Moon Eyes

Warnings: YamaIno-ness and that's really it. And uh any typoes.. I'm sickly and all i've been doing is writing but that doesn't mean I was able to catch them all. Sorry guys.

Special Dedication: weskerism cuz... I love you. ^^

Chapter: Mixed Emotions

Gaara moved with a singular purpose that even had Shino surprised. The redheaded leader didn’t stop for anything or anyone once they started their way back to base camp. They hadn’t found a lot of anything while they made their way through the village. Just a lot of things like half ripped apart bodies strewn across the ground frozen in terror. Or suicide victims, or little children huddled together frozen into one as they tried to stay warm. Nothing that he really wished to remember.

They had however found food supplies, canned and powered, but food none the less. Gaara had insisted they grab clothes and blankets as well, Shino found he was less pleased by this. Desecrating the dead’s resting place was not high on the things he wished to accomplish before he turned thirty. He had however agreed, they needed the supplies and as much as it churned his stomach to do it, he had entered peoples houses seen things he could never un-see and took their things.

Gaara had seemed unaffected by the entire ordeal, that nin had a heart of steel or something because he hadn’t even flinched at the sight of all the death, frozen bodies, or half eaten corpses. He didn’t even blink at the elderly couple that had lain on their beds and bled to death together. Shino shivered at the memory, to be so lost in the darkness that you felt you had only that option.

“It’s not far, I can feel them up ahead.” Gaara announced his voice muffled by the coat pulled up around his mouth and the howling wind.

Snow crunched under foot and plastic scraped over icy snow as they pulled the sleds behind them.

“Are you sure, we are getting close to the mountain’s area.” Shino replied.

Gaara paused and looked at him from behind the goggles, “yes.”

With that he continued on and Shino had nothing else to do but follow. They crested the next ridge and sure enough there was base camp, with at least fifty tents huddled around an area. How Gaara had known for sure baffled him, but they were back so it was all that mattered.

A moment later and Hinata showed up in front of them, her violet coat pulled tight around her and her face covered by the winter equipment. Long pants tucking into her shin high black boots. Shino felt relief flood through him, his team member was still alive. He hadn’t even realized that he’d been worried until that moment.

“Welcome back.” She told them.

Gaara nodded and pushed past her, but Hinata didn’t seem to mind. She walked over to Shino and hugged him, and he hugged back with just his right arm.

“I’m glad you made it back safely.” She told him.

“Me too.”

With that they parted and she escorted him to the supply tents where he met up with Temari and Shikamaru. He was happy to see them too. It had been far to quiet and lifeless where he had come from, it was much better here.

“Any incidents?” Temari asked.

“No.” Gaara replied pulling back his hood and revealing his face and ears to the cold.

Shino glanced at him not quite feeling the same way.

“What did you bring back with you?” Shikamaru asked a clip board clasped in gloved hands.

“Some canned goods, powdered drinks, and things for warmth.” Shino explained.

Shikamaru looked over his paper work and nodded ticking off some things Shino didn’t see. Temari leaned in to him to look over it too and they had a very quiet conversation. Shino waited for the next set of orders.

Shikamaru sighed, “alright. You two go get some rest while we start packing everything up.”

“I can help pack.”

“No Gaara you need to try and sleep.” Temari told him sternly.

The siblings stared at one another and it was like watching some sort of cowboy stand off movie. Then with a click of his tongue he turned pulling up his hood and headed off back into the snow storm. Temari watched him go with worried eyes before she sighed.

“Brothers…”

“What’s his problem anyway?” Shikamaru asked.

“I have a list of things it could be, but hell if I know for sure.” Temari admitted.

“We saw things that I’d rather never see again.” Shino spoke up.

The two stared at him expectantly.

Shino sighed, “we saw life frozen still in the throws of terror and horrible moments of their life. Their spirits may never find rest. It was… difficult to walk through and even raid.”

His bugs hummed under his skin in agreement. He hadn’t really thought about it until that moment but Gaara had become single minded somewhere in the middle of it all. Shino felt shame wash through him, the redhead had been affected too but had blocked himself off. He looked out the tent flaps looking out to the area Gaara had once been. Hinata’s hand on his arm brought back to reality.

“Well thank you for doing what needed to be done anyway,” Temari told him.

Shino shook his head, “I wouldn’t have been able to, it was Gaara-san that had me doing it.”

“I see…” Temari murmured. “If you’ll excuse me then.”

Shikamaru nodded and out the tent she went, to find her little brother no doubt. Shino hoped that she would be able to reach him the man was on an island half the time and on a different planet all together the rest of the time.

“Come on Shino-kun my shift is up and we will need to rest before we begin travel again.” Hinata told him and he nodded.

*******

Temari found her younger brother half encased in a sand barrier as the man made himself a shelter out of the storm. The redhead perched on a stone boulder just large enough that his foot he left dangling didn’t touch the ground. The left one he had pulled up to his chest with his arm wrapped around it as he brought the cigarette to his mouth to take a drag. His pale sea green eyes looked out blankly to the winter waste land around them.

The blond frowned and walked up to her younger sibling with her hands on her hips, “this doesn’t look like sleeping to me.”

His green eyes slid over to her over his black covered shoulder, the grey fofur around the hood brushing his cheek. He said nothing as he took another drag and exhaled it through his nose. Temari huffed and came into the shelter he had made and leaned her hip against the rock holding out her hand for the stick not looking at him anymore.

“Well at least share would you?” She asked staring out into the nothingness.

He held it out to her and she promptly took it, not another word being passed between them as she brought it to her lips and took a drag as well. The end of it burned orange before it faded into ash and she dropped her hand from her face to slowly blow it out her mouth as she flicked the ash to the ground. They stayed put like that sharing the last of the cigarette together saying nothing as nothing really could be said. It was tough times for everyone and no amount of words could change that.

Temari tossed the butt into the snow and sighed before straightening herself, “at least try to get a little bit of sleep?”

Gaara looked at her and nodded giving her the barest of smiles. Only vaguely satisfied she turned and left him to his thoughts. It was just who he was, the only one that was ever able to reach him when he was this introverted was the blond tornado and he was no longer with them. She paused, her hand clamping into her coat where her heart would lie beneath it, and she felt pain wash over her. Gaara had no one anymore to hold him or to hold when he needed to feel less alone.

Seeing all the frozen horrors of the last village had to have reminded him of that truth. She sighed, wishing that life hadn’t been so cruel to her little brother. That for once just maybe it would give him something he could really hold onto.

“Oy, Tem… you alright?” Shikamaru asked her startling her out of her thoughts.

“As alright as I’ll ever be.” She replied.

He nodded and held out his arm for her to take. She smiled and wrapped her arm around his as they made their way to the tent to pack. Hopefully one day her Gaara would find what she had.

********

Yamato stared down at the naked blond in his sleeping gear next to his equally naked one. He had never really meant to let it go this far between them, and yet when soft lips had sought out his own he had allowed his body to take control. He grimaced, it wasn’t right but they had continued their love affair.

Secretly he had always had a slight thing for her, she’d always been so happy and energetic yet competent when she needed to be. When he’d seen her hurting, over her lost love no doubt, he’d gone to comfort her with a hug and a few kind words. That had been the plan and yet here he lay for what had to be the seventh time.

He couldn’t lie to himself and say he didn’t enjoy it when it was happening, but he did feel bad about the possibility of darkening the memory of a lost one. He sighed and ran the tips of his fingers down the bare back of the woman he was more than likely falling in love with. He would never force her to love him back though, if she decided one day to up and leave it at that, then he would comply to her wishes.

Yamato wasn’t an idiot, he’d been a nin long enough to know that he was just a bed fellow in her moments of darkness and pain. She didn’t want to be alone, couldn’t bare to be. So when he had offered her comfort she had taken it and then much more just so she could pretend for a moment that her lover hadn’t died. It wasn’t his name she called out in passion.

It tugged at his heart, he wished he wasn’t so weak when it came to things such as this. He sighed, he really should deny her, it wasn’t right, but by doing so he was denying himself too. He needed the warmth and comfort as well no matter how much of a lie it was. He too had lost people he loved and they haunted him in his sleep.

A shake of the tent and a shadow looming over the edge paused him in his thoughts.

“Tenzou,” Kakashi rumbled at him.

“Ah?”

“It’s time to pack up, better get going.”

“Hai, captain.” He answered before sitting up.

The shadow was gone in mere moments and left him alone in the tent once again with the blond woman. He leaned over her dragging his fingers down her arm and pressed his lips to the back of her shoulder.

“Ino… it’s time to go.” She whispered to her.

She murmured and nodded, her body already starting to stretch out the sleep. He reached over and grabbed his shorts lifting his hips to slid them on and then his pants shortly after that. Ino rose with a yawn the sleep gear dropping away from her curvy body. His eyes traced down over her unashamed body before back up to meet her playful twinkle. He smiled in return with a little bit of embarrassment before he rolled over her to get completely out of the bedding. Reaching he grabbed his black long winter shirt and pulled it on over his head as she began to wrap her legs after putting on a braw.

Grabbing his coat he shrugged it on one arm at a time before reaching for his boots.

“Yamato?” She quietly whispered behind him.

He paused and looked over his shoulder at her, she smiled sadly at him and it made his heart sting.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for putting up with me.”

She wasn’t really looking for a reply so he nodded and received a smile. It didn’t reach her eyes but it wasn’t forced either. He clamped down on his hope, her heart already belonged to another, he was just lucky to be given a chance to be apart of her the way he was. Unzipping the tent he stepped out and closed it behind him making his way towards the head tent, knowing they would be planning their next couple days moves.

Slipping back into his military mode he made his way nodding to villagers who waved at him as he went.

*******

He stared off into space trying not to think about all that he’d seen when he was out and about. A whole four months had gone by since the rise of Madara’s plan and it still didn’t sit right with him. Especially after all he’d seen. No, there was no way in hell he’d ever be okay with small children being mutilated because others had gone mad and lost their humanity. The fact that he’d help create this was not lost on him.

Images of frozen gutted people, children naked and dead, some of the crazed frozen like that as well. Then there were the ones lost in the fantasy walking around, eyes glassed over, living out their day to day lives as if the death wasn’t everywhere around them.

He shuttered at the memory of one of the fantasy livers suddenly lost it and brutalized his wife, or at least Sasuke had assumed it was. In the end he’d killed them both just to end the horror. After that the questions rose, questions he could not block out.

Was it like that everywhere? What had it been like when the eyes opened upon the world? The memory of a child being eaten from distance came to him and he felt sickness rise up from his gut. Sasuke rolled over and vomited onto the ground below him and heaved in air when his lungs felt as if they were constricting.

He was no better than his brother who had killed the entire family, no he was worse. Sasuke stood up and whirled around to punch the rock wall, only vaguely satisfied when he felt bone crack and splinter under the force of it. He pulled back again and slammed his curled fingers into the surface again and felt skin spilt under the pressure the warmth of his blood dripping over his skin. It wasn’t enough, none of it was enough.

Grabbing his hair he pulled on it until he felt it tingle painfully down his spine and screamed up into the sky. Then in a frenzy he pounded his fists one time after another into the stone wall, his electric power coming forth unbidden to chip away at the stone wall. Sasuke didn’t know how long he stood there and destroyed the inert rock, the sky above him cracking with lightening taking the shape of his self loathing.

Suddenly he had nothing left in him and he slumped to the ground lifting his bloodied and mangled hands to his face, dry sobbing into them as he had no tears left to cry. A presence loomed over him and he looked up to see the blue shark man and he frowned.

“What the fuck do you want.” He asked him.

Kisame stared at him long and hard before kneeling down as well and placing his hands over Sasuke’s. He jerked back but allowed the shark to heal him.

“Why?” he asked confused.

“It is time you choose the path that is for you.” he said enigmatically.

“What are you talking about?”

“I will follow you where ever you choose, either here to stay or leave to them.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened momentarily before he frowned, “how am I supposed to trust you.”

The shark grinned, “you can’t. Now what‘s the plan?”

Sasuke stood, looked around, and decided that anywhere was better than here even if he was to travel with someone he couldn’t fully trust.

“Fine let’s go. I have to find them.” Sasuke replied and turned in a random direction.

He might never find them, but he remembered a tale his mother used to say when he was young. That if you thought hard enough, the ones you wished for would draw you near. He had never truly believed his mother’s tale, but maybe he could for this once.

********

Karin sat dutifully and wrapped TenTen back up to keep her ample bosom from causing her to much trouble while they were off traveling to the volcano. TenTen was all muscle except for her chest, which Karin knew enough to know that with the kind of working out TenTen did that a chest size that she had been endowed with should not be possible. The fact that it was still this large, and really it was only an almost c, made her shiver at the thought of what maybe they could have been otherwise.

“Is this tight enough?” Karin asked.

“Yep.” TenTen smiled while her hands slid down braiding as they went quickly.

It was a little fascinating to watch the woman get ready she did everything efficiently, which from the stories she had been hearing now her former sensei had been all about that. That and youthful vigorous spirit lifting training. Lee often went on and on telling stories, and people just laughed, even she did. She smiled at the memory and even giggled as she synched off the end.

TenTen paused at the end of her second braid, “what’s so funny?”

“Lee-kun,” Karin admitted.

The brunette turned around to see Karin’s face and smiled as well, “yeah he is. Makes us all forget that any day someone could die.”

“He’s a good guy, odd, but a good guy.” Karin added.

TenTen laughed and finished pulling her braided hair up to pin at the back of her skull instead of the sides, “that’s Lee for you.”

Karin handed TenTen her long sleeved Chinese tunic of deep plum purple with out another word. They didn’t really need more words, it would more than likely get dark and complicated if they continued on from there. Just as the brunette clasped the last button Lee came bursting into the tent startling the both of them.

“Christ Lee!” TenTen yelled at him.

Lee ignored her a grin splitting his face, “Ah TenTen are you ready to go forth and conquer this next few days travel? To burn with youthful vigor and allow the cold to bring burning passion into your soul?”

Karin snorted and shook her head rolling up the bedding to pack it up.

“Lee…” TenTen bemoaned.

“Not everything is a challenge you know Lee-kun.” Karin told him.

“That is where you are wrong! Everyday is a challenge of the body, the spirit, or the mind. If you do not face these obstacles head on then you will be diminished in youthfulness.” Lee replied enthusiastically giving her a thumbs up.

She laughed a little as did TenTen, and then the brunette grabbed her team mate and hugged him.

“Lee you big oaf I’m so glad you’re here.” TenTen announced.

Lee turned beat red, but hugged back, then when they were done he sat back on his heels only to grab Karin and hug her. The redhead meeped in shock before finding herself unable to breath as she was given a youthful spirited bear hug. She patted his back not used to this sort of treatment.

“No! Karin-chan use all your emotions and brace me with them!” Lee ordered.

She sighed but did as was asked of her, the sooner she did the sooner it would be over. As her arms wrapped around his torso and she pulled him tight against her, chin resting on his shoulder, she felt warmth was over her. She tightened her arms and breathed him in, Lee was an amazing person.

“TenTen do not let yourself not be involved with this love we are sharing as comrades in arms. Hug too!”

Karin felt TenTen join the hug and they all laughed as if there was something really funny. Lee had somehow lifted them from a place of darkness just by being his odd self and Karin was thankful. Judging by the smile on TenTen, she was too. With Lee around they could do anything, that’s what it felt like.

“Thanks,” she said and she couldn’t figure out who or for what she was saying the word for but nobody seemed to care as they pulled away from the hug all grinning.

“Well it is time to continue in our duties.” Lee spoke.

“Hey Lee,” TenTen whispered mischievously.

“Yes TenTen?” He asked while he rolled up his bedding.

“You wanna race to see who gets there stuff packed up first? Winner gets to hand looser their things to carry?”

Karin blinked and then smirked, “I’m game.”

Lee grinned his sun shaming toothy grin, “Yosh!! Let us begin!”

“No opening gates and cheating!” TenTen yelled.

“But TenTen this is a challenge I must do what it takes!”

“No Lee-kun you should save that for something more important!” Karin retorted.

“But Karin-chan,” Lee said with slight aghast in his voice.

“NO!!” The two women said in unison.

Lee pouted but he complied, no use in arguing with women especially these two. Besides it would be yet another wonderful challenge of his strength and youth to be able to complete this one with regular means. Burning with renewed passion he went to work on the task.

~TBC~

Author Note:

Whoo another chapter done and under my belt. Not exactly what I expected to write for this chapter, but they all demanded to be fleshed out a bit. And then I ended all the angst with some uplifting Lee-ness. Aw... Lee-kun what would we do with out you my lovely strange bushy browed man?

Now for the YamaIno bit.. nobody bite my head off about how Ino's a whore or traitor or whatever. Don't want to hear it. She's alone, shit is happening, and she's in a dark place. MOst anyone that bad off would seek warmth and comfort. So there. XP

As for those who are reviewing, thankyou so much, you really give me the strength to continue this on. And yes I promise more fight are coming out. FIght scenes are hard to do, and I want to make sure that everyone is connecting with the people here and what they are feeling. (Fleshing is always the best way to get people attached. Also allows me to rip dreams away.... eh heh...)*is evil*

Yay Kisame! *dances* Next chapter... is uh... *shrug* fuck if I know. It might be centering around Kisame. Later! I'm thinking there is some fighting coming up with in the next couple chapters. so yay!