Okay, Chapter 4 is here. Part 2 of the Chunin Exams. I had to watch the anime again to make sure I didn't miss anything. But I still might have so if you see any mistakes let me know. I'm also taking suggestions on ways to make story more interesting. If you have Ideas, let me know. If you just want to leave the story to me that's fine too, but my imagination only goes so far by itself so suggestions would help.

I do not own Naruto but Kasami and the Ryuu clan are my own creation. And with that, please enjoy Loved, Chapter 4.

Kasami POV

When I woke the next morning, I wasn't sure if what had happened with Gaara last night had been real. Had he really tried to kill me? It hadn't seemed like it at first but he had tried to grab my neck. His sand protected me, though I don't know why. Maybe Shukaku was the one that tried to murder me. I knew about Gaara's power and about the monsters that lived inside both him and Naruto. Naomi had told me about them a few years ago when I'd asked her why people avoided them.

She had told me that when they were just little babies, the monsters, tailed beasts she had called them, were sealed inside them. In that moment, I had been seething with anger. Gaara and Naruto had both had to suffer because of something that they'd had no choice in. Naomi mentioned that there were nine tailed beasts in total and that the nine people who carried these monsters inside them were called jinchuuriki. There were seven people in the world that carried the same burden as my two friends.

Since then, I'd made it my goal to befriend Naruto so that he wouldn't have to endure that loneliness any longer. I had hoped that someone in the sand village would find it in their heart to do the same for Gaara since I couldn't be there for him. He had been with two other people when I saw him yesterday. Maybe they were his friends.

I needed to talk to Gaara and get an explanation for last night. After washing, dressing, and eating, I headed out in search of my red-headed friend. I searched near the school, by the front gate, I even asked about him at the hotel where most of the visitors were staying. He was nowhere to be found. Finally I gave up and decided to do some stealth training.

About a week ago, I had overheard a conversation between Naomi and another Jounin. They were talking about how if I were a little stronger; I'd been very useful on reconnaissance missions. Hearing that gave me hope that maybe I had a future as a ninja after all, though how I would become physically stronger was a mystery. Still, I had worked hard to improve my skills at sneaking around and gathering information. I even went so far as to research my clan's history with dragons.

Apparently, when ninja's in our clan turned 14, they bond with a dragon who becomes their best friend, kind of like Kiba and Akamaru. Different dragons have different skill sets and I wanted to know if a certain type of dragon existed that could help me with reconnaissance. I didn't find much, and when I asked Naomi, she wasn't sure either. Her dragon was Mitsu. She was bigger than me and a deep green color. She had always fascinated me and I had always thoroughly annoyed her. Mitsu's skills were based mainly on combat. When I asked her, she said that there were dragons that were excellent at stealth, but none with it as a main talent. Still, I couldn't wait until I turned 14. Even though I wasn't actually a ninja, I was sure Naomi would still let me pick one.

I headed to the school where the rookie Leaf Genin teams, except Naruto's, were training. It was mostly lit inside the school so I made the signs that would allow me to me visible in shadows but unseen when in the light. My main training exercise involved using whatever stealth jutsu I was practicing and seeing if I can walk around the other genin without them noticing me. Using this technique, I was only noticed by Hinata, and Kiba. I continued to walk among them, dodging them as they attacked each other and the practice dummies. It was a dangerous thing for me to do, but I was getting better at keeping out of their way.

When I had finished, I resumed my search for Gaara. This time I found him. He was with the same two people, the blonde girl and the boy with the hood. Naruto, Sakura, and Sauske, were there as well along with three students from the academy. I only recognized one of the students, the Hokage's grandson.

The female sand ninja was saying something about the Chunin exams. I couldn't quite hear her so I crept closer, activating my invisible light jutsu and remaining on the rooftops. Naruto and his team didn't seem to know anything about the exams. Hadn't Kakashi Sensei told them that he nominated them yet?

The genin finished their conversation and parted ways. I considered going down to see Naruto, but Gaara and his friends left so quickly that it was difficult to catch up. They stopped on a deserted street near the hotel. I found a roof near them and watched them. Gaara seemed upset, furious even. He whirled around to face his companions, hissing something to them so low I couldn't hear. Both of them stepped backward, terrified. An urge that I hadn't felt in seven years suddenly surfaced. The urge to run away from Gaara, as far away as possible. But the urge to run to him was there as well.

I didn't get the chance to so either. A fine layer of sand was gathering on my clothing. In a second, it thickened into something like a bed that lifted me of the roof and gently lowered me to the ground in front of Gaara. I released my jutsu so he could see me and stepped of the bed onto solid ground. The sand broke apart, but instead of returning to the gourd, it hovered around me, not completely blocking me from Gaara, but remaining in between us as if it expected him to attack me.

"Hey Gaara! It's me, Kasami. You said you don't remember me but we met when we were kids. I think your sand likes me. Or are you doing that?" I kept my voice light. Gaara was still upset and I wasn't sure how much control he had over Shukaku.

He shook his head to tell me that it wasn't him controlling the sand.

"So it can move on its own?"

A nod.

"Gaara, I wanted to talk to you about last night, when you tried to grab me."

His eyed narrowed and behind him, a surprised and disapproving look crossed the blonde girl's face. "Gaara, you know Sensei doesn't want us wandering around alone. What if…"

Gaara fixed her with a glare that, if looks could kill, would have made her die a thousand deaths. They definitely weren't friends.

"Temari, I suggest you shut up before I decide to kill you."

The urge to run increased, but I held my ground and Gaara turned back to me. "I don't have the time to deal with you right now. Get out of my way."

Any fear in me vanished when he said that to me and I snapped at him, "Or what? You can't kill me remember? You already tried."

Oh yes, he was so going to kill me. I was probably going to die on that deserted street. But it was too late to go back so I continued.

"You came to my house last night and I think that you tried to kill me. You ran away after that without any kind of explanation and now you say that you don't have time to deal with me, as if I'm the one that did something wrong. I need to understand Gaara. And I won't leave you alone until you explain yourself."

He just glared at me, not saying anything. Then he slowly reached into a pouch attached to his hip. When he pulled his hand out, he was holding two chocolate chip cookies.

Gaara's POV

Kasami was shouting at me. I wasn't really listening. I was interested in learning more about her; why I couldn't kill her, why my own sand was protecting her, but right now I didn't want to talk to her. I reached into the pouch that I always carried cookies in. I had loved chocolate chip cookies since I was little. Whenever my uncle needed to get rid of me he always gave me a cookie. It always worked. That tactic probably wouldn't work on Kasami seeing that she was 13 years old. But at this point in time, I wasn't sure how to handle her. She didn't seem afraid of me and the sand wouldn't let me hurt her.

She stared at me like I was crazy when I held the cookie out to her. "Gaara, I'm serious. I need to know what happened. This isn't the time for sweets."

Of course it didn't work.

Tell her that you'll talk to her later tonight. Then we'll have another chance to try and kill her. I want to crush her; hear her scream. I want her blood.

"Consider the cookie a peace offering. I'll come by your house tonight. We can talk then."

She takes the cookie, still unsure and I go to step around her but she grabs my arm.

"Gaara, aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

"They aren't my friends. Kankuro is my brother, Temari is my sister." I yank my arm away and head toward the hotel, taking a bite out of my own cookie as I went. The exams were in two weeks and I needed to be prepared for the events to come.

Later that night

As I approached Kasami's home, I saw her standing on the roof, looking up at the sky just like the night before. And just like before, she didn't acknowledge my presence until I was on the roof behind her.

"I'm glad you came."

I'm glad YOU came

In my head, I told Shukaku to keep quiet.

How can I? I can smell her blood. We'll kill her this time.

Kasami was staring at me and it took me a minute to realize that she must have said something. When I asked her to repeat herself she scowled.

"Pay attention Gaara. I asked you why you came here last night.

"I came to see you."

"You mean you came to kill me?"

I nod.

She squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Why?"

"You make me feel."

This confused her, "Feel what?"

"I don't know."

She sighed, then quickly stepped toward me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

Now's your chance. KILL HER!

I didn't. Instead I tentatively lifted my own arms and rested my hands on her waist. Not exactly hugging her back but not pushing her away either. That feeling inside me grew and I felt the need to hold her tighter. I did push her away then.

"Gaara?"

"Kasami…I…need to go."

She looked sad and I wanted to hug her again, but the fact that I wanted to hold her scared me. I didn't wait for a reply, but jumped down from the roof and walked off.

Kasami POV.

Earlier that day

I stared at the cookie in my hand. Chocolate chip. Why he had given it to me, I had no idea.

"Consider the cookie a peace offering. I'll come by your house tonight. We can talk then." That's what he had said.

I was cautious though. I was positive that he had, in fact, tried to kill me last night. Maybe the cookie was poisoned. He'd eaten one from the same bag but if he had known which was the poisoned one…

And what had he meant by peace offering? Was he trying to apologize for trying to kill me? I so, the cookie wouldn't be poisoned. What if he was trying to trick me? I placed the cookie into my own snack pouch and went home.

After the meeting with Gaara.

He ran again. I watched his retreating form and wondered if he was afraid of me. He had said that I made him feel something. Friendship? Something more? I had always thought of him as a friend. Either way, he was trying to escape from whatever he felt for me. I couldn't let him.

Two weeks later.

Today was the first day of the Chunin exams. I sat on the swing outside the school, watching an ocean of Genin push their way through the doors. They had to turn in their forms in order to take the exam. My eyes scanned all of the faces but I couldn't find the one I was looking for. I guess I really didn't need to. When he was close enough, his sand would find me.

I didn't have to wait long before a stream of sand wound around my waist and pulled me into the crowd. I wove my way through the mass of bodies until I saw him. When I did, I ran up to him and before he could react, I threw my arms around him, hugging him tight like I had before. He hadn't expected the sudden contact and for a moment, he froze. Soon enough he recovered and tried to push me away but I held on tighter.

"What do you want Kasami?" His cold tone didn't faze me.

"I just wanted to wish you luck." I pulled back a little and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then released him and ran off. That should have given him something to think about.

I found Naruto and Hinata and wished them luck as well then found my way back to the swing. A few minutes later, only three or four teams were still outside.

"The first examiner is Ibiki Morino." Naomi appeared beside me.

"Who is he?"

"He is the leader of Konoha's torture and interrogation squad. His specialty lies in getting inside a person's head and bringing their weakness to the surface."

"So a lot of the Genin are screwed?"

She laughed. "Put bluntly, yes. Though there seems to be a lot of good candidates this time."

"What does the first exam consist of?"

"I think Ibiki mentioned a written test."

That worried me. "Naruto isn't good at written tests."

Naomi laughed again, "Naruto isn't good at any tests."

I scowled at her. "He has more potential than most people think but no one ever gives him a chance. They avoid him or laugh at him instead of helping him. The only thing that keeps him going is the thought of being accepted by the whole village. I believe that he will become the Hokage someday. I believe in him. This test may give him some trouble but don't you dare count him out yet."

Naruto's POV

Oh Crap! I'm screwed!

Kasami's POV

Naomi apologized before heading off, claiming she had a meeting to attend. I chose to go home. There wasn't really a point to hanging around the school. I silently wished my friends luck once more before leaving.

Something was wrong with the painting. It was light in my room but the shadows that had appeared around the edges hadn't receded. I'd tried wiping it off, in case it was dirt or something that had gotten on it. When that hadn't worked I had painted over it but the shadows still showed through. Giving up, I placed it back in its spot on my dresser.

As I gazed at it, I could have sworn the shadows crept a little closer toward the center.

There it is. Please review. Again any suggestions are welcome! Thanks for reading.