A/N: I was up since 8am writing because my neighbor came over for oars. The area around where I live is flooded, so I may or may not update often. Right now, im ging to take a nap, I'm really tired from hauling buckets all morning. As usual, I don't own shit, so, yeah, Nite!!

CH. 10: Hinata's Nightmare

Gaara sat in the classroom, his usual façade of icy indifference in place on the outside, but he was fidgety on the inside. 'Where are those baka onnas? They should have been back by now…' he growled in his head, his eyes never looking away from the door. The door opened to reveal their teacher who had a rooster like pony tail and a risqué skirt and blouse set that almost showed more skin than it hid.

"Sabaku Temari? Your presence is requested in the Godaime's office." She said, a not so pleasant smile on her face. Anko always enjoyed it when students were called out of her classroom. Less of them to annoy her.

Temari looked puzzled, but stood and walked out nonetheless. Gaara glared at the door and was about to disappear when Sakura walked in. She immediately looked at him, a smirk on her face. She was about to walk up to where he was when a peeved Anko barked "And just where the hell have you been? I don't stand for students being late."

Sakura smiled at Anko and walked up to the older woman. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I was taking care of some business in the Godaime's office. Being the head of a large family corporation, plus an on-call doctor is rather demanding on someone as young as me. I will try to be on time from now on, but I had to see to my patients in the school infirmary first. Ino will not be joining the class for a few weeks. The Uchiha is currently unconscious, but he should wake up soon. Don't fret your pretty little head now, Anko-sensei. Kakashi-sensei would also like to see you after your class is over." she said politely, bowing and taking her seat. Anko was too shocked to retort, then blushed at the implications of the girl's last statement.

Gaara watched restlessly as Sakura teased their teacher. He could feel the need to touch her, but it conflicted with his persona of bad boy extraordinaire. 'Admit it kid, as bad ass as we may be, she has us by the balls.' Shukaku chuckled at the innuendo. Gaara scowled more at his inner beasts observations.

'That is not true. I do what I want, when I want. I CHOOSE to spend this time with her.' he told the demon haughtily. Shukaku laughed and curled up into a new position in Gaara's consciousness.

'Don't blame you kid. She's hot, that one. You ARE good for something, eh, kid?' the demon laughed again when Gaara stiffened and glared at the tanuki he shared a body with

'I've kept you alive. If not for me you would still be in that damn pot, seething away over the injustice of being trapped because you are a psychotic raccoon dog with a taste for young women. It was your perverted attitude and your bloodthirsty nature that got you sealed in that pot.' he smirked as Shukaku grimaced. He growled, conceding that Gaara was right. Gaara smirked in his own mind, but kept his face emotionless.

When Sakura got to the back of the room, she sat closer to him than was normal. He could feel the corners of his mouth trying to twist upwards. He looked at her and she smiled at him. "Where have you been, onna. I was starting to think you had skipped out." he said, not willing to admit he had been worried about her.

"Awwww…my little panda-chan was worried about me." she whispered to him, playing with his hair. Being as he was leaning against he desk, his head resting on his arms on the top of it, she gained access to the crown of his head. He stifled a moan at her stroking his hair and gave her a mock threatening growl, though it sounded very real to the people near them.

Sakura chuckled and continued to play with his hair. His lips twisted into a scowl as people gawked at them. Anko arched one brow and walked over to the door. She was about to shut it when a little streak came bounding through, scaring her to death.

"There you are…I had wondered where you had gotten off too. Did you find Neji and the others, Hime?" she picked the kitten up with her free hand and cooed to it. Anko, breathing heavily and clutching her chest, glared up at her.

Deciding that enough of her class had been wasted, she turned to the board and wrote problems up. They were advanced calculus equations and she had every intention of making Sakura answer them.

"Haruno…what is the answer to this equation?" she asked, pointing to a complicated jumble of numbers and letters.

Sakura looked down at her nails and said sweetly, "Plus or minus 8.9076548 squared." she batted her lashes at Anko, who looked down at her book, dumbfounded.

"Okay…that was a lucky guess. How about this one?" she asked, pointing to a function. Sakura answered in the same sweet voice, and the answer was dead on. It was the same for every other problem Anko made her answer, and she had done all the math in her head.

"You're smart…I'll hand you that. Good job, Haruno." Anko said, a niggling respect budding for the young lady who had seemed to tame Sabaku no Gaara.

Anko could hear the red head growling at her to stop showing off before she got herself into trouble. Anko smirked as the girl tugged his hair playfully and he yelped quietly, glaring at her.

'That one seems to not be afraid of him. Most girls who see him are instantly afraid of him. I wonder what her story is…' Anko was pulled from her thoughts when the bell rang. She blushed and smiled, heading to Kakashi's classroom.

Temari knocked softly on the dean's door and opened it when she heard 'Come in'. She stepped in to see seven males, all about her age, and Tenten. Temari rushed to Tenten, who look like she had swallowed acid.

"Ten-chan…are you alright?" she remembered what Sakura had told her when they had passed in the hallway. Someone had tried to kill Tenten. Temari glared at the seven males, who looked at her warily.

Temari grabbed a fan out of her belt, making several of them laugh, until she used her chakra to make it five feet tall. At five feet, nine inches, she was not short, and the crack her fan made in the wood floor made them take a collective step back.

"Now…why don't you tell me who the FUCK you are, and what you did to Ten-chan, before I use this to slice you into sushi." she growled, her eyes fierce. She heard murmurs, but it was the exasperated 'Troublesome' that earned her glare. "What was that pineapple head?" she hissed, opening her fan so you could see the first star. The youth gave her a bored look and turned away from her.

"I said, how troublesome. We just got the other woman calmed down, only to have another fuming female on our hands." he smirked at her over his shoulder. She bared her teeth and pulled up her fan, pointing it at him.

"Damn straight I'm fuming. I pass Sakura in the hall, only to find out someone has tried to kill my friend and I find seven shady looking men standing about the Godaime's office, and Tenten looking like she'd rather eat glass than be in your company. What the fuck was I supposed to think, dickhead?" all seven males arched their brows and looked at her.

"A lady should not use such language." Said the one with the black bowl cut. Temari turned her glare on him.

"Fuck off, bush baby. I'll knock your fucking head off with my fan and use it for a soccer ball you ever speak to me again." She slammed her fan into the floor again, making an even bigger crater by her first one.

She heard Tsunade groan "That's coming out of my paycheck." Temari looked at the Godaime, who didn't look at all threatened. Temari gave the seven men a speculative glance, then walked up to Tsunade.

"Godaime-sama, I apologize about the floor. I will have it replaced. Why are they here Godaime? I was told that Tenten and I were going to pack up her belongings and I was to go with her to Sakura's home." Temari relayed what Sakura had told her when they had met in the hallway.

"Hai, but it seems that my younger sister is taking no chances with yours or Tenten's life. Three of these young men are going to be escorting you two to Tenten's home." she saw Temari gawking at her and realized her mistake.

"FUCK! SHIT! Dammit, how could I slip up like that!? Temari, you can't tell anyone that Sakura and I are related. It would put my family in danger." Tsunade sighed and covered her face. Temari nodded in understanding.

"Please tell me Yoplait isn't one of the ones escorting us…" Temari murmured as Tsunade picked up the list that Sakura had left her.

"Neji, Sai, and Shikamaru will be your escorts to the boarding house. You will come back here, then Temari will take all seven of you to Sakura's house. These are the orders Sakura left for you guys. The four remaining, you may scout the school as long as you don't disturb anyone or anything. Oh, before I forget, which one of you is the Inuzuka?" she didn't even look at them, or she would have known.

"I am." said a brunette with black slits for irises. He had two red tracks under each eye. Tsunade looked him up and down, as if sizing him up.

"I need you to do me a favor." she said, sitting her pen down and her paperwork aside.

"Look lady, I'm not into older women." he said, crossing his arms over his chest. Tsunade glared at the impudent youth.

"That's a good thing, considering I'm married and have two kids. Not to mention my little sister would not be too happy knowing that one of her operatives got the wrong idea and tried to come on to me." She hissed harshly and the now blushing young man. He looked out the window, trying not to cringe.

"Anyway…what I need you to do is get your dog. There is another young lady under Sakura's care that is currently in the hospital." Tsunade laced her fingers together and rested her chin in them. Temari glared at her, catching on to what she was getting at.

"We may not have been the best of friends, but you are NOT sending that MAN to watch over Ino. Not after what Uchiha-teme did to her. Sakura told us what happened, to both Ino and Hinata. I won't stand idly by while you send him in there and scare her to death!" Temari hissed, her dislike of men in general was palpable. Neji's face darkened when she mentioned Hinata.

"What do you mean 'what happened to both Ino and Hinata.' Are you referring to the Hyuuga heiress?" Neji had a tight hold of his anger. The six other males tensed, ready to hold their comrade back.

Temari looked away, as did Tenten and Tsunade. None of them could meet the young men's eyes. "The reason Temari is having a fit that I am sending the Inuzuka to protect Ino is because she was raped this morning…violently. We know who it was, but it's a matter of proving it." Tsunade said quietly, looking at her paperwork, tears glistening in her eyes. She heard seven gasps of surprise.

"Hina-chan…she was disowned by her family. She hasn't spoken a word in two years. She…she was the first victim of the rapist. Ino is the one who saved her and the Uchiha attacked her for it." Temari said, tears falling down her face. Tenten hugged her and cried for their friend as well.

Tsunade glanced at the seven operatives out of the corner of her eye and noticed how pale Neji looked. His creamy colored eyes were wide and disbelieving. "You lie. You're lying to us. That can't be the truth…I…I LEFT to protect her. To ensure she became heir. You…" he backed away from them, anger and sadness in his eyes.

"I am sorry Neji, but what the girls have said is indeed the truth. We would not, scratch that we COULD not lie about something like this. Hinata has been living with her boyfriend, Uzumaki Naruto, since her clan disowned her. Until Naruto and she marry, she will be allowed to use the Hyuuga name, but the Hyuugas will be denying any relation between themselves and Hinata after they are wed." Tsunade saw the rage in the young man's eyes and stood. She walked to him and stood before him.

Before anyone could react, Tsunade's hands whipped out and clenched around his face. Memories flashed before Neji's eyes. Hinata in a hospital bed, her eyes dull, tears leaking out. Of Hinata standing before her family as they made accusations at her, but she never spoke, merely stood there as tears rolled down her face.

Of her lying in an unfamiliar bed, tears rolling down her cheeks, until a blonde man sat at the edge of her bed and held her as she cried. He also saw the memory of when Hinata had come back to school after what happened and her fist encounter with her rapist in months. And then the memories were gone, as if they had never been. He roared out in agony, in pity. He had wanted to protect her, but by his leaving, he had left her open to attack.

Neji felt the hands release him and he stumbled back, into the arms of his fellow operatives. They glared menacingly at the blonde who had shown him his beloved cousin's memories. "How? How did you show me that?" he managed, after he got his breathing under control.

Tsunade looked at the two terrified young women behind her. She nodded her head and they sank down into the closest chair, clutching each other. "Sakura. She transferred those memories to me in case this topic arose. She knew you would never believe us unless I showed them to you. I am sorry, Neji. But there is nothing you can do for her now except be there for her. However, it is time for you to take these ladies and retrieve Tenten's belongings." She looked at the men assigned to protect her little sister's friends, then at the young man she was sending to protect Ino.

"I expect you boys to protect these ladies from all harm. If one of them is hurt…you will suffer unlike anything you can ever imagine. And then you'll have to answer to me. Sakura IS my baby sister…guess where her vicious streak came from?" Tsunade said, cracking her knuckles loudly. There were several gulps, but they knew what to do.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama. We will protect them with our lives." Neji bowed to the blonde, then walked over to Tenten. He dragged her up and roughly put his arm around her waist. Shika, you take the blonde. Sai, cover our trail and meet up at the rendezvous point." Neji looked at the brunette in his arms. She glared at him with the pits of hell shining in her eyes. Even through his sadness he felt a glimmer of admiration and even a hint of humor.

"There is NO WAY IN HELL that pineapple head is putting his hands on me!" Temari sneered, her fan up and ready. Shikamaru walked towards her, a smirk on his face. He was enjoying her fight, the little bastard. Temari's eyes narrowed and she was about to attack when she felt her whole body freeze. She couldn't even speak.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here. A little butterfly has been caught in my trap. Now what shall I do with her?" Shikamaru chuckled, standing still for a moment before walking in her direction. Temari, to her dismay, started walking towards him.

"What the hell have you done to me you bastard!" she hissed, though it was hard for her to talk at all. Shikamaru laughed and stopped right as they came toe to toe with one another. He looked down at her and his smirk widened.

"It's my special ability. Besides being a tactical genius, I also can control people by manipulating my shadow to take possession of my target's shadow. As of right now, that would be you, sweetheart." his voice was silky and masculine, no trace of a boy at all. Temari growled at him, baring her teeth.

Shikamaru smirked again, his hand on her hip. Her hand followed and ended up, not on his hip, but a little lower. She blushed at where her hand was, but knew she couldn't do anything about it until he released her. He pressed up against her and then slid his hand a little to the left, stroking her stomach.

To Temari's horror, her hand slipped right, stroking him through his pants…and I don't mean his stomach. She blushed crimson and fought his hold. Shikamaru heard Neji clear his throat and sighed, wrapping his arm around the blonde's slim waist, he released his control over her body and she snatched her hand away as if she'd been burned. She glared daggers at the youth, who just smirked again and tightened his hold.

Both Neji and Shikamaru disappeared in clouds of smoke, the women with them. Sai waited a few seconds, drew something with an odd pen type utensil on a scroll he unrolled from his back, then disappeared in a flurry of leaves.

Tsunade had been to busy inspecting Kiba's canine companion to notice the deviant behavior of the men who left in a puff of smoke. She looked Kiba in the eyes and he felt as if she was looking through him rather than at him. He shivered and looked down at his companion. "So, is Akamaru what you were looking for?" he asked, not looking at her.

She sensed his unease at looking at her and frowned. "You were abused by a woman with power…weren't you Inuzuka?" she said, and watched as he tensed up. Tsunade nodded and walked away from him.

"What would give you that idea, Tsunade-sama." his voice was strained, even to his own ears. Tsunade waved it away, like she would a bad odor.

"I know what abused people look like Inuzuka. I was one, a long time ago, as was my sister. There are mannerisms that betray someone who was abused, and you display then around women, especially women with any kind of power. With your companions, you feel like you are an equal, but women like Sakura, or myself…you can't look either of us in the eye without looking like a fish out of water." Kiba blushed slightly and murmured an apology. Tsunade chuckled.

"You are just the man I was looking for Kiba. I need you to look after Ino so that my sister won't go World War 3 if someone happened to attack the girl while she is recovering. I needed a man that knows what it feels like to be in her position, if only slightly. Be warned Inuzuka…she looks like she has been through a meat grinder. Be gentle with her." She turned her back on him and walked back to her desk. Kiba nodded and disappeared with his dog in a cloud of smoke.

Tsunade turned and sat at her desk, looking at the three remaining operatives. "So…" she looked at the list of names Sakura had left her. "Shino, Lee, and Choji, huh? So how did you meet my sister anyway?" she asked, and almost laughed when they looked at each other, wide eyed.

"That…is a very long story, Godaime-sama." the one with the bowl cut, Lee, said. She leaned back in her seat and got comfy.

"I've got three hours. Start talking bushy brows." she smirked at his disgruntled face. Shino stepped forward and took a seat in the chair in front of her desk. Choji took the seat beside him and leaned back, rubbing his stomach.

"Our first encounter with Sakura-sama was at Kagure Prep." Shino said, his glasses glinting in the afternoon sun. Tsunade gave the boy an unusual look and bade him to continue. He nodded and started tell her their story.

0000000000000000

Oh the tangled web I have woven! Bwahahahaha!! Read and Review!

Ch. glossary:

baka onnas--> foolish women (literally means 'stupid women' but I'm going for foolish because foolish doesn't translate on my search engine)