{>Even In Death<}

[Lady Shad]

Author's Comments

Yes, so I've had this story unravelling in my head for days now, and decided to write it down. It is a Naruto Fanfiction, with lots of drama. So, yes. Please note that I do not own Naruto, Sand, or Villages. Or Gaara, no matter how much I wish... So, yeah. Enjoy.

Summary

Gaara always believed he was a monster.That is, until Misora walked into his life and turned his world upside down. They where best friends forever, but what Gaara doesn't know is Misora has secrets she fights to keep from him. The truth is, they are more alike then even they fathom. When Misora finally loses control, how will they cope? When the Kazekage secretly banishes Misora, will she and Gaara ever see each other again?

[Lady Shad]

Chapter One: Growl Like a Wolf

I laid on my bed, eyes still stinging from the tears that had ended only a few seconds ago. The sounds of chilren playing outside reached my ears from the open window.How come they can have so much fun while I lay here and suffer? It just wasn't fair! I got off my bed, walking to the window, staring at the other kids. They looked like they where having a good time... I let my mind wander, imagining what it would be like if that was me playing out there with them. That's when he caught my eye. In the shadow of my house stood a boy with flaming red hair. That's not what really caught my attention, though really, red hair? How cool was that! Really, though, waht caught my eye was how longingly he was looking at the kids playing. Just as sadly as I was. That's when I decided. I was tired of being alone, my only friend being a stuffed dog. I was going to go outside!

I crawled out of my window, feet sending up puffs of dust as they hit the ground. After all, this is the desert. I took some time to look around, though there wasn't much to see. Just me, the red-haired boy, and the kids at play. I looked over at the lone boy, deciding to start there with my newfound freedom.

"Hi!" I said cheerfully as I came up beside him. He looks surprised that I would talk to him, but then, I'd be surprised if some random stranger started talking to me, too. "What's your name?"

"...Gaara," Gaara said quietly as he looked down, like he was ashamed of his name. Of course, though, I didn't know what it ment. "Gaara... I like it. It sounds cool and growly, like a wolf," I said, smiling. I didn't notice the absence of the noise, or that one kid that ran to get their mother. That one kid, who in a simple act of concern, changed my life forever.

"Oh my god, get away from him, little girl, before you get hurt!" I heard someone scream. I looked, and there was a pudgy lady running toward Gaara and I, and when I looked at Gaara, he looked terrified. However, I had just made my first friend beside my stuffed beagle Toby, and I wasn't about to let him go. So as the lady grabbed at me, I flung my arms around Gaara's neck, glaring at the dumbstruck lady. "No! He's my woofie friend! You can't make me!" I yelled, pronouncing wolf wrong, and startling the crowed that had gathered, igniting a collective gasp.

"Get away from that monster!" The lady yell, grabbing my arm, and I decided to do what first came into my mind. I bit her hand, soon tasting metallic blood on my tongue.

"You... You're just like him, you little monsters!" She said, stepping back rapidly. I stuck my tongue out at the lady, grabbing Gaara's hand and pulling him along behind me as I ran back towards my house. Once I got to my bedroom window, I turned back to my new friend. "Get in, but be quiet. I don't know it mama's back yet, and I'm not supposed to be outside," I said quickly, climbing in after him.

Author's Note

Ok, so this chapter sucks, I know. I was in a rush to get a foundation down, so I may come back and edit this later. Comments are appreciated, just please, don't troll. I hate trolls. So if you troll, I shall put you in the colloseum with Shadow and Eclipse. And that's something no one wants, trust me. If you have a helpful comment, however, you get free cookies!

[Lady Shad]

Chapter Two: The Only One

I walked the dark streets of the Sand Village alone, shivering. An oversized T-shirt is not something you should be wearing in the dead of a desert night, even with oversized sweatpants. Of course, I was looking for my woofie, Gaara. Though tonight, he was nowhere to be found, not even in some of his favorite places in the village. So, I just walked, looking, for now.

Of course, though, peace does not last. A scream split the night, and I wouldn't have paid much attention to it, if I hadn't known who it was, screaming. "Gaara!" I cried, pushing my little legs into a run, stumbling over my too-long pantlegs.

***

I raced up to the roof of the Kazakage's tower, pausing to catch my panting breath as I looked at Gaara. By now I knew his secret, as everyone did, but it still frightened my a bit whenever he got that look in his eye, or used his sand. It... took some getting used to. "Gaara..." I said quietly, worried about him. He had a feral look in his eyes, unlike anything I've ever seen in him before. "Are you alright?"

"Get away from me..." Gaara growled, sounding far feircer than he ever had before "Before I kill you, too, Misora,"

I flinched, knowing that, for once, he wasn't speaking out of concern for another's well-being. The was a threat. He was threatening me! "No, Gaara. You won't kill me, I know. Because you're my best friend, Gaara," I said, looking striaght at him, scincerily hoping that he wouldn't kill her. He only seemed shocked, though.

"b-but... Yashamaru said..." He seemed very confused, and I saw my Gaara in those eyes again. "Everyone says I'm a monster."

"You're no monster, Woofie!" I said, using my nickname for him, "You're my friend, and I don't care what other people say. They're selfish and stupid," I nodded, to ground in the fact. Tehn I stepped forward, walking over to Gaara, and carefully touching the Kanji on his forehead. "Love... That's something we have to give each other, now, Gaara. We're the only ones for each other."

Gaara looked at her, as if he was trying to decide if she told the truth or not. Why would she lie about something imortant as this, though? Then he smiled "You really mean it, Misora? We'll always be friends?" He asked egarly, and I nodded. I put my arm around his shoulder, as I walked him down to the steps. "Forever."

Author's Note

Ok, another sucking chapter. Really, I don't know how you all put up with this. Let's just hope I get better.

[Lady Shad]

Chapter Three: The Monster Awakens

The wind was hot on my face, and every few seconds I had to lick the sand off my lips. My head rested on Gaara's leg, as he sat watching training ninja from afar. Meanwhile, I was content just to lay and enjoy the sense of someone being near. "Awwe, look, it's the monster and his bride," I heard a voice snicker behind us, rather annoyingly.

"Kankuro, why don't you go and play with your toys? Don't you have a life other than ruining ours?" I said in a slightly angry tone, sitting up. I looked at Gaara out of the corner of my eye, who was clearly trying to hold his temper. The days of no sleep must have been getting to him. He looked at me, the look in his eye saying that I'd better handle it, which was probably the best way to go. I'd critically injure Kankuro. Gaara'd kill him.

"Ah, but what fun would that be? Oh, but don't worry. I'll be sure to hel with whatever worthless brats you guys pop out," He snickered.

"Alright, that is IT!" I screeched, feeling the familiar prickle of Chakra making itself into the shape of a bow in my hand. I quickly docked an arrow and let it fly, hoping it would fly true, as I wasn't all that good at aiming yet. Unfortunately, it hit Crown, disgused as Kankuro. "Damn it! Where'd he go?" I snarled, looking around.

"Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me," I heard Kankuro's teasing voice from behind me, and he was so close I felt his breath on the back of my neck as his arms wrapped around me, pinning my arms to my side. Unforutnately for him, his arms wrapped around my belly, where my skin was left uncovered. Dispite my now pink face, I growled, "If you don't let go of my I swear I'm gunna kill you! Gaara get him off of me!" I screamed, struggling to get free.

Thankfully, though, before Kankuro could process my screaming, a turrent of sand slammed into him, ripping him away from me, and Gaara walked over to stand by my side. "Kankuro, your getting on my nerves," He said in that chilly voice of his. "Go away."

"Fine, fine, you two have no sense of fun," His brother said, overly egear to leave now that Gaara was in a bad mood.

[Lady Shad]

Ok, sorry to you guys that where acually enjoying this snoozefest, but I have decided to go back to the drawing boards for this one. It's just got really boring, really fast, and it's going no where, and I'v been pushing chapter ten behind the scenes. So, Once I figure out the best way to revise this, the project will be up and going again. Until then, you all will have to be content with Behind Emerald Eyes. Thank you for your outstanding patience with this!(And for those of you who don't have patience for this... Well too bad. Get used to me and my mood swings. You'll be seeing alot of them)

[Lady Shad]

Chapter One: Abandoned

"Do you know why you're here?"

I looked shyly at the ninja, not really knowing what this was about. I hurt and I was tired, and I just wanted to go home. What did the shinobi want with me, anyway? "I dunno..." I whispered, looking at my hands.

"She clearly doesn't know what happened. We should let her go."

"And then what? She'll lose it again, for sure!"

"What if we remove her from the instability? We'll have her specially trained. She'll never know."

What are they talking about? Me? My head moved slightly to the side, and Kouji stood up by my side growling. My eyes scanned the darkness, trying to identify the source of the voices. "I-I don't understand..." I said, holding my throbbing head. What was up with Kouji? Why where they talking about me? What had I done wrong?

"She'll go live with the Inuzukas. They won't question her link with the wolf, and she'll be taken care of. Erase her memories and try to subdue the creature's chakra. We can't have the risk of another Jinchuriki in the Village!"

Kouji's growl increased to a snarl as one of the shinobi approached, and I laid a small hand on the black wolf's head. "Quiet, Kouji-kun," I whispered to him in my mind, and his growling quietly subsided. I smelt a sickly-sweet scent, and everything went black.

Seven Years Later

"Hey, Misora! Come on, I've got some great news!"

I smiled at the excitement in Kiba's voice, and I looked out my bedroom window to see him on the street waiting. "Coming, Kiba-kun!" I smiled, and Kouji opened one eye. "Do we have to? It's too early for Kiba's nonsense," He huffed, ending his statement. I picked his head up in both hands, kissing his wet nose. "Of course we do, you silly wolf! Besides, it's almost twelve. It is not early!" I smiled at him as he jumped off my bed, resting his chin on my shoulder. His head was even with my shoulder and always has been, despite the fact that he's still a puppy.

He then proceeded to lazily get up, jump off the bed, and slowly walk out of the room. Meanwhile, I grabbed my pack and hurried after my partner, annoyed at his slow pace. I mean, it was painfully obvious that Kiba had something worth listening to for once, but he insisted on being a butt! "Can you hurry up?" I thought impatiently, resorting to our telepathic link, because I knew that is I woke up Tsume this early in the morning there'd be hell to pay. "nope."

By the time I was finally able to get out of the house, Kiba was looking quite annoyed. "Sorry it took me so long, Big Brother. Kouji was being... well, Kouji," I quickly explained, before he had time to go off on me. "Whatever. Just listen! We've been accepted to take the Chunin Exams!" He was so excited; I was surprised he didn't start squealing like a girl. Even Akamaru was clearly excited. The Chunin exams... Rookies weren't usually accepted to take them, even one that was training for as long as myself.

"Sounds nice, but you sure you can take it? They're pretty tough," I said, placing my hands behind my head, easily teasing Kiba. I noticed with a smile how that made him mad. It was so cute how I, a tiny little girl that looked no stronger than an anole lizard, could provoke him into such a rage, the big and mighty Kiba. "Take that back!" He growled, grabbing at me as I danced back, the ever-graceful Ninja I was. "You'll have to catch me first!" I sang, leaping past him and racing down the street, Kouji hot on my heels.

~~~

I slowed, looking back over my shoulder, but I saw no Kiba. "You sense anything, Kouji?" I asked, Not entirely trusting myself. While he could be clumsy, Kiba shouldn't be underestimated. "No, he is still back near the house, making sure you didn't double back like last time," He commented emotionlessly. "You know, you would think he'd have noticed the pattern by now,” He gave out a bark at that, his version of a laugh. I smiled down at him, amused at his clear dislike of Kiba.

I jumped onto the top of a wall, balancing carefully as I walked down the deserted alleyways, where I could go without the hate-filled stares of passersby. Really, it wasn't worth being around people. The only thing others caused was pain, and it was in my nature to avoid that. After all, why continue to try to make friends when they hurt you, in the end?

”Komahamaru!”

I nearly fell off the fence, ripped out of my thoughts by an annoyingly familiar voice. ”You let Naruto, of all ninja, surprise you?” Kouji smiled his wolfish grin. “S-shut up! It’s not that hard to get surprised in your own village when you’re lost in your own thoughts!” I hissed, looking at the scene before me, while staying hidden in the shadows. It looked like Naruto, Sakura and some weak little tots where being bullied by sand genin. A guy in black... pajamas, and makeup, too? What was that about, was he gay or something? The other one, a girl, looked more like a proper ninja. She had blond hair tied into four ponytails, and a giant fan on her back. So, a wind-user, eh? This would be fun since she looked tough. Maybe she’d be a challenge for me in the exams.

Hey! You, fat pig! If you don’t let him go, I’ll make you pay, fatass, idiot!”

I smiled at Naruto’s pure cocky idiocy. Didn’t he know better than to challenge someone, possibly stronger than him, to a battle when he knew nothing about them? ”Stupidity,” Kouji huffed in agreement. I kept my eyes trained on the group, now channeling chakra into my ears in order to hear them properly. Didn’t you just love spying on other people?

”Basically, I hate midgets, especially younger ones who are rude. It makes me want to kill them.”

The blonde said something about not being involved, but I watched eagerly as the black-pajamas ninja pulled his fist back, ready to punch the little tot he was holding up by the shirt. I watched eyes wide, for the fresh blood that I knew would drive me into a semi-frenzy, but it would be worth it. Maybe I could find a genin to fight... or maybe Blondie, to satisfy my bloodlust.

“Well, after I’m done with this one I’ll take care of that other annoying midget!”

I leaded ever so slightly forward, digging my fingers into the fence, willing him to go ahead and punch the kid, to draw the blood that would let me lose control of myself, if only for a little while. A small blur streaked through the air, hitting the pajama-boy’s arm, making him drop the kid before he could kit him, causing me to lean back in disappointment. Then I looked back to see who threw the rock.

”What are you bastards doing in our village?”

Oh, yes. The only person who could take something Kiba would say and turn it into an emotionless blunder of meaningless words. Sasuke, the boy who had every girl but myself at his feet, the egotistical emo boy. I now watched as they traded insults, Blondie tried to stop the oncoming fight, but I myself would enjoy seeing Sasuke’s butt handed to him. After all, he had an ego the size of his head that he liked to throw around, just because he was the last of his Clan.

“Kankuro, stop it. You’re an embarrassment to our village.”

I looked up, the cold, emotionless voice sending shivers down my spine. Whoever had a voice like that deserved my attention. Even Kouji, who never gave any ninja a second glance, put one paw forward, growling slightly. This guy must be exceptional. I saw him hanging upside down from the same tree Sasuke sat in. Wasting chakra like that… he must be good, to be so sure of himself. Even Tetsugaia-sensei never wasted his chakra!

”Losing control of yourself in a fight, how pathetic… Why do you think we came to the leaf village?”

I listened as black-pajamas stuttered that it was Naruto’s gang’s fault, which was rather pathetic. Naruto couldn’t hurt a fly, even if he tried. He was pathetic and weak, hardly worth the time of day that this guy, who I’m assuming is Kankuro, gave him.

”Shut up… Or I’ll kill you.”

I cocked my head in confusion at that. He seemed strong and all, but the teams I’ve seen weren’t usually like that, like Tetsu-sensei and me. They didn’t intentionally try to kill each other. They worked together, helping each other, but this guy didn’t seem to do that. I fully believed that he truly would kill his teammate if he wanted to. I watched as he disappeared in sand, appearing between his teammates. Kankuro called him Gaara… Gaara meant Demon who loved only himself. He would be interesting, very interesting indeed.

I listened to their meaningless chatter, though I really didn’t care anymore. All I wanted was more information on Gaara, or perhaps Blondie, but all I got was more unwanted information on the Chunin Exams. I also picked up the signs that Blondie was interested in Sasuke, though that wasn’t surprising. Really, the only reason I stayed was to follow the sand team when they left. Which couldn’t happen soon enough. It seemed like forever to me, but finally they departed, leaving only their scent trails.

I quickly made hand signs, using my newest, and original, jutsu. “Lupine transformation jutsu!” I whispered, and in a poof of smoke, I was a coal-black wolf, just like Kouji, except my eyes where their usual darkest blue. I growled, twitching my tail, a sign for ‘let’s go’. I padded out to where the sand genin just where, sniffing carefully. There- I had the trail. I growled confirmation to Kouji, and ran off after the Sand team.

It wasn’t long before the trail grew dangerously fresh-within a few minutes. I then released the jutsu, taking to the shadowed trees, getting within seeing distance. ”So, what’s with the sudden interest, Misora? It’s not like they threatened you in any way,” Kouji asked, looking at me out of the corner of his eye, asking for me to correct him in his own way. I only ignored him, shutting my mind off from him. There where sometimes when being connected as we were got tedious.

The truth was, I didn’t want Kouji to know why I was interested. He’d be the first to say I was being silly. Still… The look in Gaara’s eyes, others would see it as blind anger, bloodlust, or just no emotion at all. I, however, saw it for what it was. His eyes held that pain behind the dark exterior. That same pain that I felt, that pain of being hated by all, loved by no one. The pure, raw, aching pain of betrayal, of loneliness. It hurt my heart to see another hurting in this way. No one deserved this kind of hurt.

I slowed, watching as they walked quietly down the street, none of them saying anything. ”Move left now,” Kouji growled suddenly, I jumped against the trunk of the tree instinctively as Kouji disappeared, most likely to watch from a distant roof. He didn’t like Tetsugaia-Sensei. One of his Kunai stuck in the branch where I was standing just a moment before. I was slightly embarrassed that, after all the assassination attempts, Kouji had to revert to warning me, again.

I watched carefully as Tetsugaia-sensei tore his kunai out of the branch, placing it back in his weapon’s pouch. “What is it, Sensei?” I asked, alert now. Tetsu wore his headband around his leg, and had the typical outfit of Jonin. “We have two new team members. You’re expected at the training grounds in exactly five minutes,” He snapped, and promptly disappeared in a cloud of smoke. It’s not like I expected anything else. After all, Tetsugaia-sensei, like everyone else, with the exception of Kiba, hated me. That more than explained why my Sensei was constantly trying to kill me. He believed he was doing the village a favor.

”Well, Kouji, we better get going to see what sorry bunch they gave us to work with,” I thought to him, turning to leave. If I was to get to the training grounds in five minutes, I’d have to hurry. Before I left, though, I took a glance over my shoulder to the strange sand boy and hesitated. There was no way he could of heard our exchange, we were too far away, and yet... When I looked over my shoulder, he was staring straight at me.