=3 Thanks for the reviews, Inoblueyes2 and L0stL0ve. (I do hope I spelled those right?)

Here's the next chapter for you guys. Maybe chapter two was kinda dragging a little bit... I dunno. But here's Chapter three.

L0stL0ve: I hope it goes somewhere good... XD Glad you like it.

Inoblueyes2: Thanks for reading! I'll try to keep up the goodness! If that makes sense... XD

Chapter 3: Going Insane?

Of course his body remained untouched after each battle, thanks to the sand in his gourd. Naturally, his chakra was beginning to diminish after each kill. Sure, his sand made it incredibly easy to defeat the mindless beings; however, they did not bleed, so his sand had not been reimbursed for its troubles. Nonetheless, it continued to protect him. After a few days of traveling, they had shown up, and he had taken them down easily. His spies were correct about the strange beings. He jumped faster through the trees, his red hair blowing back in the wind, showing the mark on his forehead. Now, Gaara wondered what exactly had happened to Konoha.

He had sent messages through all forms possible, getting no reply at all. He found this increasingly odd, as Konoha had always been good at giving a quick response. His brow creased as he neared the gates; at this point, he normally would have heard the sounds of the people bustling about. Now, he heard nothing. Complete silence. He landed just before the gates, his head raising slowly, eyes darting around as they tried to find any sort of life. Anything that moved, but all was still as death. "Something is wrong… Where is everyone?"

He stepped into the city, walking into the first house, as its door was open. He inhaled sharply at what he saw. Blood, blood everywhere, spattered on the walls, bloody hand prints slapped the ground. He pulled back quickly, turning on his heel and darting out. He had to grip the door frame suddenly, feeling his head begin to spin. He breathed slowly, eyes closed. It felt almost as if… as if his chakra was being pulled out of his body. His eyes widened as he ran out of the city. He began walking along the walls, towards Konoha River. He had always liked the sound of it, since he did not have many where he resided.

Reaching the river, he stood by it, rubbing his temples. Rain began to slowly fall, making him jump as one hit his nose, opening his eyes and staring into the river. "What happened here? Had those things attacked? Why was everyone gone? Where are all the ninjas protecting the city?" He asked himself, blinking at his reflection. Was his vision going awry? He stared at the red water, knitting his brow as he bent down, touching his fingers to the water. He froze, glaring at the blood on his hand.

'Those things don't bleed… so this means that someone is nearby… I hope I'm not too late!' He dashed upriver, stopping after only a few seconds of running to see something on the ground. He kneeled by it, picking up something that appeared to be a shirt. Or, what was left of it, that is. It looked like someone had gone at it with a kunai, or a litter of teething puppies had gotten to it, except it was completely soaked in blood. He dropped it upon seeing some foot prints, jumping up and following them, slower than he would have wanted. They went from side to side, uneven, like who ever they belonged to had no coordination.

He finally reached a clearing, stopping in the trees and peering out. Blood was everywhere, yet there were no sign of bodies. His eye caught something light, turning towards it sharply. He gasped. 'A girl? Is she alive?' He wondered, rushing to her, stopping just before her. He stared at the sight. The girl was laying between two graves, a rose on each one, the headbands pinned to the tree. Wide eyes turned to her, Gaara dropped down, picking her up and bringing her to the other side of the graves, by the huge duffle bag. He laid her on her back, pushing her wet hair from her face. This girl… She was familiar to him in every way, since the Chuunin exams, where they first met. Her name though… what was it?

Laying her gently on his lap, he went through the bag she had, looking for anything to give him a clue. He pulled out a bag, tossing it aside before grabbing a box that turned out to be an advanced first-aid kit. It had a name written elegantly in the bottom left corner: 'Yamanaka Ino'. He looked back to her, studying her more carefully. She didn't look so great, quite pale, actually. Though passed out, her face was contorted in agony. Three seconds had passed before Gaara yanked open the kit, beginning to wrap her wounds.

Once finished, he gently laid her down on her bag as he set up the tent. It would be too dangerous to try to travel with her now. Once it was set up, he carefully moved her inside, covering her with the blanket she had brought. He began looking around the area, trying to piece together what had happened. There was a pile of weapons next to the tree, more than enough for three ninjas. What had they fought? A flicker of red on the other side of the trees caught his attention. He walked to it, getting his answer. The bodies were stacked, thrown messily into a large pile, the fire licking at the flesh, burning away slowly.

Remains of heads were scattered throughout, the eyes of each one wide, threatening to burst, some had already. All was enough to make one sick. He turned and returned to Ino, peeking inside the tent as rain began to fall. "She had managed to do all of that, even while critically injured like this… How?" He wondered aloud, shutting the door and sitting against the tree, leaning back, closing his eyes. It was getting late, anyways.

* * * * * * * *

Ino hadn't woken up. It had been 3 days, so someone could have easily assumed she was dead. But every day Gaara would go into the tent, checking her pulse three times a day, changing her bandages once a day, growing anxious. The rain hadn't let up, but it was light enough that it wasn't a problem. Gaara had prepared everything for departure, leaving the tent and blanket for Ino. He had come in to check on her for the last time that day, freezing in place as he saw that she now laid limply, her face blank, lips slightly parted. She was usually very tense, her eyebrows pushed together. He panicked, dropping by her side, pressing his ear to her chest. He waited, closing his eyes in concentration. 'No… she couldn't be dead. Not yet…' He told himself, waiting in silence.

Finally, her faint heart beat had been detected by his ear, making him smile, sighing in relief. He took a deep breath, calming his racing heart. Only to fail miserably as he did a double take at Ino, his lips pursing. Only two buttons were done up on her top. The wrong two buttons. He narrowed his eyes. How in hell did he manage to miss that? He sighed at the task before him. Doing something like this was so unbecoming, so ungentlemanly. Nonetheless, it needed to be done, for it was getting colder.

He sighed, carefully reaching down, fumbling with the tight buttons, and finally getting them undone when he felt something hit his face sharply. "Shikamaru you pervert…" She mumbled softly. He blinked. Had she just slapped him? He looked at her. 'But she's still sleeping…' His face went red. 'And her shirt fell open when she slapped me…' He gulped, looking away. He cussed under his breath, carefully finding one edge of her shirt, then the other, pulling them together slowly before buttoning them back up.

He scooted away quickly as soon as he finished, dragging his hand down the front of his face. "My apologies, Yamanaka-San." He said softly, bowing before sitting straight up, watching her sleep absent-mindedly. She had kicked the blanket off in her sleep, and his eyes began to roam her maimed body. He frowned as he looked at all of her wounds, all of her bruises. His eyes lingered over her neck, narrowing as they traced the shape of a hand in the bruise. He gritted his teeth, feeling angry for some reason. He took a deep breath and calmed himself.

"You're amazing, you know that?" He told her, pulling a bag of jerky out of the bag, chewing it slowly.

"You were almost killed, yet you managed to have just enough strength to take care of your fallen comrades." He narrowed his eyes in thought.

"I mean, if you really think about it, it's almost physically impossible." He noted, nodding as he tore another piece of jerky.

"Unless something miraculous happens in the mind, then your chances of even being able to survive this entire thing are pretty much zero." He told her, sighing.

"How you managed to do it is beyond me." He admitted, laying back, his hands behind his head.

"When you did all of that after the battle, you must have been in excruciating pain, judging from the wounds that you carried from when I first found you. What strength…" Glancing over at her, he watched her turn over to her side, facing him, her hands twitching slightly.

"You lost a lot of blood, too. And those bruises look absolutely agonizing." Sighing, he closed his eyes.

"The terrible losses of your comrades will haunt you forever, I'm sure. It must be painful… Losing everything and everyone that you love…" He broke off, his mind deep in thought. Suddenly, he chuckled, his eyes opening for a moment, before closing again. "I'm talking to a sleeping girl. How strange. I must be going insane..."

* * * * * * * *

The morning had come sooner than expected, making Gaara open his eyes, blinking them slowly. When did he fall asleep? He didn't remember. He sighed as he checked Ino's pulse, smiling as he heard it more strongly now. He crawled out of the tent, standing up and peeking back in. "Okay Ino, I'm going back to the village for more food. I'll be back soon, so stay put." He said softly, not seeming to care that she couldn't hear him. He started to stand, then stopped, taking one last look at her, a faint smile on his face. Finally he turned away, shutting the tent and breaking out into a run towards the village.