A/N: Okay, I couldn't bring myself to kill Asuma off, so he is happily married to Kurenai and they have 2 kids together, but you wont be hearing about them but in passing. Like always, I don't own shit when it comes to the Naruto characters, but the names you don't recognize I own. (Actually they are just Japanese words to describe their personality/physical appearance) For anyone having trouble with my Japanese words: is a life saver. If I want to know something i just type it in and BAM, like Emeril, it delivers!

CH. 11: Fateful Attraction

Sakura walked into the next classroom and she gasped. "It's you!" she said, recognizing her red eyed neighbor who had searched Karin when Sakura had asked Officer Iruka for a search of Karin's person.

Kurenai looked up and smiled. "Well…fancy meeting you here Haruno-san! I'm the art teacher and part time police officer for Konoha Burbs, that's the name of our neighborhood." the red eyed beauty explained at the younger woman's puzzled gaze. Gaara hovered behind Sakura, making Kurenai arch her brow.

"Sabaku-san…can I help you?" she said, noticing the young man's tenseness. Gaara looked at her as if snapped out of a daze.

"I'm sorry Kurenai-sensei…what were you saying?" his body relaxed and his face became the normal icy indifference he treated everyone with. Sakura mock glared back at the red head, who blushed lightly at having been pulled out of his thoughts by his teacher.

"I apologize for him Kurenai-sensei, he has been like this since I came back to class last period. He's been spacing out, and tensing up for no reason. And he always seems to end up hovering behind me when he goes into this little trance." Sakura smiled, thinking is actions cute. Kurenai giggled delicately and looked at the two.

"Well it's good to see Sabaku-san in the company of such a pretty girl. Maybe now the rumors will die down and the boy will be a little friendlier." Kurenai turned her red eyes on the rest of the class. "Okay, today we will be doing sketches of anything you would be interested in drawing. Just don't make too big of a mess." she walked over to her desk in the corner and began going over some papers.

Sakura turned to a fidgeting Gaara. "What rumors was she talking about Panda-chan?" she asked curiously. She knew she could just read his mind, but she wanted him to tell her, so he would know she wouldn't just take what she wanted to know from his mind.

"Right after Hinata's…encounter…with Sasuke, I cornered him and threatened to skull fuck him should he ever speak to or of Hinata. It was the only sure fired way to keep him away from her. Some of his crew overheard and started spreading the rumor that I'm gay. I don't really care what they think, but Temari and the others don't like them talking about me like that." Gaara shrugged, then looked at her. She looked livid that they would DARE talk about HER Gaara-kun like that.

"Well…I'll just have to show them how wrong they are." she sniffed and sat on her stool, her sketch pad in hand. She started doodling, then jumped up to get a piece of the paper Kurenai provided for their assignment.

Gaara stared at her for one moment, before he grabbed a piece as well and started sketching, not sure what the end result would be.

Twenty minutes of drawing, shading and blending later, Gaara had a portrait of Sakura laid out on a bed, with only a sheet covering her assets. A low whistle over his shoulder had his head snapping up and his glare turned on the one responsible for the noise. Kurenai looked at the drawing Gaara had been so intent on. She was mesmerized at how real the girl lying on the bed seemed.

"Gaara…that's amazing…are you going to use color on it, or are you going to leave it in black and white?" she asked, leaning beside him and getting a closer look at his work.

"I like her like this. It's been on my mind since I caught a glimpse of her this morning." he said, before he thought about it. He blushed crimson when Kurenai giggled at him.

"I would like you to put this in the county art show. It's absolutely breathtaking." Kurenai smiled at him with encouragement. He looked down at his drawing and frowned.

"Not this one Kurenai-sensei. I don't want others to see her the way I do. I'll do a different one, but this is mine. I did it because I would have gone crazy had I not." he took out a leather bound portfolio and put the black and white in with numerous other sketches.

"If you want, you can draw something or someone else if you don't want to display her. Your feelings for her are written in your art, Gaara. Only someone who has a deep connection with their subject could draw with such intense detail. I honestly thought that at any moment she would start writhing on the bed." Kurenai smiled at him and walked away, not commenting on how red he was. Sakura noticed him blushing and went over to him.

"You okay panda-chan?" she asked, running her hand through his hair. Before he realized it, he leaned into her hand, allowing her to stroke him.

"Fine, mitsukai-chan." he purred, then smirked at the light pink staining her cheeks. She smiled at him and continued playing with his hair. Gaara, who had just had an inspiration, grabbed another piece of paper.

"Let me check inside first." Neji whispered, creeping inside quietly. Tenten rolled her eyes and opened the front door to the boarding house she lived in. She made it up the stairs and to her room before Neji caught up to her and pinned her against one of the walls. "I told you to wait until I had secured the area, Baka onna." Neji hissed at her. Tenten struggled with him, then glared when she couldn't budge him.

"I'm NOT stupid. I haven't survived all these years by being unprepared, asshole. I can tell you if the area is secure or not if you let me into my study room." Neji glared at her once more, then released her. She strode past him, not missing the appraising look he gave her backside. He followed her into a room with a single desk and a single lamp. She stood in the middle and raised her arms out to her sides.

A pulse went through the entire room, and he could see various weapons start to lift up from where they lie. Most were hidden, so well in fact, that Neji had not realized they were traps for intruders. He saw numerous weapons float towards the brunette. She pulsed again, and the weapons remained in the air. He noticed she seemed to be counting.

"None of them are missing, so there hasn't been anyone inhere since I left this morning. This room is where I conduct my special…talent." She looked away and started collecting the weapons. He saw some weapons he was sure were not legal for civilians to own.

"How is it that you can make these weapons do this. I have never seen this particular ability before." He tried to word it delicately, seeing how much her unique ability seemed to estrange her.

"I've been able to do it ever since I was very young. My grandfather noticed that no matter how many times I threw a knife, or a dart for that matter, I always him the center of my mark."

"When I was eleven, me and my grandmother were in a bank in one of the neighboring provinces. There was a heist. The men were using swords and nine millimeters. They shot at the on duty officer stationed in the bank. I panicked, and all the bullets just stopped, like they were frozen in mid air." she looked away as he gave her a curious look. He could tell this was not something she told people often.

"I didn't want the officer to get hurt, so I followed my instincts. I through my arms out, like you just saw me do, and every weapon in the bank responded to me, gathering around me like moths to a flame. The robbers thought I was some kind of demon, using the black arts to foil their plans. The other people…they called me a freak. Even though I had saved their lives, they called me a freak and drove us out." she turned back to her weapons and finished gathering them up. Neji looked at her stiffened back and sighed.

"Shikamaru, bring the girl in and let them get busy packing all of the stuff in here up." Neji said, but his only reply was a loud smack and a red faced Temari stomping into the room.

"You should teach your friend some manners on how to act around women." Temari growled, stomping past Neji until she reached Tenten. She grabbed Tenten's wrist and marched into the bedroom, flattened boxes in tow. Shikamaru walked in, holding his jaw and smirking. Neji smirked and looked at him.

"What did you do to piss her off so bad Shika?" Neji crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the frame of the door.

"Well, to tell you the truth, she's the only woman that's ever affected me this way. I just can't resist teasing her every chance I get. This is so troublesome…" Shikamaru leaned against the frame of a door opposite Neji.

"So…what did you do to warrant that slap? I know it hurt…I could hear the reverberations in here." Neji frowned at the possibilities, which were numerous given the fact that Shikamaru had never been so open with a female.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head, stalling. Neji glared at him and the younger man finally sighed and confessed. "I pinned her against the wall outside the room and started nuzzling her. When she asked me what I was doing I told her I was checking for injuries." Shikamaru had a light pink tint to his face as he folded his hands behind his head and looked out the nearest window.

"And just why would you be checking her for injuries?" Neji asked, his smirk back. Neji almost laughed at the cheesy grin Shikamaru presented him.

"Well, I kinda told her about this little fantasy I had on the way over here involving her, me and that fan of hers. That was when she smacked me. Seems that for all her bravado, she is still quite shy." Shikamaru's smile disappeared as something crossed his mind.

"This is going to make this mission that much harder. Dammit, Neji, I can't keep my hands off her. You know I'm not like that. I don't ogle women like this. What the hell is wrong with me?" he asked, wiping his face with his hands and looking at his friend.

"I don't know Shika, but I do know how you feel. Seems our new operative is a weapons mistress…and she's different than anything I've ever seen. Her control over weapons reminds me of a kekkei genkai." he said, keeping his voice low.

"And I can't seem to keep her off my mind. I find myself reaching out to touch her when I know I should keep my hands to myself." he said, then cleared his throat when he heard the women moving to the next room, stacking boxes of Tenten's belongings in front of the door leading to the rest of the boarding house.

The two operatives closed their eyes until they heard both women shriek. They took off towards where both women had gone, one to see Sai standing between the two, crouched down. Tenten lost her balance and fell on her butt, making Neji intensely aware of her. Temari cracked the black haired artist on the back of the head with her fist.

"What the hell were you thinking belly boy!? You scared us half to death!" she hissed and went to help Tenten up. Sai touched the back of his head, not emotion showing on his face at all.

"I did not anticipate either of you being in this room. I merely wished to avoid frightening you, though it seems I failed. I apologize ladies." the belly shirt wearing artist got up, only to sway slightly. He shook his head and looked back at Temari speculatively. "Are you sure you are a woman? You hit harder than most men I know…" he said, and had to duck her five foot fan. It ended up smacking Shikamaru in the gut.

"Hn…not my intended target, but satisfactory nonetheless." she growled and strapped the fan to her back once more. Now that it was enlarged, it would take several hours for it to become small once more.

Shikamaru just leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths. "I guess I deserved that…but Sai, did you HAVE to ask her if she was really a guy? Seems that pissed her off pretty bad…I think she may have cracked a rib." Shikamaru rubbed his sore stomach and made a face at the emotionless artist.

"I apologize Shika. I was merely asking because when she smacked me in the head it made me dizzy. I have never experienced that kind of blow from a female, except for Haruno-sama of course." He said, rubbing his now sore head. While the boys were comparing battle wounds, Tenten and Temari had finished packing three of the four rooms. The only one left was the front room that leads out.

"I'll grab more boxes from the hall." Temari said, walking out. Tenten felt the disturbance immediately and knew that her pursuers had found her. She grabbed the large scroll she stored her weapons in and strapped it to her back. She then grabbed three smaller scrolls and went to where the piles of her stuff were. She sealed all the boxes into the two scrolls and the hurriedly started sealing the things from her front room into the third. When she was done, she took a deep breath and looked at the three men talking.

Tenten concentrated and located Temari using the thin wires she had all over the house. Temari was being held by a tall man that had body armor on and had his hand over Temari's mouth. Tenten took a deep breath and then she disappeared. She reappeared behind the man holding Temari, a short sword at his throat.

"Release her right now." Tenten's voice was emotionless as she pressed the blade harder against the man's throat. As soon as he let Temari go, Tenten slit his throat. Tenten grabbed Temari's hand and ran out the door. "We have to get back to the school right now. They know where I am, and they are tracking me as we speak." Tenten had no sooner said that than three men appeared before them. Tenten stopped and took the large scroll off her back. She sat it on the ground beside her, the weight of the scroll making a small crater next to her foot.

"If it isn't the little granddaughter of old Yamato. Tell me, how is that old crone you call a grandmother? Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot…We killed her." the man smiled cruelly as tears misted Tenten's face. Temari hissed and put her hand on her fan.

"You'll regret that you bastard!" Temari screamed as she let lose an attack with her fan. "Wind Scythe!" She yelled, waving her fan as blades of chakra embedded themselves into the two men too slow to dodge her attack.

"Bitch…I'll get you for that." He ran at Temari, who jumped into the air and used her fan to soar higher than he could jump. She grabbed her fan once more and started free falling at the guy.

Temari saw Tenten doing the hand seals for her large scroll and used her diversion technique. "Sand Storm!" She waved the fan and the entire area was covered in sand. The sand blew in the guy's face, making it impossible for him to see.

Tenten had performed the last seal when the sand storm stopped. "Devastation: Dragon's Breath!" she yelled, jumping high into the sky. Her large scroll unraveled and a mechanical dragon appeared from it. Glinting red eyes stared at its prey as the fire shooter in the back of it's throat spewed fire all over the man and his comrades. In that one instant, then men were dead.

Tenten landed and went to one knee. Temari helped her up and turned to see three figures rushing towards them. The figures stopped three quarters of the way to the women and stared at the devastation. "You two did this? Alone?" came the emotionless tone of the black haired artist, Sai.

"Since you boys were too busy to sense the enemy, we decided to take them out ourselves." Tenten panted, feeling weak. She noticed the one named Neji was having to hold himself back from rushing to her. That made her heart do a curious flip. She let go of Temari, and tried to walk to Neji and reassure him she was fine, but se didn't quite make it. She passed out half way to him, only to land in his arms as he appeared by her side.

"What happened to her!?" he hissed, panicked by her pale appearance and shallow breathing. Temari looked around her and motioned for them to look.

"She did all that…I just injured the first too and created the diversion. She decimated the place with that scroll of hers." Temari pointed to the scroll that lay half open at the young woman's feet. Sai walked over and picked it up. He showed emotion for the first time since they had met him.

"Where did she get this!?" he asked, surprise and admiration lacing his voice. Temari thought back to their talk in Tenten's room when Temari had picked up the scroll.

"She told me her grandfather gave her the scroll. Something about a blood line trait and that only one with it could summon anything from the scroll." She didn't go into detail because it upset her to talk about it.

Sai rolled the scroll up and put it on his back. "If what you say is true, then the shadow council is after her for a whole different reason that we suspected. Anyone with a kekkei genkai is being abducted and taken to them. I was once part of their behavioral modification program to make living weapons. Sakura rescued me after I was sent after her. She didn't kill me, she just destroyed the modifications and allowed me free will." Sai went to where Neji stood with Tenten in his arms. Sai pried open one of her eyes and looked deeply.

"She's exhausted…and so she should be. She has never been trained to summon from her kekkei genkai scroll. We must start her training immediately. Let's return and inform Haruno-sama of this development. Temari-san…which creature did she summon?" Said looked at her intently.

"A big steel dragon from what I saw. Damnedest thing I ever saw in my life. Spit fire at those fuckers and lit them up like roman candles." Temari kept her eyes on Sai to judge his reaction. He looked completely blown away.

"It's a miracle she's not dead then. That requires stringent control and a large amount of chakra to summon." Sai said, looking back at the brunette in Neji's arms. Neji's arms tightened impulsively. He cursed under his breath and turned in the direct they needed to head.

"Let's go." he said, his voice strained. Temari noticed how Neji cradled the girl and smiled. She then caught Shikamaru looking at her. There was a scowl on his face and disapproval in his eyes. Temari glared at him and turned to follow the other two. Before she could take more than a few steps, she was lifted off her feet and being carried bridal style.

"You should have come and got us. Do you know how panicked we were when we searched the whole fucking house for you and you weren't there. Neji almost had a meltdown and Sai, always the logical one, suggested you guys had started back without us being as all the boxes were gone." He hissed, holding her even tighter. She just stared up at him, then she smirked.

"You were worried about me." she made it a statement, not a question. He 'hn'd' and looked away. She started chuckling. He relaxed a little bit hearing her laugh.

"Troublesome onna." he muttered, catching up to his team mates.

Kiba made his way stealthily to the hospital. Akamaru was sniffing various things, checking for anything unusual. Kiba thought back to what Tsunade had said, and it made him growl. Akamaru trotted over to him and head butted his master.

"Yeah, I know Akamaru, but I can't help it. She read me like a fucking book and I just met her. Hope this 'Ino' won't be able to see through me so easily." he grumbled, sticking his hands in his pockets and continued walking. He reached the steps leading into the hospital as a thin woman with black hair came rushing out, muttering to herself.

She flew past Kiba, and down to the Academy. Kiba stared after her, then shrugged, entering the hospital. He walked up the hall to the empty nurse's desk. He looked around for a nurse, then helped himself to the room log.

"Ino, Ino, Ino…ah, here it is…Yamanaka Ino, room 115, west wing." Another name caught his attention. It was the one of the boy accused of raping her. "Room 145, west wing!? What the hell was the head nurse thinking putting a rapist that close to hi second victim!?" he hissed and took off down the hall marked 'West Wing'. He passes room 145 and looked in. There was a black hair youth on a bed, unconscious. "Good…you better stay there fuck face." he growled and continued making his way down the hall.

A crash and a scream from the direction he was heading made him speed up even more. He jumped on Akamaru's back and they took off to room 115. Kiba burst through the door to find a male orderly standing over a blonde woman who was covered in bandages. The bandages around her plump breasts had been ripped off, and were now in the orderly's hands.

The orderly looked up at Kiba, who had Akamaru by his side. "The Godaime thought something like this would happen. So she sent me to check up on Yamanaka-san." he looked at the girl, whose eyes were wide and terrified. Kiba growled low and menacingly at the orderly. "You better hope that my boss' healing has stuck with her, cuz if she suffers because of this, it's you that will answer for it." Kiba rushed the orderly, who attempted to dodge, only to be knocked over by Akamaru.

The orderly used the bed to get back to his feet and reached for Ino to use as a shield. Kiba's eyes widened, but then became shocked when Ino screamed again and the orderly went flying into the wall six feet away. Ino started crying and Kiba rushed to her. He took off his coat and wrapped it around her.

"Shhhh…it's going to be okay Ino. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. Here, look what I have. It's a puppy dog, see. Akamaru, c'mere boy!" Kiba had Akamaru jump up on the bed with Ino, who dug her hands into the large canine's fur and buried her face in it as she cried.

Akamaru whined and licked Ino's face, and just sat there as the girl cried. Soon her sobs became sniffles, which turned into even breathing. Kiba sat on the bed, leaning up against he pillows. He wrapped his arm around the blonde's waist and pulled her back against him.

He nuzzled her neck and let her cuddle up to him in her sleep. She ended up sitting in his lap, wrapped in a blanket, his jacket and his arms, with her face buried in the crook of his neck. Kiba growled contentedly and drifted off to sleep, leaving Akamaru on guard duty.

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I haven't decided if the whole 'skull fucking' incident is OOC for Gaara, because while the idea of his fucking a dude would appear OOC, doing it as a form a torutre seems like something he would threaten, even if he wouldn't go through with it. Let me know what you think!

Ch. glossary:

kekkei genkai--> blood line limit (Ex: Sharingan, Byakugan, Minimaru's abilities, Haku's abilities, etc.)