Iruka-sensei gave us all a proud smile, especially to his surrogate son Naruto, and proceed to congratulate us for finishing with a day left. He explained the whole Heaven and Earth scroll idea: how to have the perfect balance to be a good ninja. We must have good spiritual strength and physical strength, something we aren't lacking. Iruka then opened the door behind him and we obediently followed him. Since there is still a day left of the exam, we are staying in the tower overnight to recuperate along with all of the other teams that finished.

Naruto animatedly told Iruka of his version of what happened in the forest of death, while Sasuke and I just walked behind. Even if my injuries are all gone, I'm still exhausted, and Sasuke looks ready to collapse, probably from the pain of holding the curse mark back. We were led to a small room with three beds and a shower, with only a curtain as privacy, in the corner. Naruto hugged Iruka, thanking him for the room, then dove into the bed. Mine and Sasuke's lips twitched into smiles of varying degrees, and followed suit. Iruka laughed, left us a map to find the kitchen, and left us to out own vices.

Sasuke flinched and grabbed his shoulder tightly. Naruto and I both saw it and made him lay down.

"Teme, tell us what happened when you were out. What is that weird bruise that creepy snake dude gave you?" Sasuke took in a deep breath, his eyes were distant, reminiscent, he looked slightly scared or sad of something. Sasuke was reluctant to say anything, he kept looking away from us. Naruto's warm smile broke down Sasuke a bit, and when I squeezed his hand, he finally gave in to telling us.

"It gave me power, more power than I'd ever felt. It was amazing and I wanted to give in so bad. I kept re-living that night, the power was trying to feed of my dark desires to kill Itachi, like it was programmed. If I didn't know the truth I would have given in. It was consuming, all of my dark desires for power were being drawn upon, it was evil, and I scares me that I was so close to giving in." Sasuke gripped the bedsheets around him tightly, his internal conflict becoming evident on his usually stoic face. "I can feel it, feeding off my chakra, pushing me into the darkness. Every time I resist, it attacks me. I'm so weak!" Sasuke almost roared in anger at himself. He put his head down, looking away from us, ashamed at what he thinks is weakness. Naruto reached out and put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"You're such a Teme dattebayo.." Naruto spoke out, this time not teasingly or angry. Sasuke looked up finally, a weak glare on his pale features. "You're not weak because it's hurting you, you're strong because you aren't giving in. The 9 tails inside of me is always fighting to break out when I'm angry and I become weak when I let it control me, it may give me strength I didn't have, but when I let it cloud my mind, it makes me weak." I smiled at the wise words and the exchange. They really have an irreplaceable bond, only Naruto would have been able to fix Sasuke the way he did. Sasuke looked slightly relieved after his talking to. "So stop being a whiny teme dattebayo. Don't start becoming a weaker link than you already are."

Naruto spoke out with a wide grin and a laugh. Sasuke glared at him and they began to verbally argue. I got up, leaving them to argue, and quickly took a shower, washing all the dried blood and dirt off of me. It took a lot of force to get the blood off, and I watched in silence and anger at myself as it flowed down the drain in a clear red mess. I put my dripping wet hair into a ponytail and changed into my spare clothes I sealed away. A red shirt and black ninja pants. While Sasuke and Naruto got ready to shower, I left to go see other teams and grab some real food.

I walked into the kitchen-type area and grabbed an apple to munch on while I found food I didn't have to cook. I was rummaging through the drawers when the sand bracelet on my wrist began to pulse and wildly react around my hand. I honestly forgot about it until now. It kept freaking out until I finally stopped looking for food, settling on some vegetables. The sand stopped, and I felt somebody watching me. I turned around and there was Gaara, staring at me with a blank expression on his face, but wild eyes. I raised my right arm in a lazy wave and gave him a smile.

"Hey Panda-kun. Glad to see you made it through. Whats up with the sand bracelet though, why is it freaking out?" I tilted my head in question. Gaara didn't respond verbally, instead he covered me in his sand and did some weird transportation thingie, bringing us to a room, alone. His sand was still covering me and was squeezing me tightly. Gaara's breathing became a tiny bit ragged as he stared at me.

"What happened, mother couldn't sense your chakra." Gaara growled at me, his sand tightening a bit more. "You promised not to die, yet your chakra was gone. I thought you died, you promised, if you die I'm the one to do it." He spoke out, I'm not sure whether it was to me or himself.

"I got in a really bad fight with a dickhead named Orochimaru and used most of my chakra, I didn't die though. I promised not to die until I can show you love, what kind of friend would I be if I broke my promise already." I said, my voice steady but quiet, he's acting crazy and I need to tread lightly, I don't need to become another victim crushed with his sand. I gave a small, caring (I hope) smile to Gaara. His anger seemed to melt away, but then was replaced with something else. He began laughing a pretty psychotic and creepy laugh, his eyes wild.

"You're alive" He had another laugh, staring at me as his sand brought me closer. "You didn't die, my existence has meaning, I will kill whoever hurt you, mother agrees. I will kill him! Nobody can take you away from me, you are my prey not anyone else's." The sand let me to the floor right in front of Gaara. I wasn't sure how to calm him down, but I was hoping that he might be like the orphaned babies who need contact to be calm, so I stood up and hugged tightly onto Gaara, my head tucked into his shoulder. Gaara's sand got ready to attack, but when he realized I was hugging him like I did last time, his sand calmed down. Gaara was still tense, so I grabbed his hands for him and wrapped them around me. When Gaara became more comfortable, his hug became tighter and tighter to an almost suffocating point. I didn't move though, knowing he needed it and it was his way of making sure I was really there. Sasuke and Naruto both do the same thing whenever they are worried or whatever. Gaara's ragged breathing finally calmed down, but he stayed holding onto me.

To fill the silence, I told Gaara a little bit about my life, hardcore training every day since I was 1, my issues with my family, my struggles with other people, the massacre, and my dream of saving as many as I can. Gaara finally became more comfortable and finally was willing to tell me more about his life. He told me all about how he killed his mother, his horrible father Rasa and how he attempted to have Gaara assassinated many times over, how the village hates him and is afraid of him, and his uncle Yashamaru and how he was the one who told Gaara nobody would love him and he should only love himself.

By the end of his story I was in tears, having Gaara explain why he is the way he is, and how he thinks he killed his mother really made me sad. It pissed me off even more to hear about how everyone else treated him. As angry and hateful as he seemed, he also showed the sad and hurt boy he actually was. Gaara's anger towards humanity was obvious and I didn't even know what to day, I was angry too. It was the same anger I felt with Naruto, for places that are supposed to be 'good' are so full of prejudice and evil, causing so much pain for people like Gaara. It is the same as my clan, a supposed noble clan puts cursed seals on members to control them and separates everyone by branch and main family members.

Gaara and I were talking when Kankuro and Temari showed up in the room we were in.

"G-Gaara-sama, you can't kill her! Come on, just c-calm down and let's go somewhere else and discuss the plan." Temari pleaded, her voice terrified and shaking, her eyes wide as she took in the scene. Gaara was sitting next to me, his sand wrapped around my waist as a way to prevent me from moving. To her and anyone else, it definitely looked like he was about to murder my ass, but really, his sand was holding me because he didn't want me to leave and he/his sand likes to feel my chakra all the time.

"Leave." Gaara's gravelly voice spoke out, void of any emotion except annoyance. He turned his beautiful eyes to his siblings, a cold glare sent their way. As scared as they were, Kankuro and Temari were both stunned as the usual bloodlust that radiated from their little brother, especially before a kill, was nonexistent. Temari got a little more confidence at his lack of blood lust and began to speak again.

"Let's just-" She attempted to talk, but Gaara's harsh look shut her up. He looked ready to attack, a growl present at the back of his throat. He really did not like his siblings untimely interference.

"Leave. Now. I'm not going to kill her. Not yet." Gaara rasped out. Releasing some of his potent KI. I shivered at the feeling, it was so strong but after Orochimaru, this still was less intense.

"Y-Yes!" His siblings gave one more glance at us then scurried off. Gaara looked tense since his siblings left, and I couldn't help but laugh at how awkward he was. His lack of human contact and his lack of understanding other people was adorable, he was like a blood thirsty little baby sometimes. Gaara's eyes sharply turned to me, narrowing as I laughed. The sand holding me tightened.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Gaara demanded, he seemed a equal mix of angry and confused, making me laugh harder at his naivety.

"I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing because of you." I explained, a small smile on my face at his ready-to-kill position. I really might be crazy since I'm not afraid of a psychotic and unstable boy... well not as afraid as I should be. He still is planning on killing me in the battle rounds so that's something.

"I didn't say anything funny... did I?" Gaara's sand loosened again and his angry murderous demeanor was gone, he was now contemplative, I could feel the confusion buzzing off of him. Yet again, his Shukaku induced murderous boy was gone and I could see the shunned and alone boy he was. As sad as it was, it was also adorable to see somebody so tough begin to crack and let himself show. I finally am getting to see some more of the Gaara hidden behind the so called demon he created himself as. I tried to explain to him why I laughed, but just made everything more confusing and he was getting agitated. Finally, I knew it was time for me to go, I said my goodbye and left him to his own devices, probably plotting with his siblings on defeating the leaf or something. Yay, they have such good priorities and I'm such a fucking amazing person for letting them plan on destroying my village.

I made my way through the kitchen, heading to Team 7's room, when I felt a familiar presence. I spun around and nocked my target off of his feet, making him land on his ass. He let out a big sigh before engulfing me in a hug.

"Troublesome woman."

"SHIKAAAA. You passed!" Shika put his hands behind his head and laid back on the floor in the hallway, not bothering ti move somewhere else. I laid my head on his shoulder and we began talking. He told me the ingenious strategy he came up with to get the second scroll, defeating a team from Iwagakure by luring them into a trap they had set up earlier. Shikamaru let out a deep sigh, moving me off and sitting up to look me in the eyes. The atmosphere went from calm to tense in an instant. The tight grip and intense gaze Shikamaru had was his expression of fear, for what, I'm not sure. Whatever happened to him was big to get a reaction like this out of the sarcastic, prideful, lazy pineapple boy.

"What the hell happened to you and Sasuke, why was Naruto left to fight alone, and what the hell is Naruto, I've never seen something so intense in my life." Shikamaru asked, his voice void of the normal laziness, instead filled with pure intrigue...well as much as he could muster up. He still looked ready to drop and sleep right here and now. His eyes were flitting over my body, watching each movement I made to figure out what my reactions were, helping answer the questions without me even having to say anything. I first went through explaining what happened with Orochimaru in the briefest way possible, he's smart enough to put any of my clues together so I didn't have to explain all that much. A fire I didn't know Shika had lit up in his eyes at the mention of how I was attacked and knocked out.

"Naruto is special. I know you've heard about the asshole villagers talking about him. What do they call him?"

"A demon." Shikamaru stated bluntly, but I could hear the twinge of annoyance, he likes Naruto and doesn't like the treatment Naruto receives from the village.

"When's Naruto's birthday?"
"October 10th."

"And what was the fourth a master in?"

"Sealing." The gears started turning in Shika's head. He was analyzing and coming up with every probable answer.

"And if I told you a tailed beast cant be killed, only sealed..." I trailed off, seeing the understanding and shock flash across Shika's face. Instead of his usual annoyed sign or half lidded eyes, he gasped sharply and his eyes were wide as saucers.

"Naruto's a jinchuriki for the 9-tails demon fox isn't he." Shikamaru stated, a definitive answer, not a question. I nodded, watching closely to gauge his thoughts he wouldn't tell me. He was tense and looked contemplating, but unlike most of the village, there was no fear or hate at all. The veil that was covering him, preventing his understanding was finally lifted, but Shikamaru is smart and I know he knows that even if Naruto is a jinchuriki, he wouldn't purposely hurt any of his friends. Naruto is too kind hearted for that.

His fists clenched tightly, the anger that I feel was evident, Shikamaru was sad and angry that someone like Naruto has to deal with such difficult problems and is hated for something he couldn't have controlled. Knowing that one of my and Naruto's closest friends didn't hate or fear him for what he is, made me smile wide and tackle Shikamaru in a hug, thanking him over and over for being the person he is. "It'd be too much of a drag to dislike that idiot anyways, especially now that he can kick my ass." Shikamaru stated bored, while hiding his slight blush. I giggled and stayed sitting, my legs thrown over Shikamaru's, his arm behind my back.

"Shika, you know I finally figured something out to make you even more unstoppable, especially with your Shadow jutsu's." His lidded eyes tilted down a bit to look at me, I had his undivided attention now.

"Whenever you trap someone in your shadow possession, if you reach down to grab a kunai, they do too. You both grab kunai's making throwing it so fucking useless because it'd hit you too, but what if you wore your kunai pouch around your waist or something else, then when you grab a kunai, they are grabbing air, leaving it so you can hit them, but they cant hit you. Then right before it hits them, you release the possession, giving them no time to dodge." Shikamaru's eyes widened more and more each word I spoke and his mouth was hanging open, gaping like a fish as I finished. I grinned triumphantly, knowing I'm right and that I just blew his mind yet again today.

"What a drag woman." He groaned, dragging his hand down his face. "That is such a simple and ingenious solution. That completely erases the possibility of their kunai harming me, giving me an advantage for instant kill that I never had before. When Otousan hears about this, he's going to go into depression for not thinking of this himself." Shikamaru took of his thigh pouch and re-hooked it on his waist on his right side. "You really are something, troublesome woman." He told me fondly, a small smile on his face.

"Aww, you know you lovvve me Shika." I joked, laughing a bit. Shikamaru grunted in agreement, the frog in his throat to big to speak, and laid all the way back again, pulling me with him to lay my head on his chest.

I traced circles in his fishnets as we strategized about each opponent we know that we could possibly fight in the final rounds. He helped me decide which opponent's ninjutsu would work best against, which one's my taijutsu would work for (most them basically, minus Gaara, he needs a mix), and what skills I should keep secret for now. We decided to keep up the limiting of my skill level until the finals. I will show only what I need to win, not show off like I so badly wanted to. Shikamaru, especially since he trains in taijutsu with me every once and awhile and Asuma is a freaking taijutsu beast, is pretty proficient and is going to use his taijutsu to fight until he has the perfect opportunity to shadow possess or strangle them. If he is going up against heavy ninjutsu users, he will have to hold off, let them use chakra, figure out a weak spot or break in the justu's and beat them then.

I told him if he goes up against Gaara, to forfeit. He agreed, talking about how much of a drag it would be to fight someone so bloodthirsty and scary. After a little bit, we got up to go say hi to Choji, and to find Naruto because Shikamaru want's to talk to him and indirectly let him know they are still friends. He's to cool to just say it, the prideful ass. I was a bit disappointed though, I know Kiba and Shino were one of the first teams to finish, so I was hoping to see them, but I wasn't aloud to go looking for other teams on purpose. I really needed a kiss from Akamaru, some fun verbal sparring with Kiba, and Shino's speech patterns always made me feel better, especially when it would be to tell Kiba he's an idiot.

Naruto, Sasuke, and I were all back in our room finally. I was exhausted and wanted sleep, the looks on their faces they did too. Sasuke looked a bit more calm, but I could see the pain mentally and physically. As much as I wanted to ply it off, I was still shaken from the terrifying time in the forest, Sasuke and Naruto were too. Their eyes were traumatized, showcasing the fear no amount of grins and hn's could cover up. I didn't want to sleep alone, so Naruto and Sasuke both pushed their beds together with mine, making one giant bed. We all piled together and slept in a tangled mess of arms and legs.

Even though I usually hated the heat to sleep, this time it was warm and comforting. Naruto was on my left, pressed tightly against my back, spooning me. His legs intertwining with mine. He had an arm wrapped around my waist and was holding one of my hands. Sasuke was on my right, my head was tucked into his chest and his arms were holding me protectively, his legs were wrapped with Naruto's and mine, the slight shake in his body from the pain finally subsided. I snuggled deeper into them, all of us were connected with one another, feeling a sense of security we haven't had in a while.

A/N: Sorry this is so late, I just started school again and was having some writers block. This fluffy filler is shorter than usual, but I hope you like it. The next chapter is coming soon, finally time for some ass kicking. The opponents are going to be changed around to fit what I have in store for the whole exams. I'm super pumped for the rest of this arc. Enjoy the fluff and bonding! I love you all!!