I was originally going to devote this chapter to a fight at the sound village but I couldn't get the fight scene that long so I just tied up a few lose ends. The next chapter will revolve around the discovery Gaara makes at the end of this chapter and what he'll do about it.

Disclaimer: I no own Naruto

Ch. 22: A Fight and Realizations

Now Kaoru had never actually met Orochimaru. She had heard all about him but whenever he was around she had been somewhere else. Gaara and his siblings saw him while he was in disguise but not his real face. So while they were sneaking into the sound village she wondered just what this enemy looked like. Sakura said that he was creepy beyond belief. Sasuke had nothing to say on the subject. Naruto just got pissed and stormed off. The blonde really didn't like Orochimaru. It didn't surprise Kaoru. Everyone who came in contact with the snake seemed to hate him unless they were just weird.

The plan was to capture or kill him plain and simple. Preferably kill him but that was just Gaara's and Sasuke's opinion. Sasuke, Naruto, Gaara, and Shikamaru were to go inside and attack the snake himself and anyone in the same room as he was. Everyone else was to take care of any underlings that tried to interrupt the fight. Kaoru and Sakura were to stay out of the fight so that they could use their medical skills at the end of it. The girls didn't like it because they wanted to help their loved ones but agreed with the plan. They would be the most help when everyone was injured and in need of medical treatment.

Everyone began getting into their positions. At the signal they attacked. While their comrades fought around them, Gaara, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Naruto ran to the area Neji told them Orochimaru was in. When they got there there was just Orochimaru and Kabuto in the room. The two of them stood to face their challengers with identical smirks.

"Is this all the two great nations could send to capture me? Four little boys?" the snake said.

Naruto, being his usual loud mouth self, shouted, "We'll be plenty to beat you freak!"

"We'll see about that," Kabuto stated as he took a fighting stance.

Naruto looked over at his teammates, "Me and Shikamaru will handle Kabuto as long as you guys got Orochimaru."

The others silent men nodded in agreement. It was the best way to go. With the nine-tailed fox's healing ability Naruto was the best one to fight Kabuto, the medic that inflicted pain more than he healed it. Shikamaru's habit of planing every move was a nice contrast to Naruto's rash personality. The two of them would make a good team. Besides that both Gaara and Sasuke had a score to settle with Orochimaru while Naruto wanted to settle one with Kabuto. The set up was perfect. So they all got into their fighting stances. Kabuto was the first to attack and Naruto was his target. Their fight began. For a moment Orochimaru and the other two shinobi just stared at each other. The at some invisible signal they all suddenly moved at once.

Inside the Sound Village was chaos. There was fighting and destruction everywhere. Naruto dodged an attack from Kabuto and glanced over at his team. Sasuke and Gaara were fighting against Orochimaru. The two didn't make a single comment as they fought while Orochimaru taunted them at every opportunity. The two were dodging every attack. Orochimaru just continued to smirk at them. He just knew that they couldn't win. No one could beat him.

"Oh, how you've fallen Sasuke. Still consorting with these weaklings when I could have made you something great."

Sasuke didn't even dignify that with an answer. He couldn't and wouldn't explain himself to this snake. Orochimaru would never understand the reason he had stayed in Konoha. Emerald eyes filled with unconditional love flashed through his mind. No Orochimaru could never understand. Over the last six years he had realized that he loved his life. He still wanted to avenge his clan but no longer at any price. He wouldn't sacrifice these bonds for anything. A face with a familiar goofy grin stating that they were friends even if they were rivals passed through his mind. Sasuke's onyx eyes held a determined look. He wouldn't make the same choices as his brother. He would become strong without having to give up everything that mattered.

Snake like eyes looked at Gaara, "You're not much better. You use to be so strong but now look at you. The Kazekage of the village you once hated. How pathetic."

Like Sasuke, Gaara chose not to respond. He agreed with the Uchiha that Orochimaru could never comprehend why they made the choices they have. Kaoru had shown him that hate wasn't the only thing that could give people power. The bonds he had developed over the years made him ten times stronger than he would have been if he continued to hate those around him. That wasn't something that his enemy could understand.

The two shinobi exchanged a single glance and then looked back at their enemy. Orochimaru was still unconcerned. There was no way they could beat him. He attacked using the sword he liked to pull from his mouth. Sasuke dodged and slashed with his own sword. The snake dodged it easily and aimed for Gaara. The Kazekage didn't even flinch. The sand came up blocking the attempt to kill the red head. Orochimaru frowned. They may not be able to beat him but they had very good defenses. He wanted to end the fight and soon. He had things he needed to do like take over Sasuke's body. Maybe he would take the Kazekage's beast while he was at it. Then he would be even stronger. Orochimaru attacked again.

Sakura and Kaoru were standing several miles outside the Sound Village. They were both feeling nervous because they had no idea what was going on. The medics just watched parts of the village explode and collapse and just prayed that their friends were all safe. A large explosion came from the area where Sasuke and the others were fighting. The two girls gasped and used all their will power not to go to check on them. They let out a relieved breath when they saw that it was just Kabuto getting knocked into the air by Naruto. The blonde jumped above Kabuto and kicked him back towards the ground. Then the girls couldn't see anything anymore except for the occasional explosions.

Two figures jumped up followed by a third. The girls gasped. They knew two of those figures very well. Gaara and Sasuke landed but the other figured performed some hand signs and then a large snake appeared. Kaoru and Sakura watched in fear as the snake and Orochimaru attacked together. They wanted to do something even if it was only scream but when they opened their mouths nothing came out. Relief flooded their systems when they saw that the boys had both survived the attack.

Gaara and Sasuke were now officially worried. The snake was huge and was helping Orochimaru. One wrong move and they would become snake chow and they greatly objected to getting eaten. All they could do was dodge the attacks and watch for an opening to get to Orochimaru on the top of the snakes head. Orochimaru's attention wavered for a moment as he noticed something and the boys used that moment to attack. The problem was his attention didn't waver long enough. He blocked their attacks and then threw a couple of kunai. The boys dodged this easily. When they looked back up at their enemy it was to see him smirking at them.

"Foolish boys. Did you think I was aiming for you that time?" Orochimaru taunted. "I aimed for your weak spots. Now you'll crumble and I'll win."

They looked behind them in horror. Orochimaru hadn't been aiming for them. Instead he had aimed for their weakness. Orochimaru had foolishly believed that doing so would make the boys weaken so that he could kill them. He couldn't have been more wrong. Anyone who knew the two of them would have told him that whas Orochimaru had done wouldn't make Gaara and Sasuke weak. It would actually have the opposite affect. The last thing Gaara remembered was seeing Kaoru's blood then something in him snapped. Sasuke experience a similar feeling when he saw Sakura bleeding. The two kunai had hit what was most important to them. Orochimaru would pay. The black chakra that signified the activation of the curse mark began to form around Sasuke. The sand that Gaara controlled was now going wild and his eyes were different. Instead of the sea green eyes that Kaoru loved they were the golden eyes of Shukaku.

"You better start praying to whatever god you worship Orochimaru," Sasuke said in a dangerously low tone.

Shukaku added, "Maybe it will keep you out of hell when we finish killing you."

The two angry beings attacked together. Everyone was both awed and terrified. Orochimaru had crossed some invisible line when he had attacked the girls and had unleashed something both wonderful and terrible. Gaara wanted Orochimaru to pay dearly for all the things he had done, but he wanted him to pay for that instant of pain he had caused Kaoru. Sasuke was beyond angry. He had never felt so angry in his life. How dare this freak attack what was his? Orochimaru would have to suffer for it. Yes, suffer slowly and painfully as possible. The two beings got identical sadistic grins on their faces and the look in their eyes was enough to send anyone, including Orochimaru, running for cover. The man held his ground though. He was still confident that the boys couldn't beat him. He should have run while he had the chance.

The first thing to do was get rid of the large snake protecting their enemy. So the boys aimed for him. The snake didn't want to go down easily. Since Orochimaru was a good fighter on his own he was of great help to the snake. However Gaara had Shukaku and Sasuke had the curse seal. Both of those weapons were now active. That meant that Orochimaru had lost. It didn't matter how hard or how long he fought he was going to lose. The boys' victory was assured the moment Orochimaru had pissed them off enough to lose control of their power. The snake left the fight the moment he realized this. He had no intention of fighting a losing battle. That left Orochimaru. The boys smiled.

Now don't get me wrong. Orochimaru was still a very skilled fighter so making him pay wasn't easy. He would dodge their attacks then send an attack of his own. Some of the snakes attacks even hit them a few times. However the boys were beyond pissed. There wasn't even a word strong enough to describe just how pissed they were. Nothing in the world would stop them from killing that man as slowly as possible. So several hours after the fight had began the boys started to win. More of their attacks were connecting and less of Orochimaru's were hitting them. Once that change took place it was only a matter of time before the boys had him cornered. Orochimaru had been knocked to the ground by Gaara. He couldn't get up. The two towered over their enemy deciding the best way to kill him.

Everyone else just watched in horror as two of the people they cared for were turning into monsters before their eyes. All sense of right or wrong seemed to have vanished from Sasuke's and Gaara's minds. It was the price for the power they carried inside them. No one dared to stop them for fear of that power being turned on them. Some looked away from the scene. They wanted to stop it. Sure Orochimaru should die for all the crimes he had committed but... They didn't think that Gaara and Sasuke should kill anyone in the state they were in. They knew that the two boys would regret it later.

Two people didn't just stand there and watch. The both rushed out and grabbed the boys around the waist with identical cries, "STOP IT!" Their reaction was instantaneous. The boys froze.

The dark chakra that had been surrounding Sasuke seem to vanish at the sound of a familiar voice. He turned as saw his pink haired kunoichi looking at him with pleading emerald eyes.

"Please Sasuke-kun, stop this. You'll regret it later," Sakura pleaded.

His eyes changed from the blood red Sharingan to onyx. Sasuke wrapped a single arm around her waist and nodded his head in agreement, "Alright, Sakura. I'll let Tsunade deal with him."

Sakura's grip tightened as she smiled in relief.

Meanwhile, golden eyes looked back into crimson eyes.

"He's lost already. Please don't do something Gaara-kun will regret later. Please, Shukaku," Kaoru begged him. She knew this wasn't Gaara. This was the beast that he feared would come out in his sleep. This was Shukaku. Gaara had once described the being as beyond good or evil. He told her that Shukaku wasn't either one. He just...was. Shukaku did whatever he wanted to regardless of right or wrong. Golden eyes looked into her eyes and for a moment she was afraid he wouldn't listen. That he would kill Orochimaru anyway. Then he closed his eyes and nodded. When those eyes opened again they were the familiar sea foam eyes of her best friend. She smiled brillantly and hugged him, "Gaara-kun, you're alright."

Gaara allowed her to hug him, not that he would have stopped her any other time. It was a relief to know that he wouldn't become a monster again. He hadn't felt that way in a long time. His anger had gotten the best of him and Shukaku had taken that window of opportunity to come out. The demon had also come out pissed. He had an attachment to the girl with kind blood colored eyes. Something about her that neither of them could put their finger on just soothed them both.

Tsunade stepped forward with Jiraiya, "We'll deal with him. You go get some medical treatment."

The four of them walked away from the battle field feeling very tired. Orochimaru would have gotten imprisoned and probably exacuted later but he did a very stupid thing at that moment. He threw the last two kunai he had and they were aimed for Gaara and Sasuke. The girls reacted instantly. They caught the kunai in mid air before they reached their targets. Tsunade's and Jiraiya's reaction was just as quick. They each performed a justu that cost Orochimaru his life. For a moment no one said a word as they stared at the man who had caused them so much trouble. Time stopped for an instant. They could scarcely believe that it was over. They had won. After all this time Orochimaru had finally paid for what he had done to them all. Then time started again as Sasuke and Gaara turned and started to walk away again. Sakura and Kaoru followed.

It turned out that the kunai Orochimaru had thrown didn't hit anything important. One had sliced Kaoru's upper arm and the other had grazed Sakura's side. The two of them were actually in better shape than the boys. Sakura and Kaoru left the boys to get treated while they went to make sure everyone else was alright. They didn't see each other again for several hours.

Sakura walked into the Uchiha compound shortly after sundown. She wanted to make sure that Sasuke was alright. The medic had told him not to do anything strenuous for a few days but Sasuke had never been very good at listening to instructions. She was right. He was standing in the training grounds practicing with his sword. She rushed forward with a glare.

"Sasuke Uchiha!! You better put that sword down before I show you just how hard I can punch someone," she ordered.

Sasuke stopped and turned. A smirk formed on his face when he saw his pink haired teammate glaring daggers into him. He didn't doubt that she would hit him if he continued to train. Considering how much pain he was in right now that would be bad. So he sheathed his sword and let her drag him into the house. Sakura cooked him some dinner when he admitted that he hadn't eaten. The whole time she grumbled about how he was no good at taking care of himself and it was a good thing she was there or he would starve to death.

Sasuke watched her and felt something inside him shift slightly. He couldn't say what changed but something had. It was odd to think that there was a time that he hadn't wanted her around. Now he the thought of being without her not only pissed him off but it...scared him. That also annoyed him. But sitting here in his kitchen watching her cook food for him something felt...right. It was like this was how things should be.

Sakura gasped in surprise when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. She looked back at Sasuke, "What are you doing, Sasuke-kun?"

He didn't know. Sasuke was just as surprised by his actions as she was. Then memories began to flash through his mind of his time with this pink haired girl. He turned her so that he could see her face more clearly. Sakura let out another gasp whens he saw the look in his dark eyes. He seemed to be shocked and in awe of something. She wondered what could put this look in his eyes.

"Sakura, tell me. Do you still...love me?" he asked slowly. His face and eyes were now blank of any kind of emotion.

She blinked. What would make him ask that? She tilted her head and answered him anyways, "Of course I do, Sasuke-kun."

He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. The feelings were beginning to overwhelm him and he didn't think he could contain it anymore. His voice was barely a whisper, "Sakura...I...I love you."

Sakura's eyes widened. She wasn't sure she believed her ears. Did he just say that? He couldn't have. This was Sasuke Uchiha. This was the same boy who would die before admitting how he felt about anything. Her voice was full of shock and disbelief, "Sasuke-kun..."

His onyx eyes snapped open and looked into her eyes. For the first time he allowed her to see what no one else saw...his emotions. She gasped. It was there as he looked at her. He really did love her. She smiled and tears fell from her eyes. Sasuke was confused.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because I'm happy, Sasuke-kun. I'm so happy."

He smirked and gave in to the demands of his body and emotions. He kissed her. At first it was gentle and testing but that didn't last long. Sasuke knew where this would lead if they didn't stop to he started to step back but she wouldn't let him. His forehead rested against hers again as they gasped for air.

"Sakura, you should go home. If you don't..."

She didn't let him finish, "I know, Sasuke-kun. I'm not naïve. I know what will happen. I know that's what you want to happen and I want it too. I've loved you for as long as I can remember. Trust me. I won't regret this as long as you really love me."

He watched her for a moment then smirked, "Well, then. Who am I to argue?"

She yelped when he lifted her up bridal style and carried her to his room. Needless to say neither of them slept much.

A few weeks later, Kaoru was sitting on the bed in Gaara's room taking off his bandages. He was watching her with intense sea foam eyes and it made her nervous. Gaara was trying to figure something out. There pounding in his chest whenever she was near him. He wanted to protect her from anything that would cause her pain. When she smiled at him he was filled with a warm feeling that he couldn't identify but wanted to experience again and again. What was going on? What was this feeling? He wished he knew.

Kaoru sat back and smiled, "There now. I declare you officially healed but that doesn't mean you can do anything strenuous for a few more days. You might reopen the wounds and that would be bad."

Gaara nodded. The feelings were about to over flow. He didn't think he could fight them and he didn't really know if he wanted to. It would help if he knew what was going on but the more he tried to figure it out the more confused he became. At first he had thought she was just his best friend but then he noticed that other people didn't feel as strongly for their best friend as he did for Kaoru. After that he didn't know what to call her anymore. She was his friend but she was more than that. He understood that much. He wanted to protect her and if anyone caused her any kind of pain then they would suffer his wrath. When he was the reason she smiled it filled him with pride and pleasure to know that he had made her happy. She was also the first person to give him a chance. His first real friend. What was she to him now he couldn't say for sure but his emotions seem to be demanding something from him.

Don't get him wrong. Gaara knew he was physically attracted to Kaoru. He wasn't naïve. She was a beautiful girl. Her hair was so dark it would put the night sky to shame and felt like silk. Her crimson eyes were always kind and held a smile more often than not. And although he sometimes felt guilty for thinking this way about his best friend, he knew that Kaoru had a body that most women would kill for. Gaara understood physical attraction. If that was all he felt then he wouldn't be so confused. The problem he was having was he didn't just find her body attractive. He liked her personality too. He had been told that when you like something beyond the physical then it was something more...well in this case more than just lust. So now he was very confused. What did he feel for Kaoru Tsukino?

She gave him an indulgent smile, "You do know that you're allowed to speak, right? You don't have to just nod your head."

That's when Gaara asked her a question that to her seemed completely random. Then again she can't read minds so she didn't know that the kage had been thinking about this for quite some time now.

"What is love?"

Kaoru just st.ared at him for a moment. How was she suppose to answer that? It wasn't something she knew how to explain. She tilted her head to the side and considered. Well, maybe she could use her feelings to explain it. When had she first started loving Gaara? Probably when they were kids and she had seen him sitting all alone on that swing. That seemed so long ago and at the same time it was just yesterday. When had she realized she loved him? That was the major question. She didn't think there was a specific point. It was just a gradual understanding of her own emotions. It could have been when he promised to protect her from nightmares when they were heading to the chunin exams. Then again maybe it was when he woke up in the hospital after the fight with Naruto. She knew that she loved him when he had become Kazekage so it happened before that but when? She really didn't know.

Kaoru looked out the balcony window, "Love isn't easy to explain, Gaara-kun. It's different for everyone. It's full of contradictions too."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...it's simple yet complicated. It can heal any wounds to your heart but also cause the worst damage to that same spot. I think in the end...people make it what it is for them. Take Sasuke and Sakura for example. For Sakura it's simple. She loves Sasuke. End of story. Nothing can change that. For Sasuke it's not so simple. He loves her but can't express that emotion like others do. He can't tell her. Instead his actions speak for him and even those can be confusing. See what I mean?"

He gave a slight nod as he considered what she had said. Kaoru smiled, "Good. I better get going. Kohaku needs to be put to bed so he won't fall asleep in class tomorrow. Good night, Gaara-kun."

"'Night."

She waved cheerfully and headed out the door.

Gaara moved to the balcony so he could watch her. His sea foam eyes still focused on her as she disappeared from sight. He had heard Kankuro talking to Temari about his actions towards his childhood friend. His siblings believed that he loved the girl sitting next to him. Kaoru was special to him but did that mean he loved her? His eyes stayed focused on her as the answer came to him. He knew what was going on with his emotions now. Gaara now knew what he felt. He was in love with his best friend. Now what was he suppose to do with this knowledge?

That's it for now. Let me know what you think.