Welcome to chapter nine. Sorry about how long it took. Lots of things to do xc

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.
WARNING: Actually nothing really.

~SCARRED~

'All I will ever be is...worthless.'

~SCARRED~

Freedom.

They are free, able to move about and come support me. I am crouched on my knees, one hand to my chest, feeling out the extent of the damage. Coughing could only help so much, but pressing around was a more accurate way of telling. I had a couple of broken ribs and definitely some minor internal bleeding. Though, no matter how minor it was, it still was the messenger for 'no good'. Kakashi is on one side, Chiyo-sama on the other, both looking over my form. The old woman moves my hand out of the way and presses around herself. After a moment she stills and her hand glows green with chakra, repairing wounds not visible to the naked eye. It eases some of the pain and I nod my gratitude towards her.

Kakashi grabs me by the shoulder. "Kimi, are you okay?" He asks. I nod, murmuring that I would be fine. Although, I might be lying as I myself wasn't sure if I was as fine as I wished.

After that, everything happens quickly. A crowd of people, more than I could currently count out, come along. They all surround Gaara's body, which had been placed in the center of a field not far from the Akatsuki cave. Naruto sits nearby, just staring at the lifeless form of his dear friend. I was next to Kakashi, the two of us propped up against each other, both exhausted. I was more so, as it appeared. But even through the mist in my mind, I noted most of the things happening. For example, our hands sitting mere inches apart. Sasuke sits next to Naruto, remaining silent and staring at him with Chiyo sitting by herself. And at the moment, we all mourned over the person that meant something for all of us.

Sakura, Kankuro and Temari are amongst the first to arrive. Sakura tends to my wounds first, as they were the most serious - a big thank you to my so-called brother. Then she moves about, from me to Kakashi to the boys to Team Gai, and lastly, to Chiyo. The young healer can't do a perfect job and take away my pain, as the resources on the field were scarce, but she does what she can and I appreciate that. After that, the green-eyed woman settles with Chiyo, both next to Gaara's lifeless body. It's not long before even more people come pouring forth, all crowding around. There are those who put on brave faces, those that talk about how amazing a Kazekage and ninja he was, those who cry. I sit in a daze, my gaze traveling between the sky and Gaara. Chiyo moves closer to the dead Kage and speaks out, but I can't make out what she says - my vision and hearing were slipping away, deteriorating with every passing second. I feel Kakashi's chest rumbles as he too says something. I manage, with the last of my strength, to make that out, him commenting that she was trying to bring him back. This is an interesting concept, not the first time I'd heard of the possibility but the first time it seemed like an actual option. I make a humming noise, somewhat a 'yes', as I would have revived the dead jinkchuuriki in a heart beat, had I possessed the needed knowledge and power to do so.

Silence descends upon the clearing. Naruto seems distinctly confused, staring at Chiyo as her palms were pressed to Gaara's chest, glowing brightly with her pouring chakra into him. Something clicks in Naruto's head and he's at Chiyo's side, joining his hands with hers to feed in more chakra. The far-off realization that Chiyo giving her chakra away meant her death occurs to me, and in that instant I feel a pull in my chest. I would miss her; she might have been rude and bitter, but she was still a human being.

Gaara's form twitches and Chiyo leans back, chest heaving in exertion. Naruto doesn't seem like the depletion of his chakra made any difference. A sense of wonder crosses his face as Gaara rises up, and with him, my spirits also ascend. Though, I can not support so much of my weight anymore, letting myself lean further against Kakashi. He says something to me over the roar of the crowd, cheers of joy and happiness ringing through out, but my ears were far to exerted to hear the quiet voice belonging to the man. Sakura pulls Chiyo slightly to the side, supporting her as the old woman faded away, and towards a better place. A soft smile wormed its way upon my lips, turning my gaze fully to the sky. The cheers don't stop in the slightest, but I can't hear them anymore and I black out against Kakashi.

~SCARRED~

I woke up a few hours later.

I was in a hospital bed. In Suna, that was sure - I could smell the antiseptic and sand that was used to build the structures. I pull myself upright, my body crying out in protest, only to discover that I was alone in a tiny room bare of much decoration. There was another hospital bed pushed into the far corner, a simple sand chair against the wall next to it. The window - closed - with the white curtains still. I hobble out of bed slowly, familiar with the ways to move as to cause as little pain as possible. Moving to the window, I brush the curtains out of the way with one hand. I bend down as carefully as possible, reaching to open the window. Jerkily I manage to pull it upwards, opening it. As it appeared, I couldn't raise my hands above my head so the window remained half-open, bits of sand flowing in with the breeze.

I waddle back to the bed, much like an little awkward pup, and lay down, not bothering to cover myself - I was far too exhausted for that. To think, even after all of this time I spent training and nearly killing myself over getting stronger, it still wasn't enough. The thought was enough to really tear me down. Closing my eyes, I start replaying the fight within my mind. How emotionless he was; when he went for my teammates. Kakashi. Holding his hand, those strong fingers in mine. Coughing blood. Masao kissing my forehead. I wanted to rip that look off of his face; that was all that I truly wanted at the moment.

I must have been lying there for at least half an hour before the door opened. In comes Neji, walking quietly, his steps neat as always. He sits in the chair and we remain silent, enveloped by the comfortable aura we shared.

About ten minutes later he speaks. "We are going back to Konoha tomorrow morning, so you should get some sleep. Naruto-san and Sasuke-san both volunteered to take turns carrying you. Kakashi-sensei would have but he will need to be supported on the way back too."

I nod slowly, showing that I understood what he said. "Okay. Thank you for telling me, Neji-kun." Silence again for a few minutes and I start feeling sleep trying to take over my mind. Neji stands, tells me goodnight, and I return the goodbye. The ever-observant Hyuuga had noted that I made no move to cover myself. Leaning over me, he gently pulled the blanket over me, patting it around my form. My azures and his pearl eyes meet, exchanging looks, gratitude and welcomes. And with that, he left me to rest.

~SCARRED~

Most of the time I'm being carried back I am asleep. Sometimes I wake up and talk or eat, but mostly I remain quiet. We reach the border of Suna and the traveling begins to take a toll on my mind and body, making everything ache with pain. I manage to survive the trip, winding up asleep when we arrive at Konoha. The next time I wake up, it's in the hospital room, next to Kakashi's room as the kind nurse informed me.

I'm released in about two days and go home for the night after sitting at Kakashi's bedside. Sasuke and Naruto both came to pick me up from the sterile building, silently helping me home. There, after some minor cleaning up, we eat dinner, mostly in silence as well, with Naruto and Sasuke trying to make small chat with me. We don't do much talking after we finish eating, instead, heading off to our separate bedrooms. I collapse into bed not much later, sleep instantly consuming me.

It's pitch black outside - That is the first thing I note when I wake up. Still hours away from daylight, obviously. I get up out of my bed and stretch a little bit. I was thirsty; the need for water being the reason of my mind being awake at this hour. I head downstairs quietly, slipping down the halls and to the kitchen. I get a cup and fill it with water from the faucet. Moonlight spilled through the windows, bathing the room in glowing light. Leaning against the kitchen counter, I enjoy the refreshing taste water brings to my body. But then, a faint prickling sensation occurs, my ears picking up on the slightest sound of shifting.

Someone was moving around in the living room.

I straighten up, setting the cup down ever so silently, and creep into the living room, trying my hardest to stay as silent as possible with my stiff, aching muscles. Mere feet from the front door was the culprit, bathed in the same pale midnight.

"Sasuke-kun, where do you think you're going?" I voice my surprise, evidently startling the male.

He flinches and turns slowly- oh so slowly- to face me. He's got a backpack on and all of his gear, and it obviously looked as if he was going somewhere - long term. He doesn't look me in the eye, shame written over his sharp features. In the lighting he looks almost like an angel, fluffy black hair framing his face and porcelain skin almost glowing. "Nowhere," he quietly replies, those onyxes still observing the floor. But his voice sounded seemed unable to hide the lies that rang so clearly.

"Really?" I ask. "Should I go wake Naruto up? See if you'll tell him?"

His eyes widen fractionally at my words. "No, don't- I just... am going to kill Itachi. Or, was, I suppose." he finally admits, obviously seeing that his child-like lies could not go by me.

I cross my arms, pressing one hand to my mouth in thought. He was going to go hunt Itachi down and kill him, huh? And what was I supposed to do? Stop him. By law, I was supposed to stop him, or else it could be construed as me assisting in the defection of a ninja, punishable by severe measures. In extremely serious cases, even death.

"Okay."

He blinks. "Okay...?"

I look at him, finally meeting those now surprised onyxes. "Go. You need this. I understand."

He shakes his head. "But you'll get in serious trouble-"

"Leave before I change my mind, or worse, tell Naruto!" I close my eyes briefly, blocking out the disbelief on his face.

He nods. "Thank you, Kimi-chan."

"Don't," I murmur. "Just...just come back, okay?"

He nods once more, those sharp features expressing gratitude in levels that one could never understand. Then he's gone.

~SCARRED~

As soon as it hit 8 o'clock that morning I was at the Hokage tower, knocking on Tsunade's office door. Shizune was looking pretty confused, but told me to keep knocking until she let me in. After a few minutes of incessant knocking the Kage finally answers. I step inside and from the looks of it, she knows immediately it's serious; after all I was not wearing a party smile.

"...yes?" She asks.

A deep breath from my side, long enough to asses the situation. Tsunade was sitting at her desk, seemingly half-asleep and most definitely exhausted, sipping on a cup of tea. "Sasuke's gone," I confess, the words spilling forth without my control. Her eyes widen instantly, looking more like plates than human eyes.

"Explain. Now!" A demands follows as she leans forward in her chair. Her eyes were alight with accusation and, of course, fury. Tsunade-sama was definitely intimidating in times like these.

"I woke up in the middle of the night last night. I went to my kitchen to get water. While drinking, I caught Sasuke who was trying to sneak out. He was wearing all of his gear and had a backpack, just like he was going out on a mission. I asked him where he was going. He told me what he wanted to do... And I told him to leave before I changed my mind about letting him go and he did."

The teacup that had idly been sitting on her table had shattered on the wall behind me, barely missing my face. "Can you explain why you aided him in his defection?" She snarls, enraged features looking threatening as ever.

"...I understand why he needed to go. To kill Itachi. He would do the same thing for me. And he's going to be back," I tell her, my voice sounding a little bit weak. I knew I'd get this reaction, it was what I'd prepared myself for beforehand, but it was a lot harder to go through it. I could feel every fiber of disappointment she was radiating, ramming in me with full force, making me feel bad for letting the Kage down.

"You know what sort of trouble you could get in for this, right?" She asks motionlessly. I nod slowly fully aware of how easily I can lose my acquired position in the ninja ranks, not to mention that she could easily sentence me to death for helping Sasuke. She sits with her face in her palms for an immeasurable amount of time. My throat is tight, and it's hard to swallow, palms sweating like no tomorrow - and if she decides so, there really won't be a tomorrow. I was genuinely afraid of getting Tsunade-sama's disapproval. Of all things. But it was for Sasuke and I knew I could deal with what she told me, however upset I might become.

"For your punishment," she tells me, lifting her head up and letting it rest on her hands, "you will work as an Academy teacher until Sasuke's return. You will take over the teaching positions of Izuki and Naname, meaning you will teach thre different classes. Those classes are Intro to Genjutsu, advanced taijutsu, and advanced ninjutsu. You start Wednesday. Return here at noon for your tour and coursework. And tell Naruto to come by."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama. Thank you."

~SCARRED~

THE END

of the chapter. Please let me know what you think, okay?