I jumped off the rock... And landed on Kankuro. He yelped and I jumped away. I morphed, hiding my body behind the rock.

"Look away for a minute," I said.

Kankuro turned so I could get dressed. I quickly pulled my shorts on and wrapped my chest.

"What do you want?" I came out from behind the rock.

Kankuro wiped the blood from his cheek where I had scratched him, "Gaara sent us to find you, he was getting worried."

"Us?" That made me wary.

"Yeah," Kankuro put a hand to his mouth, "Temari! I found her!"

A sharp gust of wind made me flatten my ears. Temari came flying over the tree tops on her fan. She landed next to her brother. Tiny sand eyes hovered above their shoulders.

"So I take it Gaara wants me to go with you guys?"

"It would make everyone's lives a little easier if you did," Temari said.

I sighed, "Fine, tell him I'll be there within an hour."

Temari and Kankuro nodded. They hopped away through the trees. I sighed again and finished getting dressed.

I followed Temari and Kankuro to the trees. I leapt from branch to branch, my long black hair drying in the wind. I followed the scent of sand and blood down to the desert. The siblings ran over a sand dune as my feet hit the desert floor. I sprinted beneath the pale moonlight.

Gaara's house looked a little worse for wear, but not much worse than before. A section of the roof had been burned and collapsed, another sliced to ribbons and the door was all but shattered. I could see Gaara's spikey hair just on the other side of the roof.

I climbed a scraggly tree as a kitten. Carefully, I crawled out as far as I could on a branch. Gaara had his head down so he couldn't see me. I let out a small mewl. Gaara jumped up and looked at me in surprise.

"Hello, Kuri," he dragged a hand down his face.

I purred and pawed at his hand. Gaara pet my back, scratching behind my ears and at the base of my tail. I purred even louder and arched my back into his palm.

Gaara sat back down and I joined him on the roof as a human. I leaned my head against his shoulder and continued to purr.

"Can you not do that?" He asked awkwardly.

I lifted my head to look at him, "Do what?"

"Purr as a human... It's a little freaky."

I laughed, "This coming from you!" But I stopped purring anyway.

From where we were sitting, you could see most of the stars and the moon. The moon looked like an angry eye, taunting me with what little time I had to make this work.

I could feel the blush radiating off Gaara's face as I snuggled closer to him.

"Sorry, I'm cold," I admitted, "Your brother and sister pulled me out of my bath."

"O-oh, I'm sorry about that," Gaara apologized.

I hummed in response, already almost half asleep. My arms wrapped around Gaara's. I pulled my knees up to my chest. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Hey, Gaara," I grinned.

"Hm?"

"Lay down."

"Why?"

I rolled my eyes, "Just do it, I'm not gonna hurt you."

Gaara narrowed his eyes but leaned back so he was laying on the roof. I morphed and curled up on his chest. His chest rose and fell rapidly. I started purring and kneading his chest.

The sand armor around Gaara fell away. The warmth from his body seeped into my small smaller one. His hands enveloped my back like a blanket. I shoved my head into his chest and purred louder.

Suddenly, Gaara went rigid.

"Get rid of that stupid thing," Shukaku growled.

"Why should I?" Gaara deadpanned.

"She's making you weak!"

"But I like her."

"Like her?! You met her once. You don't like anyone, not even your pathetic siblings!"

"What do you know of liking anything, much less anyone?"

"I like you, don't I? You were chosen as my host."

My tail puffed up as I listened to their back and forth banter. Hope fluttered in my heart. Gaara said he liked me...

Gaara picked me up. He pulled me into his chest and screamed. My vision turned red and Shukaku's presence loomed over us. I squeezed my eyes shut and huddled into him.

I morphed and held Gaara's face in my hands. His eyes were clouded over with red, making them look purple.

Gaara's hands shot up to my wrists