have a lot of dating experience and a demon was hardly a good start. "I'm not sure how I feel about this.." She trailed off with worry.

"Because he's a demon?" Naruto asked carefully, peeking at her to watch her expression. It didn't change much from that worried expression. She tilted her head back and forth, like she was rocking her thoughts around. It was cute.

"No, not necessarily. Well, I suppose I am a bit concerned about that but..well...Xin hasn't dated much and Gaara obviously has more experience than her. I don't want him to hurt her."

Naruto kept his gaze on her face, frowning softly. "He's going to hurt her," He said after a long moment of silence. Hinata instantly blanched, whipping her head around to stare at him. "Not intentionality. We're different, moon pie. We're literally from different realms with different cultures and ideals. He's going to hurt her."

Now that he was thinking about it, perhaps encouraging Gaara and Xin's relationship wasn't the best of ideas. At the time, it seemed like it could've been good but now that he was comparing their differences, he was reconsidering the notion. Gaara was violent, cruel and could be selfish at times. And Xin wasn't completely innocent herself. She had no qualms about stabbing Gaara or punching Jura and Matsuri. Hell, she threatened them all on several separate occasions. The woman was batshit her damn self.

Yeah, maybe encouraging this relationship wasn't such a good idea…

Well...too late now.

---

Gaara tried to wipe the harsh scowl off of his face as he followed behind Temari. She was trying to update him on everything that happened during his absence but hell if he was paying attention. They were currently on their way to meet with Rasa, Temari insistent on Gaara showing his face. "—You even listening to me?" Temari turned around, scowling. When she saw that he clearly wasn't, she threw her hands up in exasperation. "For shit's sake, Gaara, can you at least try to care?"

"No, because I don't," Gaara replied flatly with a stubborn set to his chin.

"Act like it then," Temari hissed at him. "You've never really gotten along with Rasa before but you tolerated your responsibilities. What's different now that has you running off to the Human Realm like this?" She leaned towards him, hands on her hips. "Does it have something to do with that girl?"

Gaara bristled, glaring at his older sister. "She has nothing to do with it, I told you that," He reminded her with a irritable glint in his eye.

"Didn't seem like 'nothing' when you were saying goodbye to her. Did you kiss her goodbye?"

"No."

Temari made a long humming noise. "I never thought you would be interested in a human girl. How old is she, eighteen? That's a bit young for you, isn't it?"

"Twenty-one."

"Doesn't make much of a difference, does it?" Temari asked with a catlike smile. Gaara shot her a nasty look but didn't have a comeback for her. Xin's meager twenty-one really didn't make a difference to them, regardless she was young. "I'm just saying, I'm on your side and if I'm going to keep covering for you, I think I deserve some information on this girl."

"Her name is Xin and she's twenty-one."

"I know that. How did you meet this girl?"

"She hit me with her car."

Temari blinked, wondering if she simply misheard him but when Gaara didn't correct himself, she let it go. "Okay, what's she like?" Temari continued, eager to know. She didn't care what he said, Gaara was never so fleeting with his time. Especially when it came to humans.

"She's loud, violent and oblivious."

"...she sounds like a delight."

"She also has balls made out of steel. I'm convinced there's something wrong with her."

Temari screwed her lips up in thought. "Right...and how does Matsuri feel about this friendship you two have?" She asked slowly, looking over at him as they navigated the familiar hallways. She could still remember when she would chase Gaara and Kankuro down in these same hallways as kids. She missed those times.

"She hates it," Gaara shrugged indifferently. "Not that it makes a difference since her opinion means little to me," Gaara continued in the same careless voice. Temari grimaced through a sigh. She wasn't sure why he ever bothered entertaining a relationship with the brunette. It was clear he never really wanted it in the first place.

"That's not nice," She admonished gently, shaking her head. "If Shikamaru left me for a human girl, I'd be furious."

"I didn't leave Matsuri for anyone, Temari. We weren't together, not that it makes a difference because I'm not with Xin either," He sent her a scathing look. He knew his sister's ways and her ability to easily twist words around in her favor. The demoness had a silver tongue and Rasa favored her for it.

"Oh, okay. Then I guess it's not an issue that Jura clearly has a thing for her," She said impassively, nearly laughing at the sudden stiff set of his shoulders. The next look Gaara threw at his sister was liquid fire. Temari ignored the look, feigning innocence. "What were you two even fighting about? It looked quite complicated with poor Xin literally trapped in the middle."

"A miscommunication."

"Oh?"

"Just mind your business, Temari."

Temari only rolled her eyes, not hurt at all by Gaara's short words. She relished in teasing her youngest brother whenever she got the chance. He was usually so apathetic to literally anything going on around him, it was rather difficult to rile him up. But now, along comes this height-challenged woman and suddenly he's all huffy.

Interesting.

When they find their father, he didn't react to Gaara's presence at all. In fact, he simply stared at his youngest child with a hard frown. Gaara returned his expression with a look of his own, eyes cold. "It's nice to finally see you," Rasa deadpanned after a long, silent, staring contest. "How was visiting Konoha for the last—what's it been? Two months? How is Kushina faring?"

"Konoha and Kushina are doing just fine," Gaara tried hard not to spit the words at his father. "Kushina plans on paying Mom a visit soon," He added as an afterthought. He reminded himself to actually go see Kushina and convince her to make the journey to see Karura. Temari wisely remained silent but made sure to be watchful of the two very violent men in the room.

Rasa only nodded, not too concerned with Kushina visiting. She had a knack for keeping Gaara in check as well as his mother and sister. "I have no use of you for the moment. Go see your mother, she's been asking for you," Rasa waved his two children away, turning sharply on his heel.

Gaara exhaled loudly and shoved his hands into his pockets but walked off into the direction of his mother's rooms. Temari followed behind, much to his dismay. "Will you tell Mom about Xin?"

"I don't see the need."

"Because you like her, obviously."

"Temari—"

---

"Home sweet home!"

Xin dropped her bag and threw her head back, relishing the familiar feel of her apartment. Tenten finally deemed it safe after a week or so after Gaara vanished off to the Demon Realm. A small part of her was a bit sad to leave the townhouse and Naruto behind but she was even happier to return home.

"Oh, Tenten fixed everything," Hinata said, ducking under her sister's arms to survey the living room. The smashed coffee table and couch had seemingly returned to normal and any blood that might have been drawn was nowhere to be found.

"She couldn't have put my car back together?" Xin noted sourly, testing if her couch was really back in one piece. When it didn't crumble under her hands, she went back for her bag, eager to unpack and unwind in familiar territory. "It's nice to be back in our own space but I'm going to miss that bathtub," Xin admitted, mourning the loss of luxury.

"I'm sure Naruto and Gaara wouldn't mind us coming over to use their bathtub," Hinata chuckled while heading to the kitchen. "Just offer to cook for them, I doubt they'll say no."

Xin didn't immediately reply, frowning softly at the mention of Gaara. The scratches on the back of her neck began to tingle, causing her to slap a hand over it. He'd only been gone a week but she almost felt...lonely and without him. Which made no goddamn sense at all because she was rarely by herself these days. It was like Gaara had left a void behind that no one could fulfill, leaving her...empty.

She pulled her hand away from her neck to press against her lips, humming thoughtlessly. She could not believe she'd been stupid enough to actually kiss him. What's more is that he immediately left the next day! Was that a sign? Did that mean he didn't like it? Did he regret letting her kiss him? Xin came to a hard halt, realization dumping over her like a bucket of cold water. What the hell was she fretting for? It was the heat of the moment, that's all. It didn't mean anything and besides, he did say he was coming back and he only left because of Rasa. Not because of some impulsive kiss.

"Xin? Are you alright?"

The younger twin whipped around, hand dropping to her side. Hinata was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, looking at her with a face full of concern. "Um…" Xin trailed off, suddenly feeling so very small. "I'm fine...I was just.." She paused, clearly frustrated with her lack of thoughts. "Can I ask you something?" She asked slowly, almost childlike. Hinata silently nodded, bounding towards the couch. Xin joined her, rubbing at her thighs apprehensively. "Um..well..what do you think about Naruto?" She asked carefully, studying her sister's features.

"Naruto? Oh, well…" Hinata tapped her chin, eyes focused on the ceiling. "He's so nice and friendly, really easy to talk to. He's funny and even though I'm just a human, he's respectful of that," Hinata listed off quickly, surprising Xin. "Why do you ask?"

Xin shifted almost uncomfortably. "Him being a demon doesn't bother you?"

"No? Well, when I look at Naruto, I don't automatically think 'demon'. He's just..Naruto to me. He's more than just a label just like we're more than just miko. Xin..what on earth is this about? Are you alright?"

"I promise, I'm fine."

Hinata nodded but dropped her gaze back to her sister. "What do you think of Gaara?"

"He's mean and sarcastic," Xin huffed almost immediately. "But he looks out for me and he's honest with me…"

"You two seem to get along well."

"You think?"

"For someone who supposedly looks down on humans, he spends a lot of time with you."

"We were living together."

Hinata leveled Xin with a look, one eyebrow quirked. "He flirts with you a lot," She said very suddenly, catching Xin off guard. She watched in dry amusement as Xin nearly choked on her spit.

"Flirts? Who does? Gaara? Sis, are you blind and deaf? We argue all the time and he even said that I was just a form of entertainment for him. He said that shit to my face," Xin motioned wildly to her blushing face. "Who says shit like that to a girl they're trying to flirt with?"

"I doubt he meant that."

Xin opened her mouth but didn't have a proper comeback, so she snapped it closed. She sat back into the couch, folding her arms stubbornly. Hinata watched the childish display, nearly smiling all the while. Before she could say anything else, their front door opened. Karin, Suigetsu, Neji and Tenten came parading in, bringing their loud banter and heavy bags with them.

The sisters glanced at one another, silently agreeing that their conversation would be on the back burner. They both knew that the foursome wouldn't take too kindly to the topic of conversation. Xin got up first, meeting the group halfway. "Knock first!" She exclaimed with a playful huff.

Karin snorted, enveloping the smaller woman in her arms. "Since when?" She chuckled into her dark hair, hands wrapped tightly around Xin. "We never knock."

"I know but I just thought I'd say that anyway. You never know what could be going on in here," Xin replied around a wide grin.

Karin wrinkled her nose but Neji opened his mouth first before she could could belt out some snappy reply. "That isn't funny, Xin," He pointed out while patting her on the head. "You are here by yourselves, aren't you?"

"Don't be silly, you already know the answer to that," Hinata hummed, realizing their friends would be staying for quite some time. The odd conversation between sisters would really have to wait until they were alone again. Whenever that may be. "You can sense that no one else is here."

"Where's Naruto?" Tenten questioned while leading everyone to the kitchen.

"Scouting, he might come by later tonight," Hinata answered while walking towards the kitchen. "We don't have much groceries to make dinner," She confessed, glancing in their empty fridge.

"Which is why we bought groceries," Suigetsu grinned, setting his load down on the table. Hinata puckered her lips, peering around his large form at the bags on the table. Tenten and Neji added their load as well, stepping back to give Xin some room to also peer around Suigetsu.

"You guys really went grocery shopping for us?" Xin questioned, stepping close enough to dig through the bags. She pulled out packaged catfish, smiling widely. "Christ, that's so nice of you guys."

"Ain't it?" Suigetsu asked in a cheerful tone. "Now why don't ya be nice and cook some dinner for us, yeah?" He chuckled as Xin's smile fell. She rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip. "I was thinkin' chicken katsu curry. Sounds good, yeah?"

Hinata laughed softly as Neji helped her pack the groceries away. "You guys went shopping for us just to ask us to cook for you?"

"We missed the cooking," Suigetsu whined loudly, wrapping strong arms around Xin's waist. He buried his face into her hair, taking a deep inhale. He felt like he hadn't spent enough time with the twins lately, mostly because all their time had been spent under Naruto and Gaara's watchful eyes. It was almost like the twins had no use for them and it rubbed him the wrong way.

"Tenten's parents literally own a restaurant," Xin replied, picking out the ingredients for the requested meal, ignoring Suigetsu's hug. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind feeding you vagrants."

"Course' not but we've missed your cooking. It feels like ya stopped payin' us any mind," He shot back, squeezing Xin's waist for emphasis. Xin only huffed, waving him away from her. She couldn't get much cooking done with him attached to her waist like a damn tumor. Suigetsu let her go, deciding that the food was worth letting her out of his grip. The others followed him out of the kitchen, allowing the twins more room to cook.

"So," Tenten smiled once they were all sitting at the dinner table with the food set out in front of them. "Glad to be back home?"

Hinata and Xin momentarily glanced at one another, neither willing to admit that while they did miss their apartment, something was missing. "I miss the bathtub," Xin admitted, realizing they were taking far too long to answer. "The townhouse had a really nice bathtub."

"You'll be fine," Neji waved Xin's complaint away. "Have you been practicing?" He decided to steer the conversation into a different direction. He easily caught the look between his cousins and knew they were hiding something from them. He had a feeling it had something to do with Gaara and Naruto.

"Yes," Xin rolled her eyes playfully. "Although I'm not sure if I'll really have the courage to purify a demon. They're scary as fuck and my first reaction is to haul ass."

"You stabbed a demon in the eye before."

"He was going to smash Hinata's head in, I had to do something. Besides, we immediately ran after that."

"Well, even so, you can't depend on Gaara and Naruto to keep saving you," Karin pointed out, idly stabbing at her food. The table came to a halt, the subject of Gaara and Naruto finally being brought up. None of them really wanted to question it but the friendship between the two demons and miko was...well...they weren't exactly sure of its nature. Not knowing what exactly went on between the foursome had them all wary.

"Funny thing about that is that I've never expected them to save either of us. We just get lucky," Xin shrugged nonchalantly. "But good thing they've came around, otherwise we'd be dead. Especially me," Xin said firmly, knowing her friends weren't fond of the friendship.

Hinata looked around, seeing the varying degrees of unease. She didn't even want to start talking about this subject but clearly there was no choice in the matter. "Listen, you guys, we get that Gaara and Naruto are more on the dangerous side but it can't be denied that they've helped us. Especially when you guys are unavailable."

"Yeah, especially when Masuyo knocked me on my ass—" Xin paused, realizing her mistake far too late. She snapped her mouth shut, face flushing as everyone turned to her direction.

"Masuyo? Masuyo did what?" Karin demanded, voice shrill with urgency. Hinata shot her sister a look but it was way too late to try to play it off.

"Well..um, a week or two ago I came back here to get us some extra stuff, right? Masuyo showed up and I might've made her upset so she hit me with a blast of dark energy. I was kind of out of it for awhile and the dark energy almost killed me," Xin explained in a rush, avoiding eye contact with everyone sitting at the table.

"Xin, what the actual fuck?" for once, Suigetsu was entirely upset with the younger woman.

"It's fine though! Hinata purged the energy out of me!"

"That's not the point, oh my God!" Tenten slapped her forehead, speechless with Xin's stupidity. "How could you be so careless?"

"I just wanted some extra things since we stayed longer than planned! Jura and Gaara found me and they woke me up. Gaara even carried me back to the townhouse."

"They had to wake you up and carry you back?" Neji leaned against the table.

"Yeah but I'm fine!"

"Xin, stop saying that! This isn't fine," Karin snapped, hitting the table in frustration. "You don't understand, that bitch knows where you live now. She knows where you live and you can barely summon a barrier! You are so damn stupid sometimes!"

"I'm stupid? For what, exactly?! For living my life even though it's constantly in danger? What do you suggest we do? We can't live here and you don't want us to live with Gaara and Naruto, so what's next? I'm sick of you all shitting on me for something I can't control! You're not the ones who's being hunted so until you can come up with something helpful, you can all take your criticism and negativity and you can fuck right off!"

Xin stood up, nearly knocking her chair backwards. She turned sharply and stormed away, slamming her bedroom door shut behind her. Hinata slumped into her chair, sighing heavily. "Well, you've upset her for the rest of the evening."

Karin flushed, an apologetic look on her face. "I didn't mean to upset her. I just...I just worry about you guys. You don't understand how serious this really is."

"No, we understand perfectly well," Hinata argued back in an even tone. "But you have to remember that for twenty-one years, we've been normal girls. We had no idea miko and demons and magic even existed. And now we have to master something that no one can really teach us about because of some vindictive demon from our ancestors' past. On top of all of this being flung into our faces, you guys constantly criticize and tear us down."

Various degrees of guilt crossed their faces. "So I completely agree, what do you want us to do? Here is dangerous, staying with Gaara and Naruto was our safest bet but none of you wanted that. We can't go back to our parents' home and I don't see any of you opening your doors to us," She asked, steely gaze never faltering. When they didn't immediately answer, Hinata hummed in thought and picked her chopsticks back up. She would take Xin's dinner to her after everyone was done eating. The dinner table remained silent for the rest of the meal with everyone completely avoiding Hinata's steady gaze.

They offered to help her clean up once they were done eating but she declined, wishing them a frosty goodnight. The group took the hint and left as quickly as they came, not used to having Hinata upset with them. It was easier to deal with Xin's anger. She was like a raging inferno while Hinata was more of a icy tsunami.

Hinata packed the leftover food away, sighing and missing the easy company of Gaara and Naruto.

---

Xin's eyes snapped open, an odd feeling settling over her. She turned on her side, seeking the bright clock number. 3:41 A.M flashed back at her, slightly confusing her. Something wasn't right and it woke her from a fitful dream. A dream that may or may not have involved a tall, demonic, redhead but she wasn't quite sure.

Nevertheless, something wasn't right and she was going to figure out what. Slowly she climbed out of bed and made her way out of her bedroom, hand glowing eerily. Contrary to what her friends believed, she'd actually been making progress with her spiritual abilities. She wasn't as proficient as Hinata but she was much better than when she first started. If they hadn't insisting on shitting on her, she would've been glad to show them.

Xin crept into her living room, ready to burn a motherfucker's face off if need be. She paused, noticing a figure reclining on her sofa. The floorboard creaked under her foot, causing the figure to stiffen. Xin let out an impressive string of curses as the figure turned to look at her. Blue eyes glowed ominously in the dark, unsettling Xin. "Naruto? Is that you? What the hell are you doing here?" Xin hissed, realizing that it was the blond demon. She never realized how unsettling his eyes could be. They were so unnaturally blue.

"You girls weren't at the townhouse when I got back."

Xin tilted her head to the side, shaking her glowing hand. "Yeah, don't you remember? We were cleared to come back here," She motioned around her apartment.

"I know that but you girls didn't even wait until I got back to leave," He pouted up at her. "I just came home to an empty house."

Xin laughed softly and rounded the couch to sit down next to him. Naruto eyed her in the darkness, sizing her up thoughtfully. She was dressed in a thin tank top and sleep shorts that couldn't be possibly comfortable to sleep in. As he continued to study her, he realized he wasn't really...attracted to her. There was no denying that Xin was freakishly pretty with a body to match but...well...he reacted more to Hinata wearing regular pants and a blouse.

The last discussion he had with Gaara jumped to the front of his mind. Even though the twins were carbon copies of one another, Gaara didn't see Hinata the way he saw Xin. He didn't see her as someone who had sex appeal because for whatever reason, he wasn't attracted to Hinata.

Suddenly, sitting next to a half-dressed Xin, Naruto completely understood where Gaara was coming from. He knew Xin was pretty and he knew that any man would be blatantly eyeing her exposed thighs or cleavage right now but he just wasn't interested. Which, to Naruto, meant that Gaara clearly had a crush on Xin. But then again, he couldn't really gloat all that much since that clearly meant he harbored a crush on Hinata as well. When did that even happen?

Huh. Interesting….

Xin broke Naruto's train of thoughts, leaning into him with a sigh. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come back here," She mumbled almost sadly, piquing his interest. He honestly felt nothing but platonic affection for the miko leaning into his side. If Hinata had been the one leaning into him, he might have panicked a little on the inside.

"Nonsense, you love your apartment," He reminded her with a grin. He didn't want to be the asshole that agreed with her even though he completely did agree. Xin and Hinata simply weren't as safe than when they were under his and Gaara's vigil. It would be harder to keep an eye on trouble-prone miko when they lived several neighborhoods away. Besides that, Masuyo clearly knew where they resided. She could literally attack the girls at any given moment and they would all be none the wiser. He knew it would be dangerous for them to live on their own but the two enjoyed their freedom and hell if he would shit on their happiness.

"Yeah, of course I do," Xin propped her head against his shoulder, sighing heavily. He noted, blankly, that she didn't quite fit him. "But everything seemed a lot better when we were living with you guys. I mean, I know Gaara dislikes me but at least he's straight-up about it."

"First, Gaara doesn't dislike you. It would make things so much easier if he actually disliked you," Naruto snorted and shifted around to throw his heavy arm across her thin shoulders. A part of him worried that both Xin and Hinata were far too fragile for demons like him and Gaara. It almost felt like he was handling glass. "And second, who dislikes you?"

"Well, I know they don't 'dislike' me but sometimes I feel like my friends...resent me for not being Jun or something. I know how serious this situation is and I'm just as frustrated as them that I haven't mastered the whole spirituality bullshit but it makes everything so much harder when they're constantly at my throat about everything I'm doing wrong and how I can't live up to Jun," Xin confessed in seemingly one breath. Naruto quietly wondered how long she'd been holding those thoughts in. "It just….it just seemed so much better when we lived together because they didn't come around as much."

A look of pure guilt twisted her pretty features, causing Naruto to pull her even closer. He rubbed at her arm in a soothing manner, trying to ease her guilt. "It's okay, Xin. We've been demons and enchantresses all of our lives, these things come easy to us. Sometimes they forget that we're all different. It's not like you and Hinata had Jun and Junko's upbringing. They were trained from the moment their abilities developed to be miko. You literally just found out like two months ago. You don't even have anyone teaching you the basics but you've improved. Every time you girls practice, my stomach feels like it's being turned in on itself."

He could nearly feel Xin's smile, she was so pleased. He nearly slumped in relief, he never could deal with an upset woman. He usually said something that would warrant a slap upside the head. But Xin wasn't hitting him so he figured he did good for once. "Thanks, Naruto. That actually made me feel better. I should get back to bed. I have work in a couple hours."

He gave her arm a reassuring squeeze before letting her go. "I, uh, I'm gonna crash on the couch. If that's okay with you, obviously…" He said quickly, a little embarrassed to admit he missed sleeping near the two miko. Something about their presence put his soul at ease. He didn't know if it was their spiritual nature of it it was knowing that they were safe that made him feel better but he decided not to question it.

Xin stood up, allowing his arm to slip off of her shoulders. "It's fine," She agreed easily, somewhat relieved that he would stay over. Besides, it might make Hinata happy to see him early for breakfast. Xin shuffled to her linen closet, grabbing a comfy blanket for him. She handed it off to him, yawning a 'good night' before heading off to bed. Naruto watched her go, waiting until she was safely tucked away to stretch out across the couch. He really wasn't sure if it was their spirituality or something else but he felt so much better sleeping right outside their doors.

Strange.

---

Gaara scowled brutally, storming through the halls. Weeks of slaughtering demons for Rasa and it was beginning to get under his skin. He'd been pestered into coming back home to carry out Rasa's dirty work. He should've just stayed in Tokyo with…

Dark hair and light eyes flashed through his mind but Gaara quickly shook the image away. Dark hair and light eyes could be just about anyone. He wasn't necessarily talking about that five foot nothing harpy. Bottom line, he should've stayed in Tokyo. Running around Suna, hunting down whatever demon that slighted Rasa just wasn't as fun as running around Tokyo with Naruto, hunting down runaway demons.

He shook the thoughts away, stomping into his rooms. He yanked his shirt off of his head, tossing the soiled garment to the side. He smelled like the desert sand, an unforgiving sun and freshly spilled blood. He needed a bath and he needed...he needed to get the fuck out of Suna. Before he could make another move, his door swung open and in came Matsuri. Great, just what he needed at the moment. He was already aggravated and on edge. Matsuri was just going to make his mood worse, he could just tell. Lately she had a knack for irking the living shit out of him.

"Back to business," Matsuri stated first, eyeing the bloodstained chest. She, unlike Xin, was quite used to sight and only tutted in distaste. "It's nice to know things are back to normal," She reached out, dragging a nail across his abdominals. The muscles under her nail twitched, causing the brunette to hum in appreciation. Her hands swiftly wrapped around his neck and she leaned her body weight against him. Gaara noted duly that she didn't feel right against him. But Matsuri soldiered on, leaning up and pressing her lips against his.

It felt...wrong.

Instantly he thought of a woman too short to even reach his mouth kissing him. He thought of tiny pale hands grabbing at his shoulders, digging nails into his flesh. He thought of blue hair that smelled of lavender and honey, soft skin with traces of purity intertwined in her veins and eyes like the moon. He thought of plump lips brushing against his jawline and mouth, struggling for a proper kiss. It barely counted as a kiss in the first place but it was practically engraved into his mind. He could still feel how his veins felt like liquid-fire with each press of her lips to his jaw.

Matsuri suddenly trailed her fingers down to the waistband of his pants, smiling all the while into the kiss. Before she could curl her fingers into the fabric, Gaara snatched her hand up and backed up. "I'm not staying much longer."

"You're not thinking of going back to the human realm, are you?" Matsuri blinked up at him, dismayed. When Gaara didn't immediately answer, Matsuri scowled harshly. "Gaara, you can't be serious! Your place is not in the human realm. It's here, in Suna with...with—me."

Gaara frowned, pushing her hand back. "You're not to decide where my place is."

Matsuri blinked hard and took a deep breath. She was usually so even-tempered but Gaara knew just how to press all of her buttons. "I know what this is about. It's about that girl, isn't it? You can't keep denying it, Gaara!" She snapped once she noticed his exasperated expression at the mention of a certain miko in training. "You haven't been the same since you met that damned girl. You refuse to fulfill your responsibilities, you run off to the her realm and you insist on her company. I deserve an explanation and I deserve it right now."

Gaara's eyes flashed dangerously, causing Matsuri to take a careful step back. "I think you've forgotten your place, Matsuri. I don't answer to you and even if I did, my responsibilities to Suna has nothing to do with you. Whether I take care of them or not does not directly affect you. Back off."

Matsuri's face fell as she quietly contemplated his words. Slowly she looked up at him, frowning in agitation. "It is that girl. What in the world has she done that has you acting like this? Is she an enchantress like Tenten? Is that what it is? She's got some enchantment over you."

"You think that girl is powerful enough to manage that?" Gaara asked with a snort, annoyed that once again, Xin was brought up. Everyone seemed to have an obsession with that pint-sized troublemaker. "I don't think she's capable of that, she's not an enchantress. And even if she was, I doubt she'd cast some enchantment over me."

He left out the part that Xin wouldn't actually need to cast some sort of spell over him in the first place.

"Then what is it?" Matsuri demanded tensely.

"Well, for one, she doesn't piss me off you like you do," He growled down at her, realizing how cruel he sounded. Matsuri's head twitched back like she'd been slapped but Gaara felt no sympathy. "Matsuri, this...thing between us has ended. You need to let it go."

"Ended?" Matsuri parroted, eyes wide. "It hasn't ended because you still come to my bed."

Gaara silently cursed, he hated when Naruto was right. All those nightly romps in her bed convinced her that there was a chance they would continue their relationship. But then again, actions tended to speak louder than words so he couldn't really blame her. He couldn't carry on with Matsuri like this any longer. "That's over as well. It was a mistake to carry on like that," Gaara replied tensely, taking another step back from her. "You have to let go of the thought that you and I will continue our relationship."

"I…" Matsuri struggled to find the right words to say. She couldn't believe what he was saying. The hurt was clear in her face and it made him cringe. Even if they didn't work out romantically, he still considered her a friend. And even if he was a complete asshole, he didn't like seeing his friends hurt.

Great.

"Oh my, am I interrupting?"

The two paused, turning to look towards the doorway. A tall, lanky demon stood in the doorway. Gaara felt himself heaving a sigh. Not this motherfucker, he hated this motherfucker. His name was Masaru and he, for some odd reason, had a weird vendetta against Gaara. It had something to do with Masaru's weird fascination and idolization of Rasa but Gaara never really cared enough to find out if it was true or not.

"I had no idea you were entertaining company," Masaru mused, arms folded across his chest. Gaara only leveled him with a blank look. Masaru, as usual, was full of shit and was trying to get on Gaara's nerves. "Nice to see you, Matsuri. I feel you don't visit as much when Gaara isn't around."

Matsuri took another step back away from Gaara, squaring her shoulders. She wiped her face clean of any emotion, turning towards Masaru. "I don't see the need to."

"Aw, don't be like that, Matty."

Matsuri ignored Masaru to offer a quick but curt bow to Gaara. Without saying anything else, she stalked out of the room without a backwards glance. "Wow, trouble in paradise?" Masaru grinned impishly at Gaara after watching the brunette go.

"Did you need something?" Gaara asked frostily, in no mood to deal with Masaru. He usually could deal with Masaru but his mind was addled with thoughts of Matsuri and Xin, leaving him frustrated and in a sour mood.

To his credit, Masaru rolled with the punches, grinning all the while. "Aw, don't be so cold," Masaru whined, moving closer towards Gaara. "But if you're going to be so impatient, Rasa-sama had requested your presence. He wants to know if your latest excursion was a success."

"He knows it was."

"I suppose he'd rather hear you say it."

Gaara let out a long sigh, truly fed up with his father and his stupid games. It was about that time to head back to the human realm. Sure, humans were fuckin' stupid but at least he didn't have to deal with Rasa. Plus that's where Naruto, Xin and Hinata were. He should've just told his sister to fuck off that night at the bakery. "Of course he would," Gaara grouches, cracking his neck loudly. Rasa was simply using him to remind Suna's villagers of what a heartless bastard Gaara was. He always pulled this shit when he felt like his grip on Suna was slipping. It was to intimidate them, to remind them of their place. It was growing dull.

Gaara was getting sick of it.

His mind wandered to Xin, who despite being intimidated by him, just didn't back down. He outclassed her by a long shot, miko or not, but that didn't stop her from standing her ground. It was impressive that even with the scent of fear rolling off from her, she'd square her little shoulders, narrow her soft eyes and bare her dull teeth at him. It was amusing and cute and he wouldn't admit it out loud, but attractive as well…

Getting off track.

Just like his life.

---

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!" Xin exclaimed with a tray full of sweets for the display case. Moegi and Hinata shared a frown while Xin busied herself with propping the sweets behind the glass case. She hummed a tune as she did so, seemingly unaware of the girls' confusion.

"Xin...it's not even December," Hinata said with an amused look. "It's still October."

Xin briefly glanced at her. "December? Who said anything about December?"

"The most wonderful time of the year is Christmas," Moegi supplied helpfully.

"Christmas?" Xin made a face, huffing while turning back to the display case. "Who cares about Christmas? I'm talking about Halloween!" She insisted with a hearty shout. Moegi let out a laugh, not at all surprised. Xin seemed like the type to really like Halloween. She liked to binge watch all the Horror movies and anime there was and she loved going out on Halloween night to see all the trick or treaters.

She moved away from the display case, revealing Halloween themed treats. "Anko-san is going to love those," Moegi complimented her, impressed with the display. Xin nodded along to her words, satisfied with her work. Before Moegi could say much else, the door chimed and in came Jura. Her smile instantly dropped at the sight of the taller brunet.

It wasn't that she didn't like Jura, he was a really nice guy. She just noticed that with Gaara's sudden absence, Jura was a bit more...boldly flirtatious towards Xin. Not that she even noticed but everyone else sure did. In fact, without Gaara's frightening ass presence, a lot of their male customers were flirting with Xin again.

But Xin was too damn clueless to even notice the attention from the men or that it even ignited due to Gaara's absence. Luckily her job as a baker kept her away from the unwanted attention but that didn't stop them for taking every chance they got. What annoyed Moegi the most is that Jura wouldn't be so bold if Gaara wasn't wherever the hell he went. She wasn't sure why Xin was so oblivious that he clearly harbored a crush on her and was using Gaara's absence to his advantage.

"Hi, Jura," Moegi greeted him first before Xin even took notice of him. "Any idea when Gaara comes back to Tokyo? He went to Kyoto, right?" Moegi asked innocently, noting that Xin's head popped up at the mention of Gaara's name. Gaara was scary as fuck but Xin belonged with him. Everyone could see it except for Xin, ironically.

"Nah, not really," Jura visibly slumped, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Matsuri probably has him cornered or something," He added thoughtlessly. Hinata frowned at the mention of the brunette, glancing at her sister to study her reaction. Xin, however, didn't react to his words. Instead she opted to carefully close the display case.

"Matsuri?" Moegi prompted in confusion.

"His on again, off again, girlfriend," Jura replied almost nastily. Xin finally turned around, offering Jura a smile. He immediately felt terrible about mentioning Matsuri.

"You know, Jura, you can't keep hanging out here if you never buy anything," She added with an amused twist to her lips. "Anko notices shit like that. I know you're taller than her but that won't make a difference when she stabs you in the throat."

"Your boss is a nut," Jura whined, pouting like a kid. Xin only shrugged, not bothering to deny the statement. Anko was a bit crazy but that's what made working at Mad Batter so enjoyable. "Anyway," Jura rocked back and forth, smiling once more. "You wanna get some dinner after you get off?" He asked sincerely. Xin only blinked at him, not frowning but not smiling as well. "My treat," Jura offered after a pause.

"Oh, well...sure, why not?" Xin answered with a shrug. Moegi let out a loud groan, not caring who heard her, and slapped her forehead. Xin looked at her, clearly confused with her behavior.

Behind the register, Hinata sighed heavily. It seemed like everything had gone south the moment Gaara left for Suna. They weren't speaking to any of their friends since their blow up and Naruto had more than his hands full without Gaara's help around the city. It left both of them without a lot of protection but nothing had gone wrong so far.

Except Jura's boldness but she couldn't really be mad at the brunet. Xin didn't belong to anyone. She was allowed to spend her time with whoever she wanted, when she wanted. She had no obligations to anyone but still, the thought of her with Jura didn't fit right. Maybe she was biased because she spent more time with Gaara but Jura just didn't feel right. Which made no sense at all because he was a hell of a lot nicer than Gaara. But there was no….spark...no challenge in Jura and Xin.

"Hey, Hina, tell Naruto I'll be with Jura for a little while," Xin interrupted her whirling thoughts, reaching behind herself to untie her apron. She folded it neatly, vanishing behind their swinging doors to clean up. Hinata glanced at Jura, frowning at the lovesick smile adorning his face. She had to really wonder how his crush developed so fast. Men tended to lust after them quickly based on their appearances but none looked at them the way Jura was looking at Xin.

It was like he was head over heels.

Which made no sense because he didn't spend a lot of time with her sister. At least, not as much as Gaara.

This was all too much for her.

"Jura," Hinata called his attention away from the doors. "Make sure you look after my sister tonight," She said in a serious, no-nonsense tone. Jura nearly took a step away from the usual docile woman. The warning was clear in her voice. Nine times out of ten, she couldn't do much to actually hurt him but the fact that she seemed to have not only her friends but Naruto backing her up too intimidated the hell out of him. And hell, even Gaara.

He didn't know what exactly was going on with the quirky sisters but he knew they were in some sort of danger. He didn't know the exact details but he knew it had something to do with the purity clinging to their skin. A small part of him felt hurt that Xin didn't share whatever was going on.

He was sure Gaara knew what was going on.

Before he could sink further into his thoughts, Xin came from the back. She'd swapped her work clothes for clean clothes, her hair finally let loose from its braided bun. The blue locks fell around her face in waves, which he found too adorable. The small human waved to Hinata and Moegi, wishing Moegi a goodnight and promising to see Hinata at home in a little bit.

The two did nothing but watch as the brunet walked the bluenette out of the shop, settling his arm around her neck once they were safely outside. Xin didn't even react to it, mouth moving animatedly under Jura's adoring gaze.

"I'm adding ten more dollars to Ami's bet that Gaara is going to flip," Moegi decided after a long pause.

---

Masuyo smiled the moment she felt Gaara's presence fade from Suna. She knew it was only a matter of time before Gaara left for the Human realm. How that miko managed to have that demon wrapped so tightly around her finger was beyond her but it would help in the long run. She had to get rid of Xin before Kuraim escaped his imprisonment. The minute he go out, all of his time and energy would be focused on that little wench and Masuyo couldn't go through that again. She was going to make damned sure she got rid of Hyuga Xin.

Unfortunately, she couldn't do that with Gaara hanging around the miko all the damn time. She managed to come up with a plan but it depended if it actually worked out or not. Taking long strides down sanded hallways, Masuyo's smile turned into a beaming grin as she entered the main room of the compound. "Rasa!" She exclaimed jovially, feigning delight at the sight of her old friend. The older demon glanced up at the sound of his name, frowning in confusion as Masuyo approached him.

"Huh," He snorted once he recognized the white hair and dark eyes. "Well, if it isn't Masuyo. It'a been a long time since I've seen the likes of you. What brings you to Suna?"

"Oh, don't be upset with me for staying away for so long, I'm a busy woman," She chided him lightly, still grinning all the while. "How is Karura, I remember she wasn't feeling well the last time I came to visit. That was so long ago, she must be in higher spirits, yes? Where might she be? I would love to say hello."

Rasa's face visibly fell before he fixed his mask of indifference. "Karura is still very much sick. She's resting now. Perhaps later you'll be able to visit with her," He said solemnly, not noticing the look of utter delight still shining so maliciously in Masuyo's eyes.

"My, what a shame," Masuyo tutted in disappointment. "Well, I suppose that can't be helped, no? Another time, then," She decided after a moment, pouting. "Even so, I came here to ask you of a favor."

Rasa raised an eyebrow. "I haven't seen you in years and that's what finally brings you here?"

Masuyo chuckled and batted her eyelashes at him. "You see, it involves your son," Masuyo revealed dramatically. Rasa stilled for only a second, knowing it was dangerous to show any weaknesses around this particular demoness. "Your youngest son, Gaara. He's always been a bit wayward and combative towards you, hasn't he? Teenage rebellion, perhaps?"

"Masuyo, I'm sure you remember I'm not fond of your silver tongue. Whatever it is you mean to tell me, spit it out already. I don't have time for your games."

"Oh, Rasa, always so impatient," Masuyo sighed in that same dramatic tone of hers. "To be frank, I have a score to settle with a woman and it would seem that the woman is under your son's protection. I would never want to cross you by attacking your son but I really need to get to that woman."

Rasa took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Masuyo, I have no interest in that boy's business—"

"The woman is a human," Masuyo cut in, nearly smirking at the look of utter disbelief crossing Rasa's face. "And not just any human woman. She's a miko," She added as an afterthought. "But fear not, my old friend, I don't believe this is Gaara's fault. I feel as though she's cast some sort of enchantment over him. Gaara is a strong demon, you know, and he would be perfect to protect her."

Masuyo's reassurance didn't seem to do much to help Rasa's rising anger but she knew it would do nothing to calm his anger. Rasa's reputation could be ruined if the wrong person discovered his supposedly ruthless son was weak for a human woman. That could not be allowed, whether he was under some spell or not.

"That idiot boy," Rasa growled, nearly breathing fire in all his anger. "I knew he wasn't off in Konoha. That moron went to the Human Realm this entire time to be led around by some second-hand miko. I'll kill him."

"Oh, Rasa, let's not be so rash. This can all be taken care of if we just get rid of the miko. The spell will be broken once she's dead. We can't just be angry with Gaara, he had no idea she had the means to control him like this."

Rasa grinded his teeth but took calming breaths. "And what would you have me to do?"

Masuyo's grin was razor-sharp.

---

When Gaara arrived at the townhouse, he wasn't surprised to see it empty of Naruto and the girls. He figured that in his time away the girls would eventually go back to their own apartment but it still felt...off now that they weren't there. The townhouse seemed a lot bigger now and freakishly empty. He was used to Naruto's booming laughter, Hinata's soft tones and Xin's cutting humor.

He didn't like this one bit.

So he left in search of the trio, turning up at the girls' apartment. Hinata was the first one to notice him, a smile lighting up her pretty face as he stepped into the apartment. It seemed like they still had that stupid habit of not locking their front door but with Naruto hanging around, he guessed it could slide.

"Gaara! You're back," Hinata clapped her hands together as she approached. He looked down at her, somewhat amused that she seemed to be so happy with his return. Naruto poked his head out of the bathroom, a grin overtaking his face as he realized who Hinata was talking with.

"God, finally!" He exclaimed loudly, rushing forward to throw his arms around Gaara. The redhead let out an irritable sigh but allowed his friend's affections. Naruto would literally wrestle him to the ground if he resisted too hard. "Man, it's not the same hunting down rogue demons by myself," Naruto stated when he finally let go of Gaara.

"It's true, he's been so fussy since you left," Hinata nodded along to Naruto's words, laughing when Naruto blushed heavily.

"You fussed at Hinata?" Gaara asked blankly, not impressed. He was an asshole but even he tried not to give Hinata a hard time. She was just so freakishly nice. You gained nothing by being mean to her.

Naruto feigned serious offense, mouth dropping open. "How dare you even assume I would fuss at Moonpie!" He pressed his hand to his throat. "Of course I didn't fuss at her. I was just a little grouchy every now and then."

"He and Xin butted heads a couple of times," Hinata supplied helpfully.

She really had to stop mentioning her sister to Gaara when she wasn't present because once again, that perfectly shoehorned into, "and where is Xin?"

Hinata's smile dropped for a second while Naruto looked off to the side, his hands shoved into his pockets. "Uh.." Naruto shifted his weight uneasily. "She just might be out on a date with Jura…" He finally confessed, looking back to gouge out Gaara's reaction.

Gaara tilted his head to the side, "a date?"

"Well," Hinata cleared her throat, twisting her hands behind her back. "To be fair, he didn't ask her to go out on a date, per say. He just asked her if she would like to get dinner after work, is all. It's completely innocent. Friends get dinner together all the time," She tried her best to reassure Gaara. She really didn't want to witness a murder tonight. Of course, of all the days to come back, Gaara had to choose this particular day.

"Is that so?" Gaara hummed softly. While he didn't react physically, there was something in his gaze that made the two take a cautious step back.

Hinata nodded quickly, smiling at him. "That is so," She agreed with all of her nodding. "Are you hungry? Dinner just finished, you'll join us," Hinata leaned in, grabbing him by the wrist. The motion kind of surprised him, no one was really bold enough to just grab him. Clearly if a woman like Hinata was comfortable enough to just grab him, he was losing his edge. An amused smile quirked at Naruto's mouth as he followed behind them, probably entertaining the same thought.

They were going soft for two pretty miko.

---

Xin smiled pleasantly as Jura led her down the streets of Tokyo, his arm thrown casually around her shoulders. She didn't think much of his shoulder being around her. Suigetsu had a habit of always throwing his arm around her shoulders and wrapping an arm around her waist. It didn't bother her at all when he male friends were affectionate towards her because it was usually platonic.

And then she remembered Moegi and Ami's words. Jura looked at her with complete adoration. He didn't look at her like Suigetsu or Naruto looked at her. There was nothing platonic in his eyes every time she happened to glance at his face. Suddenly his arm around her shoulders seemed impossibly heavy and she wanted to throw it off. She liked Jura, honest, she did. He was a nice guy, a nice friend but Xin felt nothing for him. And to be honest, she tried. She tried to feel some sort of attraction or romantic affection for him but she just couldn't.

Jura was good for her. He was kind and thoughtful and he didn't call her mean names. They never argued and Jura hadn't made any attempts to strangle her. And most importantly, she didn't have to play second place to another woman. Despite all of that, despite all of the logical reason, she couldn't find it in herself to like Jura even a little bit. It just felt all….wrong. And it made her feel guilty as fuck. She wanted to like him the way he liked her but it just wasn't in her.

She was an awful person.

"Did you have fun tonight?" Jura suddenly asked, pulling her out of turbulent thoughts. He was smiling down at her, that goofy ass smile that made her feel like complete and utter shit. She almost scowled up at him, ready to punch the shit straight off of his face. How in God's name could a demon be so freakishly nice? Maybe she'd feel just a bit better if Jura wasn't so goddamn nice to her.

But she didn't have to return feelings she didn't have, right? Anko said so and that made her feel a little better. Sure, it wasn't fair to Jura but it also wasn't fair to her either. She shouldn't have to force herself to like someone and create false feelings because she felt like she was obligated to.

"Oh, um," Xin stuttered nervously, realizing she had yet to answer his simple question. "Yeah, of course. Of course I had fun. We always have fun together when we hang out like this," She said quickly, feeling her face grow hot under his gaze. Goddammit, he was making her nervous. He was looking at her like she put the damn stars in the sky. Jesus fuck, this wasn't good.

Jura paused in front of her building, arm sliding down to her waist. Oh Goddamn everything. His other arm found its way around her waist, giving her no choice but to step closer into his embrace. Shit was about to get awkward as fuck if this was heading into the direction she thought it was. But it was heading directly in that direction and she was too shocked to do anything. She'd been kissed a handful of times, including that semi-kiss shared between her and Gaara, but she found herself drawing a blank as Jura leaned down towards her.

That had to mean something though, right? She could've easily pulled back, couldn't she? Jura was stronger than her but he would have pulled away if she resisted at all. He was too much of a good guy not to, right? So knowing all of that, why the hell did she just stand there like she didn't know what the fuck 2 plus 2 was?

He leaned down and slid his lips over hers in a very soft and what she guessed was a sensual kiss. Jura kissed her and she felt...nothing. It's not that it necessarily felt wrong, it's just….there was no feeling. It didn't make her heart flutter, her head spin or her toes curl. It didn't make her feel anything. He pulled back slowly, grinning bashfully as he did so. She felt her stomach churn sadly as he continued to smile down at her.

Well...fuck.

"Um—" She struggled to find something appropriate to say. "Thank you?" Her brain fizzled out, leaving her to look and sound like a complete and utter moron.

"You're welcome?" Jura chuckled down at her, one brow quirked. "Do you always thank people when they kiss you?"

Xin flushed hard and impatiently twitched. "No," She replied shortly. "Well, to be fair, I'm not kissed often enough so…"

"No? You should be," He replied evenly, making her feel more like shit. Steam could've blown out of her ears at that moment. Jura chuckled again, although this time it sounded disappointed. "You weren't into it at all, Xin," He pointed out somberly.

"What? I just—"

"Don't try to save my feelings, they just took a beating. You weren't into it and you didn't react at all. It kind of made me feel like a creep."

"Oh, Jura, you're not a creep. It was a nice kiss, it really was," She insisted almost guiltily. "It's just...well...it just—"

"Wasn't Gaara."

The color drained from Xin, leaving her a sputtering mess. "What—I—no!" She finally managed to piece together, mortified. "Jura, you've got it all wrong."

"Do I?" Jura asked curiously. "Where I'm standing, I'm seeing things just right," He shrugged a shoulder, like they were casually discussing the weather. "I like you a lot, Xin. It really makes no sense because I haven't known you that long but I know that I like you," Jura confessed, hands rubbing circles into her skin through her shirt. Xin dropped her gaze in guilt, knowing she couldn't return the confession.

"I was hoping that I was wrong about you liking Gaara but clearly I'm not. I'm not going to sugarcoat anything, Xin. Going down that road with him isn't going to be easy. He's known cruelty all of his life thanks to Rasa. I'm not even sure if he's capable of returning any feelings you might have for him—"

"—I don't—"

"You do. You're in denial but it's written all over your face. Look, if I'm being honest, I wouldn't approve of any romantic relationship between you two. Not because I like you but because I know Gaara in ways you don't. He's the textbook definition of a demon. He's mean, cruel and sadistic."

"You're not building a very good case for him."

"I'm being honest," Jura shook his head, uncurling one arm to press a finger to her lips. "He's one of my oldest friends, I know him."

Xin shifted uneasily, wishing he'd release her already. At this point, she just wanted to get into bed and hide under the blankets. This was all too much for her. First and foremost, out of all the men in the world, she managed to snag the romantic attentions from demons. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. She'd been perfectly content with living her simple little life in her quiet apartment. She enjoyed going to work, even if it stressed her the fuck out. She was fine with not really dating at the moment. But now she was surrounded by folklore and danger and pining demons, apparently. When the fuck did her life come to this?

She was still somewhat unconvinced that Gaara liked her. Hell, she wasn't even sure if she liked him either but everyone else seemed to have formed their own opinions on the two of them. How could they even tell if Gaara liked her or not? All he ever did was bicker with her.

And trap her in his arms in the dead of the night to kiss her but who needs to know that?

"All I'm saying is think deeply about this, Xin. This isn't one of those manga that you're always going on about. This is real life and it's dangerous," Jura interrupted her flow of thoughts, throwing her for a loop. He had a point, as much as she liked to compare the current events of her life to manga like InuYasha or Fushi-Yugi, it simply wasn't the case.

This was real life, not make believe printed down on paper for others to enjoy. There was no guarantee that she would get that happy ending Kagome and Miaka got at the end of their journey. Hell, there was no guarantee that she would even get an ending to this journey. Who knows if someone will get lucky and succeed in offing her.

"Yeah, I understand," She finally uttered after a long moment, too tired to deny his suspicions of crushing on Gaara. Who even knows at this point what she felt for that redheaded nightmare?

Jura nodded after a long moment. "I..I understand that you don't like me back but I hope we can still be friends," He said after a long moment, looking entirely uncomfortable. Xin only smiled sadly up at him, bitter that she couldn't get herself to like him.

"Of course we can, Jura. I would really like to still be friends," She decided firmly after a moment. Jura let out a soft laugh, sounding so wistful, before letting her go. He patted her head, wished her goodnight, and quickly vanished into the night. Xin let out a long sigh, shoulders slumping after he left. She shuffled towards her building, leaning against the wall and slowly slid down until she was crouching against it. She dropped her face into her hands and let out a low groan, mourning the loss of normality for the umpteenth time that month.

A set of footsteps caused her to stiffen but she didn't bother to look up. Hopefully whoever that was walking by would just let her have her mental breakdown in peace. No such luck because the footsteps stopped in front of her. She let out another groan, mentally preparing just in case she had to run for her fuckin' life. Xin slowly lifted her head, eyes traveling up to meet Temari's gaze. This was literally the last person she expected to even see at this point. The two women silently held their staring contest, neither of them willing to break it. "..Are you alright?" Temari broke first, asking the question very slowly.

"No."

"You having a mental break?"

"Yes."

Temari blinked down at her, watching quietly as the human rubbed harshly at her face. She pulled herself to her feet and folded her arms across her chest. "Now that that's over with," She grumbled more to herself. "Are you here to kill me? Because if so, please, get in line. It's only fair."

A smile cracked at Temari's face, a snort of humor following along. "I'm not here to kill you. I don't think Gaara would like that very much."

"Yeah, cause he's second in line."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Peachy. Just peachy. Anyway, any specific reason why you're here if you aren't here to kill me?"

"I need to talk to Gaara."

Xin frowned, eyebrows raised. "Gaara isn't here. He went back home with you, remember? You showed up in my bakery and nagged at him until he agreed to go back."

Temari only tilted her head, blinking her pretty eyes rapidly. "Silly girl. He's up in your apartment," She said with a tilt of her lips. She suddenly glanced up, humming in thought before taking a careful step away from Xin. In turn, Xin frowned in confusion, it wasn't like she had rabies or something. "Ah, and here he comes right about now," She said in a casual tone. Xin's head twitched, unaware of what Temari meant and why she felt the need to move back. She heard an odd noise and suddenly something dropped down in front of her. She let out a startled yelp, stumbling back into the wall as her mind struggled to focus.

"Did you just—did you just jump out of the window? Jesus Christ, I live on the top floor! Are you insane? What if someone saw that shit? Gaara, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

Gaara briefly turned to face, eyes checking her from head to toe. Seemingly satisfied, he turned back to his sister with squared shoulders. "What?"

Temari didn't seem at all bothered by his curt tone, a knowing smile curving at her lips. "I didn't come here to hurt the human, Gaara. You can calm down, I wouldn't hurt your...friend. I only came to warn you about something," She told him, knowing her smile was pissing him off. Gaara didn't say anything, silently prompting her to finish. "Well, after you stormed out and left the realm again," She paused long enough to roll her eyes. "Rasa received a visitor, that damn white-haired mystic, Masuyo."

"Masuyo?" Xin practically squawked, leaning around Gaara's form to look at Temari. "You guys know Masuyo? Why didn't you mention that?!"

"Because I don't know that crazy bitch," Gaara intoned flatly.

Temari blinked at Xin, "Why on Earth do you know her?"

"She wants to kill me."

"Oh. Well alright then," Temari nodded like any of this made sense. "She's an old...acquaintance of our Father. She doesn't come around often, our mother doesn't approve of her presence," She explained quickly to the confused human. "Anyway, she dropped by as soon as you left and spoke to Rasa about a favor."

"A favor?" Xin parroted, prompting Temari to chuckle at her energy.

"Yes...I think it has something to do with you," Temari looked Xin square in the face. "You're the miko she mentioned, I'm assuming. I knew something was off about you but I couldn't figure out what. It all makes sense."

Xin's face paled drastically. She suddenly grabbed at Gaara's arm, gaining his attention. He looked down at her, noting the look of panic in her eyes. "Calm down, nothing is going to happen to you."

"How do you know that?" She demanded nervously. It was already bad enough that Masuyo was hunting her down along with the rogue demon here and there. Now she had to worry about Gaara's psychotic ass father hunting her down too. If she thought Gaara was bad, she could only imagine how his father acted.

"Because I'm here, you moron."

Xin's panicking seemed to have ceased with his very simple statement. "Oh."

Temari listened to the two, feeling like she was eavesdropping on a private conversation. "Well," She sighed heavily, feeling the atmosphere and becoming somewhat uncomfortable. "I told you Rasa would notice either way. But to have Masuyo...well, I can only imagine what you did to spark her ire."

"I was born," Xin replied blankly. She had yet to realize she was even clinging onto Gaara. Temari only quirked an eyebrow at her hand still curled around his bicep but said nothing about it.

"Anyway, I didn't hear much because he'd probably notice if I tried listening in too much. But I did hear her mention that Xin has cast some enchantment over you in order to secure your protection from other demons."

"Enchantment?" Gaara frowned.

"Can we even do that?" Xin blinked.

"You're the miko. You tell us."

Xin shot him a dirty look, pouting as she did so. "Oh, I wouldn't know. Let me just ask the dead miko rattling around in my head."

"You have a dead miko in your head?" Temari asked slowly, a little weirded out about this entire situation. The woman her brother was dealing with was much more complicated than she initially thought.

"Well...I don't know, maybe. Her soul is in me, apparently. We're sharing my body."

"Oh...why?"

"I don't know that either. It's complicated."

"Do you know anything?" Gaara snorted.

"I know that this is your fault."

"How could this possibly be my fault?"

"My life was normal as fuck until you jumped in front of my car."

"I didn't jump in front of your car."

"Details, baby, details," Xin used Anko's line, shrugging. Gaara gave her an odd look at the use of a pet name but said nothing else.

"Can we get back on track?" Temari laughed at their banter, truly amused and somewhat disturbed with everything that was going on. "The point is—" She gave them a very serious look. "Your life is in danger, miko. Even more danger than before. Masuyo is a menace but Rasa can be an absolute nightmare if he feels like he's been crossed."

"I don't even know your father to cross him in the first place," Xin let go of Gaara to throw her hands up in exasperation. "And I didn't even cast a spell on him, I'm pretty sure that's not something miko can even do," Xin insisted with a tight expression.

Temari shifted her weight in unease. "We have a certain reputation to uphold in Suna. Gaara more so than myself and my other brother. If anyone were to find out that he was put under some sort of spell by a priestess….well...it wouldn't do us any good."

"Your dad is a fuckin' tyrant, isn't he?"

The snort that escaped Temari was unlady like. "That's neither here nor there, miko. Can we focus on the fact that your life is in danger?"

"Sounds like a regular Tuesday to me," Xin replied with a careless sigh.

The older blonde turned to her brother, "What's wrong with her?"

"She experiences at least four breakdowns a day."

Temari had a thoughtful look as she nodded along to his words, like it made everything make sense. "As long as you're not worried, I guess," She shrugged with a strained smile. If this was normal for them, she had no need to worry about it. "I've said what I needed to say. I've got to get back to Suna before Rasa notices. He's gone on a rampage now that he knows you're in this realm and not Konoha."

Gaara nodded, figuring he'd deal with Rasa when the time came. For now, he had to keep a closer eye on Xin. Despite trying to convince himself that there wasn't a need to stick around, he had no choice at this point. He couldn't let Rasa kill her out of spite. Rasa's ire towards her was completely his doing. He had a feeling Rasa wouldn't bother to listen if it was mentioned that Xin had been trying to kick Gaara out of her life for the last couple of months.

Everything had gone straight to shit.

They watched Temari vanish off into the dark, the sound of a portal closing up alerting them that she was gone for the time being. The two stood outside of the building for a long time, both of them lost within their own thoughts. Xin, truly mourning the loss of her normality and what she did to deserve this bullshit and Gaara, wondering why he hadn't just killed Xin in the first place.

Xin was the first to blink out of her thoughts. She glanced up at agar, lips slightly pursed. "You know...at this point, you're just bad luck," She finally confessed after a long moment. Gaara turned sharply to look down at her, glowering at her until he noticed her sheepish grin. "Even so...welcome back," Xin hummed sincerely, truly glad that he was finally back, even if she wouldn't admit it out loud.

"...Yeah."

---

TeeBeMe: Alright, listen yall, I know it's also been a while since I updated this story but in my defense, Kingdom Hearts III came out in January and I had to play it. I fuckin' love Kingdom Hearts, I'm sorry. I pulled myself away from it long enough to finish this chapter. Please love me.

Lyspjmn: YOOOOO, my favorite review of all time. I fuckin' died.

NarutardKerry: Temari is both amused and weirded out by Gaara and Xin. Yeah, it'll probably be awhile until they admit it. Xin compared her life to a Shoujo-manga so we gotta throw in some drama in here. I'm so glad you like my story so much and I hope you liked the update even though there was only a bit of interaction between our two favorite idiots.

Akari: I definitely made Jura for the sole purpose of breaking his heart and I should rot in Hell for it. He's such a sweet boi and I'm an absolute bitch for doing this to him but I'm pretty sure we agreed that I'm sadistic. Gaara is in further than he thought and Xin is a straight up idiot in denial.

Amii M: Omg thank you. Yall don't understand how I tear my writing to complete shreds just for yall to think so highly of it. I hope this chapter makes you giddy and I can't wait to see them get together as well! These two are way too stubborn for their own good.

Believein15: The scene in the kitchen gave me life. I love a jealous boy, I really do, even though it's hella cliche. Xin is so fuckin' clueless sometimes it's frustrating but then I realizing I'm the one making her so damn clueless and I have a little laugh. Xin barely even realized she went on not one but TWO dates with Jura while Gaara is off pining for her, the little ingrate. And I loooove Temari, hopefully we see more of her, especially since she seems to approve of Xin.

Guest: Their relationship gives me life too. Like, whenever I realize it's time to write something steamy or something tense, I get a little giddy. I hope you were fucking hype for this update and you'll be hype for the next one.

moonlight46: She thinks he still likes Matsuri but is just being a stubborn ass about it, honestly. A dazed Xin is a cute Xin though. Gaara is a bastard but he's not going to take advantage of a girl he's crushing on that's clearly out of it. Her and Naruto are developing a sibling like relationship and I'm living for it. Everyone is so sad that Xin went out on date with Jura but ain't nobody sad for him, yall ruthless lol. Xin is obsessed with anime and manga and she's going to keep making comparisons, especially with InuYasha lol. That used to be my shit when I first got into anime so that's pretty much why.

marinaa07: Oh he's got it bad. I know Suna didn't have a big part in this chapter but we'll see more of it in the future. Gaara being so certain yet in denial of his feelings is exactly what I was going for. Like, yeah he likes her but hell if he's going to tell her or even say it out loud. Matsuri is drama and you have every right to be worried.

Allree: Rooster block, omg lol. I died. Xin's wit is so funny to write, it really helps when I get a little stuck somewhere and her wit just comes out swinging. She's such an interesting girl to write. Oh, yes, I definitely fangirl over Xin and Gaara. I mean, like yeah, Xin is just an OC but they're my OTP and can't nobody change my mind!

YaHobGOB: Gaaah, you make me happy. Hope this made you happy!

OhBabyNotMyGayAss: First of all, a RuPaul Drag-Race referece as your screen name? I am fuckin' living for it. I'm so glad you gave this story a chance and ended up liking it, thank you so much. Question, what made you hesitant about? I'm just curious. It's definitely building up, I just hope it's not too much of a slow-burn, know what I'm saying? Like, I don't want yall to get bored if I'm taking too long with their romance. I hope to see another review from you!

Guest: OMG THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I'm so glad you like not only this story but all of them. That makes me soooo happy and just grateful for yall.

Guest: Surprise! No kiss between Gaara and Xin but kisses for Gaara and Matsuri and Xin and Jura. Booooooo. It'll get better, I swear. They'll kiss and yall are gonna fuckin' love it. I. promise. Please stick around cause' they're getting there!

Yall omg, we got 90 reviews. Like I know that isn't a lot compared to a looooot of other stories but it means so much to me. I know people are like reviews shouldn't matter but they matter to me. These are yall thoughts, likes and dislikes and suggestions on how I can improve as a writer and improve the story. I don't think yall understand just how much I appreciate each and every review, long or short. I say it a lot, I know I do and yall probably getting sick of me being so sappy but I'm so fuckin' grateful that yall not only take the time to read my story about some asshole girl but also review it. Yall love Xin and I love that yall love her. So thank you all.

Okay, enough of me crying in the club lol. Masuyo is a crazy bitch and now she has Rasa involved, IT'S. ABOUT. TO. GO. DOWN. Just yall wait, yall are gonna love it. And yall are probably like "Tee, we didn't ask for kisses between Matsuri and Gaara and Jura and Xin, what the fuck are you doing, bro?" but trust me, it matters! Hope yall enjoy this update, please review and hopefully I won't take so long updating again. The more reviews, the quicker the update. Maybe. I don't know, I haven't beaten Kingdom Hearts yet.

P.S: And where the hell is some fanart for this fic anyway? I know one of yall can draw. Don't yall want me to be happy? Draw Xinny for me. It would be dope. Do I sound too demanding? i hope not. Please do it. I love stuff like that. Is my fic not good enough for art? Love me dammit!