Influences

by redamiB64187

COMPLETE!What happens when Naruto's world comes to get you? Who will you fall for? Will you even survive? Who will try to keep you alive? What happens with all the different influences? Gaaoc

2. Changes

Influences part 2

Itachi smiled, and loosened his grip a little. I looked away from Kisame's face.
"I caught her before Naruto and Sasuke could. She came easily after she saw that Naruto and Sasuke were after her." He said, then he turned and started to walk. I untangled myself from his cloak, then shivered. Hisame caught sight of this, and nodded at Itachi. I ignored them, and gathered myself together.
I opened my hands, palms to the sky, and flames danced on them. I heard a gasp form Itachi and Kisame's region, and smiled. A sudden wind whipped around me, protecting me from any movements fro either of them. A burning from my shoulder made me gasp, but I continued anyways. The flames on my hands danced black, and started to flow together into one sheet of material with various slits and pockets.
I opened my eyes, and they focused on Itachi's eyes. They were calmly locked on my own. I smiled, and the flames on my hands died. I casually slid the jacket on, and the emblem on the back flared red, then cooled. Kisame was staring at me, his mouth wide. Itachi glanced at him, then started applauding.
"Congratulations. Not much can surprise Kisame." He said. I started walking towards Itachi, but the fiery pain in my left shoulder caused me to stop.
"No.. ITACHI!" I called, falling to the floor, my right hand gripping my shoulder, my left weakly supporting me. Itachi, smile gone, came forward, and even Hisame stumbled forward, still caught in a daze. In my pain, my mind reached out to those I cared about. I aimlessly searched for Naruto, Sasuke, even.. Itachi. Itachi was the first one to respond. He opened his cloak and held me up to his chest, his gray shirt wrinkling under the pressure of his arms. Kisame stood back, his face composed.
Itachi carefully pulled away the fabric from my left shoulder, and exposed a tattoo, one of a sun almost completely covering a black moon. As he and Kisame watched, the black moon slowly over took the sun, until there was only a small sliver of sun, and the flames. I opened my eyes, and looked passed Itachi at Kisame.
"Kisame! Don't look into her eyes!" yelled Itachi as he tried to get me to look at him. I saw Kisame look away quickly. My cloak disintegrated, the flames that held it together flickering out. When the cloak was completely gone, the black moon shrunk, until the sun and the moon were equal. Itachi got up slowly, and let his cloak fall. Kisame bent down and put it on Itachi's shoulders, only enough to stay on them and keep me warm. I looked at the windows, and shrank against Itachi's warm chest. I laid my head against his chest, and fell asleep to his heartbeat.
In my dreams, Sasuke called for me, and Naruto sat, silent and sad, searching in the darkness.
I woke up in my bed, Itachi nowhere to be found. I slowly got up, feeling stronger then I had in a while. I looked around the room, and draped over a chair was a cloak similar to Itachi's, only smaller. I gratefully shrugged into it, and fastened it. I walked to the door, my curiosity no filled from that short adventure outside with Itachi. I looked at the door, and it swung open. I softly treaded outside.
The building was eerily quiet. Moonlight softly filtered in through the filthy windows. I looked at the bottom floor, and got an idea. I jumped up onto the railing. Footsteps behind me made me turn around quickly. There were many people I did not know crouched behind me, preparing to pounce. I closed my eyes, and flipped off the railing. The wind whined with the threat of thrown shruikas. I dodged all of them, and they thudded into the floor behind me. I landed on my feet, and looked up. The ninjas froze where they were.
"How?"
"Itachi?"
Were many of their answers. I smiled, Itachi's evil, tiny smile, and some of them bowed before me.
"We are sorry, Itachi-san. We thought you were someone else." Said the one in front, and I looked up. The ninjas were just starting to walk away when the ninja in front of me peered at me closer.
"Wait, you aren't…Intruder!" He said, and he leapt at me. I snapped my head down to look at him, and my eyes blazed red fire. I neatly dodged out of the way, and again, landed on my feet. The other ninjas were surrounding me, when a voice form the second floor called out,
"Leave Her! Go back to your patrols! She's one of us!" I relaxed slightly, but the ninjas surrounding me didn't. I looked up at Itachi, and then back at the leading ninja. He quickly snarled and left, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The other ninjas quietly snuck away, so fast no one else would have been able to see them if they weren't trained in the art of the ninja.
Itachi smiled, standing next to me on my right.
"You are supposed to still be asleep." He said, a smile on his face. I looked at him, then looked around the hall sadly.
"I was going to talk to Gaara. Someone idiotically said his room number while I was unconscious." I said, and I looked up at the second floor.
"You really want to see Gaara?" asked Itachi, his red eyes fading to their normal brown. I nodded, my eyes closed, then shifted the cloak over my shoulders. I slowly opened my eyes, and Itachi gasped. I looked at him with a confused look on my face.
"What?" I asked him. He stopped walking, and reached an arm out to me.
"You're eyes are like mine. Sharingan eyes. I don't know how, but you have them." He said, and his arm fell down to his side. He kept walking, and I looked down at the floor, lost in thought. I was slightly surprised when Itachi stopped, But I acted as if I wasn't. Itachi nodded to the door he was standing in front of.
"Gaara's room. I shouldn't be showing you this, but you asked…" he said, and I looked at the door. There was nothing special about it from the outside, but I knew that there was a reason Itachi wasn't letting me inside. I nudged past him, reaching for the door. I could feel Gaara inside, calling out to anyone who would listen. Only, his siblings couldn't hear him from this distance, or they would already be here.
Itachi realized what I was trying to do, and pulled me away from the door.
"Mitsuko, don't! You'll get killed! Not even I would dare enter that room!" he said, keeping his back to the door and me towards his front. I looked away from his red gaze, searching the floor for something, anything.
"I can keep him under control. ..Please! Anything to keep him from calling out to his siblings! If they come here, there doomed!" I said, and I backed away from Itachi.
"Mitsuko, what…no, don't!" said Itachi, and he got out of the way as I ran full speed to the door, but I stopped before hitting it. I calmly pushed on it, and it opened.
The door swung open with a long creak. Itachi was standing a few feet behind me, watching my every move to make sure I didn't die. The small amount of light that was in the hallway filtered into the room. It illuminated a small, human shaped bundle. The bundle was breathing, but only slightly. I cautiously crept into the room, the voice that I could tell was Gaara's getting more and more panicked as I crept toward the body. A whisper from the other end of the room caused me to act, and I swiftly dodged the flying shruikas that were being hurled my way. One of them nicked my arm, leaving a long, bloody scratch.
"Damn." I said, watching the blood drip to the floor. Itachi looked at it, then turned to the door. It was still open.
"Good. We still have an escape route." He said, and he turned back towards Gaara. I was close enough to touch Gaara when a shadow at the door blocked most of the light coming in the room. Itachi turned around, and looked calmly at who was in the doorway.
"Well, well, well. Who do we have here? And trying to touch my one tail? Shame on you." Said Deidara , and Itachi only looked at me. My fists were clenched when I turned around. Itachi took a step towards me, keeping himself between my wrath and Deidara. I looked up into his eyes for a second, then my fist unclenched and I turned back toward Gaara.
Itachi turned around, keeping his back to me, but I knew he was still watching my every step. He started to talk to Deidara, but I wasn't listening. I reached out to Gaara, and turned his head so it was in the light. There was a huge crack through the middle of his face, and my fingers lightly brushed it.
Gaara stirred, then was still. Where my fingers had touched was not as sharp as before, and was almost completely sealed over. I stroked his face again, only this time my purpose was to heal him. As soon as my fingertips reached the end of the crack, it sealed up behind them. I glanced at Itachi, and nodded slightly. He understood the nod, and started wrapping up his talk with Deidara.
Gaara by now had opened his eyes, and only by a small movement I made that told him not to, had tried to sit up. Deidara was loosing interest in Itachi and was trying to see what I was doing to Gaara. I turned around, walking towards Itachi like I was bored.
"Well, I'm done. Gaara won't even stir. Let's go." I said, and I edged past Itachi. Itachi held out an arm slightly, to tell me to not go any further. Deidara had, by now, walked in the room only two feet. He was watching Gaara with anger on his face. He turned to me, and the atmosphere in the room got ugly.
"What did you do? He wasn't supposed to be active! He's sitting up and watching us calmly. And the crack in his face is gone!" he said angrily, his voice a menacing hiss. I sighed and closed my eyes. They had gone normal before I had even walked into the room. I opened them, my red sharingan eyes blazing out at Deidara. He cringed back, his angry look melting into one of shock.
"You don't deserve to be here anymore. Treating a captive as if it is a dead body! And not even treating it's wounds, to try to keep it alive! He was dying, right in front of your eyes! And you didn't even notice! He can choose who he wants to be with, Itachi and I or you!" I said, my voice dead calm, but cold.
Itachi didn't even say anything, watching me as I held back my urge to kill Deidara. He walked forward now, slipping a shruika into his left hand. Deidara was still too shocked to notice.
"She's right. I treat my captives humanly, treating wounds, keeping them alive. You, on the other hand, probably didn't even know Gaara was dying until she told you. You have a captive you can't even control, so you injure it yourself, and don't do any good to it while you're holding it. You really don't deserve to live." Said Itachi, and with that, he slipped the shruika between Deidara's ribs.
I looked at Gaara, and saw that he was out of the bed, and standing, rather unsteadily. I left Itachi to his bloody job, and went over to Gaara.
"Sorry, Gaara, looks like you have no say in this choice. But, I rather say this was a good way for him to die. He deserved what he got and more." I said as I helped him test out his balance. Itachi left the shruika in Deidara's body, and walked over to us quickly.
"We need to leave. Now. If we get out now, I can fabricate a story about how I found Deidara's body, a bloody shruika, and no Gaara. I looked for you, Gaara, until Mitsuko here found you outside her door, and brought you in to take care of your wounds. Then I came in and the end. Now lets go!" said Itachi, and he strode out the door. I walked calmly by the steadier Gaara to my room. I opened it as Itachi walked past us, nodding as if he had come back from a stroll. I nodded in the same fashion, my eyes fading back to the normal brown. I hurried Gaara inside, and shut the door quickly and quietly. Gaara looked around the room curiously.
"It's not much, but It's all I know around this place. In the morning, maybe Itachi can take us on a tour, sense with Deidara out of the way, you're Itachi's captive. Oh, and your siblings are probably worried sick about you. You should tell them you're alright and that they shouldn't come here. You can tell them you're safe, and with friends." I said, and laid my head against the wall.
"Do you want the bed?" asked Gaara quietly. My headshot up from the nodding position it was in, my eyes wide from surprise as they looked at Gaara in astonishment.
"What? It was a simple question. Do you want the bed?" he asked again a tiny bit louder. I laughed, and this gained a curious look from Gaara. I smiled, and turned toward Gaara.
"It's ..nothing. I never would of thought you would ask a question such as that. Sure, I'll take the bed." I said, and I got to my feet. I started to sway, and an arm wrapped around my waist.
"Well, you aren't steady yourself. Here, let me help you." Said Gaara as he supported me to the bed. I sat down heavily, the bed creaking under my weight. His arm slipped away from my waist, and he stood back from the bed. I let myself fall to the bed, and everything went black. Gaara turned away from me as soon as he was sure I was asleep. He walked over to the door, and it stayed closed.
"Looks like I'm stuck here until she awakes or Itachi comes…" he mumbled to himself, and he turned to look at me again. He walked over to the chair, and sat down. He closed his eyes, apparently asleep, until he heard the door click open. His eyes opened and he slid into the shadows before the person entering could even get one foot into the door.
Itachi looked around the room, his eyes lingering on me, then resting on the chair. He quietly slid into the room, and shut the door firmly behind him before talking.
"Gaara, I know you're in here somewhere, and I'm positive you're behind the chair. It's only me, I'm not here to hurt you or Mitsuko!" he said, and Gaara materialized to the right of him, a shruika in his hand.
"I thought you were someone else. " Said Gaara, and he put away the shruika. Itachi smiled, looking at Gaara as if he was a comrade.
"They still don't know you are gone. I don't think they would mind if I take you and Mitsuko out for a walk, but she's still asleep. You know Naruto and Sasuke, right?" said Itachi, his eyes on the small window at the other end of the room. The tiny amount of light filtering through the windows didn't really illuminate the room well. Gaara looked at me, then turned to look at the door.
"I can wake her. Or should we let her sleep?" said Gaara, reaching for the cork of his gourd. Itachi nodded, his eyes on Gaara's face.
"Gently, though." He said, and he turned to the door. Gaara smiled, and Sand flowed out of the gourd towards me. It settled over my body, and slowly raised me up until I was sitting up. Gaara moved his hand, and the sand brushed against my tattoo and I woke with a start
"Gaara?" I said, surprise working it's way into my voice. The sand fell away from me, and went into the gourd. Gaara reached around to cork it, and Itachi stepped into the light, his cloak making a soft swooshing noise as he stopped. I turned around at the sound of his cloak, the weariness gone for my head in a matter of seconds.
"Itachi. Good. So, can we get a tour?" I said, a half smile on my face as I finished.
"How about food first? I know you must be starving, Gaara, and you too, Mitsuko." He said, and he grimaced.
"What?" I asked, the look he was giving me creeping me out a little.
"The only place for food around here is the cafeteria, and the food there is so bad we use it to kill bacteria." Said Itachi, his smile dying as he thought about how true that statement was. Gaara looked at me, then at Itachi.
"Ill try anything. I haven't eaten in a week." He said, and he turned to me again. Itachi saw the look he gave me, and cleared his throat.
"What are you two saying?" he asked, his eyes red. I got up and brushed the last traces of sand off. Gaara saw what I was doing and waved his hand. All the tiny dust I couldn't see, but I could feel, came off in a cloud and settled on the window ledge.
"I told Gaara that when you came, we could go out on a 'tour'." I said, and Itachi sighed.
"I was wondering when you were going to ask that." He said, and he turned to the door.
"Everyone decent? Ready to go, Gaara, Mitsuko? Remember, anything I tell you here, with the door closed stays behind this door, got it?" said Itachi, and with that threw the door open. I ducked, and the shruika aimed for my head blew by my cheek. Gaara gave me a startled look.
"What? You expect me to be outside here for a few months and not continue training?" I said, and I jumped away from the door as two other shruikas flew in. They slammed into a wall of sand. I looked at Gaara, my face behind a mask of shock.
"The sand does react to my will, you know.." he said, and smiled. It was a tiny smile, but I still was shocked. The normal Gaara has no emotions. So what happened to him? This smile was not evil at all. The sand receded, and I stepped out into the hall. Three shruikas blew by me, one nicking my shoulder, the other my leg, and another landed in the wall.
"Damn!" I said, and I folded to the floor. I glanced back at the door, and Itachi was standing in the frame, shocked. Gaara was trying to move around him, but I shook my head at him to tell him not to come out. I would deal with these jokers. Sand from Gaara flowed across the floor, and into the cut on my leg. Then it traveled up my body and came to a rest on my shoulder, like some giant snake. Gaara nodded at me, and I stood up.
"With the sand inside of you, I can talk to you without using my voice. Also, the sand will obey you and me as well." Said Gaara's voice in my head. I knew that I wasn't going to go anywhere until I showed the ninjas that were stupid enough to attack Gaara , Itachi and I in the same room how stupid they were to even try. Flames from my hands flowed over y body ,and all of my cuts that were open closed, the blood being burned away. The flames died, and The sand was untouched. The sand was weaving around my body, like a snake or a garment loosely blowing in the wind.
"The sand has never obeyed me like it this." Said Gaara, then he was silent. I smiled, and opened my eyes. Directly in front of me was a ninja. The one form last night.
"I thought I would find you here!" He said, and he sprang forward. I sighed, sitting on the railing twenty feet away from him. The sand was still lazily coiling around me.
"What?!" said the ninja, but he was cut off by my next attack. He screamed, his arm snapped in two places. He fell to the floor, holding his shoulder.
"What.. What are you?! There's no way you're a ninja!" said the ninja, sitting on the floor, while I stood behind him. My eyes glowed red from Itachi, who was trying to contain me. My black moon was taking advantage of the situation and was taking over my sun. I could feel it. The sand was moving out, towards the ninja on the floor. Gaara moved to the door also, only he tried to get past Itachi.
"You kill him, and you wont stop. If you have to, use a shruika first! The sand will only make you blood thirsty for more!" said Gaara, not bothering to use thought-speech. I reached for a shruika, and the sand paused, hovering before the injured ninja before returning to me. I closed my eyes, the power that I held in my hands causing me to reach for my black moon. The ninja on the floor whimpered.
"What is your name?" I asked, so quietly that barely I could hear myself.
"What?" said the ninja on the floor. My eyes flew open, my patience wearing thin. One eye was red sharingan, the other had blue pupils and three spikes almost touching in the center.
"I asked you your name." I said, my voice bold but quiet. The ninja on the ground cowered, and he screamed again as his arm brushed the floor.
"Renjiro." Said the ninja, and with that I threw the shruika at him. He didn't even duck. With a last spurt of blood, Renjiro's body hit the floor for a last time, the shruika sticking out of his forehead. Itachi stepped aside, and Gaara ran out to catch me as I fell to the ground. The sand that was still out was on the floor, pooling in circles around my feet.
"Itachi! Quickly! She needs your help." Said Gaara as he gently lowered me to the floor. Itachi came out, and the sand parted ways for him to reach me. Gaara stepped back, and the sand flowed over to him and went in to the gourd. He sealed it up with the cork. Itachi bent down to my level.
"Well, Mitsuko, I'm surprised at you." He said, and he had barely touched me when his sharingan eyes took their effect on me, and I relaxed. Flames appeared on my hands, and flowed over my body, burning away the blood and closing my wounds. My eyes had closed during this entire process, but they opened again when the flames died on my hands. They were Sharingan eyes. Itachi smiled, and picked me up.
"Well, your room has been trashed, so where are we going to put you two?" he said, and he turned towards Gaara, who was looking at something in the lobby. A familiar snort from the lower level caused me to struggle in Itachi's arms. I wriggled enough so that Itachi had no choice but to put me down or he would drop me. I was next to Gaara in a heartbeat. I looked at the horse down in the lobby, and Gaara moved closer to the railing. I jumped over the railing, and Gaara followed, leaving Itachi still on the second level.
"Tzipora!" I whispered, and the big mare turned around, startled by Gaara who was still right beside me. I looked over to Gaara and then back at Tzipora. My eyes widened when I realized what she was doing here. I took a step back, and Tzipora stood still, her body trembling slightly as she told me what happened after Itachi took me.
Gaara was behind me, his body pressed against my own. Tzipora put her ears back and took one step closer to us. My eyes, which had closed while Tzipora told me what was going on, snapped open. They were normal brown, but red was starting to leak into them.
"Tzipora, no! I can deal with him alone!" I said, and Tzipora stopped in her tracks, surprise written on her face. Gaara whispered in my ear.
"So…this is… love…" he said, and a tear fell down my face. I stepped forward, and Tzipora came forward also. I reached my hand to her face, and Gaara watched in the background, with still Itachi on the second floor. I touched the moon in the center of her forehead, and a small pinprick of light filled the room. I moved my hand away from her head, and Tzipora moved around so that I could easily mount up.
"Itachi…Gaara… there is something that I must do. I really don't want either of you following me, but if you really want to , I can't stop you. Do what you want. Gaara, your siblings are on their way right now, searching for you, following the sand. I suggest that they are lead away from here, for if they do enter these doors, they will never leave them alive. Itachi…Hisame would probably know that you were chasing me and follow me. If I ever cross paths with him, he will die." I said, and Tzipora shifted impatiently. Itachi's shape shuddered, then flickered out. He appeared in front of Tzipora, his hand held out. In it was a shruika.
" I will find you again, Mitsuko. Now, I go after Naruto." He said, and with that he threw the shruika at me. A wall of sand threw itself in front of me, and I saw out of the corner of my eye, Gaara had the cork in his hand.
"I…I will come with you. I want to test this new …emotion." Said Gaara, and with that he corked the gourd again. I grabbed the shruika before it could injure Tzipora. I pocketed it, and looked at Gaara. He looked up at me, then his eyes filled with tears. I looked away, my own past conflicting with Gaara and Naruto's.
"Well, are you coming?" I said, and with that Tzipora turned towards the door and galloped away. Gaara watched me, then disappeared in a cloud of sand.
I met up with Gaara, who was talking to Temari and Kankuro in the forest outside of Konoha. They all snapped into fighting positions as soon as Tzipora stopped.
"Wait! She's with me. She saved me again. And, I saved her. She's like me and Naruto, only she doesn't have a demon sealed up in her. She's never known her family. And she can control the sand, and fire. She's worse then me. Also, she has a tattoo of a black moon and a yellow sun on her left shoulder blade. If the moon ever completely takes over the sun, get as far away from her as you can." Said Gaara. Temari and Kankuro looked at Gaara, astonished. Gaara shrugged, and I dismounted to tell them my story.
" Temari, Kankuro, your brother is very similar to me. I have never known why I exist. In the other world, I always thought that I existed for other people to hurt me, and pretend to love me. I was wrong. When I met Naruto, Sasuke and Itachi for the first time, my black moon was reaching over the midway point that was safe for me and everyone around me. I wasn't ready to face Naruto and Sasuke, so I went to the first person with a heart as evil as my own, Itachi. After I found Gaara, I slowly began to change, my personality affected by Gaara and his sand. From a cut on my leg, Gaara gave the gift of being able to control the sand."
Temari and Kankuro by now had begun to relax. I looked away from the three of them, and my word came out like venom.
"And his curse." I said. Above my left eye, the Japanese word for love was slowly appearing, it's blood red color reflecting Gaara's own. Temari and Kankuro silently watched as the word love was etched in the skin over my left eye. There were tears in my eyes as I angrily looked at Temari and Kankuro. The sand that was on the ground lifted into the air and started to spin rapidly around me, the sand starting to glow red as fire. Temari and Kankuro looked at Gaara, who was watching me with very little interest.
"Gaara! Shouldn't you be doing something? You're the only one who can take her on." Said Kankuro. Temari nodded in agreement. Gaara wordlessly held out his hand, and there was a shruika in the other one. He moved his left hand quickly, and blood welled from a small cut that he made himself on his right hand.
"I no longer can control the sand. The Shukaku of the sand is gone. I gave a little of the Shukaku to her. She's the only one who can control the sand, unless…she gives me the same gift I gave her." Said Gaara, and he walked over to the spinning wall of sand.
He held out his right hand, the small cut still bleeding slightly. The sand parted, and I slowly rose my head. MY eyes were blue, with three stripes down the pupil. The sand was slowing down, but Temari and Kankuro decided to stay where they were. Gaara stopped five feet from me. Blood slowly dropped from the cut on his hand, and I pressed a hand to the word on my head. My eyes closed, and the sand dropped to the ground. I staggered one step forward, and then dropped to my knees.
" Alone…so much…pain….Why?! No! Make it…stop!" I said, and I crouched over. The sand slowly rose off the ground and started to circle around me again. A separate column slowly rose up around Gaara, but he didn't flinch. The last thing the sand covered was Gaara's right hand, the blood still dripping off it. Gaara winced when some of the sand went into his cut.
At once, the sand fell away from him, and a small flame sealed his cut, quickly and painlessly. When his cut was only a scar, the flame died, and Gaara walked toward me. The sand that was surrounding me fell away when he reached for me. Temari and Kankuro walked towards us quickly, but kept their distance when they saw how I was still holding my head. They had seen what happens when you interrupt someone who was holding their head like that.
"Gaara…make it stop. Make them stop!" I said, and the sand went over to Temari and Kankuro and quickly trapped their legs and started to climb towards their heads. Gaara realized what I was doing and reached for the hand that was clutched into a fist. At his touch, my hand relaxed, and the sand that was on Temari and Kankuro fell off of them.
"It's okay, they've stopped. There's no need to do that. We're here." Said Gaara, and he held me close. I relaxed, and my hand dropped from my head. The symbol slowly faded from my forehead. The sand that was scattered around us started to flow into the gourd, and Temari and Kankuro walked over to Gaara and I, watching me cautiously. I opened my eyes and they were the normal brown. I sat up, and gasped.
I grabbed my left shoulder, and Gaara leaned away. I gasped, and Temari lifted the cloth from my tattoo. All three of them watched as my yellow sun suppressed the black moon. I was trembling by the time it was over. I looked up at Kankuro, and he looked away quickly. Temari helped me up, and Gaara got up by himself. I looked into the woods, and almost at once, hoof beats, faint but strong, were heard in the distance.
"Tzipora…take me home…"I said, and Temari looked at me with astonishment. She looked away, and I could tell she was biting back a question.
"What, Temari?" I asked, and she looked at me again.
"Where… Where do you live, then? Where's your village?" she asked. She looked at Kankuro, who looked at me, eager to hear the answer to this question himself. Gaara was also watching me, but not as intently as the other two. I looked out at the forest, lost in thought. The hoof beats were getting stronger, and I felt Tzipora tugging at my mind, and I let her take me.
I cantered with Tzipora to where Temari, Gaara and Kankuro were standing. I walked over to where Temari was holding my body. She wordlessly lifted me onto our back, and Gaara walked over to us. I could sense Tzipora was anxious to get moving, but I forced her to stand still.
"Tzipora. I know that Mitsuko is with you. But we all want an answer to the question. Our head nodded, and I felt Tzipora loosing control over my mind. I shuddered, back into my own body. Gaara looked at me, and smiled. I smiled back, and looked out at the land beyond the city of Konoha.
"I live…beyond the ocean. Past the boundaries of this land. In the village of dreams." I said, and with that, the walls that were threatening to break in my heart started to crumble. Tears started to leak out of my eyes, and I felt Gaara pull me off of Tzipora. When she spun around, she stopped short, the shout I gave her still ringing in her ears, but only she could hear it.
"I know …how …the caged bird…feels…." I sang between sobs. Gaara pulled me closer to him, and I cried on his shoulder, the song forgotten. I felt the eyes of Temari and Kankuro on my back, but I didn't care anymore. All that mattered was keeping Gaara out of harms way. Tzipora walked over to where Temari and Kankuro were standing, and watched with them.
When I couldn't cry anymore, Gaara loosened his grip, and I looked at Temari and Kankuro. Tzipora had fallen asleep. I walked over to Tzipora and went to her side. I turned away from her to look at Temari and Kankuro.
"You have a very special brother. Never let him tell you otherwise. He can extract things from you that you never realized you were harboring. In a way, he is similar to Naruto. The delicate friendship you have with Gaara can either end up killing you or saving the world. Never let that friendship end. I have something I need to do. Alone." I said, and with that, I vaulted onto Tzipora's back, and she took off galloping.
"Mitsuko, wait!" called Temari, and I could hear Gaara was running after me.
"Gaara, no! If you come, then you will most likely be killed! I couldn't live if you ended up dying because of me. And you have your village to worry about!" I said, watching Gaara effortlessly keep up with Tzipora's breakneck speed.
"I came after you only to ask you a question. Why do you make ties, and then try to break them? What is the point of creating them in the first place? It's not often that someone from overseas comes here." Said Gaara. I smiled at the thought of Gaara and ninjas like him coming over to my country.
"I was never supposed to come over here. The only reason I did was because over here came and found me. I don't have Chakra, or any of your ninja moves. I'm an outcast. "I said, and with that, Gaara slowed down and eventually faded from sight.
Tzipora slowed down enough so that I could tell I was alone. But, I could tell that someone was trying to remain hidden, so I smiled and Tzipora walked out of the clearing.
"Naruto, why are you here? Where is Sasuke?" I asked, and Naruto walked out of the bushes in front of me. He smiled up at me, then looked around.
"Is Itachi with you?" He asked, reaching for a shruika.
"No." I said. I looked behind me, and Gaara stepped out from the shadows.
"What? Gaara?" said Naruto and he dropped the shruika. I smiled, dismounted and put myself in Naruto's path. Tzipora cantered away.
"No. We shall not fight, here or ever. We all grew up the same way. Unwanted, feared…hated. For something we didn't do. We grew up with out love, with out a family. Only recently have we found love and comrades, friends. We are all allies. The sand and the leaf. And me. The flame. Someone not from around here, who is so powerful that people from here went looking to capture me. But, I escaped, and found friends. "I said, and Gaara walked calmly up to me. Naruto did the same. I turned towards the trees on the other side of the path. The right side was a field of grass, the left a forest.
"The sand, the leaf, and the flame…" I said, and I jumped backwards into the trees. Gaara turned toward the person who threw the shruikas, and watched as the sand started flowing around him. Naruto disappeared into the forest as well. Sasuke stood facing Gaara.
"No…" I said, and I closed my eyes. A sharp pain in my leg made me gasp. I gripped my scar, and Gaara's voice filled my head.
"Get out of here. I will find you. Take Naruto, though. Itachi is around here and is hunting both of you." He said, and I opened my eyes. I smiled down at Gaara and looked at Sasuke. He was standing out in the open, which was not his style.
"Where is Mitsuko?" he asked, and automatically I corrected him.
"Redami." I said, and I jumped from the tree. Sasuke didn't see me and concentrated on Gaara. The clouds above us threatened to pour, and a small wind whipped past me, causing me to look up at Sasuke. He was standing in front of me. Gaara turned around, a surprised look on his face. Sasuke smiled and came closer to me. I got to my feet and motioned to Gaara to stay back. Gaara nodded, once, and backed into the shadows. I knew he was going to look for Naruto. The first few drops of rain were beginning to fall when Gaara returned, Naruto behind him.
"Do you still want to kill Itachi?" I whispered, a small smile on my face. Sasuke stepped back, his smile fading. A rustle in the bushes besides Gaara caused Gaara and Naruto to move quickly away from the bushes. Suigetsu walked out of the bushes, his sword raised.
"Sasuke, what shall I do with these two?" he said, using his sword to point at Gaara and Naruto.
"No!" I said, and I spun away from Sasuke and stopped in front of Gaara. I nodded, once, and Gaara reached around to uncork the gourd. Sand started flowing out and swirled around me. Sasuke calmly regarded my posture and sighed.
"You really can't do much better then that? I can blast away the sand, and hurt you. I really don't want to hurt you, but…" said Sasuke, and he turned to Suigetsu.
"Go ahead. Kill them. But, don't touch Mitsuko. She's mine!" Said Sasuke, and he turned towards me again. Suigetsu smiled, and raised his sword. Gaara stood his ground, his arms crossed. Naruto backed away from Gaara, then he looked at me.
"Go ahead, Naruto. He doesn't deserve to live. Oh, and Gaara, be gentle." I said, and I turned my attention back to Sasuke.
"You still haven't answered my question. Are you still after Itachi? Because he's right behind you." I said, and backed away from Sasuke. Things were about to get ugly. Sasuke turned around, and was face to face with Itachi.
"You!" said Sasuke, and the wind started to whip around. I watched Gaara and Naruto working together as a team and decided to help. With one swing of the sword, the sand was acting to protect Gaara and me. A brown streak from the corner of my eye made me turn away from Suigetsu.
"Tzipora! Where did you come from?" I said, and she moved in front of me to try to herd me away from the fight. I fought against her, pushing against her sides, until a poorly aimed shruika thudded against her side.
"Damn it! No!" I said, and the sand that was weaving around me whipped around into a whirlwind. Tzipora darted away, the blood from the tiny scratch trickling down her side. No one else paid much attention to me, being busy with their own fights. I heard something I never had wanted to hear again. My black moon was taking over again. Memories, some of them Gaara's, were being muddled in my head. More and more sand was added to the whirlwind, and the color changed from dark yellow to red. I closed my eyes and the sand wrapped tighter and tighter around me, forming a perfect circle. The sand was a blood red color, and was very hard on the outside.
"Mitsuko! No!" I heard Sasuke exclaim, and I could feel him trying to get through the sand to get at me. The sand only hardened even more, making Sasuke look like an idiot. The darkness on the inside of the sand was very comforting. I could feel Itachi trying to reach me with his sharinga, but I was prepared and was able to fight him off. The blood from the sand was calling out to me, the voices of those who had died from the sand seeming to whisper in my head. I could feel my black moon overtaking my yellow sun, and I hunched over, the pain from it rippling through my body.
" Gaara! What happened?" said a familiar voice, and the sand swirled for a fraction of an instant. The sand stopped completely, and then hardened again. I fought against the sand, and slowly got to my feet. I felt that word for love being etched on my forehead, and I closed my eyes. The sand moved with me when I stood up, and created a larger bubble, and the color of the sand was still red. I could feel the wind outside picking up, and it was stating to rain.
Everyone was just standing still around the sand. Gaara was behind everyone, and he was the only one who knew what was truly going on. He reached around and the cork that he had placed back in the gourd before he started to fight was in his hand, the sand that forced it out still on the cork. Sand quietly flowed out of the gourd and attached itself to Gaara's already existing sand armor. Gaara could feel the sand was reacting to my emotions, and that the word love was on my forehead again.
Inside the sand, I was close to loosing myself in the bloodthirsty cries from the sand. The only way out of here without killing anyone would be to run away, past Gaara, Itachi, Naruto and everyone else. I was still holding my head as the sand dissolved around me. As soon as it was around my feet, I ran. The sand followed, but nothing was as fast as me when I ran. Not even Tzipora. I will say this. The ninja from this land were very fast. I had even heard of some who only used taijutsu. Rock Lee was one of them.
I felt the rain, but it didn't even matter to me that I was getting wet. It only mattered to get far away from everyone. I only wanted to be alone. I had been alone my entire life. The scant memories I have of my parents and friends are very brief. The most memories I have ever made are here. In the land over the sea. The land of ninja.
"Gaara, you were right. I have made bonds here. Only, I don't want to sever them." I said, and I could sense that there were other shinobi coming up to the left of me, so I banked to the right. I could see Rock Lee, Neji, Shino, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru in the group. It was fairly large for a team, so I realized that they had come out here because of all the noise we had made.
I hesitated for a second, which was enough time for the Konoha ninja to realize I was the one everyone was chasing. They changed course, and started to follow me. I could feel Rock Lee start to catch up to me, but I only ran faster, the black moon leading me on. No matter how fast I ran, the memories came back……. bloody bodies, sand flowing around me……the nine-tailed fox, ravaging the village……. Me, standing in the deserted village, blood, not my own, dripping off my body, my tattoo almost all black moon……….. all of the people who I've made friends with……..saving Gaara……..Itachi's red eyes……..at the thought of Itachi, I started to slow down, and my own eyes went to red sharingan. I looked at the trees, taller then most trees at my homeland, and I jumped into them, quickly climbing to the top branches. I paused, my thoughts jumbled, and my blood lust starting to rise. I looked out over the land of the leaf, and I started to run, the other way that I came…..Back, to the mountains, past everyone who was chasing me, and towards the desert that called to me, the sand in my blood calling out to Gaara. He was the only one who realized I changed course. I could feel the yellow sun beating the black moon back, and fiery wings started to push out of my back. I continued running, but the wings, fully formed, started to lift me off the tree tops, and I flew, higher and higher into the sky, the ninja below starting to realized that they weren't following someone from their lands.
"I am no ninja." I said the no one in particular, but someone answered me.
"Are you sure? One of the one ways for most ninja's form Konoha to track you is through chakra. And most of the ninjas are surprised at your level of chakra." Said Gaara, and he was far away, but following me. He was tracking me through the sand in my body. And soon, everyone else would realize that they needed to change course….
I was flying over the mountains when the sun rose. I blinked back the blinding light, and I started to stagger, but my wing beats continued, strong and forceful. The sand that was over the border rose up to meet me as my wings faded away. I lay on the 'carpet' of sand, and sank into sleep, my body recharging. I never stirred as the sand lowered to the desert floor, and then a lone shadow growing bigger, as the person came closer and closer. I was back to normal, and even my tattoo was normal. Gaara stopped a few feet away, and he looked me over.
" You are one of the only people who has ever understood me fully. You, and Naruto. If you are unhappy here, why don't you go back to your own land? " he said, as he moved closer to me. He kneeled next to me, and he lay his hand on my shoulder. I never moved, but I could feel the care and protection coming from Gaara, and I was surprised. Gaara is not one to show his feelings to anyone, especially a stranger, a alien, like me. Gaara dug his hands under the sand, and he lifted me, the sand falling from my body like water. Gaara started walking, holding his burden with care. I never stirred once.
"Gaara….." I breathed, and he never slowed down. He continued walking, to the hidden village of the sand. He could feel the other people were getting closer, and he didn't want to lose me, one of his only friends, to a gang of power seekers. The person who was leading the group was Naruto, and he was one of the more dangerous people to let her get close to. Gaara reached the gates of the sand village, and he walked calmly inside. The group from Konoha was getting closer. And night was fast approaching.
Gaara walked up the flight of stairs that separated him from his goal; his room in the apartments, closest to the kazekage's building. He shut the door quietly, and set me on the bed. He looked around the unused room, and his eyes caught sight of old, dusty pictures of his family. He rang a finger over the one of his mother, then he threw it to the floor, the glass shattering.
I sat up, my breathing staggered, and sand rolling over my hands. Gaara turned to me, his face blank.
"They are coming." He said, his face blank. I nodded, my breathing going back to normal. I got off the bed, and stood up, my feet steadier then I thought. Gaara only watched me, cautiously.
"What are you going to do?" said Gaara, his eyes on the floor. He looked up at me, and I looked out the window.
"I cant….." I said, and Gaara took a step closer to me. He was taller then me, but only just. And his sandals didn't help.
"You cant….what?" He said, and he stayed where he was, a bad feeling creeping into his heart. I looked at him, my eyes full of worry and courage. A small flame reflected off of Gaara's eyes, and I realized just how I must look to him. Dusty, uninjured, and pissed off at nothing.
"I can't wait for them to find me. This has to stop. Now." I said, and I walked past him, but he stopped me, his arm grabbing onto mine tightly. His face was lost in shadow, but I could tell he was looking at he floor again.
"Do you……do you love me?" he said, and I inhaled sharply. Tears started to form in his eyes, and I could see him, just for a moment, as a five-year old boy, lost in the world. Hot tears started to form in my own eyes, and I gave him a hug as I whispered in his ear.
"Yes. I'm not going away, Gaara." I said, and then I was gone, as fast as any respectable shinobi. Gaara, his eyes wide, looked to the open door, his face a mask. But the tears told the truth.

I ran faster then I wanted to, for I could not get Gaara's face out of my head. I shook my head, to clear my thoughts, and my mind roamed, reaching out to those who I had left an impression on.
I could see them, all doing things important to them……Naruto was running after me……Sasuke was also after me, with his gang, but he was also thinking about Itachi…..Itachi was waiting in the city below, waiting for me to show myself……Temari and Kankuro were on their way home, anxious to see Gaara, alive and whole……. And the last person who my mind reached was Gaara himself, and I almost turned back , to go to him, but I stayed on my path, towards the group. I stopped, a mile away, but the group could tell I was close. I waited patiently, just at the outskirts of the village. The full moon was watching me, and I was alive.
Naruto found me first. That orange jumpsuit couldn't have fooled a baby. He stopped, just a few feet away from where I was concealed in the sand, and I could feel him.
"Naruto…..get into the city, now. I wont let them hurt you." I said, and a sand clone of me formed to my left. Naruto took the hint and went into the city, looking for Gaara. I sent a small, unnoticeable amount of sand with him, to protect him in the deadliest of emergencies. I stayed where I was, and felt that the small patrol of Konoha ninja had stopped at the border, their need to protect their city greater then their curiosity.
Considering Itachi was already inside the village, to see Sasuke be the next person to come to the gates of the sand village was a great shock. I never really liked Sasuke. I stayed under the sand, and Sasuke ran past, oblivious. His group never made it through the gates. I made sure of it. I sent the tiniest amount of sand with Sasuke, so I could see where he was gong. He was going to stay away from my friends if I could help it. When his 'friends' ran up to the building, I used my sand to quietly kill them, and the blood on the sand faded away. I could feel no one else coming towards the village, so I started to make my way to the surface.
When I saw Gaara walk out of the village, I stopped moving, for I didn't want him to see me. He looked around the desert, and turned and walked towards where I was hiding. I quickly sprang out of the sand, and his mask seemed to crack, just the tiniest bit.
"Why were you hiding?" He asked, his face once again a mask. I sighed, and the sand that was clinging to me fell off.
"I was hiding so I could see who I was up against." I said, and I quickly ran inside of the town. The villagers had already been warned of the possible disaster and devastation that was predicted, so they were all locked up tight. I could hear all of the shinobi from all around the country. Gaara walked calmly beside me, until a distance crash made him look at the kazekage's building.
"They didn't!" he said, and he ran, shinobi style, to the building. I stayed where I was, for I didn't want to be noticed until I had to show myself. I wanted it to be a choice. One I could make. Most of my life, I had been living by other people's rules. I was tired of that kind of life. A loud shout, Naruto's, rang out from the direction of the Kazekage's building.
"No……." I said, and I ran to the building, and stopped in horror. Itachi had teamed up with Sasuke, and was trying to kill Naruto and Gaara. Gaara was trying to keep everyone away from the building, and Naruto was….on the ground, and bleeding. I ran into the situation, my head down, and my anger visible. I held both of my hands out sideways, as if to protect Gaara and Naruto. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. The whole battle paused, and even Gaara had a shocked expression on his face. We were on the ground in front of the kazekage's building, so there was a lot of sand. I twitched both my hands, and a huge wall of sand rose up behind me, protecting and trapping Gaara and Naruto.
"No! Redami, I can help!" said Gaara in my head, and I responded quickly.
"Naruto needs you more then I do. Do you want to risk the life of your first and best friend for something as childish as this?" I said, my eyes closed. The full moon shown down on all of us, and cast shadows across the ground. A light breeze blew through the city, and with it, I could smell the scents of a living village. The smell brought back painful memories.
"No more. I can't let you destroy this village. I watched it once, I wont watch it again!" I said, and I grabbed my head with my left hand. Sasuke walked forward, his expression pained.
" What did you watch?" he said, and I kept my eyes closed. I could feel Naruto slipping away……… I feel to the ground, and could feel Naruto, Sasuke, Itachi, Gaara…….I could feel the entire country, in one second…. The full moon seemed to leer down at me….and I could feel the anger vibrating off of Itachi, off of Gaara Sasuke leaned forward, his eyes red sharingan…….and I exploded.
My mind snapped…….my black moon took over, but I stayed in this world, somehow. My eyes snapped open, one blue with three black spikes as pupils, the other red sharingan, and they focused on Sasuke. He spun away from me, but there was blood trickling form his mouth. Itachi was watching me, and I held my head more firmly, for the memories were tearing me apart.
"I…..watched……my entire…….village……..torn apart….by someone, who…..I never found……out….who…..until I was older….. I was two years old. But the…entire scene was….burned ……into my mind……….. and when I was 7,…….I realized……that I……was the one….who killed…my entire village……..an older version…of myself…. I was two years old! My entire village, massacred, in front of my eyes…..but I couldn't do it…I couldn't kill myself….. I am worst then a monster……. All I wanted was to live a normal life, but you guys had to screw that up too! All but the leaf……and the sand….Why do you want me? I can barely control myself…..my village……..massacred…..with just a whim of my older self….. Naaki! Run! Save yourself…..no…..don't! leave me alone! Jasa! Havean! Lakre! Where are you……so much blood…..blood……death, all around….am I the only one alive?……….who..who are you? Why are you?…….no! no! Savake! Don't, run! No! …..why?………Maaka! Maaka! MAAKA!!" I was screaming by the end, my crazed brain reverting to the nightmares of my past. The sand, controlled by Gaara, was wrapping around me, the blood scent form Naruto blocked off……I was back in darkness……..

Gaara stepped out from behind the collapsed sand wall, Naruto already been placed in Redami's bubble. He was not looking good, but she was not either. He started to beat Sasuke off, and Itachi ended up behind him.
"Damn!" he said, and he used his ultimate defense, but Itachi blasted right through it. Gaara backed off, his shoulder dripping blood. Sasuke and Itachi worked together to gang up on Gaara, and he was showing his exhaustion. He wasn't sure, but he could feel Redami start to come back to her senses.
"You are a lot harder then I would of thought, Gaara, but you are still incredibly too easy for me." Said Itachi, and he hit Gaara with a hard punch to the gut. But Gaara didn't fall. A familiar face supported him, and the face was staring right at him.
"Ah, but am I?" I said, and I held onto Gaara with all of strength, for he was not looking very good. I could feel Temari and Kankuro were getting close, but I had to concentrate on the battle in front of me. I used the sand to hold him to me, so I could use my hands for the battle in front of me. Itachi paused, looking back at he bubble, then at me.
"Wait, if you're here, then who's in there?" he asked, and I smiled.
"For a sharingan user, your not very observant." I said, and I turned my own sharingan eyes on Sasuke. He was hovering behind his big brother, trying to stay out of the way of my attacks. I neatly dodged around Itachi, and I paused in front of Sasuke.
"Why are you fighting me instead of your brother?" I said, and he looked at me dumbly. Gaara's head was on my shoulder, his red hair falling into my face every once in a while.
"Because….you are my number one priority…" he said, but his voice wavered, as if he wasn't sure. I smiled, and easily ducked a swipe Itachi threw at me. It hit Sasuke in the nose. Blood spurted everywhere.
"Who is the one who killed your family?" I asked. He looked bewildered at me, then gave a hard glare at Itachi. Perfect.
"Who is the one who hit you?" I said, and Itachi again tried to hit me, forgetting about his eyes. Sasuke's eyes turned to sharingan, and he leapt at Itachi. Itachi looked surprised, then he started to attack Sasuke, completely forgetting about me. I ran over to Naruto's bubble, and I let the sand fall to the floor. I looked at Naruto's body, and I picked him up. He was starting to loose color. I added him to the sand on my back, and it morphed, into a shell/bubble. I left a message for the sand siblings that were on their way. With one last look at the fighting Uchia siblings, and I left the sand village quickly, for the lives I held on my back were more precious then my own. I raced past everyone, the Konoha ninjas on patrol, through the trees to my destination. Nothing mattered anymore…..If either one of the people on my back died, I don't know what I would do.
I stopped short, arriving at my destination. I stood, bloodied and angry, in front of the Konoha hospital. The sand started to filter away, and it swarmed around me, keeping the growing crowd back. I caught Gaara as he fell, and I quickly grabbed Naruto. Naruto was very close to the gates of death, and I was not ready to let him go. He had helped so much with Gaara….and the rescue of me. I walked quickly into the hospital, carrying Naruto in my arms, while Gaara floated behind me, on the sand. His gourd was still on, but I quickly undid it, and I glared at everyone gathering around me.
"They are in critical condition. I am uninjured." I said, and at the words 'critical condition', they snapped into action. Three doctors grabbed Gaara of the sand, and rushed him into an emergency room. Naruto I handed over, and with that, I ran out of the hospital, the pain emitting from the patients too much for me to take. I landed on the roof of the hospital, and I glared at the sun. The sand that was supporting Gaara followed me, and I stepped off the roof and onto the sand, it molding into a platform. I sat down on it, and I started to cry. I didn't look up as I flew through the city. Memories, some my own, some not, flashed trough my head.
"Tzipora!" I screamed, and everyone below me looked up. I leapt off the sand, and it went into Gaara's gourd, which was strapped onto my back. I landed lightly on my feet, and I corked my gourd, heading for the exit of Konoha. Everyone dodged out of my way as I ran faster and faster through the streets, my freedom within eyesight. I was 100 feet away when the great gate was blocked off by water. I swerved, and I ran into an alley, my determination greater then my panic. A brown blur appeared by my side, and I gratefully was swept off on her back.
"Tzipora….please…..I need to get out of here…." I said, and Tzipora put on a burst of speed. I was watching the alleys next to us, and I was angry at the blurs that were chasing us.
"Tenten………." I said, watching a brown-topped blur dart ahead of us.
" Rock Lee……." I said, watching the green blur running the rooftops.
"Neji and Hinata……." I said, seeing two similar white blurs behind us.
"Akamaru and Kiba" I said, watching the two blurs, one bigger the other, racing to catch up.
"and Shikamaru, of course!" I said, as Tzipora stopped mid-stride, caught in a shadow jutsu. Tzipora looked at me, and I nodded. I leapt off her ,and jumped on the sand. The sand rose up, and I was about to cross the wall when I fl t a dart hit my sand shield. I crouched down, and the sand swirled into a floating sand ball.
"Why are you running?" asked Gaara's voice, and my heart jumped. I opened my hand, a small flame dancing on the palm.
"Why are they after me?" I asked Gaara in my head. I could feel the blows that the ninja were throwing at my sand bubble.
"They want you…because you are the only ones who know what happened, the only one to heal us." Said Gaara's voice, and at that the world stopped. The sand protecting me flowed back into the gourd, and didn't stop the dart that hit me in my side. I was falling……and then the world went dark.

Akamaru leapt forward and caught me in his mouth. He returned to Kiba, and set me down genteelly at his feet. Kiba reached down and pulled out the dart, and then he looked at the other ninja gathered around the crumpled body.
" Its her, alright." Said Kiba, sounding bored. Rock Lee peered closer at the bundle of fabric, his eye catching the gourd.
"Why is she wearing Gaara- sama's gourd?" he asked, and everyone looked down at the gourd.
"I was told it was because she dropped off Naruto and Gaara at the hospital, then she took off." Said Tenten, and everyone ducked away from the brown blur coming at them fast.
"Sorry!" called Shikamaru, as he came up to the regrouped ninja. "I could hold the horse anymore." He said, and they looked over at the mare. Her ears were pinned back, and she was standing protectively over the girl.
"WE need to get her back to the hospital to heal Naruto-kun and Gaara sama." Said Rock Lee, and he walked over to the horse cautiously. The mare scooped up the girl and ran off, as the girl cam e back to her sense.

"Tzipora! No! Go back to the ninja!" I said, and Tzipora stopped, her ears flickering back and forth uncertainly.
"Yes, it's safe. I'm here……I wont let them hurt you, I promise….." I cooed softly into Tzipora's ear. The horse turned around and trotted quickly over to the ninja.
"Are you ready? We need to hurry…..can your mare keep up?" said Neji. I smiled, my eyes closed.
"Can you?" I said, and with that Tzipora took off towards the hospital, the ninja trailing behind. Tzipora stopped in front of the hospital, and I jumped off, my thoughts a million miles away. Tzipora trotted off, and only the most observant of ninja could have seen the portal she opened to another world.
I walked calmly through the hospital's doors, the sand wrapping around me in a comforting embrace. I stood uncertainly in the waiting room, the agony of some of the patients started to get through my walls, and I grabbed my head. I leaned against the wall, and waited for it to stop. The sand wrapped tighter around me, and I kept my eyes closed as I was lead by the sand to Naruto's Room. When I walked in, the medical ninja looked up at me. Someone walked forward to touch me, but Tsunade stopped him.
"No…..don't touch her." She said ,and she got out of my way. I opened my eyes, both of them were red sharingan.
"Naruto….." I said, and I kneeled down by his side. The sand stayed away from Naruto, but it stayed on my body.
"Let the rain fall…." I said, and rain began to pour from the sky. A sand shield formed over Naruto and I, and I set to work. He was so cold, so still. I have never seen Naruto this still, even when he was sleeping. I put a hand on his shoulder, and the sand flowed over my hand, and over his body, avoiding the open wounds. Naruto's eyes flickered when the sand went over the seal on his belly, and I carefully moved his clothes to see the seal was faded on one part of his belly, and the skin shivered when I touched it. There was a long scratch through the seal as well, and this I healed quickly. Naruto was not dying of blood loss. He was dying because the kyubi's chakra has been stopped. The sand continued to flow across Naruto's body, But I knew where the worst wound was.
"Naruto…..don't give up yet." I said, and I took off his jacket and the black shirt underneath. Naruto was much more muscled then I thought, so this was going to be more difficult then I thought. Hoof beats on the tiles outside of the door made me look up.
"Tzipora!" I said, and my sand unlocked the door and opened it for her.
"I am here, Bonded." She said, and I leaned on her, sharing her strength.
"As am I, for as long as I can be." Said Gaara's voice, and I reached over and held Naruto's hand as I took the plunge. I kept my eyes closed until I felt my feet hit the floor. It was extremely wet, and it looked like a flooded basement. I heard very heavy breathing, and followed it. As I rounded the corner, I saw Naruto and the kyubi were both lying down, as close to each other as possible.
"Naruto!" I called, and I saw him look up. The kyubi never stirred.
"Mitsuko….what are you doing here?" he said, and I told him to be silent.
"I came here to save you. Gaara came with me." I said, and Gaara materialized beside me. He was holding my hand.
"Naruto, can you move?" I asked, and Naruto got up, shakily. Gaara went over and helped to support him.
"Naruto, go out into the hallway. I must do what I must do." I said, and Gaara helped Naruto walk out into the hallway.
"I am here, Redami." Said Tzipora, and she materialized beside me. At this, the kyubi opened its eyes, if only slightly.
"Why are you here…..sister?" it said, and I smiled, my form wavering. In a flash of fire, I stood on four legs, all nine of my tails waving. My ears flickered back and forth, and my hooves danced on the concrete.
"I am here to save my brother, although I cannot unseal you."

I said, and the kyubi got up. He sat down, and watched me through silted eyes.
"And why would you do this?" he asked, and I smiled.
"For you are the only one who understands me completely. Whoever said that you actually came from this land?" I said, and with that, I started to dance, and fiery dance that caused Naruto to moan in pain.
"Hurry, Sister, or both of us will not be able to be saved." Said the Kyubi, and with that, I darted through the bars of his prison, and I tugged out a few of his hairs. Then, I ran out of the cage, and I started to paw the ground, the water splashing at first, and then drying when my hooves got super heated. I could feel Gaara's worry, and I hurried it up.
"Bonded, you will save him. You did it once. You can do it again." Said the ever-steady Tzipora, and with that, I finished inside of Naruto, but before I left his mind, I changed back into my human form. Gaara and Naruto had already left, but I wanted to say my goodbyes privately. Tzipora even disappeared.
"Brother, why? Why did you do this?" I said, stroking his nose. He whined, and strained against he bars.
"I couldn't help it. I was looking for you." He said, and with that, I opened my eyes, in my real body. Tzipora was standing beside me, and Naruto was breathing easier. I healed his shoulder wound, then I replaced his clothes. I got up, and with one last look at my half brother, I walked out of the room. There was a lot of anxious medical ninja's outside the door, and they looked relieved when I told them he would be fine.
"Where's Gaara? How is his condition?" I asked the ninja closest to me. They pointed at the room across the hall, then they left me to cross the hallway alone, rushing into Naruto's room. I opened the door, and any of the medical ninja who were in the room left quickly. The sand was still wrapped around my body, and I realized that Gaara's gourd was a comforting weight on my back.
"Gaara?" I asked, but I didn't get a response. I quickly walked over to his bedside. He was wrapped up, but his blood was seeping through the bandages. I used the sand to unwrap them at once, and I was horrified at the damage.
"No….Maaka…why did you not run?!" I said ,and I turned and started to sob into Tzipora's neck, my tears from the past.
"Redami, this is not Maaka. This is Gaara, and he needs your help." She said, although she tucked her head to hold me closer. A comforting hand on my shoulder made me look up. Naruto was standing next to Tzipora, his face sadly happy.
"Redami……." He said, and he grabbed me in a hug, and I started to use him as a stress ball.
"Maaka needs your help. What happened in the past stays in the past…..but Gaara needs your help now. We can still save him." He said, and he looked into my eyes, his own that of my brother, the Kyubi.
"Yes. We can." I said, my own eyes becoming that of the nine tailed pony, blue with three black spikes as pupils. We walked forward, holding hands, and stood on opposite sides of the bed. The sand that was wrapped around me started to flow across my arms and gently drop down onto Gaara's still body. It stared to flow across his body, checking for the major wounds first. The sand stayed away from the wounds, but the tears that were falling from my cheeks fell onto Gaara's forehead, burning hot. Tzipora stood next to me, lending me her strength, and I finally found the wound I was looking for. I peeled Gaara's blood soaked and ripped clothing from his chest, and tossed it carelessly on the floor.
Naruto and I looked down at the stomach wound, and we both nodded to each other. We both phased, and his red charka merged with my blue chakra to create purple chakra that we sent through the sand to Gaara's wound. I sucked in my breath as Gaara spasm , his breath coming in ragged gasps. I could feel his pain, burning clearly through my own belly. Gaara was sweating when we were done, and I was glad it was over with. Gaara opened his eyes, blearily focusing on me.
"Where…..where am I?" he asked, and I smiled at him form my position in Naruto's arms. I had collapsed when Gaara's pain went through, and Naruto had caught me, his eyes normal. Tzipora was standing near the wall, watching all of us react.
"You are in Konoha. Welcome back to the land of the living." I said, and Naruto laughed with me. Gaara tried to get up, but one glance from me told him to stay down.
"If you overdo it, you could hurt something again, and I would have to do that all over again." I said, and Naruto put me on Tzipora.
"See you outside in, what, five minutes? Ramen shop, I'm buying." He said, and he turned towards Gaara. Tzipora didn't let me see what happened next, for we were flying down the hall, and out into the clod night air. She stopped suddenly, almost sending me flying off her. I dismounted, and she trotted away, again portaling out of this world. I sat down at the counter and waited for Naruto. I thought he was going to come alone, but I was wrong. Gaara followed Naruto in to the ramen stand, and I got up quickly.
"Gaara! Your alright!" I said, and I gave him a long hug. He smiled and held onto me tightly.
"Why wouldn't I be alright? You healed me, but internally and emotionally. Oh, Temari and Kankuro are coming for you. They want help with Itachi and Sasuke." he said, whispering in my ear. Behind us, Naruto was ordering three bowls of ramen. I felt all the breath in my body leave, at the mention of the Uchiha brothers' names.
"I cant stay, Gaara." I said, and Gaara opened his eyes quickly, fear and hurt in his normally steady gaze.
"What do you mean?" he said, and he held me all the tighter. I smiled, and the sand that was wrapped in my clothes easily separated us.
"The only way to live peacefully is to leave this land, and go back to my own. It is not safe for anyone I get close to. " I said ,and with that, Tzipora materialized outside the ramen shop. Naruto turned around, his eyes that of the kyubi. This would probably be that last time I ever see my brother.