Welcome to Gaia! ::

When they got to Kiba's house Kiba jumped off the dog and helped his friends off. 'Come on, guys. Thanks, Akamaru. You can go rest or something." The dog barked before running off. Kiba opened the door and loked in, "Hana's not home. Oh well. Come on." He led them into the living room, "I'll be right back." He said before running off to get the things they would need to patch Gaara up. He came back a few moments later. "Here we go." He said, sitting next to the two brothers

Kiba blinked at the sudden -or not so sudden- question. "I-I don't know...What do you guys want to do?" Before the other two could answer though and dog ran in and barked at Kiba. Kiba frownd. "I'll be right there." The dog nodded -in it's doggy way- and walked out side. "I have to go help one of the dogs. It shouldn't take that long." Kiba pulled on a black tee shirt and his shoes and ran outside, following the dog.

A few minutes later Kiba stopped with the dog and looked over the edge of a small cliff. Akamaru came up and whimpered at him, Kiba looked at the dog and nodded. "Which pup?...How bad is she hurt?" As he got the answers from the two dogs he could hear the whimpering of the pup at the bottom of the cliff. When the two dogs were done telling him what had happened he looked at the pup. "It's ok, Hina. I'm going to get you back up. Ok. Calm down now, girl." Kiba started over the edge of the cliff, using his now bare feet to find footholds while his hands grabbed onto anything that jutted out enough for him to hold onto. Suddenly as he was moving his hands down he slipped and started falling. he closed his eyes tightly and withen seconds he felt himself hit the ground. The last thing he heard before fainting was Akamaru barking.

Akamaru watched as Kiba fell. Painc shone in his eyes, he told the other dog to stay there and watch them before running off, heading towards the house. When he got there he pushed open the door and ran over to Kankurou and Gaara. He grabbed Kankurou's pants in his mouth and started pulling. Growling at the suna-nin.

Akamaru let the teen go and ran ahead. He looked back and barked. He would do this every fewmoments, wanting them to there quickly.

Kiba stirred slightly and felt something licking his cheek before once again fading into darkness. The pup, Hina, that had been licking him whined and looked up at the full grown dog who could do nothing but watch.

((Has Ari-san been on at all today?))

Akamaru yipped and ran off while the dog who had gotten Kiba pulled Hina off the boy. The dog set her down and started to 'yell' at her. The pup and dog started to walk away.

Akamaru stood in front of Gaara and barked, he didn't know how long it would take this human to understand him. He really wished Hana had been around so that Kiba could be taken care of.

Kiba stirred again, this time his eyes fluttering open. "K-Kanourou...?" he mumbled softly.

((No, I haven't. My sis has been a hog all day. I was also watching Naruto on Youtube and doing my secret santa shopping.))

Gaara looked down at the dog in a dead stare. He knew something wasn't right. The frown that had been almost permanent before Gaara slowly started to change etched its self back into his features. He got up and followed the canine. Once he reached the area where Kankurou and Kiba were, he crossed his arms and looked down at them.

"What on Earth? It seems we have a knack for injury today." It was clear that Gaara seemed, say, different. Like he had locked something away inside of him and was afraid of letting it back out.

"I'll get you two back to Kiba's house. Then, I will have to patch you up or find someone to help you." He reached out his hand and sand rose from the lightly packed earth. It gently cradled the other two ninja. Gaara made it rise into the air and he walked on his way back to Kiba's house. The whole time, he was attempting to block things from his mind. A dark voice seemed to echo from within him.

Kill them, Gaara. What good do they have for you? It is obvious that they love each other and you are in no way connected. Kankurou just didn't want you to see it. Kill them, Gaara. While you still have some of your heart left to heal. Don't let them take away what has slowly been building up. Think of how upset everyone else would be with you. Think of how much people would resent you again if you let them take what is left of you. Think of the disappointed expressions on everyone's faces. Even Naruto will no longer do anything for you. Face it, Gaara. You are alone in this world, despite what people tell you.

Gaara had made his way into Kiba's house. He laid the two on the couch and made his way to the bathroom to look for any supplies he may have needed when the voice came back.

Gaara, Gaara, Gaara. You are letting them walk all over you. They are probably down stairs right now sharing a little joke. They are making you their b***h, Gaara. You aren't going to let them do that, are you? Oh, please tell me you still have some dignity left, enough to take care of those who will betray you. The world is against you Gaara. You could end it now. For them or for you. No one will ever give a damn if you disappear. No one. It has always been this way and it always will be this way. It is your fate to be burdened so. So, why don't you just end it now? You can control the sand that protects you now. Take a blade to something vital. It may hurt for a little while, but, then there will be the bliss of the silence. Where no one can harm you or shun you. There is only the comfort of darkness.

Gaara clutched his head and fell to his knees,"No...why? Leave me alone. You are supposed to be gone. The Akatsuki took you away from my body. Get out. Leave me alone."

The voice seemed to chuckled. Gaara, you think that I was the Shukaku? You think it was that that was begging to be fed? The only thing it wanted was blood. But, now Gaara, this is you. I have always been here, watching, waiting to be set free. I am you, Gaara. I am what you truly are. What you hide from the world. I am your mental state, your strength, your weakness, your feelings, I am YOU.

Gaara shook his head,"No. It wasn't me. It isn't me. It was the Shukaku that did those horrible things. It wasn't me. It wasn't." Gaara scratched at the bandages that covered his forehead,"It wasn't me! I swear it!" he was shouting now. Back in the state of mental instability.

Kankuro had watched his brother the entirety of the trip back to Kiba's. He let out a small sigh when the younger sibling disappearedd off to get medicle supplies, but stopped breathing for a moment when he heard him shout. "Gaara..." He forced himself to stand. "I'll be right back, Kiba." He called behind him as he used the walls to push himself to the bathroom. Gaara... What's going on with you? he thought to himself.
"Gaara!" He moved as if to hug the redhead, but fell over and wound up hugging the others' legs instead. "I know it wasnt you! What's wrong?" He looked up at his brother, tears gathering in his eyes as he thought about Gaara's mental state, why he might be doing that...
It's all my fault... If I hadnt kissed Kiba then... If I hadnt done so many things... He wouldnt be like this... He wouldnt be thinking about what happened when he had the Shukaku inside him... That was the only thing he could think of as he clung to Gaara's legs and cried.
He was tired of everyone being in pain, over and over again.
Gaara being like this was just hurting even more, and it was adding to the worry and pain over Kiba's fall.
"I did it, Gaara. I did those horrible things." He murmered, his voice muffled, as he still had his face buried in Gaara's legs.

Gaara had clamped his eyes closed. He opened them when he felt something hold on to his legs. He looked down at his brother, his eyes slowly widening as the older male spoke. Gaara reached down and pulled Kankurou up to him. He held his brother to his chest,"You did nothing wrong, Kankurou. This...feeling is my own." He was shaking now, as if he was crying, but, no tears fell from his eyes.

"This insanity wasn't caused by you. Please, don't blame yourself. Please. It doesn't help either of us." Gaara could feel that strange feeling inside of him subsiding. He could feel it burying its self within the darkness of his mind once more. Gaara ran his fingers through Kankurou's hair in an attempt to calm the both of them.

"You didn't kill all those people. You didn't force those thoughts into my head, you weren't the creature that people, very stupid people, feared. You didn't slowly drive me away. Don't blame yourself, Kankurou. Please, don't blame yourself."

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Shikamaru looked Sasuke in the eye then looked down to his hands. He neatly folded them in his lap and took a deep breath. As he was deciding on how to answer the question, he thought about the pictures that he had drawn. Some of them were images from his deepest fantasies, others were just images of the strength that Sasuke had. The skill that the male possessed. Some of them weren't even Sasuke, only a person that resembled him,"I'll show you. It's is difficult to explain." Shikamaru stood up and walked over to where he stashed the pictures. He pulled them out and walked back over to Sasuke.

Once there, he took his seat once again and displayed them on the Shogi board,"There."