Monster:

A/N: Sorry for the delay, everyone. I wish I could push it off on some amazing story, but sadly, no, the only thing I have to blame is my own laziness. My apologies, but, I hope this chapter really makes it up to you guys.

~xxx~ Chapter 4: Mind of a Soldier ~xxx~

Shikamaru watched as Kakashi lay out on the floor with his head in Sakura's lap, her fingers running through his hair, checking his chakra reservation lines. He seemed relaxed, and she hadn't jumped as if she'd been jolted yet. He was beginning to wonder if it wasn't Sakura's lines that had jolted themselves.

That is until her hands jerked from his unruly silver hair. He raised an eyebrow.

"Did you feel that Kakashi?"

He nodded but stayed silent.

"That's the jolt I'm talking about. It's almost like it gets stronger every time it gets me."

Kakashi sighed drearily. "What does it mean?"

"I'm not sure, but you went on one of your little rampages after I felt the last one. What provoked you?"

"The guards making racy comments about you I think." He told her, looking up into her eyes, "It was almost like I knew I was getting angry, and I tried to count myself down but then something changed and it was like watching from the inside and then everything went black."

She bit the inside of her cheek in thought before sitting back on her hands, "I'd like to see what these rampages look like. Do you think we could provoke you?"

He shrugged, "I don't see why not. I'm not sure why I started the whole rampage thing to begin with."

"I'd like it then if you were near me, Sakura. It's not that I think he'll hurt you, but it's a safety precaution." Shikamaru interrupted.

Sakura nodded, "Alright." She said standing, "What's something that pisses you off, Kakashi?"

"I don't know. All kinds of things."

Shikamaru's eyes met Sakura's and she nodded slightly, they'd discussed the plan earlier and knew what they had to do. She was double teaming Kakashi at the moment, and when he found out later, he wasn't going to be happy with her; but it was for his own good.

Sakura winced as Shikamaru's hand cracked across her cheek.

Kakashi sat up, watching them intently. What the hell was that? He felt that sinking angry feeling start, and started counting back from ten.

"What the hell was that for?" Sakura yelled at Shikamaru, noting Kakashi's alert reaction.

He shrugged, "You know exactly what that was for."

"I told you last night that I didn't want to! You think hitting me is going to make me crawl into your bed any faster?"

Kakashi slowly rose to his feet. His expression completely different from the one he'd had mere seconds ago.

Sakura looked back at Shikamaru and raised her brow.

"Kakashi?"

He didn't answer; he just stood there, eyeing the duo.

"Kakashi?" Sakura cooed softly, "Are you with us?"

Shikamaru slammed Sakura out of the way as Kakashi came at them, the usual humored light from his eyes completely gone, and new almost demonic shadow glinted in them now. It wasn't even Kakashi.

She watched in shock as Shikamaru and Kakashi battled against eachother, nearly matched in wit and strength.

"Stop it!" Sakura yelled as Shikamaru was forced back against her wall with a loud thump, Kakashi seeming to draw upon a hidden strength. He was like an animal the way he moved, the look in his eye. "Please stop! You're hurting him!" She could only watch as Shikamaru's face started turning red, his air cut off by the hand at his throat.

Shikamaru gasped as the hold around his neck lightened and pulled back completely. Kakashi stood panting staring absently at his feet as he slowly stepped back from the ANBU member. His gaze rose to Sakura's and she knew it was Kakashi's mindset again.

He trembled when she neared him, stepping back. "Don't touch me. I don't want to hurt you…" He demanded quietly, his eyes flickering to the man against the wall panting.

"I need to examine you!"

"No. Absolutely no."

"Please Kakashi, let me…" Her hands reached out and touched his arm and he flinched away, and stormed to his room at the end of the hall and slammed his door.

Sakura looked to Shikamaru, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine…Just winded. What the hell just happened?"

She shrugged and shook her head unbelievingly, "I think… we just saw the monster."

Kakashi sat in the closet of his room, clenching his head with his hands. What had happened out there?

He sat thinking, thinking of anything it could be and he slowly made the realization that he had attacked Shikamaru in blind rage; but it wasn't him. He would never intentionally hurt someone he cared for.

He jumped with each jolt of chakra he felt and hissed with the pain of the small shocks. It was like something was trying to take over his head or at least it was trying to kill him. A small part of him wished it would hurry up already.

"Let me out."

Kakashi bolted upright at the dark voice, the guttural sound actually scaring him to his feet. He remembered that voice, but from where?

"Let me out!"

Sakura sipped at her tea as she and Shikamaru talked over what was going on with Kakashi.

"It could simply be a custom symptom of PTSD; he's been through a lot, you know."

"It's not that I don't think it's not, It just…It wasn't Kakashi holding me up by my neck." The Nara replied dryly. "I could go the administrative office and break into the full profile record kept on his family. Maybe it's genetic?"

She shrugged, "That's a good idea, family history might affect this. See what you can get on him."

"I don't want to leave you alone though."

"I can handle myself." She reassured him.

"Okay. I'll be back shortly." He was gone in a puff of smoke.

Sakura rolled the rim of the now empty cup against the table top, humming with thought as she tried to work through things. Kakashi wasn't crazy. Kakashi had killed many, many people. Kakashi didn't remember killing. This was so much to take in.

She sighed and thumped her forehead against the table surface, ignoring the sound of Kakashi walking down the hall.

"Sakura."-"Sakura."

She lifted her head and turned around, Kakashi stood, panting with the same homicidal look in his eyes like when he'd attacked Shikamaru. She'd heard two voices, one Kakashi's and the other dark and growling.

"Kakashi?" She swallowed hard, her hand going to the holster at her thigh. "Are you alright?"

"Kakashi who?"-"Kakashi who?"

The voices were in unison and Sakura pushed back from the table, moving closer to her counter as Kakashi started walking slowly forward. His shoulders were straight and back, not at all like Kakashi's normally slouched posture. If Sakura had ever felt true fear, it was nothing to what she felt now.

"Who are you?" Her voice trembled with the question as he glared from across the kitchen. "Kakashi!"

She could see the struggle in the man's eyes. Sakura wanted to cry, what ever Kakashi was fighting with, she wanted it to go away.

"Tell him to let me out, Sakura."-"Tell him to let me out, Sakura."

~xxx-xxx-xxx~

A/N; I promise I'll get the next chapter out sooner guys.