Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

AN/ Special Thanks to Ano, kurenai cakes, Refrigerator-Burn, Wannabe-Temari, AmaiNeiko, TheLoverOfMusic, Nerd4ever243, Gray-Alistair, Seraphina Dragon, and Kiss-it-Kiss-it for reviewing…I truly appreciate it!

Wow! It's been a while…much longer than I thought, but it's been a busy year. This isn't my best chapter, but I felt that I needed to get something up so that I can move forward with the plot. So don't hold back and let me know what you guys think.

Questions/

Ino and Sakura…I know they seem insignificant at the moment, but they play an important part in the story.

Everyone still have their powers without being ninja. Care to explain that? Hehe, this is not your typical gang story. No, they are not ninjas (AU), but they still have retained their…gifts, though they have to keep them secret…but as you can see, some people like to act recklessly.

Is Muzai a split personality? She didn't begin that way…As for her appearances, look for subtle changes in behavior throughout the story (posture, voice change, even thoughts). Gaara calls her Muzai, because that is her gang name, her nickname, and her…other all wrapped in one…if that makes any sense.

Who is Kyoui? Kyoui is what Shukaku calls Murasaki

Naruto groaned slightly as he blearily tried to figure out where he was. He ran his head roughly through his blond locks. It felt as if he had been run over by a truck…and then the truck backed up on him and then proceeded to run over him again. What happened?

His musings were interrupted by a noise to his left. Blue eyes shifted over to see a familiar sight; although he wasn't too thrilled about it. Naruto narrowed his eyes in irritation as he finally figured where he was.

"What did you do now, you stupid bastard?" Naruto grumbled. "Why am I down here?"

A huge red slit eye slid open to stare at him. While most people would tremble in fear, Naruto simply looked into it with boredom and annoyance.

"So you're finally awake,"the being stated in dark amusement, "A shame really; I wanted to stay out and…play a little longer."

Naruto's face remained clear of whatever he was currently feeling, but on the inside he couldn't help but feel slightly confused and panicked on the inside. What was Kyuubi talking about? For the life of him, he could not remember anything past driving to the dojo and walking in on the end of Gaara and Hinata's fight.

Blue eyes widened. "That can't be…" he murmured.

"Oh," Kyuubi tilted his large head mockingly. "Are you trying to figure out with that simpleton brain of yours how I got out? It's quite simple really," Kyuubi bared his razor sharp teeth in a terrifying grin. "You're the one that let me out."

The blond gang leader reeled his head back as if physically struck.

Gaara slowly blinked a few times as he slowly became aware of his surroundings. Ignoring all the rubble and debris around him, he began to search for the one person he was looking for. He slowly rose to his feet, wincing as he irritated a bruise on his ribs.

The red-head finally found what he was looking for. Hinata was still unconscious, though thankfully for the most part, she was pretty much unscathed. He slowly made his way towards her and when he reached her, picked her up as gently he could.

Besides a small grimace of pain, the bluenette remained in blissful darkness. Another look around the room caused flashes of the fight between Shukaku and Kyuubi to run through his mind. He still couldn't recall what actually caused his demon to pull him into his mindscape in the first place.

His eyes flashed briefly when he landed on Sasuke's battered and unconscious form. For some reason, he really wanted to kill the bastard, slowly and painfully. Gaara shook his red locks quickly before making his way towards the exit.

You have some explaining to do, Shukaku.

He paused when a figure blocked his only exit. Gaara tensed at the sight, knowing that he physically couldn't handle another fight. He breathed a sigh of relief when the figure made himself known.

"Chisoka," Gaara murmured.

"Shukaku-sama," Lee responded, bowing his head in acknowledgment.

"What the fuck happened?" Naruto roared at Kyuubi, who merely opened his massive jaw and yawned as a response. Naruto grit his teeth in fury when the demon simply ignored him.

"I didn't let you out," Naruto stated, seemingly more to convince himself. "Why would I let you out when I wanted to fight Gaara myself?"

"You don't even know what happened do you?" The ground rumbled and quaked with Kyuubi's dark laughter. "You've been having a lot of blackouts lately, my little host; not that I'm complaining. That just means more fun for me."

Naruto slid down in a sitting position, next to a cage that was holding the malevolent beast. "What's going on?" he whispered as he looked at his hands.

"You let me out because you wanted to let me out," Sharp teeth glimmered in the darkness. "Subconsciously, you realize that I'm the only one that can get her…that I'm the only one that can keep her.

"Get who? What the hell are you talking about?"

Kyuubi snarled in irritation and slammed his body against his prison. Satisfied when he heard a few cracks, he turned his blood red eyes towards his host to see his reaction.

"Shit." Naruto ran his hands roughly through his hair, pulling it slightly. I need to speak to Jaraiya. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."

"The seal is weakening and as much as I despise this weak body of yours," he chuckled, "it's better than nothing." Another terrifying smile. "The more I come out, the less you remember. The more I'm in control, the more control you lose."

Naruto closed his eyes. "Why now?"

The fox merely blinked in response to the question.

"You've been in here for eighteen years and yet you've never been this desperate to get out." The blond paused when he didn't get a reaction, not even a snort of amusement; that meant he was on to something. "You've always tried to influence and manipulate me but we eventually came to a truce. I would let you out every once in a while and you wouldn't try to take over my body and cause massive destruction. You broke your word!" Naruto shouted angrily.

He jumped back very quickly preventing himself from meeting a swift death by enormous claws. The next second, he was covering his ears as a furious roar rang throughout the mindscape. The killing intent came next.

The blond froze for a split second before meeting the blood red eyes of the one he contained.

"If I could, I would rip you to shreds for your insolence! You dare call ME a liar? I am a demon that honors their word!" Kyuubi bared his teeth in anger. "The agreement was that I would only come out when you allowed it -."

"Exactly! I have not -."

"Silence!" the demonroared. Naruto closed his mouth with a click. Outwardly he showed no signs of fear but on the inside, he was shaking. He clenched his fists to show his anger, but also to hide his shaking. He hadn't felt this afraid since the first few months he found out that he was jinchuriki. "It was never specified on how I was allowed out."

The blond furrowed his brows in confusion.

"I want her and coincidentally, consciously or unconsciously, you want her too. Therefore, I will be the one to obtain her and I am going to use your body to do it.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Naruto screamed in frustration. "What is this about a girl? What girl are you talking about? You're completely changing the fucking subject!"

Kyuubi snorted as his red eyes narrowed in irritation. "Let me put this in words that even an insignificant fool like you can understand. I want Shukaku's bitch, but the only way that I can retrieve her is through your useless body." A large tail slammed against the bars of the cage causing the ground to tremble; henceforth shutting Naruto up before he could open his mouth to argue.

"Whether consciously or unconsciously, either way I truly could not care less," a malicious grin formed and made the blond unconsciously take a step back, "you want her too. And that makes it so much easier for me."

"You want Hinata?" he whispered. Too many thoughts were running through his head. The Kyuubi had never been interested in humans…always berating them and complaining how useless they were, so why was Hinata so special? He was brought out of his musings by a dark chuckle, not realizing that he had voiced his question out loud.

"Because, my little host, she was mine from the very beginning."

Gaara stared indifferently at the girl in Lee's arms. He curled his lip into a small sneer before speaking. "How much did she see before you knocked her out?"

Lee shrugged, holding the girl as if she weighed nothing. "I don't believe she's seen much, Gaara-kun, probably just the damage between you and my leader."

"Are you sure?" Sharp aqua eyes gazed intensely into Lee's. "I'm already in enough shit. I don't need some bitch putting her nose where it doesn't belong."

Lee tightened his hold at the statement but nodded his head nonetheless. Gaara closed his eyes as he released a weary sigh. He walked around Lee and made his way out the door. He paused before he reached the end of the hallway. "Tell your…leader to meet me tomorrow at the park after school. There are some things that need to be discussed. Oh, and you should stop by more often. I'm sure Murasaki would be delighted to see you."

Lee opened his mouth to protest but was interrupted. "There's no need to worry about suspicion," Gaara smirked. "You are my tracker after all."

Sasuke woke up with a groan…and immediately wanted to be put back into a state of unconsciousness. Every twitch, every blink, every breath, every thought felt like someone was striking him repeatedly with an iron hot hammer. It simply hurt. If trying to stay still hurt like a bitch; he didn't want to find out the feeling of actually moving.

What the hell happened?

He and Naruto had arrived the dojo to have a friendly match when they had found Lee manning the front desk. Naruto had asked for a status report and Lee (being Gaara's tracker) had informed them of the former gang leader's whereabouts. What a nice coincidence.

He remembered walking in on Shukaku and his nagaremono making out. A few exchanging of words and the next thing he knows Shukaku and Kyuubi are trying to rip each other apart. After that…

If Sasuke could have smirked, he would have. He mentally laughed without humor before sobering his thoughts. I should be dead right now. If what happened had truly happened…the pale seinn snorted softly, that's probably why I feel like absolute shit right now. Kyuubi must have been preventing Shukaku from coming to close after the initial hit.

Speaking of Kyuubi…Sasuke stopped himself before he could finish that thought. He didn't even want to find out how far he had dug his grave this time; metaphorically and physically.

Mentally preparing for excruciating pain, Sasuke took a deep breath and rolled over. He couldn't prevent a sharp yelp from spilling from his lips. He hacked a small bit before turning to the side and spitting out a decent amount of blood and saliva from his throat.

I need to move. Come on, I need to fucking move!

Sasuke hated being in a position where he didn't have a clue as to what was going on. He felt completely vulnerable considering he had no idea the whereabouts of Gaara or Naruto. He groaned once more as he tried to stand, but his body weight was currently too much for his legs to handle.

He landed on his back painfully and he, once again, wished that he had stayed unconscious. He stayed there for a moment, mentally counting his injuries. Broken ribs, don't know how many; two broken fingers, right hand; sprained ankle, left; concussion; dislocated left shoulder; some internal injuries…

Sasuke blinked as his thoughts were interrupted by a groan coming from across the room. He sighed in relief, (although he regretted it a half second later), when he began hearing the curses of his best friend.

A possibly pissed off Naruto was much better than a really pissed off Gaara.

"Hey," the blond croaked before hissing in pain, "I know this is a stupid question…but are you going to school tomorrow?"

If Sasuke had the ability to punch the idiot, he would have. It would have been well worth the pain. "We almost died," he spoke lowly; shit! Talking hurts, "and you're asking me if I'm going to school tomorrow? I don't even have the fucking ability to roll over!"

Gaara sighed as he thought about his current predicament. He had his unconscious girlfriend in his arms and they had both arrived separately and on their motorcycles. He had tried to wake her up, but it was of no use. Something was going on and he needed to figure it out really soon before something worse happens.

He sighed once more; this time in frustration. The red head knew he had no choice, but that didn't mean that he had to like it.

Gaara leaned against a pillar and then set Hinata's feet on the ground causing her unconscious body to lean against him in a lover's embrace. To the outside world, they looked like any other lovey dovey couple. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. There was a small hesitation before he began to dial. The person picked up on the first ring.

"What happened?"

"There's been an incident. I need you to come get us right now."

"What's going on, Gaara? What aren't you telling me?"

"No questions," the former gang leader snapped roughly, "Just do as I say -."

"Let's get one thing straight. You are NOT my leader and I am NOT your seinn, so don't fucking treat me like one! Treat me with the respect that I deserve or I will not hesitate to kick your ass."

Gaara remained silent as he took the verbal lashing. The former gang leader knew that he deserved it considering his attitude lately. A small part of him felt guilty. "I apologize nee-chan -."

"No," Temari spoke, her voice coated with weariness and frustration, "I'm not done. You do not get to treat me like a porcelain doll when you and Hinata were the one that put me in this situation."

Though his big sister couldn't see it, Gaara couldn't help but flinch at the blunt but true statement. He closed his eyes in slight remorse as he continued to listen.

"I keep getting put in these situations and yet you won't tell me a damn thing. Something big is going to go down, Gaara. I can feel it. You need to tell me what is going on, so I can be prepared. The only person you need to be worrying about – you should be worrying about - is Murasaki.

"Fine," he replied, his voice lacking any emotions, "but not here. Something went down between me and Kyuubi and Hinata is unconscious. All we have are the bikes, so I need you to come get us as fast as you can…please."

There was a pause on the line before Temari sighed. "What have you gotten me into, Gaara?" Another sigh. "I'll be there soon. When we get home, you need to tell me everything. No more secrets."

There was no chance to reply. The older sister had hung up the phone as soon as she said the last statement. He looked down at his Muzai before sighing once more (he had been doing that a lot lately).

This was going to be a long night.

Meanwhile…

Hinata whined in slight distress as she continued to walk through the vast forest of her mindscape. She felt as if she had been walking in circles for hours. She ran a shaking hand roughly through her hair before leaning against a random large tree.

The bluenette closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. Taking in the fresh and moist air of the forest and the random calls of the animals, Hinata took another deep breath.

She knew where she was although she didn't know the reason why she got there. The problem was that she didn't know how to get out; weird, considering that it was her mind. The only… 'person' able to keep her here was Muzai and she seemed to have disappeared completely off her radar.

"Muzai!" Hinata called from her position. "Where are you?"

She waited for a few moments to listen for a response. The bluenette bit her lip in frustration. "If you don't want me here," she shouted, "then why are you keeping me here?"

Hinata wanted to continue to move but she knew she deemed it pointless. If Muzai didn't want to be found; she was not going to be found. The young seinn absently grabbed a chunk of her long hair and began to braid.

Well, while waiting she might as well speak what's on her mind. She knew that Muzai was listening.

"What's been going on with you, Muzai? You've been acting off…lately. More aggressive; more possessive…more secretive."

There was a small rustle of leaves a few feet behind her, but Hinata stayed where she was.

"Did I do something wrong…besides straying? You've been acting like a…well, like a bitch towards me, although I am quite confused. We are the same, we are -."

"Now, that is where you're wrong, Hime." The last word was whispered with contempt. The bluenette remained completely still as her double mockingly caressed her cheek. Muzai squatted down so they were face to face. She leaned in close until they were a few inches from each other.

Hinata purposely kept her breathing even at the close proximity. "Where am I wrong?" she whispered.

Muzai flashed her white teeth at the question, not moving an inch. "You're so pathetic," the woman responded in the same low tone, ignoring the question. "You have a powerful leader, a loyal gang, and a precious daughter and yet all you are is an Ungrateful. Little. Bitch."

Hinata didn't even bat an eye at the insult. "Is that where I went wrong, Muzai-chan?" There was extra emphasis in 'chan'. "I am not being grateful?"

Muzai shook her head playfully, but remained close. "You are wrong when you claimed us to be the same." She spat the last word out as if it was a disease.

"How so?"

"Do you know what Muzai stands for, Hime?" the young woman asked her twin. "It's actually ironic. You see, I am everything that you are not. I am the complete opposite of you; therefore I am the complete opposite of innocence."

Hinata was about to respond, but her lips were quickly covered by Muzai's. The kiss didn't last long, though it did shut Hinata up pretty quick. Her pink lips stayed open in slight surprise when the kiss ended.

"You see, Hime," Muzai stated with a sensual tone, "I am your lust, your anger, your rage, your experience." Her voice was becoming louder and louder and yet she still had not moved out of Hinata's personal space. "I am your murderer, your punching bag, your dirty little secret…and so much more. But you want to know the most important thing about me is? I am my own. Fucking. Person. And sooner or later, I am going to get my freedom."

Muzai roughly pushed herself up from her position and began walking away. "You would do well to remember this little heart-to-heart." She waved her hand carelessly causing Hinata to make a soundless gasp and clasp her chest. "Now get the fuck out of my sight."

With the last statement, Hinata took a deep rasping breath and her lavender eyes popped open in a panic. She could vaguely hear shouting in the background, but ignored it in an attempt to calm her rapid heartbeat.

"-nata! –inata! Hinata, calm down! You're going to pass out again at this rate if you don't calm down!"

"Temari-nee," Hinata croaked, recognizing the voice. She blinked rapidly trying to focus, but was failing horribly. A double set of light green eyes came across her vision before everything became black.

"Damn it," Temari murmured in slight frustration. She let out a shaky sigh of relief to find that her best friend had simply passed out in exhaustion. Her breathing was even and deep instead of harsh and panting as it was not even a few minutes ago.

She walked out of Gaara and Hinata's bedroom and made her down the stairs. She ignored the shiver that went up her spine as an image of Hinata flashed through her mind. Consciously or unconsciously, she had a really bad feeling that shit was about to hit the fan…and very soon.

Gaara looked up impassively as he watched his sister walk slowly into the living room. He gently caressed his daughter's back while she was sleeping soundly over his shoulder.

When Temari arrived, he had gently placed Hinata in the backseat next to his daughter, before climbing in the front seat. The ride home was filled with a tense and uncomfortable silence. When they reached the house, Murasaki had woken up and demanded to be held by her father. While he grabbed her, Temari handled Hinata.

"She woke up," Temari stated lowly, interrupting Gaara's thoughts.

He hummed in reply. "Did she say anything?"

The young blonde dropped on the couch on the opposite side of her little brother. She sighed and settled her head into her hand. "Only my name before she slipped back into unconsciousness. But she's actually sleeping now."

The former gang leader tilted his head in acknowledgement. There was a tense silence for a few minutes before Temari sighed again. "Gaara…Otouto, talk to me please. What the hell have you gotten yourself into?"

Gaara closed his eyes at her pleading tone. He shook his head slowly. "I can't. It's too -."

"Bullshit," Temari growled out, making sure to keep her voice low. "I already told you that you burned that bridge when you came here. I'm asking you again. What happened that you had to come out here and look for me?"

Temari wanted to scream in frustration when Gaara kept his mouth shut. If he wasn't holding Murasaki, she would have punched him across the face.

Just as she opened her mouth to curse him out, he spoke. "They know."

"What?"

Intense aquamarine stared into his sibling's eyes. "They know about Hinata…more specifically Muzai."

Temari's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean they know about Muzai? Gaara, who -?"

"Akatsuki," he spat the word as if it was acid. "They found out about her and want her for themselves."

"Okay." Temari stood up the couch and began to pace. "Okay, so Akatsuki found out about Muzai and you thought it would be a good idea to resign leadership and run away like a coward, right? Are you crazy? They're going to follow you! They're going to come right to us!"

She winced when the red-head grabbed her wrist tightly. She hadn't even seen him move. One moment he was sitting down and holding his sleeping daughter in his arms and the next moment, he was coldly gripping her wrist with bruising force. "You're hurting me."

Gaara released her quickly, but made no move to apologize. Temari resisted the urge to rub her wrist in front of him. "I did what I had to do to protect my family. If I had stayed where I was, Murasaki and I would have already been dead; Hinata, the leader's nagaremono and Shukaku would have been captured." His aquamarine eyes flashed with cruel intent and he gave her a vicious grin. "It was a good thing you abandoned us so many years ago, nee-chan, or I would have had nowhere to hide my Kyoui when they do eventually find us."

Temari sucked in deep breath at the insult, but her facial expression remained the same. She knew he was lashing out for a comment earlier, but that didn't make it hurt any less. "You know why I had to leave, Gaara," she started lowly only to be interrupted by a slightly unstable chuckle. She tensed when she saw gold edges around her little brother's eyes.

The dirty blonde cautiously took a step back and raised her arms in a calming manner. Gaara sneered at the gesture showing a glint of one his sharp canines. "You think you were the only one that wanted to leave when we were under that bastard's rule?" he growled. "You think that you were the only one that wanted to run away? You were the one that left and we were the ones that stayed and you have the nerve to call me a fucking coward?"

"I had to leave!" she screamed angrily; her emotions too high to be aware of the sleeping child on the couch. "I was only twelve; do you know what he would have done to me if I stayed?"

She actually stumbled back when the red-head locked eyes with her. The gold rings around his eyes were gone, but so were his emotions. The only thing she saw was a cold abyss that she would surely fall into if she didn't look away.

"What would he have done?" Gaara asked quietly, his voice void of all emotions. He tilted his head in mock curiosity. "Would he have raped you? Would he have tortured you? Beaten you? Starved you? Enlighten me, Temari. What would he have done to you?"

Temari bit her lip and shook her head in denial. Her heart clenched in guilt at his implications. No, it couldn't be…the red head simply gave her a cold smirk. "You escaped when you were twelve. I was only eight." Gaara closed his eyes tightly and clenched and unclenched his fists as if trying to ward off a bad memory.

"Gaara -."

"No," he deadpanned. His voice along with his face displaying no emotions. "I don't want your apologies, I don't want your sympathies, and I especially don't want your pity. What has happened has happened and there is nothing that can be done about it."

"What happened…"

Gaara shrugged. "I killed him," he stated with indifference causing a slight chill to climb up her spine. "We seem to be getting off topic, Temari. I was telling you the reason why I'm here, not my background."

"Right," Temari agreed shakily. "Akatsuki wants Muzai."

"Not just them," Gaara murmured, "Oto is searching for her also along with Kumo."

Luckily for the young woman, the couch was behind her. She collapsed onto it as her legs gave out from the news. "So…three major gangs are after Hinata and they are all going to be coming here once they figure out where she is."

Gaara nodded his head in confirmation.

The red-head's sister rubbed her head roughly as she was beginning to get a headache from her jumbled thoughts. Three gangs are after Hinata. Does Hinata even know? I doubt it, considering the way she's been acting lately. Do they know Murasaki? This still doesn't explain why Gaara gave up his leadership to Shukaku and how he ended up here. I know he said that they would have already been dead if he had stayed, but wouldn't he be able to protect them there instead of being in foreign territory? I just can't seem to understand!

"You're right," Gaara said as if he was reading her thoughts. "You don't understand. You left before you can get ingrained in the workings of the gang and now you don't have a damn clue of what's happening. This is why I didn't want to tell you what was going on."

"Then why?" Temari began, her voice cracking slightly at the implication her brother seemed to be portraying. "Why did you come here? Why did you find me?"

"I told you," he stated quietly. "I needed more time to come up with a plan and I needed a safe place to hide Kyoui when they finally do come."

Gaara closed his eyes in contemplation, his head tilting softly to side. Temari flinched when he reopened his eyes. A flicker of emotion crossed his aquamarine eyes, much too quick for her to comprehend, before he blanked out once more.

"I wanted to keep Muzai hidden, but it seems that idea was completely useless. So instead, Kyuubi's gang is going to help me."

"How?" Temari whispered. Her body slumped down as if all the energy was drained from her body. Her brother found her at a convenience. He was just using her to keep his daughter and his girlfriend hidden. Would he even care if she became collateral damage?

"It's quite simple really. I have something that he wants."

"Muzai?"

Gaara chuckled darkly at the question. "Actually, he wants Hinata." He smirked when all he received was a confused stare. "Since we're being truthful and all, I'll let you in on a little secret. She doesn't belong to me."

Temari's eyes widened as her stomach dropped. "You- you kidnapped -?"

"In all reality, Hinata belongs to Kyuubi."

Sasuke couldn't prevent a hiss from coming out his mouth when he was roughly yanked into a sitting position. He didn't bother to complain about the treatment considering he was on the shit list on most…all of the other seinns. He also didn't bother to thank him either.

"How are you guys holding up?" Lee asked in an unusually subdued manner. "That was quite a ruckus you created."

Naruto groaned childishly as Lee helped into a sitting position. "Man! That was the best fight I've had in years! The blood! The fear! The suspense!" He turned towards the bowl-cut teen and gave him a mischievous smirk. "I want to do it again."

"Such youth!" Lee cried with tears falling down his cheeks. Naruto snickered at the over dramatization while Sasuke rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth in annoyance.

Naruto sighed and Lee took it as a sign to get down to business. His face sobered up as he stared at his leader. "Do you mind me asking how you got the room into such a…youthful mess?"

"I wanted to play," the blond pouted with a malicious glint in his eyes. "He didn't want to play so we got into a little argument."

Lee nodded his head slowly. "Did anything else happen?"

"Well," Naruto drawled, "I may have had a hidden agenda."

The young seinn forced himself to remain relaxed as he felt his leader's eyes focused on his body movements. "May I ask what the hidden agenda was? I'm guessing it has to do with the way Sasuke-san looks right now."

Although Sasuke wanted to lash out at that remark; he did the smart thing and remained quiet.

Naruto pursed his lips in thought before he pinned Lee with his deep blue eyes. It was by sheer will power that his heart remained beating at a reasonable place. His mind began thinking furiously as to what Naruto may have done besides almost causing a dojo to explode.

"Did you cross paths with Sabaku on your way out?" Lee barely held back a sigh of relief when he didn't have the urge to say the first thing that came to his mind. He wouldn't lie, but it was good to know that Naruto still deemed him trustworthy.

"Yes, Kyuubi-sama."

Blue eyes sharpened at the answer. "Was Hinata conscious? Or was he carrying her?"

The martial artist furrowed his brows in confusion while Sasuke bit his lip to keep his mouth shut. "Why would that matter?" was the question that he wanted to ask, but he wisely answered his leader.

"She was unconscious, Kyuubi-sama."

"I was just wondering, Lee-kun, if you noticed anything on her?"

The young seinn's brain literally paused at the question. He hadn't seen anything on Hinata. He still didn't feel the need to say the first thing that came out of his mouth, but that would change real soon if he didn't speak.

What would be on Hinata that he should have noticed? It would be something that no one but Kyuubi's gang…His expression didn't change, but his heart involuntary skipped a beat.

"Yes, Kyuubi-sama. Her…leash."

Naruto smiled at the answer though his eyes remained sharp. "Considering I was knocked out cold, I didn't get a chance to look at it. Sasuke was the one that actually put it on her." The blond cocked his head to the side. "How did you apply the leash, Sasuke-chan?"

Sasuke remained silent with his eyes closed, but he couldn't help the licking of his lips as the memory played through his mind. So he was right after all; Naruto wasn't in control when he began to fight Gaara and apparently Kyuubi had blocked the memory of kissing the secret seinn. He swallowed painfully before speaking.

"What does it matter how I put the fucking leash on?" he asked quietly. "It's on her."

Naruto simply blinked. "Not answering the question and acting like a dick is making you even more suspicious, Sasuke-chan. Luckily, there's too much shit going on and I am in too much pain to bother with your punishment…though I'm starting to think that you're a masochist." He sighed and turned back to his other subordinate. "Did Sabaku say anything to you when he left?"

Lee nodded his head slowly; his wide eyes staring absently in Sasuke's direction. "He asked you to meet him at the park after school. Are you even going to school tomorrow?"

Naruto grunted as he tried…and failed to move his arm. "I'm still on the fence about that." He sighed. "Alright, message received. I'll meet him after school. Call Tsunade and tell her to get her ass down here and come heal us."

Lee bowed his head and began to make his way out of the destroyed room. He paused before leaving completely. "There is something else."

"Oh?"

"The beautiful blossoms, Sakura-chan and Ino-chan, had arrived at the dojo and they might have heard the commotion going on."

If it was even possible, Naruto's ice blue eyes sharpened even more. "And? What happened?"

"Well, Sakura-chan may have seen the end results of the fight."

"Oh no," the leader claimed; his eyes wide and his tone concerned. To anyone else, he would have sounded sincere. "Well, we can't have that, can we?"

Lee bit the inside of his cheek and shook his head slowly. He swallowed, "May I ask what you plan to do, Kyuubi-sama?"

Naruto chuckled lowly. "Nothing for you to be worried about."

AN/ Please let me know what you think. It not only helps me be a better writer, but it's also nice to hear your thoughts on how the story is going. Like it, hate it, or just don't understand it; let me know.

For those who have read, reviewed, and alerted to me or my stories…just wanted to say thank you very much!

Until next time,

Tw33ty JR.