Note: I would like to think everyone who submitted their reviews for Chapter Four; they meant alot to me! Oh yeah not along chapter but I have been sick so my creativity is in slow mode.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor do I own the storyline.

Chapter Five:

Demons Remain Unslain

The funny thing about me is that I love broken things.

I like the things that you would throw out; the things that you would deny yourself the pleasure of loving and being loved by. The funny thing is that I use to surpress my wantings of what was broken; I use to deny myself of the pleasure that many deny themselves now. Because I use to be like that, too.

I use to think that what I needed or more really what I wanted was something that was perfect, and thats how I always use to view him.

I saw him as perfection, but I never truely really saw him for what he was; I never allowed myself to see the pain that swelled inside him with each minute that passed, and thats why I take part in the blame in the way things turned out.

I should have known as his team mate and more importantly as his friend.

Maybe then I could have stopped him from turning to the other side.

Maybe I could have saved him from his greatest enemy.

Maybe, maybe, maybe- but all the maybes and ifs in the world wont ever change the events that took place that night or the horrific events that followed and thats the honest truth. Nothing can change what happened, nothing will ever bring them back, and nothing will ever change that fact.

After we had exited the Hokage's office we were left alone to deal with the mission in any way we saw fit as long as we made sure to keep the pairs that we had been assigned to. The dawn had finished breaking through the night sky, and I knew that if we didn't leave soon then we wouldn't reach Suna until tomorrow- we couldn't afford to lose that much time.

"We need to head out," I told no one in particular heading off in the direction of the gait that told travelers that they had come to the end of our village.

"Wait a minute," I heard a male's voice, which made me quit moving, "What makes you the leader?"

That was a good question.

What made me think I had the right to lead these five to Suna?

Back then every single one of them could have wiped the floor with me without breaking a sweat, so what gave me the right to lead them?

But the thing about good leaders, pay attention because it took me years to realize this, is not how powerful or keen you are but how to lead your team mates. You can be the most powerful ninja in the world but that doesn't mean your a good leader. A good leader is trusted by the people who follow him or her, and without that trust the leader is nothing- the team is nothing. Another important thing that you need to know about teams is that your team is only as strong as the weakest link.

Weak...

Another small word whose meaning is much larger than itself.

I turned around so that I could face them- so that I could see their faces, and waited.

What was I waiting on?

I can't remember- or maybe its not that I can't remember but that I never knew what I was waiting on- I just was waiting for them; I was waiting on them, not just my friends, but the sand shinobi as well to tell me that someone else was to lead.

Yes, thats what I was waiting on.

I was waiting for them to say that I wasn't good enough, then I could fall back and someone else could lead.

"Hey," Naruto stepped in defending me against Gaara's elder brother Kankuro, "She and Gaara are in charged."

"Oh yeah," Kankuro frowned, "And why should she get to be in charge?"

I noticed that he had not questioned Gaara's authority, but just my own; it made sense considering that the elder sand siblings had been trained mentally not to question their younger sibling. Even though in- well at the time- recent moments Gaara had changed his ways, we didn't know how long it would last.

"Because," Naruto yelled back at him, each boy in the other's face, "Kakashi Sensei said she was in charged!"

"We're losing time," he had spoken slowly, but the authority in his voice was clear; Gaara knew that if we didn't leave at that time our entire mission would be at risk.

"Gaara's right Kankuro," the eldest of the siblings, Temari, spoke up her eyes set on the direction of the gait.

He let out a low growl, nodded, and began to head off toward the gait; I didn't move as my friends passed by me- I recieved an assuring smile from Naruto while Sasuke simply walked by a half smirk on his face- I only stared at him. I stared at the deadly red head with curiosity, I knew then he wasn't defending but merely stating that if we lingered our mission would be lost, but still...

I wouldn't know until later how right my feelings had been for once in my life.

Our eyes had locked and I gave him a small smile that seemed to have caught him off guard- even today, the look of his confusion from my smile is still cute- he stood there his sea foam green eyes wide in shock.

It was very rare to catch him off but when it came to compassion and love Gaara was always caught off guard, and the faces he made we're always cute.