Chapter Sixteen- Trying To Kill Someone Doesn't Make Gaara Any Less Sexy

"So, guys..." Kakashi had said at yesterday's training session as he gave us each a yellow slip of paper, "It's up to you. You can take the chunin exams, but only if you want to."

And now I was thinking about it. Was it worth doing? First chance I got, I was getting my ass home, so was it worth risking my life in the Chunin exams?

I could tell that Jack was pumped for it, but Mikazuki seemed kind of nervous. I wonder if he'll show? After all, if he doesn't then Jack and I can't go forward... ah, to heck with it. I'm sick of sitting around feeling sorry for myself! If I'm gonna be stuck here awhile, might as well make the most of it instead of moping!

I rummaged in my pocket for the slip of paper and then hunted around the apartment for a pen. Finally, I found one... down the back of the couch.

After much palaver, I pulled the pen out from between the cushions. "Aha! Gotcha, yer little bugger!" I grinned, signing the sheet, "Not so smart now, are you? Stupid pen."

I then placed it down on the desk and skipped out of the door, off to the next training session. Today's was with team Kurenai, and now that I actually took time to think about it, I was pretty looking forward to it.

When I reached the training grounds we were supposed to meet at, I saw that everyone was here already, and grinned. I made myself noticed by spreading my arms wide and calling to the sky, "Yes! The Great Charlie is here! Your days' all just got infinitely better!"

It was safe to say, they were not impressed. I just grinned at them, then went and latched onto Jack's leg. "Dear brother! Where have you been?! Mother was looking for you; you forgot to brush your teeth!"

Jack just pushed me off by my head, and scowled. "You're insane." he said, then looked away, folding his arms, "And I did not forget."

I stood up and brushed myself off, and my gaze slid over the rest of the group. I grinned brightly, "Yo! How's it going? I'm Charlie, it's your pleasure to meet me-"

I cut off as a fist slammed into my head.

"They heard you the first time!" Jack said, annoyed, "Knock it off!" he then glanced to Team Kurenai apologetically, "Sorry about that... Charlie was dropped on her head when she was a baby..." they all glanced at me, and I had already gotten distracted and was piling grass on Jack's foot. Jack sighed, "A lot."

I stood up, and pointed at him, "You're just jealous 'cause I can use our kekkei genkai and you can't!" I exclaimed smugly, and he scowled. It was true. I had tested him with the musical instrument thing a few days ago; he couldn't do anything with my flute and, what's more, he sounded God-awful!!

A short while later, we had started a sparring tournament. The winner of Kiba and Jack's match was going to face me. Hehe...

I didn't really mind who won... but from the looks of Jack, Kiba was going to. After all, Jack had only been a ninja for a few weeks, and only just had mastery over his chakra, so was really no match for a boy who had been training from a very young age.

I had to admit, though- Jack had impressive stamina. He was taking quite a lot of hits that would have had me down in only a few goes, and I had been training a lot longer than him. But still, eventually he was down, and he walked over to our team, not looking nearly as sulky as I expected. In fact, he looked weirdly elated.

When he passed me as I stood to walk to centrefield, he revealed why. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Kiba's mighty fiiine, isn't he?"

I laughed out loud; Jack's bisexual tendencies were revealing themselves in the presence of such a fine specimen of a man/boy...

Once I got to centre field, I put the cutest pout I could manage on my face, and drew my arms into my (nicely sized- I think I've finally grown) chest. "Please go easy on me. A strong, sexy man like you would beat me too easily, otherwise."

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from bursting out laughing as he smirked, falling for my trap. He said a few things that I can't relay, because I wasn't paying attention- I was thinking out a strategy. I could just use my flute straight away, but that wouldn't look very impressive, and wouldn't be any fun since it was an easy win. Maybe...

Kurenai yelled start, and I rushed for him. His eyes widened; he was surprised by my speed- man he was cute when he was surprised. He skidded out of the way just in time to dodge my kick, but I rounded and punched him in the face, sending him flying. I bent over, huffing, as he picked himself up- damn, running that fast really takes it out of you.

"What the hell?!" I straightened up, and looked at him innocently.

"I never said I'd go easy on you, Kiba-kun..."

He growled, and ran at me, "Akamaru!" the dog moved to his master's side, "Jujin bunshin!"

I grinned; knowing everything about every character on a TV series does have it's advantages. It meant that I wasn't fased as Akamaru turned into a second Kiba.

I dodged each kick and punch that either of them aimed at me with ease. One of them tried to bite me! And I think that that was the real Kiba, and that's just... weird...

After about thirty seconds of this I started to slow, growing tired. I think that Kiba and Akamaru sensed this, because they started to move faster, so I span and put all my energy into one last kick, slamming straight into one of the Kiba's then quickly pulling out my flute and playing a few notes, binding them where they stood. Akamaru Kiba poofed back into just plain Akamaru again, and I pushed Kiba over and sat on him, patting his head.

"I... win..." I announced breathlessly, flipping Kiba's hood down. "You... look so much... better like that..."

Once I got my breath back, I stood up, only for everyone in the area to gawk at me. "What?!"

"Ch-Charlie... your legs..." I looked down, then screamed.

"WHERE THE HECK DID MY LEGS GO?!" I screeched. "WHOEVER STOLE THEM, GIVE THEM BACK!!"

They all ignored me, peering at where my legs were supposed to be from real close.

"The question is, how is she still standing?" Kurenai murmured, and then Hinata gasped.

"Even more is disappearing!" She exclaimed, though still quietly. I looked down at it again- it was true! now, from my hips downwards was all gone!

"HELP ME!! SOMEBODY!!!" they all just stepped warily away, as more of me vanished, I now no longer had armpits.

"I-I'm sure you'll be fine, Charlie..." Jack stammered, scrambling away as I somehow stepped towards him.

"OBVIOUSLY NOT, MY BODY IS FREAKING DISAPPEARING!!!" I screeched, "What am I going to do?! I'll never get a boyfriend like this, who would want to date a head?! Or worse! What if I disappear altogether?! Then what'll I do?! I'll be stuck in some weird dimension all by myself!!" I assumed my 'forever alone' pose, then reached for Jack again, "HELP ME!!"

He ran away, "NO!! Stay away! I don't want to disappear too!"

Anyone who entered the clearing just then would have just seen a strange boy being chased by a head that was suspended a few feet in the air. Yeah... not a good sight.

Speaking of sight, while my eyes were vanishing, I noticed something really strange. It was like another dimension- y'know, were my body was being sent to- and there was something familiar about it. It looked like the rooftops of a bunch of high rise buildings, and clumped together, with just empty space around it. It seemed kind of lonely... if I had created it, I would fill it with a bunch of brightly coloured things to liven it up. Not to mention have a few animals and such here to entertain me when I came here.

But no. It was just empty, boring, dullness...

I laid down on my back and sighed. This was going to be a long wait.

-  -  -

I was unsure how long I had been here. Could have been a few days, or a few minutes.

Time seemed to stop entirely in this place. But the silence of it all, while creepy, gave me the opportunity to think about things.

I suddenly stiffened as something caught my eye. After being alone for so long, I was relieved to see the figure of a dear friend here with me.

I sat up quickly, "Wifey!" I called, but he didn't answer. His back was to me, and he was walking away. I stood up, "Sasuke?"

He just continued to walk, his figure getting smaller and smaller. I frowned, starting to follow, "Seriously, Sasuke. This isn't funny."

Still he walked. I started to run, not wanting to be alone here again, "Sasuke! Wait up!!" but it seemed that no matter how fast I ran, I couldn't catch up. If anything, he just got further away.

I leapt a gap in the roofs (gah, can never remember the plural for 'roof'), and finally shouted, tears starting to spring up in my eyes, no matter how much I hated myself for it, "Wait for me, please!!"

To my utter relief, his retreating form stopped, allowing me to catch up. It was odd, but I wasn't the slightest bit out of breath as I reached him, despite having ran quite a distance.

"Sasuke, you-" I cut off as a hand grabbed my wrist, preventing it from reaching to grab his shoulder. His hand let go almost as soon as it touched mine, but still sent a dizzying jolt of electricity through my body. What the... what was that?!

Then, he turned, and I gasped. The coldness of his eyes when he looked at me made me stumble backwards a little. Acknowledgement flashed in his eyes, but instead of the softness along with the smug smirk that I had expected, his expression only got icier.

"Sasuke, what's wr-"

"Why wait..?" he said, in a low, threatening voice, "When there's nothing worth waiting for?"

I remained frozen in shock as he gave me one last contemptuous glance, before vanishing. My throat seemed to close up- what right had he to say such things?! Just what did he mean by it?!

Tears pricked behind my eyes. I didn't get it. What did he want from me? Was my friendship not important to him? He knew that he was important to me, that his words would hurt me, so why?

My ears picked up subtle movement behind me, and I swerved quickly. If it was Sasuke again, I was going to give that boy a piece of my mind!

I saw orange and blonde hair, and the scowl on my face transformed into a smile. Naruto wouldn't shun me. He was one of my closest friends now. I could be sure that he would comfort me. He always did.

"Naruto-kun!" he didn't turn, but I plopped myself down beside him anyway. "Naruto?"

His face remained turned away from me, and he was shaking slightly.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" I scrambled backwards away from him as furious red chakra suddenly roared out of his frame, as he finally turned to me.

"You dare hope for my comfort when you treat me in such a bad way?!" he demanded, a dangerous timbre to his voice. My eyes were wide with fright. "It's always 'Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke' so why don't you go to him instead?!"

"Naruto, why are you being like this?!" I asked, unable to stop the tears now. The one person I tought I could depend on, through thick and thin, and he was turning on me too. "I thought we were friends!"

"Friends?! Look at you! You're trembling like a terrified rodent!" Naruto sneered, "Are you sure you want to be friends with a monster like me?!"

Their was a cutting quality to his words that stung every time he spoke, even if none of it was true. I tried to retaliate, but couldn't find the words... my body was paralysed.

"Well, maybe I don't want to be a friend to you!" the hurt and shock doubled, and tears were running down my cheeks now. Then the scene changed. Both Naruto and Sasuke stood on a podium, in front of a single noose. A man with a black mask stood to one side.

"One of these two is to be put to death. And the one to choose will be you..." the seemingly faceless man turned to me, and only then did I see the jagged grin that had been scrawled messily on the mask in white paint. "Charlie."

I froze in horror. One was going to die? And... I had to choose which?!

I shook my head, "I can't!!"

"YOU MUST!!" The masked man screeched, and I screamed as the once empty sky flashed. The grin became a grimace. "It's either one of your choice, or both!!"

I opened my mouth to speak, staring at the two boys awaiting death, dejected looks on their faces. Tears poured down my face, and the masked man's head snapped to me, the grin back.

"TIME'S UP!!" he roared, and the sky flashed again, a second noose appearing. Both of the two boys, stepped forward, and I just fell to my knees and hid my face in my arms, sobbing. I couldn't watch.

But I still heard the sickening snap of the rope as it held the weight of a body...

"Charlie!!" I sat up with a jolt, my head cracking into something. I rubbed it.

"oww..." I opened my eyes to see the anxious expressions of my team and team Kurenai. I blinked a few times, then slurred "Wazzup?"

"Wazzup?! You beat Kiba, then passed out when you stood up from sitting on him! Then you started writhing around like a maniac, shouting all sorts of crap and hitting imaginary stuff! You almost took Akamaru's head off! What the heck were you dreaming?!" Jack demanded, and I remembered and bit my lip.

"It was horrible..." I mumbled. I couldn't bring myself to speak about it, but Jack could probably guess that it was really bad, seeing as we've known each other for a very long time.

"Er, maybe we should leave you alone for a bit..." Jack said quietly. My eyes widened. Alone...

My hand shot out and grabbed his sleeve. "No!" I noticed the looks they all gave me, and cleared my throat. "I mean, I'm fine now. Honest! Just... a little disoriented, is all."

I stood up, and went and sat on the log that we had sat on earlier. Jack sent me a concerned glance, but left it, and the others continued their matches. It was Mikazuki versus Hinata next, quite an interesting match actually. Mikazuki used his water controlling deelibob at first, but Hinata blocked his chakra points, so he ended up using taijutsu, and he was surprisingly good at it. He won, though it was quite a close match.

With the thinking I did while waiting, I realised just where I had seen that place from my dream before, and it scared me.

After training, Kiba approached me again, just as I was walking home. Jack had gone off somewhere with Mikazuki, so I was going home alone.

"So, what's up with the flute deal?" he asked, and I glanced at him, then down at aforementioned piece of wood.

"From what I know, it's my clan's kekkei genkai." I said absently, and he cocked an eyebrow.

"From what you know?"

"I didn't grow up with my clan." I answered, "In fact, until about half a year ago, I didn't even know I had one."

I wasn't sure why I was being so truthful, but I didn't see the harm in it.

"Zoey told me a lot about you." he said, changing the subject, probably thinking, from my far away look, that I found it a depressing subject. I looked to him in surprise.

"She did?"

"Yeah." Kiba grinned, "She said you were 'flighty and annoying' but you had you 'moments of amazingness' until we started arguing about whether 'amazingness' was a word or not." Kiba's voice held a laugh, and I squinted at him a moment, and he blushed slightly. But then he turned the tables on me. "So anyway, what you said earlier..." he smirked, "You think I'm sexy?"

Unfortunately for him, the words didn't really have his desired effect. I just grinned, "Well, yeah!" I exclaimed, "C'mon, dude. You have fangs, for crying out loud! And to me, that just screams sexy."

"Really..?" he seemed to be thinking it over, and he glanced at me slyly, "How sexy?"

"Very." I nodded in a confirming tone, then thought for a while. "But I know someone sexier than you are." he got an irk mark on his forehead, and looked at me, "Actually, three people."

"Three?!" the irk mark grew, "Who?!"

I laughed, "Well, two of them you already know." I said, my eyes closed in a knowing look, then opened one eye and smirked at him. "Naruto-kun and my wifey, Sasuke."

"WHAT?!" Kiba yelled, "NARUTO?!! THAT IDIOT?!" he seemed extremely annoyed by that, but I noticed he said nothing about Sasuke. So either he agreed with me about it, or he expected it. But he ranted about Naruto for about ten minutes before finally calming down.

"Who's the third?" he asked, still seeming annoyed. I found this whole thing quite amusing.

"The third, you don't know him, and he's the sexiest of all of you." I grabbed the dog ninja's hand and pulled him with me as I leapt up to the rooftop, "He usually hangs up here."

"You again?" a rough voice asked, or more grumbled, and I whirled around to see Gaara, and immediately glomped him. "Get off of me."

"You see, Kiba?! Isn't he gorgeous?!" I exclaimed, and Kiba scowled, seeming even annoyed.

"How can you think he's sexier than I am?!" Kiba barked, "From the looks of it, he doesn't even like you!!"

"Ever heard the saying, 'treat 'em mean to keep 'em keen'?" I asked, still hugging Gaara tightly. he made no effort to get me off, though his sand was creeping at me again. "It certainly works for Gaara!"

Kiba was incredulous as the sand went straight through me. "YOU'RE CRAZY!! HE'S TRYING TO FREAKING ATTACK YOU!!"

I finally let go of the redhead, and he vanished straight away, scowling, but with the slightest of blushes on his face. I shrugged.

"Doesn't change the fact that he's gorgeous." I winked, "And his attacks don't work on me anyway."

Kiba just huffed, probably because of his hurt ego, "You're insane."

I grinned, and followed as he jumped down from the roof. "Thank you!"

-  -  -

O.O

freaky dream, ne?

Nooses just plain freak me out D:

This chapter is dedicated to SorrowButSmile because she gave me some good response to this story :D and because I'm stalking her >;) oh, and because she has put up with my weirdness on her message board lol xD sorry you got such a depressing and creepy chapter! :D

But anyways, fan, vote, and comment! Or I shall send my army of elephants to eat you. I don't care if they ARE herbivores >:)