Naruto 1. Close Call

**_Blue Monotony._**

_Number of words in chapter: 4251_

_Rating: _T

* * *

Bright blue, boundless sky stretching for miles upon miles, unbroken and utterly untouched.

This was beautiful. The view of ceaseless sky and glinting golden sand dunes was worth the sweat and the endless claustrophobic heat of the desert, for the first few hours anyway. Now her sandals were filled with heaps of the beautiful, golden sand, her skin was dotted with itchy grains and her hair was filled with it despite the cloth she had wrapped around her head. Sakura raised her slightly battered canister and downed a gulp of stagnant, warm water. It was almost empty.

Naruto noisily guzzled more water from his container beside her and proceeded to loudly complain about how damn hot it was out in the desert, how he just couldn't stand the heat and would really love a freezing cold shower right now. She angrily kicked the sand in his direction which only caused him to yelp and whine loudly. She would never hear the end of it if she passed out now and one of them had to carry her.

Kakashi and Sasuke were completely silent and trailed at the back of the group. Neither seemed bothered by the heat at all. How they managed to look so cool, calm and collected was beyond her. Especially when they were both completely covered in dark clothing, which would trap heat and was bound to make them uncomfortable. Yet, the both of them looked perfectly at ease. The image of Sasuke pulling off his top to try and cool himself down came to her mind unbidden.

But she was used to this. They would always try and portray an outwardly uncaring demeanour.

Now, if only the sun would just hurry up and set. They had taken shelter at the hottest part of the day and then started to travel again after the worst of the heat was over. They would probably continue travelling to well after midnight. The coolness of night had to be used wisely. She had no idea how people in Suna managed to function normally in this atrocious weather, how ever beautiful it was. The barren emptiness and simplicity of the desert drew her in. It was such a nice change from all things green in Kohona.

Her throat was so dry and she wanted a drink so badly. Sakura lifted the canister and shook it gently. She was disheartened to hear only a slight tinkling noise signalling how little liquid there was left. Was it worth it? She drained the very last drop and sighed heavily. Every step seemed to be draining her strength even more. Sasuke would mock her if she asked for a rest. She wanted nothing more than to show him that she was strong and able to cope with difficult conditions.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm out of water." She raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her brow again.

"There's an oasis about a mile or two from here, Sakura. We'll be there soon, I promise." The silver haired nin gave her a smile from beneath his mask.

Her green eyes narrowed slightly as she regarded him, but she turned away a moment later and bowed her head in hope of shielding her eyes from the sun without lifting her arms. The heat made every movement excruciating.

Some mission this was. Naruto had complained to the Hokage -yet again- about the meagre amount of difficult missions they had been receiving. As a result, they were granted a very low-level B mission- deliver a scroll to the Kazekage, be nice, friendly, and polite to the Sand nins, and then come home without dying in the middle of the desert and being eaten by the buzzards that had suspiciously started to circle them.

After another hour Sakura couldn't take it. Her mouth was now devoid of any moisture and every time she attempted to swallow she was met with a harsh, rasping feeling and the urge to gag. Beside her Naruto hummed one of the annoying jingles from a cereal ad. This time she kicked him in the shin. She was starting to think she would lose her mind before they reached Sunagakure.

She forced down the urge to bury him up to his neck in the sand and leave him there. His loud, obnixious humming echoed though the silent landscape and mingled with the slight hiss of moving sand.

The heat was making her angry; she was about to pummel him into oblivion. Kakashi wasn't helping the situation at all- he just stood at the back of the group and giggled like a little schoolgirl over that stupid orange Icha Icha book. One of these days she would have to read it and see what all the fuss was about.

Sasuke picked up the pace and moved to walk in front of her. As much as she tried to speed up and keep up with him her muscles simply wouldn't respond. She couldn't go any faster, no matter how hard she tried. It was even hard to raise her hand and wipe the sweat that kept building up on her forehead. No one else seemed to have to be doing that as much as her.

_Maybe because it's so big it's like a magnet for the heat. _She thought sullenly.

Another half an hour passed and even Naruto seemed to be losing spirit, which was a feat in itself.

It was safe to assume that seeing multiple shirtless Sasukes wandering around the dunes nearby did not bode well for her mental health. No matter how enjoyable it was to watch them wander about exposing all that muscle. Sakura closed her jade eyes wearily and rubbed her temples. It couldn't be long now. The sun was beginning to set. Sakura would have to find out what Kakashi regarded as 'soon'- it was just past midnight when they caught a glimpse of something other than sand dunes on the horizon.

"That's **it?**" The 'Oasis' was more of a clump of pathetic half dead trees and bushes.

"Yes, Sakura, that's it." Kakashi said with an eye crinkling smile. She could tell that he found her reaction amusing. They all seemed to find her fury amusing.

"Why did it take so long anyway, Kakashi-sensei? You said we'd be there soon. We must've travelled more than a mile." Naruto whined.

"The answer to that is very simple. I lied."

Naruto keeled over when she smacked him in the stomach.

oOo

Her feet throbbed when she flopped down onto the hard earth beside her bedroll. Sakura wiggled off her sandals and lifted her aching feet so that she could focus on digging the grainy sand from beneath her toes. She felt filthy and the sand that covered her skin was irritating, but just wouldn't shift. It was a desert, but how it managed to get into every nook and cranny of both her hair and her clothing was beyond her.

Every ounce of her strength seemed to have been sapped. She couldn't even be bothered to tell off Naruto when he unfurled his bedroll about half a centimetre away from hers. He normally tried that but usually she simply moved further away from him during the night when he settled down. Tonight would have to be an exception. She was to take the third watch.

The moment she set her head down darkness washed over her vision and she saw no more. Naruto moved closer to her during the night and when Kakashi shook her awake to take her shift she noticed the concealed mirth in his single black eye immediately. Her legs were entangled messily with Naruto's, and his arms were wound around her waist, and his head was resting on her shoulder. He was clearly oblivious to the fact that they were so close, because he didn't even murmur when she slipped out of his embrace. He just kept sleeping like a rock with his mouth slightly open.

Sakura gave up on the thought of hitting him. She didn't want a semi-conscious Naruto annoying her all through her shift when she was supposed to be defending their camp. Well, that was until she felt the patch of saliva on her right shoulder. He rolled over to face her and give a soft whine of some unintelligible word - completely unaware that she was thinking of stamping him into oblivion - he looked too peaceful in sleep for her to wake him.

_And she really didn't want a semi-conscious Naruto whining at her in the early hours of the morning._

Kakashi settled down nearby and soon enough she heard his breathing begin to slow. He was never off guard but while she was watching he could at least take a little rest. It would be a long boring three hours until sunset... You can only ogle an Uchiha prodigy's back while he's sleeping for so long before you have to find some other source of entertainment.

The stars out here were beautiful. Nothing obscured their shimmering glory. She simply sat there with her back against one of the withered trees, staring out into the sky for what felt like an eternity. She picked out the various constellations that she was familiar with until she became bored staring at the same unmoving shapes. No matter how beautiful the stars were to look at you could only stare for so long.

Sakura turned her attention to her team mates after that. They all had a certain way of sleeping. Naruto liked to sprawl out over all the available space, and he snored. Very loudly. It was probably bad for a ninja to sound like an earthquake while they were asleep, but Naruto was never really that subtle about anything. His choice of clothing was a bright orange jump suit for Kami's sake. Not that she was much better.

Her bright pink hair stood out, and her red dress didn't exactly blend in.

Sasuke was almost completely silent when he slept. He barely ever moved once settled down and never snored at all. Sakura was glad of that fact. She wasn't sure if she would want to share a bed with a man who could wake the dead with his snoring. She always secretly loved the way his black hair looked all crumpled when he had just woken up. How many times had she wished that she could run her hands through that black hair and see if it was as soft as it looked...

He would never love her.

She pushed back the horrible crashing emotions that always came with that statement and turned to the last member of their group. Kakashi slept similarly to Sasuke but she knew that he liked to be sitting up while sleeping for some weird reason, and he always folded his hands across his chest. If he was in a really deep sleep - which she had only seen once - he breathed very loudly but apart from that he was a very still.

Ino had often told her that she talked in her sleep and shifted back and forth a lot. She was not entirely sure if that was true but she really hoped that she didn't say anything too incriminating while in the land of slumber.

There was nothing to keep her occupied any more. The stars had lost their spark, her team mates were just the same as ever and Sasuke had his back to her with the covers wrapped around him so tightly that she couldn't see anything. Her life had gotten dull. You would think that as a ninja she would always be on the edge - always see new sights and meet new people. She had slipped in to a monotonous routine.

Sakura supposed that the desert reflected how her life was now. The same scenery, looking the same all the time. She had thought that it was beautiful at first, but had quickly grown bored of the dull, unchanging landscape. The one thing that she was looking forward to ended up being nothing more than a tiny, ugly little difference that wasn't great in any sense of the word and probably shouldn't be paid that much attention to.

The more time passed the more she grew accustomed to the events that kept coming no matter how hard she tried to find something new. She always ate lunch with Naruto at the ramen stand on a Friday. She was always early to the bridge and Kakashi was always late. The missions were always unfulfilling and she always wished that she had just stayed at home and went out to train. She was even used to Sasuke always rejecting every kind gesture and attempt to make him like her. Stuck in a rut was probably an appropriate phrase here.

She twirled a kunai on her finger idly and waited for the approaching dawn. Her senses fanned out and she waited for even the tiniest spark of chakra that could mean an approaching enemy. To be honest she would have welcomed an attack from some low life bandits right now. An hour later and she still felt nothing it was safe to say they were probably very alone in this god forsaken desert.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm just going to the bathroom. I'll be back in a minute." He was asleep but she was sure that his mind had probably registered what she had just said and he would not come charging through the bushes looking for her if he happened to awake before she returned.

Truth was, she just wanted a little walk by herself. If nothing else, it was very peaceful out here with not even the soft sounds of animals to be heard. It surprised her that anything could survive out here. Her little wander brought her to the centre piece of this wonderful little desert retreat. A water hole. Well, more like a mud hole to be more accurate.

She leaned down and cupped a small handful of the lukewarm, murky water and splashed it over her face. It did not bring her any reprieve at all, and she simply slumped down onto the brick-hard dirt that surrounded the dingy water hole. There was no one to see her, so she would just rest here for a moment and then return to her team. Slipping her feet into the water she sighed.

"Are you that weak that you cannot stand on your own two feet?" A cold voice questioned.

Leaping to her feet she whipped out a kunai and looked in the direction of the voice. Her long pink hair blew in front of her face and obscured her vision. It was deathly silent then, and the attack she was expecting didn't come. Instantly, she searched once more for chakra but found nothing. Whoever this was person was they could hide their presence extremely well. Perhaps it was the hours of trekking through that insane heat and the boredom that made her a little more reckless than she should have been.

She was still afraid though. Every nerve in her body was tingling with fear and she shifted into a slightly readier position in case she needed to make a quick escape. A trickle of cold sweat trailed down her back as she swallowed, hard, and prepared to speak. Her hands shook on the kunai, which she was painfully aware of, and her heart thundered in her ears making it difficult to concentrate.

"What is the harm of someone taking a little rest when they think they are alone? I did not sense you." She should have run as far and fast as she could at that point, but something held her back.

"Then you are weaker than I thought." The answer was swift and cold. Obviously dismissing her. She did not feel like taking that. Fear and anger were not a good combination; they made her thoughtless and foolishly proud.

"Who are you to judge me?! You do not know me."

"I do not have to know you to see that you are worthless." She was sick of people thinking that she was weak and pathetic. She should have paid attention to the sand that was beginning to shift around her.

She was utterly terrified now and her body showed that. She gave up then and flopped back onto the ground almost on the verge of tears. Sakura shook and closed her eyes with her head lowered slightly; a submissive position. Her knees were drawn up to her chest in a subconscious act that showed she was trying to protect herself. Only her pride and anger kept her in place. The strange thrill that this encounter was causing made her pulse rate skyrocket.

"At least I have the courage to show myself. Whereas you simply cower in the shadows," she muttered, regretting her words the moment they left her mouth.

"The art of concealment is part of being a ninja. Evidently you are too weak or incompetent to understand that." The voice was male and coming from the shadows at the other side of the pool.

Her eyes drifted over to the darkness where he was and she discreetly swept her eyes across the area but still saw nothing. She couldn't bring herself to run when this strange meeting was making her feel more than she had in weeks. Besides, if she ran he would probably kill her. If she yelled for help he would probably kill her. Her chakra was flaring violently because of all the caustic emotions raging in her head.

She did her best to resign herself to being calm and tried to smooth her agitated and probably fearful expression. His deep, husky voice rang through her ears and her instinctive self-preservation side eventually ran over the brash primal side of her thoughts. One wanted her to go on the offensive, the other; defensive.

Sakura sighed heavily. "I do not want to fight you. Will you come out?"

Silence.

Sand.

Sand wrapping around her ankles and wrists. It slithered across her skin with smooth rustling movements. She froze and did not struggle. Was this his doing? There was no one else here and sand certainly does not move by itself. This was chakra controlled. She could feel the buzz of the unfamiliar aura tingling through her system. She quelled her fear and experimentally moved her arms. The slack hold tightened instantly with bruising force. She was still again. Breathing calm. If he was trying to get a rise out of her then she would not give it.

"You are not fighting." A statement whispered in an angry hiss; just loud enough for her to hear. Her heart pounded in her ears as she licked her lips and prepared to answer.

This was so _frightening _and yet she was still actually enjoying it. Sakura really did not understand herself.

"Is your life that meaningless to you? I will put you out of your misery then." That statement caused her volatile anger to flare again and smother the fear.

"I just wanted to talk. All I did was speak to you and then you decide to _kill _me." The emotions were rushing forth and, suddenly, she was sure she had never felt so angry. The sand contracted, causing a wave of pain- she ignored it.

"Shut up." He cut off her with a single, harsh statement. .

The sand stopped moving and the bone-crushing hold lessened ever so slightly.

"You are afraid." The sands movement stopped again and she began to wonder if he was simply toying with her. She closed her eyes.

Of course, of _course,_she was afraid. How could he not realise that? Did he want her to admit it just to get some kind of thrill from her admission? Her mouth clamped shut and she refused to answer him. Her entire body was tense, every fibre of her being waiting for the tell-tale whistling of a kunai flying through the air. Nausea coursed through her in waves as she considered the chances of her getting out of this alive. They were very slim.

"No."

Pride, foolish pride. There was no answer from him, but she could almost feel the anger and spite radiating from where she thought he was. She really wished she had thought before she spoke. It was not like her to not consider the possibilities of her words and actions. This boy combined with her current mental state was a bad mix; they both made her reckless to the point of being almost suicidal.

A sudden burst of heat made her emerald eyes snap open but she couldn't see anything in front of her. She couldn't sense anything other than her own chakra, but some innate knowledge told her that he was behind her. Her heart gave an irregular beat as her breath caught in her throat.

She didn't dare move, but realised that she couldn't anyway.

She couldn't turn her head because of the sand holding it in an iron grip. Sakura knew he was there when she felt someone else's body heat radiating onto her back and a breath ruffled her hair. Fear doused her anger like a cold wave and the nausea returned with a vengeance.

Now she was truly afraid, but she did not want to show him that. Adrenaline pumped through her body in preparation of what was to come next. It was a terse silence between the two, but she waited for him to break it and answer the question. She was too shell-shocked to do anything other than wait. Something told her that if she did speak, the precarious line between life and death she was walking would suddenly tilt away from her favour. He was deadly. She was foolish to challenge him. Her breath came out in shot bursts as she felt his ruffle her hair.

"Not even worth killing. My sand would not accept your weak blood and it would be a shame to poison that drinking water with your pathetic essence," he said, letting out a short, humourless laugh.

The nerve. She opened her mouth to challenge him but the sand holding her abruptly disappeared and she toppled back without its support. The space where he had been was empty and she missed the heat that the close proximity of his body brought. The adrenaline was still pumping fast. She hadn't felt this alive in what seemed like eons. Throwing herself at a strange ninja and challenging his obviously strenuous hold on his anger and control. She had just thrown herself into the lion's den for kicks. Laying her life on the line because she was bored and under-stimulated.

And she had gotten away with it.

Taking a deep breath Sakura stood and glanced around. The sand was completely still and she could not detect any movement. She hadn't noticed him until he decided to make his presence known, but she was pretty sure that he had left. Just in case, though...

"That was one of the most interesting conversations I ever had. _Thank you _for being such a stimulating conversationalist." Note the sarcasm. He probably had left because no sand jumped up to strangle her after that last comment.

Sakura wondered vaguely what he looked like, although she would probably never see him again, and even if she did she wouldn't know that it was him anyway. The fear had evaporated as surely as a puddle of water beneath the burning sun.

She felt alive, exhilarated.

She felt sick with her own actions.

Blood pooled from the multiple cuts the sand had left on her pale skin and she wondered, vaguely, how she would explain that to her team-mates.

* * *

My first Naruto fanfic on this site! Man my fingers hurt. GaaSaku simply has to be one of my favourite pairings and I simply couldn't resist writing this. I hope I got Gaara's character alright. He is difficult to portray well.

Thanks for reading!

Silver xxx.

_Edited 28th Feb 2009; storyline will be changed slightly, things added and deleted._

**With thanks to my wonderful Beta Reader - _Sort of Ambiguous. _**


	2. Dead End

**Blue Monotony.**

**Chapter 2: Dead End.**

_**Sakura.**_

This place was just as barren as the desert. She had hoped for some change of scenery; some colour and light. The houses and buildings were all the same colour and of a similar shape. No plant life bloomed nearby but really what had she expected? That this would be a beautiful utopia? It was the same atmosphere of claustrophobic heat and silence. No one was stupid enough to wander about at this time of day. The chuunin that had greeted them at the gates mentioned that earlier.

Sakura adjusted the heavy scarf that was wrapped around her head in an attempt to block out the sun and prevent heat stroke. She was sticky, uncomfortable, and really wishing for nothing more than a cool room and a nice, long bath. The mission came first - this scroll had to be delivered. The streets all looked the same- how anyone found their way around this village was a mystery.

Yuki - the chuunin showing them around - was nice in a weird, creepy sort of way. He was obscenely tall and every time he spoke to her he insisted on bending over so that his face was at her level. She had already lost count of the number of times he had commented on her hair. It was really starting to grind on her nerves. She was not the sort of person who enjoyed being the centre of attention, but thanks to her hair, she often was.

The chatter that had ceased abruptly and their young guide halted in his steps, faltering. He hastily lead them down a side street with no explanation as to why he had suddenly diverted their course. Sakura was really beyond caring and followed him silently. She was glad of the slight shade that the looming buildings provided. The rest of her time was similarly quiet which of course was highly unusual. They were all so hot that their mouths were too dry to speak, and besides, they couldn't muster the strength to do anything other than focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

She really hoped that they had air conditioning in the buildings or something. Whenever her morale was running a little low, she always turned to Sasuke - even just looking at him made her feel better and more confident. This time was no exception. Sakura scooted a little closer to the raven haired prodigy and watched him closely out of the corner of her eye. His presence relaxed her and the sticky heat didn't seem too bad anymore; the pains in her strained muscles seemed distant and far off.

Their arms were almost brushing by the time she ceased moving towards him and, if she strained her senses she could pick up his unique, familiar scent along with the subtle beating of his heart and the rhythm of his breathing. A pale blush dusted her cheeks at their proximity and she was glad that for once he did not move away.

That tiny gesture of acceptance warmed the pink haired kunoichi to the very core. Her relief was short lived as - seconds later - Sasuke increased his pace to one that must have been uncomfortable in this deathly heat, and moved to the very front of the group; at least two metres away from her. Her head dropped slightly and she fought the bitterness rising in her throat. You would think that after that many rejections from him she would begin to toughen and the pain would not be so intense. It would not feel like a dagger had been thrust through her heart while he watched unaffected and uncaring from the background.

Apathy hurt her so much more than hatred or anger. If he was to show some emotion - any emotion - towards her then maybe she would feel better. Maybe if he told her he hated her then she could move on and get over him. He would never do such a thing. She was too unimportant to take notice of and he would never openly show her anything. Instead she smothered him with all of the love that she held for him in her far too sensitive heart and he ignored it.

Instead she doted on him without receiving anything other than the occasional comment that she was 'annoying' or the cold hard look in his onyx eyes. She loved him too much to even consider turning away and seeking someone else. Sakura had always believed that you got back what you gave, and every action, whether good or bad, received an answer in kind. One day... One day Sasuke would give her back what she gave to him.

All she needed was a little patience, and eventually he would turn to her and show her the kind of affection that she showed him. He just needed a little more time than most other boys would have, and she was sure that he was well worth the wait - he would definitely accept her one day. Just had to wait for that day.

She was getting so used to waiting, so used to being ignored, and so used to going home every night feeling worthless and rejected that it almost seemed normal. She was drifting listlessly into a routine that she seemed unable to pull herself out of. The pattern of training and missions sank easily into her but it took so much for her to feel any good emotion nowadays. It was almost as though she was withdrawing from her own life completely. The only thing keeping her from turning into a complete lonely wreck was the very person that was making her that way to begin with.

Sasuke.

It was a long, strenuous circle that never seemed to end, and she simply couldn't bring herself to stop loving him. He was the only thing she had left to feel in her monotony of a life, and she clung to him as though her life depended on it. It would all pay off in the end. He would see her and realise just how much she really meant to him.

She just had to wait and endure this sick cycle she was caught in.

He would love her in the end.

oOo

_**Gaara.**_

Worthless, pathetic and weak. He watched the people pass by with a bored look in his eye. There was nothing to do, and he had trained long enough for today - there were only so many boulders you could crush with sand before it became tedious. Instead he took to the tops of the high sandstone buildings and watched the crowds of people scurrying from place to place. Enveloped in their own meaningless life and tasks.

He could crush them as easily as children could crush ants beneath their feet. Make the blazing blue sky turn deep crimson and rain the life blood of the many mindless drones that walked this village. It would make him feel alive for at least a moment before he sunk into the demonic state that he was so used to.

He would fulfil his purpose in life - ending the existences of others - and live up to the motto that he was set to live his life by. The motto that was engraved into his very being using the blood red tattoo which embellished his forehead. The perverse 'ai' kanji mocked many people's concept of love. It suited him. Live for only for yourself, fight only for yourself and love only yourself. It was his fate to be this way and he accepted his role in life with a flourish - no other could slip so easily into the act of a monster and a cold blooded killer.

Gaara scanned the almost familiar faces within the throng of people and turned his black rimmed eyes towards one of the empty streets where he sensed an abundant source of unknown chakra approaching. Several ninja walked down the street - foreigners with a Sand shinobi lead. One particular girl with a head of bright coral hair and emerald eyes caught his attention instantly.

Shukaku howled for blood deep within the recesses of his mind. The scarce wind chose that moment to blow and he was hit forcefully with the full impact of her scent. Although it was mingled deeply with others it was her scent of pine needles and rose petals which caught his attention. The sweet but sharp odour sent his mind reeling and he was forced to snap his eyes shut against the onslaught of blood-lust that her simple smell caused.

'_Claim her. She is ours.' _Shukaku screamed within his conscious.

'_She is nothing.'_

With a practised effort he pushed the sounds of the sand demon to the very deepest depths of his mind. The being that possessed him had never had the wish to 'claim' anyone before; much less a weak female ninja from another country. It did not interest him at all in the slightest; in fact it irritated him more than a little. He remembered that particular pink haired girl from one night ago.

He remembered her fear and how she had trembled before him - but he also remembered how she had been defiant until the end and, after she believed he was gone she had uttered one last disrespectful phrase that had riled him so completely that he believed his inner demon had finally risen up and taken control of his mind.

Gaara was used to the feeling of slipping control, but not on that scale, and definitely not having it caused by someone like her. Her snappy, disrespectful words towards him had made him want to show her who was in control. To force her into submission in any way he could. He denied that he wanted her blood, and told her that it disgusted him.

So far from the truth... All he wanted from her was her blood and her pain. He wanted to break her and crack her open until there was nothing left. She needed to be crushed for a few simple reasons: she had dared to talk back to him in a way the no others would, and she was far, far too tempting to be left alive. If anyone knew the allure that her simple scent held to him she would instantly be used against him.

His father would have some pathetic assassin capture her and use her as bait to draw him into some half baked trap designed to end his existence once and for all. The worst thing was that it would probably work. She was really that enticing.

Jade eyes roved over her form and the bodies of her companions as though trying to size them up and see how much of a threat they were. One question niggled in the back of his mind: Why hadn't he killed her? Last night she had been alone and completely within his grasp and yet he had balked when it finally came to crushing her. She had escaped with little more than a few tiny scratches from grains of sand.

She had escaped from the infamous Sabaku no Gaara with nothing more than a few empty threats. The line of his mouth tightened and his shoulders stiffened ever so slightly as he folded his arms across his chest. Anyone who knew him would have instantly realised those two warning signs and would have quickly retreated to a safe distance away.

After a moment he made his decision and snapped his gaze straight back to the Kohona kunoichi. Her easy smile and bright, cheerful expression darkened his mood even more. He would have expected her to look fearful and nervous due to her encounter with him last night but she acted as though nothing at all had happened. She did not even recognise the flare of his chakra, which any decent ninja would have remembered.

He deliberately let out a small wave of his thick, heavy chakra. It was almost like he _wanted _a reaction from her - as though he _wanted _the attention of the blissfully unaware, weak little girl in front of him. That caused the frown that lined his forehead to deepen slightly. She may not have noticed him but the sand shinobi leading the group did. His pale blue eyes flickered up to meet cool jade and he visibly paled. His dark skin turned to a pallid tone and his weak chakra faltered slightly from fear.

A few seconds later he veered down the nearest side street at a noticeably faster pace - obviously desperate to get away. The girl still didn't notice and followed blindly and without complaint. Did she have no sense of self-preservation? There could have been a trap or anything down there, yet she barely paid attention to her surroundings. She deserved to be killed; if he did not do it someone else would be quick to end her existence.

The only thing she seemed to notice at all was the boy in front of her.

Instead of being observant, her eyes were focused solely on the dark haired male in front of her. He was obviously aware of the sickeningly loving stare that she was giving him, but it seemed that he chose to ignore it. He felt a sharp pang of some white hot pain in the back of his head but quickly ignored it. When the pink haired girl moved even closer and made a show of inhaling the other boy's scent the pain reappeared again along with Shukaku howling up a storm.

_'Crush him.' _

The sand shifted around him restlessly as the Sand Tanuki's words echoed through his head. Gaara frowned as he once again was forced to bite back the murderous instincts that were roused within him. The dark haired ninja suddenly snapped his head up and focused his gaze on him. He must have felt the blood thirsty gaze upon him - almost trying to stare a hole through his head.

He walked much faster to the front of the group and slightly in front of the pink haired kunoichi. As though trying to... protect her. Gaara met his stare for a second before disappearing in a swish of sand crystals. He did not need any more observation for now - the girl would die tonight. It was already established that she could easily be used against him. He did not need any cracks in his impenetrable armour. She could so easily - _too _easily become a crack.

Therefore, she had to die. Anything that tempting could only lead to problems. Problems were never allowed to exist in his world for very long, and this girl was absolutely no exception.

oOo

_**Sakura.**_

They did not even get to see the Kazekage... Instead they walked into a tiny, cramped reception room and were greeted by a young secretary dressed in clothes which revealed more skin than they actually covered. All she did was bat her eyelashes at Sasuke and whisper honeyed compliments at him, while Kakashi filled in the necessary paper work.

'_She even asked him out on a date! As if Sasuke would even consider anyone like her!' _Inner Sakura hissed.

Sakura had spent the entire twenty minutes trying to burn a hole in the girl's head while silently promising to rip it off if they were ever alone. She was obviously too thick to realise the death glares that were being sent at her in waves, as she didn't even blink in Sakura's direction. They couldn't have left quick enough and it actually seemed cooler outside - perhaps it was just the anger that she was radiating.

She had the oddest feeling that she was being watched. That irritating feeling in the back of her mind that made her hairs stand on end. Every time she turned around to stare behind her - across the rooftops and around the streets - she saw nothing at all. It made her feel paranoid and she became more and more edgy as the minutes passed. Sasuke's presence did not make her feel safe at all. The feeling of eyes watching her would not leave, and as they approached the crappy-looking hotel they were due to spend the night in, she deliberately sped up.

Everything inside the hotel was the colour of all the other buildings, the same colour of the walkways and the streets: the colour of sand. It was still a welcome change from all of the bright colours and greenery back home. The places here held a certain unique charm to them - or, perhaps she was just desperate for change.

Kakashi turned from where he was standing at the desk and smiled warmly at her. He lifted a dull bronze key and dangled it in front of her.

"Good news, Sakura."

'_We're sharing a room with Sasuke. We're sharing a room with Sasuke.'_

"You get a room all to yourself!" He was smiling that strange way - the smile he always gave her when something bad was about to happen.

The bad thing was that her room was on the very top floor; away from everyone else's and up a flight of very steep stairs. Her room was small and dingy with a bed occupying one corner and a rickety desk and chair at the other side. A tiny wardrobe and dirty window pretty much completed the lacking ambience in the room. She did, however, get a small bathroom with a supply of blissfully cold running water, which almost made up for the unknown stains on her bed sheets that she didn't really want to think too hard about.

Kakashi had said that they would leave in the morning before sunrise. Her parents were away on a second honeymoon, and Ino was in Iwa on some kind of scroll-delivering mission as well, so there would be no one to visit. She would probably spend the next few days locked up in her quiet little house awaiting the return of someone, or the time when she would have to train with her team.

Sakura dreaded the long hours that she was spending by herself more and more these days. She was far lonelier than she used to be, and it just almost seemed _normal_ now and she knew it wasn't. Naruto was the only person apart from Ino who actively sought her out, and she was relying on his companionship more and more these days.

She flicked her feet and kicked off her sandals irritably onto the grubby, wooden floor. The once white sheets that covered the bed were rough against her soft skin but at least it felt better than lying on the cold, grainy sand... Sand. The sheets suddenly seemed to cling to her sweat-slick skin far too much and she threw them off onto the floor in a flurry of movement.

For a second they seemed like they were winding around her limbs just as the tendrils of chakra controlled sand had done just one night ago. Rolling over onto her belly Sakura buried her face into her pillow and tried to swallow the fear that had just arisen. That was just a one time thing - it would _never _happen again. She would never meet him again. That was it; over and done with. Period.

She rolled onto her side and stared out the low window that was set into the wall just a metre away from her bed. The velvety blue sky stretched out over the sandy buildings that were splashed with the colours of the setting sun. Tossing her pink hair out of the way, Sakura sighed deeply. There was another two days of long walking across the desert before she could get back to her deathly quiet house.

Just as she drifted into slumber she could have sworn that she heard the soft sound of sand shifting...

Had she opened her emerald eyes, they would have met a pair of cold, hard jade ones just centimetres from her own.

It seemed that he had other ideas about them never meeting again.

oOo

_**Gaara.**_

Her eyes were completely shut, and she continued to breathe evenly and heavily despite his presence. Soft features remained still and perfectly calm; an almost ridiculous contrast to the last time he had seen her, when her face had been crumpled into an expression of anger and irritation. She looked younger, more naive and far, far more innocent. It almost made him laugh.

For a moment he ignored the reason why he was in her room, and simply focused on her. The scent of pine needles permeated her form entirely, and with every breath he took it wound around him and caused his eyes to darken with every passing second. He was close enough to feel the soft pulse of her chakra almost fully and as he concentrated a little more, he could feel it completely.

Her aura seemed to glow around her in a way that was strange and foreign. She made the room seem lighter - her chakra was warm, soft and unerringly gentle. The juxtaposition between their auras showed just how different they were. His was heavy and thick; as cold and hard as steel. Gaara extended a hand and sand began to pour from the heavy gourd on his back in a waterfall of grains. They slipped and drifted across the floor with nothing but a soft swishing noise to indicate their presence. Only if someone was concentrating hard would they have been able to hear it, but the girl was obviously too deeply asleep to recognise the threat to her person.

The movements of her sheets did not wake her as the sand shifted up closer towards her. Constant images of her bloody demise flooded his brain, and he was finding it hard not to just rip her to shreds. The sand demon seemed desperate for her blood - the scent of which drove him mad as no others' could. The sand finally touched her skin, but she did not stir. Through it he could feel.

The warmth of her body, the softness of her skin and the rhythm of her breathing reached his senses. A sudden splitting head ache invaded his mind, and he was forced to reach up his hands and press hard against his temples to try and alleviate the sudden white hot pain that accompanied the waves of blood lust wreaking havoc on his senses. Just a few moments longer; he hissed at the demon.

_'Kill her! Spill her blood across the floor... Prove yourself, boy. Prove your existence. Prove that you have the right to live! Kill her!'_

The sand moved quickly, of its own accord and slid seamlessly around her neck. The constant images of her screaming and writhing in agony would not leave his mind as the pain in his head increased tenfold. Just yesterday the demon had been demanding that he claim the girl, now he was howling for her blood. It just showed how fickle the monster that resided within him was. Not that it mattered particularly - she was weak and dispensable.

A delicate pulse could be felt as he pressed down harder; turning a whisper of a touch into an almost rough push as the grains gathered on her skin. She did nothing more than shift and murmur. Her long pink hair fell across her face as she moved onto her back. No sense of self preservation. She should have not even left the academy. With her bright, feminine looks and candyfloss coloured hair no enemy would take her seriously.

This girl was far better suited to being a civilian than a ninja. That fact shone through as clear as day. His pale hand closed, and the brown specks around her neck condensed and hardened slightly in preparation. Her forehead creased but her eyes still did not flutter open. He sucked in a deep breath of anticipation and waited almost eagerly for her death. The end of her life and the moment where he reminded everyone, _everyone_, that he was still alive and not invisible. The moment when her sweet flesh and blood would splatter across his skin and allow him for a brief moment to revel in the contact of another being. Even if that being was screaming and cursing him while being torn apart.

The soft thudding of her pulse was distracting- the very sound caused the thought of blood to drift into the front of his mind once more. Sand shifted eagerly at his sides but the demonic voice in his head screamed at him to hurry.

He pressed down; _hard._

She flailed in the sheets at once; finally aware that there was an intruder in her room. He squeezed the sand around her soft throat all the while as her air supply began to cut off. It would be so easy to end her pathetic existence quickly but something compelled him to stop and bathe for a moment in her fear and anguish. To languish in her death, and prolong his own short lived proof of existence- something that Gaara did only rarely.

Her bright emerald eyes snapped open as he forced her back onto the mattress. Hands flew up to her throat and she clawed furiously at the substance slowly squeezing the life out of her, but to no avail. Even in the dim light he could tell that her complexion was beginning to turn blue. The pallid tinge of her cheeks, sweat lining her brow and desperate movements of her body spoke clearly of the onsetting asphyxiation.

"Kunoichi, it seems that you truly are weak." He spoke with contempt; ignoring the demon demanding that he spill her blood quicker.

Apparently she recognised his voice, because her eyes widened a fraction when he spoke. She made a weak coughing noise before speaking in a husky voice that must have used up what little oxygen she had left.

"You."

Her once calm chakra flared, and she lashed out with her legs in an attempt to removed the pressure that was slowly crushing her windpipe. Chakra-charged feet crashed into his sand defence, but he was protected and well out of range of her inexperienced and crude attacks. Her fear and attempt to lash out did not faze him in the slightest. Her eyes were blazing with raw fury, matching his cold, uncaring stare.

His sand shot out around her, bound her limbs in a matter of seconds and ceased her movement. It seemed that he had underestimated her slightly but no matter. Her little escape attempt must have used a great deal of her strength, since she did not even struggle against the tendrils of sand that were snaking up her body.

Her head flopped back onto the pillow, and she lay there panting heavily as she tried to regain a normal level of oxygen in her body. The chakra spikes that she had been letting off just seconds ago faded and she was left with nothing but a weak, erratic pulse of chakra that could not hurt him no matter how she used it. She was still glaring fiercely at him.

Gaara stood perfectly still just a metre away from the pink haired kunoichi, the flat expression on his face revealing none of his inner turmoil. He could not bring himself to lift his hand and make the sign for the jutsu that would ultimately kill her. Something was holding him back. Something would not allow him to hurt her more than he already had.

'_You cannot kill her even though she just threatened your life?' _The rasping voice in his head hissed.

"I will kill you!" he almost screamed at the girl lying still on the bed, still tangled in sheets and sand. He forgot that he should have been quiet - he forgot about her teammates.

"Why?" she asked softly. The anger still raged in her eyes but her voice had become calm and placating. The type of tone that one would use when approaching a wounded and cornered animal.

"Because I can..."

oOo

_**Sakura.**_

A smile tugged the corners of Sakura's mouth as she felt a soft hand snake across her skin. Gentle fingers caressed her neck and shoulders as she slept. _Sasuke. _Sakura sighed lightly in her semi-conscious state but did not move. She just didn't want these wonderful feelings to end. Something akin to a light warmth could be felt on her neck. A light weight - like that of an arm - rested across her waist.

The arm at her neck pushed down a little harder, until she could feel the rough texture of calluses that always seemed to line the hands of male ninjas. It was almost comforting in a way. Sakura rolled onto her back and savoured the feelings that were streaming through her body. Sasuke was lying next to her - she was sure of it. Maybe he just couldn't deny the fact that he liked her anymore, and had snuck into her bed as a way of being close.

Maybe he had a nightmare and wanted her comfort... Maybe... Images of what his smile would look like if she woke up next to him invaded her mind, and all other thoughts ceased to exist.

_'If this is a dream__,__ don't __you dare __wake me __up__!' _For once she agreed with her Inner self.

Her hair had fallen across her face, but she just couldn't bring herself to lift her hand and move the irritating strands. She didn't want to displace the arms around her body with any movement and she was worried that if she did move, this would all be over and she would awake cold and alone. Again. Like she always was.

The comforting pressure on her neck became a rough push and the serene image in her mind dispersed immediately. Sasuke's sneering face appeared in her mind and she saw him staring down at her with those cold, uncaring eyes. His mouth opened and she watched as his handsome face crumpled in disgust.

"You're annoying." The words cut like a knife deep into the very depths of her soul, and she was hurled straight onto unforgiving consciousness.

Her arms flailed among the sheets that stuck to her heated body and wound around her. It was not a hand or an arm at her neck; no soft brush of human skin there. It was sand. The rough, grainy substance sliced over her sensitive skin and she could feel the tiny cuts that the tendrils left in their wake.

Oxygen was beginning to dwindle and she began to take deeper, more desperate breaths as quickly as she could in an attempt to keep herself awake. She lifted her hands and weakly began to swat at the winding, coiling sand that had slipped around her body. Even clawing at it did not seem to work - her nails just sank into the substance, allowing the sand to reform around them in a vice-like grip, and leaving her unable to even twitch her fingers.

Sakura began to feel desperate as she recognised the symptoms of hypoxia that were settling over her in a deathly wave. Her sleep crusted eyes snapped open as she searched for some object which she could use as a weapon - some chance of escape. She saw the vague outline of a boy standing just a metre or two away from her bed. The shadows hooded his features and form but one thing stood out almost achingly bright from the darkness.

His chilling teal eyes burned into her own with the cold look of hatred and barely masked contempt that she was oh-so used to. She tried to search her memory for such a boy but found nothing. She could think of no enemy that she had met in the past that had the same hateful looking green eyes as he did. She could not think of a single person who she had offended so much that they would want to creep into her room in the middle of the night and kill her.

She was a nobody; a nothing among the ranks of the Kohona nins. Not worth the effort of tracking down and definitely not worth the effort that killing involved.

"Kunoichi, it seems that you truly are weak." The cold and all too familiar baritone rang through the room and for a moment her mind simply shut down.

Him! It was that boy... the one from the oasis. The... the... only person she knew that could control sand. Her mind had so conveniently blocked him out and pressed the both exciting and terrifying memory to the back of her mind. He had taken the trouble of finding her and, probably, finishing what he started last night. The wheezing of each breath that she inhaled reminded her that she had very little time before she passed out - her lungs felt as though they were being repeatedly stamped on and stabbed with red hot pins. She had so little breath left.

"You." A weak coughing noise followed the only word she could force out of her dry mouth.

Desperation set in fully and her body was suddenly pumped full of the fight-or-flight hormone - adrenaline. She could not run because of the sand which kept her so tightly bound to her bed and that left her only one option. Fight. There was a technique that she had been practising which involved one of the only true strengths that she had.

It was still in its most infantile of stages but she had no choice but to attempt it. Sakura forced chakra down into her legs and lashed out. The series of strong kicks that she managed to perform simply smashed into yet another wall of sand, which left the boy behind them utterly untouched.

Not even a scratch. More of the horrific tendrils wound out and slammed her legs to the bed with enough force to leave large purple bruises the next day. If she survived, she'd have a hell of a time walking tommorow...

Her last attempt at freeing herself had left her almost completely out of chakra and near out of breath. Light-headedness began to make itself present and it was only through sheer will power that she kept herself from fading into the darkness. She glared at him, even as her head fell back onto the hard pillow.

The pressure on her chest and neck had alleviated slightly but the sand was still present; mulling about her torso and limbs. This slight lapse in pressure allowed her to gulp greedily at the air around her. Crumpled lungs began to inflate slightly and everything in the room was thrown into sharper focus.

She waited for him to move - waited for him to end it. He did nothing. The one thing she expected of him and he hesitated. The turmoil showed within those flashing jade eyes, and she was suddenly far more frightened of his indecision. Kakashi had once told her that there were far worse things than death, and some of those came flooding straight into her mind. She was a girl, a helpless an weak girl, bound to a bed in a dark room. At his mercy and every whim... Sakura shut down that train of thought sharply.

"I will kill you!" His voice was suddenly louder and more violent sounding. Had she not looked into his eyes, she would have been afraid.

Those same eyes which had glared at her with such intensity just moments ago were now clouded with something that made her gasp inwardly. She saw sadness and crippling loneliness reflected within eyes that were just a shade or two lighter than her own. She saw a reflection of herself in those eyes. It was only a brief glimpse, and a tantalising snatch of his personality and inner thoughts, but she saw it and burned it into her mind.

As quickly as it came it was gone, and those eyes hardened into a steely glare of anything but compassion. The part of her that always urged her to help people sprang forth and she could not deny the need to help him. Often, when she considered Sasuke she would question just why he was so damn perfect and ask herself just what made her want to love him so much.

He was hurt just like that boy in front of her. She had seen the scars of the past embedded deeply within cold onyx eyes and found herself unable to turn away. She wanted to help him - she _needed _to fix him. The same instinct applied here, and she felt all of her anger and most of her fear dissipate.

"Why?" She dropped her voice to a whisper. The question was the only thing she could think to say to him.

"Because I can..." He answered without hesitation - voice more twisted than before.

Suddenly he was close enough for her to smell his scent of wind, the dry desiccation of sand and the salty, coppery odour of dried blood. She watched as his black pupils enlarged and dilated until at last they settled at nothing more than a slit in the centre of his turquoise iris. A feral, feline grin stretched across his features, and once again Sakura grew afraid of him.

The voice - the husky timbre - that burst forth from his mouth did not seem like it belonged to him, let alone any human. It crawled and twisted like the darkest shadows, and images of death and decay flowed swiftly into her mind.

"_Because you are mine."_

**oOo**

Yes, this used to be two chapters. I put chapters 2 + 3 together because I felt they were both too short and lacking... something. They seem better together. Sorry to confuse you.

Silver xxx.

**Beta'd by Sort of Ambiguous, who likes crackerjacks. :D**


	3. Burned Bridges

**Blue Monotony.**

**Chapter 3: Burned Bridges.**

_**Sakura. **_

"_Because you are mine!" _The words slipped through her mind over and over again until that was all she could hear.

His breath was hot at her cheek, scalding the soft skin with every exhale. She couldn't think. She couldn't move. She was going to die. This... _monster_ had claimed her as his. This monster was reaching out with shaking fingers and a wide smile towards her. She couldn't move. She couldn't think. She was going to die.

Trembling fingers stopped just centimetres from her face and she could no longer bear to look into the angry, jade slits of eyes that were focused solely on her. Sakura found that it was impossible to not meet his gaze; the sand around her neck kept her head firmly in place, but to close her eyes would be to show weakness. She was absolutely sure that he would exploit any weakness shown to him.

His fingers hovered just above her skin. So close that she could feel the soft heat radiating off of them. She had no idea what to do or what to say, but as the silence stretched out between them she knew that she had to break it. He was getting more unstable by the minute; the shuddering in his limbs was increasing to an alarming rate. The bared teeth that he was showing her clenched together in an obvious show of fighting for control.

"I belong to no one." Her voice was soft again and suddenly the sand was moving around her again.

She wouldn't be submissive to him in her final moments.

He clutched frantically at his head and made a noise that could only signal pain. The sand mulling around her body hardened into a single solid force once more. It seemed that he was finally going to... She refused to close her eyes and awaited the single crush that would take her from this world with a set jaw and hard eyes.

"No one would have you, anyway." He seemed more normal now, well, as normal as he could get.

This just seemed to be going around in circles now. Perhaps he liked dragging it out. Maybe that gave him some sort of sadistic thrill. Once again the fact that she would die either way seemed to give her complete freedom to say whatever she pleased.

"It's the same for you though, isn't it? No one wants me because I am weak. You are strong... But you use that strength in such a way... that you are a monster. A sadistic, sick monster that no one could _ever -_"

"Shut up or I'll kill you!" She had evidently struck a nerve, and that made her want to do something that would lower her to his level.

"- Love" She finished her sentence and twisted the knife that had slipped beneath his armour. It was obvious that her words hurt him; just as his hurt her, just as the sand that wound around her body was hurting her.

She wouldn't submit to him.

"But you want someone to love you. I can see it in your eyes. You're just like everyone else is. You're lonely. You need affection just like everyone else." The sand constricted her painfully but she didn't strike out.

For once in her life Sakura really, _really_ wanted to hurt someone and the boy in front of her had been completely successful in drawing out the very worst part of her personality that had been hidden for so long. The tiny part that lay inside of her that craved the darkness - the part made fully of hatred, greed and all of the darkest human emotions. The part that every person possesses deep within their heart.

She wanted his pain just as much as he wanted hers.

In a matter of seconds she had switched mentally from wanting to help him, wanting to fix this broken boy,to wanting to hurt him. Perhaps the lack of oxygen was affecting her thoughts and morals. At that point she didn't care. Sakura watched as the boy - the green eyed demon - in front of her as he paused and panted softly. His eyes were fully back to normal now.

"At least I prove my existence in a worthy way. You... _You _are nothing more than a weak kunoichi who does nothing more than long after a boy who does not even spare a glance in your direction. You waste all of your attentions and... _Love _on a boy that discards those things like trash. I love only myself and exist only for myself; I am worthy to myself." His eyes held a predatory gleam within them and as with all good shinobi it seemed that he kept his best weapon until last.

"But you... You love him and you exist for him. He does not accept your love or even your existence - he does not think that you are worthy of his attention. You aren't anything to him. You do not exist in the eyes of the one person you want to realise that you live..." The last words were spoken in a manner that could almost be called tender; close to her ear. A lover's whisper.

"You are _nothing_."

It hurt more than she would ever admit to anyone; especially not him. Engaging in a verbal battle with this boy was not the smartest thing that she had ever done and he knew the right places to strike to make her crumble. She had to simply jab in the dark in the hope of hurting him even a little. He held dominance over not only over their verbal jabs but her body too. Everything pointed to a win on his side.

"You are the same as me, then. You do not mean anything to anyone at all," Sakura hissed through gritted teeth and relished in the slight falter in his sharp gaze.

"I mean something to myself, kunoichi. You do not." His teeth glinted in that feral half-smirk, half-smile again, as his head tilted slightly to the side.

She could feel the blood beginning to seep from the many tiny wounds that littered her body. No suitable come-back came to mind, and whatever she said to him would no doubt be thrown back at her with a hundred times more force. He understood pain and loneliness far better than she did, and he was obviously far more adept at mentally degrading his opponents and making them feel weak.

The sound of floorboards creaking quickly caught her attention,and when she fanned out her senses she could feel the unmistakable chakra of her sensei. The boy in front of her must have noticed too, his head snapped around faster than she could blink and he glared at the door. His attention only remained on the prone piece of wood for a second before he returned his livid gaze to her.

"I'll find you again and remember, kunoichi, I'll kill you when I do." The hissed words were spat at her so quickly that she was forced to stop and think them over to separate the jumbled syllables.

He was long gone by the time the door cracked open and Kakashi slipped into the room. The only thing that the boy seemed to have left behind was the sting of the tiny cuts that remained from the sand scraping across her skin, and the pounding of her heart in her chest. The faint remnants of adrenalin that still pumped around her system.

Kakashi seemed to notice her slightly dishevelled appearance- her messy hair, the thin layer of perspiration on her brow, her sheet-entangled limbs, not to mention the fearful expression she still wore on her face.

"Nightmares again?" He raised an eyebrow. Sakura had a tendency towards bad dreams.

"Yeah." That was all she needed to say; he had given her an alibi.

"I'll wake you up an hour before sunset - that's when we're leaving." _Thank God. _

She simply nodded and rolled over calmly. The aura of peace and tranquillity she wasexuding completely belied the inner turmoil she was experiencing. They were leaving this desert land at last - a week here felt like a year - and the further away she was from the red-haired demon the better.

Sakura highly doubted that he would leave his country just to find her. As she thought before; she just wasn't worth that kind of effort on anyone's part. He would probably forget about her and find some other poor soul to torment. Although, it seemed that he suffered the same loneliness that she did... maybe...

Hell no.

She would have to get thatdamned conscience of hers surgically removed one of these days. Whatever happened she was going to stay as far... Away. From. That. Maniac. As. Damn. Possible. Period.

If she tried to help him he would just hurt her and she was not ever going to go within a miles radius of him if she could help it. Closing her eyes, Sakura embedded the image of him in her mind. Tousled hair the colour of rust, turquoise eyes, ringed in black, pale skin, red kanji on his forehead that she didn't see properly, a wild look in his eyes, a decidedly insane grin, the ability to control sand, bloodthirsty, and filled to the brim with homicidal tendencies.

She didn't know his name, but those details should be enough for her to avoid him - or anyone like him for as long as possible.

You would think that after yet another brush with death she would be unable to sleep for the rest of the night. But no, Haruno Sakura wasn't going to let one little encounter with one little derangedpsycho ruin her beauty sleep. She had practically passed out on the pillow minutes after her sensei had left the room.

That boy had apparently been right about one thing - she had absolutely no sense of self preservation.

oOo

Yet another set of mundane missions which Naruto seemed to be able to mess up no matter how easy they were. He must have lacked a brain, and indeed Sakura often wondered whether there actually was anything inside that blond head of his. Sure, he was her teammate, and yes, he was undeniably entertaining at times, but she just wished he could put a little more thought into his actions.

Kakashi excused himself to go and file some mission reports,but she thought that was probably just an excu - reason to get away from the tense atmosphere that seemed to envelop Team 7 nowadays. Sasuke and Naruto just had to glare at each other and she could do nothing to stop the snide remarks that passed between the two.

The team was slowly cracking at the seams,and as hard as she tried her other two teammates just could not work together at all. Sakura simply could not bring herself to blame Sasuke for, well, anything at all. So of course she placed the blame solely on Naruto and his messy way of doing things. A little unfair perhaps but Sasuke was just too skilled to be blamed. He was the one that usually ensured that the missions were completed properly.

She also had to work on her own ninja abilities. As bad as Naruto was he still did more than her in missions, and that fact, as callous as it may have sounded, was a little humiliating. How was Sasuke ever going to notice her if she stayed this _weak_? Skills take time to build,so Sakura turned her attention to the team's lack of cohesion. It was an urgent matter anyway.

_'And a great excuse to spend more time with Sasuke-kun to build on our 'team work'.' _Her Inner self added with a grin, insinuations running wild in her head.

"Sasuke-kun? Maybe we should go somewhere to train... You know; improve our team work?" She added a hopeful smile to the end of her question.

"If you have that much time to spare then you should go and practise a few ninja techniques. Your abilities are, quite frankly, embarrassing at times." With that he walked off.

She was left with that smile still plastered on her face; trying in vain to stop the tears from pooling in her eyes. He didn't mean to hurt her. Of course not. He would never really want to... Sometimes she thought that it was time to give up on Sasuke, but he had been such a big part of her life for such a long time that she really couldn't bring herself to stop loving him.

Although it was true that the thrill was gone; she no longer felt that intoxicating buzz when he came close enough to touch her, when he looked at her and when she saw him unexpectedly. This was just a test, she would always tell herself, to see how much you care. The thrill and aching joy of being in love would come back.

She felt angry and frustrated once more. Angry that he had rejected her yet again and frustrated that one of the only sources of joy that she had was slowly becoming less and less interesting to her. Sasuke was no longer untouchable and far away. No longer like a beautiful star that shone high in the sky; bright, perfect and completely out of reach. He was close to her now.

She saw him every single day without fail. Missions, training and eating at the ramen stand on their free day meant that she was never without him for more than half a day. Nothing about him was a mystery any more. She had taken great lengths to find out about the annihilation of his clan and Uchiha Itachi, the man he wanted to kill.

His flaws and social ineptitude were laid out before her day after dreary day as she watched him go through life with cold eyes and a hard glare. She knew every one of his moves in combat, and how he was getting on in taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu. Sakura even knew what food he liked to eat and what he would not touch. The onyx eyes that had once been so unreadable looked like an open book.

He had lost his air of mystery and with that she was beginning to lose interest in him no matter how much she tried to hold onto it. Instead of Sasuke completely dominating her dreams now, someone else had moved into the picture. A red haired, green eyed demon invaded her dreams almost every night now no matter how hard she tried to banish thoughts of him.

_"I'll find you again and remember, kunoichi, I'll kill you when I do."_

That strange boy was new, mysterious, different and all together very, very _interesting. _She just couldn't help herself,and she hated every minute she spent thinking about him. Sakura had long ago established that she was drawn to things - and people - that were broken and needed fixing. Something deep inside of her simply had to fix those things and they had an almost irresistible pull to her.

Now she realised that dangerous things also had the same magnetic attraction to her. Morbid curiosity and a craving for thrills proved to be a very dangerous mix, and the more she thought about the boy, the more she found she was attracted to him. He was dangerous and deeply unstable; that was proved by his stealth and the fact that he had threatened to kill her on every occasion that they met.

He was untouchable because of that sand that he kept with him. She did not even know his name - and that certainly made him mysterious - but the one thing that drew her most of all was the fact that he was broken. Almost beyond repair it would seem. He was bloodthirsty and homicidal; sadistic and cruel. Someone must have hurt him badly for him to end up that way.

That hurt drew her in more than anything else could. The worst thing was that she was sure this near devotion she had to him was not out of love. It seemed to be made deeply out of hate. Sure, she wanted to heal him but she also wanted to break him and crush him. She wanted to hurt him more than anything.

Wanting to help and wanting to hurt should not mix and she knew that. Her volatile moods around him and his altogether unstable personality made for one hell of an explosive combination. A dangerous one at that. She did not want to think about him and yet she did anyway. It was highly frustrating.

"You can train with me instead, Sakura-chan!" That loud, annoying voice threw her off of her train of thought and suddenly all of her anger and frustration needed an outlet.

Poor Naruto; he just seemed to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and she just really needed to hurt something. Just as she turned to look at the hyperactive blonde it seemed he was running away. Perhaps he finally realised how much of a danger he was in. The small, badly disguised rock trailing after him said otherwise.

An explosion followed and three little kids popped out. How irritating. Naruto had promised to play 'Ninja' with them. It seemed the only attention he could get was from kids much younger than him.

"What kind of Ninja plays 'Ninja'?" She stared at him expectantly and awaited an answer that never came.

Things were getting just worse and worse today and she still _really _needed to hurt something. The little boy standing next to Naruto seemed to think that she was actually his... girlfriend. The nerve! Then Naruto had to go and encourage him and say that they were in a relationship. He had just given her a reason.

The feeling of her fist colliding with his face was more satisfying than normal and the crack that followed seemed to relieve some of the pent-up frustration that had been building up inside of her. Fortunately for Naruto she didn't hit him hard enough to break anything. Unfortunately for the kid he seemed to think it was a good idea to insult her for hitting Naruto.

Calling her ugly was like signing your own death sentence,and he ended up with a bump the size of an egg to match Naruto's. Just as she was walking away he decided to insult her again, but _this_ time he brought up the size of her forehead.

_'He's gonna die!'_

At least they had enough sense to start running when she turned. It was probably wrong of her to takeout her anger on a bunch of little kids and Naruto,but at that particular moment in time Sakura didn't really care.

Konohamaru - she was sure that was his name - had run ahead of all of the others and really wasn't looking where he was going. Sakura saw the ninja clothed completely in black before he did and the resounding crash did not surprise her in the slightest. The stranger and the girl standing next to him were obviously foreigners.

She did not recognise their accents at all,and no one in Kohona wore that type of clothing or carried the weapons that they did. The only identification they had that she could recognise was the Suna headbands that they both wore. Sakura swallowed heavily and watched as the black clad man lifted Konohamaru into the air by his scarf.

Naruto - having the sense of diplomacy that he did - thought that it was a good idea to yell at the Suna nin and provoke him even further. Not a good idea at all. She had heard that the ninjas from Suna were almost always very strong and not the type to be messed with. Just what were they doing here anyway? Things were getting more and more out of hand by the minute and she could feel her anger being replaced by fear.

The kid didn't stand a chance,and she watched as Naruto was knocked to the ground by some invisible force. She felt the tinge of chakra and saw the Suna Nin's fingers move but she could not identify the technique he used. Sakura quickly scanned the area for something, anything that they could use to their advantage.

There was only two of them but, Moegi, Udon and Konohamaru were all still academy students so they were no use and Naruto wasn'texactly the best ninja around. They did not know what rank the two Suna nins were either and their abilities were completely unknown. They were disadvantaged. Where were Sasuke and Kakashi when you needed them?

As if in answer to her thoughts,a rock flew through the air and struck the Suna nin causing him to drop Konohamaru and clutch at his hand. Sasuke sat in the tree above them.

"Sasuke-kun!"

It was almost as though he cared enough to watch over them. Sakura sighed as she watched the black haired prodigy put the foreigners in their place. Her relief was sort lived though as her sharp chakra senses kicked into action. She could feel something, someone highly unsettling nearby and they were getting closer. She carefully probed the strange chakra and immediately recognised the thick, repressive chakra. It only took her a moment to pin down the owner of that aura.

Just the person she never wanted to see again. She must have forgotten - or ignored the fact that she had met him in Sunagakure.

"Kankuro... stop." The scathing tenor reached her ears along with the sound of shuffling sand.

She saw Sasuke visibly start at the unexpected appearance of a third foreign ninja. The boy clothed in black; Kankuro seemed terrified at the arrival of the demon. She supposed she should have been too. The only feelings that she had were those of anger, hatred, and excitement - perhaps tinged _slightly_ with fear.

_"I'll find you..." _He kept his word apparently.

"You're a disgrace to our village." Kankuro was visibly afraid at that statement and began to stutter a reply. The girl next to him was inching away slowly with her hands up in a placating gesture.

Even ninjas from his own country were afraid of him.

"G- Gaara..." She knew his name now. That meant she would be able to do some research and ask around. Not that she particularly wanted to know about him.

"Listen, Gaara. These guys started it." He did not seem amused by that answer,as his turquoise eyes narrowed just a little and took on a sheen that was wholly unnerving.

"Shut up." That seemed to be one of his favourite phrases. Aside from "I'll kill you" of course.

Seconds later he added. "I'll kill you."

Should have known. Fighting and threatening seemed to be the only things he was capable of doing. So far he had not paid the slightest heed to her and it was beginning to grate on her nerves. She hated being ignored, mostly because it happened so often.

A flare of her chakra seemed to catch his attention because he glanced over to her for a second before disappearing in a whirl of sand. Sakura thought that she had pushed him too far, but no sand appeared near her- he simply re-emerged on the ground.

'_Show Off!_' Inner Sakura screamed.

It would have been very easy for him to simply jump that small distance,but he seemed to like to use those accursed grains at every possible opportunity. She was getting more and more irritated by the minute, and when he turned and walked away everything built to a climax.

She didn't know what to do to make him angry enough to lash out. No words came to mind, but she knew she wanted him to be the first to make a move- that way, she would have a valid excuse to be angry at him. So far he had done nothing, and his calm demeanour annoyed her. She had seen what he was really like and this tranquil aura was nothing like the real – dare she say, exciting – him.

He was no fun unless he was angry. She couldn't hate him unless he was violent and she wanted to hate him. She wanted an excuse and badly needed a reason to hate him now. Hatred was far easier to deal with than the emotion at the opposite end of the spectrum. Sakura could not just scream at him in the middle of the street with both her team mates and his watching. Neither of them knew that they had met before, so she settled for a formal question that he could not ignore.

"Wait up!" She ran forward until they stopped.

To her chagrin it was the blonde kunoichi that answered. "What is it?"

"Judging from your forehead protectors you are from the Hidden Village of the Sand, right?" They did not answer but she continued anyway.

"The country of Fire and the country of Wind have an alliance, but a treaty prevents ninja from entering each others' countries without permission. State your purpose." They still hadn't turned to face her.

The blond turned with a condescending smirk, and held up a slip of paper. "We have passes for the Chuunin exams."

Sakura could not think of anything to say to that – she knew what the chuunin exams were, just not that they were being held now. The group turned and began to walk away once more, but they were called back again, this time by Sasuke,who had jumped down and stood beside her. He wanted to know who Gaara was. That did not surprise her in the slightest. Sasuke always did seek out the strongest ninja they encountered and Gaara was – without a doubt – very strong. You could tell that from his chakra.

Sakura thought it strange that she could actually sense his chakra. All of the other times she saw him he kept it hidden. Now it was clear as day.

"Sabaku no Gaara. I am also interested in you. Your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." He ignored her once more, but she was beginning to think he was doing it deliberately to coax a reaction from her.

His eyes glinted slightly as he glanced at her quickly and she could have sworn he gave her a quick flash of teeth. Not as a smile, or a gesture of friendliness - quite the opposite, in fact- but as a predator would do when looking over fresh prey. Naruto was yelling in the background. He did not like to be left out of anything. Just as the foreign group disappeared she realised that she should probably lock her windows tonight.

"I didn't like the way he was looking at you, Sakura." Sasuke muttered by her side.

"He was? I swear I never noticed. He wasn't interesting enough to pay attention to. Unlike you, Sasuke–kun." She smiled to herself.

Maybe it was just her imagination but she could have sworn she heard the sound of sand shifting and spilling after that last comment.

Her smile widened ever so slightly.

oOo

So yeah... Time skip forward... let's say about two months or so to when the Chuunin exams are about to begin. I basically used Naruto episode 20 as a template. Yes, I know it's unimaginative and uncreative but I wanted to use that scene Gaara appears in so badly and it seemed wrong not to use the stuff that lead up to it.

It is love between Sakura and Gaara?

Psh... Right now it's more like complete and utter hatred bordering on obsession. Oh well... It's not like it would go like this -

Sakura - I suddenly have the urge to abandon Sasuke and my village just for you my darling, homicidal, blood thirsty, demon bearing freak. Please take me now you nameless hunk of manliness!

Gaara - I love you and have absolutely no intention of crushing you and bathing in your blood. :3 Lets get married... and have 14 kids because you can't resist my sexiness and I find your pink hair utterly irresistible.

Righhhttttt. Not gonna happen. Not in a million years.

Silver xxx.

**Beta'd by Sort of Ambiguous, who doesn't think that people understand the irony of her pen name. D:**


	4. Flashes of Heat

**Blue Monotony.**

**Chapter 4: Flashes of Heat.**

A/N: Edited (Pieces Added, spelling, etc) 31 July 2008

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_**Sakura.**_

"Wonder if Ino will still be up?" Sakura muttered as she gazed thoughtfully at the blond girl's house.

If she did end up going to Ino's she wouldn't get a single minutes sleep and would probably get nothing but questions after questions about why she ended up at Ino's house in the middle of the night. She would think it was man trouble. Well, in a weird twisted sort of way it was man trouble.

The wind blew through the trees leaving a soft rustling sound in its wake. That slight breeze did not bring any relief from the thick heat that had came over Kohona. It almost felt like she was back in Suna it was so hot.

She looked down the street at Ino's house and saw, to her dismay, that all of the lights were out and there was absolutely no sign of life. Sakura just couldn't bring herself to wake every one up just because she was a little paranoid. Naruto would probably welcome her with open arms but she didn't want to give him any ideas and again, she didn't want to disturb him if he was sleeping. His flat also smelled too much like ramen for her liking.

Sasuke... Sasuke would probably just slam the door in her face if he even opened it in the first place. She didn't actually know where Kakashi lived so that put him straight out of her reach. One thing she knew was that she _had _to get off these streets fast. Standing here at night, in the pitch blackness, weak from a far too long training session and all alone made her a complete and utter sitting duck.

She started to head back towards her deserted house as fast as her abused muscles could manage. Her eyes flickered back and forth from the shadows that lined the sides of the street to the high tops of the buildings all around her. It wasn't ever eerily quiet in Kohona; even now she could hear the soft song of a nightingale or some other such bird along with the noise of a distant celebration; the sounds of laughter, music and glasses being knocked together. The absence of silence did not make her feel any better.

Sakura had the uneasy feeling that she was being watched and no matter how many times she told herself that no one was following her that niggling suspicion in the back of her mind would not go away. He would not come for her. No throw away remark - threat - would make her afraid. He did not frighten her. When an extra loud gust of wind made her jump she knew she was lying to herself.

The key almost slipped out of her hand when she tried to slide it into the door. Her sweat slick fingers seemed to be unable to keep a grip on anything. She almost fell flat on her face when her stiff door opened without any resistance. Sakura glanced out at the darkened sky and let out a soft sigh of frustration. She really shouldn't have provoked him.

Slamming down her living room window she shook her head again and muttered to herself. Of course he wouldn't come. He had no reason to. She was not worth the trouble of tracking down. In fact, he would probably be sleeping right now; resting up for the Chuunin exams. He definitely wouldn't come looking for her.

'_But you want him to.' _The sly voice in her head answered.

"Don't be stupid! Why would I want _him_ to come looking for me?" She answered aloud.

'_Mmm... He's pretty hot. I mean just imagine what he would look like with his shirt off. Don't pretend you don't like that attitude of his.'_

"I don't." Outer Sakura hissed.

'_You can't lie to me - I'm you.' _With that her volatile inner personality faded into the background of her mind leaving a seething Sakura in her wake.

Every door, window and possible place of entry in the entire house was firmly shut and locked. Sakura pulled the curtains on her bedroom window closed and then flopped back onto her bed fully clothed. It was times like this when she wished her parents weren't offered so many missions. More and more nowadays she was left to fend for herself. They thought that since she was older and since she was officially a genin they thought she could take care of herself better and they could work more. Normally this didn't bother her too much but right now she could use someone else around.

It was summer so the air inside her room was claustrophobic and stuffy and no matter how many layers of clothing she shed the heat still kept her wound tightly and she was given no relief. Normally on nights like this she would leave every window in the house thrown wide open to allow a soft breeze to drift in and brush the heat away. She could not bring herself to do it.

Every time she thought about getting up and doing so images of his cold, piercing jade eyes filled her mind along with the sound of his husky, scathing voice reverberating in her ears.

_"I'll find you again and remember, kunoichi, I'll kill you when I do."_

The same sentence kept repeating over and over in her mind and she could do nothing to stop it. She couldn't bring herself to unlock and open the windows. She admitted that she had a - very - slight attraction but he was far too terrifying and dangerous for her to want to give him even the smallest chance of reaching her.

Half an hour later she could no longer take the way the sheets stuck to her body like a second skin and hindered her every movement when she tried to roll over or change position. The sweat ran in small beads down her skin and she knew that by now her complexion would be flushed and ruddy. The damn sheets were tossed to the ground moments later.

Sakura lay on her bare, slightly damp mattress and stared up at the ceiling. She slowly traced the cracks and counted every little smudge that was visible on the white paint. She let out a long sigh and rolled over; wincing slightly as her cramped muscles were stretched. Two minutes. She would open the window for two minutes and get a breath of air.

It was heavenly to feel the draught drift across her heated skin. She could not remember the last time it was this hot in Kohona. Even her ridiculously tiny sleeping shorts and top didn't seem to make her feel any better. These were the smallest ones she owned - a gift from Ino-pig, shock horror - and anything smaller would have probably been classed as scandalous.

On nights like this if she couldn't sleep and wanted some fresh air she would normally climb onto the roof and lie star gazing until she was tired enough to sleep. Sometimes she even dozed off up there and only awoke when the sun rose or when her next door neighbour yelled at her to 'get the hell in and put some decent clothes on'. Once the old geezer had even threatened to get the authorities on her for indecent exposure. The nerve of that old man.

Her hands gripped the window ledge so tightly that her knuckles turned white. It was so tempting to go outside. After all; Gaara had managed to get into her hotel room without opening the door or window which were both tightly locked. The only reason that Kakashi managed to get in was because he had a key. Gaara managed to get past both of those and reach her absolutely soundlessly.

She quickly shut down that train of thought but the damage had already been done. He could probably get into her house with _ease_... She subconsciously masked her chakra and returned to staring out of the window. It probably wouldn't be any more dangerous for her to go up on the roof anyway.

If he really wanted to he could find her where ever she was. That thought did not scare her as much as it really should have. Sighing, Sakura put one foot up onto the ledge and then heaved her body up. Overtaxed muscles shuddered and threatened to give way but she kept going. She had to duck her head to get under the window.

The wind hit her instantly and she let out a soft noise of relief. She stretched her arms out and grabbed the edge of the roof; for a moment she dangled there relying completely on her arms to hold her up. Pulling herself onto the roof hurt much more than it normally did and she was reminded of just how much that extra long training session had hurt her.

She lay there for a moment breathing heavily before she mustered the strength to lift herself onto her knees and crawl the few paces to the indentation in the roof that marked her favourite spot. Her long hair fell over her face and she swept it back carefully until it fanned all round her. An irritated look formed on her features as she ran her fingers through her hair. Knots tugged and pulled until eventually she gave up and let her hand flop back onto the hard surface of the roof.

Why did she wear her hair so long? Oh, yes because Sasuke liked long hair. Sometimes she wondered if it was worth it. Her hair always got in the way and of course the long, pink locks made any enemy instantly think less of her. Not to mention the fact that they were terrible when trying to blend into a crowd. A ninja should be able to blend seamlessly into the background but her hair made her easy to track and easy to remember.

She would do _anything_ for Sasuke to like her and if it meant her looking like a preppy, pink princess who was filled with sunshine and candy floss then so be it. He was worth any hardship. Wasn't he? She pushed that thought away and smiled. Of course he was. Of course he was.

The stars could be seen clearly in the inky, blue sky. She slowly picked out the constellations that shone high in the sky with a single hand raised to the heavens. The coolness of the wind and the soft smell that was purely Kohona - the scent of leaves and damp earth - started to lull her into a complacent state. She did not pay as much attention to her surroundings as she should have; too tired from her workout to keep her senses alert.

Her eyelids started to feel heavy and as every second passed she began to drift deeper into a state of semi- consciousness. The darkness that formed at the edges of her vision slowly began to creep further and further in until her eyes were closed and the heavy curtain of sleep was dropped over her senses.

The careful mask she had kept over her chakra disintegrated instantly and her unique signature leaked out. No one noticed the slight change or even registered the fact that a modest aura had been revealed. Well, almost no one noticed.

oOo

_**Gaara.**_

He _hated _this place with a vengeance.

That was decided the moment he caught a glimpse of it, even before they passed the tall gates. He hated absolutely everything about it.

He hated the rows upon rows of green trees and the friendly people who walked the streets. Kohona was much noisier and more bustling than Suna. It was never quiet and did not hold the silence that the streets of Suna were prone to. The noise irritated him more than he would ever admit. Even here the people instantly knew that he was dangerous and quickly walked as far away from him as possible.

He heard the all too familiar whispers of: monster and freak flying at him from all directions. A glance at the offending groups and they were instantly silenced. Those whispers only grated on his already short temper and made him even more irritated. Kankuro moved discreetly further away from him as the killer intent began to positively seep out into the atmosphere around him.

The lack of quiet was starting to grind on his nerves. Even now when the sun was fully set and darkness had dropped a shroud across the village there was still noise. He could hear them; laughing, shouting and celebrating. He walked over to the window and slammed it down so hard that the glass almost shattered and small flecks of wood from the window sill flaked down onto the bare floorboards.

He heard Temari yelling something about keeping the noise down and not destroying the hotel room. As usual he ignored her and stared out into the night. You could barely see the stars here; cloud blocked the small shining glints. There was nothing for him to do here and being cooped up inside and forced not to attack anyone until the exams was making him dangerous.

Jade eyes roved around the contents of the tiny room that he was given all to himself. The others considered him to dangerous, too blood-thirsty to even consider staying in the same room as them. He knew they felt uncomfortable even sleeping in the same building as him. His so called siblings were always quick to watch their backs when he was around. It was probably good they did.

Another look around his room and his eyes once again fell on the futon that had been laid out for him. The act of 'kindness' and 'consideration' made him want to hurl the bed out of the window and strangle everyone in this accursed village with his sand. It just reminded him - taunted him - that he could not sleep.

The air in the room suddenly seemed too thick and heady. Sand swirled around him in an instant and seconds later he appeared on the roof of the hotel. Why Baki deemed this place suitable he would never know. It was right in the middle of a suburban area and filled to the brim with civilians and half rate ninjas. He could kill them all in minutes and leave the streets of Kohona painted crimson with blood.

_Blood. _

Even the thought of that made his inner demon raise its head and dominate his senses. His eyesight sharpened drastically along with his hearing and his sense of smell. There were no people out in the streets so no particular temptations other than the usual longing for blood assaulted his thoughts. He stood for a moment before lowering down and crouching.

His eyes flickered around the area and his senses fanned out in search of any hidden shinobi. Any assassins that could be waiting until he let his guard down. The only thing that he picked up on which was out of the ordinary was someone was masked chakra just a street or so away. This was one of the five shinobi villages so he did not immediately go and check it out but he did not forget about the person.

As he sat and folded his legs he did not forget about the masked aura. If that person dared to threaten him, they would be dead within an instant. He needed a fight. The meeting with that boy Sasuke had riled him up more than he would have cared to admit. The pink haired kunoichi he had crossed paths with at the oasis was there too.

His fingers formed into a fist as his mouth curled up into a sneer. _She _had recoiled at the sight of him and looked as though she expected him to leap down and strangle her at any given moment. God knows he had wanted to. The moment he felt her there again the only thing he wanted to do was walk - run - over there and strangle her with his bare hands. Or pummel her into oblivion. He didn't care as long as he could _touch _her.

He realised that was what he wanted. _Her, _the girl with the will power and courage - or perhaps plain foolishness - to stand up to him. The girl with the sheer audacity to look him in the eye, challenge him and even try to reason with him. That was the reason he had wanted to crush her so badly that it was almost a physical ache.

He wanted to touch her and that would have been what it was. When her blood splattered across his face, in the basest of ways, she would have been touching him. And he wanted that. He wanted to feel her - if not skin on skin contact then by the only other way he knew. That want... That need disgusted him and shook everything to the very core because...

He was Gaara.

A demon.

Demons do not love or feel. They do not want to feel and to allow that girl close enough to touch him would allow her to hurt him and he would never let that to happen. She would be six feet under before he even thought about letting that happen. Close enough to touch is close enough to fight. Close enough to touch... Is close enough to hurt.

He had restrained himself and watched as her fear disintegrated into something else. It only took him a moment to realise the in her eyes when he spoke to Sasuke instead of her and when he did not even glance in her direction anger her dainty hand curled into a fist. Almost like she _wanted_ his attention.

That only made him ignore her even more. Despite the intense need to maim her into nothing but a battered remain of a human being he did not do anything to indicate that she was of any interest or to show that they had met before. His careful guard had almost dropped when Sasuke had dropped down beside her and stood so that his body was half shielding her.

In that instant he saw an advantage to be exploited.

Sasuke obviously needed the pink haired girl for something. She was his teammate so that was probably why he was protecting her. Breaking the team apart would make both him and the blond haired boy in the back fall apart. He could see that and the girl was the weakest link in the chain; so to speak.

Sasuke had drawn his attention and that was never a good thing. He loved to fight. He loved to kill – to kill was to prove that he existed. He especially enjoyed beating people who put up a good fight. Something told him that Sasuke would provide that for him.

If the kunoichi was taken out during the Chuunin exams the team would be drastically weakened and morally crushed. Sasuke would be far easier to beat and in taking away the kunoichi - their kunoichi, although he hated to admit it - he would be killing two birds with one stone. He would be getting rid of _her_ and destroying both of them. It was perfect.

The scant wind chose that moment to blow and suddenly, his heightened senses were assaulted by the feminine smell of roses and pine needles. It only took seconds for him to recognise that scent and pin down its owner. His lips tilted up into a feral smirk as he looked across to the source. Sure enough a head of long, pink hair came into view. The kunoichi was lying fully visible on a roof just down the street.

She was so pale that she seemed to shine in the darkness and even from here he could see that she was wearing very little. The sight of all of that exposed ivory skin stirred something unfamiliar within him and he stood immediately. She certainly was a strange one. It was obvious that she knew he was in town and she knew that he wanted to get rid of her. Yet, she still exposed herself to an almost ridiculous level.

It was almost like she was _trying _to attract his attention. That thought made the smirk on his face widen a little.

There probably wasn't a more foolish thing she could do. Coming into his hotel room would probably be the only more dangerous thing than this. He could feel the blood-lust rising, that all too familiar craving sang in his ears as he watched her with a scrutinising eye.

'_KillherKillherKillherKilllher!' _The jumbled chant of the sand demon filled his head, instantly.

It would not do to lose control now. He needed her alive until during the Chuunin exams for everything to turn out as he wished. He stopped breathing through his nose and drew oxygen fully from his mouth. This stopped her all too tempting scent from reaching him and testing his resolve.

She was just lying there - watching the stars as he often did during the long sleepless nights he had to endure. After a moment something flickered in the air around her. He was so attuned to her presence that he felt her chakra the moment her guard dropped down and the unique signature was revealed. It either meant that she had deemed the area safe enough to let others realise she was there - he grinned inwardly at that thought - or had fallen asleep.

He deemed the latter the most realistic. An almost magnetic pull began to draw him towards her and before he knew it he was at the edge of the roof and contemplating jumping over. To get any closer to this would definitely threaten the already tenuous hold he had on his self control but once again the overwhelming urge to touch her, _taste _her, surged up coupled with the lust for blood and Shukaku's howled demands for carnage.

It would not do to kill her now and yet, he found he couldn't help himself. When it came to the pink haired kunoichi everything seemed to change. Sand swirled around him as he prepared to go over to her.

"Gaara. Come down here... We have an come across an unexpected hitch that needs to be taken care of." The sound of Baki's voice cut into his thoughts and he managed to get a grip on his rampant emotions.

He turned and looked towards the emotionless face of his sensei with contempt obvious in his eyes.

It wouldn't have been convenient if he had killed her.

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I'm so pleased - 13 reviews for that last chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and favourited. I love you guys. :D

Jeez... Sakura always seems to manage to avoid dying; she must be damn lucky.

Silver xxx.


	5. The Dangers of Compassion

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Blue Monotony.

**Chapter 5**: The Dangers of Compassion.

A/N: Edited (pieces added, spelling, etc) on 31 Jul. 08

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_**Sakura.**_

Oh, hell.

Thousands of eyes suddenly seemed to settle on the three of them and in an instant Sakura froze. The metallic sound of many kunai being slid out of their sheaths could be heard and at that particular moment in time Sakura wanted nothing more than the ground to suddenly swallow her whole. She backed up until her shoulders collided with the wall behind her.

The wall which, disappointingly, remained prone and did not suddenly swallow her whole seemed to offer very little comfort. Naruto remained blissfully ignorant to the many murderous glares being sent in their direction and proceeded to, _loudly_, greet the others from the Rookie 9. Sakura suddenly had the urge to either punch him so hard that she knocked out his teeth so that he couldn't talk or punch herself so hard that she was knocked out during the whole Chuunin exams.

Yes, they were in the waiting room and were about to go into the first exam. In other words - she was royally screwed. Naruto wandered over to her and asked (bellowed) 'are you alright?' Sakura shuddered as the murderous intent in the room suddenly swelled to an almost unbearable rate. Sasuke glared at Naruto and bopped him over the head before she could.

This only made him yell louder. To make things worse, if possible, Ino sauntered over at that precise moment and wrapped her arms around Sasuke's neck. She saw red as old rivalries were brought into the light. Amid the screeching and insults, Sakura forgot about not drawing the attention of the other shinobi in the room. Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Hinata and Shino were all here as well. She did not feel as bad knowing that all of the other rookies; her old classmates would be here too.

Sakura did not consider the fact that they would not be on friendly terms during this exam. She did not give thought to the fact that they would be enemies in every sense of the word. It was too unpleasant to bear thinking about that kind of thing right now. A silver haired young man wandered over to them. His Kohona headband was the only thing that stopped everyone bristling up and preparing for attack.

He began speaking in a highly patronising tone which made her not pay much attention to his words, although Sasuke, Naruto and the others were watching him with rapt attention. She had once again realised how tense and dangerous the atmosphere was here and her senses were on high alert. Watching and waiting she kept her chakra fanned out and ready in case of any disturbance. She was looking for any genjutsu in particular.

Sakura had that uneasy feeling that someone was watching her; that niggling thought in the back of her mind. It made her even tenser than she already was and as her emerald eyes flickered around the room and the people in it she continuously told herself that there _was_ someone watching her; everyone was watching them. That did not make her feel any better and was it supposed to? No, it wasn't.

They were all in way over their heads but she was particularly. She was the weakest in her squad. Piercing jade eyes suddenly stood out from all else and Sakura could have sworn that her heart actually stopped for a split second before resuming beating at a far too fast pace. She was the one with a sadistic demon at her heels.

She found herself unable to look away until he gave her a contemptuous smirk and turned away. A deep breath to steady herself and then she looked back towards Kabuto and the others. Naruto was shaking. This exam was stressful, tense and downright _frightening _but for Naruto to show that he was afraid... He never backed down to anything or anyone no matter how terrifying they were so, to see him like that was almost distressing.

It showed just how deep she was in trouble.

'I'll cheer him up.' She thought as she watched him shaking.

Sakura took a step forward and slipped her arms around his shoulders in a gesture that she hoped would help raise his spirits a little. He did nothing other than stiffen a little; the shaking did not stop. She laid her head on his back and sighed deeply before withdrawing slightly.

"Naruto, it's not that bad. We'll be - "He just had to pick that moment to jump up.

Since her arms were half around him, in order to give him a comforting hug, she was forced to choose between two equally unpleasant options. Either: she could hold onto him for dear life and be dragged where ever he was going, or, let go and fall flat on her face and probably get a lovely big bruise on her already attention grabbing forehead. Vanity demanded that she choose the former.

He ended up dragging her onto one of the tables near the front. The moment her feet touched the wood she immediately let go of Naruto and prepared to pummel him into a bloody, twitching pulp. Her face contorted into a mixture of anger and mortification as a crimson blush began to spread across her pale cheeks. He was such an idiot.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'm not going to lose to anyone here!" Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.

She was really going to hurt him. This was just what she got for being the compassionate soul that she. That was just what she got for thinking that anything would ever really upset or unsettle Naruto. They were all staring and she was still standing up on that table - vulnerable and in full view. She knew that Gaara was watching her; she could feel it, feel his chakra and that made her more nervous than she already was.

"That felt good..." He sighed beside her; igniting her temper.

Fear turned so quickly into anger. Her emotions always were volatile when she was nervous. Just as she stepped forward and raised her fist to give Naruto a beating that he wasn't soon to forget the table beneath her gave a shuddering movement. For a moment she thought it was going to give way and collapse but then she looked up to see a sneering Kirigakure Nin with his fist firmly embedded in the dense wood.

It only took her a second to realise what was about to happen and, unfortunately, her body simply couldn't keep up with her mind. The table abruptly flew up due to the pressure of the punch at the other end and Sakura ended up flying over the mass of pissed off looking genin. While Naruto fell backwards onto the ground with a loud yelp of protest.

'_Oh Shit! Don't land on the angry people. God. We're going to die!' _Her alter ego choose that precise moment to screech in her mind.

'Not helping!" She mentally screamed back.

She managed to turn slightly but she had not been thrown that far and landed around a third of the way into the crowd. Her eyes snapped shut because she really, really didn't want to see the angry glares she was probably getting right now. Sakura would have put her feet down to try and absorb the impact but, knowing her luck, she would probably just end up booting someone in the face and increasing her chances of being murdered before the exam even started.

Then, she hit something. Or more accurately; someone.

The world seemed to still for just a moment as Sakura landed on something far too soft and warm to be the cold, hard floor that she wanted it to be. She really didn't want to open her eyes and see the person that she had landed on. Any time now she was going to be stabbed in the back or something. Taking a deep breath she prepared to leap up and run like hell. She really shouldn't have breathed in.

The metallic odour of blood mixed with something dry and heated like a desert wind reached her senses and then she knew who it was that she had landed on. Now she was really sure she was going to die. His chakra was flaring at such an alarming rate she was sure he was furious. The only reason she knew it was definitely was him was because of the distinctive chakra signature that was now coiling around her like a snake. Sakura knew she had to get up but something stilled her movement.

If only he wasn't so warm. He was always so arrogant and aloof, so cold in his manner, that she thought he would be just as cold to touch. He wasn't cold at all. He was actually very warm to touch: almost too warm. If it wasn't for that comforting heat then maybe she could move. He was shifting beneath her and hissing something close to her ear. She blocked it out and squeezed her eyes even tighter shut.

Fear pulsed through her body as her heart hammered in her chest. Her legs were tangled firmly around his and her head lay somewhere in the vicinity of his neck. Every breath he breathed out ruffled the hair on the top of her head and sent chills through her spine. It had only been a few seconds since she had landed on him and yet it felt like an eternity.

Sakura was forced to stop breathing through her nose because his scent was so appealing. It was almost like she feared becoming addicted to it; almost like she was afraid she would become accustomed to his presence.

At that point in time she was anything but accustomed and every nerve in her body seemed only to be tuned into him. Every movement of his body caused strange waves to feeling to tingle through her. All she could think of was him but all she wanted to do was run and stop touching him. The age old survival instincts within her were screaming at her to flee while her Inner self was whispering about just how good it felt to have his body pressed up against hers.

His arms were shifting around her and she wondered, vaguely, if it was just so that he could make the hand sign that would end her life. No sand jumped up to surround her and end her life. She waited for a moment more but still nothing happened. Then the reason that he had stilled became apparent as the sound of Naruto's voice reached her ears.

"Sakura-chan!" He sounded afraid.

No wonder. One of his best friends, one of his team mates, was lying on top of an unstable demon that was more likely to kill her than he was to do anything else. A sweat slick hand wrapped around her arm and yanked her straight up and back. Sakura had the courage to open her eyes but immediately wished she hadn't. He was staring at her with such intensity that she thought she might just burn up.

His eyes were cold and harsh and wholly unpleasant to look at and yet she still felt drawn to him. Naruto was in front of her now with his arms spread out to shield her from him. Gaara managed to stand just after she was pulled off of him and to say that he looked angry would probably be the understatement of the century. Sand began to gather at his sides. She was frozen and shook ever so slightly as his gaze once again pinned her down.

Something that was probably a mix of fear and excitement began to coarse through her veins. The crowd around them was silent, completely silent, but their hands were poised close to their weapons. Just ready to strike. Always ready to fight. The rest of the Rookie 9 had emerged and were quickly fanning around them in a protective gesture. Sasuke and Naruto were right next to her. She felt better knowing they were there and tried quickly to calm herself.

Just as Sasuke drew a kunai a massive plume of smoke erupted from the back of the room and a rough, male voice cut through the tension in the room. Sakura couldn't look away from those burning jade eyes and everything seemed vague and distant. There was only the two of them. He was moving closer while Naruto and Sasuke were distracted by the new arrivals. She drew back until she bumped into Sasuke who immediately focused his attention back on Gaara. Gaara stilled and gave her one last contemptuous look before turning his attention to the examiner.

She found it hard to do the same with his chakra coiling around hers, probing at her senses and spiking violently every time her own aura sparked tentatively out to try and force his away. He seemed to dominate her own chakra with such ease that it was almost frightening. Sakura took a deep, shuddering breath before looking towards the group of shinobi who would be judging them in this exam.

Walking forward she picked a number plate from one of the examiners and took a few shaky steps into the room. Sasuke was whispering quietly at her side or maybe it was Naruto she was forced to pull herself out of her reverie and look at the boys beside her. They seemed to have realised that she was in a half trance like state and quickly flipped her hand down. She was number 78... Far away from both of them and right up the back.

Naruto made a noise of displeasure and looked up the back. Sasuke did nothing other than narrow his eyes slightly, a slight smile tugging at his mouth but not the friendly sort. It was more like the I-look-forward-to-kicking-your-ass smile. She loved that smile. He only seemed to be really happy when he was beating someone in a fight. Only seemed to light up when he was dominating someone on a battlefield. He loved to have power over his opponents. She had realised that about him.

Perhaps that was when she should have started to notice the signs in his personality that would have had alarm bells ringing. Sakura, of course, did not want to see the things that her far too quick mind realised so they were pushed back and forgotten. She should have realised. She didn't want to realise.

Gaara was sitting in seat 76: which was why her team mates were looking so pissed off. The thought of sitting next to him for the duration of the exam sent chills down her spine... Although they were not necessarily the unpleasant sort. She was in way over her head.

"You can't sit next to him. Here, give me your number plate. I'll sit in your -" Naruto's whispers were cut off.

"Stop dithering and sit in your _assigned _seat."Yelled the chuunin next to them.

She stumbled off towards the back and tried to quash the nervousness that the looks her team mates were giving her caused. Sakura swallowed heavily and began to slink over to her seat with the air of a person taking their final steps towards the gallows. He was already looking at her with such a burning hatred that it could almost be described as passion... She did not just think that.

Inner Sakura chuckled with barely repressed glee.

oOo

_**Gaara.**_

_She _had arrived. Within moments her scent began to spread through the small, confined room until it was all he could do not to breath. Too tempting. Shukaku was not helping at all and was whispering to him about exactly how good her blood would taste. Far, far too tempting.

Her team mates were with her; the loud blond one and Sasuke. He would enjoy crushing them as he enjoyed crushing any threat to his existence but he especially looked forward to getting rid of the girl. For some unknown reason she attracted him and that was an extremely bad thing. Shukaku was apparently undecided on whether he wanted her dead or whether he wanted something else from her...

The demands had become increasingly lecherous over the past few days and sometimes it was all Gaara could do to block out some of the more graphic images that his demon forced into his mind. Other times he simply screeched for her blood and sometimes both things were demanded. That was the worst as thoughts of both her blood and her body seemed to claw at his control like nothing else. It was almost like he was _attracted_ to her.

It was all Shukaku's fault. He could hear the sand tanuki laughing at that thought. He glared in her direction and did not realise that both Temari were silently watching him and noting his strange behaviour. A small smile curled at the corners of Temari's mouth but she quickly hid it beneath an iron expression. He had been very unstable since the beginning of this exam and it would not do to provoke him.

"Those are the ones we met earlier." She said simply.

Gaara said nothing but continued to stare so intensely at the small group that Kankuro instantly took notice.

"Yes. Just look at the idiot, blond brat. Going to get himself killed early on if he keeps acting like that." Their eyes met quickly before they looked at their younger brother.

"Sasuke wasn't it? I suppose we should watch out for him. Though none of the Leaf genin are much of a threat." Temari's eyes glinted softly before she spoke.

"And the girl... Sakura. Doesn't look up to much don't you think Gaara?" They waited for his reaction.

"Shut up." She was looking over towards them and when her eyes met Gaara's they simply stared at each other for a second before Gaara gave her a small, scathing smirk and looked away.

Temari blinked and Kankuro inhaled sharply. Their _brother... _Their psychotic, cold, unstable little brother had a _**crush**_... That was the only explanation for the fact that he kept staring at her. A crush and on a leaf nin; a pink haired, weak, girly leaf nin none the less. They thought they'd never see the day. Suddenly Temari had the urge to do something highly out of character... Like hug her youngest brother.

That would definitely buy her a ticket straight to hell.

She wasn't sure what to make of this new development but she knew that she would have to keep a close watch on them both to see what was going on and to make sure that Gaara didn't kill her an wreck the entire plan. Somewhere deep in her mind the old protective instincts of an older sister were flaring. The girl, Sakura, didn't seem to be afraid of Gaara... Maybe something between them would actually work.

The blond was now standing on top of a table screeching something. That sound riled Gaara so much that he would have normally stuffed his mouth full of sand just to shut him up... Unfortunately, for the sake of the plan, he was unable to do that but silently promised to do it at a later date. The kunoichi was with him; her arms thrown around his in an embrace.

For some reason that made him angry... Furious even to think that she would dare hold anyone other than him. To think that boy would dare touch what was - He shoved back those thoughts with as much force as he could muster. It was the demon's fault. He was not attracted to her in the slightest. She was weak, she was insignificant, and she was flying straight towards him.

The sand shield did not come up and moments later a far too soft female body landed on his. The gourd was digging into his back and her entire form was crushed against his. She was too close and that awful, enticing smell that she radiated was sure to drive him mad if he had to breath it in for a second longer. He was angry, no, furious with her and with Shukaku for not putting up the sand shield. He had never failed before.

She did not move but with every breath her chest crushed uncomfortably into his. He had to get her off before her scent and warmth drove him even more mad than he already was. His body would not comply and he only seemed to be able to writhe slightly beneath her. _Beneath her. _He would not be beneath anyone. Especially not her.

_He _was the strong one. _He _was the dominant one. _She _should be the one beneath him and she would be if he had anything to say about it... He cursed inwardly and blamed the demon for the corruption of his thoughts. She was not attractive in that way at all. Never.

'_Sure, kid. Sure." _Shukaku cackled.

The room was silent and he knew they were all staring at the two of them. His siblings would probably be jumping to some foolish conclusion. They thought that they understood him. The fools. He lifted his arms and began to think of a jutsu that would not only destroy the kunoichi but also every last person in this room. To hell with the plan and to hell with his siblings.

"Sakura-chan!" The loud, irritating voice of Uzumaki cut through him like a knife.

He stilled long enough for the girl to be pulled straight out of his reach.

"Calm down, Gaara. Remember the mission." Temari whispered to him.

He stood and brushed her off before striding over to the examiner and practically ripping the number card from his hand. The chuunin glared and looked as though he was about to say something but was silenced by a single look. How dare she touch him?

'_You enjoyed it. Should have done more. She was right in front of you; right on you and her... assets were completely within your reach.'_

Gaara growled softly in answer causing one of the nearby genin to scuttle off in fear. She was coming towards him with a determined look in her emerald eyes and a thin line of anxiety creasing her brow. The kunoichi sat beside him without a word and did not look at him again. She seemed to be more content to stare at the table with such interest that it looked as though she was trying to memorise the knots and cracks in the worn wood.

He could not believe she was right next to him again. So close that their sleeves brushed every time he made a minuscule movement of his arm and once again close enough for her smell to choke him and for her natural heat to dust his skin. She smelled sweet at first but the bitter, spicy smell of crushed pine needles accompanied the scent of roses. Just beneath that was the smell of perspiration.

Having Shukaku within him meant that his senses were heightened; he could smell, hear and see things that most normal people could not. He watched her out of the corner of her eye as she shuddered (no doubt due to his staring). She was obviously uncomfortable with his presence and he followed a droplet of sweat as it trailed down from her hairline to beneath her shirt where he could no longer see it.

If she tasted as good as she smelled there would be trouble, he thought, a lot of trouble

"Stop." Her fists clenched and her eyes closed.

"Stop staring at me. I can't take it." She was whispering to avoid the attention of the scarred faced examiner talking at the front and the chuunins at the sides.

"Does it make you uncomfortable, kunoichi?" Came his snide reply.

"Yes, your eyes are creepy." She answered in a huff. Eyes open with anger clearly showing in them... For some reason that excited him.

"Your hair is pink. What kind of ninja has pink hair? Is that why Sasuke doesn't like you... Or is it just because you are weak?" Her cheeks were flushed with anger now and he knew just what to say to push her over the edge.

"You don't know anything about me. Don't make assumptions."

"Why would anyone want to know about someone as insignificant as you?" She was shaking with barely concealed fury now and he wanted that. He wanted her anger.

She flicked out a kunai and attempted to press it into his side but was of course stopped by the sand shield. At least the demon deemed it fit to protect him from that attack. The sand curled around her arm beneath the table and began to wrap around her legs. Sakura began to panic again. He could hear the blood hammering around her body at an increased rate and hear her rapid breathing. It seemed to wind him up even more than he already was.

"You've just sealed your fate, kunoichi."

Gaara flicked his fingers into a hand sign and performed two simultaneous jutsus. One: transporting both of them out of there. Two: instantly performing Suna Bushin No Jutsu to put sand clones in their places. He had intended to simply bring her somewhere more private and threaten her, frighten her, and put the first phase of the plan to defeat Sasuke into action.

He did not intend to kill her in the first exam but he did intend to harass and frighten her until she could do little more than crumble under the force of his will and submit to his demands. Gaara knew that if he managed to get this right the girl would give him all the information he would need to take down the Uchiha easily.

However, her scent and strange allure made things difficult for him. He seemed to enjoy riling her up and watching her anger rather than her fear and as he had quickly realised spending any amount of time with her was a serious blow to his self control.

Sakura obviously had never been transported this way and tottered forward when her feet touched the ground at the other end. She flailed for an agonisingly long second before toppling onto the body that had just appeared in front of her. The sand shield once again deemed it inappropriate to come up and they were both caught completely by surprise.

She registered the fact that her lips were pressed up against something warm, soft and damp but also instantly realised the coppery smell that seemed to envelop the person she was pressed up against. Her body went rigid as something flicked against her lips and suddenly she had the urge to either break into hysterical tears or kill something.

Sabaku No Gaara was kissing her.

Inner Sakura promptly fainted.

* * *

Yes, I know it took me a while to update. I was away on holiday. Far away. I guess this chapter is the beginning of the 'real' GaaSaku action. Or something like that. I made it a little longer to make up for my absence.

\/ Suna bunshin no jutsu (sand clone) can easily be picked out because the sand is visible and the entire clone is an exact copy of the person but in tones of browns and yellows. I used a little artistic licence and changed this fact. In this fanfic sand clones look exactly like the person until they are destroyed: then they revert back into sand.\/


	6. Underneath The Underneath

**Blue Monotony.**

**Chapter 6:** Underneath the Underneath.

_**Sakura.**_

She couldn't believe it! She wouldn't believe it. He was kissing her and... And showing no signs of stopping. The worst thing was not how he leaned into her and pressed his entire body against hers in one of the most vicious embraces she had ever experienced, not how his lips pushed almost desperately at hers and not how his hands raced up and down her arms and across her back. The worst thing was that she was that she was enjoying what he was doing and _encouraging him._

Sakura had fought him at first; thrashing and attempting to rip herself from his grip. He had her held in a vice like grip and she was almost surprised by how strong he was. It seemed that his deceptively small frame hid more strength than she would have imagined. He easily overpowered her. Her heart raced as she brought her hands up to weakly push at his chest. That only made him tighten his grip.

Panic began to set in. Their meetings had become more and more deadly as time passed but that really was not what bothered her; the thing that bothered her most was the increasingly darker undertones that she had all but missed until now. He was attracted to her - either that or just so desperate for human contact that would not let her go. It was probably a mixture of the two. Fear made her all the more sensitive and she noticed every small movement he made against her.

The problem really wasn't the fact that he had invaded her personal space and blatantly _stolen _her first kiss without a single sign of remorse or regret, the problem was that she responded to him. Made a noise of disappointment when his lips left hers to trail down her throat. Held him close and didn't protest or do anything to stop him. That was the biggest problem.

She could have pushed him away and screamed at him, could have yelled, cried and hissed all of the insults that she knew would get under his skin. She could have and should have done all of those things. Hiding behind her anger would have given her a way to escape the horribly confusing emotions that were bombarding her poor senses, hiding behind her anger would have meant that he would stop and probably never touch her again, and of course hiding behind her anger would have meant that she would be able to blame this all on him.

He was so warm and the way he held her almost made her feel almost special. Sasuke would never have held her as close and whispered things against her skin with such anger and hatred that it seemed like passion. _Sasuke. _Her heart wrenched and suddenly she felt sick. Sick at the fact she was responding to him and allowing someone like that to even think of touching her. She was betraying Sasuke and she still couldn't bring herself to stop.

His breathing had become ragged now and he paused to look up at her with turbulent jade eyes. Those eyes narrowed and he whispered to her in such a quiet hiss that it took her a moment to decipher it.

"I hate you, kunoichi." He was hiding behind his anger.

It was suddenly clear to her that he had not meant for this to happen either and was just as angry and confused by the situation as she was. Neither of them seemed to be able to break this up and before she could blink he was ravaging her lips again. There was some sort of pull between them that neither wanted but they could not ignore. The fact that he was not manipulating her and forcing himself upon her on purpose only made it harder for her to put a stop to this.

"My name is Sakura, demon, and trust me the feeling is mutual." Her hatred gave her a mask to cover what she was really feeling.

Neither of them could face the fact that they were attracted to each other and fighting was so much easier to deal with. Hatred so much easier to understand than caring. She didn't care about him and he didn't care about her - nothing would ever work between them. He pushed back her cherry coloured hair to bare more of her neck while she wound her hands up into the blood coloured locks at the nape of his neck.

The exam would be starting in just moments and they could not stay any longer. She had to break up the encounter quickly. These scant few minutes would change everything between them. She knew that and it 

frightened her. She remembered how he had stiffened when she landed atop him just before the exam, as though he was repulsed by her very touch but she also noticed how he took many deeps breaths of her scent.

He smelled of blood mainly, blood mixed with something faintly spicy, and that scent itself drove her closer to the reality that had been evading her the entire duration of her encounter. When he sank his teeth into her skin the spell woven around them broke completely. She hissed in pain and writhed away; fear making itself evident once more.

"Let me go." He drew back from her slightly but remained close enough for her to still feel the body heat radiating off of him.

"My name is Gaara, Sakura." His voice was deep and icy.

Apparently she had struck a nerve when she called him demon. The look in his eyes frightened her and she wondered, dimly, how many encounters with him she could actually survive with her body and sanity fully intact. As if on cue, her shoulder began to sting where he had bitten her. Not hard enough to draw blood but he used enough force to definitely leave a mark. That was all she needed. If either of her team mates were to see a mark on her neck she would be as good as dead.

"Would you kindly take us back to the exam then, _Gaara? _It'll be a miracle if we haven't already been disqualified." She hissed at him.

Going back to the exam was the very last thing she wanted to do but without her the other two would immediately be disqualified and she simply couldn't do that to them. Her thoughts and feelings seemed far to jumbled to do anything right now but for them she would try.

"The examiners do not care what happens before the exam, _Sakura, _it has not started yet. As long as we arrive before it begins no one will say a word. They will probably just assume that we... are... _seeing each other._" He forced the last words out with a repulsed expression on his face.

It was more the way he said her name that bothered her. He dragged it out fully, almost like he was tasting every syllable. It made her shudder but she refused to look away from him. Indicating fear in his presence was never a good idea. She extracted herself fully from the arms that had been clutching her with an almost white knuckled grip.

"They can think what they like, we are not..." She paused, slightly.

In truth she did not know what they were anymore. Physical boundaries had been crossed and she had no idea what it meant to him. Or even to herself.

"Anything to each other." He finished her sentence sharply with narrowed eyes.

How much did she want to believe that? Sasuke. She thought. Think of Sasuke. Think of him. The thought of his sneering face was the only thing that came to mind; what would he do if he ever found out about this. Accuse her of being a traitor; an embarrassment for fraternising with the enemy. Naruto just wouldn't believe that it had happened. Hot, prickly tears began to form in her eyes but she refused to let them drop in front of him.

"Take us back then." She managed to push out the sentence without breaking into hysterical sobs.

Her first kiss... And it was to him. Not to Sasuke; to Gaara. Her heart gave a feeble little jump as her eyes roved over his blank, emotionless face. He had finally managed to calm down and he looked no different to how he had when he was sitting in the chair waiting for the exam to begin. The only thing that was different was the faint sheen of saliva on his lips but no one would notice that. She had to force herself to look away from his mouth.

Sakura was sure that she looked completely different. The mark on her neck, blush on her cheeks and dishevelled appearance of both her hair and clothes would give something away instantly. She pulled her long hair forward over her shoulders so that it covered the large, now purple, bruise. That was about all she could do. Her eyes scanned their surroundings for the first time since she had arrived.

It was a small, dark room with little else than a single futon, wardrobe and a door leading to a small ensuite bathroom. This must be his hotel room. The fact that he had brought her back here of all places made her all the more anxious to get out. This room smelled too much like blood for her to be comfortable in it. He was watching her again with unreadable jade eyes. His expression was a strange one that she could not decipher.

She was about to tell him not to stare at her again but was stopped when she looked out of the window and saw the view. Terrified, Sakura took a few shaky steps over to the window and leaned on the sill for support. He made no move to do anything other than watch her. The killer intent that normally surrounded him was faded but still present. He was probably considering the unlikely chain of events that had just taken place.

"My house is just over there." She could see the familiar old building easily and that meant...

"Falling asleep at night on your roof is not advised. Anyone could have seen you." He saw her.

"You were... sp-spying on me. Pervert!" He looked at her strangely before baring his teeth in what she supposed would have been considered a smile if it hadn't been him doing it.

"Why would anyone want to spy on you? I was just pointing out your pathetic ninja abilities and the fact that you have the self-preservation of a gnat." Sakura wasn't sure whether to be angry, insulted, frightened or embarrassed.

She settled for a mixture of all three.

"If I am so unattractive then why did you kiss me?" She yelled at him.

Something cold and smooth slid up the skin of her arms and legs; sand. It was not the horrible, thick substance that she remembered him using on her last time. This did not crush and scrap her delicate skin at all. It was light and almost silky feeling. She hated how it felt on her skin. When Sakura whirled around she found him very close to her. If she leaned in slightly their foreheads would touch.

She realised that he was not some hugely tall, muscular person and so should not be as frightening as he was. It was his presence that really inspired fear; he carried an air of dark intent around him and that was far more frightening than a large, domineering frame. In fact, he only stood an inch or so taller than her. The sand stopped moving and she was glad of that. If it went much further she would be very uncomfortable.

"It was Shukaku's fault." He hissed.

oOo

The sand contracted around her and swirled into a vortex around them. She closed her eyes as the wave of nausea that accompanied travelling like this hit her and she fought not to fall into him again. When she opened her eyes she was once again sitting on her chair in the middle of the table. Gaara was sitting calmly beside her with a blank expression on his face.

An unknown shinobi sat at her right hand side. She didn't pay any attention to him. Right now all she wanted to do was go crawl in some dark corner until she could sort out all of the thoughts that wouldn't seem to leave her alone. Her lips felt bruised... And she, she just felt disgusted with herself. She would never allow that to happen again.

'_Keep telling yourself that.' _The sly voice in her head whispered. It seemed she finally decided to make an appearance.

Ibiki was watching them with narrowed eyes but he said nothing. As Gaara had told her; the examiners didn't care since the exam hadn't started yet.

"Begin."

She read the instructions and then set to work. The questions required her to think very hard about them and she was all too grateful for that distraction. She all but ignored the boy beside her. He too was busy with the exam; too busy to torment her any more. Thinking of the last words he had spoken to her she was confused. Just who on earth; what on earth was Shukaku? She really had no idea.

Scanning the room for her team mates she saw an unruly spike of blond hair as Naruto turned around to her. She was very grateful to see a familiar, friendly face and felt herself calm down a little.

"Are you alright?" He mouthed with a large grin on his face.

"Fine." Her best attempt at a smile followed.

She knew he hated paper tests and according to the rules if he got a zero then it was all over. All he needed was to get one point. After working her way through half the questions she knew these were beyond him. She would just have to hope that he could pull through. She didn't need to worry about Sasuke though - he was good at everything.

In an unconscious habitual move Sakura flicked her hair back to stop it from tickling her face when she leaned forward. Only when it was too late did she realise what she had done. She had exposed the mark and _Sasuke was watching. _She visibly stiffened as onyx eyes pinned her down with a single look. To try and cover it now would be the final nail on her coffin.

He looked furious and she just wanted to bury her head in the floor until it all went away. Later, she would tell him that it was a bruise she had gained during training but then, wouldn't she be wheezing or coughing. Sakura wasn't really sure that she could look Sasuke in the eye and lie to him. She was sure that guilt was showing clearly in her eyes right now.

His eyes flicked to Gaara's and they had a small glaring match. She might has well have worn an 'I made out with the enemy' sign around her neck. She would need to run very quickly once this exam was over. There were two people she seriously wanted to avoid and being trapped with either Gaara or Sasuke didn't seem very pleasant. Especially when the sharigan user was looking more livid by the second.

A hand brushed back a few strands of hair behind her ear in a small gesture that was not only very familiar but also very intimate. As the sand roughened hand drifted very gently across her cheek in a caress that could have been mistaken as an accident were it not for the calculating spark in his eyes. Sakura knew she was done for.

Caught between a struggle for power and dominance the petal haired female could only sit there shaking until he turned back to Sasuke with a triumphant smirk. It was dangerous to be with either of them. Gaara having more issues than any person she had ever met along with a demon inside of him and a thirst for blood. Sasuke with his intense need for power and willingness to crush anyone who got in the way of him seeking it. Being stuck between the two was an instant recipe for disaster.

The look in Gaara's eyes switched to something that disturbed her more than even his blood lusting, feral grin. It was the look that was most often found in the eyes of a child that has a new toy. Sakura paled as her quick mind clicked together the pieces of the puzzle. He was using her to get to Sasuke. They were both using her in order to get to the other.

She had known the moment that Sasuke had asked for Gaara's name that he wanted to fight him. Then it was clear that Gaara was interested in that as well. She would never have imagined: she would never have _wanted _to imagine that they would end up trapping her in the middle of their struggle for dominance.

Sakura focused herself fully on the paper and willed this all to be over soon. Sasuke threw one last dirty look in Gaara's direction before turning back to concentrate on the test. It would not do to fall at the first hurdle. With the final question done she leaned back but did not look up. Some innate knowledge told her that he was watching her again. She was not sure she could take much more of this.

Perhaps if she was a weaker person she would have just run out of the door sobbing right now. The tense air in the room was just about enough to break anyone. She was in way, way over her head and she knew it and he knew it. Thankfully Gaara had left her alone for now. When this exam ended she would get out and go home without stopping on the way.

The image of her house from Gaara's hotel window came unbidden and suddenly she felt the overwhelming urge to cry again. Home wasn't even safe anymore. He even knew where she lived now.

'_Is that such a bad thing? He's never hurt us before and he's such a good kisser. Come on! What more d'ya want?' _

_'_Sanity, maybe.'

She sighed and started to draw tiny pictures on the corner of her test paper. They still had ten minutes left before the final question was given out. She didn't know how much longer she could stand sitting next to him. At least he had stopped bothering her. That last movement he had made towards her had seriously frightened her. The very, _tender _way that he had brushed back her hair had given her chills. She wasn't even sure if they were the bad sort.

It would almost have been considered endearing had it not been used simply to get under the skin of his rival. The feeling of his skin brushing over hers had been awful as well. The rough texture of his fingers against the silky smooth skin of her cheeks had felt almost sinfully good. Perhaps if he didn't smell like a carcass she might have been able to enjoy that whisper of a touch. No blood could be seen on his person but the coppery odour seemed to almost radiate off of him.

She was just far too attracted to him. So attracted to him that she could quite easily see herself falling for the deranged demon container seated just inches from her. That attraction was balanced with an almost equal repulsion and hatred. It could swing either way - she supposed. Blaming the attraction on the fact that he was like Sasuke in so many ways: lust for power, strong, cold, deadly and dominating.

Gaara was so much more unstable though and every one of his flaws was laid bare for the world to see. He did not hide of shy away from what he was and in that way Sakura knew he was completely honest about himself. She probably knew more about his mannerisms than she did about Sasuke's after years of pining and months of being in his team. Goodness knows what could be lurking under those onyx eyes. She really had no idea what Sasuke was thinking about her. With Gaara it was probably just thoughts of blood and death going through his mind and that did not scare her as much as it used to.

She was a healer drawn to fix people that were broken and Gaara was so broken that he was almost mangled. Sasuke... She didn't know how broken Sasuke was. She could tell he was broken but the extent of the damage was completely unknown to her. Those were the two reasons she thought she hadn't run from Gaara all of those times she really should have: he was like Sasuke in away; and she was naturally drawn to him in order to help him.

Facts and reasons helped her to deal with this unusual predicament she was in. Logic easier to deal with than feeling. People began to stand as the final question was issued. The boy at her side stood and left the room - only Gaara and her were left in their row. She was pleased to see that Sasuke and Naruto remained in their seats. Apparently there was no final question. That made her almost over-joyed. She could leave here quicker.

Sakura shifted as discreetly as she could over to the far side of her chair now that the one next to her was vacated. Jade eyes immediately fixed on her form and his mouth curled into a sneer. If she moved any further she would have fallen off the chair.

"Afraid, kunoichi?" For once she chose to ignore him.

She had already provoked him enough for one day and had absolutely no desire to test his patience any further. Sakura licked her lips carefully before closing her mouth and looking away. A hot, callused hand on her wrist and she was tugged across until her side touched his. She stiffened but did nothing to stop him. He must have come to tolerate to her touch. That was bad news.

Wriggling her hand free of his grip she suddenly made a dash for the door. They had been dismissed with the instructions they needed to go to the next exam and she was more than eager to leave.

"Sakura-chan, where are you going?" Naruto yelled from behind her.

All she saw was Gaara moving quickly after her with Sasuke at his heels. Her hand flicked to the throbbing mark on her neck and she knew that she wouldn't be able to deal with an emotionally draining conversation with Gaara or a guilty interrogation with Sasuke. She would be especially screwed if she ended up in an argument between the two.

Her hands began to flicker through a set of hand signs that performed a jutsu she had only read about. Sakura had enough confidence in her natural chakra controlling abilities to attempt the supposedly simple technique. _Anything_ was preferable to being caught by those two.

Leaves swirled around her form as her chakra moulded to perform a transportation jutsu. The only thing left to indicate that she had been there was a small cloud of smoke and a single leaf on the tiled floor. Needless to say neither of the boys were pleased to have lost such a seemingly talentless kunoichi.

Sakura opened her eyes tentatively as her feet touched solid ground and the whirlwind of leaves disappeared. Dread enveloped her and she felt like bursting into tears for what felt like the thousandth time today as she glanced around her dark surroundings.

This was not her room.

"What the hell!?" Sakura whirled around to see a boy standing at the door dressed in black clothing with purple face paint covering his features.

_This had been the day from hell and apparently it wasn't freaking over yet._

* * *

After reading this chapter I thought it looked a little like GaaSakuSasu... To me anyway. I never actually intended to give hints of that. Oh well I'm not changing it. Though I can imagine Sasuke acting like that if Gaara did make a move on Sakura during the chuunin exams. He just seems like a kind of possessive person to me.

Of course Gaara isn't possessive at _all._ ;)

Thanks for reading!


	7. In Too Deep

**Blue Monotony.**

**Chapter 7:** In Too Deep.

* * *

On second thought Sakura realised she hadn't gone too far wrong. Her house was just down the street and she had been here in the last twenty four hours. That, however did not make her feel any better. She might has well have transported herself right into Gaara's arms for all the safety she had now. Fighting the urge to either burst into tears or jump out of the conveniently placed window Sakura failed to notice the Sand shinobi staring at her with an open mouth.

Kankuro was surprised - he was very willing to admit that fact. Almost as surprised as the little pink haired doll in front of him looked. There was a girl standing willingly in the middle of Gaara's room and although she looked, extremely, shocked she didn't seem to be going anywhere. In fact... She was standing about an inch away from the futon. Had his brother already...

How had Gaara even gotten her to come here in the first place?! What with his homocidal tendencies and all round scary aura most people did everything in their power to stay away from him. They did not come looking for him and they certainly did not stand in the middle of his hotel room looking completely and utterly vulnerable. He really had no idea what to do with her.

This was the same girl that was in the group with the loud mouth blond and the Uchiha kid. The same girl that Gaara had been staring at so intently before the beginning of the exam and the same girl who had stared back at him. There was something going on here between the two of them and whether the girl was willing or not was something that needed to be addressed. Gaara had no qualms with using force to get what he wanted.

"I never meant to end up here." She said quietly, apparently finally realising that he had been standing watching her for about five minutes.

"We should probably... You know. Talk. There's a lot of stuff about Gaara you need to know." She was lucky that Gaara had been taken away for some one on one training with Baki.

She walked forward into the light, watching him with wide emerald eyes. He was forced to suppress a groan just looking at her. Pale skin, heart shaped face, delicate features... Pink hair! God she looked just like one of those porcelain dolls. The epitome of innocence and so vulnerable looking that he was surprised she hadn't been dragged off into some dark alley way somewhere yet.

Gaara would eat her alive. She stepped up until she was just half a metre away from him and he saw the mark on her neck. A fresh, purpling bruise that seemed to demand attention because her skin was so pale in contrast to it. He was close enough to see the teeth marks and to see how she flinched when she saw him looking and clapped her tiny hand over it. It seemed that Gaara had already tried. He was already sure that mark had been left by his younger brother.

"It doesn't hurt..." She mumbled.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you. Gaara can come on strong at times." Pausing she looked up at him with strangely emotionless green eyes.

She wasn't afraid. She was _terrified._

If Gaara was interested in pursuing her then he would try - come hell or high water he would try. Nobody would try to stop him; not even his siblings, not even his teacher or his father. Kankuro admitted that he wouldn't be the one to stand up for this little scrap of a female. She got herself into this and she would get herself out of this. He wondered vaguely if there were other people who would try to separate them.

Probably.

Who would want someone so fragile looking partnered up with his near clinically insane little brother? No one. He was sure that this little thing would have plenty of people ready and willing to stand up for her if she was to ask them. He reached out to pry her hand from the mark and take a better look at it. His other hand going to the pouch strapped at his side for a bandage and some medicinal cream.

"No thanks. I can deal with it myself." With surprising strength she pushed his hand away from her.

He shrugged and replaced the supplies before turning and leading her into the small living/ kitchen area that connected the four rooms. Inwardly he was cursing. Kankuro had seen the look in her eyes when he had tried to help her. He had seen pride sparkling in those bright green eyes. Foolish pride. That moment he knew that she wouldn't go to anyone for help. She would face it all by herself - not wanting to burden anyone else and not wanting to be seen as weak. That would be her down fall.

She sat on the couch across from him and placed her hands in her lap. Moving her hair over her shoulder to cover the mark. It was obvious she was uncomfortable with it. Kankuro had decided to wait for Temari - she would probably be far better at explaining all of this to the girl... Sakura. He thought. That was what the little blond twerp called her.

Moments later the door swung open and Temari walked in, dumped her fan by the door and promptly haulted when she saw who was sitting in the middle of the living room. She raised an elegant eyebrow but took a seat next to him none the less. He was sure she had already figured out exactly what to say to the pink haired kunoichi.

"You're that girl Gaara has a crush on." Her obvious gift for tact was shining through.

Sakura's face turned an interesting shade of puce and she took a moment to regain the ability to breath. Maybe he should have handled it after all... Temari was still watching her with a mildly interested expression on her face while the young kunoichi gasped like a fish out of water. He really wouldn't have been surprised if she just keeled over and fainted.

"Gaara does not like me at all. He hates me in fact." Her voice was filled with conviction but before either of them could speak she continued.

"And I hate him. Really. This was all just a misunderstanding. I didn't mean to end up here. I didn't mean for any of this to..." She trailed off, sighing. Sounding more like she was trying to convince herself than she was them.

"He's dangerous and things that have happened in the past have really messed him up. Stay away from him and he'll forget you. Just keep your head down." Said Temari carefully in a tone that no one would argue with.

"I understand this. Trust me I don't want any more trouble than what I've already gotten myself into and, even though you probably don't believe it, I don't want to cause Gaara any more trouble either." She was staring at the floor with her hands in her lap.

"We'll try to keep him away from you."

"I should go, my team mates will be worried about me." She lifted her dainty hands and performed a quick jutsu. Gone before either of them had really accepted the fact that she was really there.

He turned to regard his elder sister with one half opened eye. She was looking at the spot that the pink haired girl had occupied just moments before with a furrowed brow. Her fingers picking at the Suna head band at her waist as she always did when thinking hard about something. This would definitely complicate things. Although neither of them would speak to Gaara about this until it became clear just how involved he was with the Leaf girl.

"Think we should've done more?" She asked while still staring intently at the now vacant spot.

"It'll sort itself out." With a confidence that he didn't feel.

"You mean he'll kill her and that'll be it sorted out?" Bitter sarcasm. She actually wanted him to be happy and find someone.

"Probably." There was no use lying to her; she would see it instantly.

ooo

Once again she had not ended up home. That was partially due to the fact that she hadn't wanted to go home quite yet. Knowing that Gaara was so close to her did not make her feel even slightly at ease. Sakura would be surprised if she got one minute of sleep throughout the entire chuunin exams. The meeting with his brother and sister did not make her feel any better.

They had both watched her with wary expressions - barely concealed pity in their dark eyes. She sighed heavily and set her head back against the rough bark of the tree. What a mess she had gotten herself into. Her eyes drifted across the battered ground of one of the training areas that was, thankfully, unoccupied. She should probably have been training for the next exam but every time she stood an awful sickness assaulted her senses and she ended up stopping again.

Her house was the first place _they _would look and try as she might she could not get Sasuke's cold glare out of her mind. He looked so angry and Gaara, well, he just looked at her strangely. In a way that made her spine tingle and the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She hoped that they would both simply ignore her and focus on fighting each other on the battlefield only.

After so long pining for Sasuke's attention she found that now that she had it she would do anything to get rid of it. Sakura was not foolish enough to believe that his interest was romantic. It was just a case of seeing someone else having something that he thought he should have. She had always thought that he hated her constant attention and rapt adoring stare but now it seemed that in some way he acknowledged it and, dare she say, wanted it.

That thought just made her feel sick. He was lonely and her attention was probably one of the only things that made him feel wanted. Above that though was that it probably gave him a feeling of dominance; of power over her and she knew more than anything that he almost craved that. Perhaps she was just reading too much into this. He just didn't want her to be 'franternising with the enemy'. He didn't want his rival to gain something that he thought of as his.

Those thoughts made her angry and she drew up her knees and wrapped her arms fully around herself with a disgruntled expression on her face. She did not like being treated as a mere possession. Gaara; she didn't know where he stood. She didn't know what he wanted. After they had kissed he had such an expression of fierce hatred and anger that she would have recoiled had she not known that she wore the same expression on her face.

It was almost as though he didn't want to do it but felt so drawn to her that he did so anyway.

She often felt as though feeling overroad logic when she was with him and that was something that never happened. Sakura trusted cold hard facts more than anything. Nodding her head she made a quick decision; she would stay away from him and do nothing to attract his attention. Just as Kankuro and Temari suggested.

Now that just left the problem of Sasuke...

As if on cue warm breath washed across the back of her neck and she instinctively slapped her hand over the mark that marred her skin. She would know that individual, male scent anywhere and she snapped her eyes closed in quiet defeat. Lie. Lie. Lie. Whatever you do lie. Don't tell him the truth. Lie. Lie. Lie. She could have sworn she was hyperventilating now.

"I've been looking for you, Sakura." He said in a languid tone with strong hints of anger underlying it.

She didn't trust herself to speak and just drew herself into the smallest shape she could manage, kept the mark covered and kept her eyes tightly shut. He had been so stealthy and quiet when approaching her that she had no idea he was there until he chose to show her. But then again what else was to be expected from him?

A very warm hand slipped beneath hers and pried it off. Her fingers went slack when met with his because, after all, fighting would only confirm her guilt. A hiss escaped his mouth through clenched teeth as he saw the large bruise. She could tell that he was now beyond angry and fear made it difficult to appreciate the warm body pressed up against hers.

"What happened?" He had leaned back slightly and was now sitting on the branch beside her.

"He bit me." What else was she supposed to say?

"Gaara."

"Yes."

Sasuke was silent and for a moment there she thought that she was in the clear. The anger in his voice was not directed at her. It was directed at Gaara. Perhaps being thought of as weak did have some advantages after all. He did not think she was strong enough to resist him and it was all the Suna shinobi's fault for picking on such a defenseless little kunoichi. Did she dare play up that stereotype of herself?

"It hurt." She muttered; hating herself for pretending and playing the damsel in distress.

"I've spoken to Naruto about it..." He wouldn't believe it was true.

"We think it's best if you stay with him for the duration of the exams. That way you'll never be alone and _he _won't be able to get to you."

At one time she would have thought that a caring romantic gesture. At least she could say she wasn't so naive now. Sasuke was only doing this because losing her would mean that he would have to drop out of the exam. That was the only reason that he was doing any of this. She was actually glad that she was staying with Naruto instead of his. The blond genuinely cared about her and would be a lot more pleasant to live with... Even if it did mean eating ramen for probably every meal.

"What will I tell my parents?" So far she thought she had done pretty well convincing them that everything would be alright.

"They think it's training. Naruto's already moved most of your stuff to his apartment."

There's a surprise. He was probably really excited about having someone else living with him. It would be lonely... Being all by yourself all the time. Naruto would appreciate her presence. Sasuke would just think she was getting in the way. She would never pine for him again. Sakura watched the Uchiha prodigy out of the corner of her eye and sighed to herself.

He would never love her.

But that didn't sting as much as it used to.

ooo

Naruto's apartment smelled of ramen. So did Naruto for that matter. When she arrived he flung open the door dragged her inside and proceeded to give her a tour of the house. He bellowed so loud that the guy next door started to bang on the wall to try and get him to shut up. Naruto was unfazed; apparently that happens a lot.

It was very bright inside. The walls were painted a sort of sunshine yellow and there was not a single dark colour in the entire house. She did feel kind of safe here and Naruto always did just seem happy to be around her. It was a welcome change to being shunned constantly. The only picture on his walls was the team photo of the four of them. It had pride of place above his futon.

That caused a sharp sting of pain. Her walls were covered in family photos but Naruto... He was all alone up here. He had always been alone up here. Looking at that photograph she promised to visit him more. At that point he yelled at her from the kitchen. Asking what flavour of ramen she wanted for dinner. Surprise. Surprise. She smiled and answered that she would have what he was having.

The muddle she ahd gotten herself into was momentarily forgotten.

They ended up eating sitting on the couch in front of the television. Naruto only had one chair at his table because, of course, he normally ate all by himself. That upset her a bit as well. Naruto could have so easily ended up like Gaara - they both had a demon inside of them. Somehow he had managed to pull through. Maybe with some time and non violent attention Gaara would too. They watched some crappy movie and laughed about things that happened on the missions.

That night as she lay down on her own futon ( that also smelled like ramen) she smiled for the first time in days.

"Goodnight Sakura -chan."

"Goodnight, Naruto."

"Night Sakura -chan."

"Goodnight."

"Night."

"Naruto!"

"There's never anyone to say goodnight back, Sakura -chan." He really must be so lonely sometimes.

"Goodnight then, Naruto."

"I won't let him hurt you again." He whispered.

"Huh?"

"Night."

The lights were finally switched off and for the first time since he had invaded her hotel room so long ago she slept soundly. A little attention and he could end up like Naruto. The thought of Gaara jumping about in a hyperactive rampage almost made her laugh. A little careful attention and caring and he could be happy. He could be normal.

She smiled as she drifted off to sleep with a slight smile on her face and a new personal mission to fufill.

The smell of ramen was almost comforting now.

ooo

The forest of death. They really did think up imaginative names. Although, looking at it, she could not imagine it being called anything else. It gave out a sort of darkness that was wholly unnerving and unnatural. Something slithered into the shadows and she suppressed a shudder. She had covered her neck in foundation and concealer and then thrown her hair over her shoulders in order to cover the mark.

It was healing but the mottled purple/yellow blotch only drew unwanted attention and made her team mates grimace every time they saw it. At least she had managed to keep it hidden from Kakashi and her parents. They were sure to overreact; epically, and blow the entire thing out of proportion. He had been waatching her since she arrived and both of the boys on either side of her had bristled up at the mere sight of him.

Kankuro and Temari were still watching her with almost apologetic eyes as if to say 'sorry we couldn't put him off'. It was then that she forced herself to remember the promise that she had made to herself last night. She would help him or die trying. That really wasn't a figure of speech this time but she figured that if she had survived so many encounters with him before she could continue to do so.

He needed her help and that was the only thing that stopped her from bolting when those jade orbs pined her down and he licked his lips in a way that was entirely too suggestive for her liking. Because he didn't want anyone's help and didn't trust people enough to let them even touch him. If he knew what she was going to try and do she was sure he would crush her before she had a chance to take another breath.

If she played this right she could help him... If she played this wrong she would die. But of course she knew that there was nothing she craved more than the freedom and the thrill given to you when you were tottering that line between living and dieing. She had forced herself to pick up her life and stop being so reckless after she realised the length she would go to for thrills but now she was letting it all out.

Nothing would stop her from helping him.

She had been the one to take their forms across and so had Gaara. Ignoring him seemed the best thing to do since her team mates were watching their every move. He was a little to close to be casual as they stood in the line and she had to force herself to ignore the breath that ruffled her hair. Having him so close unnerved her more than having Sasuke close.

"See you in the forest." She said, hoping that her voice didn't quiver.

"You better hope not." He seemed surprised that she had spoken to him but of course answered her with a threat.

How hard would it be to get under his guard? Very. Probably. She sighed and slipped through into the booth to pick up her scroll. Sakura didn't see him again because Naruto promptly grabbed her arm and dragged her off round to their assigned gate. Sasuke took the scroll. She felt sick with nervousness just looking into the dark trees. Five days in there.

Five days to find their second scroll.

Five days to find Gaara.

And five days to survive.

This was not going to be easy.

* * *

/ A/N: I know Sakura doesn't know that Naruto has the Kyuubi at that point but once again I'm using a little artistic liberties.\\

Sorry about the delay. I've been quite busy lately and well writers' block will get the best of us at times. This chapter had a bit more Temari and Kankuro featured in it. I've just always thought that deep down they would be protective of their younger brother. (I tried to think how I would react if it was my little brother in that situation). Didn't come out how I wanted it to but, hell, what does.

This was kind of short and probably a bit of a filler chapter. Sorry about the suckiness.

Thanks for all of the brilliant reviews guys.

You're the best!

Silver xxx.


	8. Wrong Turn

**Blue Monotony.**

**Chapter 8: Wrong Turn.**

* * *

She couldn't believe that she had been so foolish! Separated from her team mates the very first day and now wandering all alone in the middle of the forest of death with hundreds of genin who would like nothing better than to spill her blood roaming about. Finding Gaara had moved a little way back in her list of things to do but it was still there; still present in her mind.

Looking around at the dense canopy she found that she was not as afraid as she should have been. Fear having faded to the back of her mind hours ago. She had not met, heard, sensed or seen another ninja for around five hours and it was growing dark. The terse silence that enveloped this place unnerved her a little and it was all she could do not to talk just to break the awful, claustrophobic silence.

Animals seemed to stray far from this place. Perhaps the teams were waiting until nightfall to spring an attack; when the darkness would shroud their forms and make it easier to sneak around. She was careful to keep her chakra signature as hidden as was possible but in order to search for Naruto and Sasuke's signatures hers would have to be left slightly visible.

The last time she saw them Sasuke was unconscious and Naruto was badly injured. She herself was not entirely in top condition. There was a large gash on her left calf and bruises all over. Her chakra supply was close to nothing so if an enemy was to find her first she would have to run and hope for the best. There was no way she could fight now.

Her torn dress ruffled slightly in the breeze. She had ripped a strip off of it to bandage her wound. Any more blood loss and she would pass out and besides she could not afford to leave a trail of blood behind. That would surely attract just the kind of attention she was trying to avoid. She wanted so desperately to find them; to help and know that they were alive that every second longer she couldn't feel them it became worse and worse.

An ache where her bruise was prompted her to rub it with her sore fingers in an attempt to lessen the pain. The one that Gaara had given her. It almost made her laugh hysterically when she realised that it was in exactly the same place as Sasuke's mark. The strange bruise that gave her the shivers when she caught sight of it. They were caught in an awful fight with a ninja that was clearly above genin level.

She felt so useless just standing there watching Naruto and Sasuke struggle to keep up with the kunai flying at them and the strange ninja darting about and survive attacks that really should have been fatal. She had tried to fight; really tried her hardest to help them. Her attempts had been swatted aside and she was treated like nothing more annoying insect that was in the way.

All she had managed to see was Sasuke being bitten. He had screamed so loud and Naruto screamed too. Sakura had never seen his emotionless facade break like that; seeing his face crumple in agony struck something deep within her. She watched as the blood dripped from the two identical marks on his neck and saw the black mark swirl and form on his skin.

At that moment she knew something terrible had happened.

Naruto was bleeding and trying to make his way over as Sasuke fell onto her. Seemingly unable to hold himself up any more. His breathing was laboured and his skin felt as though it was on fire. He didn't stop screaming. Naruto's pained cries rang through her head along with his and suddenly she felt as though her team was being ripped apart at the seams.

She was silent; shocked and held in some sort of paralysis jutsu. Just able to lift her arms enough to support him. She could feel his entire body shake with tremors - his screams faded until they were only strangled cries. Lifting her head she saw their opponent grinning down at her. The voice was male - probably some kind of jutsu to conceal his appearance. His face was peeling off in places.

As she glanced across she saw Naruto on his hands and knees; clutching his stomach with his bright eyes snapped tightly shut. She was the only one left at that moment and she had to defend them both. Somehow she managed to break free and run forward kunai in hand. Sasuke was lying curled where she had left him.

The stranger had just laughed in her face, his skin seemed melted somehow after being exposed to Sasuke's jutsu and she could see even clearer the peeling areas which exposed white skin and a single golden eye. Pupil slitted like a snake's would be. He did not look human at all. She lifted her hand to strike him but he caught it easily and something hot and wet slid against the skin of her arm.

The revulsion she felt in that moment was stronger even than the mixture of hatred and fear that was coursing through her veins. It was his tongue.

"Such a pretty, little thing. So delicate. If I were to give you a present you would surely break." His voice was just as repulsive as the rest of him.

Hoarse and unpleasant; he sounded as though someone had rubbed sand paper up and down his throat. Out of anger she lashed out again with her free arms and legs. Desperate to hurt him in any way that she could, desperate to free herself from his touch and desperate to protect her team mates in anyway she could.

He laughed again, his laughter was rough and set her teeth on edge. Tossing her aside seemed almost effortless and the physical strength he possessed became clear when she flew for metre after metre without stopping. Her side collided with a tree and she winced as it cracked due to the impact and splinters embedded themselves in her skin. She moved just quick enough to dodge the kunai aimed at her head but another slammed into her leg as she fell.

It didn't hit anything major but it still hurt like hell. She landed on the soft earth with a thump; scattering dead leaves and disturbing the animals in the undergrowth. Everything ached as she stood and tried to stop the world from spinning. A soft hissing sound coming from the kunai stuck in her leg reminded her that it wasn't over yet.

Sakura pulled it out and threw it as far as she could before running in the opposite direction as fast as her injured leg could take her. Her leg gave way after a few metres and she was forced to shelter her head with her hands as the explosion spat flames and shrapnel in her direction. At that point she felt so weak that she almost gave up and lay there without a second thought.

That explosion would attract shinobi from miles around; that was all they needed. Her head hadn't stopped spinning since _he_let go of her. She remembered that he had introduced himself as Orochimaru. Even the name sent shivers down her spine. When she tried to stand the spinning became worse but she forced herself up determined to go back and help.

One step forward and she was swaying precariously. Blackness swam across her vision no matter how much she fought to keep herself conscious. Two steps and she was half gone; blood poured from the wound on her leg. Three steps and she was on the ground; not even the sheer force of her will could fight off the jutsu she was enveloped in.

It wasn't long before she woke. The forest was silent again and she could sense nothing. The splinters digging into her skin caught her attention instantly and she quickly pulled them out. She knew it had not been long since she had passed out because of her wound. One; she had not bled to death yet. Two; the blood had not completely congealed and some of it was still seeping out.

She ripped her dress and bandaged it up tightly. Unaware of the sand eye floating in the shadows behind her. She ran back to where the fight had taken place; dodging the crater that the explosion had left. It was too quiet. All the while the sandy orb followed her but she did not notice it. They were no where to be seen. Not Naruto. Not Sasuke. Not Orochimaru.

There was nothing left but a few broken branches, wires littering the place and kunai stuck in the wood. A small pool of blood caught her attention and she stared at it for a moment. Consumed by how her reflection stared back at her from the black red surface. She was a mess. A few tears dripped from her eyes no matter what she did to stop them.

She couldn't sense them at all but she refused to believe that they were dead. That would never have happened.

All she had to do was look.

oOo

Five hours later and she was still looking. Five hours later and the sand eye was still following her tirelessly. She had not noticed it yet. Too consumed with the pains of her injuries and trying to sense the signatures of her team mates. She had been wandering for so long it seemed and she was rapidly becoming more and more tired.

Her stomach gave another loud rumble. Soon it would be loud enough to give away her position! Fumbling in her shurikan pouch she found the rations that she had brought in case they would be staying somewhere with little food. She had not expected it to be five days long so had only brought enough for overnight; lunch, dinner and breakfast.

Sakura chewed at the rice ball as she sat down and unwrapped her make-shift bandage to take a look at the wound. It was looking slightly better and had no signs of infection so she wrapped it back up fervently wishing that she had learned even a simple medical jutsu. Despair began to consume her.

The sound of running water could be heard faintly so, after searching for any signatures, genjutsu or traps she made her way over. It was a tiny pool; deep but not very wide. The water was probably poisoned. Leaning down she dipped her hands into it and sent out a faint shock of chakra. The water did not change colour so she took a long drink.

Tears were pouring from her eyes again and she could taste the hot, salty drops mixing with the cool water. Her chakra signature leaked out slowly and steadily as she broke down and sobbed. Hands fisted in the soft dirt and leaves of the ground, body hunched over the pool that showed her clear reflection. She would have done anything to see them staring back at her.

It was dark and... Kami knows where they had ended up.

"Let your guard down here and you'll die." Sakura froze but didn't look round; she knew who it was.

He had found her and not the other way around. The next heaving breath she took brought the coppery odour of blood to her senses. He reaked of it. She wondered vaguely how many had met their ends in this forest by his hand.

"I told you I'd see you in the forest." She said; surprised by how rough her own voice sounded.

"The Uchiha isn't hovering over you. Why is that?" He was pushing her buttons now and she was rising to the bait.

"I.. don't know."

Tears began to stream from her eyes again and she realised that she couldn't look at him without breaking completely. Sakura didn't know what he was thinking but he was silent apart from the slight husky sound of his breathing. The smell of blood made her want to wretch. Nausea had been present ever since she had woken up and every so often a spell of dizziness would break across her senses.

She knew it wasn't good. Slight rustling of leaves as he shifted from foot to foot; perhaps moving closer. The hissing sound of sand drifting across the dead leaves and dirt didn't bother her as much as it used to. The tears stung her cheeks and bitterly she closed her eyes in an attempt to stop her senses reeling.

"I lost them." Didn't know why she was telling him but she had to tell someone.

When he remained silent she sat back with her legs splayed. She felt as though she couldn't take another step with her aching muscles so running wasn't really an option. As if she could get away from him even if she tried; running would only make things worse. He had moved a little closer but she was still unaware of just how far away he was.

Why would she run anyway? Hadn't she promised herself that she would try her best to help them? That was before she lost both of her team mates in a single day and didn't know whether they were alive or dead. They were too strong to die; she had told herself. But this was the shinobi world and life was always short.

"You lost them, or they ran away from you?" Scathing voice and the sound of footsteps.

"I lost them; they're injured. Maybe even... Dead." Her voice sounded hollow.

She heard him let out a short humourless laugh. Sakura would be honest and say that she never expected him to be able to laugh. He was crouching beside her now with sand slipping back into the enormous gourd on his back. In the darkness only his pale skin stood out. He was not looking at her, for which she was thankful, but he was staring hard at their reflections in the pool.

It occured to her that the first time she had met him was next to a body of water but what did that matter. Although his skin was almost luminous in the darkness it was obscured by large blotches of some dark red liquid. She didn't want to think about how he could possibly managed to get himself covered from head to toe in blood but a question slipped past her lips.

"How many..? How many did you kill?"

He was grinning now; grinning at her horrified reflection. No matter what she did she couldn't stop the fear from showing on her features. She knew it was wrong to show fear in front of him but he seemed much calmer and this was the longest she had ever been beside him without him making some kind of move towards her. Be it with his sand or with his body.

"Not enough." He ran a hand through the tousled locks pressed to his forehead.

She knew the strands were soaked with blood too but he didn't seem to mind. Perhaps he was too used to it. That thought alone caused a sharp pang of sadness; nobody should be used to the feel of blood on their skin. This was the most she had ever spoken to him without threats being hurled like kunai at her. As the silence began to stretch out between them she began to relax slightly.

He moved far too fast for her liking and before she could blink her hair was thrown to the side and he was staring at the covered bruise on her shoulder with intense eyes. Sakura realised that she shoulde probably never let her guard down around him. She was surprised by how good quality the concealer she had used was. It had survived pretty much intact even after hours of sweat and general wear and tear but the bruise was still faintly visible.

His fingers were rougher than he remembered. She did nothing as he wiped his hand across her shoulder in a single smooth movement; removing the concealer and leaving a smear of blood across her skin.

"Don't cover it." His voice was quiet but the words still stung.

He didn't let her go and she couldn't find the strength to push him away. That would probably end badly anyway; she knew he was all too used to being rejected. His fingers traced the mark lightly but she still felt as though his touch was scalding her. She fought not to shudder; her attraction to him was dangerous at best.

"Did he tell you to cover it?" His blunt nails dug into her skin but she didn't move despite the pain caused.

Jealousy perhaps? Why did he even care? She was all too wary of him. The body pressed up against hers shook slightly; from barely concealed anger or hatred. This was wasting precious time. She should be looking for them. They needed her! Or at least she wished they did.

"It was my own decision. Why did you bite me anyway?" Too curious to hold back the remark that had been threatening to spill from her lips ever since he did it.

The pressure on her skin increased ten-fold and she was now sure to have scratch marks there. His breathing, calm a moment ago, became harsh and laboured. She knew better than to push him. Finding Naruto and Sasuke slipped down her to do list momentarily. If she did not pay the utmost attention to him she would have to pay the price.

Had she not promised she would do everything in her power to help him?

"To mark you of course." He said it as though it was the simplest thing in the world but Sakura baulked at his answer.

People only marked things that they considered to be theirs. She was anything but his.

_'But you wouldn't mind being his._' Her Inner self had finally decided to make an appearance. She had been mainly silent throughout the exam; only whispering encouragement when she felt that she could not go any further.

Her hand slid up to cover the mark. She flinched slightly when her fingers brushed the fresh scratches that marred her skin. His hand was cold in comparison to hers, he refused to move his hand from her shoulder. She could feel the cool seeping through the thin material of her red dress. Closing her eyes Sakura didn't know what to think.

"It was Shukaku's fault."

Sakura remembered he used that excuse the last time she asked him. She was still none the wiser as to who this Shukaku was. Then it occurred to her, lightening fast. His demon! Gaara was a container after all; just like Naruto. Even thinking of her blond friend in the passing caused a razor sharp pang of sadness to flood her senses.

As far as she knew Naruto did not, could not, converse with the beast sealed inside of him but it was very possible that Gaara was not the same. If he was able to speak to... It. And even did as it said then that was not a good thing. In her experience demons were not good or benevolent creatures. She glanced sideways at the stoic red head.

Gaara seemed to be thinking hard, he made no move and his sand was silent and still. She could still sense nothing and no one. Though Gaara was right beside her his signature was still completely and utterly cloaked; she couldn't feel him no matter how hard she tried. Sometimes she would think about him at night. at one point if her dreams involved him they were always nightmares where she was bound tightly by sand with him leering over her threatening the finishing blow.

It changed after the first exam. Everything changed for her. It was subtle and barely noticeable but still there. She still couldn't believe that she had kissed him and lived. It was strange and she really couldn't comprehend where this was going.

Opening her eyes she looked up into the dark sky; a tiny portion of it was visible through the thick curtain of leaves and branches.

When she was younger she would often wish upon a star. Now, separated from her team and with a killer pressed up against her side, a killer that she might actually _care _for, such things seemed frivolous and childish. Haruno Sakura was not one to give up hope no matter how grim the situation but she had long ago abandoned such thoughts.

Wishing did not get anyone anywhere. Hard work, dedication, strategy and superior skills were what was needed. What would Sasuke and Naruto do in this situation? They would never be in this situation. Naruto seemed to be able to get through things without any planning. The blond had almost limitless luck and his chakra supply was beyond massive - he didn't need planning.

Sasuke had his skills and Kekkei Genkai to rely on. There were no natural talents she could depend on save her near perfect chakra control but a lot of use that was. Basic ninja abilities, excellent chakra control, too much intelligence for her own good and very little healing skills; that was the tools she had to work with. It was hard to think of a plan with his breath rolling across her skin at regular intervals.

She may have promised to help him but exactly how she was going to do it was a complete mystery.

"I need to find my team mates." Shifting away only seemed to make him hold on tighter.

"You've been looking for hours. Can you not sense them now?!" He was angry but she was too.

"You were watching me!" She pulled away only to be dragged back harshly.

His grip shifted to her long, tangled hair, he jerked her head back quickly and easily. She watched him apprehensively with clouded emerald eyes. Sakura knew better than to struggle against him. For some reason it seemed to excite him and made him more violent than usual. The iron grip he had on her hair cause her scalp to tingle slightly. She fought not to show it hurt.

He was silent for a moment; watching her expression with something akin to curiosity. When he looked at her like that she always felt like she was completely bare before him. He could read her effortlessly.

"Why are you here!? To mock me?! To torture me?! I don't _understand _you!" Sakura cried. Tears sprang to her eyes as her pulled cruelly on her hair.

"I don't know. You are the one who tortures me. I am drawn to you, though I hate it, you are drawn to me... Though you say you hate it." He was hissing now, pulling on her hair so hard that it seemed as though he intended to pull it out.

His free hand shifted and skimmed up the length of her body. Trailing over her torso, eliciting a gasp of surprise, and curving up the skin of her neck. His cold, clammy fingers rested on the back of her neck, beneath the thick curtain of hair. As he wet his lips she realised what he was about to do but was frozen in place. Still and shocked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

"But this... _This _tells me otherwise." He released the grip on her hair abruptly and wrenched her forward.

His chapped lips moved quickly against hers and she found herself powerless. Torn between what she should do. She had no idea what she should do. Her alter ego had promptly fainted and left her all alone and confused. It felt too wonderful. He was right and she didn't want him to be right. Did this count as helping him? Or was she just hurting him more.

After a moment he moved back slightly and she gulped greedily at the air; too afraid to speak. He wasn't looking at her the mark on her neck seemed to be holding his attention.

"If you wish to find them so badly..." He sounded as though he was only saying this grudgingly.

"Then try harder. Your way of searching is pathetic." Well, that broke the longest time without an insult/threat being said to her.

He moved behind her slightly and knelt so that his knees were just touching her back. She was still sitting by the edge of the pool. Hands slipped over her eyes and for a moment her hand ached for a kunai. She would have to get over this fear of him. If he had wanted to hurt her he would have done it by now.

"Fan out your chakra." She complied and managed not to shiver when he moved so close that his chest pressed against her back.

"No wonder you cannot find them. Keep your eyes shut." His hands moved down to clasp hers in a painful grip. He pushed her fingers into sign of the Ram.

"Now try." He would have been a good teacher if he was not so impatient and quick to criticise.

Her chakra seemed to spread out much further and for the first time she could actually sense Gaara's chakra without him revealing it to her. Right at the edge of her senses she felt something. Two weak pinpricks of awfully familiar chakra. She almost cried with relief.

"T-Thank you." He withdrew from her completely and stood.

Sakura scrambled to her feet and took a step forward. Sand poured from the gourd and swirled around him in a way that could only be described as menacing. She wasn't sure what she had done to merit such a change in attitude towards her. It seemed he always slipped back into that role whenever something was bothering him.

She could still feel the pressure of his lips against hers. The kiss was meant to prove a point not to be enjoyable but it still was. That frightened her slightly. The chemistry between them was stronger than anything she had ever felt. He folded his arms in front of his chest and watched her with narrowed jade eyes. He looked as though he was expecting her to up and leave.

Well, she kind of was. That made her guilty although she was sure there was nothing to be guilty about. Naruto and Sasuke needed her and she had an obligation to them; she was their team mate and she genuinely cared for their safety.

"Go. I'm sure the Uchiha is anxious to see you." He snarled, emotionless facade dropping momentarily.

That was what was upsetting him. Sakura knew she should say something to calm him but her mind came up blank. She whispered another feeble thank you before turning and darting off towards the South West. He would be angry the next time she saw him.

She really had no idea how to act towards that red haired enigma.

Concentrating, Sakura charged what little chakra had been replenished into her legs and saved as much as she could for healing later. Getting through this exam and helping her team mates took top priority now. Gaara would just have to wait.

oOo

Temari looked up from the scroll in her hand with a mildly interested expression. A faint swirl of sand signalled her younger brother's arrival. The putrid smell of blood filled the tiny room quickly but she was far too used to it to care. Kankuro didn't even glance up from Karasu; he was busy giving the puppet some last minute checks.

He hadn't even gotten to use it in the first exam. Gaara had done all the work for them. They had reached the tower before mid-day and now had to wait out the rest of the exam. It was dull to say the least. She had already polished her fan numerous times today; the shine couldn't be bested no matter how many times she scrubbed the metal with a worn cloth.

Gaara disappeared early on but neither of them had been particularly bothered. He could take care of himself and being cooped up with him in a tiny room for too long would not bode well for their health.

He said nothing and stood in the corner of the room for a moment.

"How'd it go?" She asked, raising a single sand coloured eyebrow.

He threw four scrolls at her easily without a word. Eliminating some more of the competition was what he had gone to do. The blood lust had not decreased at all since they arrived at the tower so eventually he left. His chakra was mildly calmer now and it seemed he had been sated enough to come back. They were not in some much danger any more.

"Did you do anything else?"

"Nothing." Was his curt reply.

Gaara turned and walked out of the room without another word. The door closed behind him with a sharp snap. She was too used to his anti-social attitude to care. Something small drifted down to the floor and caught the blond kunoichi's attention. Dropping the scrolls on the bench she listened carefully for a moment. The sound of receding footsteps could be heard.

After checking the room for a sand eye she walked carefully forward and plucked up the thin strand of long hair on the bare floor boards. Holding it up to the black part of her fan she saw instantly that it was a pale pink colour.

She wondered if the little, leaf girl was still alive or if the some of the blood coating her younger brother was hers. Temari twirled the strand in front of Kankuro's face. He narrowed his dark eyes.

"Sakura?" He said before adding.

"Nothing my ass."

* * *

Alright, I don't think there's any technical changes I can mention. Obviously this isn't how things happen in the Forest of Death in the anime. I've taken the basic plot and screwed things up a little to suit my own selfish needs. I think you've realised that already though; looking at the previous chapters.

I've been having a look for a Beta reader for a while now but I have had very little success. Anyway, if anyone is interested in Beta-ing this story feel free to give me a PM. It feels like I'm grovelling...

I would like to say an enormous thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, read and alerted this story! You guys are brilliant.

Silver xxx.


	9. And They All Lived Happily Ever After

**Blue Monotony**.

**Chapter 9: And They All Lived Happily Ever After.**

* * *

She could have cried, or laughed, or jumped up and down with sheer joy but she didn't; she did nothing. They were alive, thank Kami, and didn't look as bad as she had expected them to. No obviously broken bones or massive gashes anywhere. Sasuke was lying on the ground beneath the huge, protruding roots of an ancient oak tree and Naruto was sitting beside him.

It was dark but she could still clearly see the burns and small scratches littering any skin exposed. It looked like they would be alright, even without her help. Sakura walked towards them slowly with one hand on a kunai in case she startled them enough for them to try and attack her. Nothing happened until she was about a metre away from Naruto. He snapped open one bright, cerulean eye.

For a moment his face was grim but the second their eyes met he brightened and struggled to his feet. He was obviously in pain but, seemed to be trying his best not to show it. To him her face seemed darker than usual; the moonlight threw her face into sharp relief but the shadows seemed deeper. The bags beneath her eyes were extremely pronounced.

His smile seemed more like a grimace than anything else and she was suddenly aware of how much he must have been through. With Sasuke out for the count he must have had to carry him here and keep watch. She couldn't bring herself to smile as she looked at his familiar face. Everything within her seemed to be drained but she needed to feel him, needed to feel that he was real and not some hallucination created by her longing.

Her normal distain for him had faded completely over the last day; it really was surprising just how much someone could change. His smile faltered slightly when she just stood there with her arms hanging listlessly by her sides. Her tattered dress blew slightly in the wind as she watched him. Perhaps it wasn't real – Naruto would never be so quiet.

She did something that she would never normally have done; she ran forward and threw her hands around his neck without a word of warning. If they had died she didn't know what she would have done.

If they had died she would never have forgiven herself.

Naruto smelled strongly of dirt, blood and sweat but she really didn't care in the slightest. He was alive and the tangible proof of that was the short, blond hair slipping through her grabbing fingers and the warm breath that drifted across her shoulder.

"I thought we'd lost you there, Sakura-chan." His voice was sounded strange, slightly husky from lack of use.

"I've been looking for _hours _and hours. Starting to... Starting to think I might have... Might have ended up alone... And it would've been my fault because I'm not strong and I couldn't help and I'm not... I don't _deserve_ you guys." She was fighting to keep back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.

His hands were clumsy, as usual, and his hug was a little too tight for comfort; the squeezing almost left her breathless. She didn't care in the slightest when his fumbling fingers caught in her long, already tangled hair. In fact, she held him even tighter than before and sighed heavily.

"We'd never leave you, promise. Even teme was thinking about you Sakura-chan... I know he would never admit it but he was mumbling about you in his sleep."

She glanced over at where Sasuke was lying; silent and still. It unnerved her to look at the strange bruise on his neck. The black coils stood out achingly bright against his pale skin, even the dark did not obscure them. She didn't know what to do when Naruto stepped back and reluctantly released her.

Sakura scrambled quickly through her shurikan pouch before coming upon a roll of bandages. She didn't run all this way and search for so long just to stand and stare. She was so through with being useless. Sakura looked down at Naruto's filthy arm with an appraising glance. It would not be sanitary at all to just wrap that up without cleaning the wounds out.

Her water supply was scarce at best and it had to be conserved. Although, if Naruto was to get an infection she would never forgive herself; he was too important to lose. Licking her chapped lips she regarded the half-healed wounds quickly before sliding out her water bottle. The mud washed away easily, even with the tiny amount of water she had left. His skin was warm, rough and achingly real; she had to force herself not to savour the feeling of his skin. The euphoric feeling she had from seeing that they were alive had not faded a single bit.

A sense of contentment filled her senses as she rubbed the medicinal cream gently into the cuts criss-crossing his tanned skin. She was back with her team, back where she belonged. Naruto leaned his head gently on her shoulder, she knew he was tired, and she didn't even complain when his blond hair tickled her face.

The sense of closeness was re-assuring and the even sound of their rhythmic breathing lulled her slightly. Being this close to Gaara didn't make her feel safe in the slightest; she always felt the need to be alert in his presence. She still liked him though. It wasn't his fault he had such a domineering presence. He had been through to much to trust people. She really doubted he could ever truly trust someone - too much had happened to him. That didn't mean she was going to give up.

With the last bandage wound around Naruto's arms she turned her attention to Sasuke. She had deliberately kept her gaze away from him for the last few minutes but now she was forced to look straight at her comatose teammate's face. His skin had a chalky, waxen look to it and even in the darkness she could tell his colouring was paler than usual with sweat drops lacing the visible skin.

The few wounds he had were already – albeit badly – patched up. She looked at Naruto with a questioning glint in her emerald eyes. The blond looked away sheepishly; a faint blush dusted his cheeks. There was nothing else she could do for Sasuke and as much as that frustrated her, she had to accept it. Her fingers drifted across his skin squeezing lightly in an attempt to find any broken bones. Nothing.

He barely shifted and muttereed again slightly. Sightless eyes flickered beneath his eyelids as he reached out feverishly and touched her. Cold hand at her neck scrabbling blindly. She didn't shift until his arm dropped back down to his side. His touch didn't make her feel anything at all. Her fingers dusted across his neck lightly as she prodded gently.

That hideous mark pulsed beneath her fingers as though it sensed her touch and she had to fight not to show her repulsion. Withdrawing slightly she glanced around the area quickly before settling with her back against the slightly damp roots.

"Go to sleep Naruto, I'll keep watch." She knew he was about to protest but as he opened his mouth his eyes began to flutter slightly.

He was too tired to protest and the moment she was sure he was fast asleep she slipped her unused jacket under his head. He had already propped his orange jacket under Sasuke and she knew he must be cold. They had not brought anything with them other than weapons, a few scrolls, soldier pills and a snack or two. Blankets and other such necessities took up too much space.

They hadn't even known that they had needed such things...

Expect the unexpected was probably a phrase that should have been used here. Naruto was entirely pressed up against her side but she didn't mind, didn't complain. He was probably cold and if the temperature dropped any lower then sharing body heat would be necessary. It was nice to have them both so close anyway. Almost wonderful to hear the smooth sounds of Naruto's breathing and the slightly raspy sounds of Sasuke's. She spread her senses out in a wide arc – the way that Gaara taught her – and waited. She knew she didn't have enough chakra to deal with anyone.

She knew she didn't stand a chance against _anyone _at all. Any person who could just happen to walk up and throw a kunai in their direction posed a fatal threat and she knew that. She knew her teammates were about as strong as a newborn kittens while she remained only slightly more capable than them. It didn't frighten her in the slightest.

Half an hour later and she had set up a trap. It was the only thing she could think to do and as simple as it was some protection was better than none. After pacing for a moment she returned to Naruto and Sasuke. The slightest twinge of chakra reached her senses but when she tried to trace it, it disappeared.

Her eyelids began to slip shut. Over time everything seemed dull and the hand running through Naruto's hair stilled. She was so tired. Everything seemed to blur over the next hour as she slowly slid further and further out of consciousness. Not noticing her decline. One hour and a half later her head was resting atop Naruto's and she was fast asleep.

They were sitting ducks.

oOo

Beginnings of sunlight stung her eyes and she was awake in moments. It was daybreak and they were still alive. Sakura would have to admit she was surprised - really surprised. She silently chastised herself for falling asleep and callously leaving her teammates at the mercy of their enemies. Pathetic. She lifted her head and stretched out slightly. Both of the boys were still fast asleep and her trap had not been triggered.

The mark throbbed on her neck and suddenly, Sakura became aware of another heartbeat. One soft, repetitive noise that didn't belong to Naruto, or Sasuke, or even to herself. He had followed her and she hadn't noticed, neither had Naruto but he was so worn out that his senses would be less than sharp. She had no excuse.

Gaara would be angry with her. She had ran off and left him standing alone in that clearing with anger and resentment rolling off him in waves. She didn't have a clue what to say to him then and she still didn't know what to say to him now.

Finally her probing senses met his chakra and she almost recoiled when his own aura spiked viciously at hers. What had she expected though? That he would suddenly change and that his trust issues and iron wall would suddenly dissipate?

She ran her fingers through Naruto's tousled blond locks with a distracted air. It was hard to push him off even after allowing him to sleep beside her for a whole night. Gaara would probably be so angry if he saw this. A smooth hissing sound that sent shivers down her spine caught her attention. Scratch that – he would be furious right now.

Leaning back she pressed herself entirely against the damp bark behind her and sighed deeply. Something that wasn't moss tickled the back of her neck and she could feel drips of moisture along with sand sliding down beneath her red dress but she didn't move. It came as no surprise when another tendril of sand coiled around her wrist and tugged none too gently.

Her eyes fluttered open slightly as it slithered up her skin and enclosed the arm that wasn't still burrowed in Naruto's hair. It still didn't feel good to have those grains sliding across her skin but, at least it was getting more familiar.

Sakura closed her eyes delicately and just sat there, waiting. She trusted him enough not to struggle... Although, perhaps she didn't struggle because she knew it antagonised him. She felt so heavy and lethargic now,even after two hours or so of sleep. Her chakra was still very drained, it seemed like an almost epic effort to lift her hand even a little to try and swat the coils away.

They really were doomed. Naruto shifted uneasily beside her; his eyelids fluttered slightly. Her touch seemed to calm him and as he settled again after a moment. Hot breath washed across the side of her face but she didn't move. At one time that would have made her flinch or shudder but now she barely even blinked. His stealth no longer surprised her at all.

The hand rested on Naruto's head was prized off and she was dragged outside without a word; she didn't protest. Her fingers were limp and unresisting in his iron grip. When she made to speak his hand clapped over her mouth with force. His close cropped nails dragged aross her cheek slightly and left long red lines. It wasn't just his chakra signature she sensed. Someone else - more than one person actually - were close.

"Almost defensless." He seemed to purr in her ear. This time she did shudder.

"I thought you told me to go." _I thought you were going to leave me alone._

His pupils were strangely dilated and the stench of blood on his form was clearer that before. The older dried blood on his skin had been replaced with fresh, bright liquid. He must have come looking for her but met someone else on the way. Sakura swallowed heavily; aware of the fact that the death of that person - or people - had probably saved her own life. He obviously needed to vent.

"I heard him talking..." He hissed.

The sound of rustling could be heard in the background followed by a barely concealed groan of pain. Her entire body stiffened slightly. Someone had been watching them all night. The grip he had on her wrist tightened painfully as his head dipped towards hers.

"No, my team mates will see." Sakura turned her head to the side; achingly aware of Naruto and Sasuke's presence.

His lips slammed into hers anyway and she tasted her own blood when he bit down sharply on her lip. Enemies. Her mind kept reminding her as the sound of a twig snapping reached her attention. In the bushes.

"The one wearing green from head to toe. The leaf. He said he would marry you. He said he _loved _you. His blossom. His. He can't have you, Sakura, you're mine. Always mine. _Ours._ " The last word wasn't his but it wasn't that which caught her attention.

The one wearing green from head to toe. Lee. It had to be Lee. Was it his blood that was now staining her skin, that was now touching her lips. A wave of nausea suddenly rose and she tasted bile in her mouth. No. Lee. No. Lee. Not Lee. It didn't matter that he was weird and came onto her all the time and looked a little too much like his sensei to be normal. He was nice and enthusiastic and -

- God, was he _dead_...

The warm body pressed against her tensed and he muttered something to himself. Sand rustling and he was gone before she could ask him about Lee and ,suddenly, she was just standing in the middle of the clearing with blood soaking through her dress and someone rustling in the bushes behind her.

A kunai whizzed past her head and smashed into a tree to her left

It had an exploding tag attached to the end of it...

Everything seemed to happen in the next few seconds. Her trap triggered and massive logs flew from the canopy above with the intent of smashing into her attackers; they was knocked aside easily. Sakura flinched and drew a kunai while drawing back towards where her teammates lay fast asleep.

_For once she wished Gaara would actually come and save her -_

She swiped her kunai quickly at the blur moving towards her. They were far too fast. The exploding tag went off with a massive blast sending splinters and charred leaves in her direction. A glint caught her reflection and she saw the sound symbol shimmering on his headband

_- like some fairy tale prince._

Sakura pushed the debris away from her face a desperately threw a bunch of shurikan towards the advancing sound nin. Only one - where were the others? Theappeared on either side of her moments later but stopped. She threw more shurikan at the leader but to no avail.

_On his pretty, white horse with a glinting smile and shining armour._

He laughed at her futile attempts to attack him and swatted away her weapons with an ease that chilled her to the very core. The three of them stopped just a few metres away from her with no expression on their face. The strange hunger flashing in their eyes bothered her intensely and the way their eyes were roving across her calculatingly sent a foreboding chill down her spine.

"Ahhh, would you wake Sasuke up for us. We wish to... speak to him." Sakura shook her head and took a few shaky steps backwards. His voice was strange; the foreign, curling accent unfamiliar and unwelcome.

"Wrong answer."

Just as they were leaping towards her Sakura felt a flash of familiar chakra. The smooth brush of material against her exposed arm was followed by a voice that was only ever heard in her deepest, darkest nightmares.

"You're a state, Forehead." A flashing smile and a flick of blond hair followed.

"Ino-chan! I mean.. Pig. What are you here for? To steal our scroll?" The three sound had stilled completely; a long black line across the ground connected them to Shikamaru.

It was not that they didn't want to move... They couldn't. She had heard a lot about the Nara clan's ability to manipulate shadows but it had been a long time since she had actually seen it in action. She remembered back when he use to practise it all the time; she would often offer to be a scapegoat for him. He was one of the few boys in her year she got on with.

"We just couldn't help ourselves. You just looked so... pathetic. And, besides, I would never let my Sasuke-kun down." At one time that last remark would have riled her completely but now their comraderie made her feel some speck of hope.

Gaara may not have come to help her but one day she was going to make him feel this way; feel like he wasn't completely alone and actually had people who cared enough for him to defend him and come to his aid. She looked sideways at Ino who was watching her with a perplexed expression on her face. It was because she hadn't reacted to her taunt about Sasuke.

She wanted so badly to thank her old classmates but something held her tongue. Ino knew how she felt and it really didn't need to be said. Drawing a kunai she looked towards the near immobile sound nins.

"Show me what you've got, Pig." The blond kunoichi laughed airily before launching herself forward.

oOo

A hand grasped her hair and tugged it back cruelly. She glimpsed a smug female face above her as her head was tugged back. Her scalp began to prickle and her eyes began to water at the harsh treatment. Cruel laughter. They were doomed.

What a fool she had been.

"Such _lovely _hair you have. So pretty and silky." Her voice was smooth and mocking as her fingers slipped gently amongst the pink strands. A kunai at her throat kept her in place.

"What kind of kunoichi are you?! Poser. Whore." Thin fingers wound tightly into the mass of hair and pulled.

"Getting your little _friends_ to save you. Weakling. Too bad they left, huh? Too bad they thought you had won." Her voice was as cold as her skin felt.

She was so right. Why did she have to depend so much on others? Tears began to prickle at the corners of her eyes as she was dragged across the torn up ground to where Naruto and Sasuke still lay; silent and still. She didn't know why Naruto still hadn't awoken. It worried her greatly. The sound had ran during the fight after gaining supposed excessive wounds and then Shikumaru, Ino and Chouji left to seek out a scroll and get this exam over as quickly as possible. They had thought that they had won.

Nothing of the sort had happened. The moment Team 10 were out of her range they appeared again and she was taken completely by surprise. It took them seconds to dominate her. Sakura bit back a gasp when the strands of her hair were pulled again. She couldn't fight them; it seemed. Things seemed to be getting worse and worse today and all she could really think about was the safety of her precious team mates and what Gaara had said.

The guilt had been wearing away at her and she supposed she was in shock. He was too full of life to die, to strong to be brought down by anyone. Perhaps it was the fact that Gaara was the one to kill him that hurt the most, perhaps it was the fact that she felt partially resposible for his death. Her head was twisted in the direction of the now badly damaged oak tree with a jerk of her hair.

Why did she wear it so long again? For Sasuke. Since Sasuke liked girls with long hair. She was so sick of everything being for Sasuke! Would it be so wrong for her to do something for herself?! Or... For him. Gaara sprang to mind but, he had abandoned her. Though, had she really expected some Fairy Tale Prince? She was going to help him; not the other way around.

Her shaking hand clasped around the cold metal of a kunai handle.

"We're going to kill them first... So, you get a front row seat. Isn't that kind of us, Dosu?" Laughter.

Sakura tightened her grip on the kunai. She was ready to fight, ready to die. They weren't going to go first. If all she could do was be a meat shield for them then she would do; she would do anything to protect them.

Suddenly, she realised just what was holding her down. Her hair was the only thing the girl had a hold on. If she could just cut it then she would be free; if she cut it she would be able to help him... Then, why did she hesitate to do so when she had been willing to die for them just moments ago. Was her long hair that important to her?

No.

It was Sasuke; it was always for Sasuke. Did she really think so highly of him that she could not do this? _Pose_r. _Whore. _Her hand twitched slightly as she closed her eyes and swung her hand up in a single sweeping movement and pulled away. She looked livid; standing there with nothing but a fistful of limp hair and a bloodless kunai but Sakura felt more free than she had in ages.

The strange feeling of wind blowing across her exposed neck and the lack of the weight that she normally felt was so alien she was almost surprised. A strange prickling feeling began to spread from her shoulder and for a moment she ignored it. When everything began to blur she knew that something was wrong; the world wasn't meant to spin like that.

The smile the girl was giving her simply radiated smug satisfaction.

"You've just volunteered yourself." One of them was behind her now, the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up as warm breath washed across her newly exposed skin.

"She's mine." He had a smooth, almost metallic voice that grated on her nerves; the other two nodded in ascent.

Sakura flinched as she dropped down onto her haunches; her muscles felt like mush and her word was still spinning strangely. The fact that she couldn't help them now, that she had been to late to help Lee and that she hadn't even begun to help Gaara was the only thing that occupied her thoughts as a razor sharp kunai pressed against her sensitised skin.

It wasn't that which really caught her attention though.

A strange sort of vibration buzzed close to her ear. She wasn't entirely sure whether she was hearing it or feeling it - the low sound could only be heard when she concentrating as hard as she could. The kunai was removed, but, before she could react two cold cylinders of metal were pressed none to lightly to her temples. Everything became more and more unfocused until it got to the point that she couldn't even feel pain anymore.

Soft but harsh laughter registered dimly in her mind.

"This will make a mess." The thick, foreign buzzing sound filled her head entirely but she had no idea what it meant. What it was foreshadowing.

Her head felt like it was going to explode and she couldn't move at all any more; numbness made her limps feel heavy and limp. A sharp intake of breath from behind her and the cold metal was pressed even harder into the sides of her head. When she coughed she felt something thick in her throat, when she coughed again blood splattered across the ground.

Something was very wrong with her.

"Sakura, who did this to you?" A pale hand came into her blurred line of vision, her blood dusted the tips of his fingers.

The crimson orbs that looked down at her were the only thing she could focus on. Two black tomoe spun around the iris as his gaze lifted to the shinobi standing behind her; she could almost feel his body tense. At least now she knew that he would probably make it out of this.

"Sasuke-kun..." Her voice sounded almost reverent.

"Take another step and I'll blow her head to a thousand pieces, Sasuke-_kun._" Came the sharp answering hiss when her teammate wouldn't stop advancing.

He was laughing, he was actually laughing. She hadn't heard Sasuke laugh in years and years. The cold, mocking sound was nothing like the genuine, warm laughter she remembered; it only furthered her suspicion that everything was going to get much worse. Today ranked very highly in her list of worst days on earth. Sasuke moved straight out of her line of sight and suddenly, she knew the sound nin wasn't behind her anymore. The pressure on her temples were relieved, the ache in her head dulled slightly at that.

"You seem so very proud of these arms..."

Sakura turned and looked blearily in the direction of Sasuke. A strangely wet popping sound followed by a barely concealed scream of agony was the only thing she could focus on as she watched Sasuke - Sasuke, who she had spent years pining over - _pull that sound nin's arms right out of their sockets._ Monster on the inside. He just never showed it.

At least with Gaara she knew what she was dealing with.

She had to stop him, because, this wasn't Sasuke. The strange, crawling black flames across his neck and face assured her that he really wasn't in his right state of mind, and he didn't know what he was doing. The alternative could not even be considered. Everything was still numb as she half crawled over to him and wrapped her arms firmly around his stomach.

He was so different underneath it all.

"Stop it... just **stop** it! Her voice was hoarse and she sounded miserable, pathetic.

For a moment she expected him to simply throw her off...

She coughed weakly again, grimacing as yet more blood surfaced and splattered across the ground. Where had the other two sound gone? And Naruto? Was he alright? Dizziness made it hard to focus and it hurt immensely just to keep her arms up around him. His skin burned, still, the fever had obviously not gone away. The sound nin was dropped unceremoniously onto the ground just as his two comrades decided to get involved.

His groan made her skin crawl and she watched - from her knees - as her curled up and closed his eyes. Even she could have killed him now. Her arms dropped from around Sasuke when she realised that she couldn't hold on any longer. His red gaze focused on her for a moment before turning to her opponents. A strange itchy feeling made itself known in her throat and she coughed weakly a few more times. The amount of blood coming out really was alarming.

He didn't even look at her.

Was it just her imagination or was the ground beneath her shifting, subtly. Sakura wouldn't have been surprised if it was a hallucination. Her bruised hands fisted in the surprisingly grainy soil as she tried, vainly, to gather the strength to stand, or crawl, towards Naruto. She needed to protect him - she had swore she would protect him. Their converstation did not go unnoticed by her though. Now that Sasuke was awake she was discarded completely.

"We're here to test you, Sasuke."

"Hn."

Kunai were flying through the air again, the metallic sound caused her senses to prick up. She needed to get out of here. When one slashed the side of her arm the dull pain made her gasp. The ground flew up around her, suddenly, and she only vaguely registered the fact that she was being swallowed whole by the damp earth. Her head was throbbing far too much to think.

Tanned fingers appeared in her line of vision just before she was completely consumed.

**_"Sakura-chan!"_**

The pained cry was lost on her as she finally slipped out of consciousness.

oOo

_"Stay away from her." A warning. _

_He grinned in a way that was wholly unfriendly before answering. _

_"I can protect her far better than you. She may be your teammate but you've neglected her. One day she'll seek me instead." _

_"I can protect her. Stay away."_

_"I will. But the moment you let her get hurt in your fully able presence she's mine." _

_Silence. _

_"That'll will never happen."_

_"Of course it will."_

_"If it does you can have her." He smirked softly, almost to himself, that would never happen._

oOo

Sasuke whirled around just in time to see Sakura disappearing completely in a coil of sand. Naruto was finally awake looked distraught as he clawed at the ground in a desperate attempt to find their pink haired female.

"You lost, Sasuke. She's mine." That voice could have been a hallucination...

Too bad he knew it wasn't.

oOo

* * *

Yes, I know this took ages and ages. I've been very busy, though. School work and upcoming exams keep me occupied most of the time. I struggled to find a name for this chapter; or I struggled to pick just _one _name for this chapter. Aside from; And They All Lived Happily Ever After, there were a couple of other ones.

Not What You Want Me To Be.

or

At The End Of The Tunnel.

or

One and Only.

It was killing me to pick one but in the end I settled for the Fairy Tale reference. Why? Because I'm a five year old, Disney Princess loving kid at heart.

**This is kind of important:**

**I'm moving house very, very soon. I think it will be on the 26th of September but things keep changing. Anyway, I bet you're thinking; "Why the hell does this matter to me?" Well, I shall tell you why...**

**The new house has no bloody broadband connection. **

**I know. **

**Terrible. **

**So after the 26th (unless the move is postponed, again) I won't be updating for an indefinite amount of time. Ahh, and don't expect any review replies either.**

Silver xxx.


	10. Forbidden Fruit

**Blue Monotony.**

**Chapter 10: Forbidden Fruit**

* * *

It had to be poison.

The sickly feeling of something foreign, unhealthy, pulsing through her veins was all she could concentrate on. Nothing else seemed to matter apart from the dull ache that began to spread from her neck downwards. The beginnings of a fever cause tiny pinpricks of moisture to form on her heated skin. She did not register the fact that another body was pressed tightly against her own; nothing but the pain was known in her hazy mind.

The removal of poison was a complex and difficult procedure; one she had only begun to read about. One she did not understand. Not that she would have been able to use it anyway; when she tried to reach for her chakra all she was rewarded with was a stab of pain somewhere close to her heart. Almost helpless...

No, definitely helpless.

Those old insecurities were dragged up at that thought; weak, worthless, pitiful... The pain was fading slowly but that was probably not a good thing, numbness was never a sign of things going well. It was not that feeling that frightened her the most - it was the blackness. When she opened her eyes she saw nothing, no one.

It made her feel as though she was alone.

Her entire body shook as she was shifted and moved around. Sakura vaguely realised that her sweat slicked limbs were being lifted and positioned carefully as though she were a living puppet. The harsh sound of her own slow, laboured breathing could not completely cover the sounds of another's heartbeat, another's soft breathing.

Who could it be? Lifting her hand she gently ran her fingers across smooth skin, muscles tightened beneath her touch. Her lack of sight troubled her deeplyand she was forced to take a deep breath of their scent in a desperate attempt to identify them. Masculine and almost achingly familiar. The name stayed on the tip of her tongue and she was left scrabbling for answers.

She was barely lucid.

How long before she succumbed and breathed her last? Would the poison kill her or, simply leave her helpless? Neither seemed like a good option. That thought slipped away suddenly and all she was left with was what she felt. The surface she was on shifted just as her short hair was swept back to reveal her neck completely.

"Poison. I see the mark, kunoichi." A rough voice purred in her ear, for a moment she could not place the owner.

Sakura laughed, suddenly, though she could not place why, and pressed her lips to the warm skin in front of her. The sharp intake of breath did not startle her in the least and she continued to press kisses urgently on any part of him she could reach. An arm snaked around her waist and she was pulled flush against him. Words sprung from the depths of her addled mind.

"I love you." She said.

"I love you, S..." Her next words were cut off abruptly as his mouth slammed down on hers.

That so called kiss was nothing more than a clash of lips and teeth but she did not pull away from him; she would not have even if she possessed the strength to do so. Something within her seemed to know that would hurt him and she did not want to hurt him. Never. Her shaking hands moved up and down his back in a soothing motion.

Calloused fingers swept across her cheek lightly before settling at the edge of her jaw. His other hand slid up her arm and across her neck before stopping amongst the shorn strands of pink hair. His fingers tightened around the strands and he jerked her head roughly to one side. The pain did not even register over the numbness that had enveloped that part of her body.

"Do not compare me to him."

Something warm and wet, like heated velvet, slid across her neck slowly, leaving a fierce trail of heat behind. By all reason she should not have been able to feel it; the numbness should have blocked it out. Her strange attraction to the boy before her seemed to defy all logic. The words whispered in her ear barely seemed to have any meaning anymore. The only thing she knew was that he was angry, furious.

"I am not your precious Sasuke."

Teeth sank into her neck at the precise spot that the numbness originated from. It hurt. Writhing weakly she cried out and tried to pull away. He held fast and continued until his blunt teeth broke through her skin. Her body seemed to give up entirely at that moment and she slumped against him helplessly. The heat he was giving off did nothing to alleviate her now raging fever.

It almost felt as though she was being drained...

He sucked at the wound fiercely before pulling away, spitting her lifeblood on the ground and starting all over again. The strange fire that raged within her seemed to dull and she calmed a little. The numbness was slowly receding. Her sightless eyes began to close bit by bit as the poison was slowly removed. She trusted him enough to let herself go limp and not to struggle.

The world came back into focus in a single blinding flash that left her gasping for air. Gulping greedily she took in as much oxygen as possible and tried to hold down the nausea that came with her sight. Bile rose in her throat leaving a burning trail. Her mouth felt dry. Instead of coughing up blood, as she had done earlier, a strange, congealed black liquid splattered across the ground.

Her convulsive coughing fit only made him hold on harder. She was afraid to open her eyes and look at him. Murderer of Rock Lee. Killer of innocents. Monster. _Lover._ It could only be him.

Sakura knew it would only hurt more if it wasn't.

She cracked open one of her bright green eyes and looked at him. The sight of her blood around his mouth brought a choked sob to her lips. Holding it back she used the last of her strength to speak but her mouth was too dry and sore to pass anything other than laboured breaths past her cracked lips to his. She wanted to thank him. Her body crumpled before she could manage and the last of her strength faded abruptly.

It felt as though she had been burnt from the inside out.

oOo

"She's gone." The blond was, apparently, still in shock.

He stared at his dirt caked tanned hands for a moment before whipping around to face his raven haired teammate. Sasuke was utterly silent and had been since the Sound had ran almost an hour ago. The strange, black, flame marks had almost completely receded and Naruto had not mentioned it. Even speaking of the incident seemed wrong.

As though even then they could tell just what that mark would bring.

Sakura's chakra signal had disappeared completely when the ground swallowed her whole and it had yet to re-appear. Everything had went downhill from there. Sure, they had managed to fight off the Sound without gaining any major injuries, Sasuke hadn't went insane from his newly gained curse mark and the strange seal on Naruto's stomach had not crippled him but...

Sakura had gone.

She had freaking gone and Sasuke was acting as though nothing had happened; like he always did.

Naruto just couldn't take it any more. He really couldn't stand the thought of what _could _be happening to her or, maybe, it was the fact that he just didn't know. Maybe it was the fact that he had been so damned happy when he saw her approach them - dirt stained, weary but still intact - with nothing but a fierce expression on her face to tell him that she had suffered.

It felt as though he had barely had a calm moment, with the three of them together, before she was snatched away. He still remembered so vividly what it had felt like resting against her; almost like no more bad things were going to happen... Almost like he thought they were all going to be alright. Sasuke hadn't seemed surprised when he realised she had been taken. Slightly angry, irritated, but not surprised or sad.

When his eyes might the dark, onyx ones of his only male teammate he realised... Sasuke knew something. There was that glint, that slightly frightening spark, that told him so. Sasuke may have always kept his emotions under lock and key but sometimes things filtered out and Naruto had been around him long enough to catch them.

He didn't gave any warning when he leapt off the branch and smashed into him; knocking them both to the floor.

"You know something, Teme! What happened to Sakura-chan!" Before he knew it something snapped and they were both tumbling wildly through the undergrowth; kicking, biting and punching...

Just trying to tear lumps out of one another, just wanting to hurt one another in any way possible. His stomach ached as he tried to reach for his chakra but Sasuke had no such problem. Seconds later he was pinned to the trunk of a tree with a kunai at his throat. Sasuke, Sasuke just seemed unaffected. Like always.

"Gaara of the Sand." Was all he said before withdrawing and jumping into the trees.

They had been tracking an injured team before Naruto snapped. Sasuke seemed to think it was more important to find and retrieve a scroll than it was to get Sakura. At first they had agreed to search for her, again, but like the last time it was almost as though she had vanished off the face of the Earth. No scent, no trail and no chakra signal.

When an obviously injured team had slipped past them they both stopped and looked at each other. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and began to follow them without a word. They had an unspoken assent - get the scroll, then look for Sakura. It would be quick and would definitely help in the long run. All the while Naruto kept his senses open in an attempt to feel their precious, female teammate.

He looked up for a moment before leaping to his feet and following; they were closing in fast. For a moment there, just a moment, he had been tempted to just curl up into a ball and cry as he had done when he was younger.

_Gaara of the Sand._

What could he want with Sakura? He didn't even want to think about that. His hands slid down to the kunai pouch strapped firmly to his thigh as they both went for weapons. Just a few more minutes... The cold, razor sharp, steel was heavy and almost comforting in his hand. He ran a calloused thumb across the edge as the both slowed slightly and began to fan out.

It didn't matter what he wanted Sakura for. They would get her back and rip him to shreds if he had hurt her. He blamed himself for getting injured, for letting her slip through his fingers. The sharp memory of the first night she stayed over hit him full force just as they broke through the trees and began their attack.

_"I won't let him hurt you again."_

But he had.

Just then he felt so angry; raw fury actually surged through his being. He had let him hurt her. He couldn't do anything about it. He'd let her be taken when she was right within his grasp. _Anything_ could be happening to her right now and he couldn't stop it.

_I won't._

The team were all male and looked very strong but they crumbled under each attack. The unrelenting anger and frustration he felt only made his attacks sharper, harder and more unrelenting than usual. It wasn't long before they were cornered.

_Let him hurt you. _

Each punch seemed to let a little of his frustration out so he punched harder. It stung to use his chakra and he could only create the minimum amount of clones but that didn't seem to matter at the moment. All that mattered was that they had to find Sakura, but, first they had to get another scroll. The sooner they got the scroll, the sooner they could look for her.

_Again._

That gnawing guilt, that almost painful protective instinct spurred him on and he was the one to land the final blow on the last enemy standing. It had been so easy. Sasuke plucked out the scroll and stowed it away. What was happening to her now? Kami, was she still even alive. No, Sakura was strong. They moved on quickly, searching.

_I promise I'll save you, Sakura-chan. _

And yet, he didn't give a thought to whether she really wanted to be saved.

oOo

Night and day no longer seemed to mean anything to her. When she awoke it was dark and her eyesight was still hazy but she felt - marginally - better. Well, she at least she didn't feel like she was going to throw up anymore. When was the last time she had eaten anyway? She didn't know. At the mere thought of food her stomach churned but she wasn't sure whether it was from nausea, or hunger.

Her fever had gone down a little, though it still felt as though molten lava poured through her veins, and she could no longer feel the presence of poison in her system. Her poison-addled mind seemed to have erased the few memories she had after being separated from her team mates; after being swallowed by the ground itself.

She remembered waking again, faintly, but little else after that.

"So, you're finally awake?"

"Good."

Sakura turned her head to watch him approach. One by one the memories seeped back into her conscious mind just at the sight of his eyes shining faintly in the darkness. He sat beside her and looked down without saying another word. Her blood was still staining his lips, his hands... It would be a long time before she got over the shock of him helping her.

It was supposed to be the other way around but, she always seemed to end up playing the damsel in distress. It was sickening. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and looked at him.

"Thank you." Those two words seemed so inadequate.

"Thank you, for helping me." He regarded her quietly before a smirk began to form on his features.

He grabbed her wrist and dragged her straight into his lap - slumped across him as though she had no will of her own. His fingers moved quickly seeking the bite mark on her neck. She tried hard not to wince when his fingers dragged slowly across the damaged flesh. The wound was still raw, she felt a few warm drops of her blood seep out onto his already stained fingers.

"I had enough." He lifted his hand slowly to his mouth but she closed her eyes tightly; knowing what he was about to do.

"I had enough of him staring at you, enough of you staring at him. We made a deal, kunoichi, he lost. I won." He squeezed her chin lightly until she opened her eyes.

"But why won't you look at me the way you look at _him_? I can still see fear in your eyes." His hand dropped from her face just as the sand from his gourd began to pour out.

"And it sickens me." His fingers were clean now.

She had no idea what to say to him. It was true, that, when she was faced with him she froze and perhaps... Perhaps she was afraid. He could see it, and it repulsed him. Sakura could feel the sand crawling up her limbs; cold and rough. He was getting angry; his pupils were dilated and his breathing was harsh. Her show of gratitude had seemed hollow even to herself.

That was probably what was upsetting him.

"If I kill you then all of this will be over. Then the Uchiha brat will come and he'll die too. You can go together..." He was rambling, angry, his chakra flared violently.

Maybe she had said something about Sasuke while she was sleeping; that would explain his anger. Though this deal he spoke of... She had no idea what that could be at all. When the sand reached her waist she realised that she had to speak now or he would just kill her. She knew he would. Then Sasuke... And probably Naruto as well.

She could not forget her promise to help him.

"I don't love him any... anymore." Her voice cracked at the end.

As she watched his face twisted and he forcefully pushed her away with his bare hands. She was surprised by the sharp ache in her chest when she muttered those words. It had hurt more than she could have expected. The tendrils of sand woven around her broke away just as she smashed into something hard and unyielding. The pain distracted her momentarily and she did not notice him approach, quiet as ever. This time she really thought he would just crush her but, intsead, he crouched down and touched her face surprisingly gently.

"Liar. Just like everyone else. Just like Yash-" His body shook convulsively; her heart wrenched just looking at him.

He tilted her head up just as she reached out for him. He leaned down until the tips of his hair brushed her neck. His teeth brushed against sore skin, for a moment she was sure he was going to bite her again but he withdrew slightly. Blowing air over the wound, making it sting.

"You tasted better than I thought, even with that bitter poison mixing with your blood. Shukaku was pleased." His demon.

"If I kill you I'll no longer have to suffer the temptation, the _weakness_, that you bring." He moved back and let go of her completely. His jade eyes regarded her calmly; though her senses told her his chakra was in turmoil.

"If you kill me who else will seek you, Gaara-kun." His sand bit into her skin when she uttered the familiar honorific after his name.

"I am not him." He screamed at her; the first real time she had seen him so out of control.

"But I don't want Sasuke... I want _you._" It took everything, all of her, to force that out and she watched with baited breath as he considered what she had just said. She was probably just testing his control even more.

"All of you."

It reminded her so much of the very first day she confessed her feelings to Sasuke. The hope, the longing, the fact that she laid herself out before him completely open and defenseless. She had never thought she would say those words to anyone other than Sasuke. She had never thought she would make herself this vulnerable to anyone else.

And the truth hurt because if he was to reject her now...

Well, he would just become another Sasuke.

And she didn't want another Sasuke. She wanted him.

He seemed to calm a little as he leaned in towards her again. Seconds later she found she was supporting his weight entirely. His head was buried in the crook of her neck entirely so that she could not see what he was doing; his messy red hair obscured her vision completely, though the darkness didn't help. His tongue dragged across the bite mark making her shudder in pain.

"You don't know what you're asking for."

Something malevolent invaded her conscious then making her reel and clutch her head. It just swarmed in and cloaked her thoughts in blackness, in blood. She knew what it was, that terrifying beast with more chakra than even a God should possess, and just the lightest brush of it against her mind made her feel as though she was going mad.

How could he stand it?!

"I want you too." He was sealing his chakra inside of her... Sealing _it's _chakra inside of her.

She had heard of this in some old tome back in the dusty recesses of Konoha's library and thought it was just some old tale told to convince people that demons were truly terrible. She hadn't believed it could possibly be true. The demon always stole some young, pure, beautiful female and spirited her away to some deserted place where he bound them for all eternity, stole her purity... etc. That same old story.

It didn't seem so cliched now that it was happening to her. The massive flow of chakra seemed to cease after around a minute when it ebbed to a steady flow before disappearing all together. She felt... shaken but little else. Grateful that the malevolent sand demon had receded from her mind. She held a sort of new found respect for Gaara after having experienced - what she was sure had only been a small part of - the demon inside of her.

She couldn't even begin to imagine the mental strength he possessed.

Suddenly, an almost all consuming urge for blood gripped her and as she tried to fight it off yet more things assaulted her senses. Every sound and every smell was caught by her seemingly massively heightened senses. She could do little other than shudder as it all flowed in and out of her body. Trying vainly to fight off the horrible, inhuman urges that were gripping her she dug her nails into his back.

Gaara did little other than stay where he was, breathing heavily as though he had just run for days on end without a rest. Her limbs felt like lead and her body just felt weak - like it was unable to house the unnatural chakra that now flowed within it. She knew the after effects of the poison were not helping things.

"Now you can never leave me." She should have known something like this would happen. He had been turned down, ignored and hated for so much of his life it was not surprising at all that he had done this.

Bound her to him so she couldn't run. So he wouldn't be alone.

Sakura sighed and ran her fingers through his hair, ignoring the sticky clumps that were sure to be dried blood. She just felt drained now; both physically and mentally and yet... At the same time she felt stronger than ever before. Like at the very same time she was both at her weakest and her strongest. Though she dared not try to reach the demonic chakra he had sealed inside her body.

"The exam... You have to take me back to my teammates." She said, softly, so that he didn't react violently to her statement.

He lifted his head to look at her, as usual she was struck by his eyes and sat there waiting to see what he had to say. She kept moving her hand through his hair because he seemed to like it or, maybe she just like the feel of the thick strands slipping through her fingers. He stood in a single fluid movement that made her feel intensely inadequate.

Although he seemed to be suffering just as much from the transfer just as much as she was he never let it show. Her muscles screamed in protest as she stood shakily and leaned against a tree trunk for support.

"I will take you to them." He sounded angry about that as though he grudged doing it. Which she knew he did.

As usual the near emotionless expression was set firmly on his face and a cautious no contact space was set between them as they spoke. She was acutely aware of his smell, the warmth radiating off him and even the soft thud of his heartbeat, of the blood pumping round his body. At the thought of blood her body ached and she must have showed that outwardly.

He didn't show any sign that he had noticed though she knew he had.

A flick of his hands and she appeared before a massive set of doors, alone. He spoke to her quietly before she left, his tone completely at odds with his harsh voice.

_I will always know where you are._

As Naruto came crashing through the bushes behind her she wondered if they would notice a difference in her, if they would reject her for her choice. He threw his arms around her in a bone crushing hug that made her weak body cry out in pain. Her blood blood boiled at the smell of him, at the feel of his strange chakra. She had never noticed it before but his chakra, or at least part of it, felt far too much like the one that had recently invaded her system.

"Thank Kami! Sakura-chan."

Sasuke stared at her, blazing red sharigan activated. She smiled at him but, inwardly cringed. He could probably feel the difference in her.

"When we go through these doors the second exam will be over." He held the two scrolls up.

"Team seven rules!" Naruto grinned as he let go of her.

They stepped through the door together, as a team, though she knew they were breaking apart at the seams. Naruto seemed to have gotten over his initial joy of seeing her again and a frown was now painted on his features.

"How did you get here, Sakura-chan? Sasuke said..." She looked at her raven haired teammate.

Yes, just what had Sasuke said...

The doors slammed shut behind them.

* * *

Halle – freaking – lujah. I'm back online at last and ready for action. Sorry for the delay – moving house was kind of traumatic.

This part of the exam seems to be taking _ages_ doesn't it?

Yeah, about the whole vampire-esque sucking out the poison thing... I was watching Vampire Knight recently when I was struck by a small block trying to start this chapter (the start is always the bit that gets me) and I was struck by inspiration. So, yeah...

I love that anime and I really suggest watching it. Right now I'm actually thinking of writing something Zero x Yuuki. Love it!

I know you're thinking:

_Is that blatant advertisement? _

Well, yes, yes it is. Blame Shadow.Raven.x she was the one who introduced me to it.

Once again I had a bit of a problem picking a title (they always seem to get me) only this time it was between - Forbidden Fruit or Till Death Do Us Part. I'm just sure I've heard the latter somewhere before... So I went with FF. You really don't care; I know.

Anyway, I'm rambling and there is something important I have to say.

**Once again I'm in need of a Beta. **I know a few other people offered their services and I turned them down but being the stupid person I am I completely forgot to write down who they were. If you're still interested please feel free to drop me a line.

Thanks for reading. I'm so happy to be back.

Silver xxx.


	11. Colour Me Blood Red

**Blue Monotony.**

**Chapter 11: Colour Me Blood Red.**

* * *

The room was dark as soon as the double doors slammed behind them. All Sakura knew was that she was tired, more tired than she had ever been in her entire life. It felt as though she was ready to drop at any second. This was not surprising considering the fact that the last few days had been some of the longest and hardest of her life.

As though feeling her displeasure the foreign chakra now lodged deep within her gave a quick spike. It didn't sting as much as it had when it was first put inside of her, but still, it wasn't the best feeling in the world. At least that demon's mind was no longer brushing against her own. That was something she never wanted to repeat.

Ever.

The darkness pressed down on the three of them making her shuffle closer to Naruto. His body heat and the sound of his breathing made her feel slightly better. For once in her life she actually ignored Sasuke. The feeling that she didn't have to depend on him, emotionally or physically, anymore was invigorating. Almost like she was free of the bonds that had held her to him for so long.

The bonds that had always made her doubt her own worth.

Nothing happened, but they stayed silent in the darkness. None of them were sure what excatly was supposed to happen now. They had passed the double doors with two scrolls; each different. According to the examiners they had finished. Then again, could this be another one of those expect the unexpected type of things?

A warm, rough hand slid against her own lax one. Naruto slid his fingers inbetween hers and gripped her hand tightly as though he was afraid she would disappear. Given what had happened over the past few days she really wasn't surprised. She seemed to have moved away from just being the weak female of Team 7 to something more. At least in her own mind she had; Sasuke and Naruto probably thought of her the same way they had.

In a way, she no longer felt like she needed Naruto or Sasuke. It was a really strange feeling; independence. Well, not entirely. The pulsating chakra flowing through her system reminded her of that. She was still... Bonded to Gaara and probably always would be. That didn't frighten her as it really should. Naruto shifted beside her and gripped onto her hand a little tighter. Sasuke made a noise of impatience.

The darkness pressed against her; all around in a choking shroud. This demon chakra within her body didn't seem to like Naruto at all. It moved towards the hand that joined them and spiked violently. Sakura gritted her teeth and forced it down so that Naruto could not feel it. She heard his intake of breath and knew she had failed. That strange spike hadn't seemed to hurt him, but she began to feel things she had never noticed before.

His chakra, the sheer power of it was just plain terrifying. She had never been able to sense it before, but now it jolted and shuddered against her, plain as day. Naruto was much, much stronger than she had ever realised. Though, what had she realised over the past few years with nothing but Sasuke entering her thoughts. A few weeks ago she would never have allowed Naruto to hold her hand like this. In fact, there was an awful lot of things she hadn't done because of her infatuation with Sasuke.

It was still there, her adoration of him; lingering in the recesses of her mind, but it no longer controlled.

"Sakura-chan..." She heard Naruto hesitate beside her. He hadn't said a word about the chakra spike she knew he felt.

Were the two of them just ignoring it? She knew Naruto had felt it and would have been surprised if Sasuke hadn't noticed. As though hearing her thoughts his blood red Sharingan flared to light beside her. His gaze was not focused on her, for which she was grateful, but on their joined hands. His eyes narrowed and she could almost feel the distaste he was radiating burning her skin.

"So, that's how you are now." His voice was icy and sharp. He still retained the power to cut her down with a few words.

"First Gaara and now Naruto. I suppose that Sound girl was right about you, Sakura." _Poser. Whore._

That was the first time she ever remembered him using her name. He always used his words as he wielded his weapons; with deadly accuracy. Naruto dropped her hand at that moment and all she felt was that she was being cast out. She would never - could never - regret what she had done with Gaara and what she had allowed him to do. Sasuke made her almost wished that she had ran, screamed and pushed him away, just like everyone else.

And she hated how he controlled her feelings like that.

And she suddenly _hated him._

And the realisation of that burned worse than the demon chakra embedded in her very soul.

The massive lights boomed into life high above them and spread across the massive room in seconds. Her eyes burned red for a moment as she adjusted to the sudden change in light intensity. Sakura knew the liquid forming in her eyes had nothing to do with the sudden brightness. A single hot, salty tear dripped down her cheek before she could hold it back. She saw Sasuke watch it with a strange spark in his eyes. She would not allow herself to cry anymore in front of him.

After a moment the reason for the lights coming on became apparent; Sasuke had _opened _the scrolls. The long trails of paper stretched across the entire length of the massive room and one by one the kanji on them began to sparkle. She watched him with a startled expression. He should not have done that; really he shouldn't have. Strange crackling hisses coming from the scrolls cemented her suspicions.

"Teme! Why did you do that?!" Naruto was yelling, but she could only half focus on him.

The two of them swam in and out of focus as massive plumes of smoke began to filter out into the air around them. She breathed in deeply; wincing and coughing as the malignant smoke invaded her lungs. Naruto must have seen her struggle, moved towards her and pulled her up just as her knees crumpled. At least he hadn't simply left her to fall. Her body couldn't take this much abuse. She had been poisoned, barely slept and was still wounded from earlier battles.

She was still weak, but she fought to stay conscious.

Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. She vaguely heard the sound of the massive doors being pounded on. He must have been trying to find a way out. They were locked inside this place and the smoke was filling the air in a suffocating wave. Her new senses pricked up and once again she felt things she would never have noticed before. The air prickled with a faint charge of chakra - chakra that was coming from the two scrolls spread across the ground.

"Genjutsu."

With that single word the haze of smoke disappeared instantly and the scrolls ceased glowing. She knew she didn't have enough strength left to dispell any illusion. Naruto did not have good enough chakra control and neither did Sasuke. Why didn't really matter then though? The smaoke was gone. The risk of asphixiation had dissipated along with it. Sasuke walked towards them again, his eyes were flickering around the room. There really was no way out.

The scrolls stayed still on the ground - silently mocking them.

Naruto's arm tightened around her waist and she found she couldn't look up from the stone floor to meet his accusing gaze. Sasuke was suddenly far too close to them both; she could actually feel the body heat radiating from him. Which really was strange because he was normally cold to touch. She knew that from the fleeting touches she had stolen over the weeks and months.

The body beside her shifted to half shield her from Sasuke and the anger he was radiating. It was probably the strain that made his emotions filter through and show. She knew that mark was slowly eating away at him, fueling him with tainted power, burning his soul bit by bit and corrupting what little good he still had and... She didn't even know how she knew that. It just seemed to spring to mind.

As usual Naruto was the one to break the tense silence.

"Teme, Sakura-chan... What is going on?!" He was yelling as he always did when the situation was beyond his control.

Naruto, who she had ignored for so long and tossed aside as though he was nothing. He was still beside her now; loyal and unwavering. If anyone was to understand her decision it would be him. He probably understood Gaara better than she did. After all, he could have ended up just like the Sand shinobi. That thought made her shudder because a cold, tortured Naruto was almost unimaginable.

He was always there, always giving. Always warm. Always Naruto. If he hated her for what she had done she would always forgive him. Even if he never forgave her.

And if Sasuke hated her for what she had done...? She would forgive him too.

_Because old habits die hard._

The second set of doors swept open when Sasuke grabbed her limp hand with brutal force. Her tender wrist nearly snapped, but she didn't give any sign of the pain. His, now dark eyes, met hers with no sign of forgiveness anywhere in their hollow depths. He knew, of course he knew. His eyes screamed betrayal, and anger and _fraternising with the enemy. _She felt herself crumble on the inside too as she felt Naruto stiffen beside her.

His pain stung far more than her own.

The second set of doors swept open when they were all touching. Why? This showed that they were united - a team. That bittersweet sentiment wrenched at her heart. Sasuke was almost snapping her hand straight off, Naruto was shaking with some barely concealed emotion beside her and she was almost collapsing from poison, wounds and pain. To an outsider they would have looked like a model example of team spirit.

To an insider they were falling apart.

_Such pretty lies. Such a perfect facade. And she knew it was all superficial._

But was it so _wrong _to want this closeness - to revel in it - to keep that image of their happy team in the recesses of her mind? Was it so wrong to need this? Was it so wrong to want her perfect team back? Naruto's warmth, Sasuke's strength...

Yes.

_Perfection is a myth._

The sound of voices broke through them as fresh air blew into the stagnant room. She still clutched Naruto's orange jumpsuit even as Sasuke released her and walked forward. The warm tanned arms around her hauled her body up and helped to set her on her feet. Her movements were still shaky and her vision was still hazy, but the knowledge that this - _awful_ - part of the - _soul destroying - _exam was finally - _finally_ - over made her walk on.

Her blond teammate flashed her a wide grin as they stepped through the doors together. His pointed canine teeth caught her attention as they always did. The chakra within her began to shift and spill the moment she entered the room. It was almost as though it was agitated, excited. Gaara stood up on a balcony with his female teammate to one side of him. When he barely glanced at her she felt disappointed.

Hurt.

His gaze was fully focused on Sasuke and a slight mocking smile curved on his mouth. She should have known this would happen. She was not important to Sasuke, but he would never allow someone from a foreign village to have her. That was what he was like. He would push her aside, ignore her and call her annoying, but he just couldn't stand the fact that she was _with _someone he considered an enemy_,_ a rival.

Cool jade eyes flickered over to regard her silently for a moment. He beckoned with a single pale hand. No one else seemed to notice that small, possessive moment apart from her. The room was filled with ninja - including most of the Rookie Nine. When she did not see Lee's team her heart sank. She had still not fully accepted the fact that Gaara could have killed Lee; there was still no concrete evidence.

"Naruto, let's go up to the stands." He seemed pleased that she had spoken. Even if her voice did crack half way through the sentence.

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan! We'll leave Teme to sulk on his own." He smiled and began to drag her up the steps to the balcony.

She stumbled slightly as her weary limbs struggled to keep up with her energetic teammate. The chakra inside her hissed and coiled irritably even as she forced it down. The blond kunoichi from the sand caught her wrist before she had even reached Gaara and lightly tugged her to stand within the small group. Sakura had been far too weak to protest as she was dragged from Naruto's grip. She was sure that if she had struggled her grip would have become far stronger. The rest of the people in the room had yet to catch on; it was just Naruto, the Sand group and her.

Sasuke, she didn't know where Sasuke was.

Temari was her name.

Naruto seemed agitated, for good reason, but had not moved any closer to them. It seemed like he was waiting for something else to happen; unsure whether to be hostile if there was no need for it. After all, he still didn't know what had happened. How she going to tell him was something she didn't really want to think about right now. Temari's dark eyes pinned her to the spot.

They had only spoken once before and there had to be a strong reason for her to publically aknowledge that they knew each other slightly better than they should. There may be an alliance between the Leaf and the Sand, but it was a tense one. The ninja of rival countries were never regarded in a positive light.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was filled with bitterness, anger... And something tinged with regret.

Behind her Gaara's sand began to spill and Naruto pushed past the Sand kunoichi hastily in an attempt to get to her. Temari must have known what had happened and she saw it in a bad light; as though it was something to be feared. As though she perhaps thought Gaara had forced it on her. It _had _been unexpected, but not forced. She would not have said no, and she almost believed that statement.

How she wanted to believe that.

"Temari." A warning hissed in a deep baritone.

Sakura had no idea what to do now with Temari still staring at her intensely, as though trying to extract her thoughts, and Naruto trying to grab her and get away. She could feel his anxiety, not see it on his features, _feel it. _She blamed the chakra for the strange change, but actually feeling his emotion worried her even more. It didn't matter how she could feel it. His emotions heightened her own. The final member of the Sand was heading towards them now.

"Don't be." Her voice sounded hoarse and pathetic.

Temari looked at her critically before releasing the grip; she could tell the blond didn't believe her. Kankuro arrived just then, his hands were a little too quick to dart towards his puppet. So ready to fight. She walked away with Naruto. Her shoulder would have brushed Gaara's had he not moved away from her at the last second. Her chakra - mixed with his- made a frantic leap to that part of her body as though trying to rejoin with him.

It was almost like falling off a cliff and feeling like you had left a little of yourself at the top. The spark of electricity that passed between them was nothing short of terrifying. She tried not to let that show as they walked away; tried not to show as though she felt that she should stay with him.

"Please line up for the preliminary rounds." And with that simple sentence she felt as though she really had plunged off a cliff.

She couldn't take much more of this.

oOo

The examiners were right - there were too many of them. Even she could see that as they began to line up on the main platform. Just as they had finished arranging them self into lines the front examiner spoke.

"If anyone does not wish to take part in these preliminary rounds they may leave now." And her heart sank as a few of the people around her filtered out the door.

_Because she wanted to leave too._

A thin tendril of sand wrapped around her and moved her closer to him. It was not like she was being pushed; more a sort of nudge. Too tired to complain she obliged and moved closer until the nudging stopped. They were not touching and that seemed to bother her a lot. The chakra was beginning to become annoying now for that very reason. She wanted to touch him just to alleviate the buzzing, and strange jerks of his essence. It wanted to be reunited with him - that much was clear even to her.

It was soon clear that no one else was leaving. Even she could not bring herself to give up after coming so far. Although it was clear that no one else was going to go the examiners did nothing but wait. She watched as they muttered to each other and sent looks at the small side door to the left. Apparently there was still some more people to come and all she could do was hope that -

One look at Sasuke and her thoughts crumbled again. The sheer distaste was painted so clearly on his features now, as he watched her. Her green eyes flickered to the floor; still unable to handle his displeasure with the ease that she should have been able to. She really should have been able to just shake off his anger by now, but of course something like the feelings she had for him would never just disappear overnight.

Another nauseating lurch inside of her and she nearly just collapsed to the floor. At times it was alright - distracting and restless inside of her body, but bearable. At others it hissed and coiled and almost felt like it was burning her insides. Like she was being incinerated from the inside out.

The door to the left slammed open then and three people spilled out. Team 10.

Okay, now she really felt sick.

She almost felt him tense beside her, but couldn't be entirely sure. Although she may have been able to pick up Naruto's feelings Gaara's were still shrouded and completely hidden from her senses. That was not really surprising. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him bare his teeth at Lee in a highly threatening manner. The sound of sand shifting around him was a familiar one now, but still unpleasant.

At that moment Sakura would have liked nothing better than to run out and hug Lee; wrap her arms around him and mess up his stupid bowl cut hair. She stayed still. It had been bad enough to run into Gaara and hear him say those things, and think that he had killed someone she knew well without actually seeing it in front of her. Without actually watching as the life was crushed from his body.

She could almost see his blood splattering across the walls and that made her still.

Instead of running up to him she gave him a watery smile and hated the fact that she could still be so controllable. A blinding grin flashed her way lifted her spirits slightly, until Gaara gave a low hiss beside her and her - _his _- chakra burned. His anger radiated through the aura into her. It hurt. Sakura silently thanked every god in existence when Lee and his team were told to stand near the front.

She was afraid of what Gaara could do. It was right that she no longer feared him as a person - as a being. Though she feared what he was capable of and how he could crush someone without even blinking. His strength would have been awe inspiring were it not for what he used it to accomplish.

The reason that their team had been kept aside became apparent when she caught a better glimpse of Ten Ten. The kunoichi's arms were heavily bandaged and a little blood was already leaking through the white fabric. Sakura really thought that she should go - it was painfully obvious that she was injured - but Ten Ten made no move to leave even when she was asked. A massive screen boomed to life high above them and a pair of names flickered onto the screen.

Sasuke.

Her heart lodged itself in her throat and she hated herself for worrying so much about him. Then, berated herself for worrying so little about her own team mate. Her eyes were irrisistably drawn to the hideous mark that was printed on his pale skin. The horrible aura that it radiated gave her chills; it was almost as though it had a life of its own. Like some parasidic insect that clung to him and slowly drained a little more of him with every passing second.

They yelled for the floor to be cleared and she did so reluctantly; wishing that there were seats in the massive balconies that flanked either side. Her muscles were screaming as she climbed the stairs and tried desperately to keep up with the stoic red head beside her. Her fingers lightly brushed his as she pushed herself to go faster. The jolt of electricity that passed between them should have been illegal.

_Imagine kissing him when every part of skin that touched his tingled, burned - _

Her thoughts trailed as the nerves re-asserted themselves and she felt guilty again. Sasuke just looked ill as he stood there under the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights. His opponent was large and looked in pretty good shape. She leaned forward and rested against the cool metal barrier as she watched. Gaara stood about a metre away and behind her so that she couldn't see him.

She almost ached now. The need to touch him was almost unbearable.

The fight passed in a blur and she found that she simply couldn't concentrate on anything. Sasuke won. His opponent lay battered and beaten by the end of it and he was just barely standing. His knees crumpled and she watched as his expression showed that he really was in pain. Strange how she went from worrying so much to caring so little; she felt nothing as he fell to the ground. Nothing as he was carried away on a stretcher.

Again, she blamed the strange essence within her for the changes; how her emotions were swinging from either end of the spectrum so alarmingly. _How she would **die **just to touch him again and stop that ache. _

Her skin felt like fire when his pale hand lightly brushed her arm. His hands were gripping the metal railings with a force that could have crushed her own arm easily. Once again, he was not looking at her, but at the massive screen that dominated one of the stone walls.

Ino's name was printing onto the screen in bright fluorescent letters. Her own was underneath it. It almost made her want to laugh when she saw it, or cry hysterically. Ino was already down there, yelling. Swallowing the lump in her throat Sakura descended the stairs and looked her old rival in the eye. The blond kunoichi smiled at her, but it was more like a threat than anything else.

They had been told to begin and still nothing had happened.

oOo

Ino cut off her hair and threw the long, golden strands across the room with almost ferocious force. She was always so worried about her appearance that, Sakura could never really imagine her doing such a thing. She looked at the shorn strands with something akin to remorse before throwing insults back at her.

oOo

Ino's fist slamming into her face with a deafening crack and her own fist making contact with the other girl's face. The fleeting moment of satisfaction followed by the darkness she had craved for days. Deep within her his chakra flared although Gaara himself remained still and with a passive expression on his face. There was nothing his aura could do when the body it was inhabiting was not moving; she was unconscious.

Sakura and Ino were both taken away quickly and efficiently. It was all he could do not to kill them all just for touching her. She wouldn't like that, but he didn't care at that moment. His name appeared on the screen with the Leaf's. The one that had.. Proclaimed Sakura as his.

She wouldn't like what he was about to do, but how could he ignore such a strong craving for blood. One that didn't even originate from his demon. It only took him a moment to move to the floor and watch as the excitable Leaf nin bounced down after yelling with his equal ridiculous sensei. The sand was moving even before the examiner said go... He just couldn't wait to spill his blood. It would a massacre if he got his way.

_For touching her. For touching what was his._

oOo

Sakura should have been released early on; and she would have been were it not for the fact that her chakra veins were severely charred. Even then she would have been healed and sent back to the main hall quickly, just in time for the end of the preliminaries, if the healers could get close enough to even _touch her._

Every one of them was burned and clawed at by some invisible force, sometimes red chakra, if they dared walk within a metre of her.

She didn't even stir. Not even when a severely injured Leaf comrade was bustled past her door screaming. Not even when long, pale fingers drifted across her clammy skin. No, not even then. The jolt of electricity didn't stir her.

* * *

Okay, about the title. This seems to be getting a regular thing isn't it? Colour Me Blood Red is actually the title of a 1965 Horror film about some demented artist who uses his victim's blood to paint his pictures or something like that. I haven't actually watched it, I just liked the title so much that I had to use it. Happy Belated Halloween everybody! Really Belated. It's also Remembrance Day. Poppies for all and, let us never forget.

So,

**Disclaimer: The title does not belong to me. **

**...**

**Neither does Naruto, unfortunately. This twisted, convuluted plot does, however, belong to me. That and a Mars Bar. Yay.**

I realised that I had never written a disclaimer on this story - or I don't think I have - so there it is. In all of it's annoying, extremely real, realness. Thanks to everyone who voluteered to Beta this story. I am in the process of getting back to you if I haven't already. Yes, I did end up writing VK fic(s). Sorry, I got distracted from this.

Thanks for reading!

Silver xxx.


	12. Fading Fast

**Blue Monotony.**

**Chapter 12: Fading Fast.**

* * *

oOo

Sannin don't play by the rules.

There are many types of ninja; genin, chuunin, jounin, S-class and even those who achieve the Kage level. Then, a separate class entirely exist, the Sannin. It was almost laughable; the fact that he could simply walk right into a hospital in the heart of Kohona without a hint of resistance. That one of the most dangerous, feared, hated, nins in the world could press his cold, pale fingers to her scull without anyone realising he was in the building.

He could have killed her then. So easily, too easily.

Her scull was like a fragile egg shell that he could shatter without breaking a sweat. In that way she did live up to her namesake; Sakura. The tiny, delicate blossoms that had such a short life and no free will of their own to choose where the wind would take them. She was fragile and delicate and so, very, _breakable._As always the prospect of blood and pain and death excited him to no end.

She was useful, though. A new experiment that could be pushed and twisted to his heart's content if he so wished. That was the only reason he didn't end her life there and then.

That such a female as this - one which was the epitome of fragility - was the most unlikely choice for what she was now harbouring. It was most amusing that a power such a demon chakra was being held within such a... Unassuming, _breakable, _package. Orochimaru was no fool - he knew the effect extremely powerful chakra had on bodies that simply weren't meant to house it.

This little thing was being burned from the inside out and he could see it clearly.

It would eat away at her chakra passages, as it had already begun to do, then leak out into the rest of her body in a desperate attempt to break out an rejoin with its original body. The Jinchuriki had at least been smart enough to place some kind of seal over the chakra gate closest to her heart. That would ensure that the chakra could not leave her body until she died or he decided to reclaim it.

Though that too would result in her death. It had been inside her too long now.

Of course the foolish boy had not thought about what his _gift _would do to her. Even now it was slowly moving around the rest of her body after it seeped from the charred, near destroyed chakra pathways that had once held it. He watched, with the tiniest spark of amusement in his eyes, as it attacked her body in a desperate attempt to break her from the inside out.

Even her bones were beginning to crack from the volatile chakra, her inner organs would soon be laid to waste, and once her heart had been consumed, the empty shell that would be left would simply be burnt entirely. It would destroy her, no doubt. Within around two days nothing but a shell would be left. That, however, did not suit him at all. It was not often that a Jinchuriki willingly gave their chakra to another; particularly a female.

The was where her _usefulness _would truly lie.

oOo

Tendons, ligaments, muscles, _everything. _The male medic screwed up his face - thankful that the mask covered his expression - and stretched out his shaking fingers. Two full shifts and then this. He grimaced and sent out a wave of examination chakra to really truly prove to himself just how much damage had been done. Worse than he had thought; they were definitely all completely shredded, pulverised.

There was no way in hell they could put this back together; not with the flesh just clinging to the bone and every nerve utterly crushed to the point that this kid probably couldn't even feel his right leg anymore. The left arm too was in a similar state. Only then did he realise that he was standing, static, with blood soaking into the rubber gloves. Chakra wouldn't fix these wounds.

He moved anyway and began to knit what he could back together. Nothing would respond unless considerable amounts of chakra were pumped into it. Even then almost nothing happened and by all accounts he should be screaming, writhing, just _moving. _The various drugs that were now swarming his system would block out the worse but, hell, he should still be responding in some way.

There was no one else here other than a few haggard medics swarming around, inserting IV's that would push more blood into his body. He needed it. The bloody mush that had once been a set of fully functioning limbs simply seeped more blood onto the metal operation table with every beat of his heart. Just keeping him alive was difficult at the moment. Then, the damage just got worse as several others began to scan the rest of his body.

Charred chakra veins, areas close to several of the chakra gates were scorched and his skin overall showed signs of major burning.

_And it was self inflicted._

The ancient medic nin told him that as they began to rapidly supply him with fluids to cool the skin and take the heat from the burns. Too much to do, he slid his fingers against the slightly more repaired limb - though he still felt warm, uncovered flesh beneath his fingertips - and began to drain away the lactic acid that had formed due to extreme use of the muscles.

Lactic acid was perfectly normal when exercising, but this amount was hindering the healing process. An hour passed and they were sure he was going to live. His heartbeat had stabalised, the blood flowing from the wounds had ebbed to a none threatening flow and his right lung, the only one next to a chakra gate had been suitably repaired. He remembered the exact moment when the patient finally moved and began to hack up bloody froth.

The delicate procedure of repairing every one of the tiny damaged aveoli, checking the bronchi and the trachea had been given to him. His hands shook with exertion as he carried out the task achingly slowly. At least the pulmonary artery was left untouched, that much he was thankful for. The head medic looked up and fixed her dark, unnerving, gaze on him for the first time since this operation began.

He saw the slight tightness in her expression, or what little of it was showing. That could only mean -

"Inform his sensei," she whispered, before turning back to their patient. He often wondered how her words carried such strength even when spoken quietly.

This was too much. He snapped off the blood covered gloves and walked out past the double doors. He hated this part of the job and knew that the ill fated sensei would be none to pleased to hear about just how bad his student had been wounded. Swallowing the lump in his throat he looked down at the clipboard. Maybe he wouldn't care. It was wrong to say that he hoped for an apathetic reaction; the fact that it was true didn't make it any less wrong.

Lee was the kid's name. It would have been better if his opponent had just outright killed him.

_What use did a crippled shinobi have?_

oOo

Her skin wasn't supposed to be that colour; he thought as he took a seat beside her. The ward was already empty when he arrived, this didn't strike him as unusual as she seemed to be recovering well. Breathing was normal, heartbeat... normal. As usual that overwhelming urge to bleed her dry swept over and choked his senses for a moment. She stirred slightly, but didn't awake.

Normally pale skin was a sallow colour that reminded him of the Uchiha brat.

His fingers were still coated in the Leaf's blood and he wondered if she would mind if he touched her now. If he ran his fingers across her skin, drifted down to her neck and... His hand paused just where the pulse was strongest. She wouldn't be pleased when she realised he had left bloodstains on her skin. It was alright though, it would wash off. He was allowed to touch her.

_"I challenge you to fight me for fair Sakura's heart and hand."_ Foolish leaf boy.

That reminded him that he was in fact still alive. A hindrance and nothing more. She seemed to be coping well with the chakra inside of her and he supposed he was pleased about that, though he didn't show it, she would need it when Suna and Oto attacked. During the fray it would be unlikely that they would notice one insignificant genin going missing and it wasn't as though she had the power to stop him.

They had warned him too many times not to get too close to her. It didn't matter.

Shukaku chose that exact moment to whisper in his mind. Of course they wouldn't mind, especially if she was to produce his offspring. They would jump at that opportunity to have more weapons at their beck and call. His fingers tangled in her hair which was already matted and tangled from sweat and movement. The sticky blood bound the thick strands together in a way that would have been considered macabre at best, and horrifying at worst.

He considered the Demon's input for a moment and what it entailed. It wasn't as if he hadn't already considered...

Her breathing changed subtly in a way that would not have been noticeable to an ordinary civilian - signalling that she had, finally, awoken. Fingers twisted and he pulled cruelly on her hair until she gasped like a fish out of water. Wide, green eyes watched him through a veil of blood stained hair, pulling hard on her hair provoked a harsher reaction than he ever would have expected. He did it again, deliberately, and relished her reaction simply because it was better than watching her lying comatose on the hospital bed. She was so weak; the sight of moisture in her eyes showed him that all too clearly.

It didn't bother him that she was an inferior shinobi: that she was weak and that he could kill her at any given moment. It was not her that was meant to be strong - it was him. His job to protect her and hers to... He couldn't think of her purpose. His was to remain alive and to kill as proof of this elusive existence and also to protect her. Although he loathed to admit that he had some connection with one of the other untrustworthy, two-faced humans that littered the planet.

But, _why?!_ He asked himself again. Why her.

He saw the flash of defiance and anger in her eyes before she could hide it as she thought about fighting him and felt something twist in his stomach. The urge to overpower her and show who was the boss, the leader, rose lightening-fast in his mind. Too fragile, he couldn't risk his - ( Shukaku's chakra, they were one and the same, both monsters) - chakra ripping her at the very seams of her body and soul just because she had a little spirit in her.

"Gaara... That's not anyone I know. Please tell me it's not," she pleaded. There was an imploring note in her quivering voice.

He hated it when people begged for their pathetic lives and crawled at his feet while their eyes shone with tears of cowardice. This was no different - his eyes hardened. One moment they were trying to kill him while the roar of blood-lust and adrenaline still flowed through their veins, the next they were on their knees begging for mercy. He hated to watch them. Two-faced cowards. He hated to watch her beg too.

Did she not realise he would give her whatever it was in his power to give!?

He watched coolly and released her from his grip. She was far too attached to them. It would not do.

"He is still alive - the Leaf boy - for now anyway..." It almost stung to admit that fact and the thinly veiled threat made him feel a little less irritated that the shinobi had survived.

Standing, he made to leave. There was much to do before the next matches; he wanted to crush the Uchiha brat in a humiliating defeat and plenty of training was needed for that. Sakura's hand shot out and she grasped the strap of his gourd with a vice-like grip that she would not be maintained for long.

"Don't leave. I couldn't bear it." Her voice was hard and possessed an icy chill.

It appeared the her spirit had finally began to rear its head. Although he could not stand simpering females, he did not want her to feel she was in charge. Sitting in the chair he watched as she smiled at him - blinding, only his. She was fast asleep in the space of a single heartbeat. After an hour or so he stood and left. There was, after all, unfinished business to attend to.

She wouldn't be to angry about his sudden departure if he returned the next day. Well, if he didn't tell her about what he was planning to do to the Leaf boy - his _competitor. _

Let it never be said that Subaku No Gaara backed down from a challenge. _"I challenge you to fight me for fair Sakura's heart and hand."_ That statement would ensure him a slow, agonising death.

oOo

"Whadya mean I can't see Sasuke!!" Naruto yelled at the irritated looking nurse.

She responded by pushing her cropped, grey hair back with a single weathered hand and hissing that she meant he couldn't see him. End of story. He watched her with wide blue eyes for a moment before whining, begging and generally trying to wheedle the location of his team-mate out of her. The pink flowers in his hands (for Sakura-chan of course) were shaken about until they hung limply in his tanned fist.

"But, Baa-sama, he's my team-mate," he muttered, looking dejected.

"Go and visit your other team-mate. She's not under the protection of the ANBU," she said, with a hint of irritation. "I'd watch it though, there's been some funny things goi-"

The hospital doors were still swinging slightly from his speedy departure.

He followed the directions she had given her, they weren't very hard to remember; up one flight of stairs and then the second door to the left. It was funny how quiet it was up here compared to the rest of the hospital. A nurse skirted nervously around the corner as he entered the floor. Of course Naruto, being Naruto, didn't really pick up on the fact that the entire floor was a silent as a tomb. Of course not.

Slamming his fists against the door he quite happily yelled at the top of his voice without giving a thought to the fact that Sakura or some of the other patients on the floor might still be asleep. After a few moments, and an ominous silence, he pushed the door wide open (so hard that a large hole was banged into the plasterboard) and proceeded to yell a happy greeting at his bed ridden, and furious looking, female teammate.

"If I had been sleeping I would have throttled you, Naruto," Sakura hissed, her voice deadly but her eyes soft.

It was so hard to resist that stupid grin and sparkling blue eyes. She missed the company of her team when the only people she had seen for two days were nurses hurrying in to give her another dose of unpleasant medicine and then hurrying back out again. They refused to meet her gaze and didn't speak more than was absolutely necessary. Sakura was quite a sociable being by nature and found this isolation, and they way they all seemed to be afraid of her, highly uncomfortable.

She ended up putting it down to Gaara who had hung around her almost every day and night. Flitting in and out without detection. He had probably snarled at one of them while she was sleeping, or threatened them, or... The list was endless. Although even thinking of him caused a slight pang because he had not come to see her in two days. It wasn't as though she couldn't detect his presence anymore either.

Her body practically screamed at her when he was anywhere in the nearby vicinity. No longer did she have to experience the painful sensation of lava flowing through her veins, but she could still feel it - the Demon's chakra. It reacted to his presence especially strongly. Although it wasn't an entirely unpleasent typeof reaction. She craved him in a way that she had never wanted Sasuke. It was a strange sort of feeling and one that she couldn't quite get to grips with.

The mere thought of him made her blood stir a little more. A few images from the little orange books her sensei was so fond of rose unbidden in her mind as a deep blush rose into her cheeks. Sakura really hoped Naruto would think it was from a fever.

Naruto stood and watched as her pale forehead creased slightly and her cheeks turned a rosy red colour - he could almost see the cogs of her quick mind turning frantically. Sakura didn't say anything further and seemed to forget he was there. So deep in thought. His fingers clenched nervously around the abused stalks of the bright pink blooms. Would she like them? They were pink. How could she not like pink?! His eyes drifted to her blossom coloured hair as he swallowed the lump that had built up in his throat.

There team was beginning to drift apart, now was his chance to pull her back in. He could keep them both happy and together. It didn't matter what Sasuke had said she had done. Those things he had whispered in his ear, in that dark room, when she wasn't listening, were not like Sakura at all. Naruto was all too aware of the perspiration gathering on his forehead and he shifted nervously as he thrust the flowers forward with a little too much enthusiasm.

The irritated blank look practically melted off her face as she smiled at him.

"I missed you, Naruto," she said softly, as she plucked at one of the pink petals.

His hammering heart steadied just a little and he managed to pull out one of the dreadfully uncomfortable hospital chairs and sit down without knocking over the table or causing any other kind of mishap. He had a tendency to destroy things when he was alone with Sakura - the nerves just got out of control. She was a bit... Off. Watching him and saying nothing. Her breathing was a little too heavy to be normal and her green eyes were a little blood shot.

They had said she was sick, but getting better. He wondered if she would watch his training, it always felt better to have her close. Of course she would have to get out of hospital for that, and to do that she would have to be well again and -

Her lips pressed against his forehead; soft and supple and smooth. His heart felt like it had stopped that very instant. Fingers reached out in an almost instinctive movement; he wanted to hold her. Stopping himself from doing so took such an effort that his hands tightened into fists. She leaned back and looked at him with the most sombre expression he had ever seen grace her features.

"I hope you won't think too badly of me when you realise what I've done," she whispered, "and I forgive you if you never want to speak to me again."

Had Sasuke been right?! A strange pulse came from her body at that moment. One which was all too familiar.

"What the _hell_ did he do to you?!" He didn't need to explain who the 'he' was. They both knew. She grimanced and turned to look out the window.

So Sasuke had told Naruto. Naruto had probably not believed him to start with, but... A pair of piercing blue eyes pulled her straight out of her thoughts. He was too close. His shuddering fingers extended and he touched her skin lightly. Sakura didn't bother to fight down the pulse of chakra that wanted to devour him she let him feel it for himself. He flinched and withdrew his fingers. His eyes were clouded and he looked serious for once.

"I would never have put that burden on you. I would never have let you feel a fraction of the pain involved with being... Like me." She choked back all the things she wanted to shout at him.

That he of all people should know what it was like to be shunned by everyone. That he was the only person that she had thought could possibly understand her decision.

"If he makes you happy Sakura-chan," he whispered when she refused to speak. Or just couldn't find the words to say.

"You know I just want you to be happy."

oOo

* * *

It's been too long. Christmas and New Year were bound to be busy - I knew that much. Then my computer had to die and take about 2000 words (or more of BM and quite a few other things with it). It's just been fixed today by one of my Mum's fabulous work people. Sorry, sorry, sorry. That's all I have to say.

Silver xxx.


End file.
