Naruto and Sakura strolled a little behind Kakashi and Taryn. "Did you notice?" Sakura asked softly, "her eyes... they were the same as Neji's and Hinata's. Who is she?"
Naruto blinked confused. "You say she has Byakugan? But I thought she came from Wind Country. Kakashi-sensei said that those Sand ninja were her siblings."
"How should I know?" Sakura said annoyed. She frowned. "Kakashi-sensei seems to know a lot about her, doesn't he? And he was the first to speak up for her."
"What are you saying?" Naruto was still confused.
"Aargh!" Sakura complained, "why am I still talking to you?" 

Upstairs, Taryn pulled her arm out of Kakashi's grip and she strode back to the railing. Kakashi sighed. Such a troublesome girl. Why did she have to be so difficult all the time?
"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura's voice sounded.
He turned around. "Hn? What is it?"
The girl looked hesitant. "I was just wondering... I thought...," she glanced at Taryn, who was out of hearing. "I thought I saw Taryn use Byakugan.... But..."
Kakashi nodded. "You saw it right."
"But I thought you said Byakugan was the blood limit of the Hyuuga clan."
"Yes," Kakashi said, "but you see... Taryn's mother was Hyuuga."
"Eh?!" Naruto and Sakura both gasped. "But she's a Sand shinobi, right?"
"What do you know of allied nations?" Kakashi asked.
"Sometimes shinobi villages close a treaty with another village to unite their strength and help each other out in times of need," Sakura answered. Then she realized something. "Ah, hidden Sand is ally of Konoha."
Kakashi nodded. "Yes, but before that alliance, Konoha was at war with Suna. They rivaled each other. After a long battle, peace was bought through a political wedding. The Kazekage agreed to marry a woman from Konoha's elite families. Since the Hokage had no daughter, the choice fell on the Hyuuga-clan, Konoha's most illustrious clan. He chose the youngest sister of lord Hiashi, Hinata's father. Taryn was born from that marriage."
Naruto glanced at the team from Suna. "How about them?"
Kakashi shook his head. "Taryn's mother died from illness when she was still a child. His other children are born from a woman from Suna. Taryn is their half-sister." 

Kankuro glanced at Gaara. He had become more agitated since the last battle between the two Hyuuga cousins. If this went on much longer... the monster within Gaara was becoming more bloodthirsty with the second. His eyes flashed dangerous and every now and then he trembled with excitement. Kankuro dared a glance towards his older sister. She was looking at Gaara as well. Slight concern in her eyes. Kankuro sighed thoughtfully. Being the oldest of her siblings, they had known each other the longest. That didn't mean they were close though. Even when he was still a child, Taryn had been away on missions most of the time. By the time she was Gaara's age, she had long been a Jounin. But... he knew things. He used to eavesdrop at his father's office. He had somewhat admired his big sister when he was young. So he knew. He knew why she was banished. He had never told anyone about it. And his father certainly didn't know he heard everything. He sighed again and guiltily averted his eyes. 

"How come you know so much about her?" Naruto asked.
        'Well, she lived in Konoha for a while," Kakashi answered, "though you may not remember that. You were barely old enough to attend the academy at that time. But also before, when she was a child, she moved back and forth between Konoha and Suna to attend the academy in both nations." His eyes saddened for a moment, but neither student noticed. "When she got banished, the hokage offered her refuge in the house Hyuuga with her mother's family. You have seen how they felt about that. The Hyuuga clan didn't like it one bit to see their blood heritance in a child of Suna. They never approved of the wedding, but they had no choice. The hokage ordered it. They still resent her. Pure blood is important to the elite families." 

Taryn eyed Gaara with concern. She wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to keep in control. The blood thirst was evident in his eyes. This wasn't Gaara, was it? She couldn't be sure. She had been away from home too long to be certain. Behind his eyes shone a glint of Shokaku, who was always eager for a way to take over. Taryn shivered. Though she knew Gaara would never hurt her, Shokaku was a different story. The one tailed beast had a deep hate for her. She was sure he would attempt to kill her if given the chance. And after everything that had happened, Gaara might well be willing to let him. 

When Hayate announced the next battle, Gaara was already down in the arena before the names were called. 'Eager huh?' Taryn thought.
Somewhere in the background, one of Gai's students cheered when his name appeared on the board. "Finally!" he yelled enthusiastically. Lee jumped down and took on a challenging stance. Taryn looked on in concern as the match started. Immediately Lee charged at Gaara with amazing speed. Gaara didn't even flinch and remained where he was.
"Konoha hurricane!" Lee yelled. Just before his kick would find target, a shield of sand appeared in front of Gaara, blocking Lee. Taryn saw his stunned look before he was thrown backwards. Lee crawled up again and charged forward, but with the same result. It continued for a while, but none of Lee's attacks landed a hit. 

"His attacks aren't working," Naruto said. He stood close to Kankuro to have a better view of the battle.
"Physical attacks are worthless against Gaara," Kankuro answered, "the sand forms a shield to protect his body... independent of Gaara's will. That's why, to this day... there's not one person who has ever been able to wound him." He glanced at Taryn who stood close by. She was watching the fight intensely.
Naruto gasped. "Not one person?" he asked. 

The sand followed Lee all over the place, forcing him to keep evading it. Finally he landed on the statue beside the battlefield. "Lee! Take them off!" Gai called. Lee turned to him and nodded. He started to undo the weights around his legs.
"Hn," Temari snorted, "there's no way dropping a few weights will let you keep up with Gaara's sand."
But when Lee dropped the weights they smashed a gigantic crater into the ground and Temari gasped. When Lee pushed himself off, he moved so fast the bare eye wasn't able to follow him.
Gaara glanced around uncertain and hurried to move aside when he felt a movement behind him. The sand blocked the punch, but the next one managed to get through. The sand locked around Lee's foot, only inches from Gaara's face.
'He's fast.' Taryn thought. She gasped when Lee was able to give Gaara a cut across his cheek. The two boys stood across from each other. Lee smirked at Gaara's glare.
"No way," Kankuro said stunned. Even Temari was shocked.
"Now Lee!" Gai yelled. In the blink of an eye, Lee was gone, too fast to follow. Gaara couldn't keep up either and was thrown to the ground. He landed in a pillow of sand and looked battered. 
"This is bad..." Kankuro muttered.
'You got that right," Naruto cheered, "he sure is getting it."
"No..." Kankuro said, "that is not the problem." 

Gaara slowly rose to his feet as sand started to crumble away from his body. There was an insane look in his eyes.
"Oh no," Taryn whispered. Everyone was looking in terror and confusion.
"If this Gaara is able to catch Lee," Kankuro said slowly, "Lee will be toyed with and killed."        
Naruto gasped as he looked at Gaara. Sand crawled towards him and formed a layer over his skin, all across his body.
"It's sand armor," Kankuro said," Gaara can create a thin shell of sand to cover and protect his body, controlling it by will force. It differs from the sand shield which automatically flows to form a barrier. It's Gaara's ultimate defense." He frowned. 'Being driven to this means he's at his last resort. Forming an armor costs a massive amount of chakra. Since the sand itself is lying against his skin, it increases the body weight, making it harder to move. If Gaara is driven to use the armor... then he's been driven into a corner.'  

Lee's eyes focused on Gaara and he charged at him again. He took Gaara up high and whirled back down again with massive speed. They slammed into the ground. When the dust cleared, they saw Gaara in a crater in the ground.
"D-do you think he is dead?" Naruto gasped.
"You're kidding right?" Kankuro asked hesitantly.
"Yes." Gai said.
"Not yet," Taryn muttered.
As Lee stood up again, Gaara's body crumbled, revealing an empty shell.
           "Where is he?" Gai gasped.
Sand started rustling and Gaara came out of it, chuckling. Lee looked behind him and gasped. 'It's fully awakened,' Kankuro thought in shock. Everyone stared at the arena. Gaara kneeled down and put his hands together. A creepy smile was plastered on his face as a wave of sand rose behind him and smashed Lee into a wall. 

"Why didn't he duck?" Sakura asked.
Gai looked at her. "The lotus technique is a double edged sword."
"Technically," Kakashi interrupted, "it is a forbidden move which inflicts a huge strain on the body. Right now, Lee is nothing but a mass of pain and weakness, right Gai?"
        Gai kept silent and Sakura looked at Lee with concern. The boy was standing up again. "Why is he smiling?" Sakura asked.
Gai grinned. "He's about to push back. The Lotus of Konoha will bloom twice."
        Kakashi gasped and narrowed his eyes. "Are you saying he knows how to open the eight inner gates?"
"Yes," Gai nodded, "that's right."
"Are you insane?" Kakashi growled.
"That boy..." Gai said, "is something special." 

Back on the field, a fierce wind revolved around Lee as he started opening the third inner gate. His skin turned red and his veins became visible. The ground of the arena cracked open as the fourth gate opened. Gaara was kicked into the air. Lee was nowhere to be seen.
Taryn grabbed the railing so tight her knuckles turned white. Out of nowhere Gaara was thrown in all directions, causing his sand armor to peel off.
"This is the end!" Lee's voice sounded.
Suddenly Gaara was slammed hard into the ground. Lee landed a few feet further away. The entire room was silent. When the smoke cleared, they saw Gaara on a bed of sand. The sand had broken his fall and Taryn let her breath escape. Slowly Gaara raised a hand towards Lee. Sand locked around the boy's arm and leg and Gaara closed his fist. "Sand Coffin!" Lee screamed as his bones were crushed. Sand flew through the air towards him and Taryn knew what would come next. 

Dust covered the air, hiding the field from view. When the air cleared again everyone gasped. In front of Lee stood Gai, shielding the boy from the attack. But they were even more surprised to see Gaara. He was still with his back on the sand, but the arm that had been reached out towards Lee was pressed to the floor by Taryn. The girl's body was lying across Gaara's, shielding it or restraining it, there was no way to be sure. Her head was pressed against Gaara's chest and she was panting. Blood was dripping from several cuts over her body.
"Stop," she whispered, "enough."
Gaara's face was stunned, his eyes wide. He looked at Taryn and then at Gai. His eyes went from anger to confusion and then to pain. He clutched his head. 'Why are you helping him?" he asked Gai.
"Because he's someone important to me," Gai calmly stated. His eyes went to Taryn for a moment and he looked puzzled.
With a growl Gaara shove Taryn away from him. She groaned and worked herself up. Gaara's eyes flickered for a moment with something like horror, but then turned emotionless. "Forget it," he said while turning to leave.
"The winner is Gaara," Hayate announced.
Taryn crawled to her feet and bit her lip to bite the pain.
           Everyone gasped as Lee slowly stood up, still half unconscious. Gaara turned around confused. Gai locked Lee in an embrace. "It's okay," he said.
Gaara's eyes narrowed in hate. Slowly Gai lowered Lee to the ground and called for the medics. Taryn stumbled towards her brother and together they looked on.
          Naruto jumped down the balcony to have a better look.
"Are you the Jounin responsible for him?" a medic asked Gai, "this kid... though he's breathing on his own, he has fractures and torn muscles throughout his body. If that were it, we could expect a full recovery, but the damage to his arm and leg are severe. This kid's body is so destroyed he'll never recover enough to be a shinobi again."
"No!" Naruto yelled, "that can't be true! He was desperate to fight Sasuke... and Neji! There must be something you can do! All Lee ever wanted was to become a shinobi! You can't take that away from him!"
Kakashi appeared at his side, placing a hand over the boy's mouth. "It was his own choice to use that technique," Kakashi said, "he knew the costs. He risked his life so he might have a chance to fight all of you. Don't forget that." 

Gaara watched as Lee was carried out on a stretcher. In a swirl of wind and sand he vanished, taking Taryn with him, and appeared back on the balcony with Kankuro and Temari. "Welcome back, Gaara," Kankuro said, "sis." He nodded at Taryn who gave him a curt nod in return. She ignored Baki, their trainer, who glared at her. 

Kakashi glanced at Gai, who was still standing on the field, watching after Lee. "Gai," he said with a sympathetic voice, "we're in the way. Let's go back upstairs." It was silent for a moment, but then Gai sighed. "Yeah..." 

As he followed his friend and rival, Kakashi glanced up at Taryn who now stood amidst her siblings. 'So that's him huh,' he thought while eyeing Gaara for a moment, 'the boy you were meant to kill.'