I didn't reply to you if you didn't win. I'm sorry guys! I appreciate all you replying though and I will include a little review reply here

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Well this chapter wasn't so good but I made it nice and long for you guys. Review please! I need feedback on my stories so I can imporve them for you all!


Maybe I didn't have to run anymore,

I've trying to run from my fears, my lies.

But I don't want to anymore.

I'll live for someone other than myself,

I'll promise to someone that I will protect them.

Maybe that's how life should be lived,

Not the way I was living it.

But could I still be a monster on the inside?

What if this didn't work out and I was broken again,

Have my way of life shattered, thrown against a wall.

My consciousness began to wake. I opened my eyes, was I dreaming? Were last night's events a dream? Was my life a dream and I have just woken up from it all? I looked at the room and smiled. I wasn't home, I wasn't in a home that I knew very well but I was with the people that maybe could understand and care for me. But I still missed…my past. I had a feeling of bitter-sweetness when I remembered the trail I was walked upon. How was my sister? Was her heart still full of regret and hate towards me? I wished so much that I could be the sister I was before to her.

Who am I kidding?

Life isn't perfect and fate isn't fair. Events don't always happen for a reason and nor do they happen to your benefit. But I have to be strong, not heroic or anything superior to just being human but, just strong. With that state of mind that was much more positive than I had been time, I walked downstairs to greet the new people who I was going to live with. I tried to look happy as Temari laid out breakfast for me. She sat down and immediately said,

"You look much happier-"

"I am happier."

She looked at me but before she could say anything else, Kankuro scratched his head while walking towards us from his room. He didn't have his clothing covering his head like he usually does. And it made me try to smile. Behind Kankuro, Gaara walked towards us as well. I saw his eyes, and then I knew I wanted to understand him. I wanted to know about him. He sat at the dining table and received curious looks from his sibling, I guessed he didn't eat with them often.

We ate in silence, but I noticed that Temari and Kankuro were looking at Gaara from the corner of their eyes. After the breakfast, all of us went to the Kazekage's office. I hadn't known we were heading there but Temari informed me 10 minutes before we left. When we arrived, we were immediately let in. I let Temari do all the talking to her father. I found something strange, she treated him like the Kazekage and not like her father. I thought maybe she wanted to show respect and that was how she showed it but he also treated her like she was another citizen with no personal ties. We left in silence, with our tasks clear at hand. It was simple, what we had to do. It was easy, what we had to do, right? The Kazekage said my attacks suppressed the real damage I could do so I had to change my fighting style.

So here we were, in the training grounds. Temari tried to hide her fear about me fighting again, I knew it, I could see it in her eyes. But I wasn't going to be afraid. I was going to do what I was here to do. Temari has a style in mind for me to convert to. She suggested that instead of me using real weapons, I use just my chakra as a weapon. She wanted me to shape my chakra into a knife-like shape, which I could use in close-range combat and for long range combat, I should condense it, and be able to throw it.

"But Temari, how is chakra going to inflict physical damage?" I asked.

She explained I should condense it into my demon's element. Fire. So basically, she wanted me to condense my chakra into fire and use that against my enemy. It didn't sound too good to me, those attacks would require mastery at chakra control. I could control my chakra but I wasn't an expert at it. Nevertheless, I had to try. First, we started with the long-range skills. To condense my chakra into fire, I only had to do one hand sign, the dragon.

'How ironic.' I thought.

I made the hand sign and tried to gather my chakra at the palm of my hand, at first I could only gather it for small amounts of time but after practicing, It could last longer. Then I tried to throw it at targets, which failed miserably. As a handicap, I used real kunais and gathered my chakra around them to throw them at my target. That worked much better, but I had to master the technique without my handicap. Too bad I ran out of chakra before I came close to mastering anything. But I kept pushing myself. When I exhausted all my chakra, I fell to the floor gasping for breath. But I had to keep on going; I didn't want to be useless all my life.

"You should rest now Nozomi. You've wasted your chakra." Temari suggested.

Gaara stopped Temari from nearing me and said, "Leave her. She has a demon in her so her chakra should have increased. That is, If she isn't too weak. "

Now I had to keep going. Gaara was starting to mock me, just like life itself did. I stood up and kept going at it. I made the single hand sign and condensed my chakra into fire, and then I formed it into a sharp, kunai-like object and threw it. I was getting better but now my body was screaming for me to rest while I tried to block it out and keep going. I wanted to learn this; I wanted to accomplish this today.

Three hours later…

The sun was setting and I was alone. The other's had left, long ago. But I, I wanted to stay and try. I fell backward and broke my fall with my hands. I was gasping for air as sweat slid down the side of my face. It felt like an ice cube against my hot skin. My skin was burnt and discolored in several places. My body was weak but I would not let my consciousness slip away. My feet moved towards the home where I now lived in. When I arrived, the door was open and I let myself in. I made myself towards my room and fell in my bed to rest, both body and soul.

This is a lie,

It's all a lie.

They have a purpose for you,

And it's not something for a human to do.

It'll tarnish your heart and rip your soul,

It will pain you more than you ever know.

I had woken up with a sore body when I headed downstairs after a shower; Temari told me that the Kazekage had called for me.

'I've never heard her say father before. Why is that?'

I obediently and immediately left for my requested presence. At the Kazekage's office, I was let in immediately. And again, the secretary gave me that same ghastly look as before. I entered and faced the Kazekage, a man of great strength and stature.

"Temari had informed me that you have been training to increase the strength of your fighting style."

He started.

I nodded my head and said nothing.

"Have you been practicing using fire?"

Again, I nodded my head.

"Good. Well do you think you can utilize that ability fairly accurately?"

"I think so."

"Well then, at 8:00 P.M. report here for your first mission. Please bring Gaara along."

My first mission? I wasn't ready for that. I knew I wasn't ready, regardless, when 8 o'clock came, I went. At around 7:55 I was already at the Kazekage's office. I had told Kankuro to tell Gaara about the mission and I hope he did. The minutes sluggishly past by and I became more nervous. My first mission? I didn't want to fail. Then, I saw Gaara walking towards me and my nervousness eased up a little. When he was within 5 feet of me, I walked up to him and asked,

"What do you think the mission will be about?"

He looked up and stared me down with those brilliant, gleaming eyes.

"What gave you the idea that I know?"

"I'm sorry, I'm just a little nervous."

Gaara turned away from me as the Kazekage's door opened. We walked in and sat, waiting for our orders.

"For your mission, you are to investigate the strength of the Konoha village genin. The Hokage knows of this and you two will be entering as visitors. You will head to Konoha starting in 10 minutes and your food will be supplied shortly. I expect you to be present at Konoha in two days. That is all."

It's been an hour since then. Gaara and I have been heading full speed towards Konoha. It was night, pitch-dark night. The night was so thick; I could feel it almost choking me. It suffocated my eyesight so I could not see well, nonetheless, we weren't slowing down. No words passed between Gaara and I so the hours passed slowly. After what seemed centuries, my legs began to bother me with pain. I bit my lip and ignored the soreness that was building up.

"G-gaara?"

"…"

"I was wondering, when we could rest?"

Without warning, Gaara tersely stopped. I paused as well and waited for him to explain his action.

"We can rest here for a while, I can't stand to have a tired weakling complaining."

I flushed angrily but I did not dare to open my mouth and defend myself. On the ground, I laid down on the grass while Gaara sat in a tree above. I felt safe knowing Gaara would not have trouble staying awake on guard duty. Without hesitation, I fell into a soothing sleep. A ray of light that was shining upon my face woke me later on. I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, then looked around. I failed to see Gaara. I scrimmaged through the food supply and found that Gaara had already taken his meal. While I ate my rice cake, I guessed I had been sleeping around 4 or 5 hours. It wasn't much but enough to go on. I looked around but I could not find the red-haired boy. I called his name but maybe he wouldn't even answer…

Then I sensed him. I looked towards the south and saw him walking towards me with his eyes closed, his head facing the ground.

"You slept for too long." He said.

I ignored his comment and started heading to Konoha. Jumping from branch to branch behind me, was Gaara. At mid-day, we paused to eat our lunch and I practiced my fighting style a little, disregarding the burns on my hands. Gaara was about 15 feet away and out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him looking at my wounds.

"Have you ever gotten injured, Gaara?"

I knew it was a silly question, but I curiously wanted to know. Gaara faced away and in almost a whisper said, "No."

I wanted to start a conversation and learn about him. We had one important thing in comment yet I hardly knew anything about the famous Gaara.

"Why haven't you been injured before?"

"…She doesn't allow it."

"Who?"

"My mother."

I pictured an unknown figure protecting Gaara from a swarm of shuriken and kunai.

"You must have a loving mother then." I suggested.

Instead of answering, as I would have preferred, Gaara stood up and ended our conversation but continuing on our journey. By sundown, the village of Konoha was visible. The hours that had passed were silence and forbidding between Gaara and I but inside my head, there was a debate brewing. I was wondering and deliberating all kinds of theories about Gaara. When we reached the gates, something stirred in me. I grabbed my chest and tried to suppress the powers of the Hachimata. I held control over my body but the whole time I was in that village, I felt the demon inside me trying to lash out for no apparent reason. We came to the Hokage's office when the sun had already set, at around 8 o'clock I would guess. The Hokage, which was an old man, welcomed us with open arms. He provided us with two rooms at a local inn, free of charge. I thanked him several times but he just brushed it off. The Kazekage had told him we were there to observe and learn so tomorrow, we would observe cell 7 in the midst of their training.

On the next day…

Gaara and I had made our way towards the location where cell 7 would train. From afar, I saw a girl with pink hair, a boy with black hair and another with blond. I approached them with Gaara beside me. While the length of distance between us and them shrunk, the pain in my chest grew. I tried to ignore the pain and speak to them but I couldn't. My throat had been closed up and I stayed silent. They eyed the Suna headband that was around my throat and around Gaara's sash. They looked at us with peculiar faces but then a jonin appeared by their side and waved and Gaara and me.

"They're here to do WHAT!" Naruto yelled.

"Yes Naruto, they are going to observe our training." Kakashi answered.

"Whatever." commented Sasuke.

Gaara and I sat on the side while all three genin were training. I didn't see anything special or worthwhile so I let my mind wander. After their practice, Kakashi invited us to lunch, Gaara sat in the corner alone while Naruto and Sakura asked me questions. I talked a little but I didn't do well in crowds so I stayed silent most of the time. I say the black-haired boy, Sasuke, looking at Gaara ever so often.

The pain that I was feeling was bothering me so much, the pain was really sapping my strength.

After our little outing, Kakashi had left and we were left by ourselves. Naruto proposed a fight between either or Gaara.

"I won't waste my time on a weakling." Gaara answered.

Naruto became upset but then pointed his finger and declared a match against me. I shrugged my shoulders but complied. When we stood, facing each other, the pain became indescribable. I grabbed my chest and fell to my knees, gasping. Naruto was walking towards me to see what happened and my condition worsened.

"I wouldn't approach her." Warned Gaara in an uncaring way.

But they didn't listen. Naruto placed a hand on my shoulder and I lost control. My chakra and that of the Hachimata blended. I felt my fangs grow and my nails lengthen. I stood up and smiled at Naruto. His expression was confused at my sudden transformation.

"Finally…" I growled.

"What? What happened?" Naruto was asking me.

"I found you, Kyubi."

I laughed and condensed my chakra into fire just like last time. I threw it at Naruto but as it was approaching him, it expanded and burst into fireballs. Naruto couldn't dodge all of them and was injured. Sasuke saw this and stepped inside. I looked at him with my head tilted. He threw kunai at me but all I did was step to the side. He started to run around me and throw kunai but I dodged them all with ease. He stood in front of Naruto once more and threw a kunai at me but behind me, a kunai was also thrown. I grabbed both of them and returned them to Sasuke but only as exploding bombs. Sasuke managed to dodge but he cut himself ever so slightly. I smelled the blood and the excitement in me rose. I felt my transformation strengthen and I grew a tail. Now they all looked at me with horror. Wonderful.

My tail was a long black, slick tail with spikes on it until the end. I ran towards Sasuke with incredible speed and punched him in the stomach, he coughed up more blood but it wasn't enough. I moved my tail around his body and rose him a little in the air. The spikes were barely touching him but they were still leaving their marks on his body as trails of blood. I squeezed him tighter and heard noises of pain escape his mouth. Then, the stupid girl tried to rescue him but all I did was throw a fireball at her and she was wounded enough to stay on the ground. Then the Naruto boy stood up; he wanted to defend his friend.

"Let go of Sasuke!" He demanded.

"Aww Kyubi, have you become a softy already? I never remembered you being the saving type. You took more pride in massacring villages and countries."

I squeezed Sasuke tighter and Naruto came at me. Before he ran at me, I ran past him and before he could take notice, I was already behind him. He looked at his body and saw freshly opened wounds on his arms and face. I had slashed him with my nails. I began to laugh but then Gaara stepped in. He took his sand and encircled it on my body and rose me up, just like before. I dropped Sasuke and he fell a good 10 feet until he crashed into the ground. The pressure tightened and I calmed down. I wasn't going to injure Gaara so I became quiet and didn't resist.

"Stop Nozomi." Gaara demanded.

I released the tension of my body and the Hachimata withdrew. I was myself once again but I was so tired. I was so….tired. Gaara lowered me to the ground and his sand withdrew inside his gourd. I was on the ground looking at the sky, it was dark, the sun was setting and the red color reminded me of fire…and bloodshed.