Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Price of Freedom ❯ Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Any character that appears in the series Naruto who I've used in this fanfic are all property of Kishimoto Misashi. Any other character used is probably mine.

Influenced by CLAMP's Clover. Some ideas may have been borrowed from Clover, some of the ideas are my own, some influenced by other fanfiction authors, some influenced by novelists/authors.

NOTE/WARNINGS: One Shot; Alternate Universe; Original Characters (non-Mary Sue); (possible) Out of Character-ness; Slightly Gory

Genre: Science Fiction/Drama/Suspense/slight angst and gore

~*~*~

The Price of Freedom
Impossible
By: Naito Kiseki

"Please lay still." A indifferent voice told the boy who laid on something that looked like a conveyer belt.

The boy didn't move. He was used to such procedures and this was no different from the thousands of others that he's had before. Each time he laid on these machines, they were modified... all used to test him. His deep green eyes stared into the blinding ivory light. He felt no warmth from the light, all he felt was the cold of the air conditioned room, the cool steel of the manacles that attached his arms to the rubber belt of the machine, and a icy gloved hand moved to his forehead to place a rubber suction cup on it.

A woman with orange colored hair hovered over his face, temporarily blocking the lights. He couldn't see her shadowed face clearly, but he could tell that she was a stranger. Someone new. Because she smiled as she stared down at him before she brushed some of his auburn hair back with a ungloved hand. The boy tense as he felt the contact of her fingers to his scalp.

"Your name is Gaara," It wasn't a question, just a statement. "I'm Doctor Sasaki, I'll be working with you today and if all goes well, I will work with you again in the future. Now, I have to ask you to relax. This is the same as any other procedure. It should be no different than what you usually experience. This is just a much more advance version of the B.D.A.D. I co-invented this version so you should feel safe, it won't hurt, and I'll be operating it the whole time." The voice was patronizing, but there was little that the red-head could do that wouldn't result in death.

Doctor Sasaki moved away from Gaara and the light flooded his vision again. Gaara felt the erratic pounding of his heart slow down as the woman melded with the light. Gaara's ear-drums picked up the rapid tapping of fingers against a keyboard and then the belt slowly began to move toward the core of the machine. The move there was long, it was always a long time, but being in the darkness was always longer.

Gaara closed his eyes for a moment as he repeated a mantra to himself. They're trying to help me. They are trying to help me. They want to help me. Soon, maybe, I'll be able to live. Maybe, I'll even see Him again.

When he opened his eyes, all he could see was darkness.

***

"How are things proceeding, Doctor?" A man with dark brown hair, cropped shortly, stepped in the sterile room. His voice was cold, but it demanded an air of respect. He briskly walked over to the LCD screen and watched as the data flow quickly across the screen.

Sasaki didn't look at the man and continued her work. She read the screen as quick as the data popped up and printed. She smiled, unable to hide her excitement, "This is astounding." She declared enthusiastically, "This boy's demon contains immense power and he's just overflowing with chakra. The thing is, he's holding it back. But nevertheless, it's still amazing."

"Do you have any ideas to how we can withdraw the demon and contain it? You can simply take it out like you do with sprites, isn't that correct?" The man asked her.

"You do not have faith in me, is that correct? Do not tell me how to do my job, Mr. Mori. I am experienced in my field and I do not need some rich, power hungry man to tell me what to do." Sasaki snapped irritably at the man.

"Be that as it may, you need this rich, power hungry man to fund your projects. Besides, dealing with a Level III Daimon is something you have never dealt with before. You've only managed to eradicate Level I and II Daimons. It will take at least five high level IIs to even hope to wound a Level III. Gaara is precious..."

Sasaki stopped typing and turned to stare at Mori. "Is it true that the demon killed an entire squad of high class Level II Daimons who tried to restrain him?"

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear when I said it would take at least five high Level IIs to even hope to wound him."

"My God."

***

Gaara began to pant heavily as he felt sand surround him in quick jolts. From the darkness, needles poked out of the BDAD to test the speed of the sand. Gaara knew that the defense of sand was adapting to higher speeds, but Gaara was learning to stop it when he wanted it, or at least when he could stop it. But, to control the sand to not make a barrier took immense concentration and not only drained him of chakra but general energy.

A sharp electrical shock was sent through the manacles, something that the sand couldn't protect Gaara from.

Gaara let out a painful scream at each of the chronic shocks from the cuffs, but he wouldn't let the blood-curling sensational break his concentration against the sand. It made him weary but he refused to give in to the demon that wished to protect its host from the electrical currents.

Rest, Gaara. Go to sleep.

No. Can't. Mustn't.

You can't fight me forever, Boy.

You're right. I can't. But that's why we're here, to get you away from me.

You cannot separate from me, just as I can't you.

I won't let you control me.

Try as you might, Boy, but I will break you.

***

"I will break him." Sasaki said quietly as she stared intensely at the computer screen to review the data she got from her experiment with Gaara. "It's the only way. I can't think of any other way to force the demon out."

Earlier, after several hours of analytical data of Gaara's physical body, the BDAD began to analyze the Dai-aura and chakra level difference. When that testing began, Gaara began to scream, after a while of chronic screaming, they ceased and Gaara went into a short period of cardio arrest. Mori threw Sasaki a dirty look before he called security and left the room and said that if anything happened to Gaara, she will be in ruins.

After Mori left, the BDAD started going crazy, the chakra level was beyond comprehension, and the Dai-aura was overwhelming. Sasaki stared at the data that began writing at record speed in horror. Her hand shook in excitement as she quickly transferred the information to her laptop.

But then, the error detection alarm began to blare, and the BDAD began to shake unstably. After a moment, smoke began to spill from it and bolt were flying loose. The lights flickered uncontrollably and Sasaki was thrown back as the BDAD exploded, clutched to her chest was the laptop which she protected dearly with a frayed cable hanging off the edge. A large sheet of metal flew toward her and she rolled out of the way, but she felt a sharp shocking pain slice the flesh on a arm. The cut didn't bleed right away but when Sasaki moved to push herself up, she felt the warm metallic smelling liquid flow down her arm. Right before the room blacked out, Sasaki saw a barrier of sand surround Gaara slowly retreat and the glowing red of his eyes.

A Level III Daimon. Sasaki thought amazed at the power displayed before her.

By the time that Security had come for Sasaki, Gaara was conscious and looked both angry and tired. Security was surprised by the state of the room as much as Mori was when he was informed later that evening.

"What happened after Mori left, was that the demon tried to break out, but somehow Gaara took control again." Sasaki stared at the ceiling of her office before she picked up the phone and dialed a number. Mori wasn't the only one with power at the Institute.

"Hello, Chairman? This is Doctor Minami Sasaki, current leader of research on Level II Daimons. While I worked with Level III Daimon today, the Body and Daimon Analytical Device 5 exploded, and I want to request money to make a new machine and my second request is to continue working with the Level III Daimon." Sasaki paused as she listened to the chairman's reply. "I believe I can make a completely new breakthrough with the subject because from my knowledge of his previous data, compared to what was gathered today, I believe we made a huge progress. Gaara acted a bit out of the norm for a few moments during the explosion, and I believe that it was the demon trying to get out."

***

Gaara stared at the starry sky through the enchanted roof from his crouched position on the top of a tree. It was almost as if he lived in a green house, but the doors were locked. Not barred, locked. There was no entry into the large room, no vent, no hole, nothing. That's why the trees were there, they provided oxygen, that's why the roof opened to the world, so the trees would get light. The room was dark and lit only by the moon and stars. There was no electricity. The room was completely primitive save for the fact that everything was indoors and not in a jungle.

A large crow flew to the outside of the roof and landed so that it rested on the roof as it would a telephone line. The moon filtered passed the crow and cast a shadow of a bird on the nature laden room. Gaara reached a pale arm toward the moon, toward the crow, his fingers were sprawled and he stared impassively as the moon beams hit his hand. He closed is hand in the shape of a fist and the crow took off.

Slowly, Gaara brought his hand down and let it drop to his side as he stood erect. His piercing green eyes glittered by the glow of the moon and he wished that he was as lucky as the crow.

***

"Is something wrong, Gaara?" A blond man asked Gaara as he accompanied the boy to his tutor.

Gaara didn't respond. The echo of the man's shoes could be heard down the empty corridor. Other than that, there was only silence. They walked by a window and Gaara stopped for a moment, just to stare outside. Over the hedges that invaded the bottom of the window, there was a small playground for the lower level Daimon children. Gaara watched the children run around as they played games from behind the glass barrier.

"Why am I so different from them?" Gaara asked the man suddenly.

The man stared at Gaara, unsure of how to answer his question.

Gaara's face turned wretched as he tore away from the window and continued to walk down the corridor. "Forget it. It's not like it matters."

"Do you want to go outside for a while?" The man offered.

Gaara froze as he gave the man a skeptical and sarcastic stare. "I'm not allowed," Gaara replied bitterly.

"I didn't ask whether you were allowed, did I?" The man retorted suavely, "I asked whether you wanted to or not."

Gaara continued to stare in disbelief. He wondered he could trust the man but seeing as how he could kill the man if he so wished, Gaara gave a short nod that would've gone unnoticed if the man wasn't looking for an answer.

The blond man smiled in understanding. "Okay, let's go."

***

Mori held red stress reliever in his hand. Thanks to that idiot Sasaki, the millions that he invested in her project went to waste and what was the end result? Nothing. They were no better off then when they started. If she thinks that he'll continue funding her, she's stupider than he gave her credit for.

A shrill ring from the phone jolted Mori out of his thoughts.

"Hello, this is Mori," Mori spoke into the receiver, "Oh, Chairman. How can I help you?" If Mori was bitter before, he was just plain furious from what the Chairman said. As Mori listened to the Chairman, he grew anger and anger, "I understand. Thank you for informing me. Yes... That's fine." Mori clutched the stress reliever angrily, "I understand..." He forced the words out of his mouth, "Yes, Goodbye, Chairman."

Mori replaced the receiver on the holder. He squeezed the stress reliever tightly, "Sasaki... I won't forgive you for this." The stress reliever popped, and the red oil-like liquid flowed out and over Mori's hand and onto his beige carpeted floor. And Mori found out later, that like blood, the stain couldn't be cleaned from the carpet floor.

***

Gaara stared in amazement at the height of the buildings. The elevation that humans can build. Gaara wondered how long did it take for humans to learn the technique of buildings. How long did it take for people learn how to build the frame of the building.

People walked in and out of buildings, scurrying around like cockroaches. It was different... and for a moment Gaara couldn't feel more alone.

"School." Gaara said suddenly, "the others talk about it."

"Do you want to go see one?" The man asked.

Gaara nodded and held his breath as he waited for an answer.

The man smiled benignly, before he ruffled Gaara's red hair, "My son, he goes to school by here."

The teenager boy stared up in surprise, "You mean... I can see other children?"

The man nodded as he led Gaara through the crowd of people. To be with other children... other people his age... maybe... they could stop that constricting feeling in his chest. Maybe they can help fill that emptiness.

***

The man behind the screen's eyes turned feral as the man in front of him shivered from the anger in his voice.

"What do you mean he's gone, Baki? You better have a very good explanation for this." The man asked, daring his subordinate to defy him.

"Well, Chairman. We sent someone to go fetch him for his schooling, but the man said that the subject wasn't present. We've searched everywhere in the institute and we cannot find him." The dark skinned man answered. "So, we're assuming that someone let him out."

"Check the damned security cameras!" The Chairman screamed at the man. "And if you still cannot find him, send search parties out to look for him! Be on the look out, and use the GPS to track him down! You have him under tracking at all times don't you?!"

"Yes, Chairman, however, the GPS signal to the tracking device was scrambled, we're assuming that he either found it or the demon found it."

"Call Temari, inform her what has happened and tell her to find him and bring him here."

"Yes, Chairman."

***

Temari's eyes widened in horror as she listened to the man on the other end of her phone. She gripped her phone a little tighter and began to pace, her eyes frantically looking around and her ears alert for any sound that would sound like sand in the wind.

Kankuro watched his sister's pacing. It was strange for her to get a call in the middle of school. She was lucky that it was during her lunch break and not during class or her phone could've been confiscated. What kind of a person would do something so stupid as to call her while she was at school? But it must've been important because she looked very anxious.

"Yes, sir. Okay... And you're positive that you can't track him? ... Okay. I'll go look for him. I'll alert you if I have any lead. Good bye." Temari pressed a red button on her phone and slipped it into her pocket. She looked at Kankuro and said, "Gaara is missing."

A strong gust of wind blew sand and leaves flying around them. Kankuro let the words slowly sink in, then his eyes widened in horror at what she said. "Gaara... is missing?"

"Apparently, he went through all the security without any problems..."

"Who the hell can; no, who the hell would...?" Kankuro asked.

"They don't know."

***

There is a reason for everyone's existence. So... what role am I supposed to fulfill?

Gaara stood in a glass elevator and watched as the cars and people grew smaller and smaller. The speed of the elevator was fast and Gaara was unused to such high velocity levels. He stared over to the blond man who also stared out the window. He couldn't help but wonder why the man was there. Why did the man help him escape the institute. Why did this man help a Level III Daimon, a high level being who has done nothing but cause death for everyone around him? A uncontrollable demon that he, himself, couldn't restrain?

"Why?" Gaara found himself asking the man, "why do you help me?"

Silence consumed the small space of the elevator. The light that marked level 32 lit and then level 33. The man ran a hand through his spiky blond hair and then stared at the level they were approaching. 40.

"I made one wrong decision. The man said, and though I don't regret it, I've made someone else take the burden. So," The elevator slowed to a stop and for a moment, nothing happened. Then, the elevator door opened and the man stepped out. After a moment's pause, Gaara followed behind. "In a strange and twisted way, I'm making reparations." The man knocked on a office door, "and though I can't take you to the school myself," the man opened the door and beckoned Gaara into the room, "I know someone who can."

Sitting behind the single desk in the spacious office was a old man who smoked a pipe. He looked up when the door opened. Gaara stared at him, then to the man.

"Sarutobi," The blond smiled to the old man and introduced the redhead, "This is Gaara."

***

A cruel smile lit Mori's face he walked down the white halls of the institute. A red light flashed annoyingly down the halls as a electronic voice repeated, "Alert, Alert. A red haired boy, age 12 has been reported missing. The boy is said to be armed and dangerous. All personnel, report to defense level two. Defense and trackers, go to your stations and wait for orders. Repeat. A red haired boy, age 12 has been reported missing."

Several confused looking children were being herded to the defense elevators by doctors in white lab coats. Many of them looked fearful, urging the children to hurry. Some of the older students were quietly conversing with one another about the rumored Level III Daimon being the one who is reported missing. Of course, they were just rumors of the Level III, none of them have ever actually sensed a Level III much less seen one. But rumors said that the Level III Daimon was supposed to be a demon.

As they walked by Mori, each of them gave him a curt bow.

Mori smirked when he heard the institute's students talk about the rumor. Not one of them knew how correct they were. The Level III Daimon being a demon. Them not sensing it. It's no surprise why they were only Level I and II Daimons.

The group of students disappeared in the elevator and once again, the hall was filled with the echo of the electronic voice.

"How are you going to fix this, Sasaki? You can't just buy your way out." Mori said to himself, not concealing the amusement in his voice.

***

A loud slam was heard and Sasaki stormed into a security room. Her hair was in a frizzle and her eyes promised pain to anyone who dared to cross her. She ignored the stunned security officers and strolled over to controls and began to press buttons. The quick-paced clicking of the keys and the twitch in her left eye suggested that Sasaki was suffering from a migraine.

She stared at three different screens with intense concentration and watched the footage again. She didn't understand how it was possible for Gaara to escape the institute without being detected. The cameras showed that he simply walked out the door... that was impossible. Someone would've stopped him before he stepped even a centimeter off premises. It's almost as if he disappeared. She had to find him.

Sasaki didn't like to call her subjects dangerous beings... but, according to records, every time that Gaara was near human contact, someone was killed. The odds of that happening again was very high.

Sasaki moaned with frustration as she reviewed the footages for the umpteenth time. The Chairman had called her and he was very pleasant... if pleasant involved screaming at her so loudly that she had the phone an arm's length away from her ear and she still heard him clearly. From what Sasaki heard over the deafening screams, if she didn't retrieve Gaara in 24 hours and/or if Gaara killed someone, then she would be sent to prison. And it wasn't the happy kind of prison that the state provided but one funded by only the institute.

People were only sent there if he or she did something unforgivable to the company. The prison was completely run by a number of sadist who specialized in... well, torture. Sasaki has only heard stories, but no one has ever left the prison, being sent there was the institute's version of capital punishment. Another thing to being threatened to be sent there by the Chairman only confirmed that the place existed.

Two hours had past since he left. There was 22 left.

***

"You..." Sarutobi said with hidden surprise in his voice, "Well... whoever I expected it wasn't either of you."

The blond man smiled casually strolled up to the old man with respect. "Well, I have some unfinished business, as you know." He then dropped his voice lowly, "This boy is like Him". And then he rose his voice again so that Gaara heard him, "Anyway, he wants to see a school. He's never been to one. I was thinking you take him to my son's school...? At least for a little while."

Sarutobi stared at the man and saw the silent plea in his eyes. Then he stared at the boy. He nodded and then stood, "I'll take him now." He turned to Gaara, "Let's go shall we?"

Gaara felt his heart pick up speed. He turned to the blond man, as if asking him to not leave him. But all the blond man did was smile, "Go ahead." He pushed Gaara toward the old man. Gaara gave him a short nod and followed the old man out the door. Gaara didn't know it then, but he was never going to speak to that man again.

***

"Professor Yoshikawa? I have to leave immediately." Temari informed her teacher, quite distressed. She was aware that her fellow classmates were staring at her with mild curiosity. She didn't want to attract attention to herself, but her brother entered the room with a bag larger than a backpack should be, and the other students stared at the boy with painted eyes and night black clothes with a strange fascination.

The middle-aged brunette man frowned at the boy who interrupted her class and then at the blond girl. "You were late, Temari. And now you ask to be excused?"

"This is a emergency, Professor!" Temari cried in dismay. She threw her hands up in frustration as Yoshikawa didn't show any sign of relenting. "Please, Professor! Lives may be in danger!"

At the skeptical look on Yoshikawa's face, Kankuro decided to interject, "Professor, we need to go. If someone is to die because of your incompetence, then you will be in a shit load of trouble."

"Don't threaten me, Boy!" Yoshikawa shouted authoritatively at Kankuro. "Not only are you skipping class, but I'm suspicious of that oversized bag of yours too!"

A snarl came emitted from Kankuro's throat. If there was one thing he didn't like, it was a snobby authoritarian who refused to believe students in life-threatening situation. "Oh yeah? Why don't you try and confiscate it?" He sneered.

Temari grasped the hand sized fan tightly in her palm. She felt the smooth wooden frame imprint itself in her hand. She was angry and annoyed. Why couldn't the professor understand the gravity of the situation. Gaara has escaped the institute. This is important enough for her father to send people to call her while she was at school, and this imbecile of a teacher refuse to see it. Were people this blind, or are people generally this distrusting. Temari wondered what happened to the days when teachers enjoyed teaching and counseled students when counseling was needed. She wondered when teachers began to distrust students so much that they won't even let him or her out in a emergency.

Then again, it was probably just Yoshikawa.

"You know what, Professor? This is completely above your level and your authority over me is not significant at all compared to the consequences of my not leaving." Temari strolled to the door and walked around Kankuro who followed with a superior smirk directed at Yoshikawa.

***

The silence rang in the halls of the institute. The alarmed P.A. system was turned off. The people of the institute sat and waited for the command to be released from the defense levels of the building. Sasaki breathed deeply to calm her nerves. She glanced at her watch. It was on timer mode and the digital numbers flickered as the seconds counted down. She had approximately 20 hours left. She skipped lunch and over-viewed all means of escape from the institute. It wasn't until it was 12:30 that she realized that finding how Gaara escaped wasn't important. Her top priority was to just find him. The problem was that she had no means of doing it.

Without the GPS, she didn't know how to find him. She only met him once, two days ago. She didn't get a chance to talk to him, find out where he would go if he were to leave the institute. When she asked to take responsibility over him from Mori, she hadn't time to do anything to track him by any means other than depending on what the institute already did.

She froze in her tracks.

Mori. She thought with realization, he must have an alternative tracking on him.

***

"Kankuro, we're splitting the city into two. You search in one half, I'll search in the other." Temari commanded her brother as she tore a map in half and handed the paper to him, "Search in all the parks. Anywhere where children play and/or have fun, that includes amusement parks. Call me or the institute as soon as you find him."

Kankuro took the map from his sister, "Are you sure that he'll go to places where children are? I mean, we don't know him anymore. We haven't seen or spoken to him in seven years. For all we know, he could've escaped for the sake of killing."

Temari clenched her fan. "I know... But, we don't have much of a choice..."

"Hell, he probably even hates you now. Because you broke your promise."

"I know."

***

Gaara stared at the beige building. It was like a mini replica of the stark white institute. It felt somewhat like a prison, put off an aura of misery, though it looked like it hasn't been renovated in years; But, somehow, it felt... freer. Gaara looked over to the conspicuous old man who smoked a pipe and then, back to the building. His took a step closer to the gate, and another step, until the only thing that separated him and the school grounds was a metal track that gave path to slide the gate open.

His foot hovered over the track. Gaara paused and retracted his leg. He looked over to Sarutobi, whose face was a blank slate, but still gave him an encouraging nod. Gaara turned back toward the school and tried again. He felt his leg shiver with anticipation, his arm quivered with excitement. It's been seven years since he's stepped on the same territory as "normal" children. Seven years since he was first over whelmed by the bloodlust of the demon.

But, it's different this time.

Is it? Is it really? The demon sneered.

Yes. Gaara murmured under his breath.

You thought you had control then too.

I was naive.

So you know you can't control me.

Yes.

The demon laughed. A cold, cruel, and bitter laugh.

And you still risk the lives of those idiotic people.

Gaara was silent.

I don't want to kill people. But sometimes... it's kill or be killed.

Just like seven years ago.

Gaara took a light shaky breath and stepped onto the school property.

Remember what you said, Boy, the demon echoed, before it receded into the darkness, Kill or be killed.

***

Mori held the cell phone close to his ear. He propped his foot on his desk as he waited for the person on the other end to pick up. Gaara. Personally he didn't need Gaara; he didn't want Gaara. But, sometimes in life, when opportunities came along, you just had to grab that hook. Besides, what makes a person more happy than getting what he wanted? And in the materialistic world that they lived in, what is more valuable than money.

"Yes?" The man on the other end asked disinterested.

Mori's lips curved into a smirk. "I heard around that your organization is looking for something special. Something that is contained within a certain little boy." Mori paused for an answer and frowned when he didn't receive one but continued to press the matter, "I'm prepared to turn him over to you in exchange for a price."

There was silence. Then the man answered, "Not interested."

Mori's frown deepened, "Let me speak to your boss." He demanded.

"Impossible."

Mori heaved a angry snort. The man who picked up was making him more angry than Sasaki. It wasn't that he did anything to provoke him, but it was his toneless voice, condescending attitude, and indifferent words that fueled Mori's anger.

"You cannot contact her."

So it's true, Mori glared at the red spot on his floor. He'd heard rumors about the unknown leader of the organization. The organization acted like a mafia or yakuza in a twisted way. A powerful leader of the black market, almost like a classic villain, but Mori didn't know this group's intentions. No one ever truly knew. The group didn't do any dramatic trading or to be more specific, smuggling, but they had money. No one knew much information about the group, anyone who was sent in as a spy was never seen or found again. People either assumed that they were very stealthy with killing, or they had managed to brainwash the person. Everyone in the group were criminals and they were united under a leader who no one's ever seen. Which is why some people questioned whether the group had a leader. But that was a stupid question.

"Aside from that, I know who you are referring to. We're not interested in the Level III Daimon." The indifferent man paused and rustling was heard from the other end.

The voice changed and someone else picked up the phone, "It's something entirely different. Even if we were, we'd use means that are a lot easier and quicker. You don't even know where that brat is." The new man laughed mockingly, "Should find him soon, don't you think? Methods other than the GPS system. Chairman wouldn't want a repeat of seven years ago, would he?"

Eyes widened in shock. That information was classified, information of seven years ago was strictly classified. And the comment on the failure of the GPS system was also unknown until a few hours ago, even then... only few people knew about it. The organization was probably that extensive. "Then," Mori's voice hardened, "What exactly are you looking for... Perhaps I can be of assistance?"

"The legacy of a ghost." The man replied, and then the phone line went dead.

***

Gaara stared up the building. There were windows everywhere and it was overall quiet. Then, one of the windows above flew open with a loud bang. Gaara's eyes widened with interest as a blond boy jumped on to the window ledge three floors above and laughed tauntingly.

"Uzumaki! Get your butt back in here!" A deep male voice yelled which only fueled the boy's laughter.

"Make me, Teach!" The boy, apparently called Uzumaki, retorted defiantly. Without a second thought, the boy leapt off the ledge and began to plummet to where Gaara stood. "Woah, get outta the way, freak! Don't just stand there like an idiot!" So he yelled before he collided head-first into the cement floor next to Gaara. "Ow... "The blond moaned as he rubbed his head where a bump began to swell.

"N-Naruto! Are you okay?" A quiet voice from where Uzumaki had stood moments before, yelled down to the blond.

Naruto laughed and waved up the the black-haired girl, "A-okay!"

"Uzumaki!" The teacher yelled again and this time, he appeared at the window, "You stupid brat, get back here and clean up or I'm calling your parents! I'm confiscating those cherry bombs too!"

"Did you happen to forget, Teach?" Naruto sneered triumphantly as he ran off, "I don't have parents!"

As Gaara stared at the retreating back of the blond, he couldn't shake the nostalgic feeling away. The boy looked familiar.

***

Mori frowned, annoyed, "I do have tracking on Gaara. I'm not stupid. His blood is all I need."

***

Sasaki froze. She heard the entire exchange between Mori and his little deal.

How dare he? Gaara wasn't just a object you can sell. And to sell Gaara would be to sell the demon. To sell a destructive weapon. Not only that, but Mori, as suspected, really does have tracking on Gaara. But, if Mori was planning to sell Gaara, then... Sasaki had to find him first. She glanced at her watch, there were about 18 hours left. She looked up and turned to her side to peak through the crack in the door.

What did he mean by his blood? Sasaki wondered absently, trying to figure if there was any way to track Gaara using blood. Tracking dogs was one idea. But then she realized that they were completely unreliable. Well, not completely, but the do tend to fail on tracking. What other possibility could it be?

"Dr. Sasaki?"

She turned around and found a navy blue haired, female doctor strolling towards her. Sasaki nodded in recognition at the woman, "Dr. Murayuki."

Murayuki was an acquaintance of hers. They had met a few times when the people of the institute gathered together for the annual conference. It wasn't exactly a conference, per se. It was more like a social gathering for the doctors of other departments to show-off what they found during the year and trying to top the others in vain. Murayuki was of the DNA department. The DNA department weren't particularly fond of the Daimons research department, mostly because they claimed that people of the Daimon Project are mutants because of a second set of DNA and should rightfully be under their authority. But, that wasn't how the Chairman set it, so there was tension between the two departments.

But, it was just a feud between the departments, not people, though some people took it as a personal insult; But Sasaki found Murayuki to be an interesting character, even if she had a twisted sense of humor. If they didn't like each other, they were at least tolerable of one another.

"Do you have business with Mr. Mori?" Murayuki asked her.

"Business? No... not exactly. I was merely passing by." Sasaki answered as she backed away from Mori's door. She looked over to Murayuki and forced a smile. Sasaki wondered whether Murayuki believed her, especially since she was pressed against the door in such a fashion that practically told anyone who walked by that she was spying. "Ah, that's right... Dr. Murayuki, you're the head of the DNA department, what exactly would you do if you were to find someone who went missing?"

Murayuki gave Sasaki a strange look before she said quite seriously, "We can't track down the leader of the black market and we don't do lost puppies, no matter how vicious they may be. Unless of course, it happened to be a rabid puppy with cranial deficiency and three legs. Then we'll talk."

Sasaki's face cracked into a real smile at the joke, but she couldn't help but feel disappointed that Murayuki evaded her question so easily. "Why are you here, Dr. Murayuki?"

"Mr. Mori asked me to deliever something. Since he funds many of our projects, I'm obliged to return the favor." Murayuki replied evenly, even a little carelessly.

"Ah, kissing up to your sponsor so that the money will keep funding you."

The brown haired woman gave a shrug, "It's either that or I actually start working to scout grant money and such things. I'm not like you, I'm lazy to the bone."

"This coming from the leader of the DNA department?" Sasaki laughed. She gave a wave as if dismissing the situation and walked past Murayuki to make her way back to her own office.

"Dr. Sasaki," Murayuki called out to stop Sasaki before she left, "I would be delighted to answer your question, but I'd prefer to do it somewhere more private. Perhaps you can come over to my apartment tonight for dinner and I assure you, I will help you." Murayuki paused for a moment, "My nephew is cooking, so no worries about it being bad."

"What do you-?"

Murayuki knocked on Mori's door and Mori told her to enter. "I'll be waiting tonight, at 8:00. Don't be late or you'll regret it." Murayuki said softly before she opened the door and entered Mori's office.

For a second, Sasaki thought that Murayuki was picking her up, especially with that constant attitude in which made Sasaki never sure whether she was serious or not. But there was a morbid and serious undertone to that added comment and Sasaki wondered whether Murayuki knew of the situation with Gaara, and if so, why help the enemy?

Don't be late or you'll regret it.

Just what exactly did Murayuki mean by that?

***

The clouds floated quickly across the sky, promising wind. Kankuro glared at the children who ran past him. As far as he could tell, Gaara wasn't there. It was going to get dark soon and Kankuro really wanted to call it quits. It wasn't that he was frightened of the night in the city, but more like he was frightened of being in the city at night with Gaara on the loose.

He looked at his watch, it was almost 6 o'clock. He shifted the weight of the bag to his other shoulder and continued walking.

Was it really worth it, to make Gaara stay at the institute when all that he wanted was to live like a normal child? Kankuro chuckled, it was a little ironic how freaks wanted to live like a normal person, and it was ironic how normal people wanted to live like freaks. Life is hilarious wasn't it?

"Hey, give us your bag." Kankuro froze as a group of five boys surrounded him. They looked to be his age... maybe a little older, but then again, Kankuro always looked older than he was. Two of them held hand guns, one held a 3 inch knife, and another held a stick. One of them, the leader, held nothing but a smirk.

A mocking laugh and the words, "Pathetic," came from Kankuro. "You actually think I'm afraid of you."

***

As soon as Sarutobi completed his task, he left Gaara to fend for himself. It wasn't that the old man didn't care, but it was that he thought better than to stay with Gaara for longer than necessary; There was something about the twelve year old that frightened him. It wasn't that he looked like a punk, or looked like he was on drugs all the time that Sarutobi felt threatened. Though he's seen people die before his very eyes, there was he aura of death around the boy that he couldn't shake off. He didn't really want to stay to find out what that aura was.

So Gaara wandered aimlessly letting whatever interest him guide him, when once again he met the aquatic eyed, blond boy. What was his name... Oh, yes, Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki. As soon as the sun went down, he met with the blond again. He didn't approach him, but followed him.

The blond looked completely different from his earlier encounter with him at the school. The mocking laughter was gone, and the sparkle from the sun was gone, replaced with something else. A look that Gaara often saw in his reflection in the water of his cage. The dejected wish that he wasn't who he was. The sick and hopeless desire to be someone else. The bleak loneliness that couldn't be filled. The unrealistic hope that maybe, someone would care.

He watched him. Followed him. And eventually, he stopped and entered a public restroom at the side of a broken building.

Against a sleazy bar on the outskirts of the business district, Gaara leaned against a wall and waited. The neon pink and green signs flashed obscene pictures of women's' breast and words that advertised for cheap whores. The pounding beat of music could be heard through the brick walls of the run down building and for no particular reason, Gaara wondered about the safety of the place, but the thought quickly left him when he realized that he didn't care. He didn't care, but he was unnerved by the colors and the flashing lights.

Then, the door opened and a girl stepped out. A girl with the same golden hair and blue eyes as the one who stepped in. A girl who was just as attractive, in a strange way, as a cat. It took Gaara a moment before he realized, the girl was the boy who walked in. The girl lifted her head and gave him a strange, questioning look before she looked away and walked into one of the bars.

***

It was 8. Sasaki stood at Murayuki's door and pressed the doorbell. She heard faint scraping of slippers on a wooden floor and a few shouts from inside and a moment later the door opened to a annoyed looking boy around the age of 12, maybe 13. She gave him a weak smile and spoke, "Hello. I'm Minami Sasaki."

"Shikamaru." He said as he moved aside for the orange-haired woman to enter. "Shikamaru Nara." As soon as she took off her shoes and put on slippers she looked up to the apartment. It looked normal enough, except that instead of paintings, there were posters of molecular structure, double helixes and a few awards. She followed Shikamaru to the kitchen where a table was set for three and he motioned for her to sit down. "Mizuki should be out soon," he told her before he added an afterthought, "unless she's fallen asleep in the bathroom and drowned."

As fate would have it, Murayuki stepped into the threshold at that moment. "Shika, darling, you know me better than that." Shikamaru looked like he was about to retort with another comment when she noticed Sasaki, "Dr. Sasaki, I'm glad you're here." She said, sounding slightly intoxicated. "I just had the most wonderful bath, steam is good for you." She pulled out a chair and sat down in front of a plate, then waved for the other two to sit down.

As soon as they sat, Sasaki looking uncomfortable and frustrated while Shikamaru looked almost completely bored; Murayuki picked up a fork. "Dr. Sasaki, meet my pride and joy, Shikamaru. Lazy to the bone, the bum. He goes to school somewhere nearby... With that guy's son. His dad... Shika's dad, is my brother." She smiled, "Lazy as a bum too, but a damn hard-worker, completely submissive to his wife. I was never cut out for that line of work."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and swallowed what's left of the food on his plate and then got up and left the two.

Sasaki wanted to leave too. There were only twelve and a half more hours before she had to retrieve Gaara, and time was ticking away. But, she couldn't. She didn't know why, but instincts wouldn't let her leave.

She watched Murayuki slump over the table and then take a hold of a cup of coffee and drank from it. Murayuki sat up and revealed something she withdrew from under the table. It was a gray metal, rectangular device with several buttons and a dark glass screen. She moved her plate aside and pushed the object towards Sasaki. She looked completely sober and she flipped a switch on. The device sprang to life and a grid came on the screen.

"The impossible was created." Murayuki said softly as she sat up and cleared the table, "Genetic information of all living things on earth can be stored in a palm sized unit. Hair, skin samples, but most of all, blood tissues can all be stored in this machine." Murayuki sat back down across Sasaki, "This machine, once stored with the necessary information, can be used as a tracking device, from giant squids, to big foot, to the loch ness monster."

Sasaki stared in amazement at the information just revealed to her. "The DNA department came up with something like this?" Sasaki asked.

Murayuki smirked, "Impressive isn't it? But, yes and no. No as in, this wasn't proposed by the department first. Yes as in we created this device." She looked over to the clock above the refrigerator, "I've programmed it for the Level III Daimon already, so you should get going. You only have about 12 hours left."

Sasaki stood up and turned as she reached into a hidden breast pocket, she felt a cool metal reach the tip of her fingers. I don't want to die yet. I don't want to suffer a fate worst than death. She thought as she paused and withdrew her hand from the object, then sat back down. "How do you use this?"

***

"Don't go in," A voice called out to Gaara.

He looked up to the speaker and saw a lean boy with a bowl shaped hair cut, large eyebrows, and dressed in a bright green shirt and olive green pants. He didn't look like the other people lining to get into the club-like bar, in fact, the boy was just as underage as he was. The boy smiled widely, and Gaara would've laughed had he found it funny. It wasn't funny.

"What can you do to stop me?" Gaara asked him.

"This isn't a place for fighting and it's not for people like us who are younger than 20." He informed the boy, "Besides, all that they do in there," he jerked his head toward the bar, "is shame their families, and I cannot forgive myself if I knew I could stop someone from a lifetime of wretchedness."

Gaara stared at the boy and then his eyes traced over to the entrance where the blond had gone. He pushed past the boy and past the line of people waiting to get in. "Wait!" He heard the boy shout after him, but still, Gaara pressed on.

Just as Gaara reached the open doorway, a few disgruntled men reached out and blocked him from pressing any further. He glared at the men who stopped him. "Move." He commanded them and watched a couple of them shiver under his gaze.

"Kids aren't allowed inside." One of the braver souls said gruffly as he pushed Gaara back and out of the line, "Come back in a few years."

Sand began to form around Gaara and everyone watched in silent shock. The fear that settled in a few people persuaded them to leave before sometime happened. A few people began to panic and others questioned what the red haired punk was going to do. Gaara's eyes were a feral green when he felt a hand grip his shoulder. He whipped his head around to see the green clad boy staring at him without fear but a simple, heroic determination to stop him from whatever he was going to do.

"Stop." He said quietly, "it won't do you any good to hurt anyone."

"Let the little punk try," the man who blocked the doorway growled in a fearful challenge.

"What is going on out here?" A high voice demanded from behind the man within the building.

The man turned, as did several pairs of eyes, including Gaara's, to the voice's owner. It was the girl, from before. She had a frown on her face as she stared at them. "There are no customers coming in, and I was getting lonely waiting for you people, do you want me to quit my job?" She pouted skillfully to the man at the door.

"Oh, so sorry about that, Niseko. We don't want you to leave, right guys?" He said to the girl and asked the other people in line.

"We love you, Niseko! Don't quit!" A few people shouted to her.

Niseko pushed the man away from the door only to notice Gaara. She furrowed her eyebrows and stared him up and down. "You're... that guy, from-" She seemed to catch herself and quickly said, "earlier. I saw you at first." She said with perfect articulation as if it was a lie. Then she seemed to notice the other boy, "Lee?"

"Ah, yes! We've never met, Miss Niseko, but I'm Lee Rock." Lee bowed, "And this," Lee pointed to Gaara, "is... I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."

"Gaara." He said.

Lee took out a slip of folded paper and handed it to Niseko who took it. "Someone I know asked me to give that to you since I was coming by here today."

Niseko opened the slip of paper and scanned it, then she nodded and went back inside, "I would invite you two to a drink, but you're underage." With that said, she disappeared into the building.

***

Gaara stared at the navy haired man behind a well furnished oak desk. The man wore a very nice charcoal five piece suit without a tie. Behind him were a few bodyguards who looked the part with earpieces, dark sunglasses, and the standard uniform. The men who brought him to the building -they saw him at the bar entrance and after the scene, abducted him- looked hopefully at the lavishly dressed man.

"Gaara, is it?" The man asked him. When he nodded in return the man leaned back in his leather chair and gazed at him with a ever pleasant grin on his face. "I may have some purpose for you after all." He paused and picked up a glass of red wine from the desk and then brought it to his mouth as he stared at him over the lip of the wine glass, "Are you aware that you smell like death?"

He didn't say anything. Gaara's face held no reaction.

After a minute of silence, Gaara opened his mouth and said, "I'm not a toy."

***

"Where is he?" Sasaki demanded to the security guard as she pointed a handheld gun to his forehead. The frightened man stared in horror at the weapon as his hat fell off his head onto the upswept, concrete floor. Behind him, the security screens showed many hallways and rooms of the building with the exception of a few rooms.

Sasaki clicked the safety back and repeated, "Where is he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" The guard answered shrilly.

"Don't fuck with me," Sasaki spat with distaste, "I know he's in here." When the guard didn't say anything, she began to growl, "You have three seconds to tell me..." She said softly, "three... two..." She paused to see what the man would do, but he didn't say a word, "one."

And still, he said nothing, "Damn you!" She screamed at him in frustration. She swung at his head with the butt of the gun and heard a loud thunk as the weapon connected with the man's skull and he flew towards the wall of video screens.

She glanced at her watch and then stared at the device she borrowed from Murayuki. There was no doubt that Mori was already out and looking for him, just like she was. It was already one o'clock.

***

"Boss." A static sound from a small intercom on the oak desk penetrated the silence that followed Gaara's comment. "Someone just entered the building. We don't know who it is or what it wants. The guy who the intruder encountered is out cold. It looked like it was done with a small bat."

The sharply dressed boss glared at the intercom with a bitter distaste. Intruders... and this time, someone who got past security. On this special day with a Level III Daimon visiting, a intruder comes. He smiled cynically and looked at Gaara, "Well, it looks like I'm not the only one interested in you." He paused and pushed back his chair as he got up and strolled around the desk toward the door with his bodyguards hovering after him, "Can't have them getting you, can we?" He opened the door, "I expect to see you tomorrow, but for now, hide." With that said, he left the room.

The room was empty and silent. Gaara wasn't very bewildered, just a little surprised [though he didn't show it], that they already found him.

Bang.

Gaara heard the splinters of a door crack under pressure from a fast moving object from down the hallways. He whipped his head up and stared at the direction from which the sound came. He walked into the hallway only to see no one there. He walked in the direction opposite from the direction of the sound as a expressionless frown etched on his face.

I'm being hunted. He thought with irony.

***

"Gaara!" Temari called as she neared the business district. She knew there were several sylvan areas there which was a little strange considering that they were near the business district.

The twist is, these areas were active during the night, there were prostitutes and a few gangs around this area. Then there were those rich, sleazy bastards who came to pay for services of teenaged girls, and some even for attractive teenage boys. If they touched Gaara; she didn't want to think of the consequences... But there was no where else to look. "Gaara! Where are you?!" She yelled in vain.

She ran toward group of scantily clad teenagers who was talking to a drooling, red-face man and tapped one of them with her fan to get her attention. When the girl turned around and saw Temari, she frowned in annoyance, "What do you want?"

"Have you seen a boy, with red hair, around the age of 12 any time today?"

"No," came the acidic reply, "Now go away Blondie, you're taking customers away."

A confused expression went was on Temari's face as she noticed a few well dressed college students leer at her. She frowned and glared at them before she ran off in search for her brother.

***

It was dark, and someone was chasing him. Gaara felt the pounding of foot onto the halls behind him as loudly as he heard the shot that grazed his cheek. The sand couldn't keep up and the second defense layer was easily destroyed by the weapon. A stinging sensation on his cheek shocked him, and it gave him something that he's never felt before... physical pain. The small trickle of red that scarred his face gave him a liberal feeling of life. In a masochistic way, the pain made him feel alive.

But, the only thought that coursed through him was that he had to escape. The exit was opened by Sand before he even reached there and he ran into the bitter, cold night. There was a hill nearby, he'd seen it earlier. The hill, it was in a park. If he went there, he would have advantage, he would be able to see the enemy before the enemy could attack him. Before the enemy can put him away.

Kill or be killed, the demon's words echoed in Gaara's head. It was just a variation of "Hunt or be hunted." A phrase that explained the laws of survival in nature, but if applied to humans, a phrase that showed the disintegration of humanity and reason, and to fall into a state beyond savageness, beyond barbarianism, and the closest to describing it would be to call it inhumane because morality is a human creation, not natural. But then again, Gaara wasn't human.

He ran through the vine ridden gates of the park. There were few to no people at night. Not at this time of the night. In a few short hours it would be dawn. He ran while he stared at the sky, looking to the moon for guidance, but tonight, there was no moon. The gray clouds looked close enough to the earth that it could be touched if one reached up. The clouds covered the light of the stars.

He reached the hill, the woody area of the hill. Trees surrounded his very being. He heard dead twigs snap under his weight as he ran, and through the soles of his broken shoes, he felt the coolness of the earth penetrate his skin. Still, the heavy footsteps beat behind him. Closing and creating the distance between him and the shadow.

***

There wasn't anywhere to run. No where to run. The attacker was coming, and the frustration and resentment that he felt from the person was suffocating. Why do people want to kill him? He only wanted to live. Freedom was his goal. An impossible goal. And then, reality struck him. He was never going to be free. No matter where he ran, no matter how close he was to escaping, it won't leave him alone. The demon won't leave him alone. The title, "Level III Daimon" won't leave him alone.

It was approaching. The sand was slowing it down. Soon, the attacker will be trapped in a coffin of sand. Gaara will live, and the attacker will die.

A high pitch shriek of terror came from the attacker as the sand covered the silhouette of its head. The knife that the attacker tried to use on him flew to the side and hit a nearby tree before it fell to the soft ground.

Gaara panted as he looked around. His eyes were well and easily adjusted to the dark. He glanced at the woman's mangled body. Her bones were crushed, and blood marked her torn blouse and bare torso. Her face was gone, ripped out beyond recognition. And quietly, the snow drifted from the heavens and settled on her still warm skin. The only identification of who she once was was the mass of blooded orange hair and a forgotten identification card that laid half buried in the scarlet snow beside her, bearing the name Minami Sasaki.

***

He wanted blood. It was so easy. Killing the woman had been so easy. The last panicked scream of agony that escaped from her lips sent a excited shiver down his spine. He hasn't felt so alive in years.

"Gaara, where have you been? I've been looking for you all day! Do you have any idea how―" Temari ran to him and then skidded to a halt. She looked around the crimson night setting and saw the blood on the snow. The undefiled snow, tainted with death. Her eyes traced the congealed ruby back to it's source and saw the body... or what's left of the body. The dead woman's white bones pierced some of her muscles particularly in the arms, and Temari could see the layers of nerves that were forced apart. The woman's blouse was torn and her liver and kidneys stuck out, threatening to spill onto the floor. What she could see of the lungs was punctured by her ribcage, half of her left breast looked like it was either hacked or blown off, and her face... it was missing. No mouth, no nose, no eyes, just nerves like skinned dead cat.

Horror engulfed her as she fell to her knees and retched, successfully emptying her stomach of whatever contents left. Oh god, Gaara, how could you? she thought, repulsed by the malevolent smell of rejected food, the metallic iron from the spilt blood, and the abuse of the decaying corpse. Oh god.

She knew her brother was a little demonic. She knew that. She knew it. She's seen it before. Once before. Seven years ago. The bodies that littered the playground. The shock in his eyes. The blood in the sand. But, those were left intact. Those little bodies... dead, bloody, lifeless, but not torn apart. They covered up the murder, called it terrorist bombings. Gaara was taken away after that... imprisoned within the institute.

***

"It's okay," A younger Temari said as she held a 5 year old Gaara close to her in a fierce hug that blocked his wide-eyed view of the sand, slowly sliding off the bodies. Father will take care of it. She held him tighter, reassuring herself more than him. "It wasn't your fault. I promise, I won't let them take you away for something that wasn't your fault."

Pain. Rage. Loneliness. Bloodlust. Death. Each emotion flashed through Gaara's jade green eyes. Psychological pain, uncontrollable rage, undesired loneliness, pulsing bloodlust, desire for death.

Kankuro pulled Temari away from Gaara. Her fan dropped on the grass, Gaara bent and picked it up and then held it to his chest. People in white coats walked up to Gaara and he began to panic. Where is Temari going? Why is Kankuro taking her away from me? Let me go back to her.

A man in one of the white lab coats spoke softly to Gaara, "Please come with us, your father said that you're to live with other like yourself. Those who are special."

Gaara was ushered away by the doctors. Before he left, he turned his head over his shoulder and sent a silent plea for his sister to stop them. Temari broke down and sobbed, for herself, for her brother, for the dead children.

***

He looked insane. There was a broken emptiness in his eyes and an indifferent, cold, personality. Pain, rage, loneliness, bloodlust. Once again, those words flashed across Gaara's face. Except, this time, it wasn't from the innocent childish perspective. This time, it was from someone who truly understood those words. From someone who's experienced those words. From someone who was a victim of those words.

The sand crept up Temari's leg.

The tears didn't come; wouldn't come. She wouldn't let them come. She was no longer the child who cried for her demonic brother, for the people who her brother has killed. She watched with a weary and terrible fascination as the sand approached her collarbone. I'm going to die. She realized, and wanted to laugh at the irony of it. She was going to die by her brother's hand. By his demon. She'll know for a split second how others who Gaara killed physically felt before he or she died. Temari wondered whether he would kill her like the dead woman who rested ten feet from her, or would it be like the deaths she witnessed as a child. Or maybe Gaara will treat her special and kill her in a entirely new way. Still it snowed.

***

"Drop the girl! Level III Daimon, you are to return to the institute without hurting anyone."

Mori stood in the backdrop as several guards lined in the front, weapons pointed at the red-head. Kankuro stood beside Mori watching in fear that seemed strange on his heavily made up face. Gaara slowly rotated his head to face the semi-circle that surrounded him. He stared over at his brother and at Mori. Then to the mangled body of the late Sasaki as if contemplating the situation. He turned his head back to Mori and cocked his head.

A scream pierced the brilliant dawn and blood spilled onto the newly fallen snow... and then it was silent.

~Owari~

~*~*~

Character notes (for those of you who didn't assume or guess):
~Blond hair man = This was the 4th Hokage ^^ Yon'daime
~Chairman = Kazekage-sama or Temari/Kankura/Gaara's father
~Sarutobi = For those who don't know, this is the 3rd Hokage's name
~1st Man on phone with Mori = Itachi
~2nd Man on phone with Mori = Kisame

Naito's Message/Rant: How did you like this one-shot? I probably could've turned it into a long thing but... whatever. I don't feel like it. And I probably added one too many original characters. I was at school and I just got this idea while I was thinking of how to develop Sasuke's character in one of my other stories and then this idea came up. I was thinking how it would be like if I were to apply it to Sasuke, then I was like: Naw, Sasuke wouldn't be isolated... however... Gaara might be... and this load of plop came out. And look, I didn't use Japanese unless I was using names!

I might write a sequel, I might not, I don't know. It depends on my mood and whether I feel like doing it... that's one thing I can relate to Shikamaru = It's too troublesome to do anything. So, I'm just lazy. Which is why I have so many unfinished fics. ^^ That's why this is a one-shot. I'm still a bit unsatisfied with the way this turned out...

Anyway... Comments? There are two choices, you can either e-mail me or you can leave a review. I'll take all comments into consideration, even flames as long as you give a valid reason. "You suck, your philosophy suck, this fic in general sucks! hahahaha" is nota valid reason!

Anyway, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.