A/N: I added like two things and they aren't overall important. I didn't change much in this chapter because I feel it is well written and I didn't want to mess anything up with it. I like it so it stays. Its the later chapters I will be changing a lot. But I am close to chapter 30!

Comment, question and leave a thought!

Chapter 23: A Freaking Nightmare

After hours trying to pull information out of them I finally get to return home. That process took longer than I thought it would.

I do not bother with my bubble since I have a feeling that Shikamaru will not be inside waiting for me. He learned something that he shouldn't have learned about me. I wanted to keep it away from everyone. But he found out. Found out about the punishments.

I shake my head.

That isn't important now.

We had to call Ino in; she and I tried to find anything we could. We could not find a motive or anything like that. But the puppet user was of the Sand. The clone user of the Leaf. We don't know anyone else identity. What happened was that during the war each one of them got notes inviting them after the war to that clearing but by wearing hoods they could still meet and build a trust.

No one knows who the leader truly is.

Which is annoying since there is no way to actually find the leader without putting the village in danger at this point. That was the only useful information we could pull out of them.

We are keeping them, but there is a chance we could use them to our advantage. Sending them back would be bad for us. They could reveal what they learned and possibly know who I am. Which everyone wants to keep hidden.

I unlock the door and walk in. I take off my shoes and sit down.

I know that there is a lot to think about, only it is all messed up in my head. I can't even think straight.

How the hell am I going to fix everything that is going on? Maybe, just maybe, Shikamaru should come last. It is getting to the point where the village needs to be protected, but I need to fix things with Shikumaru. And now with Saskue and the whole group, I have to give them some form of explanation of what happened today. I don't know if it is concern or what else it could be. I am worried about Shikamaru and what he learned. I am worried about what I told Saskue earlier today.

I never wanted them to find this out.

I slap myself. I need to get a hold of myself.

I sigh and get up. I walk into the kitchen and put on some rice and get water.

I see the plans are on the table and I walk over to them. Focusing on them would be the best thing. I mean, there has to be something I missed right?

Only, what could it be?

This is one of the hardest things, but at least I know when they were formed, shortly after the war. But that is the only thing that we know for sure. Other than that everything is only probable cause, which isn't good enough. It isn't what Lord Third wanted from me. Lord Third raised me to be a better ninja than this.

What the hell did I miss?

How could I have missed anything?

I had help and even the support I never knew I needed. But that support might be gone, or wonder why I am being punished like I have. They are going to dig. They are going to find out. And that could result in… I don't know.

I hate not knowing.

I throw the plans off the table. They aren't any use right now. Everyone was counting on me and I failed. I failed with something that I shouldn't have failed with, and now the village could be in danger because of this one thing.

I walk away from the table and check on the rice. It is almost done, I think. I grab a bowl and try to wait without thinking too much.

I tilt my head down and take a deep breath in.

What if Shikamaru hates me? Or doesn't want to deal with someone who has to be punished for every little thing? I don't know if I can live without him being around. Or really any of them for that matter.

I think of them all as really good friends but the thought of losing them reminds me why I never wanted friends in the first place. Dumb things like this; where one thing was said even before I got to know them causing everything to go downhill. It is all dumb. I want to be all of their friends, especially Naruto's and Shikamaru's friend. There is no way that any of them will forgive me and if they do, I will never be able to believe them. Temari… she saw me being punished. Kakashi, he should have never sent me there.

But I don't even know if it was Kakashi that sent me. But I have never punished myself. I feel like I have failed because I don't remember what I did to be punished like that. It might have not been too bad since it was a mild punishment. But I always remember why I am punished.

Feeling a tear running down my face I finally look up from the floor. Wiping away the tear I put rice in my bowl, not caring if it is cooked or not. I begin to eat, trying to hold back tears. The rice is not cooked at all, which I don't mind. I have to focus on something else other then everything else that is going on. I bite down hard on some rice, almost biting my cheek. The next time I try to get rice I hear a clank. I look down and see that I finished the rice. I stare at the empty bowl. What is the point of me?

None; that would be the right answer. Two ninja attack the village and I didn't even see it coming. I knew that someone was watching us, only I should have went looking and brought them out for everyone to fight. That would have been the smart thing to do, but I didn't do my job. What good am I to the village if I can't even do my job? What happens when I can no longer protect the village? I hate this feeling, I hurt people and I know that I will be punished for what I have done.

That's when I feel something snap. I feel tears running down my face and before I can think about what I am doing I throw the bowl on the ground. I don't care if anyone else is in the house, in fact I know I am alone, just like I always have been. That is something that will never change in the world. I curl up into a little ball and can feel that it is getting harder to breath.

I hear gasping for breath, is that really me?

How pathetic am I?

I should know better than this to let something this silly get to me; I should be planning but I am on the ground. I feel the loneliness creep up on me. It consumes me like never before. I am the only person who has truly ever cared about me, no one else cared. Sure they all acted like it but it never happened. That is the worst feeling to know that I am alone, even with people around. Like the bathhouse, it feels like that was a dream but clearly it was not.

"Tooru?" a voice says.

I keep crying, the voice might actually hurt me. If I reply I would be in danger form the person entering the room. But, what if the voice is trying to help? Although, when has anyone ever tried to help me out? Never; that is the answer.

"Oh no, Tooru," a new voice says.

I cannot place the voice. Just like the bathhouse, I wish I could say sorry to Shikamaru, only I know I cannot. But both bring me panic and the need to run away. Only, my body does not move, it doesn't even seem to care that I could be in danger. My body knows I am no longer of any use to the village; I know too many secrets that they can get out of me.

I should be taken out. One thing Lord Third said to keep away from everyone. One thing that I had to make sure no one found out about. And people found out about the punishments. I can't stop it.

"Tooru talk to me," the first voice is closer.

I feel a hand on my back. I cannot do anything but let it sit there. I want to scream at the person to take their hand off of my back, to leave me alone before they regret it.

Only,

I know I am about to get what I deserve for being so useless to the village, to every single person that I have tried to protect for years. No one knows who I even am and the hand on my back is keeping me there to remind me of the job I did today and screwing up on the mission.

Of forgetting.

Of letting down the Hokage.

Of not protecting the village.

I hate myself.

"Yamato, she broke a bowl, that was the crash we heard," the second voice says.

"We need to get her help," the one called Yamato says.

"Tooru, can you please talk to me?" the second voice comes closer.

I roll over into the wall and can feel myself shaking. I am blinded by tears. I feel short of breath. I can barely think straight. I hear voices but I can no longer make out the words. The hand is gone, there is a sound of glass being moved around, at least I guess that is the sound. I don't know what is right anymore.

I'm an idiot.

I should not be doing this.

I… I … I don't know what I am anymore.

Am I a high ranked ninja?

Or am I a scared teenager?

I can't figure out which one I am. Normally I guess I am a ninja who follows the rules and tries to make sure everything goes smoothly. Why of all things is this happening? I am weak, for letting this happen. This will get back to Lord Sixth, and I will be punished. I cannot go through another punishment. They are so bad and they scare me so much. I can't let that happen, I need to get rid of the enemy in my house. I need to show that I am not a disgrace to everyone.

I feel myself being picked up, and my body reacts. I start to try to punch whoever it is and be put back down on the ground. The person pulls me closer and makes it to where I can no longer move. They are strong, I cannot even wiggle a little.

Maybe these aren't friends but the enemy. I know that no one in that group can pin me like this, so it has to be someone else. I try to scream but I feel nothing coming out of my mouth. Not even my mouth opens, I am trapped by them.

"Tooru, it's me," the voice says that has me pinned in their arms.

I keep trying to fight them, I cannot see since tears are still coming. I still cannot breathe though and I need to get away. I don't want to be anywhere near people, I need to punish myself before this gets to Kakashi.

I need to prove myself.

I need to be what Lord Third made me to be.

I am the dog of the Hokage.

"Shikamaru, we need help," another voice yells, the one called Yamato I think.

"Who would come now?" the one called Shikamaru asks.

"I'll send clones out and try to get help," Yamato says.

Help, no they are trying to take me. I begin to struggle some more. I need to get to Kakashi and explain to him what is going on. I have screwed up, something I should not do. I don't believe them and that they do not blame me for the suffering that I have brought on the group. Saskue is probably sulking and is hurt that I worked with Itachi. I know that a lot of things have happened.

Temari saw me…

They know…

I can't live like this.

I need to leave.

"She needs help now, we need someone here now Yamato," Shikamaru demands.

There is a knock on the door. They both freeze. I break free and fall to the ground. I start to crawl anywhere else but by them. I need to be alone. I need to figure out the situation and get everything fixed. Nothing will be fixed by itself. I have to do it, alone.

There are no such thing as friends for me.

I was built to work alone.

"I'll get the door, you get her," Yamato says.

I feel arms wrap around me, "Tooru we are trying to help you talk to me please?"

I hear footsteps running into the room. I begin to fight harder since I cannot tell how many of them there are. I know Shikamaru hates me and the whole group no longer trust me. I can no longer think straight.

I was spotted. They know.

I don't remember why.

"Tooru," I am flipped over and pinned on my back, "Calm down and look at me," the voice belongs to the one called Shikamaru.

I refuse to look at the face.

I need to stop.

The punishment will be worse if I act like this.

I need to calm down.

I need to shut down.

I feel myself taking in a few breaths and can breathe again. My eyesight also clears up as everyone is asking what happened.

The first thing that comes into focus is my arm and someone's hand holding my wrist down. I focus on that, knowing that the pain is real. I still do not want to say anything to Shikamaru until I gather my thoughts, but it looks like I have to face him sooner or later. The talking calms down since I have calmed down I focus on what everyone is saying.

"That doesn't explain what caused it," Yamato says.

"Look, Naruto what happened in the clearing after I left?" Shikamaru asks.

"Well," the one I assume is Naruto begins, "She asked what happened and after we told her what we had told you she got upset and said she didn't remember it. We don't know where you went. She started to cry. Like cry. We don't know if she heard us at all. Saskue got her to calm down, and he made all of us leave, I mean after forever of arguing with us to leave."

"Great, where is he now?" Yamato asks, I can hear the edge to his voice.

"On a date with Sakura," Naruto answers.

"Just our luck though," Shikamaru mumbles, too low for anyone else to hear except me.

I slowly follow the arm up and see Shikamaru's face looking to his right. I know that it is Shikamaru right away. I only look at him and hope that he doesn't look down. I know where I am and who is in the house. I put up my bubble. Tenzo is leaning on the counter, Hinata is standing in the doorway, Ino and Sai are standing together, Neji is up against a wall, and Naruto is next to Tenzo. I can see the tenderness in Shikamaru's eyes.

I don't know why.

I messed up.

"Well, that doesn't help with anything Naruto," Ino says.

"Look, she is calm and we only wanted to make sure that you were okay Shikamaru. I mean, you learning that the girl you like a lot was being tormented by someone else is hard to take in. You are attached to her a lot," Neji chimes in.

Shikamaru's face lightens, "I think I am okay with it. It was a shock. Who would have known that she would go through something like that? I mean, we don't know a lot about her, sure, but Kakashi sounds like he is letting her have freedom and allowing her to make friends. Even though she was never allowed to. I ran into Yamato and explained it to him. I want my friend to be okay."

"Are you sure it's only a friendship Shikamaru?" Hinata asks.

I see that she knows I am paying attention. But I am confused. Isn't keeping things hidden from your friends a big deal?

"I know that it is more than just a friendship, but I don't know if after this she will ever want to see me again," Shikamaru responds.

I tilt my head, puzzled. I do want to see him but I also want to make sure he isn't hurt by everything that has happened in the past twelve hours. I feel his grip lighten giving me some chance to move, only I do not want to. I would think he would not want to see me again.

But Shikamaru talked with Tenzo. He learned something else.

No one has put an effort in learning about me.

"It could still happen though Shikamaru," Sai says.

"That is true Sai, you and Tooru can still be together at some point," Naruto chimes in.

This causes Shikamaru to laugh, "I know. It's more of if she is ready."

"But what if you are not?" Neji gets off of the wall, "Tooru, hasn't told us anything. She has the right to, but after how long you have known her, don't you think it's odd. I mean she learned about you and Temari at one point. She should have told you about the punishments."

"I can feel like I know her though. Not everyone opens up right away. I remember her though. Her orange red hair in any crowd and I knew that was the mystery ninja. One that everyone saw but never knew about. And when she first lifted her purple eyes off the ground, I wanted to talk to her. I remember one time going to the park and Lord Third and Kakashi were there with Tooru. Somehow we all could play together even though Lord third wanted her to leave. Choji and I tried playing with her but after Choji shoved a chip in her mouth she ran off. We were six, Choji thought she wanted one. After they left my dad wanted us to really try to be friends with her, he knew how alone she was already and wanted us to be friends with her like how he let me be friends with Naruto when no one else wanted to be friends with him. Besides, who said that I only just cared for Temari? There were others that I cared about," Shikamaru stops and finally looks down, "How long have you been listening in?"

"A while," I whisper, and even that seems too loud.

"You won't freak out again will you?" Shikamaru asks matching my volume.

I shake my head and he slowly gets off of me and helps me stand up. When I finally get on my feet I nearly fall over but Shikamaru catches me before I can. I look around and everything begins to spin, I put my hands up to my face. I feel myself leaning forward as though I want to go on my knees.

This doesn't feel good. I don't know what is happening.

"Tooru, are you okay?" Shikamaru asks.

I shake my head. I feel like I might faint, or even throw up. I have no idea what is going on.

"Shikamaru, she doesn't look fine," Naruto comments.

I feel something is different. I am too weak right now, even if I did just freak out. I feel a pounding in my head. I don't know why, though maybe it isn't abnormal for someone to feel like this after a freak out.

"Something is wrong," I manage to mumble.

"What did she say Shikamaru?" Neji takes a few steps and tries to help Shikamaru.

"That there is something wrong," Shikamaru pauses, "let's get her to Kakashi."

"Why Kakashi?" Naruto asks.

"I think I figured out how we can break the jutsu Lord Third placed on her, but we need everyone. Sai, Ino and Hinata can you round everyone up at…" Shikamaru starts.

"Don't… take… out… of the… house," I manage to say.

I hope I said it loud enough for everyone to hear me. I can't leave. The protection of the house is what will help me.

"Why not Tooru, we need to…" Yamato starts.

"She is in too much pain captain Yamato. She needs to be here," Neji says.

"Right, then we will get everyone here, I will get Sakura and Saskue first," Ino declares.

"Good, Hinata get Kakashi first," Neji replies.

I feel like I am dropping more. I feel Shikamaru pick me up and hold me against his chest. I lean and hear his heartbeat. Steady and calm, he has a plan and I trust him. I feel so weak.

I don't know what's wrong with me right now. I think I am growing weaker and weaker.

"Thank you," I hear Shikamaru say, "Tooru here drink some water."

There is a glass pressed against my lips and water hits my lips. I swallow a few sips but I begin to choke on the water. I cough and the guys allow me to cough. Shikamaru begins to walk and he places me down on the table. My legs hang over the edge, and I question why he put me on the table. But I feel a wave of nausea overtake me.

"Shikamaru…" I finally manage to mumble.

I want to throw up, but I don't know where the trash is.

"Don't worry Tooru, I have a plan," Shikamaru says and gets up.

I try to focus, I know that something is different. As though something is missing inside of me. This weakness is too great. I need to let someone know. Only Shikamaru is not near me, I see that Neji is next to me. He has a hand on the table. I glance up at his face to see that he is talking to someone. Looking back at his hand I know I need to transfer memories to him quickly.

I summon all my chakra to my right hand and garb Neji's. I know he is startled but calms down.

"I see Tooru," Neji says, "And no I do not hate you Tooru. I will tell them."

"Tell us what Neji?" I hear Naruto ask.

"Tooru feels like something is missing, which might explain why she is so weak. She also let me see moments leading up to her freaking out. Only she knows she should be fine right now," Neji explains.

"Oh no," Shikamaru and Yamato say at the say time.

"What is it?" Naruto asks, worried.

There is a pause. A long one. I feel myself to trying to look around but I am in too much pain.

"She took in the chakra," Shikamaru mumbles.

"What do you mean Shikamaru?" Neji questions, also worried.

"The leader placed chakra in her so he could track her, and she thought about breaking it but we were able to get her not to. Do you think…" Shikamaru trails off.

"While she was freaking out she accidently took in the chakra," Yamato finishes.

"So now what?" Neji gets up.

"Now we have to work fast, the leader could come at any moment," Shikamaru has a slight panic to his voice, which means he didn't calculate this happening.

"So, that means that…" Yamato starts but there is a knock at the door as there are footsteps running to the door.

"Naruto, be ready to defend or move fast," Shikamaru warns.

"Right! I have places all over the village," Naruto says.

I hear footsteps running in, I know Kakashi is here and my bubble finally fades. I can feel my eyes close but I fight to keep them open.

"Shikamaru what happened?" Kakashi asks.

"Work now, explanation later. I need you to focus your chakra into her; that is what Sakura is going to help you with. As much as you can," Shikamaru commands, "Neji take a look at her chakra network and see if there are places chakra is not flowing and open them. If some places look damaged close them quickly. Yamato, as soon as everyone is here put up wood around the house with yours and Naruto's clones outside who can report. Naruto get rags ready, she will get warm quickly."

I hear the door open as more people enter the house quickly.

"Shikamaru, what do you need me to do?" I hear Shino ask.

"Great, you are going to also be part of protection. Shino set insects up around the city and have them look for any one out of place that could come here. Kiba and Temari go into Tooru's room and grab a few scrolls that say 'rules' these will help us in a way. Gaara, I also want you to set a protection bubble around the house and be ready to fight with sand. Konkaro I need some poison you have along with how to cure it," Shikamaru has more worry to his voice now than he did before.

"Why do you need…" Konkaro begins.

"It is to break the jutsu that she is under," Shikamaru explains.

"Don't question him," Temari and Kiba say at the same time.

I hear more rushing though out the house. I start to feel chakra being poured into me along with chakra points being opened and closed. There is a rag on my head and it actually feels cool. There are more people rushing in.

"Good, Choji get some rice and make it along with placing herbs in there. Lee, you are on close protection, stay close to Tooru and Lord Sixth. Tenten, I want you to hide and be ready to throw kunai if anything should happen. Sai could you draw some animals to wait outside? Hinata help Neji with opening and closing chakra points on Tooru," Shikamaru says.

"We found them!" Temari yells walking into the room.

"Man, her room is so clean, it is scary," Kiba chimes in.

"She is a neat freak Kiba, and from what I remember Lord Third ordered her to be clean and she had no choice but to listen," Shikamaru mumbles.

I feel a scream escape my lips. I feel pain all over my body as though I am being poisoned by something. I feel the chakra stop and points that should be open and closed and all chakra points are closing I can feel it. I feel a few jabs and the chakra begins to flow but the pain stays.

"Sai, where is Ino?" Yamato yells.

"I don't know!" Sai replies.

"We need them here, Sakura plays a key role here," Shikamaru mentions, "Naruto, teleport everywhere to find them!"

"Who will take over what I am doing?" Naruto asks.

"Sai will, he is helping you anyway. Go fast," Shikamaru asks.

There is silence in the house, everyone inside is trying but my body is weak. I feel myself tearing myself apart. We need a healer or someone. There is only so much that Neji and Hinata can do with chakra. There is a long silence, one that tells me that Shikamaru is thinking about what to do. He was not expecting me to take in the chakra, now I am in greater pain then I should be.

"Shikamaru," Yamato says, "You should explain to everyone why this is happening."

I hear footsteps come closer to me, I can feel Shikamaru's chakra near me and my body begins to calm down. My breathing is heavy and irregular.

"We need everyone here," Shikamaru whispers, "I need to know how long ago you broke the connection Tooru. If he was infusing chakra, or whatever"

I open my eyes to see Shikamaru looking down at me, concern plagues his face. I need to tell him but there are too many people around for me transfer anything to him and I cannot move my hands to do anything. As though he reads my mind he puts his hands on my cheeks and I close my eyes focusing my attention on his hands and telling him everything. I know the leader was not infusing chakra and won't notice for a while now. That I broke it right before he pinned me down is when my body got stronger then weaker.

"Alright," Shikamaru whispers when I open my eyes back up, "Thank you Tooru."

"What just happened?" Kiba asks.

"Tooru just explained everything to Shikamaru which is what she was trying to do earlier. Normally they would be bouncing ideas back and forth but since she is so weak transferring memories is the only way she can tell anyone anything. So now Shikamaru has what he needs to go further in his plan he has formed," Yamato pauses, "Which I'm guessing Tooru doesn't get since she is too focused on something else. Right Shikamaru?"

"That's right," Shikamaru says simply, not breaking eye contact with me.

"Therefore," Choji chimes in, "We know enough to know that Shikamaru has a plan, but only a few of us can fully guess as to what the plan is. If Ino was here her and I could maybe get it, but that is because we don't know everything."

I keep looking at Shikamaru, and that's when it finally clicks about what he is planning. There are things that even I could never think about and Shikamaru figured it out. Everyone has memories of me, and so with them telling Kakashi what they remember Kakashi can lift it. That's why each person is starting to remember me, Shikamaru brought it up. I feel my eyes widen and Shikamaru winks at me.

"I knew you would get it Tooru," Shikamaru whispers.

"Shikamaru?" Hinata speaks up.

Shikamaru lifts his head up, "Yes Hinata?"

"Her chakra is going crazy, it's like a bubble is forming in places and trying to spread to shut down the whole chakra system. We need to know what her jutsu is," Hinata explains.

There is a thud.

"Shikamaru what is the…" Saskue begins but trails off, "What can we do?"

"Sakura help Kakashi, Ino also help since you trained to heal. Saskue go through the rules with Kiba and Temari," Shikamaru sounds calmer than before.

"Now tell us what the plan is Shikamaru," Neji says as he jabs me opening a chakra point.

"Everyone listen, I know everyone has memories of seeing Tooru around and everyone is going to share those memories except Yamato and Kakashi. Any order, just when you think of one before a few weeks ago," Shikamaru explains.

"I have one," Saskue starts, "I remember while I was in Orochimaru's layer that I would feel this person. Only it was lingering, as though they had already left. One time I saw red hair and tried to attack. We did end up fighting a few times and I remember her beating me each time. There have also been times when we were all younger she watched us. I would offer her to come and play with us but she ran off. Also when Itachi would bring her home to have dinner."

"Ino," Sakura says, "Do you remember the little girl in the fields that one day?"

Ino thinks for a moment, "Yes, she had red hair and looked like she was already a jonin by that point."

"Remember going up to her and insulting her? How mean we were to her because she was so small," Sakura bounces.

"After a moment of silence she turned around and we saw she was the same age as us, and we laughed at her for taking her parents gear," Ino continues.

"She said they were her cloths and that she was something else, only she never finished her sentence. She finally lifted her eyes," Sakura explains.

"They were the same purple. We insulted Tooru when Sakura and I just became friends. It was after a class and Sakura wanted to learn more about the flowers," Ino concludes.

"I remember a few times walking Akamaru and seeing a shadow jumping from tree to tree. I could tell they were following us, so one day we set a trap to catch whoever it was. And I caught Tooru in it and she got out and ran off," Kiba pauses, "I remember seeing the marking on her shoulder, but I never thought anything of it."

"There was this one time I was following someone and I saw her a few times," Hinata chimes in, "I never talked to her though, I remember her at the chunin exams when we all first took it, she was telling Lord Third something."

"I don't remember her there though Hinata," Naruto chimes in.

"It's because you and I were arguing," Saskue reminds him.

"Right," Naruto says, "Anyway, I remember her during the war though. She was laying on the ground after everything and she was getting up while we were making sure everyone was okay. She got up and left quickly. I tired to follow her but she was too fast in her movements. I started to see her around but was never able to talk to her."

"I remember my father was up early one morning and I was a genin at the time. He was talking to someone, only my mother asked me to put my ninja skills to the test. I saw that it was Tooru talking to him about something; but he was laughing about it. This happened a few other times. It hasn't happened since the war ended, but I have also been seeing her around the village," Shino speaks up.

"There was this one time in the foundation," Sai says, "Or maybe it was a few times that I caught her spying on us, I tried to fight her but she always over powered me. After the war though she slowly became more and more like a zombie."

"I also remember more zombie Tooru. She always looked like she was thinking and thinking. But eventually she just had a look in her eyes that showed she wasn't getting enough sleep. Then the bathhouse happened and after she came back she looked better," Temari inputs.

"Yes, we are trying to work on that. She over works since she doesn't really have anyone," Kakashi chimes in.

"She seems calm," Gaara says, "I do recall one time when I was about 7 and there was a ninja walking around the village with some other adults. They pointed me out and she came up to me and sat right in front of me. The red hair and the purple eyes told me she didn't want to hurt me but be my friend. I questioned why she was here and she replied with a smile and took my hand; she asked if in the future we could be friends. And I told her no because I was scared to even try to be friends with her. Tooru said that she knew what it was like to be alone and…"

"Then I came up and told her to get lost. I don't know why but anyone who tried to hurt Gaara I would stop. I thought that she was threatening him like everyone else did. Only Gaara told me after she ran off that she was trying to help," Konkuro finishes.

"Do you guys remember training that one day?" Tenten questions.

"Getting ready for exams?" Neji asks.

"Yes! Guy sensie was late and we decided to start. Then a girl with red hair came out," Lee starts.

"But when she saw us she turned away because we had the training ground first," Tenten continues.

"We surrounded her and asked if she wanted to train with us, but she refused each time," Neji says.

"But we did not give up! We started to follow her around the village to see if she would give us a chance to train with her," Lee exclaims.

"But," Tenten interjects, "She knew what we were planning already and she stayed in the market until Guy came and found us."

"Later on that day we were taking a break and Guy said he would be right back, I used my eyes to pinpoint his location and that's when I saw Tooru in the trees and then they vanished," Neji finishes.

"Well," Choji starts, "I really only remember the park with Shikamaru. Maybe seeing her a few other times but that's all I can tell you."

"And mine is the same as Choji's. Seeing her at the park and them seeing her around the village a few times," Shikamaru concludes.

Another scream escapes my lips, this causes everyone to stop for a few moments. I feel myself bend backwards and bend in odd ways that hurt me. There is no more chakra coming into my body but I can hear the shouting but cannot make out that they are saying.

I feel my eyes open but are forced to close right away.