She risked it all for him. She'd do anything for him, even give up love and even her own life for him. She doesn't need him to say he returns those feelings; she already knows that it may be impossible for him to say it, but she knows he does. But is he satisfied with not being able to tell her?

fumikomu ze akuseru kakehiki wa nai sa sou dayo

yoru wo nukeru

nejikomu sa saigo ni sashihiki zero sa sou dayo

hibi wo kezuru

kokoro wo sotto hiraite gyutto hiki yosetara

todoku yo kitto tsutau yo motto sa aa!

iki isoide shiboritotte

motsureru ashi dakedo mae yori zutto sou tooku he

ubaitotte tsukandatte

kimi janai nara imi wa nai no sa

dakara haruka kanata

Naruto

Beyond What You See

Chapter Six

Flowers for Gaara

Kurome ran yards in front of Itachi, Lacaena, and Shu Yu. He knew he shouldn't because Itachi was his Master, Lacaena his Mistress, and Shu Yu his Sensei. But…He couldn't get rid of the worry. Mei Lan had gone alone the instant either her Kusabana or her Shokubutsu felt Gaara's presence. She went alone. How could she go alone!?! What if Konoha caught her!? With there renewed pact with Suna, they'd know instantly that Mei Lan was wanted for defection. If they caught her…They'd give her over to Suna!
Itachi watched Kurome's back as he disappeared further and further ahead of them. In a normal Master to–what exactly were they to him? They did really feel like slaves or servants–the Master would've been beating both of them for such disobedience. But…As he thought before, they didn't feel like slaves or servants. Beating either of them just didn't seem right. Besides, Lacaena wouldn't like that, even though she wouldn't object. Anyway, he couldn't blame Kurome for worrying. He knew what Mei Lan faced if she were to get caught, and he was worried about her too.
"Yanagi!" Ryunosuke called after her. It was a strange arrangement. It was morning of the next day after her surgery. She should still be in the hospital, or at least in bed. But she refused to stay there. Neji was going to bring her home to the Hyuuga compound, but she refused that to. So, that's how they ended up here, at Ryunosuke's. He volunteered to allow her stay at his home.

She was supposed to stay in bed. She was supposed to stay in the house. She refused that too.

"Yanagi, wait!" Ryunosuke protested, chasing after her. "You should be in bed!"

"I need to practice." Yanagi said bluntly.

"But, Yanagi,"

"Unless you'd rather me take out my fury on you, I'd shut up!"

Ryunosuke sighed, "At least let me come with you."

"Why?"

"Hey, if you fall down, there's not going to be anyone there. If I come along, you'll be safer."

"Don't you have your own team to practice for? Won't they be wondering where you've gone?"

Ryunosuke shook his head, "Kakashi Sensei let us off for the day."

Neji walked to Ryunosuke's house, at the edge of some woods.

Neji stared in annoyance at the letter. It read:

Dear Neji,

Yanagi refused to stay in the house and wanted to train. I went with her just in case. Below is a map of where we'll be.

–Ryunosuke

Neji sighed. Sisters…The map seemed crude, as if it were written in a hurry, but it seemed sufficient enough for someone like Neji to read and understand.

"Neji!" A voice called to him. Turning, he noticed Naruto standing a short distance off with Sasuke, who was rubbing his head out of embarrassment, and Lee, who looked as enthusiastic as ever despite yesterday's injuries.

Neji's annoyance grew; the last thing he needed today of all days was Naruto.

"Hey, Neji! Wanna come down to the ramen shop with us!?" Naruto shouted again.

Figures…Ryunosuke's home was on the way to the ramen shop, Naruto's favorite place in Konoha.

Rolling his eyes, Neji sighed. "Fine." He had nothing better to do before practice.

'Damn…' Mei Lan mentally thought. Now in the dense woods of Konoha, there were Kusabana and Shokubutsu all around, including hers. It was easy feeling Gaara's presence with them; she knew exactly where he was, following the instructions of the Kusabana and Shokubutsu. It was the distance that was the problem; why were these woods so long anyway!?

'Gaara…' Mei Lan thought. 'I'll be there soon. I promise. I'll be there.'

Wherever she stepped, Love in a Mist flowers sprouted, stretching forward towards Mei Lan as she disappeared into the forest.

Yukika fell forward, only to be caught by Kiba. "Were you out training all night again!?" He questioned.

She frowned, "It's none of your business."

"It is if you die." Kiba answered.

"And how would that make it your business?"

Kiba blushed, but recovered quickly, "You are my teammate, aren't you?"

"For a little while." Yukika said. "Remember the Switch?"

'Damn she's like Sasuke.' Kiba thought. 'She's got the snippy phrases and the monotone voice!'

Kiba sighed, "Look, believe it or not, I care about you because we're on the same team. If you keep training through night as well as in the day, you're going to kill yourself."

"You look here." Yukika said, "I need to train harder."

"For what? You train hard enough."

"To prove myself!" Yukika answered.

"To who? Us? You don't need to!" To Kiba, Yukika was being unreasonable. What person trained in the daytime and straight through then night? When did she sleep!?!

"You don't know anything about me." Yukika retorted.

"Then tell me."

Yukika shook her head, "Just forget it."

Yukika pulled away from Kiba, swaying on her feet. She fell backwards, her legs crumbling.

Kiba caught her again, "See? You're going to hurt yourself."

Yukika looked away with a "Hmph." A blush appeared on her cheeks, and she appeared to pout. Kiba laughed.

"And what's so funny?" Yukika turned to glare at him, her small pout still on her face.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Kiba answered. He picked her up with a flourish and brought her under the shade of some trees. He leaned her against them.

"Stay here." Kiba told her. "I'll bring you some breakfast."

Ten or fifteen minutes later, Kiba, now with lion-sized Akamaru, carried a bag of food to her. Although she had an emotionless look on her face, inside Yukika smiled at the kind gesture.

Yuuha gently placed the flower into the hole she'd dug. She buried its roots securely before pouring water over the plant. She smiled as it radiated in the sun.

"Hey, Yuuha…" Shikamaru said from behind her.

She turned, looking up at him, "Hello, Shikamaru."

"My dad and I are going out to harvest the deer antlers." Shikamaru said, "Would you like to come with us?"

"Sure." Yuuha said cheerfully.

Shikamaru offered her his hand, and she took it. He pulled her up and the two walked to his house together.

"Why are we walking on the outskirts of town!?" Naruto complained.

"Because none of us want to be seen with you." Sasuke answered boredly.

"Especially not with that big mouth of yours." Neji agreed.

They were walking near the forest, having left Ryunosuke's home. Now, they, along with Lee, were going to the Ramen Shop.

Gaara walked out of the forest. He just wanted a peek at the village, at humans.

They froze. Sasuke, Neji, Naruto, and Lee stared at him with wide eyes. Gaara!? Here, in Konoha!?!

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A cloud of smoke erupted, and about six Narutos formed. Two came together, beginning to form the Rasengan. The other four attacked, which were easily taken care of by Gaara's rising sand.

At that precise moment, Gaara saw it. It was like the one from long ago; the Rose was a brilliant, vibrant yellow, its tips red. As Gaara bent to pick it, Gaara stared in amazement as its thorns shrank away before him. He picked the wonderful flower, placing it inside his messenger bag delicately.

And then Mei Lan saw Gaara's back through the forest, and only Gaara. Suddenly, almost the entire area flourished in flowers, many different kinds. There were white Bell Flowers, Lilacs, Baby's Breath Flowers, Wood Sorrel flowers, Balm of Gilead flowers, Gardenias, Azaleas, and even some dark red Roses.

"What?" Sasuke said to himself, "Flowers?"

"Gaara!" Mei Lan emerged from the forest, still looking at him. Gaara turned to her in surprise. "I finally found you! I'm glad."

"A girl!?" Lee said, staring at the two in confusion, "Where did she come from?"

"Who cares!?" Naruto commented. His clones disappeared, and he pulled his arm back, ready to attack.

Mei Lan then noticed the group of boys. Her eye widened when she saw Naruto, ready to attack. They narrowed angrily, and the flowers seemed to shrink away, only to be replaced by Petunias and purple Roses.

"You won't hurt Gaara!" She shouted. "I won't let you!"

"Rasengan!" Ignoring her comment, Naruto threw the Rasengan.

Mei Lan looked between the Rasengan and Gaara, batting back and forth, seeing everything in a sort of slow motion. Her feet suddenly moved. Traveling towards Gaara, Mei Lan grabbed Gaara by the hand, shouting, "Run!"

The Rasengan landed, exploding, the force creating an enveloping wind. But Mei Lan and Gaara hadn't been hit.

'Her movements…' Sasuke said, his Sharingan turned on, 'They were so quick, my Sharingan almost didn't catch it!' Sasuke began to analyze Mei Lan. Her hair was long, reaching the small of her back, and dark black. There were many streaks in them, all pink-purple, mostly purple. Her eyes were also a pink purple, but more pink than purple. 'Wait, she looks like…' Sasuke trailed off when Naruto threw another Rasengan. Again, it missed.

"Her movements are amazingly quick!" Lee observed.

"Y-you're helping me?" Gaara questioned.

Mei Lan turned to him and nodded.

"Why?"

"Because–" Mei Lan answered, but didn't finish when a Naruto clone lunged at her, kunai in hand.

'My Kusabana…' Mei Lan thought. 'My Shokubutsu…I must ask for your assistance!'

Using her hand, Mei Lan guided them. Petals lifted from out of nowhere, waving over the clone. It suddenly fell asleep, falling to the ground and disappearing with a puff of smoke.

'What is that?' Neji thought, looking at her chakra network. Instead of the usual blue he saw, or even the red that he sometimes saw Naruto with, he saw green. He saw the same green in small candle like flames in the petals as well, and even in the flowers on the ground.

Naruto made more clones, each lunging at her with either kunai or shuriken.

The petals formed together, making a wall around Mei Lan and Gaara. The Narutos pounded on the petals, slamming into them. They began to disappear in puffs of smoke, but not before beginning to weaken the barrier. Lee joined in, kicking the wall of petals. It broke apart, the petals flying in a soft flurry at them. It felt soft to the touch, and they wondered why she'd use them.

But Mei Lan didn't seem worried at all. Rather, she was smiling. The petals turned around, swinging towards them. Instead of being soft, they were now sharp, cutting them.

They came from all sides, running over them like a flurry of knives. They dodged them, attacked them back; it was all they could do.

Neji took control of the situation, sliding back. "Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms."

An invisible green plain opened up, and to Neji everything went black. He stood calmly at the center of a green and white Yin and Yang. Around it was a circle, and then another one that was larger, and then yet another one. Naruto, Sasuke, and Lee were within the first of the circles.

Neji moved with precision around them, hitting the petals away. While he did this, Naruto formed more clones. The clones acted as shields for them. Sasuke made his hand signs.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Sasuke took a deep breath before letting the fire fly.

The ball of flames shot at Mei Lan. Dropping Gaara's hand, she raised her arms. More petals flew forwards, making another barrier. The flames were much better than Naruto pounding at it; petals fell from the barrier, burnt. The remaining petals dropped to the ground. All around, the petals fell, raining down as harmless as leaves.

Brushing aside their confusion, the boys attacked. Lee was first, running at her and Gaara. He tried kicking her, just as a test run. Mei Lan raised an arm, blocking him successfully. Suddenly, the other three joined in, surrounding them.

Naruto jumped up, kicking Gaara in the head.

"Stop it!" Mei Lan launched herself at him, kicking him under the chin before kicking him twice on the right cheek and another on the left.

Naruto stared at her, struck dumb, as the others moved in to attack.

Although it seemed an unfair fight, each only had one thing in their mind: Gaara must not be allowed to transform.

"Come here, little deer." Yuuha cooed to the buck.

"Not much of a "little deer" now is he?" Shikaku laughed.

Yuuha smiled pleasantly as she petted the tall buck's head. She turned away briefly, brushing the buck's back. During this time, Shikamaru beckoned for his dad to leave. His dad nodded with a playful grin before walking deeper into the meadow.

"So what's wrong this time?" Shikamaru asked, leaning on a tree nearby.

"Nothing, Shikamaru." Yuuha answered absentmindedly. "Why do you ask?"

"You sure did sleep a lot yesterday." Shikamaru stated, "You were still asleep even when I carried you home."

"That doesn't mean I have a problem. I was just tired, that's all."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Making excuses?"

"I'm not making excuses!" Yuuha protested. She turned to him, but he wasn't at the tree anymore. Yuuha turned back to her deer, only to be surprised with Shikamaru directly in front of her. "Shikamaru!"

"Come on, Yuuha." Shikamaru continued, "Don't give me excuses. You should know they don't work; we grew up together, remember?"

"It's nothing." Yuuha looked away.

"If it keeps you up, to me it's something." Shikamaru retorted.

Yuuha sighed, "Its Sasuke."

"Sasuke!? What about him?"

"While its true yesterday was the first time I'd ever seen him in person," Yuuha admitted. "I've been worried about him since last year."

"Come again?"

"I've seen him many times before, and he always seems so…down trodden. He seems depressed to me. And then…That boy, they said his name was Gaara? Even so strong, Sasuke couldn't defeat him when that other guy, Naruto, could. After that, I began to see Sasuke practicing late into the night. That can't be good for his health. And then yesterday, when I was talking with him, it only made my worries stronger. I don't know anything about Orochimaru, but I don't want him to take Sasuke either. That wouldn't be good for him I don't think.

"And then aside from Sasuke there are so many other things. Like our village. We're just barely rebuilding our once great town. There are still places where you go that have been demolished. The battle may be over, but in its wake, it left destruction."

"You worry too much, Yuuha." Shikamaru pat her head, "It's not your job to worry about that stuff. You're just supposed to worry about missions, your team, and yourself."

Mei Lan ducked a punch thrown by Naruto. Using her legs, she kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying backwards, only to disappear in a puff of smoke.

'Another clone.' Mei Lan thought lightly. Turning around, she kicked upwards, catching Naruto under the chin in his surprise attempt.

Mei Lan drew three kunai, each laden with an explosive. Tossing them, they each landed into another Naruto clone. Upon explosion, it released something else. Wires exploded in arching circles, wounding around the four boys. Grabbing Gaara's hand once again, Mei Lan pulled him with her into the forest.

"Oh no you don't!" Sasuke shouted, "Not this time!" Sasuke broke from the wires, running into the forest, followed by his three comrades.

As they traveled, explosions occurred all over, creating many craters and tree fell. Naruto and Lee were caught behind the explosions while Neji and Sasuke were able to continue.

Pulling out his own case of wires, Sasuke grabbed one end with his teeth, throwing the other end till it wrapped around the trees. They sufficiently caught Mei Lan and Gaara. Turning, she was met by more wires.

Neji joined in now, hitting several of the pressure points of her arms. Mei Lan swung her legs but missed. Seeing her distress, vines suddenly sprouted out of nowhere, knocking Neji back into Sasuke. The two collapsed to the floor as the vines, sharp now, bore down upon them.

"Wait, stop!" Mei Lan shouted. The vines froze in place. "Don't."

The vines reluctantly shrank back at her command.

Neji and Sasuke briefly glanced at each other in confusion. Before they could do anything else, a whole team of Narutos followed with Lee attacked Mei Lan.

Mei Lan kicked and punched, dodged and blocked, but there were just too many of them!

Mei Lan turned to be faced with Lee. He punched out at her, but she blocked. Behind her, Naruto lunged, intent on pinning her down. She threw a kunai at it, and it disappeared into a puff of smoke. Narutos began to pop out of nowhere, and she was once again engulfed by the ambush. Seeing a Naruto prepared to strike her down, Gaara immediately commanded his sand. It rose up, arcing as a barrier, Naruto crashing painfully into it. The sand kept going, creating a spherical barrier around both of them, leaving no possible entrance.

Mei Lan was breathing heavily, tired from the effort of keeping all of them down. At least now, in the darkened barrier, she could rest, if only a bit. The trees and plants began to whisper to her. Mei Lan took hold of Gaara, blocking him with her body as one end of the barrier broke apart; Naruto had sent a second Rasengan, and it came crashing through.

"Naruto!" Mei Lan heard Sasuke shout.

"What!?"

"We need to talk with her first." This was Neji.

"Why?" Lee asked.

"She saved us from some vines that were trying to kill us."

"Vines!? Are you kidding me!?" Naruto shouted

Mei Lan pulled herself off of Gaara, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Gaara answered. Mei Lan flinched; her leg was badly wounded. "But you're not."

"I'll be alright." Mei Lan said, "We need to get away from here while they're bickering." Gaara nodded. "You go ahead; I'll catch up with you."

Gaara seemed to take this into account, but refused, "No. I'll help you."

Gaara lifted Mei Lan's left arm over his head to place on his shoulder. Holding her up by the waist, the two began to limp away.

Yuuha rested alone in the shade of a tree while Shikamaru dozed off to the side. She was frowning. She was getting that feeling again. The one she had right before Yanagi landed in the hospital. What if another one of her friends was in danger? What if Orochimaru was back for Sasuke?

'No.' Yuuha thought to herself, 'I won't let it happen again. I won't!'

Yuuha stood defiantly. Yuuha took off into the forest, going in the direction her instincts told her the problem was.

As she traveled deeper and deeper in, a sense of dread held her once tightly. She urged herself to move quicker. Something was going to happen, something bad, and she had to stop it!

Yuuha stopped in shock at the scene before her. Here in this part, the forest was demolished. Black smoke rose where she supposed either explosions or fire had been. She looked around. Once again, her instincts directed her movements. Careful to not hurt herself on sharp pieces of wood, Yuuha skirted the area. She looked around for any signs of someone or some animal hurt.

Yuuha was met by a pack of wolves, dead. Tears welled into her eyes when she saw it. There were so many, and she could only infer that that was the mother and father, dead beside their nest. They had had five cubs in all, and now only one remained. Yuuha immediately happened upon the squeaking little wolf, picking it up and petting it like a mother wolf would lick it. Yuuha scoured about for something soft for them to be put in. She found huge leaves and some smaller, softer ones. Placing many, many of the small leaves inside the big ones, Yuuha made a small bag for the wolf.

Something told Mei Lan that their was something else she needed to do, and that she had to continue on.

Another barrier of petals rose, only to be blasted away by another Rasengan attack. How many could he throw? Mei Lan observed that Naruto's eyes had now turned red and that something was different about him.

In a second, Naruto had another Rasengan ready. Without hesitation, he threw it at Mei Lan. Caught off guard, she had no time to react. Gaara tackled her to the ground, where the Rasengan flew right over them, shaking the trees, and destroying those in its path.

A scream was heard.

Yuuha shielded the tiny wolf as the Rasengan flew by, the force knocking her out, but luckily did not hit hurt. She fell to the floor, fainted.

The four boys looked to see who'd screamed, Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Naruto, you idiot! You hit Yuuha!" Sasuke bound forwards, passed Gaara and Mei Lan. He gently picked Yuuha up.

"How was I supposed to know she was there!?" Naruto retorted, "Maybe she should learn to dodge better!"

Mei Lan stood with Gaara. Given time, Mei Lan began to make a long series of hand signs. After she finished, a giant petals began to rise from the ground. They closed, guarding Mei Lan and Gaara. From the outside, it appeared to be a giant bud, almost ready to bloom.

Mei Lan sat, sighing in exhaustion. Gaara still stood at attention, so Mei Lan tugged at his arm to tell him to sit.

"It's alright." Mei Lan said. "This barrier will protect us, even from Naruto's Rasengan. In fact, this blossom will never open again unless a large amount of Chakra induced water lands on it. Not even I can open it."

"How do you know him?"

"Well I have this technique… I recognized all of them: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Neji, Lee Rock, and the girl were in some of their memories. I believe they called her…Yamanaka Yuuha?"

"M-memories?" Gaara questioned confusedly.

Mei Lan nodded, looking away slightly. "It's a strange plant that was awakened inside of me. I've no idea how it got there, but it just woke up one day…It said its name is Shokubutsu no Omoide no Kako, Plant of the Memories of the Past. It's a strange plant, and the only one I can't fully control. There are two parts of it, the Hiyari Eikyou, Shock Effect, and the Hiyari Jushingawa, Shock Receiver. You see, I can read, see, hear, etcetera, people's memories through the Hiyari Jushingawa. I am the Hiyari Jushingawa. I can show others memories through the Hiyari Eikyou. At times, when I want to, I can use the abilities of Omoide, but I cannot control what or how much comes in. And Omoide is constantly streaming information from all over into me. And other times, when I simply touch someone, the Hiyari Eikyou activates itself, and that person gets memories from either me or what I have seen through the Hiyari Jushingawa. Sometimes I feel the worst part of it is that I can feel every emotion during the Hiyari Eikyou that the person I am receiving from had during that memory."

"Where is she, damn it." Kurome stated bitterly. He looked wildly around, but, despite his excellent tracking skills and eyes that kept track of most things, everything just looked the same in this forest. He was too frantic. A hand grasped onto his shoulder tightly, making him jump. Gasping silently, as he was trained to in the Academy, Kurome turned to look into red eyes.

"Calm yourself, Kurome." Itachi told him.

Under his quiet gaze, Kurome felt his tense muscles loosen. Kurome sighed, letting his tension go. Kurome turned back to the scene before hand, and his eyes instantly began to find small little things that possibly no one would notice. His eyes zoomed about the clearing, like some specialized robot made to look for someone.

He noticed snapped twigs; no, too big a crack for Mei Lan's light frame. A tree leaf out of place; no, Mei Lan wouldn't hurt a tree while running, not even to knock off a leaf; she was strange that way. There, he caught it!

Kurome smelled the faint but always delectable fragrance of flowers that was Mei Lan's. His eyes almost seemed to follow a path as he sniffed further. Petals, maybe two or three, lay on the floor. They were characteristic of Mei Lan's Kusabana.

Forgetting to notify Itachi, Lacaena, or even Shu Yu, Kurome took off by way of the fragrance as well as the small intervals of petals.

Lacaena smiled softly, "The urgency of a brother."

Five Naruto clones jumped at once, punching the large, beautiful blossom as hard as he could. It didn't even budge.

"What is it?" Lee questioned.

"A stupid blossom!" Naruto panted in frustration, "I…Can't…Get it…To open…"

"There doesn't appear to be an opening." Neji commented, using his Byakugan.

"I couldn't copy that technique she used either." Sasuke nodded, "It's probably a Kekkei Genkai." Sasuke still held the fallen Yuuha. "We need to bring her back to the village."

"I will take her." Lee stated.

Sasuke nodded, letting Lee take the small girl away.

"Just make sure you get him." Lee said before taking off.

The three boys nodded to him. For awhile, Naruto attacked the blossom without any hopes of even moving it. Neji and Sasuke observed, both trying to formulate a plan into the blossom.

'This is the strangest technique I've ever seen.' Sasuke thought, 'Whoever heard of using flowers!? But they seem…Deadly for flowers. Those petals sure were sharp before.'

"Shouldn't…Shouldn't you…Bind your leg?" Gaara suggested, timid for once in a long time.

Mei Lan flustered slightly, "Well…See…I forgot to bring anything like that…In my haste to come find you…"

Gaara's face looked shocked and then eager. He dug into his messenger bag, intent on finding the white bindings he rarely used and the healing ointment. But then, his hand felt the rose he'd placed in there before; literally, he could feel the thorns shrinking away as he grasped it gently. He pulled it out, and despite the battle it had just weathered, the rose was perfectly intact and as beautiful as ever.

Once again, Gaara was mesmerized by it.

"You actually kept it!" Mei Lan exclaimed, breaking Gaara from his trance.

"Is this yours?" Gaara asked.

"Well, in a way." Mei Lan answered truthfully with a soft and shy smile. She dare not look at his eyes.

Gaara looked confused. Reluctantly, however, he offered the flower back to

Mei Lan, "Since it's yours…Here…"

Mei Lan looked surprised and smiled, "No, silly. I didn't intend it for me!" Mei Lan gently pushed Gaara's hands back so that he was holding the rose to his chest. "It's for you. It's always been for you. And the fact that you took it willingly makes it even better."

Gaara stared at her in confusion and shock; things were happening way too fast. Questions rolled through his head: Who is she? Why is she being so nice? How did I get here? Did the battle really transition that quickly? How long will I be here? What does she mean this rose is for me? What's happening? Do I know her? His head urged him to ask her these questions so that they may stop tumbling around in his brain, but he found that he couldn't get the questions to come out. It was out of fear; what if she left because she realized she was sitting with a monster? He felt comfortable and even a bit peaceful in this sunshiny girl's presence.

"As long as I'm alive," Mei Lan snapped Gaara out of his ranting mind, "And you nurture and take care of this rose, it will never die. It will never wither."

"Really!?" The excited question was asked before Gaara had time to think about it.

Mei Lan was slightly surprised at his quick and excited response, but recovered, "Yes."

Gaara suddenly dug back into his bag, finding the ointment and bindings. He placed the rose back inside the bag before moving closer to Mei Lan. He opened the jar of ointment and began to rub it on the bleeding wound, cleaning it. Although the ointment stung harshly, Mei Lan smiled again; he was quite gentle, not at all how they used to describe him back at Suna. When he was finished applying the ointment, he wrapped the wound tightly, but not too tightly.

'So she had to use that defense after all.' Kurome thought as he dropped, intent on dropping on top of Naruto who was still attacking the blossom.

"Naruto, watch it!" Sasuke appeared behind him, grabbed him by the collar, and jumped back just in time not to be hit.

"Sasuke!?" Naruto, who hadn't even noticed Kurome, looked at him in anger.

"Look in front of you, moron!" Sasuke answered.

Naruto turned back to the front, seeing Kurome. His hair was a dark, charcoal black. It was short, slightly spiked, and shiny. His eyes were dark black, cold and emotionless, yet somehow still holding some sort of warmth in them. He wore an ice blue green no sleeved shirt and dark black pants. The shirt was tight, showing off all the toned muscles on his upper body, as was the pants that moved with his every movement.

"Stay away from my sister," Kurome stated firmly, glaring at them. Reckless as he always was, Naruto attacked Kurome. Kurome simply moved his head and Naruto's fist missed him by centimeters. Kurome grinned.

Sasuke looked shocked, 'His movements are moving at high speeds too…If it weren't for these eyes…I would've missed it; he's even fast than the girl! And that grin…' A brief memory of the night he, Ryunosuke, and Khatereh were attacked flashed in his mind.

Kurome moved again. Neji blinked and nearly missed it. A second later, and he and Sasuke, as well as Naruto, realized that he'd stabbed him in the arm with a kunai. Blood trickled down his arm as Naruto looked shocked at it. Kurome's grin had disappeared.

A bird chirped, and all three were knocked from their shocks. Naruto moved, kunai in hand, slashing at Kurome's head. Kurome suddenly liquefied, and spiraled upwards, twisting into a great water dragon. It twisted around the blossom, droplets of water coating it. It stayed still, the giant water dragon, when its body had wrapped around the huge blossom, its head seeming to growl down at them. It was then that they noticed Kurome standing on top of the water dragon, his grin once again on his face.

"A water clone?" Sasuke said. Naruto pulled back, standing with Neji and Sasuke.

"He transitioned so smoothly." Neji commented. "From water clone to water dragon. There was no wasted Chakra."

They blinked, and Kurome was gone. In shock, they were suddenly face to face with him. He punched Naruto, kicked Sasuke, and whacked Neji. They stumbled backwards, but only caught off guard, not actually hurt.

Mei Lan looked around as the insides of the blossom glowed. She stood, "My brother Kurome is here." Mei Lan offered Gaara her hand, "Come, when the flower blooms, we must run. I'm sure Master Itachi, Mistress Lacaena, and Shu Yu Sensei will be waiting for us."

Gaara froze, "Sh-shu Yu Sensei…?"

Mei Lan nodded, "Yup. She's quite nice. And when you see her, I'm sure you'll be able to remember her."

Gaara looked up at her, wide eyed. Mei Lan winced, "Oops…It's Omoide again…"

Gaara took her hand and they stood.

The blossom bloomed, wide and magnificent, droplets of water showering off the sudden bloom, glistening in the sun. They watched as Gaara and Mei Lan disappeared into the forest.

"Gaara!" Naruto shouted, but drew back when another dragon rose form the water.

Kurome, again standing on top of the dragon's head, said, "Till next time."

Kurome flipped backwards, off the dragon. He disappeared in midair in a flash.

The three boys prepared to attack the dragon or at least defend themselves when the dragon sank back into the ground.

"What? It just disappeared?" Naruto questioned.

A buzz from the intercoms setup all over Konoha came to life: "All my Presentation groups," Tsunade said, "Report back to Room 23 at once. Repeat, Report back to Room 23 at once."

To Be Continued...