"What's wrong? You aren't afraid of me are you! Say you aren't! Come out!" gaara was losing it. Back and forth from anger to desperation kept the duo far away. He excelled in strength and resistance, this made it hard for the two to even attack. Sugimoto debated on if she would absorb his chakra, it would make his aggression grow if she did but that was no problem at all if the two passed the aggro back and forth. She looked at gaara and raised her right hand, slowly she felt his chakra flow into her. Power, that's what she felt yet it was a horrible power. Greedy and blood thirsty. It made her skin crawl, but scared her even more when gaara looked at her quickly. "There you are Sugimoto." the way he growled her name almost felt as though he cursed her.
He advanced towards her as she quickly jumped away, a jutsu had popped into her head. She flipped and as she faced him in the middle of the flip she raised her right arm and yelled. "Beast tearing palm!" the chakra from her right hand sliced towards gaara. The red head tries to block it but it cuts through his sand beast hand. The creature like gaara roared in pain and watch the arm slowly heal. He glared to where the girl used to be. She had once again escaped. "How did you do that?" sasuke asked as he put the girl down, he had once again came to her rescue when he saw her grimace in pain and free fall. "This." she showed him her palm as she watched gaara closely. Sasuke wanted her to fill him in but now was not the time. "How ever you did it, it worked. Can you do it again?" the raven asked. "If I take more chakra, but nothing about his chakra feels good." she expressed. "Bear with it for a little ok? I'll get his attention and you attack ok?" the girl was hesitant but nodded. She jumped to another branch that had her looking to gaara's left. Sasuke made a chidori, this distracted gaara as (y/n) stole his chakra. Sasuke jumped for gaara as gaara jumped for him. The chidori went threw the monsters arm as he landed on the branch gaara was formerly on. As gaara roared and held the shoulder that the arm was attached to, (y/n) aimed her right hand towards the red heads right arm when he landed on the branch her and sasuke were on.
Without saying it, the beast tearing palm cut the right arm straight off. The gut clenching scream that gaara let out as he fell to his knee's made the girl clench. She hid again and waited in the shadows as she watched the beast arm reattach itself. Once it became one with gaara again, the boy laughed as he looked at sasuke. "I see, so that's how this is! I-it hurts!" gaara spoke and laughed. "Now its clear why I looked forward to this! The pain im feeling, this thrill that im feeling from the thought of killing someone who could wound me so badly! This victory would make me feel what it is to be truly alive!" sand poured out of the gourd and created a tail. "Damn it he's still going?!" sugimoto breathed out in fear. She shuddered and got enough distance to watch in safety. Who knows what damage gaara could do now.
Gaara was faster than before, sasuke could barely move out of the way in time. Sasuke tried a fireball jutsu, he could no longer use chidori. Yet it was chidori or nothing with gaara. The red head hit sasuke with the amalgamation arm and sent sasuke through a couple tree trunks. (Y/n) couldn't sit back any longer. She ran and swooped up the raven as gaara tried to finish the job. She took the boy to where temari sat, she placed his heaving form down and quickly went back to take the attention from the two handicaps. "Its you now, you liar. Showing you love him but its all a lie! You'll betray him, use him, then throw him aside. You'll fear him so much you want to kill him." gaara spat as he zipped towards her and sweep his tail to hit her. "Earth release-binding chains!" the earth from below lashed and took a hold of the transformed boy and held him down to the tree. The girl panted as she once again sent a beast tearing palm. Yet gaara had broke the chains and dodged the wind that had cut him more than once.
He laughed and went to hit the girl but naruto, like the real hero he is, kicked gaara square in the jaw. Gaara flew but caught a branch and swung himself to stand on it. Sakura ran to sasuke's aid while naruto stood guard in front of (y/n). "Looks like the knucklehead strikes again with a late entrance." (y/n) announced as naruto chuckled. "Believe it, the hero always has to have the greatest entrance." he smiled as he kept his attention on gaara. The (h/c) haired girl heard a yell of pain and hopped over to sasuke. "What happened?" she asked as she saw black markings moving up sasuke neck and the rest of his body. "The mark, its happening again." sakura mumbled. "What the fuck are you talking about sakura? What's happening with the mark?" sakura was about to speak but sasuke gripped her wrist harshly.
Yet (y/n) was having none of it as she slapped sasuke's hand away. "Tell me!" sakura trembled as she relayed what happened during the second exam. Sasuke groaned and gripped his shoulder. "Idiot! Why couldn't you tell me? Did you not trust me that much?" she wanted to yell but it quieted to a whisper. When sasuke didn't answer, she sucked her teeth and stood. "Temari, you dont need to hide, are you ok?" she asked the lurking girl. The blonde rounded the three and looked at the sugimoto. "Im ok, but gaara." she wanted to plead the for mercy but how? "If its naruto fighting him then there is no worries. He will not be killed by our hands." she reassured as temari nodded. The blonde glared down at sasuke. She had no thoughts of hurting him but she was angry at how far gaara went because of him.
Gaara had thrown everyone off as he jumped past naruto and was soaring for sasuke. In her quick decision making, Sakura stood in front of sasuke. Gaara gripped the left side of his head as he pinned sakura to a tree, she harshly hit her head and was knocked unconscious as blood seeped down the back of her head. (Y/n) quickly picked up temari as naruto picked up sasuke. The two were moved to a safer area. "She is out of her mind trying to face him now." temari commented. "What are we supposed to do now? We're screwed." naruto added. "No, we need to help sakura and maybe find a way to calm gaara down. Either calm him down or kill him. No one is dying here today so let's tame him then apprehend." Sugimoto voiced and looked at temari. "Do you know anything that will calm him down?" she asked the blonde girl. "No, no one has ever had a way to get to him." she answered truthfully. "We need to find one." naruto yelled in desperation.
"S-sugimoto." Gaara had stopped holding himself, the pain of the past had stopped pestering him. "These people, what are they to you?" gaara asked as he glared at the girl. "They are my friends, they are the most important people in my life. And you can't have their lives." she declared. Naruto's heart clenched for her. He felt honored she saw him as such. Sakura let out a shriek as she was squished into the tree more. (Y/n) tried not to flinch as she glared and clenched her fist. "Do it again you punk! I will pulverize you!" naruto yelled. "Quiet, you're too noisy." gaara dismissed. "Now Sugimoto, I laid my hand on one of them so what?" he asked with a snarky grin. "(Y/n) I'll handle this ok. You make sure to get sakura when he lets her go." sugimoto wanted to protest but it wasn't the time. She nodded and stood poised.
Gaara laughed. "This is why you cant win! You're too concerned about fighting for others. You will never pass this level. Forget these people you care for and bathe in power like me." the words weren't exactly meant for either, but hit both naruto and (y/n). "Leave-" sugimoto started. "-my friends?" naruto finished as a snarl painted its self on his face. "Things like loyalty and sympathy clouds judgement and you will die from that." the sad look in his eyes for a moment seemed to beg. She thought she had seen things for a moment as naruto growled and went to attack. "Temari, tell me a little about gaara's past. Please." temari nodded and told her the sad tale of Gaara of the desert. It explained his reaction to both her, sakura, and naruto. They were weak because of their connection. The love they felt for each other was nothing but falsehood to sasuke who was the same as gaara. The two knew hatred.
The two knew pain, they knew loneliness.
Naruto was being knocked around as he tried to advance closer and attack. Sugimoto wouldn't dare just stand there, she absorb more of gaara's chakra and used a beast tearing palm to cut the arm off that was holding sakura. Yet the tail took the damage and soon grew back. "(Y/n)! I can handle this!" naruto yelled. "Your just standing there!" the girl yelled back as she glared at the male who hadn't made a move when sakura cried out in pain. Naruto was taken aback before biting his thumb and commencing in summoning jutsu. At the same time gaara began to change again, the sand had taken over his whole body besides his legs. The arm that held sakura cut off at the wrist and kept her pinned as a new hand grew in its place. "You're still changing. Why are you letting this sand devour you?!" gaara ignored the sugimoto girl. He didn't want to answer or hear what she said.
Naruto went at him with multi shadow clone jutsu but gaara counter with wind style: Sand storm devastation. The clones were destroyed and naruto was sent flying into a tree limb. Gaara jumped for him and as he did, (y/n) jumped close to sakura. She needed something that would help cut the dense sand. A jutsu again popped into her head. "Wind style: blade of wind." she whispered as the wind surrounded her pointer and middle finger. In a quick motion she cut one side of the sand. This caught gaara's attention, he turned and flew towards her, his hand ready to grab her. "(Y/n)! Look out!" naruto yelled as gaara grabbed the girl and held her up. "Finally caught you!" he squeezed which made the girl cry out. "Where is the strength now!?" gaara smirked. He threw her harshly as she flew and hit a tree, the girl had the breath knocked from her as blood spilled from her throat which locked the scream in her chest.
Temari jumped to the girls aid and brought her to where the unconscious raven laid. "(Y/n) can you hear me?" temari asked. "It hurts." was all the sugimoto wheezed out. Naruto couldn't be more angry at the display, the power of loneliness was far more weak than the power of being a protector. He managed to stab a kunai at the base of gaara's tail, the paper bomb on the blade went off and caught the red head off guard. The sand wasn't able to absorb the impact but he wasn't hurt. If anything, he was furious, and even that is an understatement.
Naruto had landed and quickly attacked again. Yet this was the breaking point for the tailed beast, gaara yelled as he completely transformed. Sugimoto had no idea how to beat him now. The girl noticed naruto had been surrounded by sand, she again took as much chakra as she could without getting attention. Then followed with doing hand signs for callous windstorm, she got closer to the blonde and allowed the wind at her feet to blow away the sand. She held her side as she looked at naruto. "Do you need backup?" she asked, although in pain she still could move and help the blonde. "No, I got this." he put a hand on her head. "Please rest, Ill protect all of you." he promised as he wiped the blood from his lower lip and began a summoning jutsu. Sugimoto jumped away and went back to sasuke as she collapsed in pain against the limb of the tree.
A huge toad that rivaled the tailed beast emerged. (Y/n) was more than impressed as she watched from afar. Yet the fight between the two giants swore to blow away the bystanders. She anchored her and Sasuke to the tree with chakra while Temari was sure to hold on for herself. "(Y/n) we really have to go! Its not safe what gaara is about to do." temari warned with urgency. "I cant leave, go ahead and take sasuke with you please. If he wakes up then send him back this way." wheezed sugimoto. Temari looked hesitant, she didn't want to leave the girl but she would be damned if she stayed. She would take the raven then go to find kankuro. The blonde threw sasuke's arm over her shoulder and ran off. (Y/n) felt more at ease with these turns of events. Shukaku spat out an air bullet that clashed with gamabunta's water bullet, causing a type of rain to fall. The girl was less than pleased but she would withstand.
The two giants continued the clash before the toad tried to grip onto shukaku. Yet the amphibian couldn't keep the grip on the sand spirit. The toad jumped back and instructed naruto, as the blonde put his hands together for a transformation jutsu, the girl gasped in shock at the creature created. An orange fox with nine tails emerged from the jutsu. She felt relief, she knew they would win now. Another blast of wind had her bracing herself as the fox dodged the blast of wind coming from the sand spirit. Yet the sand spirit only seemed to get stronger which made it near impossible for the transformed toad and naruto to get close.
The fox threw trees with one of the 9 tails at the sand spirit. The spirit countered with a wind bullet. Yet this left an opening for the fox to hook onto the spirit. Taking this chance, the transformation disappeared as naruto jumped and ran up the spirits head. He punch gaara in the face, this caused the spirit of sand to disappear. The huge body stayed but was now controlled by the red head. Gaara lost it as he tried to kill naruto with sand coffin. But the blonde boy surrounded himself with the 9 tails fox chakra which blowed away the sand on him. Naruto ran up to gaara to punch him but his arms were grabbed by the sand, so instead of hitting gaara with a punch, he headbutted the red head.
This caused the boy to lose the sand spirit transformation as both the jichuriki began to free fall. As the toad de-summoned, the gust blew the two boys into treetops. The sand hand that had been holding the pinkette had dissipated. (Y/n) ran and caught the falling pinkette. "Thank you (y/n) chan." sakura smiled before succumbing to her pain and fatigue. (Y/n) put the girl down and ran over to where she saw the two boys fall. She whimpered to the aching pain she felt but kept going, she soon saw the two and ran to naruto. "You did it, good job." she praised. "Thanks, but-" naruto looked to gaara. "Don't worry, ill go over in a second." she promised as she sat him down against a tree. She then looked to the redhead and slowly approached. His attention never went to her but he felt her approach.
She didn't ask before holding up his torso and embracing him. The sand genin was at a loss, yet the stinging in his eyes presented him with tears as he let the girl hold him. "Nights where you need someone, I will be there. Ill be the friend to hold you, me and naruto. So please, no more killing." she pleaded as she held him tighter. The red head weeped and leaned more into the female, he didn't know what to say and simply kept quiet. But this was a good sign. Temari had emerged hold sasuke while kankuro held onto sakura. The sand ninja put the leaf ninja next to naruto and rushed to gaara who remained in the girls arms. Temari teared up as she held the girl and gaara. Kankuro was grateful, maybe this was what his brother needed as he watched the warm embrace end. "There are some ninja on the way to help." chirped the dog that had brought naruto and sakura to sasuke and (Y/n). "We will be going, thank you." temari bowed to the girl as kankuro followed her lead. "Hey, it's no problem I mean you helped me out as well." (y/n) expressed as she bowed her head. Without another word, the sand genin left.
"Finally." the girl fell back. "I can rest." she smiled and allowed herself the peace as she wheezed in pain and discomfort.
A/n: I fucking love gaara, please love this sad baby. Also be safe, I love you all as well my amazing readers.