Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. I was super busy but I finally got it done. Hope you enjoy. Reviews and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Kasami's POV

They had all passed. Naruto, Hinata and the rest of Konoha's Genin all passed the first test, as did Gaara and his siblings. But this wasn't the time to celebrate. The second exam was starting today. Anko was in charge of this test. She had all of the remaining participants meet her outside the gates surrounding the 44th training area, also known as the Forrest of Death. All of the Genin had to sign forms so that Anko wouldn't be blamed if anyone died.

I was perched in a tree just inside the fence surrounding the area. From here, I could see everyone as they talked with their teammates and read through the forms. It was incredible how each of them reacted differently to the realization that they could die during the rest of the exam. Some were confidant, some were scared, and a few showed no emotion at all. I was worried about Hinata. I knew that she would do her best to help her team retrieve their second scroll and make it to the tower, but there were some teams here that would definitely be too tough for her to face in her current state. Still, she had chosen to take this exam along with Kiba and Shino in the hopes that she could become stronger. I believed in her.

Naruto would be fine. He wasn't the brightest ninja in Konoha but he had guts and he wasn't the type of guy to give up when things got tough. His team would make it through, I was sure of it.

Then there was Gaara. He was strong and like Naruto, he had a monster within him but it didn't seem like he was able to contain it completely. He had tried to kill me; had even admitted to it. Still the thought that he had probably had to endure the same loneliness as Naruto, motivated me to continue to whittle away at his defenses. I'd get through to him, even if it took years, I'd get him to accept me as a friend.

The teams were heading to their starting points now. Each group would be entering the forest from a different gate. Gaara's team was starting at the gate closest to me so I moved away quickly, not wanting his sand to reveal my presence. I found Naruto's gate just as Anko gave the word to start the second exam. He was excited, striding boldly into the forest with Sauske and Sakura. I decided to follow them for a short while. I couldn't help any of the participants in any way or risk disqualifying them, but I was allowed to observe. Of course Naomi wasn't too thrilled about my desire to enter an extremely dangerous training area filled with skilled genin that probably wouldn't hesitate to try to kill me if they found me; but I liked a challenge. Anko had a release form from me as well; just in case.

After a while, Sauske signaled for his team to stop. I landed on a tree near them, waiting.

"I know you're there Kasami." The Uchiha called to me. He had become pretty good at detecting me; which only meant that I needed more practice. I hopped down to where they were resting, minding my legs.

"I'm just here to watch. I can't interfere or help you guys. You three don't need my help anyway. You'll do great."

Sauske smirked. He was pretty confident in himself and his ability to handle whatever was thrown his way. Naruto seemed ready to face any challenge as well and Sakura was scared. She tried her best to hide it, but I could tell she was terrified.

Naruto laughed and clapped a hand against my shoulder. "It's good to know that there is someone in the background cheering us on… oh sorry." He had noticed my grimace when his hand landed on me. That was going to bruise.

Naruto blurted out something about having to relieve himself and ran over to a tree. After taking a beating from Sakura who chastised him about doing such things in front of a lady, he stalked off behind some bushed to do his business. I took my leave then, wishing them all good luck and telling them to take care of themselves.

"Thanks Kasami. You be careful too." Naruto called out to me from wherever he was. I leaped back up into the trees but didn't go too far. I would follow Naruto's group for a little while longer then try to locate Hinata and keep an eye on her.

Things got interesting quickly as I watched them. First, someone ambushed Naruto while he was relieving himself and tried to trick Sauske and Sakura. I noticed the differences almost immediately of course. If I were ever to be of any use as a ninja, I needed to be extremely observant. Luckily Sauske also noticed the mistakes in the imposter's transformation and was able to fight him off. Not long after that battle, a huge gust of wind blew past them, forcing Sauske and Sakura to hide, while blowing Naruto away. I decided to find out where Naruto had wound up.

By the time I found him, He was in the middle of battling a large snake; well, more like jumping around and dodging it. It whipped its tail out at him, snagging him out of the air and winding him up in a tight coil, trapping his arms. My hands clenched into fists, then released; curled again, then relaxed. I forced back the urge to come to his aid. If I helped him, he would be disqualified. This exam wasn't worth his life but if I helped him, he wouldn't be happy about it. I understood his need to prove himself; his need to make the whole village recognize his existence. He couldn't do that if I saved him now. I squeezed my eyes shut as the snake closed its mouth around Naruto, swallowing him whole.

Not knowing what else to do, I ran. I couldn't help Naruto, but I couldn't watch him die either. Knowing him, he would find some way out of that horrible situation, but if he didn't… I shook the thought out of my head and focused on my current goal, finding Hinata. I know I had said that she was stronger than she believed, but she wasn't like Naruto. Maybe if things got tough, she would find a little more strength and be able to push through, but no matter what, I wouldn't let anything happen to her. She was strong, but she could only take so much. Hinata noticed my presence quickly as did her companions but I didn't reveal myself to them. Still, knowing I was there seemed to help Hinata, so I stayed with her for a majority of the second exam.

It didn't take long for them to retrieve the scroll they needed. Most of their time was spent avoiding other teams and making their way toward the tower in the center of the forest. I followed along behind them at a distance. Naruto had survived. I had left Hinata's group for a little while to check whether he had survived being swallowed. When I located them, they were with Ino, Shikamaru and Choji, as well as Neji's group. Lee looked pretty beaten up, as did Sakura; her hair was shorter now, and Sauske… was different. Something about him seemed off thought I wasn't sure what. I did notice a strange marking on his neck that hadn't been there before but other than that he looked the same. It was obvious that something big had happened here and I was relieved that they were all still alive. When I found Hinata again, they were just going to investigate another battle that was going on. Kiba and Akamaru led their team to the location of the match and they hid in the bushes while I perched in a tree nearby.

Gaara was down there with his siblings. Their opponents were the three genin from the Hidden Village of Rain. Like Sauske, something seemed off about Gaara. The need to run that I always felt around him, steadily increased until I became panicked but I held my ground. If Gaara turned on Hinata's group, I wanted to be there to try and help. He would definitely kill them, like he would have killed me.

Suddenly, one of the rain ninja attacked Gaara. He used umbrellas that concealed thousands of needles that he directed with his chakra. He aimed those needles at Gaara and they flew toward him, causing a huge cloud of dust as they hit. When the cloud settled, there was a wall of sand surrounding Gaara. It had stopped every single needle, leaving him unharmed. The rain ninja, furious at his failed attack, charged toward Garra. He didn't make it far. Gaara's sand met him halfway, wrapping around his leg and crawling up and around his body until all but his face was covered. Gaara lifted his hostage into the air, glaring at him. Time stood still as everyone's eyes stayed glued to the figure now floating helplessly in a coffin of sand. Then Garra uttered two words, "Sand Burial".

I heard nothing but the sounds of bones snapping under pressure, as the sand crushed its victim. Blood seeped out and splattered over the ground. Slowly the sand sank back to the ground. There was no sign of the ninja who had been trapped moments ago. He had been completely destroyed. His teammates were terrified. They handed over their scroll willingly, begging for their lives. But in that moment I realized that no matter what they did, Gaara would kill them. I was right. Snakes of sand shot out toward the two rain ninja and they scrambled to get away. Without thinking, I jumped down from my hiding stop and put myself between Gaara and his prey. He glared at me, but it wasn't the same look as before. There was something cruel in that gaze and it sent a chill down my spine and made my knees weak.

"Gaara, they gave you their scroll. They aren't a threat to you anymore. There's no need to kill them." My voice shook slightly. He hadn't been able to kill me before, but I had no idea if he would be able to now. Apparently he was thinking the same thing because the sand started coming toward me. It wrapped around me just like it had the first time he had tried to kill me. I tried to keep calm, to keep the fear from showing. If it turned out that he could kill me now then this was it. I would die here in the 44th training area. I would die in front of Hinata. I would die before I was ready to.

I waited, for pain, for death, but nothing happened. The sand stayed wrapped around me, but just like before, it felt more like an embrace. Gaara's glare intensified; he still couldn't kill me. I sighed with relief as the sand around me fell. But my red-headed friend wasn't finished with me yet. To my utter dismay, the two rain ninja had been paralyzed with fear and hadn't taken the opportunity to run. Gaara kept one tendril of sand around my waist, while two others shot out and grabbed the men behind me. He brought them close to me, one on either side. I could see them. I could hear them scream and beg him to stop, beg me to help them. But I couldn't tear my eyes away from Gaara's. He was smirking at me, that cruel gaze locked on mine. In the corners of my vision, I could see the sand, covering the bodies of the people beside me. He crushed them, but it was slower than when he had killed the first ninja. As the sand compressed them, I could hear them breaking. Their screams echoed in my head and all I could see were those cold blue eyes staring right back at me. I felt something warm, splatter across my face. Blood. Tears welled up in my eyes as the pained cries died away and the string of sand restraining me fell to the ground. I collapsed onto my knees, finally tearing my gaze away from Gaara only to fix them on the blood soaked ground.

The boy with the hood, Kankuro, was talking to Gaara, yelling at him, but I didn't care why. I was petrified, horrified at what I had just witnessed. When I finally had the courage to glance up at Gaara, my heart nearly stopped. He was holding his arm out, directing his sand toward the bushes where Hinata was hiding with her team. I tried to move, tried to speak but I couldn't. I could only watch as the sand crept closer and closer.

"Gaara!" His sister shouted at him. It was a plea. He looked at her for a moment before summoning his sand back into his gourd. He began walking in my direction, and I flinched away from him, but he simply passed me and disappeared into the forest. Temari glanced at me briefly with a looked that seemed to hold pity, and then she and Kankuro followed their brother.

When they were gone, Hinata ran out to me. "Kasami, are you alright?"

I couldn't answer her. I still couldn't speak, or move. Even though he was gone now, that coldness kept me on my knees. This wasn't the Gaara that I had seen before. Something had changed and I just knew that something had to do with Shukaku. Kiba helped me up and half carried me all the way to the tower.

When we got there, the sand genin had already arrived. I felt Gaara's gaze on me as I passed him, being careful not to look in his direction. Just before we moved on to the next room, I risked a quick glance at him. As I had guessed, he was staring at me, and the look in his eyes held a promise that chilled me to the bone.

Maybe he couldn't kill me, but he could definitely kill everyone else.

Ok so hopefully that wasn't too bad. Once again it would be awesome if you readers could review and tell me what you think so far.

Thanks for reading!