Chapter 3! The Chunin exams are beginning and Kasami and Gaara are reunited after seven long years. How will things go?

Kasami POV Age 13

It had been almost a year since I got out of the academy. I had been dropped from the training program because it wasn't possible for me to become an efficient ninja and there was no point in continuing to learn the basic Ninjutsu techniques since I had already mastered them. It made me angry that no matter how talented I was I would never even be a Genin. Still, there was nothing I could do.

I sat on my roof, looking out over the village. Hinata sat beside me. It was early in the morning and not many people were out yet. It was peaceful. I enjoyed the silence for a minute before turning to my friend.

"Hinata, you said that you wanted to talk to me about something. What is it?"

She didn't reply. Looking down, she began pulling at the hem of her jacket nervously. After all of the years we had been friends, she was still shy around me, though not as much as everyone else. After all, she had admitted to me that she liked Naruto.

"Is it the exams?" I prodded.

She inclined her head slightly.

I sighed. "You shouldn't be worried. You're strong, even if you don't realize it. I think that you'll learn a lot about yourself while going through these tests. Just wait and see."

She gave me a small smile but I knew she wasn't convinced. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders in sort of a half hug.

"Don't worry. You'll do great. Just remember that I'll be cheering you on."

She nodded again, her smile growing. "Thanks Kasami."

We sat together until the rest of the village woke. All of the Shinobi were busy preparing for the Chunin Exams. Genin from various villages would be arriving over the next few days to participate. Nine of our own Genin, Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Sauske, Choji, Ino, Shikamaru, Shino, and Kiba, were also taking part. They had been the nine students chosen to graduate from the academy and now they were fighting to make their way up the ranks. There were other Leaf Genin in the exams but I didn't know them personally.

Hinata had to go train so I waved goodbye and carefully dropped down from the roof and went inside. I found Naomi in her room, working as usual. She hadn't been sleeping much lately, though she probably didn't know that I had noticed. I crept up behind her and tapped her shoulder. She jumped and I gave her a disapproving look.

"Naomi, you need to rest."

"I can't now" She argued, "I need to report to the main gate. The shinobi taking part in the exams start arriving today and I'm part of the security team. I need to make sure everything goes smoothly."

She stood and tried to brush past me but I caught her arm.

"You won't be very affective if you are nodding off on the job. There are plenty of other people to keep the peace. You can afford a few hours of rest."

I began to push her toward the bed and she didn't resist. She plopped down and I tucked the covers in around her. It reminded me of the many times she had done the same for me.

She grinned sleepily at me and I couldn't help but smile back. "Go to sleep now Naomi. I'll go to the gate and let them know."

I turned to leave but her hand shot out from underneath the covers and held me back. "Thanks Kasami. It's funny; you're the one taking care of me now." She paused, seemingly lost in thought. I peeled her hand away and placed it gently back on the bed before moving toward the door again. Just as I was about to close it behind me, she called out to me.

"You're a good person Kasami. You know that right?"

"Of course I am. You raised me. Now let me take care of things for a little while. I owe you that much."

"You don't owe me anything."

"Sleep well Naomi."

With that I pulled the door closed and left the house. We didn't live far from the main gate so it only took me a few minutes to get there. The first few groups of Genin and their instructors were just arriving. I informed the Jounin in charge of Naomi's condition. He wasn't pleased but he knew it couldn't be helped. I climbed up onto a nearby building to watch the new arrivals.

Groups of all ages passed through the gates and into the village. I recognized most of the symbols on their forehead protectors. There were shinobi from almost all of the villages she had ever heard of. Things were getting a little hectic as the security team darted around, trying to get everyone's name and mark them off of their lists. As teams were checked in, they wandered off in various directions, intent on exploring every corner of Konoha. Finally things settled down and there were only a few teams left approaching the gate. As the last team entered, I caught sight of a head covered in fiery red hair. The symbol on his forehead protector was as clear to me as all of the other ones had been.

Gaara.

It had been about seven years since I'd met him. He didn't seem to have changed a lot, except for getting older of course, but I still hadn't talked to him. There were two other people with him. A blonde girl with four pigtails sticking out and what seemed to be a fan on her back and a boy with a purple design painted on his face and something wrapped in cloth on his back. Garra was carrying a large gourd but I couldn't tell what its contents were. They finished checking in and headed farther into the village. I followed some distance behind them, staying on the rooftops. I wasn't entirely sure that the shinobi below me actually was Gaara, though the chances of him being someone else were slim. Still, the only way to find out was to speak to him so I climbed down into the street and placed myself in the group's path.

I could see the boy's face now and any doubts I had vanished. Those same piercing blue eyes glared at me as I stood in his way but that didn't scare me.

"Gaara?"

No response.

"Do you remember me Gaara?"

He was silent, thinking for a while before answering, "No."

Hurt filled me, spreading through my chest and making me feel sick. Of course he didn't remember me. It had been seven years. Gazing at his head, I saw that the Kanji for love was written there. Maybe he didn't remember me but at least he hadn't forgotten the love I had given him. I flushed slightly as I remembered the time I had painted the word on his head. It had seemed innocent enough when I was a child, but now…

Gaara POV

"Do you remember me Gaara?"

Of course I remembered her. Kasami, the little girl who had played with him and given him her love. How could I forget? That day had meant everything to me and every day since I had painted her love onto my head. The memory was what had kept me from going completely insane when I'd been surrounded by hatred. I wondered if she still felt the same way about me.

Of course she doesn't. She was an ignorant child back then. If she knew just how much of a monster you are, she would hate you just like everyone else. Shukaku's voice echoed in my head.

He was right. She probably hadn't really understood what she was saying then. She hadn't truly understood just how much of a monster I was. But she was older now and if she knew just how dangerous I am, she would hate me too. I was sure of it.

"No." I told her. A hurt look crossed her face but I didn't let it affect me. I wasn't going to let her in only to get hurt when she eventually renounced my friendship.

When she didn't step out of the way, I roughly pushed her to the side and continued on my way, Temari and Konkuro following close behind. Kasami didn't stop me, didn't protest, she just lowered her head and let me pass. Seeing her like that made me feel…something. I wasn't sure what and the uncertainty annoyed me.

You can always kill her. Then those disgusting feelings would go away. I'm sure of it. Come, spilling her blood will make you feel better.

It was a tempting thought. I knew that Shukaku thirsted for blood and I wanted to make these feelings go away. Killing her would benefit both of us. But it would have to wait for now.

Kasami POV

My arm hurt. Gaara had shoved me aside and left without another word. I hadn't tried to stop him. There was no point. I couldn't force him to remember. Sad and defeated, I rubbed the bruise that was starting to form and headed home. Naomi was still asleep so I didn't disturb her. Instead I stepped out into our backyard to train. Normally I'd go to the Academy to train but right now I wanted to be alone. Even though I hadn't graduated, Naomi had begun teaching me some of the techniques used by our clan.

I speed through a series of hand signs. "Lightning style, Dragon's Dance." I released my chakra and it formed two small dragons made of sparking white electricity. They stared at me, awaiting instructions. I directed them toward a nearby tree and they sped off, weaving in out and around each other in something that really did resemble a dance. When they hit the tree, it disintegrated completely. The only thing left was a charred patch of grass. I directed them to the next target and the three of us spent the afternoon decimating the entire yard. I was sunset by the time I had nearly exhausted my chakra, so I quit and went back inside. Naomi was up and making dinner.

"You should have woken me up Kasami. I was asleep the entire day."

I smiled weakly, "You needed a good rest. Nothing went wrong."

"How many teams arrived today?"

"A lot. And there are many more arriving tomorrow." I hesitated before continuing. "The team from the sand village came. Gaara was with them."

Naomi put down the knife she was using. "Does he remember you?"

"No, but he remembers something I did for him." I replied vaguely. "I guess it isn't easy to remember someone you met seven years ago. Maybe it's for the best."

"So you're giving up on him?"

Her words stung, but she had a point. He didn't remember me but there was no reason I couldn't still be his friend. "No, I'm not. Thanks Naomi."

She finished dinner and we ate together for the first time in a while. Afterwards, I helped her clean up and, still exhausted, she went back to bed. I climbed up to the roof to look at the stars that dotted the now deep blue sky.

Gaara's POV

Shukaku was restless. We had been watching Kasami train for a few hours now. Why not kill her now? No one is around to see.

But I wanted to wait until night. And Shukaku had reluctantly agreed when I promised that I would kill her slowly. I didn't have to wait much longer. She had used up most of her chakra maintaining the two dragons. But now she was tired and went inside. She had dinner with her sister and then climbed onto her roof and was currently staring absently at the sky.

I jumped down from the tree I was perched in and made my way towards her. She hadn't seemed to notice me but when I was on the roof she called out to me.

"Hello Gaara."

I didn't reply, only began pulling sand from my gourd and sending it slowly toward her. She turned around and gazed at me, unconcerned about the approaching sand. She wasn't afraid and that infuriated me. Snarling, I wrapped the sand around her small body, leaving only her head exposed. Still no fear. Shukaku was getting angry now. He loved to see the fear in a victim's eyes as I squeezed the life out o them. I loved it to, but Kasami's eyes showed only curiosity.

I tried to apply some pressure with the sand and was shocked when it didn't begin squeezing her. It remained lightly wrapped around her as if hugging her. Then, without any command from me, the sand began to bring her closer. When she was just a few feet from me, she was released, though the sand still hovered around her body as if it wanted to keep her there. I was confused. Once again I tried to kill her but the sand did not obey. Even more enraged, my own hand darted out to grab at her throat but as it had done or me countless times, the sand rushed to her defense, forming a barrier around her and preventing me from grabbing her. I tried again and again but I couldn't get through. Finally I gave up, screaming in frustration, I ran. The sand barrier crumbled from around her and reentered the gourd as I hopped off the roof and headed toward the hotel I was staying in with my siblings.

Kasami POV

What had just happened? Had Gaara tried to kill me? I had sensed him coming up behind me and for a moment I had been elated, thinking that maybe he had remembered me. His sand had wrapped around me and for a split second I was afraid, but it felt almost like an embrace. It was comforting and I couldn't figure out what was going through Gaara's head. He had pulled me closer to him and released me. He had seemed confused and angry. I had been about to ask him what was wrong when he had tried to strangle me. He would have succeeded only his own sand came to my rescue. Did the sand have a mind of its own? I was trying to wrap my head around this when Gaara darted off the roof and into the darkness. I was left alone with my confusion. Deciding that whatever the problem was, we could discuss it tomorrow, I hoped to the ground, minding my legs, and headed in to go to sleep.

As I lay on my side, drifting slowly into sleep's warm embrace, I noticed the picture that had been sitting on my dresser for a year. It might have just been a shadow cast from the moonlight shining through my window, but it seemed like darkness was creeping in from the edges of the painting, slowly making its way toward the two children holding hands in the middle.

There you have it. Hope you enjoyed. More on the Chunin Exams later. Thanks for reading.