What If....

[SierraLea]

Wow! I haven't updated here in a long time! I started getting to the really good stuff. Take a look.
A boy walked alone in the desert. He was confused. How could someone who was like him still live for others? And how could he have still been so strong? Did that mean you could feel something for other people and still be strong? He retreated deeper and deeper into the questions.
Kankuro and Tamari watched as Gaara continued walking by himself. That blonde brat had certainly done a number on him, but that was no reason to brood like this. Had the kid said something to him? Tamari looked at her other brother. Kankuro shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t expect Gaara to share with him. The guy had never been one to show weakness.
That made his current state even more confusing. His brother, the cool killer, was walking around like he had amnesia or something. The two didn’t know what to do with him! So, they left him alone. Hopefully, he would come back to his senses once whatever that other kid had said was forgotten or figured out. So Temari and Kankuro headed in the direction of the village, thinking Gaara would catch up with them sooner or later.
By the time night fell, Temari and Kankuro were out of sight of both the village, and their brother. Gaara hadn’t traveled very far. He was still too confused by what the other boy had said. Strength from others? It didn’t make sense. He tripped on something, a pile of stones. It jerked him out of his thoughts as he used the sand to regain his balance and looked around. His siblings were nowhere in sight, it was getting dark, and… what was that line by the rising moon? Then he felt it. The wind was brushing his sand skin defense against him. The line, now a wall, was a sandstorm.
A sandstorm was the only thing Gaara was afraid of. The regular sand mixed in with his own, limiting control, and the wind could pick him up, shield and all, and toss him wherever it pleased. Calm down, he thought. You need to find shelter. He looked back at the pile of rocks. No, too small. But the terrain in this area was hilly. He should be able to take shelter in one of the shallow dips.
There! He jumped for a trench about two feet deep, pulled his scarf over his face, and tried to make a shield over himself out of the sand from his gourd. Then the storm hit.
His shield didn’t last three minutes. The regular sand and wind worked together to dilute the potent chakra mixed in and strip away layer after layer of protection. There were thumps in the sand all around him as the stones from the pile he’d tripped over earlier went flying in the wind. Then, BAM! Something hit the back of his head and Gaara lost consciousness.
When he came to, the first thing he did was look down. When he’d fallen into too deep a sleep before, he’d woken up in his sand form. But what he saw now terrified him even more. Because what he saw was nothing. He was blind. He tried to lift himself onto his elbows when something pushed him back down.
A voice said “Stop it. You’re hurt. Badly.” He stiffened. His heart rate increased, his breath coming in short gasps. He had never been so afraid. He was hurt, blind, with no sand shield, and at the mercy of some unknown person. Then a warm hand pressed against his face. “Relax. I’m here to help. Now open your mouth.”
He did, but to speak. “Who are you?”
“Don’t talk. Just drink.” She brought his head up slowly with one hand and poured something cool into his mouth. Water. He eagerly gulped it down. He tried opening his eyes again, but it didn’t make any difference. It was still all black.
Misa watched as the water took effect. The boy began to breathe deeper and relax his tensed muscles. He was lucky. If Misa hadn’t found him, he most certainly would have died from that head wound. Right, the head wound. She needed to get that clean and bandaged. But not here. Too great a chance of sand getting in and causing irritation. She ran over the surrounding terrain in her mind. There was a pebbly area not too far from here, and there was a waterhole sometimes. There had been some rain last week. She decided that the waterhole was their best bet. She turned back to the youth. “I need to take you to where there’s water so I can take care of your injuries. Can you walk?” He shook his head. “Then I’m going to pick you up.”
Gaara felt her arms slid underneath his back and knees. The girl-at least, it had been a girl’s voice- picked him up gently and cradled him against her chest. His head rested against her shoulder. Since his sand skin was gone, he could feel the soft fur on his cheek and the motion of muscle rippling underneath. Then there was wind in his face and ears, and the sound of footsteps in the sand. She raced away from the scattered stone pile. Neither one had any idea who the other was.
Chapter Twenty-one
After what Gaara estimated to be about fifteen minutes the wind stopped blowing and the sounds became softer. She’d stopped running. Then she spoke again. Her voice was soft. “I’m going to put you down on your stomach so I can get a better look at the wound.” Misa laid the boy on a flat, smooth rock and headed for the waterhole. Yes! It was full, and clean to boot. She filled her water skin quickly and ran back to where she’d left him. She knelt down next to him. “You’re bleeding at the back of your head. I’m going to clean off the blood and bandage it, but it might sting a little.” She poured about half the water over the wound, took the end of her braid, and started scrubbing as gently as possible.
As the blood and dirt came away, she saw that the cut was small but deep, and surrounded by a massive bruise. What had happened? She began scrubbing his hair where the blood had matted it, revealing his hair color. It was a very beautiful red, like the color of coals when they’re perfect for cooking. His skin was pale by comparison, although that could have been from the blood loss. She got the worst of the dirt out of his hair and started talking again. “I’m going to lift your head so I can wind a bandage around it.” She slipped two spider web rolls out of her pack. She folded one into a thick wad and pressed it against the wound. She slipped the end of the other roll between her other hand and the wad so she could use her free hand to wind it around the boy’s head. He groaned.
She immediately stopped moving and said “What’s wrong?”
His reply was quiet, but not dry and raspy like his first words to her. The water had done its work well. “It’s making me dizzy.” Misa knew what was coming next. She yanked a spare bust roll out of her pack, unrolled it, and put it under the boy’s face just in time to catch the vomit. Once he was done, she bundled up the soiled wrap and tossed it aside. She could clean it later with some sand and water. Right now she had to finish.
“Tell me if you have to vomit again. I have to finish your bandage. After that, I want you to tell me what happened, okay?”
Gaara thought of nodding, remembered what had just happened, and said “Okay”.
After Misa finished with the bandaging, she turned Gaara back over and got a good look at his face. He was so handsome! His pale skin and coal-red hair were a great contrast, and his big green eyes set it off perfectly. The simplicity of the face let the colors take center stage, except for the black around his eyes. But that just made you notice them more. If only his hair wasn’t so messy, lying all over his face like that. Wait. He was staring right at her and hadn’t reacted to her animalistic appearance at all. Could it be that he wasn’t surprised by her looks?
“Who are you?” He said. Okay, that settled it. That knock to the head must have addled his brains. And if she was going to help this gem of a boy get his senses back she would need to know everything.
“That’s not important right now. You are. I need you to tell me how you got hurt.” Gaara didn’t know anything about this girl. Was she armed? A threat? Heck, was she even really a girl?
He told her everything, starting with his fight with Naruto.
Chapter Twenty-two
Gaara finished telling what had happened to him. Misa was a little happy that the boy couldn’t see her right now. She was crying so hard that the fur below her eyes was a different color than the rest of her face. Her little brother had grown up so lonely and she hadn’t been able to do a thing about it. She would have hated them, if not for the fact that they had also helped him conquer it and he was now at least a competent ninja and had some good friends to look after him. In the end, the village had done right by him.
Gaara was a more immediate problem. The blindness had most likely been caused by the blow to the back of his head. It was a relief to know that that was the only injury, though. If he’d broken a leg or something it would have been a tough time trying to get him back to his village. The way he was now, it would take a while.
Gaara asked again, “Who are you?” She didn’t want to answer that she was “The Human Animal”. That seemed deceptive to her, and she wanted to be honest with this boy.
She answered, “Misa.” She started to get up from where she’d been sitting next to him. “I’m going to go wash off the shirt you barfed on. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes to check on you, and if you feel like it we can have something to eat.” She picked up the putrid bundles and headed for the water hole.
Gaara lay on the warm sand, thinking. Why on earth had he told her all that? He never told anyone anything, especially not things that would make him look weak. So why did he trust her, someone he didn’t know the first thing about, when he couldn’t even trust his own siblings?
Maybe it was because she probably didn’t know anything about him. If she had, she would have taken one look at his famous scar and black-rimmed eyes and run in the opposite direction. And of course, there was the small matter of her saving his life. But there was something else, something about her voice. Or was it her warmth? There was just something different about her, something different from everyone else.
He heard footsteps in the sand again. It seemed she was back. “How are you doing, Gaara?” Her voice, it had so many undertones and different sounds mixed in.
He stopped deciphering her voice long enough to answer. “I don’t get so dizzy when I try to move.”
“Good, because I want to get you in the water hole and washed up. Do you think you can walk a little?” In answer, he propped himself up on one elbow. There was a moment of dizziness, but not bad enough to make him vomit. He slowly sat upright, paused to let his head settle, and tried getting to his feet.
The world spun around him and a strong, slim hand grabbed his upper arm. The hand was warm, he could feel it even through the fabric. Her voice was warm too. “Take it easy. Hold onto me.” Her other hand took his and guided it around her waist and put it on her side. She must have been wearing a furry shirt. Then the hand that had been holding his arm slid down onto his waist and she slowly guided him to the right and down a small incline.
Misa had gotten him to the water, but this next part was going to be super embarrassing. Oh, well. Hopefully she could get him in the water fast. “You’re going to have to take off your clothes so I can wash you and check for more injuries. If sand gets in any cuts you might have, you could get an infection. I won’t look at… well, you know.”
It was then that the full implications of what had happened to his eyes hit him. If this went on, he would be at the mercy of others from now on. He would never know when someone was going to betray him or worse, kill him. He didn’t even have his sand shield anymore. How was he going to live like this. Gaara slid out of Misa’s arms, hunched down, and began to cry. “I can’t do this. I can’t live like this. I’d rather be dead than blind, then at least I wouldn’t be scared.”
Misa hunched down next to him. His sudden vulnerability reminded her of how she’d been the first time she’d been rejected, when Tsukushi had told her she was leaving. “It’s okay.” She rubbed the boy’s back, trying to comfort him. “You won’t be blind for long.” He turned his face towards her, the eyes full of frightened tears. “You’re blind right now because you got hit in the back of the head. There’s no damage to your eyes, so you should be back to normal once your head heals. I’ve seen this before. You’re going to be fine.” She put her hands on his arms and lifted him up until he was standing again. “Now get undressed so we can get you clean.”
She would have liked to turn her back, but the poor kid couldn’t see laces or buttons or anything. She ended up taking off almost all his clothes, although she left on his trunks. Since her clothes were all made out of hide, she didn’t have to worry about getting wet. She put her arm around his waist again, and led him into the water. It was warm, which helped to not freak him out the instant his foot hit it. Once she had him in the water, she took the end of her braid, wetted it thoroughly, and started scrubbing around Gaara’s neck and behind his ears. He was still a little wobbly, so she held him close to her body.
Gaara loved it. Her hair was so smooth compared to the course sand he usually covered himself with. It even tickled a little. He was still unsteady, so he leaned against her and let her scrub the sand out of his ears and hair and get the grime off his back. He wondered why he was enjoying this so much.
Once they were done, Misa spread out her bedroll so he could lie down and dry off in the sun while she washed his clothes. Once that was done, she hurriedly dressed him again. The bath had taken longer than she expected. The sky was already getting dark, and her closest home was about a kilometer away. There was no way Gaara would be able to walk that far. Guess I’ll have to carry him again. Maybe I can get him on my back this time so I can get more speed on all fours. She turned to the youth. “We have to get out of here before nightfall. There’s a cave nearby. Do you think you can walk, or should I carry you?”
The shaking hadn’t left his legs yet, but he didn’t want to rely on Misa-yes, that had been her name-any more than he already had. “I can walk if we take it slowly.”
“Well, we can’t, so you’ll have to get on.” She strapped her backpack onto her front and bent down in front of him. Then she remembered his eyes. She looked over her shoulder, grabbed his arms, and placed them around her neck. Once she felt his grip tighten, she slowly straightened and felt for his legs. Once she had a knee in the crook of each arm, she started running.
This was way better than the first time. Now the wind was fully in his face and he could hear more. He could hear her footfalls, but her panting too and even the squeaking of the backpack straps. The sand was releasing all the day’s heat into the air, making for a warm wind.
After about half an hour, the temperature suddenly dropped, and the sound of her footfalls changed. They were hard now, not like stepping through soft sand, more like hitting stone. She hunched down and let Gaara slide off her back, then said “This is where we’re staying tonight. Stay there and I’ll get you a blanket.”
This is where the gifts from the villagers really helped. Because so many of them had been camping supplies, Misa had taken to supplying her regular hideouts with full camping gear and even some provisions. This meant that if she ever lost her pack, or in this case, needed an extra of something, it was waiting and ready for her. She kept such a stash in this cave. She brought Gaara a blanket from the Mist Village and a bedroll from the Rain Village and set them up deeper inside the cave. It might not get the warm winds the front did, but it would be safer for him back there, and she didn’t want to risk the youth getting hurt. She decided not to get out dinner or start a fire. Gaara had been through a rough day, and would probably need sleep more than anything. She conked out.
Gaara didn’t sleep. He never did. Tonight, he thought instead. He thought about living for others, helping people, and this girl who had gained his trust without even trying. These thoughts were more than enough to keep him busy through the night.
Chapter Twenty-Three
When Misa woke up, she saw Gaara sitting at the mouth of the cave. She walked up and sat down next to him. “How’s your head?”
“Better.” Gaara replied. “I don’t get dizzy anymore.” He was sitting very still, with none of the unsteadiness he’d had yesterday. He recovered quickly, it seemed.
“How about your eyes?”
“Still can’t see anything, but I think the black is getting lighter.”
Gaara heard her weight shift as she stood up. “Do you think you can look after yourself for a while? I need to go get some breakfast.” The supplies in the cave were mostly dry biscuits, and Gaara needed better nutrients than those could supply. Besides, early morning was always the best time to hunt in the desert. Everything would still be out from their night roaming, but it would be light enough to get a decent sized catch. Once Gaara assured her that he would be fine, and after she coaxed him back into his bed to keep him from hurting himself, she set out in search of fuel and prey.
Without Gaara on her back, she made it to the water hole in about five minutes. She was in luck. A herd of something big had passed through last night, and the dung was already dry enough to handle. She scooped up the fuel, filled her water skin, and began looking around. The tracks of that herd were long gone, but there were others. One track in particular interested her. They were wolf pads, but more spread out than usual. That meant the wolf was sick, dangerously sick. She looked at the direction it had been heading and freaked. The paw prints overlapped her own. It was heading for the cave!
She had been so stupid! Why had she told him to get back in the bed?! His arms were pinned and if that wolf got in just one bite the boy wouldn’t stand a chance! Stupid! Stupid!! Stupid!!! She ran alongside the prints, making a third set of tracks along her earlier running and the wolf’s gait. She had to get there fast! The cliff came into view the same time she heard Gaara yell “Misa, is that you?” No, you idiot! You’ll give yourself away! She ran faster.
Three seconds later she saw the wolf. It was huge, grey, and had foam all around its lips. She’d been right. It was sick. She slipped one of the kunai out of her side pocket, leapt, and landed on the shaggy back right behind the head. One smashing blow and it was dead. She leapt off the creature’s back stormed into the cave, grabbed the boy by the shoulders and shook him. “You idiot! Never call out unless you know who it is! It’s too dangerous here! That thing could have killed you in three seconds and you told it exactly where you were!” She stopped shaking him. “Please, be more careful. I will call out to you when I’m getting close. No.” She thought for a second before finishing. “I’m not leaving you alone like that again. You won’t be alone again.” And she drew him into a hug.
After he’d called out, Gaara had heard the click of nails on the cave floor and knew that it wasn’t Misa. He’d also heard the thump and crash of her attack. So he had a vague idea of what had happened when she stormed into the cave. Her shouting and shaking convinced him. She’d been right, he’d let his guard down. Why had he done that? He never did that. What Misa said next answered his question. Softly, she said. “I’m not leaving you alone like that again. You won’t be alone again.” That was why he could let his guard down. There was someone else now, someone who could help and take care of him. So when she hugged him, he hugged her back.
They stayed like that for a few moments while Misa’s panicky anger ran out. She let go of him and said “I’m sorry I shook you. I was just worried about you, that’s all. Now stay here while I go check out the wolf.” The wolf had landed on its side. She kicked it onto its belly and examined the head. There was foam, but not too much, and the eyes weren’t bloodshot yet. It had been in the early stages of the sickness. That was good. It meant that, with a little cooking, the meat wouldn’t make them sick. She began getting out the dung and placing it in a teepee structure on the rocks in front of the cave mouth.
Gaara had made it to the mouth of the cave using the cave wall as a guide. He was staring in what he hoped was the right direction when all the sudden there was a patch of blackness that wasn’t so black anymore, more like a dark grey. “What did you just do?”
Misa held up the magnifying glass that had been one of her gifts. “I started a fire.”
“I could see it! I can still see it.”
“How exactly? Do you see colors, light, motion?”
“It’s just that the darkness in that one place isn’t as black as the rest.” Misa thought for a second. If this was only the second day, he really did recover fast. She had to get him back to his village before he completely recovered his sight. That way she could get him safely home without being unveiled. That she dreaded.
“Once I finished cooking the meat, we’ll cure the rest and head for your village. Which one is yours?”
“Sand Village.”
Misa thought for a second. Sand Village was pretty far away, at least a week’s travel. And that was when she was running. Carrying Gaara would slow her down, but if he could walk maybe they could make good time. But once his eyes healed enough to tell colors apart, she would have to leave. Her telltale orange wouldn’t hide forever. So, it was to be a race, their progress against his eyes. She flipped over the meat to grill the other side.
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was the end of their second day of travel. The first day of travel had been hard on them both. Gaara still hadn’t gained enough strength or balance to set a good pace, so Misa carried him on her back. They stopped frequently to rest her arms. Her legs might be built for this sort of thing, but her arms weren’t. It was a good thing Gaara was so small. That day had tired her so that she went right to sleep after dinner, and making sure Gaara was safe and comfortable. His eyes had gotten better during that time. Now he could see a little movement. He described it as a shift in the dark grey.
He’d woken up the second day certain he could walk reasonably quickly on his own, and he’d been right. They had to slow their pace, but they covered about the same amount of distance as they had the previous day. After all, even if they were going slower, they didn’t have to stop for rest as often. Because she’d been walking at a third of her normal speed and hadn’t been burdened with the youth, Misa had plenty of energy after dinner this time. Once she thought Gaara was asleep, she brought out her guitar and started to play some of her favorite songs. She could have just listened to the recordings, but playing always soothed her heart in a way the recordings just couldn’t. She started with the first one she’d successfully put to guitar music. It was a song that, before discovering the changes made to her sense of direction, she’d hoped to sing to Naruto when she finally found him. (to the tune of May I)

And there you were, newly made, newly born.
Knowing naught not of the world and its thorns.
I was taken from you after one day.
But now I’m here and I have much to say.

Let me raise you up.
Let me be your love.

May I hold you
as you fall to sleep,
when the world is closing in
and you can't breathe.
May I love you.
May I be your shield.
When no one can be found
may I lay you down.

All I want is to keep you safe from the cold...
to give you all that your heart needs the most.

Let me raise you up
Let me be your love

[chorus]
May I hold you (hold you)
as you fall to sleep.
When the world is closing in
and you can't breathe,
may I love you. (love you)
May I be your shield.
When no one can be found,
may I lay you down.

[bridge]
All that's made me (made me)
Is all worth trading (worth trading)
just to have one moment with you.
So I will let go (will let go)
all that I know (that I know)
knowing that you're here with me.

For this love is changing me.

[chorus]
May I hold you
as you fall to sleep.
When the world is closing in
and you can't breathe,
may I love you.
May I be your shield.
when no one can be found
may I lay you down

Misa put down the guitar for a moment and mop her face. That song reminded her so badly of the pain in her chest that sometimes she wondered why she sang it. Then something brushed her shoulder.
It was Gaara. Unable to sleep, he’d crept up beside her and listened. Now, he asked, “Did you write that?” She nodded, afraid to speak. “Did you write it for someone?” She nodded again. “Who was he?”
There was silence for a little while, and finally Misa answered, her voice still cracking a little. “He was my brother. I wrote this song as a present for him, before I found out that I would never see him again. I think about him all the time.”
Gaara heard the sobs in her throat and hugged her around her shoulders. At that moment, she wasn’t the tough girl who’d fought off a wolf. She was someone who needed him. And as he held her and let her cry into his shoulder, something stirred in him that he thought he would never feel again.
Misa was grateful for his arms. It had been so long since she’d had someone else to talk to like this, to share things with. It felt so good to have someone care for her, the Human Animal, Caretaker of the World. She dropped her tough girl exterior and cried.
Chapter Twenty-Five
For the next nine days Gaara didn’t think about Sand, the test, or any of the things he’d been thinking about before. The only thing Gaara could think about was Misa. Her understanding, her kindness, singing, and, best of all, her laughter, on the few occasions he could manage to get some. He rejoiced every time his eyes got better. He was convinced that, if he got to see her face, it would be just like the rest of her. Lovable.
Misa was almost as single-minded. Even when she was hunting or breaking camp, her thoughts were with him. Did he like lizard? Should she set up his bed in the shade? Other thoughts were filled with the ways he had changed, how he smiled more, the way he seemed to follow her every move. But the changes also made her sad. When he followed her with his eyes it reminded her of how much of his vision he’d gotten back, how little time they still had left. If he saw what she was, who she was, how would he react? Her fear was almost paralyzing.
His vision came back in stages. One morning, Gaara would wake up to find that there were more shades in the grey. Another, he’d see outlines better. She hoped that color would be the last thing that returned. After ten days of travel, they were getting close to his village anyway. The number of caves and oasis had dropped, signaling that they were getting very close to the heart of the desert, where the village flourished despite the harsh conditions.
It was on the eleventh morning. Misa had been scouting around to try and determine how far away the village was in case she had to flee. She didn’t make much of a scout, depressed as she was from the thought of their time together coming to a close. She came back to their campsite as the sun was just peeping over the horizon. Gaara woke up from his light nap-those usually didn’t make him go Sand Style- and when he saw the dingy brown backpack Misa had left behind, realized that the color had come back to his sight. It was good as new now. He heard footsteps in the sand, knew who it was, and turned around for his first true sight of the girl who had come to mean so much to him.
She was breathtaking. The sunrise behind her accentuated the orange in what he knew was her fur, highlighted the red in her hair, and starkly outlined her strong, feminine figure. The so-called beauties of Sand paled in comparison. Then she knelt down beside him. Her eyes were like liquid gems, quiet and deep, but sparkling. The way her eyebrows creased when she was worried was adorable. And that fur, that beautiful fur brought out all the color of her eyes and lips ten times more brilliantly than even the darkest tan would have.
She opened her mouth-Her teeth were so white!- and said “How are your eyes?”
“Perfect.” She prepared to run. “You’re perfect.” She turned back. He was staring at her, but it wasn’t a stare that she’d seen before. It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t astonishment. It wasn’t disgust. It was… What was it?
Gaara propped himself up on one elbow, put his free hand behind the back of her head, and kissed her. That answered Misa’s question.
Chapter Twenty-Six
That was Misa’s first kiss. It was confusing, intoxicating, and angering at the same time. It was confusing because he’d just seen her face and had responded in love, not to mention the fact that he looked at least three years younger than her. How could someone so young be kissing her, let alone fallen in love with her?
She was intoxicated because, well, she returned his feelings. And what girl isn’t intoxicated at least a little by her first kiss, especially when it’s with someone you love deeply? It was her first experience with a romantic kind of love, which only increased the sensation.
She was angry because he’d waited until the day she had to return him to his village to show his feelings. Why hadn’t he done this sooner? She wanted to slap him and hug him at the same time. She decided to hug him, pulling him in close and relaxing when she felt his arms around her middle.
They were so close that Gaara could whisper directly into her ear when he said “Don’t make me go back to the village. Let me stay here with you.” He’d heard the stories too. If he couldn’t convince her to follow him into Sand, then he didn’t think Sand was worth leaving her.
But Misa whispered to him, “You have to go back. There are people there worried about you. You have a home and a family waiting for you.” She drew away from him. His eyes were so sad in that moment. She turned away and reached into her pack. “Here.” She thrust a package at him. “Don’t open it until you get back to the village. Come on.” She grabbed his hand and started pulling him in the direction of the village. She didn’t look at him.
When they could see the village, she stopped. “I can’t go any further.”
Gaara pleaded with her again. “Don’t make me go back there. Please! I don’t want to be alone again. It was bad enough the first time.”
She turned around and looked him straight in the eyes. She almost broke and let him stay with her, but then she thought of the slip of paper she’d found in the shrine that morning, begging her to find Gaara and bring him home. “Don’t say that. You won’t be alone.” She drew out the paper and let him read it. “See? They want you back.”
“Then, this is goodbye?”
“No, just ‘see you later’.” She kissed him on his forehead and ran off in the direction of their camp.
Gaara’s welcome into the village was a blur to him. He knew his siblings were there, that people were hugging him, and that ‘Human Animal’ was mentioned several times. But all he wanted to do was get back to his room so he could open her present to him. What had she given him?
He untied the strings and found a stack of paper and a book. On top was a letter that said only “Kiss the paper with strange markings.” He found the paper underneath the letter and stared at it. It was covered in circles, spirals, and weird writing. Well, what harm could it do? He kissed it.
It erupted into sound. At first it was indistinguishable, but words began to come out of the noise. Misa’s words. It was her voice, he was sure of it. “My dear Gaara, I know we cannot be together right now, But there will come a time when I can come home to be with you. Until then, use these recordings to stay in touch with me. If you make one following the instructions in the book I’ve given you, they will hold any spoken message or song you want me to hear. Leave it at the shrine outside the village. That’s where I’ll leave the ones I’ve made for you. I know it might be too late, but I love you.” His knees gave way. Loved him? “You liked the song I wrote for Naruto, so here’s one for you. I hope it helps.” Guitar music began streaming from the parchment. (to the tune of I’ll Come Back from Narnia.)

It started out as a feeling,
which then grew into a hope.
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word.
And then that word grew louder and louder
‘Til it was a battle cry.
I’ll come back when you call me.
No need to say goodbye.

Just because everything’s changing
Doesn’t mean it can’t be like this again.
All you can do is try to wait the storm out
And know you’re more than a friend.
Pick a star on the dark horizon
And know I share the light.
I’ll come back when you call me.
No need to say goodbye.
I’ll come back when you call me.
No need to say goodbye.

Now we’re at the beginning
It’s just a feeling and no one knows yet.
But just because they can’t feel it too
Doesn’t mean that you have to forget.
Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
‘Til they’re before your eyes.
I’ll come back when you call me.
No need to say goodbye.
I’ll come back when you call me.
No need to say goodbye.


Chapter Twenty-Seven
Temari got up from where she’d been listening through the crack underneath the door and locked gazes with Kankuro. He’d heard it all through the keyhole, and had even seen Gaara kiss the sheet of paper. What on earth had happened to him? He came back three days late, with no sand or even his gourd, looking like the world had just ended. Now he was kissing pieces of paper that sang. Granted, the song had been very nice, but still. It was beyond strange, and they couldn’t even hear what it had been before the music started. And who had that been, anyway? All the Sound Ninja they’d met were way too twisted to make something like that, and they were the only ones who could sing, as far as Temari and Kankuro knew.
Then they heard footsteps. Gaara had heard them. The two quickly camouflaged themselves, hoping that in his dispirited state he wouldn’t notice them like he usually would have. He passed right by them. Kankuro breathed a sigh of relief, but Temari was more confused than ever.
Why on earth did he look so happy? She’d never seen him with even the slightest hint of a smile, and here he was grinning for the entire world to see! Two seconds ago he’d looked more downcast than a mile high thundercloud. What was going on?
Kankuro made for the stairs, but Temari dragged him into Gaara’s room. He tried to pull away. “What are you doing? Do you know what’ll happen if he catches us in here? I wouldn’t be surprised if he killed us.”
She swung her brother around until she was facing him. “Look. Something happened to him out there, and it has to do with that sheet of paper.” She pointed to the piece with circles all over it. “Let’s see what we can find.” He tried to break away again, but his sister’s iron grip withstood his attempts. He resigned himself and started looking through the things Gaara had brought back with him.
Almost everything he’d had when they left him was still there, even though it had been very little to begin with. The only thing that was new was the package he’d taken the paper out of. Kankuro picked up the sheet Gaara had kissed. “Why don’t we just, I don’t know, turn this thing on?” Before Temari could stop him by saying that if Gaara heard that he would come running, Kankuro had already pressed the thing to his mouth.
Misa’a message repeated, along with the song. After the last “No need to say goodbye,” the two took their eyes off the sheet of paper and stared at each other.
Then someone behind them said, “Are you quite finished going through my things?” Gaara was standing in the doorway.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kankuro looked at his sister. What do we do now?
She gave him a frantic look. I don’t know! Temari could feel him saying “Well, you got us into this mess, you fix it.”
She slowly turned around to face her demon of a younger brother. If looks could kill…His stare was certainly cold enough to freeze them both to death. She thought of coming up with a creative lie and then remembered that he’d always been able to see through her. Besides, the truth wasn’t that bad in this case. “I’m sorry, Gaara. You weren’t yourself when you came back, so we thought something might have happened. We thought we could find something out by looking through that package you had when you came back.” Kankuro was nodding enthusiastically from behind her shoulder.
To their surprise, he didn’t charge them or shoot sand at them. Instead, he sighed and said “Well, I suppose you would have found out sooner or later.” He began picking up the mess they made and putting it to rights.
Emboldened by his apparent lack of hostilities, Temari asked “Who is she?” Kankuro looked at her like she’d lost her mind. Are you crazy? You barely escaped death by sand coffin and now you’re prying in even more? She ignored him and focused on her younger brother instead.
Gaara gave up trying to remain silent. “Her name is Misa. She rescued me eleven days ago when I got hurt in a sandstorm. She helped heal me and brought me back here. Anything else you want?”
“Is she the Human Animal?” She had to step on Kankuro’s foot to keep him from saying how dangerous this questioning was.
“Yes. She’s even more beautiful than they say.” The faintest hint of a smile crept up onto his face as he remembered that first real glimpse of her.
Okay, she was certain. Honestly, of all the people to fall in love with… “You do realize you’ll never see her again?”
That brought him back to earth! The smile vanished faster than her fan closing. “Why?”
“An outsider like her? There’s no way she’d be let through the front gates, let alone get to see you again. She could be a spy, arsonist, assassin…There’s no way anyone would trust her.”
She was right and Gaara knew it. But he that didn’t mean he had to accept it. “Isn’t there a way? Some way to get people to trust her?”
Temari snorted. “You’d need at least an invitation from the Kazekage, but there’s no way that could happen.”
Wait. Kazekage? His mind was racing. We don’t have a Kazekage right now. The seat’s wide open. If I could…He turned to his siblings. “How do you become Kazekage?”

After surrendering Gaara back to the Sand Village, Misa wandered for a long time. She didn’t want to go back to Sand, not knowing what waited for her. She’d known from the beginning what Temari had said, that there was no way they could be together. So she put off going back as long as she could.
After three months had gone by, she finally decided she couldn’t avoid the subject anymore. She trudged back to Sand and went at night to the shrine to see if Gaara had left anything for her. She was also going to leave a song for him, explaining the situation in case he didn’t understand it himself. She thought that, the sooner he gave up on her, the sooner he could find someone else. So when she found a letter from him waiting for her, she ran to her hideout and kissed it.
My Beloved Misa,
I know why you didn’t come into the village with me when you left me here. It wasn’t because you were scared. It was because the village as it is now cannot accept you. If things stay the way they are, we won’t be able to be together. That’s why I’m going to change it. In a few months I’ll be eligible for Jounin tests. It’s possible to go straight from Genin to Jounin if you’re good enough. And I intend to be. I’m going to become Kazekage and change this village from the inside out so that, when I’m old enough and if you still love me, I can…
The recording paused. She listened, barely daring to breathe. What it said next made her cry to joy.
Can ask you to marry me.
Misa squealed so loudly that she almost missed the next part. Yes! Yes!! Yes!!! She wanted to scream it to the world. It was a good thing she didn’t though. Otherwise she wouldn’t have heard the next part, which was kind of important.
You can help my village too, by bolstering your reputation. There are dozens of stories about you all over the ninja world, but most of them are fairly mysterious. You always hide yourself, so no one knows you very well and people are a little afraid of you. If you can show yourself, make yourself accepted by more and more people, it will be easier for Sand to accept you.
His tone changed. He was pleading with her, but she could feel the hum of excitement in his voice.
Please! It’s asking a lot of you, I know, but I’ll be working hard too. Becoming Kazekage isn’t going to be easy. But if you’re willing to try, I am too. Don’t forget that I love you. Please give me a reply soon.
She quickly kissed the parchment to stop it, dived on top of her backpack, and furiously dug through it. She came up with a piece of paper, drew the seal on as fast as possible, kissed it so hard she nearly tore the paper, and said “The number of stories will triple in the next three months. I will be infamous by the time you make Jounin.”
She tore across the sands, rammed the piece of paper into the shrine, and ran as fast as possible in the direction of the nearest ninja village. Time to start making a name for herself.

[SierraLea]

Here's the next few chapters. Is anyone reading this?

That single letter changed much of how Misa operated. She didn’t just wander around anymore. By now she knew exactly where each village was and how long it would take her to get there. Instead of aimless wanderings, she focused on hitting villages as fast as possible, doing at least three good things, and racing back to Sand to tell Gaara to expect new stories, and more often than not give him one of the songs she’d written. Her travels resembled the spokes of a wheel, with Sand Village at the center.
The way she worked changed too. Kids saw her face and, if she wanted to make a greater effect, got a hug and a leading hand. Ninja who were injured still got knocked out before she could treat them, but she left songs and letters where they could find them. The scope of her help changed to. Pets that wandered past her ended up home with notes in their collars. Sometimes, Misa even sneaked into the village at night, stole the list of D-rank missions, and did as many as she could before the sun rose, always leaving a note where people were sure to find it.
Combining all the notes, extra tasks, and even sightings of her changed the tone of the stories completely. People knew more about her and began to love her even more. A playful, helpful youth was much more likeable than a mysterious voice. The gifts Misa received showed her the fruit of her labors. They weren’t just all-purpose items anymore, but things that were tailored to her personally. Camping supplies were replaced by songbooks, instruments, and fun clothing. She had fun learning the new tunes and experimenting with her looks, but the instruments found a different home.
Once she’d figured out how to play them, Misa wrote an instruction manual and left it at the Sand Village. Gaara had been rough at composing at first, but he was getting better and better at making songs. The instruments added a nice touch to his music.
Gaara also changed his schedule. Training became a way of life. If there was something new to be learned, he learned it. From 6 in the morning to 7 at night, he trained in Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and Ninjutsu. At the rate he pushed himself, he was going to be at least a Jounin before the year was out.
He also stopped killing people. His instinctive need to kill to prove his existence had vanished. There was someone who loved him, and as long as she still remembered him, then he had to have existed at some point. This helped increase others’ good opinion of him, as he became more stable and even a little likeable.
But after training was over and he’d finished his lessons for the day, Gaara retreated to his bedroom. He would get out paper, ink, and start writing lyrics about whatever was running around in his head, usually something orange. This was his favorite time of the day.
It was during one of these times when Temari was going past his bedroom to put away her laundry when she caught a strain of music from under the door. She stopped to listen in.

I dreamt of you last night, my love,
The first time I felt your touch.
Woke up to find it’s just the covers.
I miss you so much.
Want to run away from everything
Leave behind all that I’ve learned.
The only thing that keeps me here
Is knowing what I’ve earned.

I’ve earned my Jounin title.
I’ve earned a way for you.
‘Cause every step that they’ll accept
Means they’ll take you too.
I pray the day is coming soon
When I walk you down that isle.
I’ll lift the veil and catch a glimpse
Of that furry little smile.
Oh, I miss you.

Holy smokes! He’s good! Temari thought as she started moving down the hallway again.
Gaara popped his head out of his bedroom, saw Temari, and asked “What’s you think?”
Temari would have been surprised, except that he’d done the same thing to Kankuro yesterday. “I thought it was really good. What was that in the background?”
He came out from behind the door with something in his hands. “It’s a shamisen. Misa left it for me at the shrine, along with an instruction manual about how to play it. Really, it’s one of the best for background music.” He retreated back into his room, but not before motioning that she should join him. He plucked a few strings as she sat down on the floor, and started playing his new song from the top.
Chapter Thirty
It was three years after Gaara had given Misa the letter outlining their plan to get her accepted into the village. He had become the Kazekage and had extended citizenship to Misa by the request of Sand Village. They had decided to reveal the love they had nurtured over the months and announce that she would be taking up residence in Sand. It was the day before this announcement when it happened.
Misa checked the shrine for a letter from Gaara. She was expecting one telling her the time and manner by which she would enter the village. It wasn’t there. Instead, she found a letter from Temari. She opened the letter right then and there, a sinking feeling in her stomach.
The ink was smudged and still wet in some places. This had been written in a hurry. As she read it, she understood why.
Misa,
A group called the Akatsuki had been hunting Jinchuriki for a while. Jinchuriki are people who have spirits sealed inside them. My brother had the Sand Spirit inside him, but the Akatsuik wanted it so they came after him. They caught him last night. Kankuro went out to try to stop them but got poisoned. Konoha sent help but I don’t know if they’ll be enough. Please, go and find him. Bring him back, and I swear I’ll never say anything against the two of you being together again.
She dropped the letter and dug into her pack. She wanted to cry but didn’t dare. If she cried now it would block out all the sounds. Instead, she focused hard. There was a group from another village. They would have a different accept than the ones she was used too. There! Someone was saying something about a buttonhook. It was a different accent, coming from quite a distance away. She dropped her pack. It was weight she didn’t need right now. And she ran. Misa ‘s speed broke every record from every village. Of course it did. She was running for HIS life.

“Give him back!” The blonde boy charged toward the enemy when there was a sudden wind. Suddenly, the enemy who had been sitting on top of the boy was lying face down on the floor knocked out and a girl was lifting Gaara into her arms. She was there for only a moment before the wind passed them again and she was gone with the boy.
Naruto was the first to react. He turned around and yelled “You’re not taking him again.”
He ran off before Chiyo yelled “Stop!” Kakashi looked at her in puzzlement. “He’ll be fine. Don’t you know who that was?” Kakashi shook his head. “I will tell you later. For right now we need to get rid of these two.” She pointed at the two advisories. Neither made a move to stop the Human Animal and Gaara. Why would they? They’d already gotten what they wanted. But she and the Konoha bunch could at least stop them from getting away with it. Chiyo got her shuriken ready.

As soon as Misa was out of site of the cave, she put Gaara down. She felt for breath first, then a pulse, and finally put her ear against his chest. Nothing. She was starting to cry when Naruto caught up with her.
Okay, now he was confused. This girl looked nothing like the rest of the Akatsuki. She wasn’t wearing one of their crazy cloaks and was crying to boot. He swallowed the shout that had building at the back of his throat and approached quietly. As soon as she stopped crying enough to hear his footfalls, she scooped up Gaara and started running again. She took him all the way to the village gate, hastily wrote a note to Temari telling her to send for her if Gaara was dead or improved, and ran for her nearest hideout to wait.
Temari was on watch, so she saw Misa almost at once. She ordered two of the bigger wall sentries to come down and help her with him. They took him to the infirmary. That was where Chiyo and Naruto found him later, and revived him using the Forbidden Jutsu. After being thanked numerous times and holding a service for Chiyo, the Knonha bunch headed home. Gaara finished being welcome and cried over a little later. At the first opportunity, he snuck out and went to the shrine.
Misa was waiting for him. He smiled when he saw her. “Thank you for helping to save me. I don’t know how they would have gotten me away from those two without your help.”
She walked up to him and pulled him into a tight hug, and was surprised to find that he was as tall as she was now. “You’ve grown. Now I don’t have to bend down to kiss you.”
He smiled, his arms around her waist. “Dare I say you’ve gotten prettier?” Then his smile became more serious. “The whole village knows what you did today. How you saved me. This is a perfect time for you to come and live with me.”
Her smile took on a sadder hue. “I would love too. You know that. But…”
“But what?”
“Temari told me that they were hunting all the Jinchuriki, not just you. That means they’re hunting Naruto too. I’m surprised they didn’t go after him today.” She stared up into her beloved’s eyes. “I have to protect him now. As soon as the threat’s gone, I’ll come back and marry you, but for now I have to obey my father’s wishes and look after him. I promise, I will come back.”
His eyes began to well up. They’d been so close! “I will wait for you. Just, hurry. Please.”
She kissed him on the forehead like she had the first time they’d parted, then picked up her pack and ran off into the woods. Both of them were crying.

[SierraLea]

Here are the most recent chapters
Over the next few weeks Misa dogged her brother’s footsteps. She memorized the timbre of his voice and listened for it every moment she wasn’t sleeping or hunting. Since it was obvious to the Leaf Village that letting Naruto outside of the boundaries was asking for trouble, Misa didn’t see him again until he left for the Kage Summit. When she did, the sisterly love that she’d harbored for years flamed up into a blaze that rivaled her passion for Gaara. He’d grown up to be someone fine, in every way. Bold and heartfelt, powerful and versatile, handsome in a completely unique way… he was everything she had hoped he would be.
But what she loved most were the people around him. She could almost have left him in their capable hands, except that her father had asked her personally to look after him. But the black-haired man had his tailed form under control and the silvery dude was a good mentor. She could see how he affected the other ninja his age, and how they gave him their friendship and loyalty in return.
But keeping an eye on her brother stretched her abilities to the limit. Silence wasn’t enough, not with trained ears like this. Nonexistence was required to fool them, especially the kids with the light blue eyes and the silvery dude. She also couldn’t remain secluded for very long. It was a good thing she’d gotten a long cloak as a gift. She often mingled with those in the street, keeping a few people between herself and Naruto at all times. She was so focused on not being detected by him and the other Leaf ninja that she didn’t notice the others.
But they noticed her. A wind brushing the cloak hem past her ankles, a quick slip of the hand as she traded a rabbit carcass for bread. These did not go unnoticed by those who knew what they meant. Stories began to fly, keeping her legend alive even while she stopped doing good. Once the Kage summit was over and Naruto returned to Konoha, she resumed her patrols around the perimeter where she could reach, helping the odd ninja or civilian who crossed her path.
Because she stayed so close to Konoha, Misa didn’t find many opportunities to visit Sand Village. Gaara knew this. Instead of constantly checking the shrine for new songs and letters, he decided to turn his attention towards something else. His music.
Gaara had thirteen different instruments, but they were pretty useless since he couldn’t play them all at once. He was mulling over this problem one day in the Office of the Kazekage. He was twirling a rough wooden flute in one hand. He’d wanted to use it in the background music for his latest song, but how was he supposed to play the stupid thing and sing at the same time? He was getting ready to throw it out the window in frustration when someone said, “If you don’t want it, can I have it?”
He looked up to find one of the Genin teams. They’d just returned from their first C-ranked mission, as messengers to Konoha to find out more about the Akatsuki’s movements. It was the oldest of the Genins who’d spoken. Gaara studied him for a moment. The boy was clearly older than his compatriots, by a year at least. He was staring intently at the flute. That gave him an idea.
He told the boy to wait for him after their mission report. It wasn’t pretty. Konoha had been all but destroyed by the Akatsuki known as Pain, but Naruto had been there to stop him. They were rebuilding now, but it wouldn’t be long before the Kage were asked to meet again. There were now only two Jinchuriki left, Killer Bee and Naruto, and they would have to be protected. The instructor finished giving his report. “Oh, and we received this for you.” The man reached into his thigh pouch and brought out a piece of paper.
Gaara would have recognized that seal anywhere. “Who gave it to you?”
“I don’t know, sir. I found it when I was unpacking last night, rolled up with another piece that said to give it to the Kazekage.” He handed Gaara the paper. “Do you know who it’s from, sir?”
“Yes. Thank you for the report.” The team left. Gaara would gladly have run to his room so he could listen to Misa’s message, but knew that he had business to take care of first. The boy was waiting outside his office. Gaara handed the boy the flute and Misa’s instruction book. “Enjoy them. Goodness knows we’ll be needing its music soon.”
The next day, the summons for the Kage meeting arrived.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Misa was on the group from Konoha the minute they were in range. Trailing the group was relatively simple. Her shadowing of them had improved her skills to the point where she could disguise every trace of her existence so thoroughly that not even Kiba or Neji could find her. She trailed them to the island. Once they arrived, Misa set up camp among the stone outcroppings along the perimeter and settled in for what she thought would be a long vigil, since she didn’t know about what Gaara and the rest of the shinobi world were getting ready to do. Once she’d settled in, she listened for Naruto’s voice, found it, satisfied herself that he wasn’t in any danger, and got out her guitar.

Naruto could not have been happier. He had a sister! Ma had told him all about her. I swear, as soon as this is over I’m gonna try to find her. He walked out to the edge of the forest to catch some of the sea breeze when he heard something. It was music, but like nothing he’d ever heard before. The words were what captivated his attention.

He’s close to me now, I can feel it.
Perhaps it is time to reveal it.
My heart is not so hard or cold
That I don’t want the secret told.
If he’s ready,
My heart’s steady.
I’m waiting for you now.
Naruto.
Those words sent shivers down his spine. Could it really be? He followed the singing through the spines of rock until he found a campsite. There wasn’t a tent or anything, just a fire pit and some bedding. The girl who’d been singing was sitting on another of the stone spires with her back towards him. He recognized that orange fur! It was the girl who’d helped to save Gaara. Then she rose from where she was sitting and turned around.
There was no denying it. That was Ma’s hair and eyes, although the shape was more like Pa’s. He stumbled towards her, almost not believing it. She really did exist. His sister. Then she said “Hello little brother.” Naruto broke into a run.
Misa hopped down from the spire she’d been sitting on, braced herself for impact, and caught him in a hug so tight it nearly cracked his ribs. When she let go enough to see his face, she was surprised to see him crying. His voice was choking up when he said “You’re real. I’m so happy.” He buried his face in her chest and cried.
She hadn’t been expecting this. Had he known about her from the start? Had she slipped up somewhere? Or did his memory go back all the way to his birth? No that wasn’t possible. No one remembered that far back, and she would have known if someone from Konoha had spotted her. There was no way they would have just left her alone after that, not with their track record. So how did he know?
He answered her unspoken question by saying “I didn’t believe Ma at first. But when she started talking about you, how you had fur and everything, I remembered seeing someone like that when I went to rescue Gaara.” He looked up at her again, his eyes beginning to clear. “That was you, right?”
She brushed his hair back from his headband. “Yes that was me. I didn’t realize who you were either until later. By then, you’d gone back to the village and I couldn’t follow you. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m just glad I got to meet you.”
They stayed together like that for a while, quietly hanging on to each other. Both were beyond happy. Misa was holding her little brother for the first time in sixteen years. Naruto had found the family he’d always wished for. The contentment was too deep for words. Naruto didn’t let go until he heard Bee calling for him to start his mission.

[SierraLea]

Chapter Thirty-Three
They walked back to Bee and the others together. There was no reason for Misa to hide anymore. Her reputation was at the level that anyone who wasn’t from Konoha would know exactly who she was.
The minute they entered the clearing where the others were, there was a shuriken at Misa’s throat and one of the Konoha ninja behind her. “Don’t move. Who are you and why are you here?” It was the one with the wood style.
Bee started laughing. “Who she is? Man, you guys are dumb. That’s the greatest ninja girl under sun. She’s been the Human Animal since she was five. She’s the toughest, strongest, fastest, kindest girl alive, fool, ya fool.”
Naruto looked at her in amazement. “Really?”
She smiled mischievously. “Well, he might be exaggerating a little.” The group spent most of the morning catching up. Konoha got a crash course on the legend of the Human Animal and Naruto told Misa all about what had been happening to him and the rest of the village.
Yamato watched the two of them as the caught up with each other. Like all the older shinobi of Konoha, he remembered about the Fourth’s strange daughter, but had presumed her dead a long time ago. It was incredible that she’d survived for so long on her own, and become a legendary figure to almost the entire shinobi world. If she came back to the village with them after all this was over, they could learn a lot from her and she could stay with Naruto. It was a pretty good trade-off.
Bee got up. “Okay, talking’s done. Time for some training fun!” He gestured for Naruto to follow him.
Misa turned to Yamato. “Where are they going?”
Yamato answered “Bee’s going to teach Naruto how to control the Nine-Tailed Fox. We should probably not disturb them for a while.”
“Then how close can I be to him without disturbing them?”
Yamato thought for a minute. “Well, the chamber they’re going to train in is pretty well sealed off, so you could probably sit right outside the door and not bother them.” He walked her to the front of the chamber and left her sitting cross-legged in front of it, humming.
When he was out of earshot of the girl, Iruka came to see him. He’d been keeping tabs on the group since they’d arrived, and was very curious about this newcomer. “Who’s she?”
What Yamato said next left him gaping. “She’s Naruto’s older sister.” He proceeded to tell Iruka everything he knew, from the events of sixteen years ago to her explanation of her recent years.
After he got over his surprise, Iruka listened with growing happiness. He’d come to love the boy, and was happy that he had real family now, not just friends and mentors. “She turned up at just the right time. Having her around should keep Naruto distracted from the fight.” He was dead wrong.

About three hours later, Naruto almost ran Misa over as he ran out of the room. She grabbed his ankle to slow him down, unintentionally tripping him. “What’re you in such a hurry for?”
“I felt the fox’s chakra, but not from me. It was coming from outside this island. Something’s up.”
Misa became serious at once. “What direction did it come from?” He pointed to the left. Misa tuned out the sounds of the island and concentrated her energy on the distant sounds coming from that direction.
Swords clashing. Chants. Yelled commands. A battle was going on. She told Naruto what she was hearing and they started running together. Before they could leave the sealed off area of the island, they ran into some trouble in the form of Iruka and his team.
Naruto roared at them. “What’s going on? Why is there a battle on the mainland and you’re not letting me fight?” Iruka began to explain. Naruto listened to every word, but Misa was focusing on something else.
The voices in that chaos, one in particular. She was listening for the unique timbre of Gaara’s voice. Please don’t let me find it. I don’t want him mixed up in that. But there’s no way he could avoid it, he’s Kazekage. I have to find him, protect him. Then that beloved voice pierced all other sounds. She heard him clearly as he shouted orders to his men. She had to get out. She had to go to him.
Naruto was breaking free of their attempts to detain him, but they were half-hearted and easy to break. The other team was certain in the barrier of rock behind them. But they hadn’t counted on Misa. She got out her Kunai, leapt behind them, and jammed the weapon into the wall. Then she took several steps back, leapt straight up, and dove down towards the kunai, hitting it with both of her feet, her entire body weight, and all the force of her leap and fall. The solid rock crumbled like pie crust. The other ninja had no time to recover from their awe before Naruto and Misa streaked past them, through the waterfall, and into the open heading for the edge of the island and the source of battle.
Misa wanted to run to Gaara and help him, but she couldn’t. There was no way Naruto would be able to keep up with her, and she had a promise to keep. In fact, it was a good thing she kept pace with him. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have been able to push the Beast Bomb through the barrier and get out with minimal energy loss.
Once they hit the ground outside of the Barrier, they waited for Bee to catch up and started running, or in Misa’s case jogging, in the direction of the battle. After about thirty minutes, Misa stopped them. “Someone’s ahead. I don’t know either of them. I’m going ahead to surprise them, you just keep running.” She finally kicked into high gear and disappeared from their sight in seconds.
Naruto gave an impressive whistle and turned to Bee. “Is my sister awesome or what?” Bee just grinned at him.
Chapter Thirty-Four
As Misa got closer to the two voices, she circled around so that she could come at them from behind. They both looked fairly powerful, so she waited until the other ninja met up with Naruto and Bee. The big guy shouted, “I won’t let you pass!” Misa kicked into an even higher gear.
Before the last s was out of A’s mouth, there was a kunai at both his and Tsunade’s throats. A voice behind them said “They will pass you. You get to pick whether they do it over corpses or not.” He turned his head a fraction and caught site of orange, although he couldn’t see much clearer out of the furthest corner of his eye.
Still, he had a pretty good idea of who it was. “And why should we let him pass?”
“He is the only one who can stop this war.” Misa stepped out from behind them and turned to stare into their faces. “He bore the hatred of an entire village and more. I have watched as he has touched other’s lives and sacrificed himself time and time again to bring about peace in people’s hearts.” She walked towards Naruto and put an arm around his shoulders. “Plus, he’s got Mom and Dad to depend on inside and me to protect him outside. What are sisters for?”
The Raikage thought for a moment. He might not know much about Naruto, but the Human Animal was a different story. The deeds she’d done in their name had not been easy, particularly the ones she stole of the list of D-ranked missions. If she was his protector, maybe they could actually do some good in this fight. The Raikage stepped aside for them. Tsunade stepped aside for similar reasons. She knew what Naruto was capable of, and had seen much of his work firsthand, particularly the incident with Pain. That chakra cloak around him indicated that he had a new skill in his arsenal, and she was willing to trust him to Bee, and to a very lesser degree this new ninja. The three passed through and continued running towards the biggest mass of battle they could find.
After a few minutes, both Naruto and Bee got a far-away look in their eye. It stayed there for a while, and when they snapped out of it she turned to her brother and asked what was wrong.
“There are enemy clones in the army, and I’m the only one who can see them. On top of that, Madara the boss needs me and Bee for some sort of plan, so I’ll have to watch out for him. But first we have to deal with the clones.”
Misa nodded. “Just tell me who to hit.”
A group of ninja was approaching them. Bee stopped his running to say high but Naruto immediately kicked the one in front. Misa assessed the situation in moments. “Who can I hit?”
He shouted “Everyone!” between punches and raesengans.
What followed was so smooth it was almost choreographed. Naruto handled all the clones that came charging in from the front while Misa zipped around the edges knocking the enemy unconscious. Bee didn’t even have to move. The battle was over in fifteen seconds. Then he summoned a huge toad and created dozens of himself and sent them off wherever there was fighting. Then he, Bee, and Misa started running again.
As they ran, Misa turned to her brother, grinning. “I’m impressed. Where’d you learn Dad’s Summoning Jutsu?”
“From Pervy Sage.” He turned to tell her more, then noticed her face. She looked very unhappy, like she knew something she wasn’t telling him and she didn’t like it. “What’s wrong?”
She quickly returned from her thought and painted on a smile. “Nothing. Just getting ready to kick more clone butt.” Then she turned faced the front again and that expression darkened her face again.

Gaara, be careful. She was listening to his fight intently. She’d first picked up on it when he’d addressed his enemy as “father”. Now she was listening with a growing sensation of ignorance. All the things his father was saying, things like having no friends and being a failure, Misa had known about none of them. How can I claim to love him when I don’t know the first thing about him? These thoughts threatened to swallow her as more and more was revealed about the boy she’d given her heart to.
She was so distracted by Gaara’s fight that she almost didn’t notice when Naruto and Bee stopped in front of Itachi and Pain. Luckily, the sound of Pain’s greeting penetrated her concentration on Gaara’s fight and she was brought back in time to jump into the surrounding trees in case he needed backup against the two ninja. She was still distracted by Gaara’s fight, though, so she didn’t see the fireball coming. The next thing she saw was black.

[SierraLea]

These next chapters are a bit violent and have a little Gore, but I still think they'll end up being my favorites.

Misa was woken by talking. “News from Headquarters! The conditions are good at the reinforcement point! Meaning Naruto Uzumaki is holding his ground!! Naruto and Bee-dono, who we’re here to protect, are currently fighting with all their hearts on the front lines!! The same goes for Kakashi and Guy!! We want you all the join them!!” She desperately cast around for the source of the noise and then realized it had been inside her head. She brushed it off as a ninja trick and concentrated on finding Naruto.
There! He was teasing Madara. That’s my brother alright. She started running.

Lee was running alongside his teammates when he spotted something through the crowd to his right. It looked like an orange blur running in the same direction as them. The ninja running next to him, from the Mist village, gave a shout. “She’s here! Look!”
Ninja from other villages turned and saw the blur, and a great shout rose. “It is her!” “She’s decided to fight with us!” Hurry, we can’t lose her!” Ninja all around Lee picked up their pace so they could keep the blur in sight. They managed to keep up for a while, but it eventually disappeared. Neji had noticed the commotion too. What was that? And why all the fuss?

Misa was badly wounded. The fireball that knocked her out had directly hit her right leg. White gleamed through the charred flesh at the front, and the muscle in the back was burnt halfway through. I can’t run with my leg like this. I should stop and let my chakra take care of it. But she couldn’t. Both of the men she loved were fighting for their lives. There was no way she could sit this out.
But it was a problem. She had to run a tenth of her highest speed to avoid damaging the leg even further. If she did that, she’d be completely useless no matter how much she wanted to help. She hoped her chakra would take care of it, but every time she looked down she didn’t see any improvement.
This was due to two factors. First, there was the wound itself. Most of the flesh had been burnt off the leg, limiting how much of her chakra systems and generators remained intact. In fact, there wasn’t a single undamaged channel, and the powerhouse in that area had been completely burnt off.
And her emotional state wasn’t helping matters. Confusion, stress, doubt… all of these emotions were inhibiting her subconscious mind, therefore effecting her chakra control. She jogged as best she could.
As she ran, she kept herself tuned in to his battle. They’d stopped fighting for the moment and were talking. She was still too far out of range to hear anything besides voices and shouted words, so the first thing she heard clearly was Naruto saying “I told you already! I won’t give up on my dream of becoming Hokage!” He sounded like he wanted to say more, but someone she’d never herd before cut him off.
She was getting into range for more words now so she heard everything. “Your dream demands that the world stays as it is. Full of conflict. A world under the Eye of Moon will have none of that. This world is full of war and broken people and regret.” The words were carried on the wind. They struck into the hearts of the approaching ninja. Could what he was saying be true? Then, if in answer, singing started, and those who recognized it almost smiled. (I do not own this song)

But isn't it beautiful
The way we fall apart
It's magical and tragic all the ways we break our hearts
So unpredictable
We make ourselves miserable
We think we're invincible
Completely unbreakable
And maybe we are
Isn't it beautiful
The way we fall apart

We will fight
To have the right
To bleed and mend again.

Don’t you dare
Think we won’t care.
Your lies will be your end.

Illusion will fade.
The peace that you made
Will crumble down one day.
And we will be free
To once again see
How to make our way.

And isn't it beautiful
The way we fall apart
It's magical and tragic all the ways we break our hearts
So unpredictable
We make ourselves miserable
We think we're invincible
Completely unbreakable
And maybe we are
Isn't it beautiful
The way we all fall apart

Doubts vanished from the hearts of the running ninja. This was a voice they knew, and it was saying what they’d known all along. In this certainty they found new strength and started running even faster.
About five minutes after she finished the second refrain she saw them. Naruto had a huge hand extending from his own which was about to crash down on someone who was probably the enemy, based on the earlier conversation. The other two ninja weren’t moving.
Misa forgot that she had to be careful with her leg and ran into the fight. She tried to grab the man around the middle, but she fell right through him! Okay, that was weird. Then Naruto yelled at her. “Get out of the way!”
That yell brought back the brooding Kakashi and he saw Naruto and this new kid fighting. He yelled to them both, “Attack with everything you’ve got!”
Naruto started throwing massive shuriken at him. They slid through the first time, but Misa, who was behind him, caught them and charged in. At the exact moment Misa ran through the enemy’s lower half, Kakashi focused on the shuriken and sent the weapons to the other dimension. The tactic worked. There were now massive cuts all over the enemy. But those wounds came at a terrible price.
Misa hadn’t been in range to clearly hear Kakashi’s explanation. Because of that, she’d gripped the weapons very tightly, and since they were passing through Tobi’s body when Kakashi transported them, he hadn’t been able to concentrate solely on the shuriken, only the area where he thought they would be. That was the instant the other ninja arrived. This was what they saw.
Shuriken started flying towards Kakashi, each with one hand still attached. The Human Animal was falling out of Tobi, her hands completely gone. The enemy was wounded badly, bleeding from huge slices in his legs and lower torso. Naruto was charging in, Raesengans in each hand. The statue behind them looked like it was ready to pop. Then they attacked.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Drip. Drip. Drip. Misa could hear the blood dripping off her wrists. That was the only real thing. That and the pain. The pain made everything black. A dark black. There was nothing. Nothing but the drip and the pain.
Then there was something else. A different noise. She thought she’d heard it before. Before this world of pain and black. She listened harder. It was a voice, but whose? It wasn’t her own. It wasn’t Naruto. Naruto! He was still fighting! The world snapped back to her as her eyes opened and she saw a face. But it wasn’t Naruto. It was someone else. She remembered him. Who was he? She tried to get up to get a better look.
Something pushed her back down. “Easy now.” The boy, at least he sounded like a boy, turned to the other face beside him. “How is she?”
Tsukushi didn’t look up to answer him as she stripped off her jacket. “She’s losing blood way too fast. We have to put pressure on her wrists.” She tore the jacket in half and bunched each part up. “Press these against the stumps. Press like you’re trying to force them into her arms. I have to make tourniquets.”
Moshiro grabbed the cloth and shoved it where Misa’s hands had once been. “There are premade ones in my pouch. Get them.”
Tsukushi dug through the pouch and pulled them out. Deftly identifying each part, she turned to the first of Misa’s wrists. Then a tail of chakra smashed down between them, nearly crushing Tsukushi’s hand as it reached out with the tourniquet. She saw that it was one of the fox’s chakra tails. She was about to scream at Naruto when she noticed Misa’s wrist. The end had been cauterized and sealed by the chakra’s heat. It wasn’t bleeding anymore.
Once she looked up, she began to notice how many people were wearing the odd chakra like armor. Looks like the fox boy has been sharing. I just need him to get the other one. But Naruto was rather busy battling Obito at the moment. He and everyone else in the alliance were giving it all they had, but it still wasn’t enough. They needed more!
The burn brought Misa back to her senses. The pain had flared for that moment, but now it was cut in half. She could concentrate better now. As her vision cleared she saw Tsukushi and Moshiro bending over her, trying to reach her other wrist. She muttered “Leave it. Go help someone else.” She got up on her good leg, tucked the wrist into her armpit, and started walking towards the huge struggle.
She opened up her ears and let them search for those voices, the voices she needed more than anything right now. If she didn’t hear them… no. She wasn’t going to think about it.
She didn’t have to. Naruto was loud and clear, arguing with Obito. Gaara…Where was he? She swiveled her head back and forth, trying to catch his voice. Nowhere. Maybe I just can’t hear him, she thought. After all, this is a battlefield. I just need to get closer. She stumbled towards the killing ground.
It took her half an hour to pass the first of the group of fighters. She was a sorry sight. Staggering on her burnt leg, one arm still dripping blood, clothes soaked with it, deathly pale, still she pushed on. Those who knew her were infuriated. How dare they reduce her to this! New energy coursed through them, pushing them to fight harder.
The wave was almost tangible. Tails the Ten-Tails sent towards the back of the battle came away with chunks cut out of them. Arrows and shuriken flew thicker. Neither one of the enemy could understand what was causing the change. Of course, neither Obito nor Madara even saw Misa. They were too busy fighting.
As she stumbled through the crowd, Misa began to falter again. She’d lost over half the blood in her body by now. She knew what was happening. She’d done it enough times when she was hunting. She’d cut a creature deep and try to escape. As it moved, the blood drained and it started to affect the brain. The first thing to go was usually the eyes. Ah, there it goes. Now I know how Gaara felt. Her vision had turned fuzzy. But she could clearly see the yellow head with the two black heads. Naruto and his friends. Then there was something flying towards them. Something deadly. No! Her burnt leg creaked as she leapt.
Then the pain was back, in her shoulder and arm this time. She fell, but something was keeping her propped up. It felt warm. She looked up and just managed to see the yellow again. It was getting blurrier, more like a cloud than a head. Then there was wet on her cheeks. He was crying. She reached up and placed her bleeding stump beside his chakra-coated face. “I did what Dad asked. I looked after you.” She took a long shuddering breath. “Now look after them. Tell Gaara I love him. I love you too.” Then the pain drew her back into that black place.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The fight continued. The Allied forces held off the enemy but weren’t able to make much headway. Naruto enveloped Misa in a chakra shroud. It cauterized her numerous wounds, but it was probably too late for the girl. He placed her out of what he hoped was harm’s way. The fight raged on. When Minato arrived, he took one look at his little girl and knew that she was done for. The least he could do was keep her from further disfigurement. He moved her to an area behind the enemy, so any attacks sent in that direction would have to go through the beast first.
Finally, the climax arrived. Obito and Madara leapt off of the Ten-Tails. The beast dove towards Obito. Obito stepped forward to accept it. He was very unlucky. The two of them had landed in the exact spot where Misa had lost her hands. So, when Obito took a step forward, he slipped in the large pool of blood. Madara slipped in it as well. The beast couldn’t stop its momentum, and so it sailed into the next available vessel. Misa, who had been placed there with the intention of protecting her.
Minato, Naruto, and every other able ninja took advantage of their poor footing to bind each with dozens of different seals. Then Minato and Naruto turned to look at Misa. Nothing was happening. They decided to try and get closer. It was actually quite easy. They just walked up to the shroud and looked in at her.
What they saw made them both overjoyed. Her shoulder wounds were closing up. Her wrists were expanding, growing. You could even begin to make out individual fingers. But, even though they could see the beginnings of knuckles, neither one could see what was going on inside her
Misa was thrust from a world of black into a world of dark red. There was a beast in front of her. It was like nothing Misa had ever seen. It looked almost human, except what human has one blazing read eye and ten tails? Not to mention the oddly shaped head or sheer size of the thing. Then it spoke. “Who are you that you do not succumb to my power?”
Misa thought for a minute, then answered very calmly. “I am someone who doesn’t want it.”
The beast fell flat on its face. It quickly sat back up, but not in the dignified cross-legged position it had been in before. Now it looked rather silly, with its legs splayed out and its torso leaning away from her. “What? But everyone wants my power. Even the Sage wanted it!”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Why would I want it? I don’t need power to make people love me. And that’s all I really want.” She looked it up and down. “Do you have a name?”
The thing looked at her like she was crazy. “Do I have a… you’re insane!” It got to its feet and started backing away. “You’re crazy!” He turned and ran, clawing at the walls of the red space. “Let me out! I’m trapped in here with a crazy lady!”
She got to her own feet and started walking towards it. “I’ll let you out, but only if you promise me something.”
The giant turned back towards her, back pressed against the wall. “What?”
“Those people out there, the ones with the red eyes? They said that you were made of a bunch of different beasts. I want you to split back into those beasts while you’re in here. Then each beast can leave as it is separated from you.” Before she even finished the sentence, Nine Tails started coming out.
Naruto watched as the chakra enveloping Misa exploded outward. Minato had to grab him and teleport them both out of reach of the blast, landing next to the newly arrived Gaara. Madara and Obito were not so lucky. Sealed as they were, they were unable to move out of the blast or use any sort of ninjustu or genjutsu. Both were fried to a crisp. The chakra reformed into the gigantic shape of the one tailed Sand spirit. It took a look around and sat down. This cycle of explosion and reformation continued until seven of the Biju were lined up.
Gaara wasn’t watching. He was searching the battle ground for a certain redhead. He’d heard her scream and was so worried it was driving him crazy. He couldn’t see her anywhere.
Once all the Biju were out in the open, Minato said to Naruto, “Let’s go check on Misa.” The two blondes started walking towards Misa, with Gaara in hot pursuit.
They found her lying on the ground, lying in a heap. Gaara saw the blood and, not knowing what had happened to her wounds, began frantically patting her down trying to find her injuries. His touch woke her up. A smile split her tired face. “You’re okay!” She didn’t have time to say more. She was in the middle of a three way hug, with the rest of the ninja world hurrying to join in.

[SierraLea]

This is the last part of the story, the beginning of it anyway. Most of the big stuff has already happened by this point, but there are some things that still need to be sorted out and one more story arc I want to work out. To tell you the truth, this will b=probably be my favorite part to write.

Chapter Thirty-Eight
After the battle, Misa got a check-up in one of the medical tents. Sakura looked the girl over. Her musculature was outstanding. Every part of her body was twined with whipcord. It was hard for her to believe that this hardened warrior was an older sister to that reckless idiot Naruto. She finished scanning for torn muscle or damaged chakra veins and let the girl go.
The second Misa was outside the tent she was attacked by a certain green-eyed Kazekage. Gaara tackled her from the side and knocked her over. They landed next to each other, looked into each other’s faces, and started laughing like crazy. It was so good to be together again, and even better to be out of the shadows.
Gaara and Naruto had carried Misa back to the camp together. Some of the older Konoha ninja remembered the girl and her relationship with Naruto, so she was treated well enough by them. There were no suspicious glances or awkward questions, and those who didn’t remember were quickly brought up to speed. But their reaction was nothing compared to the other ninja. Autographs, handshakes, hugs, even congratulations about her acceptance into the ninja world flowed from the other four villages like it was going out of style.
Sand was especially enthusiastic. Gaara had told them about his relationship with the girl, so many of them thought of her as the future wife of the Kazekage. And it didn’t hurt that she’d done at least twice as many rescues for them as she had for any other village. But despite Sand’s feelings that Misa belonged with them, she wasn’t tied to any village. This was a problem.
As were the newly returned Biju. They’d been behaving themselves since they ran away from Misa. They were afraid of what she’d do to them if they didn’t. But now they had to be divided up and sealed within compatible ninja. The Kages decided to hold a council to divide up the spoils.
“Well,” Tsunade said as she leaned forward, “There are nine beasts in total so four villages will receive two and one will receive one. The Leaf and the Mist already have one Jinchuriki each.”
The Raikage spoke up. “Why don’t we just determine which village a particular Jinchuriki came from and seal that beast in a ninja of the same village?” He turned to Tsunade. “That leaves Leaf with only one Jinchuriki, but the Nine Tails is perhaps the most powerful of the lot so I think it’s a fair decision.”
She nodded. “That is the best solution, I think. I have no complaints.” The others around the table also agreed. Tsunade leaned back in her chair. this next issue was not going to be fun. But there was no avoiding it. “There is another matter we should discuss as well.” The others turned to look at her. “Now that Misa Uzumaki has come out of hiding, we need to decide which village she will belong to.”
Uproar ensued. Each Kage started yelling why she should be a part of their villages. Finally, A shouted for silence. The Kage quit their individual arguments and sat down. Then the Raikage laid down the rules for discussion. “Alright. We will each voice the reasons we feel the Human Animal, Misa Uzumaki should be a part of our village. Official claims will be first, then community claims, and individual claims last. While one of us is talking, the other three will be silent. Clear?” The others responded that it was. “I will go first then.”
“I believe Uzumaki-sama belongs in Kumogakure. We have no official claims on her, but she has become an integral part of our society. She has saved the lives of many of our children and Genin and Chuunin ninja. As a kage, I would like to see such a skilled, valuable person enter my village as a teacher and specialist in rescue missions. As for personal claims, I have none.”
The Mizukage and Tsuchikage had similar reasons. The village loved her, she’d saved many of them, and she would be welcomed with open arms. However, neither had any official or personal claims.
Gaara got up from his seat. “Sand Village has offered Misa Uzumaki citizenship in our village. However, that was a week or so before I was kidnapped by the Akatsuki in their attempt to collect the biju. She has not yet given us an answer either way, mainly because she has been extremely busy looking after her brother and helping in this war. This offer was extended by the entire village, because she has helped over half of its inhabitants, including me, and is a large part of our hope. I do have a personal claim.” He took a deep breath.
“Misa and I have loved each other for a very long time, over three years in fact. Events and situations have kept us from regularly seeing each other, as well as the difference in our ages. “He drew himself up to his now considerable height. “Now that I am a man and there are no catastrophes hanging over our world, we can finally realize our dream. I’m going to formally ask her to marry me tomorrow.”
Silence followed his declaration, which then erupted into happy noise. Congratulations and questions flew thick and fast. How had they met? Did he have a ring? How far apart were they? Tsunade had to yell to get their attention back. “I still have to list my claims.”
The Mizukage almost laughed. “You must be joking. She’s practically a citizen there already. What claim could you possibly have to override a marriage proposal?”
“The fact that she is the daughter of the Fourth Hokage of our village.” Gaara’s heart dropped out of him altogether. Daughter? “And as such, she belongs to Konoha along with all of her experience. We will be taking her with us when we leave.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“What?” Misa almost shouted. “And they didn’t think to ask me? This is my life, not theirs. I want to live with you.” She put her head in her hands. Gaara didn’t like seeing her like this, least of all when he was the cause. He’d asked to be the one to tell her their decision that night, so he could talk to her in private and construct a game plan if possible. They had to think of something. He was not going to let this happen, not after all the years he’d waited.
He put his hand underneath her chin and tilted it up until he was looking straight into her eyes. “Listen. Konoha only had one claim on you, the fact that you were born there. If you can find a way to discredit that one fact, you won’t have to stay there. It could be anything. A loophole in the law, release for services rendered, immigration, there are so many ways to do this.”
She was beginning to hold up her own head now and starting to look more serious. “So, while I’m there, I’ll look for something to negate their claim and get out as fast as possible. Once that’s done, I’ll come straight to you.” She kissed him on the cheek. “I’m not waiting anymore.”
He blushed a little at her kiss, but not as much as he had when he was younger. Then he pulled something out of the inside of his vest. It was a narrow tube with a piece of paper wrapped around it. “I had the transport specialists work on this for me in case things didn’t work out.”
She raised one eyebrow. “Wait, you were expecting this?”
“Well, things haven’t worked out for us before, so I wanted to be prepared in case it happened like that again. This paper is special. It’s a sort of ink jutsu. The bird painted on the paper wrapped around the tube manifests when brushed with your hair.” He rubbed it against his head and an ink-eagle unfolded from the tube, which was now tied to its back. “Then you whisper a person’s name in its ear and it flies until it finds that person. To turn it off, you press your cheek against the tube.” He did so, and the bird folded back onto the paper. Then he fiddled with the tube until one end came off. “We can slip songs or letters inside this tube and send them to each other.” He handed it to her and asked “Do you like it?”
She kissed him again, on the other cheek. “I love it.” Then she laughed a little. “But I might be so busy looking for a way out that I won’t be able to send many letters.”
“If you do I’ll be sure to share them.”
“What do you mean?”
“You mean I didn’t tell you? I told the village that I was in love with you. That’s one of the reasons they offered you citizenship.”
Misa was a little shocked. She’d thought the village had wanted her because of what she’d done. No, this is better. It means they really care about him now. “Then you can ask for their help in planning the wedding. Just let me take care of the dress and music. But you should probably propose to me first.”
Gaara took both her hands. “Come with me.”
He led her out into the night. They passed the entrance to the camp, but the guards just nodded and let them on through. He led her for a few more minutes, then asked her to close her eyes. Misa did.
She felt it as the air began to cool to a wonderful temperature, and as the ground sloped gently downward. Then Gaara asked her to open her eyes.
They were surrounded by airborne candles. Dozens of candles were being held aloft by sand, and while they illuminated their surroundings softly, there was still enough of the night to see some of the stars. The silence was as soft as the light, a warm silence to match the night air. Then Gaara said “Jump.”
She did, and sand slipped under her feet and carried her up into the sky. Gaara and the lights rose with her. Once they were about ten feet off the ground, he took her hands in his and said “Misa, you are my life. Everything that is good in me was created by you.” He got down on one knee, but didn’t let go of her hands. If anything, he held on tighter. “Now I ask you, will you make me your life?” He let go of her hand and pulled a velvet box out of him vest. He snapped it open.
The orange fire opal glinted in the candlelight, surrounded by emeralds no bigger than a grain of sand. The gold gleamed as he asked, “Will you marry me?”
Misa hesitated. “I don’t know if I can. There’s just so much I don’t know about you, like your past, your family. Would you really want to marry someone who doesn’t understand anything about you?” There. She’d said it, the thing that had been tormenting her since she first heard the start of his battle with his father. She’d done a good job of hiding it while she was around others and would have brushed it aside, except that she didn’t want Gaara making a mistake. She didn’t want him to promise himself to someone who, further down the road, wouldn’t be able to accept him and love him because she hadn’t known anything when she gave him her future.
Gaara saw her uncertainty. He didn’t know the cause, but he knew that, whatever it was, they could work it out. “If you care so much about that, I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Besides, I’m asking you and I don’t know that much about you either. My question just needs an answer.”
She knelt down in front of his and whispered “Yes.” He slipped the ring onto her finger and they kissed for the first time as an engaged couple.

[SierraLea]

Konoha stayed at the battleground for one more day, to collect and honor their dead, treat the more life threatening wounds, and to recover their strength from the fighting. Misa spent the whole day with Gaara. She figured that she’d have as long as it took to find the loophole to have fun with Naruto, so time with him could wait. Her fiancé—she still got the shivers when she thought about that—only got this last day with her before they were separated for who knew how long.
They spent the day talking, mostly about their wedding plans. “I think we should probably have a more Western one.” Suggested Gaara.
“Why?” asked Misa.
“Because I’m Kazekage and you’re, well, you. It’ll be the wedding of the century, so the more people who can attend the better. Besides,” he pulled her in a little closer. “I can’t wait to see you in that dress.”
She giggled. Then her face lit up as she got an idea. “Why don’t you pick it out?”
Gaara almost chocked on a laugh. “What?”
“I’ll pick out what I want you to wear, and you’ll do the same for me. We won’t be able to actually sew it or anything, because of sizes, but we can decide the general design.”
Gaara was grinning now. “Are you sure? You never know, I might have a dirty mind.”
“It’s just as risky for you, buster.” They both laughed, but agreed to wear whatever the other person chose. They talked about music and guests for a full three hours after that. Naruto, Temari, and Kankuro were givens, but people like Moshiro, Tsukushi, and even Bee made it on the list. When they had exhausted all possible wedding topics, Misa brought up something she’d been thinking about since last night.
They were sitting on a log outside of the camp with her head on Gaara’s shoulder when she started talking about it. “You know, with that new system you showed me last night, we can send songs to each other much faster. Maybe we shouldn’t just send completed songs.”
He leaned his head against hers and sighed as his cheek brushed her hair. He never put up his sand shield or armor when she was around. “Then what should we send instead?”
“What if we sent each other a verse or refrain and the other person had to come up with the next part and send it back to get the next section?”
Gaara turned towards her, coming out from under her and knocking her off balance. He caught her by the arm and held on until she steadied herself. He was a little worried. “Are you alright?”
She smiled at him. “I’m fine. It’s just that I’m still a little anemic from losing all that blood when I lost my hands, and I don’t know my blood type so I haven’t been able to get a blood transfusion. My chakra is helping to supply new blood, though, so I’ll be alright in a few days.” He relaxed. “So what do you think of the idea? Us writing duets?”
“I think it’s a great idea. But how many parts does each song get?”
“I think one refrain, two verses, and a small in between part should work. Once we’ve finished those, we have to start on a new one. Sound good?”
“As long as I get to start the first one.”
She punched him lightly on the shoulder. “No fair!” They started wrestling with each other, verbally sparring. Both of them ended up stretched out on the grass laughing. Then Misa looked up and saw the darkening sky. “It’s getting kind of late.”
He sighed and got up. He offered her a hand. “Our villages are both leaving tomorrow. We should probably go back and get ready.”
Konoha left early in the morning, they didn’t want to be mobbed by people trying to say goodbye to Naruto’s sister, and there was always the chance someone would kidnap her. So Misa didn’t get to say goodbye to anyone before she headed off to live in a place she vaguely remembered with a brother who didn’t know her at all and surrounded by strangers. Oh well. Let’s hope this will be a short stay.


Chapter Forty-One
It wasn’t going to be. Misa had already been in Konoha for nearly two months, looking through legal documents, registrations, and court decisions. She hadn’t found a single case in which a citizen of Konoha was allowed to leave for honorable reasons. You were either exiled or dead. Those were the only ways you left.
And she wanted to leave badly. It wasn’t just that Gaara was waiting for her; although that was eighty-five percent of the reason she wanted to leave. The other fifteen percent was the way she was treated. Konoha hadn’t known anything about her before the battle, except for those who remembered her as a four-year-old girl. But they were few and far between, and were almost uncertain as the ones who knew even less than they did.
This uncertainty changed to fear, and she felt it in the eyes that bored into her back. No one reached out to her, greeted her, or even smiled. Transactions like shopping were strictly professional, and those were carried out as quickly as possible. She wasn’t given any work, which was a bit of a blessing because it gave her more time to look. But it still hurt.
Although, looking at it from a Konoha resident’s point of view, they did have reason to be scared. It wasn’t just that the girl was orange like the fox. She’d carried the Ten Tails inside her body. What if there was still some of his hatred inside her? What if she couldn’t control it? What if she didn’t want to? They had kicked her out and separated her from Naruto. She had reason to hate them and want compensation.
But Naruto helped to balance that all out. She loved spending time with him, teaching and learning from him. Today they were going to practice Kunai throwing, something she’d been looking forward too.
When they reached the range, Misa had Naruto throw ten Kunai at a straw target. Five bounced off because they lacked force, and those that hit were in the two outer rings. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
Misa was doubled over with laugher. “You call that throwing?! I’ve seen squirrels with better aim!” She collapsed onto the ground in giggles.
He huffed and crossed his arms. “I dare you to do better!”
She stopped laughing immediately. “I need to practice over there.” They walked over to the advanced range. This had ten different targets all at different ranges, directions, and angles. Only Jounin practiced in this area.
Misa took out ten Kunai knives. “You might want to stand back.” Five seconds later, five of the targets were toppled over or ripped off of where they were pinned. The other ones had a hole in their bull’s eye where the kunai had gone clean through. Misa frowned. “Aw man! I need to practice holding back.”
Naruto stopped being wide-eyed and shouted “That was amazing! You’ve got to teach me to throw like that!”
“Okay, but why don’t we start somewhere a little closer to your skill level?” They walked back to the simple target range. Once they got there, Misa asked Naruto to show her his throwing stance.
He planted his feet firmly, one foot in front of the other. His torso leaned back and his arm extended over his head. Then he catapulted forward, releasing the knife at the last possible moment. It stuck in the target the third ring from the center. It was the best throw he’d had since they started.
She clapped. “Good job. But how many times do you think you’ll be able to take that exact stance in a battle before someone kills you while you’re getting ready? You need to be able to throw from any position, any angle. For example,” She crouched low to the ground, slipped her arm to her side, and whipped it forward, letting go of the knife when her hand was right in front of her face. It shot towards the target and buried itself in the bull’s eye. “If you can throw like that, you don’t have to give up your cover, and still have a good chance of hitting your target. Now you try.”
It took another three hours of practice, during which she helped to position his arm and demonstrated the throw again several times. By the end, he was able to hit the outermost ring and make the knife stick into the straw. Choji and Neji came through halfway through the practice and stuck around to watch. Choji just laughed every time Naruto missed or almost hit his own face trying to get the kunai in front. He laughed a lot.
But Neji wasn’t watching Naruto. He was watching Misa. The head of the clan had, of course, forbidden any unnecessary contact with the girl. “She is unknown to us, with much reason to strike back at us for what we put her through those seventeen years ago. Do not give her any reason to hate us further. Our clan will have nothing to do with her.” From the dire warnings, he’d expected someone like Sasuke, before Naruto turned him around of course. But here she was, acting like, well, a big sister. There was nothing vengeful about her.
The only thing that was a little worrisome was just how good she was. She was amazing, and not just at the crouching and regular throws. She’d shown Naruto the throw from the side, downward, straight up, and even from behind the head. And each one slammed into the bull’s eye. If she aimed for you, she’d hit, and you’d never see it coming. In fact, his thoughts were remarkably similar to Tsukishi’s, the first time she’d seen the girl’s skill.
Then Naruto saw them. “Hey guys! Come see what Misa’s been teaching me!”
It can’t hurt to find out a little more about her, Thought Neji. He slid down from his perch above the range and joined the practice session.

[SierraLea]

Chapter Forty-Two
Naruto was grinning from ear to ear. He nudged Misa with one of his elbows. “Hey, let’s get Ramen for dinner.”
She grabbed his ear and pulled. “Mhm. Not tonight mister. You’ve just had a serious workout. We need something with protein.”
She let go of his ear and he rubbed it. “Did ya have to pinch so hard? And why do we need protein, anyway. Ramen gives me plenty of energy.”
“Because, silly, protein is what builds your muscles. You’re not doing any of those throws with any force unless you bulk up. Come on.” She grabbed his ear again and yanked him down the street. “We’re going to barbeque.”
The bell over the door rang as they entered the restaurant. People looked to see who it was, then immediately looked down at their food. It’s her. They all thought.
Naruto barged right in. “Hey! Can I get a table for two? I’m eatin’ out with Sis!”
“Oh, it’s you Naruto. There’s a table ready right over there. What’ll you be having?”
“Something with protein. Oh wait, that’s everything. What do you think?” He turned to Misa.
“I think the double steak should be good for us. And we’ll have the mustard sauce with it.”
The manager turned away before answering. “I’ll deliver it to your table.”
Misa quickly walked away from the counter towards the table the man had gestured at. Naruto looked back and forth between the two of them. What was going on? He raced after her.
The mean was an awkward one. Misa seemed down, and no matter how many jokes or crazy comments Naruto made, she didn’t seem to react. Finally he gave up and they finished their meal in silence.
She didn’t say much on the way home either. He went on and on about the mission Tsunade wanted him to do with Sakura and Sasuke, something about relations with the Mist village. He kept pausing, giving her openings to interrupt him, but she never did. She just seemed to get more and more depressed.
Finally, when they got back to their apartment, Naruto stepped in front of the door and looked his sister in the eyes. “What’s up?”
“Nothing.” She mumbled. “Let’s go in.”
“Not until you tell me what’s wrong. What happened? We were having a great time today with Choji and Neji, but as soon as we went into that restaurant you seemed out of it.”
“I’m telling you, nothing’s wrong,” She said, getting louder. “Now get out of the way! It’s cold out here.” She pushed past him, slipped off her shoes, and walked up to her bedroom. She shut the door hard.
Naruto went in, slid off his shoes, and walked upstairs to collapse onto his bed. Am I ever gonna to understand girls? If he’d asked Misa she would have said… had he ever asked her that? He walked over to her room to pose the question when he heard something. Gaara’s voice was coming out of his sister’s bedroom.
“I loved the bridge you sent me last time. We’re working on a band version, now that we have all the parts. Temari’s getting good with that flute thing you gave me, and Kankuro turned some of his puppets into drums. Here’s the refrain for the next one. Before you listen to it, let me explain. The villagers have been getting uneasy. You haven’t shown any signs of coming back. I know you want to, and I’ll wait as long as it takes. We are engaged. It’s just that, some of the girls in the village are beginning to close in, and their dads are backing them up. They keep telling me to give up on you, that it’s crazy to hold on. And they’re right. It would be much easier to just choose one of them. I wrote this first verse as an answer to them. Please send me a refrain.”

I wanna take a week and come on by.
I gotta see the color in your eyes
I’m telling myself I’m gonna be alright
Without you Misa are the hardest times.
Yeah, our first kiss, Misa, seasons changed
Got washed away in a summer rain.
You can’t undo a fall like this
Cause love don’t know what distance is.
Yeah, I know it’s crazy.

Gaara can SING! Naruto pressed his ear against the keyhole, waiting for more. There was a pause, papers rustling, a kissing sound, some clicking, and then music. Then Misa started to sing, and she was just as good. It matched his verse perfectly, with pitch and melody, everything. It was seamless.

I don’t want good and I don’t want good enough.
I want can’t sleep, can’t breathe without your love.
We’ll get there note by note, it doesn’t make sense to anybody else.
Who cares if you’re all I think about.
I’ve searched the world and I know now
It ain’t right if you ain’t lost your mind.
I don’t want easy, I want crazy.
Are you with me, Gaara? Let’s be crazy.

She stopped singing. And started crying. “I miss you so much I can’t stand it! I’m falling apart without you. I swear, the next time I send you a letter, it’ll be telling you to come and get me. That, or I’m dead.” There was a short kissing sound, then nothing.
Naruto crept back to his room, shut the door quietly, and fell on the bed. She’s in love with him?! She’s four years older than him and a Leaf ninja! How did they even meet? He was about to barge into her room and demand an explanation when he remembered what she’d said. Come and get me? Does she want to leave? Why would she want that? Then he thought about what had happened that night.
Why would she want to stay? She doesn’t have anyone here besides me. She probably has tons of friends in Sand, since she helped them so much. And didn’t Gaara say that they were engaged? When did that happen? He got up and walked towards the mirror. Now that I think about it, the only times she was really happy here was when it was just the two of us. Even having Choji and Neji around today seemed to stretch her. Maybe going back is the best thing for her. But how would I do it? He fell asleep before he could figure it out.
Chapter Forty-Three
The next day Naruto took Misa to the Konoha graveyard. Maybe if we go see Mom and Dad it’ll be a good time for me to bring up Gaara. I could pray for him in front of them or something. They bought a bouquet of flowers along the way, along with some incense.
Misa was a little scared to visit. She hadn’t seen Mom since she was four, although she had gotten to talk to dad during and after the battle. What would she say? Hey Mom, guess what? I’ve been living like an animal for the past sixteen years and fell in love with a guy from a different village. What do you think we should do for flowers? The thought was frightening.
They reached the graveyard. There was no one else there except Kakashi, but he was always there, staring at the place where he had thought Obito was buried. Now, though, he just stared at Rin’s grave. Naruto knew where to find their graves. Kages got special tombstones, and there were a few smaller ones around them, family members and such. He motioned Misa over. “One of the big ones is for Dad, since he was a Hokage. Mom’s stone should be somewhere close by.”
Misa found the big stone with “Minato” carved into it. She said a prayer of wellbeing for his spirit, then started reading the tombstones around the base, looking for Mom’s. She found something else first. “Naruto,” She turned around. Her face was white. “I’m dead.” She was kneeling in front of a stone with her name on it.
She ran out of the graveyard and to the village library. She thrust her shoulders over the counter until she was nose to nose with the librarian. “Please, I need to see the fatality record for Konoha children. Do you know where I can find it?”
The assistant backed up, but said “Sure” and came out from behind the counter. “It’s this way.” She led Misa down a long aisle of shelves before turning into one. “This is where we keep the records for marriages, births, and deaths in the village. Were you looking for a particular year?”
She thought about the numbers on the tombstone and did some quick math. “How about sixteen years ago?”
The girl reached up onto one of the higher shelves and pulled out a thick scroll. “All the deaths from that year are listed here. It was the year of the Nine Tailed Fox’s attack, so there were more deaths than normal. Do you need help finding anything else?”
“No, this is fine. Can you show me a place where I can sit and read?”
The girl said that she could and showed Misa an area full of armchairs. She settled into one and unrolled the scroll. The deaths were listed according to the times and dated they occurred. She searched through until she found a list of people who had all died on the same day, with the same cause. It said that they were killed in the attack of the Nine Tailed Fox. If the village had written her off, this was where they would have done it. With so many deaths, it would have been easy to cover hers up.
There! “Misa Namikaze, age four. A victim of the Nine Tailed Fox attack.” This was it. This was her way out.
She ran to the check-out desk. “Excuse me, I’d like to check out this record.” She threw the scroll at the man behind the counter.
He narrowly avoided the projectile and stammered, “We don’t check out records, I’m afraid.”
“Then give me something to write with!” He hurriedly handed her a piece of paper and a charcoal pencil. They weren’t as elegant as ink, but they came in handy for situations like this. Misa found her name again, copied it out, and thrust the scroll back. “Please reshelf this for me.” Then she tore out of the library headed straight for home.
She crashed through the doors and took the stairs five at a time. Luckily, she hadn’t sent off the tube yet in case she’d wanted to add more to the letter. Oh boy, did she have something to add! She took out another of the seal papers, but then paused for a moment. What if she told him to come get her and it wasn’t enough? What if the village still didn’t let her go? She’d have to check with the authorities before getting his hopes up.
She took the stairs in one leap, barely avoided breaking the doors, and bolted for the Hokage’s office.

[SierraLea]

Question: Is Misa a Marysue character?

[SierraLea]

Chapter Forty-Four
Tsunade was going through some of the petitions from the citizens when the orange bullet penetrated her office. “Tsunade, I need to talk to you.”
Misa was a mess. Her hair was windblown from her fastest running, a guard was attached to each ankle, and her face was flushed brighter than her hair. But the girl looked very serious. “What was the reason you were allowed to take me with you when we left the battlefield?”
Tsunade sighed. “We’ve been over this before. You are a child of Konoha. Your brother is slated to be the Sixth. You belong to us.”
Misa stepped forward and slammed a piece of paper onto the Hokage’s desk. “The girl you’re talking about is dead. She died in the attack sixteen years ago.”
Tsunade looked at the slip of paper. “This is just a piece of paper. It has no authorization whatsoever, and proves nothing.”
“Well, I would have bought you the whole scroll, but they said I wasn’t allowed to check it out.”
“Then I’ll have to check that scroll. Let’s go.” Tsunade got up from her desk and told the guards to detach themselves. “I’ll be going to the library. There’s something I have to check in one of the records.”
When they got to the library, Misa asked to see the scroll she’d been looking at earlier. They hadn’t had time to reshelf it yet, so they handed it back. Misa skimmed it until she found the section she was looking for. “There. That’s my name, with the age I was when the Fox struck and Naruto was born. Acording to Konoha, Naruto’s sister is dead. I’m someone completely different. So the only claim you have on me is gone.” She rolled the scroll up and put it back on the counter. “Are there any arguments about this?”
Tsunade was at a loss. How did her name end up there? She’s standing in front of me! “Perhaps your family had two daughters, each named Misa. Only the other one died.”
“I think I would have known if I had a sister.”
“I’ll still need to check the birth records for the year this supposed Misa was born.” She did, and found that there was only one Misa Namikaze. She checked under every possible name, but there was only one Misa on the whole scroll. The older woman conceded defeat. Somehow, her name had gotten into the records, and she was willing to bet that it didn’t appear anywhere but these two places. She really didn’t have any hold on the girl anymore.
She might as well admit it. “It seems you really have no legitimate connection with us. You are free to leave at any time.”
“Yes!” Misa shouted! Heads turned and the person behind the counter tried to tell her that this was a library, people were trying to read. He didn’t get the chance. She was already gone.
This time, she did break the door as she ran up to where the letter was waiting. She thought for a minute. How should she tell him? Misa decided to play a little prank on him.
She gave her voice a sad tone and said “Hey Gaara, I don’t know if I can do this anymore. You’re so far away from me now, so removed from my life. Maybe you should just…” She paused, imagining what his face looked like right now. Then she whispered “Come and get me.” She kissed the parchment and screamed for happiness. Yes! She could finally go back.
Then Naruto called from downstairs. “Misa, are you okay?” Naruto. How was she going to tell him?
Chapter Forty-Five
Naruto climbed the stairs to her bedroom. There were so many questions. What did she mean, she was dead? Why had she run off like that? Did it have something to do with Gaara? Was it because she hated their parents? Had something happened that he didn’t know about? Could he help? He slowly opened the doorway and peered in. Misa was sitting on the bed.
She smiled at her brother and said “Come and sit with me.” He did. “Naruto, I’m leaving.” Here it comes. But I can’t be swayed, even if he begs me.
“Does this have something to do with Gaara?” She blinked. This was the last thing she’d expected him to say.
“What?”
“So it doesn’t?”
“No, it does but…how did you know?”
He pointed at the piece of paper still in her hand. “Do you think you’re the only one who can hear those? I was listening to that song you got from Gaara yesterday. By the way, you’re a pretty good singer.”
Misa gave a little laugh. “I can’t believe you didn’t say anything.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t really know how to bring it up. That’s why I took you to Mom and Dad’s grave. I figured I could do something there to let you know, like pray to them for your happiness. But I didn’t really get the chance, you ran off so fast.” He searched her face. “What was that about, anyway?”
She laughed again. “I saw a grave marker with my name and birthday on it. The grave’s probably empty, but I checked the records. That’s where I ran off to, the library. According to the village death count, I was killed the day you were born. I don’t exist.”
“And what does this have to do with you and Gaara?”
“The only reason I’m here is because the village forced me. I wanted to spend time with you, but I wouldn’t have done it here. The people here are too hostile. I’d planned to go back to Sand with Gaara and have you visit for the wedding and a while afterwards. But Konoha had a pretty strong claim on my loyalties.”
She stood up and faced him. “Misa Namikaze was born here, so her services belonged to Konoha. Had she stayed, she would have enrolled in the Academy and become a ninja working for the village. But she didn’t. According to village records, she died when she was four. So I can’t be her. And if I’m not her, I’m not a part of this village in any way. I don’t have to stay, and I’m not going to.”
Naruto got up from the bed and grabbed her hand. “But I know! I know you’re my sister! I know you’re alive!”
She gently unpeeled his fingers. “We both know. The village lied. They didn’t think I would last in the woods, so they wrote me off as a lost cause and staged my death. Because they gave up on me, they have no right to say I belong to them, now that I’m a useful tool.” Then she hugged him. “But their mistake doesn’t change the reality that I am your sister and that I love you. It just means I don’t have to live where I’m not happy. That’s a good thing, right?”
He was starting to shake in her arms. “Don’t worry, you can come and visit me. Sand and Leaf are on good terms with each other right now. In fact, my marriage with Gaara might improve relations even more. And you’re Gaara’s good friend. He’d love to see you, whenever you come. And you don’t really need me here, do you?”
“Yes I do!” He said in a muffled voice.
“Not really.” She let go enough to see his face. “I’ve been watching. The village might be afraid of me, but they love you. And you have such great friends here, like Sakura and Kiba. Even the adults look up to you, in a way. You’re just a few short steps away from being Hokage.”
She pulled him in close again. “And when you do, and there’s a Kage summit, we’ll be able to see each other again. Now you have even more reason.” She finally let go of him, and he ran out of her room. Probably to cry.
She sat back down on the bed. The things she said to Naruto were beginning to sink in. The village had given up on her a long time ago. They’d never wanted her, only what she could do. They hadn’t had to fight for her. She’d been handed to them, and they hadn’t done anything with her because they’d never wanted her. She got out her guitar, tested its tuning, and started working on a song. (Melody-Lion King’s One of Us)

Rejection
Disgrace
Different as plain as the fur on my face
Rejection
Disgrace
I asked for heartbreak the moment I came
Rejection, completely!
Disgrace
Painful as plain as the fear on their face.
Rejection, still hurting
Disgrace
I was a monster the moment I came.
Left alone
Lived by fate.
Now I bear the brunt of hate.
Let me run
Let me live
So once I am gone they can finally forgive
And I am not one of them
I have never been one of them
I am not part of them
Not their kind
Need to run, to escape
So my love I find
Cant’ survive with these people who shun
And I know I can never be one of them
I am not one of them
Rejection
Disgrace
Rejection
Disgrace
Rejection
Chapter Forty-Six
“So that’s your mission. Report back once it’s completed.”
“Sir!” The four man cell responded in unison and headed out the door. The office was empty again.
Gaara put his head down on the desk. It had been a week since he’d sent his last tube song. Was Misa mad at him for talking about other girls to her?
One of the guards outside popped his head in. “Excuse me sir, but someone is here to see you.”
Gaara slowly got back up. “Let him in.”
“Sir.” The head disappeared. He passed his hand over his face in exhaustion. It’s probably Yamagata-san. Why did he have to show up now, when I’m already tired? He’s been at it all week. Yamagata-san was one of the fathers who had been angling for his daughter; a shy little girl who’d been dogging Gaara’s every move recently. It was obvious she was infatuated. Gaara had told her earlier that week that, while he appreciated her feelings, he couldn’t return them because he was still in love with Misa. She’d acted all meek and accepting in front of him, then ran to complain to her father.
Now he couldn’t get through a day without the man coming and pushing his daughter forward, like she was a business venture or something. Didn’t the man understand? This wasn’t something Gaara could control. He loved Misa! He missed her every second of the day! He threw himself into his work so he could momentarily forget the lack of her presence, the absence of her voice. He’d set records for the amount of paperwork he could get done in one day. And every time that man walked into his office, it was a huge reminder that the one he loved was in a different country altogether, and might not ever make it back to him. The door opened and Gaara prepared himself for another of those pointless arguments.
But it wasn’t Yamagata. It was a younger ninja, little more than a boy. “Excuse me, sir, but I found this thing banging itself against the wall outside the building. I thought you might want to take a look at it.” As he spoke, he held out the ink bird and message tube that Gaara and Misa had been using to communicate. The bird was pecking its ink beak at the boy’s hands, trying to make him let go. Luckily, it wasn’t doing much damage.
Gaara smiled. “It’s alright, you can let go.” The boy released his grip and the bird flew forward and landed on Gaara’s outstretched hand. “Thank you for bringing this to me. You may go now.” The boy bowed deeply and left.
Now Gaara was glad the day was almost over. He had to wait until he was back in his apartment before opening the tube. He rubbed the bird against his head and the ink sank back into the paper. He stored it in his desk and waited impatiently for the day to end.
A clock down the hall bonged seven times. Finally! Gaara grabbed the tube out of his desk drawer and headed for home. Several people greeted him as he walked, but he just smiled and waved to them. He wanted to get home quickly this time. Once he reached his bedroom, he unsealed the tube and reached in for the letter. Hmm. She doesn’t usually send two. Something must have happened. Is she having second thoughts? Did I really say too much? Gaara kissed the first piece of paper.
“Hey Gaara, I don’t know if I can do this anymore.” He had said too much! Why had he told her about those other girls? “You’re so far away from me now, so removed from my life. Maybe you should just…” His grip on the paper tightened. No, don’t say it. Don’t give up on me. “Come and get me.”
The recording stopped. Gaara sat down abruptly. What? Had she said…She had! Yes! Misa had found it! He was halfway through the door to tell Temari before he remembered the other piece of paper. He’d have to check it for stuff like travel plans and dates. He sat down before kissing it this time.
It immediately kicked off with singing. It was the refrain for the verse he’d sent her last time!

I don’t want good and I don’t want good enough.
I want can’t sleep, can’t breathe without your love.
We’ll get there note by note, it doesn’t make sense to anybody else.
Who cares if you’re all I think about.
I’ve searched the world and I know now
It ain’t right if you ain’t lost your mind.
I don’t want easy, I want crazy.
Are you with me, Gaara? Let’s be crazy.

Then she stopped singing, because she couldn’t. She started crying. Oh, Misa. Now he knew which one she’d recorded first. “I miss you so much I can’t stand it! I’m falling apart without you. I swear, the next time I send you a letter, it’ll be telling you to come and get me. That, or I’m dead.” Well, you won’t have to wait much longer. He kissed the paper to stop the recording, then went out to find Temari.
Chapter Forty-Seven
The next day, Gaara announced that he would be taking a leave of absence. Misa Uzumaki was finally able to join their village as a citizen and as his wife. He left the village in the care of Kankuro and left with Temari and Aoi, a Jounin ninja, to go get here. They’d be there is three days, and Misa would be waiting for him.
Misa didn’t take much when she left. Her camping equipment, a few mementoes from her days as the Human Animal, and her sketches of Gaara’s wedding outfit. She’d surprised herself by how girly she could be, but looked some of the designs she’d come up with. She dropped by to tell Tsunade when she was leaving, and to make sure there were no problems with her departure. She didn’t want to escape only to be dragged back. But try as she might, Tsunade could not find another legitimate reason to keep Misa in the village.
So, on the day Gaara had said to expect him, she slid on her old hide clothes, slipped on her boots and travel pack, and opened the door. She took a step forward, and fell over Naruto.
She hissed. What was he doing, lying in front of her door? He had been drinking? I know, he’s technically an adult and so can drink, but that doesn’t mean he should! “Sister?” Naruto had woken up and was rubbing his eyes. Then he saw the pack and boots. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”
She got off of him and sat on her feet. “Yes. Gaara’s expecting me. We’ll get the wedding date set, and then I’ll send you an invitation.”
He got up and sat in front of her. “I don’t think I’ll be able to go. Granny Tsunade will probably send me on a mission or something and make me miss it on purpose. So I wanted to give this to you before you left.” He held out two lockets. “There are paintings of Mom and Dad in one of them. I found in the library and had Sai copy them in miniature for me.” She clicked it open.
There they were, even clearer than she remembered them. Then she asked her brother, “Who’s in the other one?” She held up the second one he’d given her.
“One of the sides has me in it. The other side, well, that’s for Gaara.” Then he reached over and hugged her. “I’m glad. He’s the best person I could have picked for you.” Then he let go. “Can I come to the gate with you?”
“Only if you hurry.”
The two walked in companionable silence. The streets were empty of others, and most of the lights were still off. When they reached the gate, Gaara was waiting for them. Misa turned to her brother. “This is goodbye, I guess.” She hugged him, then walked toward Gaara.
Naruto could feel his eyes starting to get wet as he shouted to Gaara. “Take care of her. She’s the only family I’ve got, ya know.” He waved them goodbye. “Good luck!” He managed to smile.
She waved back at him. “Good luck becoming Hokage! I expect to see you at the next summit! I love you!” Then she and Gaara turned and ran off into the trees.
He kept waving even after they were gone. “I love you too.” Then he turned and started walking back to his now empty apartment.

[SierraLea]

I have to admit, my brother did a better job than I thought. Temari was helping Misa put on the dress Gaara had designed for her. It was beautiful. The main part was a white kimono with cap sleeves that barely extended past her shoulders, with an iridescent blue sash tied in a smaller version of the traditional bow. The skirt wrapped around like a kimono, but fanned out to the sides and back in a half-circle, trimmed with blue-tinted lace. The long fitted sleeves that emerged from underneath the shorter cap sleeves were made out of the same lace and reached all the way down to her hands, ending in four pearl rings around her fingers. The shoes were a daintier version of her traveling boots, in the same white as the dress.
Misa saw Temari looking her over and blushed. “How does it look?”
She smiled and grabbed one of the makeup brushes. “It’s gorgeous. Now sit down and let me do your hair.” Temari took the top half and braided it into a spiral pattern on top of her almost-sister-in-law’s head, but left the bottom half hanging. As she braided, she thought back on the day Gaara had brought her home from Konoha.
They’d arrived late in the afternoon. Temari hadn’t been on guard duty or out on mission, so she was at home when Gaara brought her in. The two had been beaming at each other the whole time he talked with Temari. He asked her if Misa could stay with her until the wedding, and if she could help with the wedding preparations. Once she’d agreed, Gaara had gone to start sending out invitations and left the two girls alone.
Temari didn’t give the silence time to settle. She leaned forward and demanded, “Why do you love my brother?”
Misa had starred at her with that deer-in-the-target-range look. “What?”
“I asked, why do you love Gaara?”
“Are you asking why I fell in love with him or why I love him now?”
“Both.”
Misa relaxed from her nervous posture and sat naturally. “I fell in love with Gaara because I put my heart in his hands and he didn’t shy away from me. When I met him, he couldn’t see.” She’d continued to tell the whole story about how they’d met, their days traveling together, and finally their goodbye kiss. “He was so vulnerable, but then so was I. We leaned on each other and grew strong from the other’s support. I guess we fell in love with that ability, the openness we shared during that time.”
Temari was nodding in understanding. That made sense. He had been pretty confused when they’d met. He’d needed support. “But you guys aren’t like that anymore. So why do you still love him?”
“Well, it’s not simply that I love him anymore. We’ve built our lives around each other. He became Kazekage so he could make a home for me here, and I became the Human Animal so that it would be easier for this village to accept me as his bride. I didn’t run into that battle just because Naruto was going. I also went to find Gaara and protect him. I just can’t imagine a life without him in it.”
He’s so lucky to have someone that in love with him, thought Temari as she finished the braid. Then she started on the hair she’d left hanging down.
In one of the other rooms, Kankuro was helping Gaara into his outfit. He was the best man, but he was still hesitant. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything. I’ve built my life around this day. I’m going to see it through. So, how do I look?”
“Amazing. She really did you justice.” Gaara’s Western-style suit was a simple affair, with graceful lines and elegant colors. The vest and trousers were a bluish grey, a great contrast to the white shirt, tie, and tailcoat. It was fairly fitted, enough to provide a slim, strong figure but still loose enough to be comfortable.
Temari peaked in at them and said, “Five minutes until you’re needed in the church. You’d better finish getting ready.” Then she popped back out to go help Misa.
The girl was totally useless with things like curling irons and makeup. But that was to be expected. She had been living in the woods for most of her adult life. There wasn’t much to do in the way of makeup, but Temari could put some mascara on her and help brush her fur smooth. Once they’d curled her loose hair, Temari gently pushed the pearl-studded comb into the front of her braid and flung the main part of the veil over her back. It just touched the ground behind her. Then she gently flipped the shorter layer over Misa’s face.
Misa turned towards the mirror. Temari came up beside her, dressed in her gown of the same iridescent blue. “Gaara is so lucky,” she said as she slipped a chain with Misa’s engagement ring on it around the girl’s neck. “Come on. He’s waiting.”

[SierraLea]

I played with the wedding ceremony a little. They couldn't have a strictly Christian wedding since they aren't Christian, but I did take a Western Wedding and change some of the traditional words to suit them better as a couple. Someone please answer my question about whether or not Misa is a MarySue character. I'm actually really worried about that.
It was a good thing that Misa and Gaara had decided to have their wedding outside. There wasn’t a single building in the village that could have housed that many people. Half of Suna had been invited, and dozens of foreign guests, as well as the leaders of all the other villages. Even Tsunade showed up, but more for diplomatic reasons than anything else. When the music started, everyone craned their necks around to get a first glimpse of the wedding party.
Temari and Kankuro walked up first. Temari looked around in the crowd, smiling at everyone she knew and frowning when she spotted Konoha. Kankuro just stared at his brother.
Then Misa walked into view.
There were a few gasps and sighs as the crowd caught sight of her. But neither Misa nor Gaara noticed. Their eyes were having a conversation.
His eyes asked, do you like the music I picked for this part?
Hers answered, yes. Isn’t it the first song I ever gave you?
Yes. I thought it was a good match. You really are coming home now.
Misa smiled even wider beneath the veil. I know. And I’m so happy.
When she stepped up beside him in front of the minister, their hands found each other and gently intertwined. As the minister began the ceremony with the customary invitation to the guests, their hands tightened and they looked at each other. Both were a little nervous. After all, they’d been waiting for this day for years. They wanted it to be as perfect as possible. Then, finally the time for the vows arrived.
The two beloved faced each other and clasped both their hands together. It was Gaara’s turn first. “I, Gaara of the Sand, take you, Misa, to be my wife, my comrade, my partner and my love from this day forward. In the presence of our family and friends, and those who will look to us for leadership, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, In wartime and in peacetime, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.”
Then Misa replied, almost shouting in her happiness. “I, Misa, take you, Gaara of the Sand, to be my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live.”
They loosened their hold on each other’s hands for the ring ceremony. They had decided to speak it in unison, rather than taking turns. “With this ring, I give you all that I am. I ask that you wear this ring for as long as we share this life together. With this ring, I marry you.” Then they slipped the bands onto each other’s hands.
There were no diamonds involved. They were simple circles, unless you looked on the inside of the ring. There, carved in fine script, were the words “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”
A beautiful chalice was presented to the couple, along with two small pitchers of sake. First, Misa poured hers into the cup. “This is the teardrop I cried when I gave you back to your village. This is the blood that fell from my hands when I fought to keep you safe.” She finished pouring and put the pitcher down.
Gaara lifted his own and poured as he said. “This is the sweat from the hours I spent training to become a man for you. This is the tear I cried when you told me we could finally be together.” He put his pitcher down.
Together, they shouted to the world. “What was yours is now mine. I will share in your everything until the end of time.” Misa picked up the goblet and drank from it. Gaara took it and did the same.
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” said the minister. “You may now kiss our bride.” Gaara gently lifted the front panel of the veil away from her face and over her head. They smiled at each other for a moment before leaning in. As they kissed, their hands found each other and twined together again, their rings gently clinking. The crowd erupted into cheers.

[SierraLea]

This is Misa's last chapter.

Their reception lasted an entire week. Suna just didn’t want to stop celebrating. Of course, all the traditional things like dances and a cake were taken care of on the first day, about an hour after the wedding so the chairs could be rearranged around tables.
The newlyweds had a great time. Now that the actual wedding was over, they began to relax and have some fun with each other. Faces smeared with cake, ridiculous dance moves, and numerous kisses marked the occasion. But hidden in the reception was much of their story.
Music. Every dance, every event, was accompanied by one of the songs they had written for each other or together as a duet. The magnitude of the music was lost on many of the villagers as they became busy with their own fun. But one person in particular noticed. Tsunade. Those lyrics wove through her mind and left her feeling both guilty and regretful. She left after the first day.
Then, when everyone had had their fill of celebration and went home to prepare for the next day of festivities, Gaara and Misa retreated to his home.
There were no spectacular decorations, beautiful music, or ceremonial code. It was only the two of them. But this was the place where they would finally surrender everything to each other, living out the vows they had taken only hours before.
Misa bit her lip nervously. “You know, maybe we should wait for this.”
Gaara asked, “Why?”
“I don’t know, it’s just…”
He leaned down and kissed her again, tenderly. “It’s okay. I’m scared too.” She relaxed a little, and let Gaara lead her upstairs.

Epilogue

Suna entered a great time of prosperity and innovation. The war had displayed their strength to the Daimyos, and missions were pouring in. Gaara had to hire several secretaries to help with the paperwork. Of course, Misa was there most days, helping him with his load. This abundance of missions helped to supply the funds for her first research undertaking.
Misa had introduced music to the village, and it soon became a weapon as well as a pleasure to the village. Studies were conducted on the way the subconscious brain responded to music, culminating in songs and melodies that could be used in different situations, such as a stimulant for positivity before a battle, depressing melodies to make an enemy unknowingly drop their guard. But music as entertainment also grew underneath her tutelage. A choir sprang up, with Misa as both teacher and leading lady. There was no fee or audition required. Those who wished to sing could, and anyone could come to practice and listen in. “Come as you are” was the motto of this choir.
But her contributions weren’t solely musical. She became the teacher and spearhead of a select group of ninja known only as the Panthers. And unlike the choir, you were handpicked for the job. The Panthers specialized in absolute stealth missions. This group was for those who, like Misa, couldn’t use Genjustu of Ninjutsu well, but whose stealth skills were top of the line. Their reputation only grew as their mission completion rate rose to one hundred percent while their total losses remained a steady zero. The Panthers were honored and respected.
But only as a group. If you joined, your membership had to remain secret, even from other members of the Panthers. Only the original Human Animal knew who all the Panthers were. Once you chose to be part of this group, you lost all claim of fame and honor as an individual. Missions were undertaken wearing a black cloth mask over your features, and while not on mission you acted like everyone else. There was no biological of psychological tampering. Misa remembered only too well how it felt to be messed with. But if you were discovered, you left the group. Your presence in this core of comrades was erased. The threat was great enough that they never had to deal with any slipups.
The Kazekage and his wife should have been happy. The village was in love with hard work and fulfilling fun. All their endeavors blossomed and bore the fruit of a good life for their friends and comrades. But both still carried emptiness in their hearts.
Resurrections and near-resurrections had robbed them of their procreative abilities. After two years of trying, Misa and Gaara finally gave up their dream of having children of their own. But that didn’t mean they had to surrender the wish to have a family. Surrogate daughters and sons are better than none, and the children at the orphanage loved both adults. Every time one came to sing in the choir, Misa would give them a big hug and put them right in front, especially the little ones. Those who were in the ninja school worked hard to make Kaze-Sama proud. So although the couple never got to see themselves reflected in a younger face, they did not want for little hugs and kisses. One of these daughters was especially good at the guitar. In fact, she would go on to entrance half the ninja world! But that’s another story.

[SierraLea]

Well, now that I've finished posting on Misa, here's a new girl for you. This story is built off an American show, X-men Evolution. Feel Free to coment on either story, PLEASE!!!!!

This story begins in Season 1, Episode 10. Prepare yourself for a wild ride.
Chapter One
Wolverine had made it to the main room of the castle. The drones on the wall had been destroyed. There wasn't anything else watching and the place didn't smell of explosives or anything. He decided he should look around, see if he could find anything.
There were tons of scientific equipment and computer consuls around the place, but they'd all been ripped out or demolished. Beaker shards and smashed test tubes littered the floor. He was about to call in and tell the Professor that there was nothing there when he heard something. Breathing. And it was coming from the back of the room.
Wolverine leapt behind one of the smashed consuls and concentrated on the sound. It wasn't fast, like before an attack or from fear. It was deep and even, very relaxed. He crept behind a wall of empty shelves, heading in the direction of the sound. As he got closer, he saw a table with what looked like a body covered in sheets on top. That was where the breathing was coming from, he was sure of it.
Despite his close proximity to the person, the breathing hadn't changed. It wasn't quickened by fear or even awareness of another person in the vicinity. Then it hit him. The person was asleep. Well, he might as well see who he was dealing with. He lowered into a crouch, snuck up on the table, and whipped the sheet off.
Underneath was the strangest girl he'd ever seen, and living where he did, that was saying something. She was covered entirely in white plate armor, except where the sections met. Blue fur peeped out between the sections. She was hooked up to an IV, probably a sedative to keep her under. But he didn't have time to think about that. There was beeping coming from somewhere. And where there was beeping, there was usually danger.
He ripped the IV out of the girl's arm, threw her over his shoulder and leapt for the exit. The explosion raced his down the hall and out the main doorway. He barely made it out in time. He lifted the girl off of his shoulder and cradled her for a moment. She didn't seem to be stirring. He wondered if she might be dead. But he'd worry about that later. Right now he had to get on the Blackbird and report to Charles. He wondered how his friend would respond to news of the girl.
He converted one of the seats in the back so that he could lay her down and still strap her in to keep her from rolling off and hurting herself. Then he went up to the front and closed the panel behind him. He dialed up Charles on the speaker.
As usual, he was full of questions. "Well, what did you find?"
"Something that looked like a lab, but it had been completely torn apart. That damage was pretty recent, though. They left so fast they left one of their lab rats behind."
That sure got his attention. "What do you mean?"
"A girl. She's still unconscious, but she looks like one of us. She's not normal, that's for sure."
"Well, bring her in and we'll see if she remembers anything. Oh, and Logan?"
"Yeah?"
"Try not to scare her too much."
Chapter Two
The jet made an enormous amount of racket while they were flying. It demanded every ounce of his attention. He wasn't a natural at this like Storm or Scott, so he couldn't risk letting up to go and check on her. When he touched down inside the cave, Charles and Storm were waiting for him in the hanger. He lifted the partition and headed to where he'd strapped the girl in. What he saw threw him for a loop. The girl had completely changed her appearance. Now her skin was a pale pink and feathery wings were sprouting from not only her back, but her wrists and ankles as well. She was still unconscious, but was beginning to stir. He quickly unstrapped her and carried her princess style down to where the others were waiting.
Neither one reacted to the girl's appearance. They were used to strange looks. So was Logan, for that matter, but he'd never seen someone change their looks without serious effort, and the girl was still under the influence of the drugs. The trio and their cargo headed for the medical wing of the mansion.
Once they laid her on one of the beds in the infirmary, Charles turned to Logan. "Well? Any clue as to who or what she is?"
The big man scratched his head. "Nothing except the fact that she was in that lab. I'm thinkin' she wasn't one of the doctors."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because when I found her in there she didn't look nearly this pretty." He described what the girl had looked like. Charles's eyes widened. Like Logan, he'd never heard of someone using an ability without conscious thought. Some, of course, had physical mutations that manifested whether they wanted them too or not, like Kurt, but what Logan described was something very different.
Thinking about Kurt made him remember something about Logan's description. "You said that she had blue fur in between the plates. Did it look anything like Kurt's?"
"Hm. They did look about the same color." His expression darkened. "What are you saying?"
"I am saying that it is highly likely that the two are connected somehow. They are both strange even by mutant standards. Kurt's mutation appeared much earlier than normal, and this girl seems to have several different mutations and limited control. They both have connections to that lab."
"And that means?"
"It means that they may have both been experimented on by the same individuals." He rolled his wheelchair back to the girl's bedside. "When this girl wakes up, she could give us more information." The two settled in to wait.
It didn't take long. The girl began stirring after about half an hour, then cried out and woke with a jolt. Storm laid a calming hand on the girl's shoulder. She shrank away, trembling, and said "What do you want?"
Storm spoke softly so as not to frighten her further. "Only to help."
She didn't stop shaking. "No. Go away. I don't want it anymore!" She dove off of the bed, charged past the professor and Logan, and streaked down the hall at an alarming speed.
Charles turned around and headed the way the girl had gone. "Catch her before the others find her." Logan, Storm, and Charles all headed after her.
The girl ran all the way to the bedroom section of the mansion. She heard the others coming up behind her, turned a corner…
And smashed headlong into Evan. "Whoa, chill. What're you running from?"
"From them!" She pointed in the direction she'd come from. Evan looked around the corner and saw the Professor, Storm, and Logan coming down the hallway, opening doors and looking around.
He turned back to the girl. "You must be new here. Those three are just teachers. I admit, Logan can be scary sometimes, but he's alright, really."
She started to calm down a little, enough to think clearly. She'd been scared when she woke up and was in a place she didn't know, so she'd just assumed that wherever she was was bad and started running. Really, she didn't have any reason to think this was a bad place. They had said they wanted to help. She stopped running and let them approach her
Chapter 3
Evan had finally calmed the girl down enough to talk. Her name was subject 1.2. The lab had been for experimenting with the human genome. Charles leaned forward. "Do you know who was running this lab?"
She said "Not by name, but I can describe him for you."
"Then by all means, do."
1.2 described him as a big man, always in a cloak and helmet. She'd only seen him take it off once, and had been surprised by how old he was. Charles knew who it was pretty quickly. Experimentation on other mutants? How far will you go before you're satisfied? He turned back to the girl. "Do you know what type of experiment they were using you for?"
She nodded. "I think it had something to do with multiple powers. They'd inject stuff into me and the next day my hands would be on fire, or coated in scales or something. I don't remember how many times they did it but I know it was a lot."
Looks like he was trying to find out how many powers a person could have without being damaged. There's no way to know how many he succeeded in implanting inside her. But where did he get the powers in the first place? "Did you ever see how he got the injections?"
"They always came out of the same room, in test tubes. He would pour them into a needle and inject it into one of my elbows." She pushed up one of the sleeves of the shirt they'd given her and showed them the dozens of small scars in the crook of her elbow. "It hurt like crazy for a while after that, and then I always blacked out. When I woke up, something would be different about me." She giggled a little. "I even woke up floating once."
He nodded. "Thank you for sharing this with us. Storm?"
The silver-haired woman answered "Yes, professor?"
"Help her to one of the available bedrooms. You and some of the other girls can take her shopping tomorrow."
Storm helped the girl up off the couch and towards the door. Once they were gone, Charles turned towards Logan. "What do you think? Is she stable enough to stay with us?"
The big man shrugged. "I don't think she's gonna be a problem, but I'll keep an eye on her all the same." He exited the study.
Storm opened the door to one of the bedrooms. "This is going to be your room."
The girl walked around starry-eyed. Storm had rarely seen someone so happy. She ran her hands over the bedcovers and flung open the doors to the balcony. "It's beautiful. Is it really for me?" She asked.
Storm answered with a laugh. "Well, you could room with one of the other students if you liked."
The girl turned from looking at the drapes and asked. "Like that boy I met in the hallway?"
Obviously, she was talking about Evan. Storm was about to reply that, yes, they were like that boy when Kitty barged into the room with the boy in tow. She stopped when she saw the feathered girl. "Whoa. You weren't kidding."
Evan pulled his hand away from her. "Of course I wasn't. Why would I joke about something like this?"
Kitty ignored him. She went up to the other girl and said "Hi. I'm Kitty, and he's Evan. What's your name?"
The girl retreated onto the balcony. "1.2."
"Eww." Kitty made a face. "What kind of a name is that? We'll have to come up with a different one for you. How about Thalia?" It was a name she'd picked up from one of her books.
1.2 liked it. It was so much prettier than the numbers. "Okay."
Storm shook her head in astonishment. This was the fastest introduction any of their students had ever had into the school, and already 1.2 was making friends. No, she was Thalia now. Storm left the new girl in Kitty's capable hands and Evan's confidant ones to go tell the professor about this latest development.

Chapter 4
Kitty stared at her for a second, taking in the wings and pink skin. "So I guess you can fly. Cool! We don't have anyone here who can do that yet, except Jean, but that's due to her telekinesis. But what's with the pink skin?"
"Sorry." Thalia stammered. She wasn't used to people asking her questions about herself like this.
Kitty laughed. "Don't apologize! It looks great! I was just wondering if it was armor or something, or if it helped you fly better."
“No, it's… Oh no." She had started morphing. The wings melted back into her wrists, ankles and back, and the skin faded from its pastel pink to a more average pale peach color. Her hair turned a chestnut brown and lengthened until it was a good two feet long. Now she looked pretty, but pretty ordinary. "Sorry. It's not really something I can control. It just happens sometimes."
Kitty and Evan were both gaping. Did this girl have multiple powers? First she had wings and now she was morphing like Mystique. They simultaneously shouted, "Cool!" and ran to get a closer look.
After that they quizzed her about her powers and found out quite a lot. Thalia could fly, morph, read minds, grow plate armor, and levitate without using her wings. But all of these abilities only activated subconsciously, which meant she had little or no control over them.
When she started telling them about her blackouts, the professor came in. He looked at the three in the center and asked, "Is Thalia in here with you?"
She answered that she was right there. He started for a second but quickly hid his surprise. "Wolverine told me that you can't control your morphing, so I have something for you." He held up a watch identical to the one he'd given Kurt when he'd first arrived. "Why don't I get Kurt to show you how it works?"
Then Scott burst into the room waving a sheet of paper. "Kurt's gone. He went to that construction site to meet with someone." He handed the sheet to the professor. "I think we should go after him."
The professor nodded. "Yes, you should. And take Thalia with you." He looked back at the girl. "It will be good for her to see how we work together. Get going."
Evan, Scott, and Kitty ran out of the room, with the new girl in tow.
Chapter Five
The four of them met up with Jean and Rogue in the hanger. While the others suited up, Jeane found a spare suit for the girl. “Sorry it’s so big on you.”
“No, it’s fine,” replied the girl. “I’m actually glad it’s a little roomy. It won’t rip if I morph into something bigger.”
The area where Kurt was meeting someone was downtown, so there was no need to use the jet. They piled into the X-mobile instead. Jean helped Thalia get settled in the back between Kitty and Evan and took a seat up front with Scott. Once they’d started driving, Jean looked over her seat back and made eye contact with Thalia. “This is going to be your first fight so I want you to stay back. Either get behind someone or run clear.” She smiled at the confused girl. “We don’t want you getting hurt on your first day here, right?” The younger girl nodded. Jean turned back to the front.
They reached the site and scrambled out of the van, headed for where Kurt was getting knocked around by those Brotherhood guys. They’d just knocked him down from one of the cranes when the six of them arrived. Toad leaned over the guy and said “Whoa. That was easy.”
Scott replied with a shout. “Wrong. It just got hard.” Jean pushed Thalia behind her, and the fight commenced.
Thalia watched as each of them faced off with one of the others. She was about to laugh at the spinning fat guy when Jean grabbed her hand. “Come on, we’ve got to help Kurt.” They walked towards the fallen boy. Jean put two of her fingers to her temples, and Kurt started levitating. Thalia’s eyes widened. He can do that too? No, it must be her doing it. Jean pulled her out of it by yelling. “Help him stand. I can’t hold on very long.” Thalia quickly pulled one of his arms over her shoulder and grabbed his waist. “Good. Now get him walking towards the van.” She did, but then she heard a scream.
Someone, a woman, was pointing at Thalia and screaming, “No! It’s not possible!” What is she talking about? thought Thalia. Did I start morphing again? But she didn’t have time to think about it. One of the other guys was causing earthquakes!
Jean yelled at her to get Kurt to safety. She gripped Kurt tighter and started walking towards the van as fast as she could. Thalia laid him down in the backseat and turned to go back to the fight. But the fight was over. The others were coming back now, but when they saw her they halted.
It was a good thing her uniform hadn’t included gloves, because her fingers had melded together until there were only two. And it was a good guess that her toes had done the same thing. She was covered in Kurt’s blue fur and had his black hair. They were mirror images of each other.

Later, the professor and Logan got together with Jean and Scott to tell them what had been going on, and what they’d found out about Kurt.
After the professor finished his explanation about the repressed memories, Logan said “So the dreams Rogue was having were really Mystique’s.
“I’m afraid so,” The professor said from his wheelchair. “Rogue must have picked them up when she touched her. Mystique may very well be the boy’s mother. But we may never know the truth now. Was there anything in that lab besides Thalia?”
“Nothing. Magneto didn’t want us finding anything. He must have thought Thalia was dead or something, to just leave her there for us to find. She was able to tell us everything.” Then Logan eyed Charles. “If he was testing how many powers someone could have with her, what do you think he’s been doing to Kurt?”
“Well, most mutations only become active once a person reaches their teens. That’s the way it was for all of us here. But Kurt’s mutations showed themselves while he was still an infant. This is just my hypothesis, but I think Magneto was testing how to trigger the gene, and he was using Kurt to find out.”
Scott leaned forward. “So when are you gonna tell Kurt about this? I mean, if he starts talking with Thalia, some of it might get out, but we don’t know if she knew about him. Should we just tell him so he doesn’t get confused?”
Logan got up and started walking towards the bookshelf. “I don’t think that she’ll say much. I’m guessing that that wasn’t something she’d want to talk about in a hurry. Those things aren’t fun. And the elf doesn’t need to know, at least not yet. That stuff about screwin’ with his genes couldn’t be good news.”

Kurt was standing on the balcony of his room talking with Rogue. “I…I still can’t believe it. Mystique is my mother?”
Rogue looked up at him. He looked so lost. “Listen Kurt. Who really knows? I mean that’s one seriously disturbed lady. Maybe she’s just messing with you.”
He looked down at her. “I guess. But there is a certain resemblance.”
Someone said “Hi.” Both of them looked towards the doorway. Thalia was standing there, still blue and pointy-eared. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You didn’t wake up the whole ride back.”
Kurt hopped off the balcony rail and walked towards the girl, taking in everything about her. “I’m fine. Thanks for helping save me.”
Thalia smiled. “You’re welcome.” She dug into her pocket and pulled out an image inducer. “The professor said to ask you to teach me how to use this. I have to take some tests at the school tomorrow to determine what grade I’ll be in.”
Rogue watched as Kurt showed her the different dials. Looks like he won’t be brooding for a while. She snuck out of the room and left the two to their watches.

[Yuki-Anne]

Question: Is Misa a Marysue character?

http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm

This quiz is helpful for determining whether your character is Mary Sueish.

[SierraLea]

Nooooooooooooo! She was a Mary Sue!
But some of those questions were just downright funny!

Here's another chapter for the X-men Fanfic.
Chapter 6
One week into her life at the institute and already Thalia was busier than any other student in the place. She attended Bayville High and mandatory power control classes with everyone else, but was also given extra homework in multiple power control. On top of that, the professor was running numerous experiments on her, with her permission of course. She wanted to find out the extent of what’d been done to her as much as he did.
The packed days had done a lot for her. The professor was of the mind that she should master her powers one at a time, with morphing as the first. It took hours of concentration, three sessions a day with him inside her head, and so many bizarre transformations she’d begun to look like an alien. But she could already maintain a normal appearance for almost five hours, although bringing out other physical powers like wings was still beyond conscious thought. They’d also managed to get a handle on her other more prevalent powers, so that if she maintained a constant level of concentration, she could keep them from surfacing. It was a simple matter of envisioning them inside a box separate from the rest of her mind.
The experiments were going somewhere too. Xavier had managed to uncover the means by which Magento had created the various serums he’d injected into the girl. It looked like he’d been able to isolate the X-gene and tweak it in slightly different ways. To find out what each adjustment produced, he had injected the modified gene into Thalia and monitored her to check for a new ability or mutation. Magneto had been switching the X-channels, and she was his screen.
Aside from lessons in control and blood tests, Thalia’s life had taken a surprisingly normal turn. She was a freshman at school, but was catching up with the coursework quickly, thanks to tutoring from Scott, Jean, and sometimes Storm or Logan. Logan loved teaching P.E. And her social life at school was going better than she could have hoped for.
Thalia hadn’t picked her looks with guys in mind, but with long brown hair, finely shaped hands, and a short but slender figure it was hard not to stare at the dainty beauty. And one boy in particular couldn’t keep his eyes to himself. Luke, one of the violinists for the orchestra, had been making puppy dog eyes at her since her first day there.
The Friday after her first full week, he made his move. Thalia opened her locker to get her books out for music class, and found a note tucked between her history textbook and sheet music. It read,
“Please come to the flagpole after class. I want to talk to you. Luke.”
Okay. Thalia might have spent most of her life in a lab, but she’d heard Kitty and Jean teasing each other enough to know that this wasn’t someone asking to borrow notes. And she’d be kidding herself if she admitted that she wasn’t at least a little attracted to the guy. His playing was beautiful, and he may not be much to look at but Luke was extremely sweet. She ran off to music class humming with excitement.
That was a mistake. Thoughts about Luke distracted her from both her lesson and something else. Something crucial. She was in the middle of class, thinking about Luke’s smile, when her powers started breaking loose.

[SierraLea]

Chapter 7
The first thing to go crazy was her morphing, since it was the one that required the most concentration. Her long brown hair started going moss green and growing until it reached her knees. Membranes began to develop between her arms and her sides, like a parachute. Singing turned to screeching. And if that wasn’t noticeable enough, her telekinesis escaped the box in her mind. She started levitating.
Three feet above the chair, Thalia was surrounded by a mini tornado of sheet music, erasers, and even a couple of the lighter instruments that had been stacked against the wall. Nothing heavy was flying, since she was trying to tame the power before it started hurting someone. She closed her eyes and opened the box she and the professor had built inside her mind, working to shove the unruly telekinesis back in.
That was a mistake. As soon as she opened the box, the rest of her known powers and a few new ones starting wreaking havoc on the music classroom. She was morphing faster than ever, going from her plate armor to scales, to slime, and then through different skin colors, each with its own power to worry about. Metallic blue made the tin wastebasket and metal drums go crazy. Pink skin got punctured by stray objects and healed before Thaila had a chance to blink. She even turned coal red and started heating up the air around her.
Students fled the room in a panic. They ran down the halls shouting at the top of their lungs, saying there was a crazy girl in the music room. When they ran past Scott’s classroom, he guessed what had happened. He ran for the music room with Jean. When they got there, the situation was getting crazy. Kitty, who’d been in the class with her, was trying to get close but without much luck. If not for the phasing, she probably would have been badly hurt already. Kurt was also in the room, hiding behind one of the desks that were still grounded. Scott yelled to him, “Go to the mansion and get Logan and the professor. We need help!”
Rogue came up behind them. “What’s going on?”
Scott pushed her away from the door as a recorder went flying. “Thalia’s gone out of control. We need to contain her, now! Kitty!”
The girl yelled back, “Yeah?” but didn’t turn around. She had to keep phasing to avoid getting hurt.
“Get over here!” Kitty made her way through the door, which Scott slammed shut. “Jean, keep this closed until the Professor gets here.”
Jean concentrated on the door and locked it from the inside. Thalia wouldn’t get out unless she broke down the door, which was getting more likely by the second. Kurt chose that moment to burst in with Logan and Charles. He immediately rolled the wheelchair up to Scott and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Thalia. She just lost control, starting going crazy.”
“Yeah. There’s like, sixteen different powers going crazy in there. It’s freaky.” Kitty shivered. She’d been through a lot of battles but this was something else.
Charles turned to Logan and Kurt. “Kurt, I need you to get Logan inside there. Logan, you’ll need to restrain her somehow, maybe knock her out. We need to shut her down.”
Logan nodded and grabbed Kurt’s shoulder again. “Come on, elf. Let’s go.” They evaporated in a puff of smoke.
As soon as they popped into place on the other side, they knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Thalia was covered in electric blue leather, and crackling with electricity. They ducked behind the wooden teacher’s desk as a stray bolt blackened the floor where they’d just been standing. The big man turned to Kurt. “You go back to the others and tell Jean to unlock the door. Open it when I shout. This won’t take long.”
Kurt popped out of the room and Logan grabbed a stray chair leg from the floor. The end was scorched where Thalia had unknowingly burnt it off of the chair. It would do. Logan burst into a quick sprint, covering the distance between them quickly. As he wrapped himself around her and prepared to knock her out with the chair leg, he got a look at her face. She was terrified. “Help,” she mouthed.
He smiled, more gently than usual. “Don’t worry. This’ll be over soon.” And he whacked her over the head with the chair leg. She fell limp in his arms, no longer crackling. He winced as the pain from the electrical burns kicked in but the pain lessened as his regeneration began working on them. He threw Thalia over his shoulder and shouted to the others. “It’s alright. She’s out.” The door opened.
Charles rolled in and took a good look at the room. What a mess. Instruments, music, pieces of furniture, and even broken glass from the windows littered the floor. Cleaning this up was going to take a lot of work, in more ways than one.
Chapter 8
Thalia’s slipup caused more of an uproar than any other mutant-related event, probably because it had been stranger than most and involved an entire classroom full of kids. The institute had to pay for the damage, create a believable cover story, and memory wipe the kids who had seen things a little too clearly. But it was impossible to catch everyone, and it wasn’t long before rumors started flying. Luckily, Thalia wasn’t around to deal with the speculations about just what kind of freak she was. But that was where her luck ended.
Apparently, her conscious mind hadn’t had anything to do with the different abilities that had erupted from her. Unfortunately, that had given her plenty of brain power to realize what was happening, what she was making happen. As a result, she had locked herself in her room and refused to come out.
Both Logan and the professor were worried about her. Charles kept agonizing about the situation. They wouldn’t be able to cover up something like that a second time. Could she even be let off the grounds without breaking? Was there some artificial way to keep her from snapping? Logan was worried more about the girl herself.
He couldn’t get that look she’d had out of his head. She hadn’t just been terrified. Thalia had been terrified of herself. It reminded him all too well of how he’d first felt when he’d discovered his claws. He’d unleashed them in a moment of anger and wound up killing a man. He’d been so scared of what he’d done that he’d run off into the woods in the middle of winter, and would have died if his brother hadn’t followed him. That was what Thalia needed right now. She needed someone who could show her that she wasn’t alone in this. And there was only one person for that job. Logan went to find Kurt.
The elf was playing a video game with Evan when the big man found him. “Hey Evan. I’m gonna borrow this.” He picked Blue Boy up, slung him over his shoulder, and carried him over to the front of Thalia’s room.
He set the boy down and Kurt immediately straightened his shirt. “What was that for?”
He pointed at the door with his chin. “I just thought maybe you could help her. You know, show her she doesn’t have to be by herself right now. Besides, you’re the only one who can get in there besides Kitty, and she’s at drama club.”
Kurt stopped dusting off his clothes and looked toward the door. To tell the truth, he’d been worried about her too. Everyone had seen who she really was, and now she felt like a freak. It was something he knew only too well. “I’ll try. Maybe she’ll come down to dinner with me later.”

[SierraLea]

Next chapter! Please comment and review!
Kurt exploded into the room only to find it empty. She wasn’t in her bed, by the dresser, or out on the balcony. Then he heard a rustling sound. It was coming from the closet. He opened up the shutter doors to find Thalia curled up on the floor of the closet, hands over her ears and eyes. Her hair looked like it hadn’t been combed for days, and the tank top she was wearing didn’t smell that good. Kurt’s face scrunched up in sympathy. She’s still so scared of herself. He gently laid his hand on her exposed shoulder to let her know he was there.
She flinched in response and curled in tighter. “Go away. I don’t…I don’t want you to get hurt.” Tears squeezed out of her eyes.
He laughed a little. “You won’t hurt me, I promise. If you start going crazy again, I’ll just get out.” He shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I’ve dealt with worse before; like that time that Professor Logan went crazy on me and Kitty. Now that was scary.”
She unclenched a little from her fetal position, although she wouldn’t leave the enclosed closet space. “What do you mean? I don’t remember him going crazy.”
Kurt went over to sit on the bed. “Oh, you weren’t there. It was just me and Kitty. Man, we sure had our hands full trying not to die.”
“Could you tell me about it?”
“Sure. Now that I think about it, it was pretty funny.”
An hour later, Storm made the rounds calling everyone to dinner. When she walked towards Thalia’s room, hoping to coax the girl out of it, she saw Kurt come out, grinning at someone inside. He closed the door behind him. Storm ran up to Kurt. “Well, how is she?”
“I found her hiding in the closet. She’s still frightened, but I think telling her the story about how Professor Logan went crazy helped a little. At least now she knows that she’s not the only one this has happened too.”
Inside the bedroom, Thalia had come out of the closet and was standing in front of the mirror. She was a little ashamed of how she’d been acting. Of course she wasn’t the only one with control problems. Heck, Scott couldn’t even take his glasses off without blowing something to bits. Yet they still managed to deal with it. Why couldn’t she?
She starred at her reflection. It was storm grey, dotted with flecks of white. Maybe if she concentrated, she could change back to her school look. All she did was make her hair grow another two inches.
Come on. Before her breakdown, she’d been able to change her skin at least. Then it started snowing over her head. Thalia freaked. She dove back into her closet, covered her head with her arms, and said over and over, “I’m normal. I am NOT making it snow. I am normal.” It did no good. She was buried in an hour, except the area around her eyes. Tears of frustration and fear kept that spot clear.

[SierraLea]

Kurt set down his fork with a clatter. “Vell I’m going to take Zalia some dinner. Zee you guys later.” He grabbed a plate from the kitchen, shoveled some spaghetti onto it, and walked up the stairs and down the hall to Thalia’s room. He teleported into her bedroom and immediately started shivering. Why on earth was it so cold in here? He rubbed his arms with his hands as he looked around the room for her. Looks like she’s still in the closet. He opened the door.
Ice. Everything inside was encased in a giant pink ice cube, including Thalia. She was curled up again, just like he’d left her. But she was also blue, and Kurt didn’t think it was just a skin color this time. He ran to get the professor.
They all took the block out onto the lawn so Scott could work away at it with his optic blasts without worrying about hitting the floor. He had to be very careful not to hit Thalia, but she needed to get out of there fast and regular defrosting just wasn’t going to cut it. Once he’d managed to get most of it off, Logan picked her up and carried her to the infirmary wing. There, they gave her an IV drip to keep her sedated and kept her warm with blankets and heating pads. Charles watched as the blue receded from her skin. But her normal color wasn’t coming back. Why?
He turned to look at Kurt. The boy hadn’t left Thalia’s side once through this whole ordeal. He suspected there might be some teasing after this. But he had more urgent matters to think about right now. Why was she so pale. “Kurt,” TH boy jumped at his name. “Was there anything else when you found her?”
The boy thought for a moment. “Vell, ze ice around her nose vas really red. Maybe she had a nosebleed vhile she vas vrozen?”
The professor considered the idea. The cold would have made her more susceptible to nosebleeds, but without some sort of trigger she wouldn’t have gotten one. Perhaps… He took a closer look at her face. Yes, there they were! Tear tracks! She’d been crying, probably blowing her nose too. And that certainly could have caused a nosebleed. And she couldn’t have stopped the bleeding without coming out of the closet to ask for help, so she’d bled until she froze. If not for Kurt, she would have died. “Kurt, go and get everyone.” The boy popped out.
The professor mulled the problem over in his head. Thalia needed blood, and fast. If she’d been able to turn on her regenerative ability, they wouldn’t have to worry about something like this. But she couldn’t not without going on a rampage again. So he’d have to find a donor. But it wasn’t going to be as simple as matching blood types. They’d have to get as close a match as possible, because of the tampering that had been done on her cells. He’d probably have to take a sample from everyone in the mansion and look for the closest match with the samples he’d taken from Thalia during their many experiments.
Once Evan and the others had arrived, Charles explained the situation to them. Storm took a small sample from each of them and compared them with Thalia’s under a microscope. Scott’s sample was useless. Except for the X-marker that produced the optic blasts, there was nothing the two had in common. It was the same for Kitty and Evan. Jean’s blood shared a few traits, like small little fingers, but that was it. Logan’s sample included a gene for black hair and attached ear lobes, so it was the closest yet. They would probably go with Logan’s if they had too. Then she picked up Kurt’s sample. She looked up from the powerful microscope and said, “You might want to look at this professor.” He wheeled over and adjusted the eyepieces.
He nodded. “I think we have a good match. Storm, start the transfusion.” Storm had Kurt sit down and got out the needles to link the two. While she was conducting the transfusion, Charles kept his eyes glued to the lenses. How was this possible? How could there be such a close match?

[SierraLea]

Except for where there had been obvious tampering, probably from the experiments, and the gene determining sex, the two blood samples were nearly identical. It was almost like they were… No, that was not possible. But hadn’t they been used at lab rats at the same place, by the same person? It would have been hard to get ahold of two mutant children, let alone one. Mystique had supplied Kurt, however unwillingly. She might have been the source of both his guinea pigs. And Kurt was the only one who was able to get through to her after the incident with the music room. Maybe this was the reason. He decided to run some more tests, just to be sure.
Thalia was kept unconscious through drugs. Some of her powers still appeared, but they weren’t very strong, due to the anesthesia they were giving her. The telekinesis only lifted things like the flowers at her bedside, and her floating was restricted to about three feet out of the bed. Her morphing ability seemed to have turned itself off, which was a good thing for Charles.
During the week after her freezing session, Charles ran every sort of blood test and DNA test imaginable with samples from both Thalia and Kurt. At the end of the week, and after twenty different tests, the professor called Kurt into his study.
The young mutant was visibly nervous when he entered the study. He knew something was up. All those samples and tests… had he turned out to be the wrong blood type? Was Thalia in danger because of him?
Charles was sitting in his wheelchair opposite one of the couches in the room. He smiled at the boy and said, “Please sit down Kurt. I’ve got something to tell you.” He sat down on the couch, butterflies in his stomach. “I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve been running all those tests on you and Thalia recently.” The youth nodded. “Well it was because of something I noticed when we compared your blood the first time.”
“You mean ven she needed a transvusion?”
“Yes. And we found a match. You.” The professor leaned forward and stared into Kurt’s yellow eyes. “Kurt, you weren’t just a good match for Thalia. You were near perfect. In fact, so perfect that I thought for a second that I was looking at two samples from the same person. I began to have some suspicions about the two of you, and the tests I conducted after that confirmed those suspicions.” He paused, unsure of how to break the news.
Kurt got up and walked towards the professor until they were only a few inches away from each other. “Vat vas your suspicion?”
“My suspicion, which I am almost certain of now, is that you and Thalia are siblings.”
Chapter 11
Kurt lurched back. “Vat? Zalia’s my sister? But how? Didn’t she come vrom a lab or somezing?”
The professor nodded. He thought of calling in Logan to help him explain, but decided against it. “Do you remember that time a few weeks ago when Rogue started having those dreams about you?”
“Yes. But vat does zat have to do viz anyzing?”
“A great deal.” And he proceeded to tell Kurt everything, from the details of the dream to Thalia’s description of what had gone on inside the castle. He even included the results of the tests his sister had undergone during the weeks at the institute. “We think that you underwent experiments too, Kurt. It’s the reason your powers appeared so early in life, as opposed to your peers whose abilities developed when they entered high school.”
It looked like the truth was finally beginning to sink in. Kurt said in low tones, “So Mystique really is my mozer.” Then something occurred to him and he looked up at the professor. “Hold on. Iv Mystique came to get me, vhy didn’t she take Zalia too?”
“I don’t know Kurt. Maybe she didn’t recognize her at the time. The girl changes color on a daily basis. But do you understand why I’m telling you this?” The boy shook his head. “I’m telling you so you can help your sister. I don’t think the reason she’s unconscious is because of the drugs. What we’ve been giving her wouldn’t keep Logan out for more than three minutes, and she has his ability. If she wanted to, she could wake up in a heartbeat. I think the reason she’s stayed like this for so long is that she’s still afraid of herself. Her subconscious is registering that fear and complying with it. Normally this would be a good thing, but it’s not helping Thalia at all.” He started wheeling towards the door.
“Walk with me.” He and the blue youth walked out of the room and as they reached the hallway, the professor started talking again. “The daily samples I’ve been taking from her this past week not only showed the similarities between you two. They also showed something much worse. Her cells are mutating, but not in a good way. It’s much like how cancer cells develop. I think her regenerative powers have been keeping them under control, but with her subconscious turning off all her powers, that ability’s control over these mutations has lessened to a dangerous level. If she were to stop rejecting her abilities like this, her regenerative powers could go to work on these non-cells and help to get them back to normal as well as speed her own healing processes. But only if she accepts what she is.”
They had reached the door to Thalia’s room, where they’d been keeping her conatose. “I need you to help her do that, Kurt. As her brother, and as a fellow victim. Please, help her to wake up and start working with me again so we can get a handle on her abilities.” With that, the professor wheeled out of the room and left Kurt with his sister.
He felt like his head was going to explode. He was even more messed up than he’d thought, thanks to those experiments. Mystique was his mother, Thalia was his sister, and she was probably going to die unless he found some way to make her accept what she was. And yesterday he’d only had the weekend plans to think about.
He pulled up a chair and sat down next to her. Man. No wonder we got along so well. We’re family. He would have said that to her, but she probably couldn’t hear him. He settled for taking her hand instead, which was lying on the covers. I hope you wake up soon. I want to tell you everything.

Someone comment! I feel like I've been abandoned!

[mechana2015]

You may not be getting comments anymore due to the fact that you never responded to the original comments and critiques on your work. Also, this is a TON to read on a forum, particularly one which I've never seen having much interest in fanfiction.

[SierraLea]

You may not be getting comments anymore due to the fact that you never responded to the original comments and critiques on your work. Also, this is a TON to read on a forum, particularly one which I've never seen having much interest in fanfiction.

Thanks for the explanation. Should I just put up a link for people to look at when I finish a new chapter instead of separately uploading it here?

[SierraLea]

Here's a link for my latest Thalia chapter.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9506270/12/Too-Much

This is a song I wrote a while ago but never got around to posting.

There’s a girl who no one knows
How she works, how she goes
Through life. Yeah, no one understands.

The trouble is she knows it too.
That’s why she turns and runs to you
Because you have the healing hands.

The others are so far away,
But you’re beside her every day.
She can finally see just what she is.

She’s beautiful, but only as herself.
She’s not some cookie cutter doll sitting on a shelf.
Her most attractive features are her heart and soul and mind.
Something that can shine on through only once she finds.

Because she knows you know her heart,
She’s not afraid from those apart
From her. She goes and draws them in.

And watching makes you feel so glad.
You didn’t like to see her sad.
You laugh as true relationships begin.

She’s beautiful, but only as herself.
She’s not some cookie cutter doll sitting on a shelf.
Her most attractive features are her heart and soul and mind.
Something that can shine on through only once she finds.

[SierraLea]

Interrupting the story that is currently on hold, here's a song.

You can say ambition-wise, I didn’t get my share.
You can say I won’t amount to much, go anywhere.
But before you write me off, make sure your judgement’s fair.

Give me some credit.

I have a voice that makes people see angels.
I have a heart that turns lives around.
I have a fiancée who loves me forever.
I have so many dreams I’ve gotten off the ground.

Give me some credit.

Sort me into categories by my school or grades.
Stick me in a box that’s labeled how much I get paid.
But take a look at who I am, and know I’m not afraid.

Give me some credit.

I laugh out loud at what I think is funny.
I speak my mind and never mind the glares.
I am all natural; you get just what you see.
I will never change to avoid the stares.

Give me some credit.

I think everyone should write something like this at least once in their life, to show that they have value that no one can really measure. It helps to remind us that we are worth the effort of living.

[SierraLea]

Just so you know, ther are some more chapters to the X-Men fan fic up on Fan Fiction.
Banana Lobtser illustrated Misa for me! Here's the link until I get permission from that lovely artist to post her picture as my cover art.
http://vermiliondragon.deviantart.com/a ... -398516440

[SierraLea]

I'm thinking I will start a blog to share the things that don't fall in here or fan fiction. Things like a teenaged version of the Ten Commandments and a music video idea I will never be able to put into action. What do you guys think?

[SierraLea]

For those of you who've checked me out on Fan Fic, I've started a new story built off the Hunger Games. It's basically ME inside of a hunger games of my own making, and will prove to be pretty funny if I ever get the time to continue it.

[Davidizer13]

For those of you who've checked me out on Fan Fic, I've started a new story built off the Hunger Games. It's basically ME inside of a hunger games of my own making, and will prove to be pretty funny if I ever get the time to continue it.

Somehow I doubt a story about children chosen by the government to fight each other to the death for entertainment purposes is going to be very funny in any way, unless you go for the waaaaaay black comedy route, which you've shown no aptitude for.

And speaking of showing no aptitude for things, your writing's not too great, honestly. This Hunger Games story is the first one I've understood the canon on and can actually make a comment on what the story contains, and this just doesn't measure up to the original (or any good writing). Everything about it just feels...off? Lifeless? Stiff? You spend a lot of time stamping out exposition, telling us exactly what we need to know or what to feel through narration instead of using dialogue to draw it out organically. You also go back and repeat a lot of things, even seemingly contradicting your own story in a couple different places. There's shifts in tone and the voice your character's using in her own thoughts, starting out very formal and technical, but then towards the end, slang is common; either way, the overbearing stiffness remains throughout.
Go spend some time reading more poetic stories, ones that flow smoothly and stretch themselves out to build an atmosphere - Edgar Allan Poe, or Daniel Handler/Lemony Snicket, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens. Build a distinctive, unified voice for your narration, because it is first-person, told from your main character's point of view.

Let's talk about self-insert characters, a common thing in fanfic where you, the writer, put yourself into your own story. There's nothing wrong with a bit of wish fulfillment, but what usually happens is that you start giving your character, the representation of you, ever more powers and making them more awesome at the expense of the story. Which is what I think is happening here - in real life, from what I've read on here, you're good at singing, so your character naturally has to be the best at singing. Different things like that. If you're not really careful, this can turn into a story where your character just powers through the plot because she's you, and you have to be awesome, better than anyone else in the world you're writing. Furthermore, consider the canon you're writing for - your character has just been entered into the Hunger Games, an event in which participants are required to kill each other. By extension, that means you're part of that, doing the dirty work and all that. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing being that it's just a story, it's just something you may have to come to grips with later on.

[SierraLea]

This is some of the best criticism I've received. Thank you.
For the record, Sierra Leiant is going to die.

[Ante Bellum]

Dead characters do not a good story make.