Sorry it's been so long since i've updated. I wasn't going to post this chapter until I had the next one ready but I'm experience a slight writers block so I'll go ahead and post it

By the way I'm have info on all current stories and possible stories on my profile if anyone decides they want to take a look at it. Feel free to comment on any of the possible stories if you want to. All comments will be welcomed except for flames of course. Those are never welcomed.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto already

Ch. 18: Attempted Murder

Gaara was annoyed. At first he had managed to hide it well but recently his temper was getting the better of him. Kaoru was exhausting herself. Every morning she went to visit the Mizukage and heal what damage she could. Later she would start trying to find the ingredients for the antidote. Gaara hadn't even heard of some of them. Added to all of this she was dealing with relatives that obviously didn't want anything to do with her. The only ones that seemed to care about her at all were Kyo and his wife, Ayame. They were always happy to talk to Kaoru and in fact went out of their way to do so. Then there were the nightmares. Gaara didn't even bother going to his own room anymore. The first three nights he had but had rushed to her side when he heard her scream. It was the same dream every night and if he left her alone it was worse.

They were currently waiting in the Kawaguchi compound. A member of their clan was suppose to be returning from another village. Kaoru wanted to meet them so she was waiting with the rest of the clan. Gaara refused to leave her alone with them so he stayed with her. The new member walked into the compound. She smiled at everyone and when she noticed Kaoru and Gaara she tilted her head to the side in curiosity until she saw Kaoru's headband in her hair. Then her ruby colored eyes widened in fear.

"Kaoru, this is my younger sister, Yumi. Yumi this is our cousin, Kaoru Tsukino. She's a medical nin," Kyo made the introductions. When he told Yumi that Kaoru was a medical nin she seemed to relax a little.

Kaoru smiled and the girl relaxed even more, "It's nice to meet you, Yumi."

"The pleasure is mine, Kaoru," she responded in a quiet shy voice. Then here eyes focused Gaara in curiosity.

"This is my friend, Sabaku no Gaara. He's the Kazekage of Suna," Kaoru explained with a smile. The girl started to tremble and her eyes widened in fear. Yumi's reaction didn't really surprise Gaara or Kaoru. Gaara was known as a monster outside of Suna and, as Hiroshi had proven, there were even people in Suna that still believed he was a monster.

Kyo shook his head, "You'll have to excuse, Yumi. She's terrified of ninjas."

"I'm sorry. We didn't mean to frighten you," Kaoru said to her.

The girl seemed get a hold of herself but her eyes still held fear. She shook her head at Kaoru, "It's not your fault. I've gotten better over the years but I'm still afraid of them."

Then Temari and Sasori walked into the room. Kaoru thought Yumi was going to have a heart attack on the spot but she managed to get control of herself. The introductions were made and everyone settle down to eat lunch. When lunch was done Temari and Sasori walked with Kaoru over to the Mizukage's home. Gaara turned to Kyo.

"I need to talk to you."

"What do you need, Gaara-sama?" Kyo asked curiously. Up to now Gaara avoided talking to everyone in the Kawaguchi clan.

"I want to send a message to Konoha. There's a medical nin there with skills just as good as Kaoru's. I want her to come here to help Kaoru take care of the Mizukage."

Kyo smiled. He had noticed how tired Kaoru had been after a session at Hayate-sama's. It was taking a lot out of her to heal him every day. He nodded, "Alright. Give me the message and I'll send someone to deliver it immediately."

Gaara nodded. He handed the letter to Kaoru's cousin then left to find his friend. He found Sasori and Temari first. They said that Kaoru was inside the Kage's and they were waiting for her. He sat down next to them and listened to the two of them argue over something Sasori had done to annoy Temari. He apparently couldn't understand why it annoyed the wind mistress so much. She couldn't understand why he didn't understand. Gaara was finding the whole thing amusing. He glanced out the window and felt panic race through him.

Kaoru had just finished at the Mizukage's and was coming out. She glanced around and saw her friends in the restaurant and started over to them. As she was walking across the street a rain of kunai came down. She yelped and started to dodge them. A part of her realized that there was no way she could dodge them all. As if to support her thoughts a kunai hit her in the arm. Another embedded itself into her leg. Suddenly a dome of sand formed around her. Kaoru stood there in the dome and relaxed. She knew it was Gaara's sand. The sand melted away after a minute or two. She looked over as her friends rushed over.

"Kaoru, are you alright?" Temari demanded.

"I'm fine. Just a scratch or two."

She started to walk but fell down. Gaara caught her and then lifted her up bridal style. Temari was standing next to them. Sasori rushed to the area where the attack had come from. After making sure that Kaoru was alright, Temari joined the puppet master. They began to hunt for the one who had attacked Kaoru.

Gaara took Kaoru back to the Kawaguchi compound to treat her wounds. Ayame and Yumi were the only ones that were there. The two women rushed over to Kaoru when they saw she was injured. Gaara took Kaoru to her room and set her down on the bed. The girls rushed over and began to treat her injuries. Kaoru was too low on chakra to do it herself. She felt like she had been stabbed. Oh wait, she had been. She fell asleep thinking that it had probably been an accident. She hadn't been there long enough for anyone to want to kill her. She would find out soon enough that she was wrong.

When Makoto heard about what had happened he had criticized Kaoru's skills as a kunoichi. Gaara had given him a look that said that the old man that he was about to die. Temari had quickly asked Gaara to go check on Kaoru and made sure no one else went with him. Once he had left the room she had glared at Kaoru's grandfather and told him that if he valued his life he wouldn't say anything bad about Kaoru in front of the Kazekage. After all, next time Temari might be too angry herself to save him. Then his only hope was Kaoru because Sasori really didn't care one way or the other if the old man lived or died.

Temari and Kaoru went for a walk in the forest outside the village that night. They had wanted to get away from the people and have some girl time. Temari could also see that Kaoru needed a break. She was obviously tired and it was annoying Gaara. After her brother had nearly lost control of his temper earlier, the wind mistress decided it was best if she take Kaoru somewhere so she could relax. Kaoru looked over at Temari with a smile.

"So, have you admitted to yourself that you have a thing for Sasori?"

Temari looked over at her in surprise, "I do not."

Kaoru just gave her a look that told Temari that the medic didn't believe her for a second. Temari let out a sigh. How did you argue about feelings with someone that had magical empathy? You didn't. Kaoru knew what people were feeling before they did. She looked over at her friend.

"Alright. Alright. I admit it. I have a thing for him. It's kind of weird since half the time I want to punch him and the other half of the time I want to do something to make him smile. I've never felt that way before."

"I would say I can relate but I can't. I am in love with someone but I rarely want to hit him. Then again you're different from me. You're stronger and more confident. I suppose your reaction to love would be different."

Temari shot Kaoru a look and said, "Wait a minute! I never said I was in love with him."

Kaoru smiled, "Are you going to tell me you're not?"

The wind mistress looked away and grumbled, "I didn't say that either."

The medic was about to say something when a man dressed in black rushed at them. The girls barely had time to dodge his attack. Temari reacted quickly and used her Daikamaitachi no Jutsu to try to catch him but he hid. For a moment the girls thought he had left. Then a hand came out of the ground and grabbed Kaoru's ankle. She cried out in surprise before he started to pull her down. Thinking quickly she focused medical chakra into the spot he was holding and he let go in pain. She didn't know exactly what she had done to his hand but he had let go and that was all that mattered. The girls looked around wondering where he would come from next. There was suddenly a large fireball heading their way. Temari jumped down in front of Kaoru and used her Daikamaitachi no Jutsu again to force the fireball to avoid them. Some of the flames scraped the two girls as it past just left of them.

Once the fireball had past them Temari grabbed Kaoru's wrist and pulled her behind her. The wind mistress was running for the village. Kaoru wasn't in any condition to fight. Her leg and arm were still injured from the day before and she was low on chakra from healing the Mizukage earlier that day. The girls had to dodge several more attacks but once they reached the village gates the attacks stopped. When Gaara and Sasori saw them they rushed over to them. Temari and Kaoru explained what had happened. The men placed the girls in their beds and treated their injuries. Both of them had burn marks and Kaoru had reopened her wounds from earlier.

Sasori came into the room Gaara was in with Kaoru and told him that Temari hadn't seen the face of the man who had attacked them. The Kazekage felt like hitting something. What he would give for someone to piss him off right then so he would have a reason to. Sasori went back to Temari. He wouldn't admit it but he was worried about her.

Gaara stayed put. He refused to leave Kaoru's side. Someone had tried to kill her. He wasn't going to let them have a second chance at her. He swore that he would protect her. Gaara hadn't been able to protect her from the Akatsuki when they had kidnapped her. This time would be different. He would protect her from whoever this was. He wouldn't let anyone get to her again.

Kaoru had fallen asleep while her wounds were being treated. Gaara sat down on the window seat and began to think. Kaoru hadn't even set foot in Kirigakure since she was five years old so who could possibly have a reason to kill her? Maybe someone wanted the Mizukage dead but killing Kaoru wouldn't work. There were other medical nins with her skill and knowledge. The village would just have one of them come. They had only asked for Kaoru because she was technically a member of one of the clans here. The problem was that was the only reason Gaara could come up with.

The door opened and Gaara looked over. Sasori walked in, "Is she alright?"

The Kazekage nodded then looked back to the window, "Why? It doesn't make any sense. Who would want to kill Kaoru?"

Sasori considered this then said, "I can think of only three reasons. The first is to prevent the Mizukage from regaining his health."

"Killing her wouldn't prevent it. Just slow down the process," Gaara stated.

"The next is to get to you." When Gaara gave him a look Sasori just smirked, "Like it or not she matters to you and that makes her your weakness. That's why I kidnapped her, remember?"

"I remember. You should feel lucky to be alive. If Kaoru and Temari hadn't defended you I would have killed you the moment I realized it was you that had taken her."

"I know."

Gaara let out a frustrated sigh, "It doesn't make sense either. Why kill her for that? You kidnapped her because she's more use to someone trying to get to me alive than dead. Killing her still doesn't help anyone. Just pisses me off enough to tear apart the whole damn village to find her killer."

Sasori nodded in agreement, "That leaves the third option. It's personal. Someone really doesn't like your Kaoru."

Gaara chose to ignore the 'your Kaoru' remark and asked, "Who hates Kaoru at all let alone enough to kill her?"

Sasori shrugged, "I don't know. As far as I can tell it's next to impossible to hate Kaoru."

Gaara sat there for a moment in silence. Then he remembered something and sat up, "It's not hate. It's fear. She knows something but can't remember it."

"Are you going to elaborate on that or am I suppose to guess?"

"She's had the same nightmare every night since we've arrived. It centers around the night her parents died. At the end of the dream she sees a shadow walking towards her."

"You think she saw the person who murdered her parents," Sasori commented.

Gaara nodded. The two thought about this. After a moment they exchanged a look. Gaara said, "I've asked Sakura to come and help Kaoru with the Mizukage. She'll bring Sasuke with her. With them around we'll have help. Kaoru is not to be left alone at any time."

Sasori nodded, "Agreed."

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The next day Sakura and Sasuke arrived. Kaoru was very happy to see her friends. The two girls hugged and Sakura explained, "Gaara was worried about you. He said you were exhausting yourself and asked if I could come help relieve some of the burden. We couldn't refuse of course."

Kaoru shot Gaara a large smile. His mouth curved in response. Sasuke was standing next to Gaara and smirked, "So you two finally get together or are you still in denial?"

Gaara gave him a look that could send an ANBU running for cover. Sasuke just continued to smirk. Then Gaara got an identical look, "What about you, Sasuke Uchiha? Finally give in to Sakura or are you still pretending like you don't like her?"

Sasuke glared at Gaara. The two men looked at the girls that meant more to them than their own lives. Kaoru was filling Sakura in on the details of the Mizukage's health. The pink haired girl made comments on where to find some of the ingredients for the medicine and they agreed to take turns to heal the damage done by the disease. Gaara looked over at Sasori who nodded his head. Then the Kazekage motioned for Sasuke to follow him. The Uchiha did out of curiosity. When they were out of hearing range of the girls Gaara told Sasuke what had happened to Kaoru and what they suspected. Sasuke listened without comment until Gaara was finished.

"Have you tried helping her memories along?" he asked after Gaara had finished.

"No. How do you suggest I do that?"

"Take her to her parents' house if it's still there."

Gaara almost said that he wouldn't do that but then reconsidered. It could be the only way to get Kaoru to remember what happened that night. If they were wrong about the reason behind the attack he would rather know now rather than later. So instead of disagreeing he nodded his head, "That might work. I'll talk to her about it. One other thing. Tell Sakura about this too. She'll need to know what's going on."

"Doesn't Kaoru know?"

"She knows she was attacked but I don't think it's crossed her mind to worry about why. We haven't mentioned it to her."

"You'll need to tell her, Gaara."

"I know."

A few hours later Gaara took Kaoru out for a walk. When they were outside the village and alone he looked over to her. His sea foam eyes locked onto her crimson eyes. She looked at him in concern. The medic knew something was bothering him and wished he would just talk already. He was making her nervous.

"What is it, Gaara-kun? Just tell me."

"Someone tried to kill you."

"I know. Is that way you and Sasori have been keeping an eye on me?"

"Yes. We think it's because of your parents' death. You keep seeing a shadow in your dreams. I think someone is afraid you'll remember the rest of the face."

She considered this for a moment, "Then why didn't they kill me then?"

"I don't know. It's only one of the reasons we thing is possible but it's the most likely."

She nodded, "Alright. What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to come with me tomorrow to...your parents' house."

Kaoru felt fear wash through her and she almost panicked. Then she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath and let it back out. Her eyes opened, "Okay. I can do that as long as you're with me, Gaara-kun."

So the next day the sand shinobi along with Sakura and Sasuke went to Kaoru's old house. She was surprised to see it was still standing. No one even lived there. Apparently no one found a use for the place or the land so it just stayed abandoned. The moment Kaoru saw the place she reached out and grabbed Gaara's hand. He told himself that he didn't pull away because of the small trembles in her hand. The Kazekage gazed at the house hoping he was doing the right thing.

There it is. I'll try to finish the next chapter as soon as possible. Hope you enjoyed. Now all I ask for is a couple of reviews.