Hey, again sorry it took so long. It was Christmas and I did get this done faster than I thought and didn't have chance to upload it until now. So here it is!

Also, I have a couple of notes to make:

To Micchan – Thanks so much for your feedback. Probably the most productive I have received in a while and much appreciated :-) I used the extracts you put as examples, by the way. Hope you don't mind and review me again, seen as though you are anonymous I can't pm you to ask if it was alright. I really do need a beta and had been stubborn, wanting to do things myself but realise that is no way to act. And so it brings me to my second note.

I need a beta. Anyone wanting to take up the job, say so in your review and I will PM whoever I choose. It will be based on who has stories already in production and what the grammar and sentences are like. So I know my story is in good hands :-)

Also… again. I know DEIDARA is a guy. (caps to get anyones attention who didn't read the note haha) I just wasn't an expert as Yaoi but do like and prefer him as a guy and with Sasori. So here is what I'm going to do. –ahem- in note 4.

I will go back and change Deidara into a guy, 'kay? For anyone who will get confused, he will now be a guy from here on. If anyone missed it who didn't read this note, then…

DEIDARA WILL NOW BE A GUY

If you don't know why the hell that is in caps, read the god damned notes lol

Sorry for all the cliff hangers. I really didn't notice I do that so much. I just don't think about it from an outside POV.

I think in the last chapter, I did the wrong note ¬.¬" My mind wasn't working properly. If it was in the last chapter, then at the end under the Next Chapter: I wrote the wrong thing, thinking ahead. I changed it now, if you're confused.

Sorry for all the notes, but they're important for you guys to read. If you didn't read, you may be missing something important.

Recommended Song:

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of its characters. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

-First Move-

-23-

Sneaking back into the house that night had almost made Sakura cough up her own heart, which has proceeded to jump up into her throat. But after the fear and shock of it all, she found it to be quite rebellious. With Gaara beside her, it was made so much more interesting… and safe.

Gaara had simply lifted her by the limbs she threw over his shoulders and they disappeared to find themselves by her window. He reached across from their floating sand pile to lift the catch and pull open the large windows. Once inside, he set her down on the floor and turned to see a calculating look on her face.

"Should I be worried that you've done this once before?" She teased after a lengthy silence, and walked over to her bed, where she grabbed a large, spotty bag and opened up the flaps.

Gaara cleared his throat, unknowing how to answer and turned away to hide the faint blush at memories of the deranged Shukaku taking over and transporting him by the window… once or twice.

Sakura's joke turned more serious as she caught the tell-tale signs of ignoring her question and anger built up inside her. "Gaara! Y-You didn't!?"

"Keep quiet, your prostitute friend will hear you," he mumbled looking around the room at her small trinkets.

"You're avoiding the question! I can't believe you… did you come in?" She pried, opening her drawers and grabbing hand full's of underwear before the red-head noticed.

"No, I was transported outside," he answered before his eyes widened slightly and looked back to a less-than-happy Sakura.

"Hah! You admit it! You… you pervert!" She screeched, looking at him and opening the second drawer, grabbing all of its contents. She waddled over to the bed, thanks to the piles of clothing in her arms, and dumped them in the large, long bag, which fattened in strange lumps like a long tube.

"Relax, it's not like you were naked," he replied picking up a few little tubes and tubs from her dressing table. He eyed the bottles strangely, trying to ignore the deathly aura from behind him. But then again, why not have some fun?

"That's not the point-!"

He quickly interrupted, fighting to contain his rising smirk, "…the first time."

"You asshole!" Sakura spat through her teeth, before dumping the last load in her drawstring bag and pulling it tightly closed. She briefly wondered where the idiotic moment came from as he could clearly be seen smirking in her mirror on the desk.

She walked over to him and pushed him out of the way, grabbing her little gadgets and bottles he had been fiddling with. He watched her silently before he remembered Tsunade's orders.

"Good. Retrieve Sakura's adoption certificates and destroy any other evidence of her existence in that house. We're going to give her a new life."

"I'll be back," was all he said as he moved to her door.

"What? Where are you going? How long ill you be?" She blurted out before calming and directing her worrying eyes to look at the bottle in her hand.

Gaara exhaled deeply, "I'm going to find an office, and I'll be right back."

"Be quick," she mumbled still not looking him in the eye. In a moment of weakness she briefly looked up to see a rare moment from Gaara. He smiled softly at her and nodded in reassurance before leaving. Her cheeks felt hot as she continued to pack her things.

Gaara walked along the top floor, not bothering to lighten his feet partially out of wanting whoever was available to hear to come searching so he could kick their ass. The first door he came to was an office, and he stepped in feeling incredibly lucky and eager to pry into the bastard's life.

The filing cabinet was the most obvious choice. After hunting through different sections and papers, he found the adoption forms and rolled them to stick into one of his many pockets on the baggy pants he wore. He flicked through every document, stopping at anything that held Sakura's name and reading anything of importance.

From the only documented information, he found out small portions of information which didn't seem to make much sense. Some information about a league of beauties, or meetings with important members. He filed the information to brain before commanding his sand to tear through the documents, effectively shredding them into particles. Next, the sand unlocked the window and swept the pieces outside, where they were lost to the wind.

He was pleased there weren't any traces of a computer, as hacking and sifting through files weren't his specialty. The group left computers to Shikamaru's devices.

Once the room had been scouted, he made his way back to Sakura's old room and found her waiting by the opened window, the large, tube bag in hand and another smaller bag upon her back, containing shoes, boots and necessities. She looked back to him and watched him approach. No words were exchanged as he pulled her towards him and let them disappear in another flurry of sand.

When they arrived back, they remained attached and the long bag in Sakura's hand was released slowly, instead settling for getting closer to the tall male and interlinking her hands behind his back. "Thank you."

He buried his head in her hair, inhaling the fresh, warming scent. "You can count on us. All of us, but especially me."

She nodded in his chest and pulled away, taking her bag off and placing it beside the first. "I know."

oOo

The next day felt eerie to Sakura, who was usually in tune with her bad feelings. From the moment she woke up and dressed, as she usually would, to the moment she entered the school grounds. Something wasn't right.

Her friends had grabbed her when she stepped atop the crisp grass and pulled her along to sit amongst them, intent on keeping her happy and showing her their loyalty. Yet she couldn't smile until she figured out why her face felt heavy with dread and her chest was anchored tightly.

She rested her eyes, not noticing Gaara silently slouch down beside her, under the shades of the tree they usually met under. The sun shone down, painting her vision pink through her eyelids and heating her face gently. All around her, the students cheered or screamed like any other day, fooling around with their own group of friends.

The bell rung loudly and she opened her eyes, only now noticing Nina sitting beside Tenten, opening up with a smile on her face. The people around her were ecstatic today.

When she arrived to lesson, after walking alongside the usual group, she waved them off until Nina stumbled over her own foot and Sakura grabbed her our of instinct. Her knee hit the floor before Sakura's grip held her upright.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah… I just tripped."

Sakura chuckled at her friend who stood upright and looked down at her knee, which Sakura bent down to look at. She lifted her leggings up to inspect the damage and frowned. "Jeez, you're gonna bruise. Klutz... look at these bruises."

Nina giggled and rolled it back down, before continuing on hurriedly. "Yeah, I suppose I do have two left feet." She gave a lopsided smile before leaving Sakura to roll her eyes and enter her classroom, where she immediately froze and dropped the bag she had only just removed from her shoulder.

Gaara paused outside the door, about to walk on to his own classroom, when he noticed Sakura's stiffened body blocking the doorway and causing commotion.

"Move already!" One angry student shouted from the back of the piling queue.

"Hurry up, Sak!" Another yelled.

"Move before we move you!" An angrier voice called from behind her, sounding from a tall, thin guy with fair, curly hair. Gaara's eyebrows furrowed and he grabbed the boy's wrist before he touched her. He froze and looked down at his feet as Gaara pulled Sakura back through the crowd and out the way of the door.

"He's here," she whispered, realising who stood in front of her wanting answers. He raised his head and looked out through the window to see a man storm down the path aggressively pushing past late-students. Behind him, his car had mounted the kerb sloppily and almost touched the school's fence.

"Naruto!" Gaara hissed pushing through the classroom. It was times like these he was glad their teacher was late.

The blonde looked up in surprise and grinned, "Gaara, what are you doing?"

Gaara snarled at his friend and gestured towards the window before waving him over impatiently. Naruto seemed to catch on quick and bared his teeth in a manner rarely seen from their happy-go-lucky blonde.

He pushed his desk away, rather than the chair and ran towards the two at the door. The class watched startled and began their whispering as Naruto ran out of the door.

"Stall him, Naruto. I'll take her to inform Tsunade," Gaara said before gripping Sakura's hand and running down the corridor with Naruto tagging along behind. The sprinted until they passed the school's entrance and Naruto tiered off with a grunt, swinging open the front door and going out to meet the man.

When he judged the distance, he slowed down to a quick walk and then stopped all-together. "Hey… I know you right," He grinned, which didn't seem to reach his eyes.

Osamu paused on the path, his eyes skimming over the building with a controlled fury. "I'm afraid you must be mistaken, lad."

Naruto watched him carefully and interrupted before he stepped forwards and onto the building. "No, no I remember you now… Osaka? No… no it's Osuta, right?"

Osamu's rage slowly surfaced into a snarl and he gripped his head, rubbing the bridge between his eyes. "No, we haven't met, move aside."

"No, now I remember… Osamu." Naruto's grin prevailed but the cold anger he felt turned the expression sour and full of malice.

The blonde finally caught the older man's attention and he looked up in surprise before turning an accusing glare on Naruto. "My memory seems to be testing me; your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki…" his fists clenched by his side and his grin tightened upwards. Osamu looked upon his expression with confusion.

"How is it you know me, Naruto?"

"Oh, I'm a friend of Sakura's."

Osamu paused and watched Naruto carefully, judging the emotions radiating from the boy. 'Does he know? Would she be so stupid as to tell another?'

"And a friend of Sakura's is a friend of mine," Osamu replied, testing the stranger in front of him.

"I'm afraid I am no friend of yours…"

Naruto let the expression fall into pure rage and Osamu smirked at him, feeling an outlet for his own hidden anger. Tsunade chose this time to intervene, carefully followed by Gaara and Kurenai. None looked as though they had a friendly greeting prepared. Sakura, who was hidden inside, carefully watching out of the window Gaara placed her by, prayed Gaara wouldn't cause commotion along with Naruto. The two had their tightly clenched fists twitching by their sides.

"Sir, what business do you have with my academy?" Tsunade asked, remaining firm beside Naruto. All three watched Osamu and acknowledged the gaze he sent towards Tsunade's body.

"My daughter attends this school. I have come to retrieve her…" His gaze watched Tsunade's and never faltered once.

"If she truly attends this school, she should be getting her attendance taken. These are school hours."

"Yes, I'm afraid she called and sounded quite upset. I've come to take her home."

"What is the name of your daughter, Osamu is it?"

"Yes that's right. Her name is Sakura Haruno."

Tsunade smiled at the man who kept adjusting his eyes to the three intimidating figures, in particular the red-haired male beside the blonde woman and how his golden eyes focused on him more acutely than the other two.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid the records don't show her father as being named 'Osamu'. Unless you can provide me with the documented proof, I can't allow you in the school without a plausible reason."

"It should be on your records…" Osamu said clenching his teeth tightly, knowing what was happening.

"Hold on a second," Tsunade retrieved a phone from the pocket of the suit she wore and tapped in some numbers. She watched as his hands twitched and he impatiently switched his weight from each foot. "Yes, Shizune? I want you to search through a student's records…"

"How about we do this in your office," Osamu suggested, his eyes never leaving the gold orbs of the man beside the headmistress. He swore the gold was moving.

"It's a fine day…" Tsunade quipped before concentrating on Shizune's words, to which she already knew. "I'm sorry, but the name we have on record does not match… please leave."

He sighed and bit down hard before snarling at the unfazed blonde woman, "What have you done?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir,"

Osamu reached into his pocket and withdrew a long blade, holding it out in front of him with a sinister expression. "Move aside and direct me to my daughter," He spat.

The moment his lips stopped, he looked down to see the blade he held out fall apart into three sections. He looked down unable to comprehend what happened until he noticed the blonde boy's arm moving backwards, his hand still tense and expanded into a claw like state. He looked back into the grinning face he held to see his eyes were not the crystal blue they had once been, but a blood-like red.

"Leave now" Tsunade stated to the man who was trying to piece together what had happened.

He looked past Tsunade and up towards the building, slowly turning his anger into a psychotic grin. "She's watching, isn't she?" He asked not expecting an answer, "You think you've won; you know nothing. You brought on this war yourself…" He turned and marched back down the path and into the car.

Tsunade's shoulder slumped and she looked at both sides to see her boys were still tense. She raised her hands and put them on both of their shoulders, calming Naruto instantly, yet he remained fidgety. Gaara looked at the hand and pulled his shoulder back, not being a fan of letting anyone touch him. Tsunade sighed and turned around, walking back into the building.

Gaara turned and walked into the building and straight towards the empty classroom Sakura sat in. He opened the door and watched her jump, and face him, chewing her lip nervously.

"He's gone." He walked over to her and waited for any movement.

"Yeah…" Sakura stood and grabbed his hand, satisfied that he didn't flinch away as he had done with Tsunade. His shoulder's relaxed and he found his fingers curling around her own.

oOo

Days passed and the Sabaku siblings grew accustomed to housing Sakura, not particularly wanting things to change. She helped balance out the lunacy in the house and soon became the element they never realised they were missing.

Gaara's temper was kept under lock and key, wary of frightening her or having her doubt him. Temari was less frustrated with someone to talk 'girl' to. That and the fact she evened the numbers in terms of gender. Kankuro was happy Temari's quick lashings were shortened and lighter. They, on a whole, were happier Gaara was happy. To put it in such short, simple words.

He didn't know what he was thinking when his eyes began to droop against his will. Maybe insomnia was finally catching up to him. Maybe it was the stress he had begun to feel when he thought of the pink-haired beauty in her previous environment. She was so still beside him, the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest lulling him to join her. Temari had practically begged her to stay in her own room, so every night they could talk but both Sakura and Gaara managed to squirm their way into staying in his own room without actually voicing their protest.

Lying beside her was soothing. They weren't touching; just simply lying. His head had flopped to the side, now facing her.

And she wasn't quite sure how or why she had woken up so suddenly to experience the side of him he tried so desperately to hide. He would have woken her either way. No, not Gaara… the other one.

It was a slow awakening which felt heavy on her eyes. She looked over; reassuring herself that he was still with her only to frown at his small shivers. She hadn't portrayed Gaara as vulnerable and seeing him shiver so much made her worry. Tentatively, her arm reached out for his shoulder as an act of comfort and the shivers stopped. His hands had been firmly pressed to his head, hiding half of his face behind the firm fingers, when suddenly one lashed out and grabbed Sakura's wrist pushing it back down to the bed.

Gasping was all she could accomplish as he pulled up and shifted his weight to pin her down. Her body had already frozen in fear of what was happening. The familiar, uncomfortable feeling began to bite away at the safety she usually felt with Gaara.

"What are you-?"

"-doing?" He sneered before she could finish her rushed out gasp.

"Gaara?" She asked wearily as she stared up into two very different eyes. They were golden… like stones, yet they felt hollow.

"Not quite." He hissed, stretching his lips back over his teeth into a silent snarl.

"What are you doing? This isn't funny!" She panicked pushing against his hold with a blank mind. She had never felt more confused.

"Really? I'm having the time of my life." She took time, as her brain processed all the little differences, to notice his voice was deeper. Almost like gravel and thick of malice.

"What's wrong? What's happening?"

"You're so naïve."

One gulp later and Sakura started to fret more for her friend. "Stop it! Answer my questions!"

His eyes flashed and she felt her chest vibrate from the heavy growl. Ignoring any personal boundaries, he pushed forward in her face, looking dead set into her own eyes, all the while still snarling. The expression didn't last long and amusement soon took over in a set of laughing barks.

"You should be thanking me. I advised him not to kill you."

Sakura's eyes saddened and she pushed herself back into the pillow behind her, adding to the distance between herself and the possessed Gaara. "Thank you?" She questioned unsure of the statement.

He laughed again and began murmuring to himself, "See? Interesting I said."

"Who are you?"

His laughter stopped and the snarl was still evident in the pull back of his lips. "A demon… a monster, tell me truthfully now; do I frighten you?"

"Yes," She whispered shakily in response, struggling to keep the tremor from her voice.

"And Gaara?" He pressed, inching closer again and inhaling her scent. His nose grazed her cheek and Sakura felt herself blushing airily before she remembered she had been asked a question.

"No! He doesn't!"

"We're the same being; you can't be scared of one without the other."

"You're not the same. I'm not scared of Gaara."

"So you're not scared that I could be waiting to appear at any moment? You're lying." He grew angrier but Sakura couldn't work out the root cause of the fury.

"I'm not. Right now, you terrify me. But Gaara is the only person I'll ever feel safe with!"

"Shut up!"

Sakura drew back on what she remembered and after the panic faded and her own anger grew. "Fine. If you won't accept my answer, I'll choose. One or the other, that's what you want right?" To prove a point, she pushed back at him with her own inhuman strength and pinned him to the side Gaara usually lay at. The demon snarled up at her as she answered in a cool, level voice, "I'm not scared of either of you."

That was all it took for Gaara's head to lurch forward and his own strength to battle it out against Sakura. Her eyes widened and she released him in shock, giving him leverage enough to grab her in a restraining hold and lift her legs around him while he stood and pushed against her body, trapping her to the wall. She yelped when she hit the firm surface and his anger dissolved to feel satisfied by the small amount of pain inflicted.

The hold did not waver, yet her body slid slowly downwards and she had no choice but to tighten her legs around him and push her back to prevent falling. "I'll make you scared of me…"

"Why? Why are you doing this to him?" A choked out laugh of disbelief was blurted in her face and she jumped in shock.

"Why?" He patronised, inching closer past her personal boundaries. "I am forced to share this body yet don't share an equal divide. At least I did until he figured out his body never slept at night and I let myself make use of it."

"It's not fair. Why are you trapped in the first place? Is it your body, or his?" She almost dreaded the answer, wondering if she fell for a man with a stolen body.

"His; yet his generous father let me share." He cut off and tightened his lips in a grim line at whatever memory flickered behind golden eyes. Sakura took this as the end to that particular talk and moved on, hoping she could help. If he advised Gaara not to kill her, maybe he had use for her. Maybe she could make a difference.

"Yet, you had a body once right?" She pressed, not hearing his answer but rather assuming it. "He never had one of his own! It's only fair you sit back and let him take control of it. It was never yours!"

His growl became noisier and, without thinking, her hands rose and sealed the sound. She didn't want Temari and Kankuro to panic or get hurt. His hands were unable to remove her own, still holding her up by the underneath of her legs. Aggravated by her bravery, his fingers clenched tightly, digging his nails deep into the tight skin.

Trembling, her arms fell to the front of his shirt, grasping the material, and her back caved, letting her body crumple into his. Gaining full control from the pain she didn't voice, he took a tighter grip on her and lifted her with ease. He no longer felt her strength resisting against him and took advantage of this.

Choking back pained gasps, Sakura's hands moved from their hold and fell to her thighs, letting the cool glow envelop the wounds. In response, his arms rose and took her back so she wouldn't fall and possibly break free of him.

The dim glow barely passing through the heavy curtains proved a comforting distraction to Sakura as the last of her scars were healed. She didn't register the slow, cool breeze against her bare shoulder, but shuddered all the same.

She took deep breaths before she continued and looked back up to his face, "A… compromise?"

"I don't plan on killing you." He almost laughed, wrongly reading her intentions.

"Good. But since Gaara will wake up eventually, you won't have control for much longer. I want to compromise."

"For him?"

"Yes. I want you to let him sleep each night."

"And in return?"

Sakura's mouth opened with an answer but no sound left her throat. She hadn't compromised before to know what to say. "What do you want?" She blurted without thinking. A smile rose to his face and Sakura immediately blushed and stuttered out, "N-Not that!"

He laughed, sounding more like Gaara than the beast. "Fine. Stay with him; every night… without fail."

"What?"

What was he thinking? He could have requested anything of her, yet he simply wanted her beside him each night? Was it a ploy to put her under the impression that when Gaara awoke he would be Gaara? It didn't make sense and she was too suspicious to let it pass without investigation.

Words weren't needed and he seemed to understand she wanted answers and so cut to the chase, "Maybe I'm being kind." He sneered before wiping the expression and looking thoughtful. "If you're there with him; I'll behave." He promised.

"Why would you?"

"His body is my body…" He noticed her rise to protest and cut her off. "His strength is my strength. His thoughts are… well, interrupted by my thought. Which brings me to the most irritating joint effort… His emotions are my emotions… and he wants you to stay."

Without any train of thought, other than overwhelming gratitude and relief, Sakura's arms encased Shukaku in a tight hold muttering continuous 'thank you's'. Shukaku let Gaara's arms trace wherever he pleased yet she hardly seemed to notice until his gravelly voice whispered in her ear, "Want to test how much luck you have left?"

Her body froze and she unlatched her legs and stood down clumsily. Before sauntering over to the bed, his hand moved to trace the skin of her cheek and lingered on her lips, where his eyes lingered unashamed. It didn't take long for him to fall into a sleep she had never seen before.

Though she didn't think to wonder if Gaara would be Gaara when he woke, her unease was detectable when she lowered to his side and lay down, never breaking contact with his serene expression. This time, the rise and fall of his chest won out in the end and her eyes fluttered to a close, lying horizontally on the bed away from the soft fluffy pillows. Gaara's legs hung from the end of the sideboard, his feet still touching the floor, while Sakura curled into a fetal ball, close by his side. The two slept without disturbance in a peaceful slumber.

To Be Continued…

Okay, took a while but phew. Hope you read the chapter notes. Will get on the Deidara thing immediately. Like tomorrow, which is as immediate as I can succumb to.

You know the drill. Review, review, review. Anonymous accepted, just in case my last twenty two chapters didn't make that clear enough lol

Next Chapter: Will Sakura tell Gaara what had happened when he can't remember? Find out more about his and Naruto's demons.