Frenzy - I love you guys. I know i said soon months ago but here it is now. at least it wasn't a year... again. Thank you so much Lexiful Sunshine, Felinerx, Jxmorphine and Kiteria for reviewing and All of you who have PMed me to keep me motivated. I've had this chapter up on my computer for weeks guilt tripping over not updating and just not liking the ending. but i hope its okay now. Enjoy

Chapter 9

Getting onto that bike seemed like the most reckless thing she could think of, other than breaking Sasuke's arm of course. Gaara handed her his leather jacket and an extra helmet from under the seat silently and put on his deep red helmet. She was thankful for the jacket, in the skin tight suit she was wearing the night seemed colder than usual. He sat on the bike waiting. She swung her leg over the seat awkwardly, blushing underneath that helmet. Nervous and unsure what to do she sat back in the seat avoiding contact.

Gaara sighed, "Hold on tight." He revved forward a little so she got the message.

Kayla felt a shriek rise inside of her but pushed it back down placing her arms around him.

Her grip was still loose but it was better than nothing. He started down the street speeding up as he went. This time she did squeak and grip tightly as he sped down the street winding around corners and other vehicles. Seeing the road pass underneath her so close and dangerous made adrenaline pump in her veins but instead of fear she felt an amazing sense of freedom as the wind whipped past her.

Gaara could have laughed when he felt her grip tighten, when he took a rather sharp turn it was almost painful but he was only amused by the 'tough' girl's stifled shrieks and gasps. They arrived back at the Subaku's house just as the first snowflake hit the screen of Gaara's helmet. He moved the bike into the small garage and they watched the snow cover the bright leaves and Halloween decorations.

Kayla shivered, "Happy Halloween." She said in an amused tone.

Gaara raised an eyebrow at this but merely unlocked the door and the two stepped into the warmth of the house.

Kayla went straight to her room, changing back into her tank top and sweat pants. She was beginning to feel more comfortable with her scars but not by much. She didn't have much to pack either. Even after a week many of her possessions had remained in the bag Ko had delivered to her. She sat on the bed focusing on her breathing and trying not to think of what she would have to go through, facing her father. She didn't notice Gaara leaning in the doorway. He didn't speak. Not wanting to interrupt the calm that had come over her.

A few minutes later when she finally noticed his presence she had to stop herself from covering her arms. "Thank you for all your help."

He nodded, shifting uncomfortably, he couldn't possibly tell her he knew what she was going through, that was too condescending and she'd take it as an insult no matter what his father had put him and his siblings through. "Any time." He said quietly.

The corners of her lips lifted into what could only be a small smile. She would miss being here; it was so nice not needing to worry all the time. Although she was worried about leaving her sister's there alone, there was no avoiding going back. She wouldn't hide from him forever. There was a long moment of silence between them before Gaara disappeared and came back with a pack of cards. They sat on Kayla's borrowed bed playing Go Fish and Crazy 8's until they heard Temari and Kankuro arrive arguing loudly. Kayla was silently happy she hadn't gone to sleep when she got back because that surely would have woken her, and waking so suddenly usually left her feeling grumpy and more often than not, violent.

They were just finishing up a game and Gaara let out a chuckle as his siblings slammed their respective doors. Kayla looked at him, surprised to hear the light, warmhearted noise uttered from him. He packed up the cards and bid her goodnight leaving her with her thoughts. Tomorrow was sure to be a stressful day.

Sleep was restless and sporadic but when morning finally came she packed all her things into a backpack and readied herself for school. Gaara was nowhere to be found so she walked with Temari and Kankuro. The snow that had fallen the night before stuck to the leftover Halloween decorations but the sun was quickly sending it away It looked at though all the snow would be gone before lunch.

Her teachers greeted her as almost as warmly as before her suspension getting her caught up quickly enough. They were reading Taming of the Shrew in English and she had to catch up, in art they had already finished a project that Kurenai wanted her to finish as soon as possible, in weapons craft people were half way through the plans for their projects, but luckily in taijutsu there was nothing to catch up on.

What was worse was the time in between classes, passing through hallways she was followed but whispers and stares. The word demon drifted into her ears more than once but when she looked for who said it everyone scurried away. It was almost nice being this intimidating. If she walked with Ko she didn't have to worry about fighting off boys. Sasuke still hadn't approached her, so he didn't seem to want a rematch either.

At least her friends treated her the same way, perhaps without disagreeing with Gaara at every turn. The only other thing that stressed her out was avoiding the Akatsuki, it wasn't too hard since they still seemed to half hold a grudge for her lying to them but Deidara was curious and impressed with her breaking Sasuke's arm. Sasori seemed to sense her discomfort and kept Deidara back. She still wasn't sure if he had seen her that night at the alley but she was grateful none the less. It was almost pleasant finding her regular routine. When the bell rang at the end of the day it had all seemed to go by too quickly.

Munasshi came in her mustang to pick Kayla and Ko up but as Kayla climbed in Gaara stopped beside the car on his black motorcycle. "Let me give you a ride home." It wasn't really a question, nor a demand, but more of a suggestion. He didn't look all too comfortable but held his ground.

Kayla looked to her sisters for the OK. While they both disliked motorcycles, Ko grinned like the cat that ate the canary and Munasshi nodded. Kayla hopped on the back of the bike, grabbing the spare helmet and actually holding on this time as the bike took off.

When they arrived, she dismounted, slightly shaky from the adrenaline coursing through her and gave him the spare helmet back. Gaara took off his own helmet and waited. When it was clear he wasn't leaving Kayla almost smiled. Her sisters arrived and parked and Kayla walked forward with them. They had only just made it to the door when it opened and their father stood in the entrance way watching them. Kayla resisted the urge to take a step back. For the moment Saburo Lore looked calm and collect as he stepped aside to let his daughters pass into the house, it was only after they were inside his and Gaara's eyes met, recognition turned to anger as they glared at one another, then Gaara started his bike and revved it, speeding down the street as the girls' father shut the door.

"So you were staying with a Subaku. I didn't know they were here." He said calmly looking to Kayla.

She couldn't be sure but she thought he almost looked... disappointed? Why on earth did that hurt? She supposed on some level of her subconscious she still cared what her father thought. She fought to put up a cold front; he was the reason for her pain. "Ya. Gaara and his siblings are great."

Ko and Munasshi stood on either side of Kayla, ready to react should a violent situation arise.

"I should have known the Kazekage would send his own children to scout out Konoha for him" Saburo laughed bitterly.

Kayla knew he was baiting her. She knew she shouldn't bite but his tone sounded as though he believed what he said. "What are you talking about?"

"Munasshi should have told you, she's gone through all the reports. The Subaku's run the leading Assassin's organization of the world. They're our main threat when protecting someone. Your friend's father is the head honcho. The Wind's Shadow. And he's obviously trusted his children to scout out another base of operation." He looked like the mention of his competitor left a bad taste in his mouth.

Kayla looked to Munasshi for conformation. Munasshi looked distraught at the twisting of information, "There father is who he says but it proves nothing of their purpose in Konoha."

"Oh please!" he spat, "You naive girl. Why else would they be here! The irony that you would go to someone, whose family caters death to the world, for comfort, is amazing!"

Kayla didn't know what to say. The information she just received was swimming around her brain. She wouldn't, she couldn't believe what he was saying was true. After all she already knew they came to Konoha because of a 'disagreement' with their father. But the way he had said it seemed so vague now. She shook her head and started up the stairs again.

Her father moved to the bottom of the stairs, "I don't want you around them anymore, do you hear me? I will not lose any more family to these people."

This made her pause. "What on earth are you talking about old man?"

"Your mother..." he began.

"Died due to complications during childbirth, at least try a little harder if you're going to lie to me father." She growled down the stairs at him.

"That's what we told you but we were in the middle of negotiations with The Subaku's second in command when it all happened. I should never have let her in the same room as those monsters!" his voice cracked talking about his wife.

Kayla frowned, Munasshi and Ko were still at the bottom of the stairs looking shocked and confused.

"You actually believe that don't you?" Kayla said watching the depression consume her father, "You really think it's their fault. Drunken idiot." She shook her head, storming up the stairs.

Their father didn't even seem fazed by the insult, he only laughed bitterly sauntering back to the den, "You'll see, and you'll all wished you had listened"

To this she slammed her door shut. There was nothing more to say and nothing more she wanted to hear. As it was his accusations swam around her head. She tried to banish them by drawing, working on Kurenia's project. Sketching randomly and working through pages crumpling one after the other as they all came out as death. Abandoning that she slipped out of her room, everyone had gone back to normal. Creeping downstairs to Munasshi's room she knocked quietly. The door opened almost before her hand lifted away from the door.

Munasshi stood in the doorway looking almost disappointed. "I was expecting you."

"We'll praise the all knowing sister" Kayla snapped sarcastically. "You have books on everything right?"

Munasshi sighed letting Kayla in and shutting the door. "Yes, including what your looking for."

"Then whats the problem?" Kayla asked impatiently.

"All of my book have been written by members of our clan from the past and while some one them have my knack for unbiased knowledge most do not." The older sister warned.

"Just give it here" she needed some answers, any answers or else the questions would rattle around in her head until she assumed something that would be undoubtedly worse.

Munasshi picked up a thick leather bound journal and put it in Kayla's hands but held on. "Kayla, please accept a little wisdom from me. Your own experience is more important than anything you'll find in one of my books." When Kayla still held on Munasshi let it go. "And if you damage that I will come after you and skin you alive Nee-san."

Kayla felt a chill go up her spine at the pure seriousness of that threat. "You got it." she said slipping out of the room and back up the stairs to her room.

It was hand written, like Munasshi had said, by many different people and mostly contained mission reports, both successful and failures. All relating to the same clan of assassins. A few background notes said that their cover was a range of businesses branching out of Suna. The Head himself was the political leader of the desert country Suna. It seemed ridiculous that someone under so much scrutiny like a political leader could run anything of the sort.

She kept flipping through until she found a different section. Someone had done Surveillance on the Subaku's Home in Suna. They called him "The Wind's Shadow" The Kazekage. It certainly sounded like the leader of a league of assassins. Most of the surveillance photo's were of the Kazekage himself but one in the back showed the whole family.

It showed the Kazekage and two other men each training a kid. A stern looking man with a red tattoo on his face and a cloth wrapped around his head and covering the other half of his face was training a young blonde girl with a war fan. Her hair was practically identical to Temari's. The Kazekage was working with a boy that looked almost identical to him in miniature. The boy was trying to move a wooden puppet but It didn't look like he was having much success judging by the disappointed look on the older man's face. It surprised her to think that that must be Kankuro because with his face paint he looked nothing like that man. Further away from the other 4 was Gaara's unmistakable red hair. Beside him was a blonde man. Something about his features made him look softer, sadder than the other two men. Gaara was swirling his sand around making little sculptures. 'They must have been really young.' She thought bitterly reading the caption underneath. The man training Temari was the Second in Command, Baki and the one training Gaara was their Uncle Yashamaru.

She stared for a long time at the picture of the second in command. 'He was here when Mom died...' she thought staring at the strict look on his face. She flipped the page, not wanting to take anything her father said as fact. The last page was a half finished mission report. A small team had gone to Suna to search for the Kazekage's secret weapon. Not much information was given except that it would give him the power to overthrow an entire regime. They had a man on the inside and were planning to destroy the weapon but none of the team ever returned. It was assumed they were all Killed in Action.

Kayla flipped back to the picture of the Siblings training. Pulling out her phone she snapped a picture of it before closing the book and heading back down the stairs. Munasshi was waiting with her door open as Kayla gave her the book back and headed outside to where her dog lay in the sun, ignoring the slight chill in the air.

She stepped into his fenced off area and flopped down in the grass beside Eri. "What am I going to do now, kid" she said laying back and resting her head on him.

Eri only wagged his tail through the grass too content to even open his eyes. She let out a long breath, trying to feel as carefree as him.

Frenzy - Kinda focuses really heavily on the sisters this chapter but brings in some background on the sand siblings. Good news for those of you who have been asking about when the akatsuki are coming back! look forward to the next chapter! reviews motivate me but i understand if i don't deserve them, i hope to be back soon with the next chapter but I've had a problem as of late with my focus being split on too many stories I want to write. I won't post any more till this is done but They are taking up room in my head.