Well here's chapter 3 and as I write this I am wondering to myself if anyone actually reads these little notes I put at the bottoms and tops of the pages or if I am, like usual, just talking to myself? Well anyways, please enjoy. I don't own anything but my characters and the plot of the story.

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Ch.3

Gaara woke from his light sleep with a start as he heard a door open. He quickly scanned around the room. The girl was still asleep.

"Relax, it's only me" explained his sister. She walked over to the side of the bed. "How is she?" Temari asked, placing her hand on the stranger's forehead. "Her fever is gone. That's good."

"She's still alive. She hasn't woken up yet," answered the Kazekage. He glanced out the door as his brother shuffled past the door, still in sweat pants. "What time is it?"

"A little after nine"

"Damn," he cursed. "Why didn't' you wake me earlier? I was supposed to be at work three hours ago." He got out of his chair only to be shoved back into it by Temari.

"No, I called the office and told them you were not well and won't be coming in today. Kankuro too." She crossed her arms. "Both of you look like shit and need some rest."

"I can't-"

"I said no, plus you need to stay here and watch your "Friend"." She added quotes in the air with her fingers.

Gaara was unhappy but his sister was right. He needed to be here in case She woke up. There were a lot of things they needed to talk about and it would be impossible to do so if she ran off while he was at work. "Fine" he agreed reluctantly. He looked back to the sleeping girl, looking for some sign that she might wake up soon.

Temari placed her hand on his shoulder. "I don't have to leave for my mission for another two hours. Why don't you go get some rest in my room for a little and I'll watch her."

"Not tired"

"Then at least go clean up? Please?"

The Kazekage examined himself. Temari was right; he needed to go clean up. There was dried blood on his shirt and arms. Plus he felt gross and sweaty. It couldn't hurt to take a quick shower. "Fine" he said. He stood up and grabbed some clean clothes out of his closet.

"I promise to let you know if anything changes."

"Alright"

Temari sat down in his chair and opened a magazine that she had been carrying.

"I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Mhmm. Take your time," she hummed as she flipped through pages.

He walked to the door at the side of his room but stopped after he opened the door. "Temari?"

She looked up from her magazine and turned in her chair. "Yeah?'

"Thank you… for everything" he mumbled before walking into the bathroom and closing the door.

"Sure" she smiled to herself. She returned to her magazine.

Rayne's fingers twitched. She had regained motion. She kept her eyes closed. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was. She breathed in deeply through her nose. Her heightened sense allowed her to pick up on things normal humans wouldn't, like the faint smell of blood that filled the room or the scent of the apple-scented shampoo the girl sitting near her had recently used. She cracked her eyes open and looked around.

"So you're awake?" asked the female.

Rayne didn't know why, but she always hated that question. She looked away from the sandy haired kunoichi.

"How are you feeling?

"Hn"

"You probably look like shit" laughed Madarou

"Shut up!" she threatened.

"Do you know where you are?" asked the blond.

Rayne, not wanting to cause pain to her sore throat, nodded her head "yes". She looked around the room, watching for danger, looking for a way out if she needed one. The window next to the bed looked good. However, reaching it in her condition was a different story and she hoped it wouldn't come to that. These people didn't know anything about her. There shouldn't be anything to worry about.

"Can I take a look at your injuries?" asked the blond reaching for Rayne's arm.

"No, don't" croaked Rayne, pushing away Temari's hand. She noticed her arms were completely covered with bandages.

"What? But I insist. You didn't look too good last night. I just want to make sure everything's okay."

"I'm fine" she growled.

"I don't care what you think. Gaara asked me to help you so I'm going to help you whether you want me to or not" she smiled. "Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way"

Rayne squirmed away from Temari but didn't get far. She was in too much pain to move.

"I wouldn't try moving, you have a few broken ribs and an injured wrist. You'll do more damage." Sighed the woman.

"Honey…" came Madarou's voice.

"What?" snapped Rayne.

"Let her help you. We are in no condition to do anything."

"I don't need help!"

"Yes we do!" he snapped back. "Quite being so stubborn, foolish girl."

"How do we know we can trust them? They are not like ordinary people. I can't just kill them if we are found out. He's the fucking Kazekage!"

"We don't need to trust them. Let them help so you can get better and we can get the hell out of here.

"So what's it going to be?" asked Temari, her hands on her hips.

Rayne sighed. She didn't like it but Madarou was right, like usual. She did need help

"Whatever"

"Good, I didn't want to cause more injuries" she smiled. "So what's your name?" She pulled Rayne up into a sitting position. It hurt like hell to move. Her whole body was sore. She cursed silently to herself, with such a colourful vocabulary that Madarou chuckled, while she shot threatening glances at the woman across from her. But, Rayne remained silent as the kunoichi grabbed her arm and began to unwind the bandages on her arm. She glanced over at her arm. It was mottled with various bruises and there were a few cuts and scrapes. Rayne flinched and Temari felt her arm jerk back slightly as she touched her wrist.

"I think it's broken."

Rayne just nodded. No shit! Temari continued to unwrap the bandages, being careful of her wrist, until they were completely off. Rayne glanced over again and saw Temari starring at the scared skin that wrapped around her wrist. Rayne reached over and covered her swollen wrist with her good hand, hiding the scars that were normally hidden behind her bracelets.

Temari looked away. "Don't worry, I won't ask. It's none of my business."

Rayne hesitated a moment then removed her hand. She kept her eyes fixed on the girl. Temari started on her other arm and was about halfway done when the door opened. Gaara came back in. He wore a pair of dark brown slacks but no shirt. He was rubbing water out of his hair with a dry towel.

"How is she?" he asked. He raised his head to see that the girl in question was sitting up and fully awake.

She glared intensely at the red head, but he remained calm and unfazed.

"I didn't think you would be awake so soon." He pulled up a chair a little away from the bed and leaned back in his chair.

"Neither did I" stated Temari "I assumed you would be out for another few days"

"Heal fast…" mumbled the girl. Temari slipped the last of the bandages off her arm. This arm looked as bad as the first, scars included.

"Well so far so good," grinned the eldest sand sibling. She continued on to the rest of her injuries, checking each one for any sign of trouble, and cleaning out the wounds with disinfectant. Gaara sat silently behind his sister, looking out the window. he glanced over every few minutes.

Rayne turned slightly red as Temari pulled down the blanket to check on her ribs and side. With nothing covering her torso but her chest wrappings and bandages, she felt too exposed as the woman removed the bandages. Luckily Temari was in the way of the Kazekage. She assumed the girl had already seen her scar and she didn't need anyone else to notice and start asking questions. She cursed in a low voice as Temari tightly bound her sides. She covered the rest of her injuries on her torso, back and legs. She was about to start wrapping her arms when Gaara grabbed the bandage from her hand.

"Go, you've done enough. I can finish. You should get ready to go."

"It's really no big deal. I'll finish up. I don't need to leave just yet."

"No, it's alright. I need to talk to her in private now that she's awake. I'll just finish this up."

"Alright" she agreed. She stood up and collected her stuff. "Thanks" she waved before walking into the hallway, closing the door behind her and locking Rayne in with Gaara.

"Remain calm, kid"

She could tell he was worried though. "I am calm" She was telling the truth- mostly. But Madarou cold still see that worry and panic hidden by her calm, confidence. Rayne knew what to do. She would just have to talk her way out of it, which would be easier to do if she wasn't so messed up right now.

"You have a lot of explaining to do." Gaara sat down in Temari's empty chair. He leaned forward in the chair and rested his elbows on his knees.

"I don't have to tell you anything" she huffed. "You're the one who should explain yourself"

"Really? And what is it that I need to explain?

"Why did you bring me here?" Her tired, dark hazel eyes glared harshly.

"I believe it's my job," he answered calmly. He kept his face emotionless "to keep this village safe. I needed so see whether or not you were a threat. You seemed very suspicious."

Rayne laughed coldly. It sent shivers down Gaara's back. "That I am. So, if I am so suspicious why did you bring me here? Why did you help me? For all you know, I am an assassin paid to place a dagger through your heart." She moved to make herself more comfortable and get more distance between her and the young man. She grimaced in pain as she did so.

"I told you not to move around" barked Madarou.

She ignored him and sat up straighter. She rested her back against the wall. This left her breathing a little harder.

"Or a demon? Attacking our citizens in the middle of the night?" Gaara added.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, genuinly puzzled.

"Theres a rumor going around that a demon, who just happens to fit your description, had been attacking people in the middle of the night."

"I still have no idea what you are talking about. I havent attacked anyone"

"Alright well, the only reason I helped was because last night I didn't see you as a threat to me. And I assumed you needed help. It wouldn't be right to leave you there or let those men kill you without finding out who you were."

"You are very mistaken Lord Kazekage. I already told you that I did not need your help. And you should be more careful. Haven't you ever heard the phrase, "looks can be deceiving"? I'm not one of your citizens in need of protection."

Gaara began to unravel the roll of bandages in his hands. "Let me see your arm"

He grabbed her forearm and pulled it closer. He began to wrap the bandage around the middle of her upper arm, working his way down. His hands were rough and dry but were surprisingly gentle. "So where are you from?"

"What?"

"You are obviously not from here. Where are you from then?"

Rayne had to be careful not to say anything that would give away too much. She wasn't going to lie. She was a crappy liar. "Konoha"

"Nice Place" replied Gaara. He had liked the city. He had been there before and had even made a few friends during his visits: like Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto. "So why are you here then?"

"I ran away." Not a lie, but not exactly true. 'Ran away' and 'escaped' were interchangeable in her mind. 'Ran away' just seemed less… drastic.

"Why?" Gaara worked his way to her wrist. He tried to be careful. She noticed him starring at her scarred wrists.

"Don't ask. It's a long story and none of your business" she said bluntly, before he could say anything. But he didn't need to ask. He already knew what scars like that were from. He had seen ones like them before: on Suna prisoners. Gaara remained silent as he covered her other arm and then put a splint on her broken wrist. He got up and sat down on the bed next to her. Rayne eyed him warily. He reached down to the side of the bed and searched through the medical supplies Temari had left. He sat up and moved closer. He leaned towards her and brushed her hair out of her face. Rayne turned slightly red.

"What are you-?"

Gaara pressed a wet cotton ball to the cut on her forehead. It burned slightly as he carefully rubbed the cut with the disinfectant. She looked down, away from the Kazekage, who she found way too close to her.

"You never told me why you ran away. Why did you come here."

"It was too cold there. It's a lot warmer here."

"You are telling me you left your family and friends behind and ran away because of the climate? I don't believe you."

Rayne sighed. "I can't tell you. But I will say this. I left because I wasn't wanted there. The people I knew all wanted me gone."

"Why?" Rayne was getting pissed now. This guy asked way too many questions.

"People don't like people like us. I wasn't wanted."

"People like us?" Gaara was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. Temari walked in.

"Hey, hope I'm not interrupting but I just wanted to say good bye."

"No, you weren't interrupting," Gaara replied.

"Oh did she fall back asleep again?" she asked. Gaara turned back around to see Rayne laying down, either asleep or pretending.

"I guess so."

"Yeah she needs to rest for a while. Then I'm sure she will be as good as new in no time. Alright well I'm leaving then. See ya later."

"Goodbye."

Gaara waited until Temari left. "We're not done yet. We will pick up this conversation later." He remained seated there. It was obvious he didn't plan to leave. Rayne was tired still and within a few minutes she was really asleep.

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Well now that this is up I think I will go to bed seeing as I have a killer headache. Please, please, please let me know what you think so far. Any type of review is welcome and it means a lot to me. Also just wanted to give a little shout-out to the 8 (as of last time I checked) people who actually read my last chapter, even if I am friends with about half of you and forced you to read it :) And thanks to my sister of course for reading it and correcting most of my many mistakes.
Rayne