As they followed, they began to hear a loud groaning.

" He's awake," Aceso noted.

" Good," Sasuke smirked. They soon landed in a tree, Aceso stayed on a higher branch than Sasuke, who landed one right across from Gaara, he opened his eyes, only looking at Sasuke.

"I have no idea of the scheme you Sand Village clowns have got going, Aceso says its about taking down the Leaf Village, I'll stop it, no matter what," Sasuke declared. Gaara's face began to crack. " Besides...I'm dying to see what you really are." Gaara leaned forward groaning, grabbing his head.

" Gaara, no!" Temari cried out. " Oh, no, it's happening. Any second, he's going to let that thing out. No. Not now. Not now! No Gaara! Remember our mission!"

" We're so alike, Uchiha," Gaara spoke as he covered his left eye. " I don't have friends as you have, but they're not what makes you strong." Aceso stared down harshly upon Gaara, this whole time she thought they were friends or at least starting to be friends. " It's your purpose that does it. In that way, we're alike. You! But mine is the stronger purpose. For only destroying you and all you represent can I even prove that I exist? Only by killing you can I know what life is?" He then removed his hand. " You...You are my---" He then fell to his knees screaming, grabbing his head. " You are my prey! My prey!" A sand arm came out of Gaara's gourd, and covered his other arm, becoming one. " My prey!" He kept screaming, Aceso's eyes grew wide. He was transforming into the sand demon trapped inside, but only half was coming out. " Now...let me feel it." The demon's eye opened.

" That eye," Sasuke breathed as he started to shake from the sight, Aceso glanced to see that Temari was cowering behind her arms in fear, she then looked back at Gaara.

" You've seen it before?" Aceso asked.

" During our match in the arena," Sasuke answered they saw many sharp claws pointed out of Gaara's demon arm. He then shot toward Sasuke, his hand opened up wide as he yelled. It crashed into the tree, Acseo almost fell off, and she grabbed onto the branch. Soon the tree started to fall and she jumped to another tree. She looked up to see Sasuke panting in the tree in front of her, he was sitting and his eyes were wide. He grabbed his shoulder, he had been struck.

" I don't think I will finish this before Shino catches up," Sasuke whispered to her.

" Hm," Aceso agreed as she looked over at Gaara. He reached his hand over, and they both jumped back.

" Is he a human or a monster?" Sasuke asked.

" Human," Aceso answered. " Remember what I told you earlier?" Sasuke gasped.

"I'm going to need your help," Sasuke admitted stubbornly.

" Are you sure?" Aceso asked.

" I'm sure," Sasuke nodded. " You were told to bring me back alive, right?" Aceso recalled Genma's words, she then nodded.

" Why do you hide, Sasuke Uchiha?" Gaara asked as he looked around. " Do I frighten you? Are you shocked by my true form? Come out, come out, Sasuke Uchiha. To live, I must kill. And you are my prey!" The demon eye glowed an angry red. Sasuke then jumped out. " So there you are!" He swung his arm and plummeted it into Sasuke, sending him flying. It puffed into smoke, revealing a log.

" Guess again," Sasuke said as he flew down to him. He threw six kunai knives, Gaara stuck out the arm, and each one lodged into it, Gaara was not affected in any way. The knives then sunk into the arm as Gaara laughed. " Here, you can have them back." They flew back at incredible speed, turning into hot metal. They shot right through a tree and Aceso's eyes glowed green once more, she put her hand out and stopped the others as Sasuke jumped away, she was standing on a branch.

" This guy's a freak," Sasuke panted.

" He has to have a weakness," Aceso panted as she dodged to the side and let the hot metal shot past her.

" What's wrong, Sasuke Uchiha?" Gaara asked. " Why do you run and hide? Why don't you attack?" He then grabbed his head started screaming in pain and dropped to his knees. " Why do you always run away?" He screamed out more. He wasn't even looking at Aceso, she wasn't his prey. " I won't let you get away. You can't escape, do you hear? Sasuke Uchiha." He swung his arm, taking down the trees it swept through. He jumped and went through all the trees he could, he turned to look all over. " What's wrong? You're not afraid of me, are you? Yes, that's it. You fear me. Don't you, Uchiha? You live in fear every day I'm alive! What's wrong, Sasuke Uchiha? Are you really so afraid of me? Has all your hatred and sense of purpose dwindled down to this abject fear? Is this existence you live now? That of a coward? Come out and fight me. Show me that I'm wrong. Prove that your existence is stronger than mine. You'll never know unless you fight me. You'll never feel it! Attack!" Birds flew, squawking, getting away from the battle sight.

Aceso stood there, ready to be on Sasuke's defense, for whenever he was ready to attack, she then heard a static noise coming from somewhere close. She turned to see a glow coming from a tree, Sasuke was leaning up against it. Temari and Aceso both gasped as they looked over more.

" Good. Now, we're going to have some fun, Sasuke Uchiha!" Gaara cheered. She could see his Sharingan was activated. The two then jumped toward each other, both yelling. They clashed and Sasuke ripped through the arm.

" Gaara!" Temari cried out. They landed on the branches across from each other. Gaara was on his back, and Sasuke was looking back at him. Gaara then started to laugh, he laughed manically and sat up, staring at Sasuke.

" I see," Gaara said as he got up. " So that's what it is."

" Amazing," Aceso breathed.

" After all Uchiha has been through, he was still able to counter Gaara's attack," Temari noted.

" Now it's clear to me exactly why I've been looking forward to this..." Gaara began. " This pain. What a thrill it will be to crush such an opponent capable of wounding me so badly." He was grabbing the arm Sasuke had damaged. " Such a victory will make me feel what it is to be truly alive!" Sasuke smiled right at him. " There's more, so much more." His arm began to grow.

" What the--?" Aceso asked as she watched sand pull out of the backside of the gourd, forming a tail with spikes on it. He growled much louder. He jumped back, used his arm to pull himself back, then flung himself forward at Sasuke. He shot right through the branch, and Sasuke jumped up, barely missing him.

Gaara turned, his arm grabbed onto two branches, and stretched back, looking at Sasuke. He flung back forward at Sasuke, yelling with delight, Sasuke looked to be stumped not able to move as he stood upside down on the tree.

" Fire Style, Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted. The flames covered him, but when they died down, Gaara didn't look affected. Aceso moved to different trees to get closer, as fast as she could.

" You're finished," Gaara declared. He slammed his arm into Sasuke, and he went flying back and slammed harshly into a tree. " Is that it? That was the best demonstration you could make of the value of your existence? That's just pathetic, truly. Your hatred, It's weak. You are far too soft and forgiving. The greater the hunger for revenge, the greater the hate. And it's the power of hate that gives you the strength to kill." Sasuke was shaking as he sat in the tree. " Your hate is weaker than mine, far weaker."

" Shut up," Sasuke ordered as Aceso jumped a branch lower.

" You know what that means, don't you?" Gaara asked.

" Just shut up!" Sasuke snapped.

" It means you can't win," Gaara mocked. " You are weaker than I am." Aceso started to do her rope Jutsu as she looked up at Sasuke from below. She then saw Sasuke standing up as he held Chidori in his hand once more. Gaara and Sasuke lodged at each other once more. Sasuke's Chidori midway through the air. The two then collided and blood sprayed everywhere. The two landed on the opposite branch from each other, Gaara now stood above Aceso, she stared up at him, and as he glanced back at Sasuke, he had a smile on his face. His demon arm broke down into the sand, it fell off, and the rest of it sat on the branch. Sasuke on the other hand, had markings all over him as he held the Chidori. Gaara turned groaning as an arm formed on his right side this time. Sasuke then fell over, he was completely out of chakra. Aceso did her Jutsu as Gaara jumped up, she jumped up and grabbed his foot and dragged him back on the tree branch, she was hanging over the edge.

" No, Gaara," Aceso pleaded as the ropes went around two trees and the around her body, holding her in place.

" What are you doing?" Sasuke demanded as he looked over at her.

" Protecting you," Aceso said as the demon looked down at her, Gaara started laughing. " Gaara, things don't have to be like this, you don't have to kill him."

" This is the only way Aceso Matsuba," Gaara laughed as his tail raised up and went straight at her. Aceso put on hand up, her eyes glowed green, and the tail stopped. " You can't hold it forever."

" But I can hold it for now," Aceso said, she sense people coming their way, hopefully, they were coming to help. She just had to hold off Gaara a little longer till Sasuke regained his strength. She let go, Gaara's hand swung down at her, and she shot out of her rope, went around the branch, and went to go stick a knife in his foot, but his tail stopped it from happening.

" So weak," Gaara laughed.

" You're the weak one here," Aceso panted as she looked up at him. Gaara picked up Aceso with his human arm and his demon arm slammed her into the main of the tree they were on, she felt one of his sand demon claws digging into her.

" And I'm the weak one?" Gaara laughed. " You are powered with weakness, friendship and love is a weaknesses. I will kill everyone that made me feel alone."

" I'm sorry Gaara," Aceso apologized.

" Pleading for mercy won't save you," Gaara laughed. " Pathetic."

" No," Acseo shook her. " I'm sorry for how the world has treated you. It's been so cruel to you, it's not fair how you had to be so alone all the time. You have every right to be angry at the world. But this isn't the way to feel alive, killing others."

" So weak," Gaara said as he dug his claw in even further. " You have no clue--"

" You're right," Aceso agreed as she used her hands it was useless, but she tried to push it out of her. Her eyes glowed green and the hand stopped going in, she looked back at Gaara. " I have no clue what you went through as a child, what you are going through at your village. But things can get better, don't shut away from the world just yet, because sometimes it's worth having people around. Sure it can get messy, but it is so worth it. I really do think we could have been friends Gaara, even best friends."

" Don't waste your breath," Sasuke said weakly. " He doesn't care about friendship." Her eyes went back to normal.

" Is this the best of the Matsuba?" Gaara asked as he began to walk closer, he picked up the knife she tried to stab him with. He wasn't listening to a thing she was saying.

" Don't throw away the whole world just yet," Aceso requested as he walked closer. " You had every opportunity to kill me this past month and you didn't."

" I wish I did," Gaara laughed. " I won't let you slide ever again." She coughed out blood, it went all over his arm. " That smells delicious. Any last words?"

" I hope we can be friends in the next life Gaara," Aceso wished. " Just like we could have been in this life. We still can be."

" He's a monster," Sasuke grunted, Gaara stopped walking and looked over at him.

" He's not a monster," Aceso denied. " He's been made out to be a monster most of his life, that he took up the role, but before that, I think he must have been really kind."

" I can show you kindness," Gaara laughed as she looked back at her. He was now inches away from her face. " I will make this short and painless."

" No, I'm the prey you want!" Sasuke reminded him.

" It's alright Sasuke," Aceso assured him. " I am willing to give up my life to save the life of my friends, to protect my village." Gaara grabbed his head and started groaning. Aceso could sense the others had gotten a lot closer.

'If only the world hadn't been so cruel' Aceso thought to herself.

" Aceso," Sasuke protested as Gaara looked up at her.

" I have faith in you Sasuke," Aceso said as she stared up at the redhead boy. She reached out and put her hands on his face, she brought his head forward, he wasn't resisting, and neither was the demon. She smeared the blood from her hand, on Gaara's face, she had a small smile. Gaara didn't understand, he was about to kill, but she still had a smile on her face. " I'm sorry, Gaara...maybe we can still be friends after all of this is over. " He raised the knife to her heart. " I just needed to keep your attention long enough before they showed up." She then a hand sign and a rope came out and yanked Gaara back. He skidded to a stop, and launched at her before someone flew through kicking him, it was Naruto.

Gaara flew back all the way to another branch, Sakura and a dog appeared beside Sasuke, Aceso slid down on the tree, she put her hands on the spot she was bleeding, she looked down to see a lot of blood, then back at Naruto.

" Sasuke!" Sakura gasped. Naruto glanced at Aceso, he was panting angrily, then looked at Gaara who growled angrily.