Angel's Touch

Artemis: Oh gosh, I’m sorry everyone! It took me so long to update. ^^’ Sorry, sorry. Right now I’m in a flash action scripting class at school and we’re working in a group to make and script a flash game. And guess who the lead artist is? Yeah…me…*pouts* It sucks, cause I have to do ALL the major artwork, which is taking up my free time. -__-

I just realized there’s a lot of action in the story line…especially in the end. This means I’m going to have to type out big boss battles…oh man! Lol. I can only hope I don’t bore you guys by running out of ideas for those battles. But thankfully that’s not for quite a while.

On a side note, it seems fillers are finally really going to end this week for Naruto! Yeah! That’s for all us who watch the subs. ^^ Bought time, too. I wanna see my Uchiha brat! XD I need a good redose of Naruto fandom, so hurry back to me Sasuke and Kakashi. ^^

Anyway, enough excuses and rants. You want the chapter! Yes? No?? To bad. =P

Oh…this is an extremely long chapter to make up for the long time it took to update. ^^

NOTE TO ALL READERS #1: for some reason, AFF did a weird thing after my last post that changed everyone’s accounts so no one could review unless they were signed in. But it was like a reset, and thanks to Mirandler43, I became aware of this and changed it back. So now anyone can review without the need to sign in or sign up. ^_^ So, please do review!!

NOTE TO ALL READERS #2: Valentines Day is coming up, and as promised I’ll do a holiday special for it! So please, feel free to ask any character that has shown up in this story thus far whatever question you want. Whether it is story related or not doesn’t matter. The crazier, the more fun Naruto, Sasuke, everyone, and I have answering it. ^_^

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Chapter 18: Sharingan

Naruto stared out of the window of his room, wondering silently if his friends were ok. The strange Haku had been gone for over an hour now and Naruto could only ponder over what the other planned to do to stop his little rescue squad from arriving. But that didn’t really scare Naruto too badly, because he knew Sasuke would definitely come.

‘I want a hug…’ Naruto pouted slightly and abandoned the window, walking over to the bed.

He sat down and continued to stare off into space, thinking hard. He had to escape somehow and get to where the others were. Once he was with Sasuke, he’d be safe. He hated being the damsel in distress here. It maid him feel like a failure.

‘I’m supposed to protect Sasuke…but it seems he’s always the one protecting me…’

Naruto sighed and bowed his head slightly, feeling inadequate as a guardian angel.

“What’s wrong, Naru-chan? You look depressed. Did you miss me that much?” Haku’s voice cut through his thoughts, the tengu entering through the door with a satisfied looking smile on his face.

Naruto looked up and gave him a glare, annoyed at that moment. “No. I miss Sasuke.”

Haku paused and frowned, staring solemnly at the blonde, “He’s not coming. You’re friends seem to enjoy fighting more with each other rather then rescuing you.”

“Shows how much you know,” Naruto huffed and turned his head away from Haku. “Sasuke will come.”

“…” Haku stared at him some more, before walking towards the blonde calmly. “He’s someone precious to you?”

Naruto looked at him in mild surprise. “Precious?”

“Hai. Someone important and special. Someone you wish to protect…” Haku explained, pausing just in front of Naruto.

Naruto blushed faintly, looking down and nodding.

Haku tilted his head, finding this curious. “Why is he so important?”

“Why?” Naruto looked up at him and frowned. Why was Sasuke so important to him? He’d wanted to protect Sasuke even before he’d met him. The truth was he couldn’t remember why. “I just do.”

Haku frowned, turning and walking over to the window to gaze outside. “One simply does not become your important person without a reason. There’s always something, a factor in your past. An important moment…something that changed the way you live your life.”

Naruto turned and watched Haku’s back, chewing his lip slightly. Haku…had a point. He’d always wanted to protect Sasuke, but he couldn’t remember why. Truthfully, Sasuke had been mean to him at the start. Yet, the desire to protect had never changed. Sasuke was important to him. More important then anyone else had ever been.

‘But I don’t know why…’

“Are you his precious person?” Haku asked, not bothering to turn around.

Naruto frowned and squirmed, not liking this conversation anymore. He didn’t know where he stood with Sasuke. Was he important?

‘Sasuke protects me though. He’s always saving me, even though I’m supposed to be the one saving him. But he doesn’t complain…’

Naruto recalled what Sasuke had told him after the events with Neji…

“Idiot dobe. You are not leaving. I can’t always be there to protect you…I just didn’t want anything bad to happen.”

Naruto blushed and smiled happily. That’s right…Sasuke did care about him. Sasuke wasn’t a big social bug and yet he kept Naruto close to him everywhere they went. So there wasn’t a reason to doubt anymore. Sasuke was his important someone, and Naruto was Sasuke’s.

“You bet I’m his!” Naruto declared confidently, grinning in his state of high bliss. He looked at Haku again, more clear headed now that his doubts were gone. “Neh, Haku-san? Do you have someone important?”

Haku stiffened slightly, turning and looking stoically at Naruto. “I have you now. That’s all that matters. And regardless of this Sasuke, I will not hand you over.”

Naruto immediately frowned at that statement. “You don’t have a say in that.”

“I don’t?” Haku raised an eyebrow, his tone more of a dare rather then an inquiry.

“Yes, you don’t. You can’t force me. Haku-san…I don’t know what your problem is…but I’ll always choose Sasuke over anyone else,” Naruto stated, glaring a little at the tengu. “And Sasuke will come.”

“Even if he does…I’ll already have you,” Haku threatened coldly, walking towards Naruto.

Naruto’s eyes widened and he squeaked in slight panic, immediately crawling backwards on the bed. Haku’s hand quickly shot out and grabbed Naruto’s face, the tengu settling on the bed above him and pressing the squirming blonde down on the bed with the hand.

“I can make you forget him. I can erase every memory you have of your Sasuke and replace them with memories of me,” Haku calmly growled out, his voice barely above a whisper. “I can make us both forget…and together we can find new happiness.”

Naruto gasped in terrified shock, images of Sasuke and him flashing past his eyes. He didn’t want to forget Sasuke!

“NO! LET ME GO!” Naruto screamed out and kicked at Haku, gathering up as much chakra as he could and unleashing it from his body all at once.

Red chakra the likes of which Naruto had never seen before suddenly burst out in a wave from his skin, colliding with Haku like a solid object and sending the tengu across the room into the wall. Not stopping to see if the other was alive, Naruto scrambled off the bed onto his feet and made a run for it.

He ran down several halls and through a few rooms, not sure where he was going but desperate to get as far away from that mean tengu as possible. Even if he couldn’t remember why he wanted to protect Sasuke, that didn’t mean the memories he now had were so easily disposable!

Naruto ran towards a large door, not bothering to stop and open it. He just gathered more of the red chakra he’d discovered and sent it at the door, bursting it clear off its hinges. Grabbing up the long robes at his feet, he hopped onto the fallen door and entered a hallway larger then most of the others. Here, Naruto took a moment and paused, catching his breath and looking down both ends. To the right was a stair case going down, to the left was a staircase going up. He didn’t want to go up. He wanted to get out of there. So down was logically the right answer.

Naruto took off towards the stairs on the right, crashing into something that had suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs. With a yelp, he caught himself and leaned back so he would fall on his butt and not down the stairs. The other also cursed and tried to stop their fall, grabbing hold of the railing along the stairs to prevent tumbling down.

“Ow…” Naruto whined and clutched his poor nose, curling slightly as he waited for the world to stop swaying.

“Geez, dobe. You can be such a headache,” The roadblock spoke up, bringing Naruto out of his daze.

Naruto stared wide eyed at Sasuke for a moment, not sure if this was the real Sasuke or Haku. Sasuke straightened and frowned, noticing the look and resting his hands on his hips.

“What in the world were you thinking, usurantonkachi!? Running off into the woods…how could you mix some guy up with me!” Sasuke started scolding him. “Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been!?”

Naruto blinked a few times, before a large bubble of happiness welled up inside of him. This was without a doubt his Sasuke! Completely ignoring Sasuke’s lecture, Naruto took a pouncing position before glomping Sasuke in the biggest and probably tightest hug in a long time.

Sasuke yelped and lost balance, managing to fall sideways and again avoid a roll down the stairs. Naruto barely noticed, crawling as much into Sasuke’s lap as possible and burying himself in the other’s arms.

“I missed Sasuke…”

Sasuke blinked slightly in surprise, before relaxing and wrapping his arms tightly around his angel. “I missed Naruto.”

“I’m sorry, Sasuke…I’m the one who’s supposed to be saving you.”

Sasuke smiled slightly, reaching up and stroking Naruto’s hair gently, “Idiot…you save me every day.”

Naruto smiled even more and shut his eyes tightly, losing himself in Sasuke’s comforting presence with a sigh.

Sasuke continued to run his hands through Naruto’s hair, noting it was longer and slightly reddish. In fact, he’d been surprised when they’d first bumped into each other. Naruto’s eyes were red and slit like an animals and the marks on his cheeks were more prominent then usual. If Kakashi hadn’t told him about Naruto being a Saint Beast, he’d probably have been more freaked out then surprised at the moment. Apparently, Naruto had transformed halfway into a kitsune without even realizing it.

“So…you did come…” A voice spoke up, breaking their little moment and reminding both boys of where they were.

Naruto squeaked and tightened his grip on Sasuke, looking at Haku with wide eyes. Sasuke noted the blatant fear from the angel and immediately tensed, standing them both up but not letting go of Naruto.

“You’re the one who took Naruto away, aren’t you?” Sasuke glared dangerously at Haku, not really looking for the answer. He already knew it.

“And you’re the one he said would come,” Haku countered calmly, eyes narrowed in a glare of his own. “I thought I left you in the woods with your friends.”

Sasuke smirked at that and shrugged, “They were having too much fun for me to interrupt.”

Haku snorted slightly, hand moving to the sleeve of his robe. “Naru-chan is now my bride. I will not allow you to have him.”

“That’s not your decision to make,” Sasuke snapped, letting go of Naruto and standing in front of him, hand moving to his pocket.

Naruto sensed a fight coming up and tensed. There was no way he’d let Sasuke fight alone after going through so much trouble coming to his rescue. He glanced momentarily at his attire and frowned at the long robes. Then again…how could he fight in this?

“Neither is it yours!” Haku snapped, withdrawing his hand quickly and moving it in a fast throwing motion.

Naruto blinked, wondering what that was all about. Sasuke caught sight of the small bits of metal however, and quickly drew out a kunai, deflecting the needles. They fell to the ground, each making a soft ping noise as they met the tile. Haku frowned and with a fluid motion produced four more needles between his fingers, wings bursting forth and lifting him off the ground in a low drift.

Sasuke tensed even more, grabbing Naruto and dragging him out of the way as Haku sent needles at them both. They struck the tile where he’d been standing, sticking into the marble as proof of the power behind the throw. Sasuke took note and grit his teeth with a mental curse. The enemy was fast, accurate, and strong.

“Naruto, go hide behind those pillars,” Sasuke commanded and released Naruto’s arm, shoving the handle of the kunai in his mouth to free his hands. He quickly formed several hand seals and gathered up his chakra, bracing himself as a scorching hot rush of energy welled up in his arms and poured off his skin.

Haku flew up and took aim, unleashing a gust of wind and needles at the same time Sasuke unleashed a wave of fire from his arms. Wind and fire met halfway and collided violently, flames going in every direction in a momentary tornado, needles flying around the room and stabbing into walls, tiles, and wood.

Sasuke chocked as a sharp pain shot up his arm, bringing his attention away from the enemy and to the source. One of the needles had managed to pierce straight throw the outer flesh.

“SASUKE!” Naruto cried out, still standing where Sasuke had left him. Feeling anger well up in him, Naruto charged towards Haku and started to spread out his wings so he could deliver a good punch to that bastard. His attack was brought to an abrupt halt as he tripped over his own robes and crashed down with a surprised grunt.

“Dobe…” Sasuke grunted, pulling the needle out of his arm and giving Naruto a concerned glance before turning his attention back to the tengu. “I told you to go hide!”

Naruto wanted to punch something in frustration, “But I’m the guardian angel!!!”

“You can’t fight in that get-up!” Sasuke argued, forming another series of hand seals. He needed to drag the enemy down from the air. At this rate, he could only fight with the few ranged chakra techniques Kakashi had taught him thus far. And if he did that, he’d run out of energy quick.

“Kuso…kuso…” Naruto swore, upset at being rendered so useless because of stupid Haku taking his normal clothes away.

Haku frowned, dodging the balls of fire Sasuke sent at him. He crossed to the other side of the hall so that the boy would have to readjust his aiming, drawing four needles out of his sleeve. He needed to alter his tactics; otherwise his bride might end up injured in their cross-fire. Taking aim, Haku sent his needles into the large windows on both sides of the hall near Sasuke. They shattered upon contact, the glass falling heavily to the tile and snow outside.

Harnessing the moment of confusion caused by the chaos, Haku formed several hand seals and summoned the wind to his command. It blew through the now open windows, bringing with it snow which settled and melted in small puddles on the ground around Sasuke and Naruto’s feet. Haku then closed his eyes and slowly focused his magic into the puddles. They began to shift and raise slowly, taking on icy rectangular forms that rose all around Sasuke in a circle.

Sasuke immediately noticed, taking one step back and looking around at the mirror like ice formations, getting a bad feeling about this. Naruto pushed himself to his knees and turned, noticing Sasuke’s situation. Haku smirked and prepared his needles, suddenly vanishing from where he’d been hovering in the air.

“Nani!?” Sasuke cried out, not recalling anything from Kakashi’s teachings about this sort of technique.

Naruto recognized the aura of the attack immediately, eyes widening in horror. He’d heard plenty about the Demon Arts from Kakashi-sensei back in angel academy. It had probably been the only thing he’d paid attention to, since it had sounded so cool when his sensei first mentioned them. Demon Arts… a term given to a category of powerful chakra techniques in which require certain bloodlines or conditions to be met before obtaining their power. Kakashi-sensei was a user of one such Demon Art, the only one Naruto had ever come in contact with personally. But this aura was unmistakable. Haku could use a demon art…and Sasuke was about to become a victim of it!

“For trying to take away my bride…you will have the honor of tasting my Makyô Hyô Shô,” Haku’s voice announced, his form appearing on the surface of the twenty-one ice mirrors, four needles held tightly in each hand. “Now…die peacefully, Sasuke-kun.”

“SASUKE!!” Naruto shouted, quickly getting to his feet and lunging into the circle of mirrors, body slamming the other and sending Sasuke flying out of the circle just as Haku unleashed his attack.

Sasuke skidded across the tile, scrambling to pull his thoughts together as Naruto’s painful screams cut through the hall. Gripping the ground and ignoring the burns on his arms from the slide, he pushed himself up and looked fearfully towards the mirrors. Naruto lay in the center, needles sticking out everywhere Sasuke could see.

‘N-Naruto...’

Haku appeared alone in a single mirror, frowning down at Naruto’s form. “How sad…I never meant to strike you with this attack, little one.”

Sasuke pushed himself to his feet, his eyes beginning to see red.

“You really meant it. This boy…is your special someone,” Haku whispered slightly, his ice mirrors starting to melt away.

Sasuke’s gaze locked onto Haku’s form, burning painfully but somehow not distracting his focus. Everything started to slow down. He could see the mirrors as they slowly decayed, each individual feather spring up as Haku slowly spread out his wings, Naruto’s light breathes causing his chest to rise and fall, and the one responsible for that pain beginning to rise up into the air once again.

“Damn you!” Sasuke shouted, charging after Haku as quickly as he could move, grabbing tight hold of the tengu’s ankle before he could fly off. Digging his heels into the ground, he put his full strength into swinging the man harshly around and slamming him into one of the vanishing mirrors.

He let go and allowed Haku to crash through, falling down the stairs along with the broken pieces. Grabbing one of the cold broken shards, he rushed down the stairs after the goblin with hurting intent. No one…no one…did that to his Naruto!

Haku settled at the bottom and pushed himself slowly to a standing position just in time to see Sasuke appear in front of him, eyes red and filled with anger. Haku jumped back as the other’s hand shot forward, the ice shard slicing the front of his robes and just barely nicking his skin. Sasuke brought his arm around, using Haku’s moment of hesitation to bring his elbow harshly into the other’s gut, putting as much chakra into the hit as he could.

Haku gasped out in pain, blood escaping from his mouth as he stumbled back and fell to his knees, clutching his stomach. Sasuke straightened and glared down at him, able to read the other’s movements before he could even act. It was just like that one time during gym with Neji and the basketball game. Only somehow this wasn’t just a momentary thing.

“That’s enough…” Haku breathed heavily, staring at his blood on the tile. He then chuckled slightly and winced, bowing his head. “Gomen nasai…Sasuke-kun. I understand now… Naru-chan is your special someone. Like me, you are willing to fight and die to protect him. Forgive me…I will not stand in your way any longer. So please…kill me and end my suffering.”

“Tch…you’re not worth it,” Sasuke spat, letting the ice shard fall and finish melting. He turned and started back up the stairs towards Naruto, the world around him getting darker with every step.

Sasuke paused when he noticed, eyes widened as everything was suddenly engulfed in darkness and silence.

“Nani? What’s going on??”

“Are you scared, Sasuke?”

Sasuke felt a cold prickle up his spine, his heart beat stopping as an all too familiar voice reached his ears.

“Ototo-chan.”

“Onii…-san…” Sasuke turned around in horror, coming face to face with an older teenager.

“Why were you hiding in the closet like that?” Itachi smiled at the little boy.

Sasuke stepped further away, pressing against the back of the closet wall while his hand gripped his chest fearfully. That smile was so cold…so cruel. His big brother had never smiled that way before and it scared him. More then the blood all over his brother’s hands and face, it was that smile that scared him most.

“Onii-san…why…” Sasuke chocked out, tears brimming in his eyes. “To-san…Ka-san…our family…why?”

Itachi’s smile melted away, replaced with an unreadable mask. “I can’t afford to be hindered by such useless things.”

Sasuke’s heart jolted painfully at those words, his legs suddenly not obeying him. His brother chuckled and closed his eyes, pulling a pocket knife from his pants and slowly opening his eyes to focus on Sasuke, the dark irises now blood red and an unnatural design burned into them.

“Now…Ototo-chan…Die for me.”

Sasuke screamed out as Itachi raised the knife and came towards him, images of flesh and bone being cut apart filling Sasuke’s mind. Blood dripped down the walls and soaked the floor within his thoughts, and his eyes burned agonizingly hot in his skull.

“Sasuke…SASUKE!!!” Someone shouted and shook him violently.

Everything in Sasuke’s mind shattered and the darkness that had been like a horrible mist within his body finally dissolved away to reveal the light. His eyes shot open and he gasped for air, gripping tightly on the hands that were holding his shoulders. Kakashi and Gai’s faces came into focus, both looking extremely worried and pale. Sasuke continued to take in as much breath as possible, clinging to the hands for support as his mind finally separated reality from fantasy.

“Thank God…” Kakashi let out the air he’d been holding and loosened his grip, allowing the teenager’s body to rest fully on the ground.

Gai sighed and ran his hand down his face, stopping to cover his mouth as he looked away from Sasuke and gazed at nothing.

Kakashi patted Sasuke’s head and gave him a sad frown, apparently unable to offer better comfort. “It’s as I feared…You have Sharingan.”

“W-What?” Sasuke stammered out weakly, pushing himself into a sitting position. He raised his hand and stared at it blankly, watching it shake against his will.

Gai sighed and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder, before standing and walking over to a bundle laying on the floor a few steps above them. Sasuke stared at the bundle for a moment, his mind slowly catching up and registering the identity of the object. Suddenly, it all clicked.

‘Naruto…’

Gai looked the bundle over for a moment, frowned, then gave it a kick, “Oi! Uzumaki! Get up, you drama queen. You’re not dead.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened in relief as Naruto stirred and then sat up, looking mildly surprised himself to still be alive.

“Nani!? But I thought…” Naruto voiced, sitting on his butt and looking cutely confused. He looked at his robes with all the needles sticking out, pulling one out as if to check for blood himself. “Oh…oops.”

Naruto looked up and flashed Gai an embarrassed and toothy grin, rubbing the back of his blonde hair.

“You mean you failed to notice that the needles never made it through all those thick layers of robes you’re wearing? Geez, you haven’t changed a bit since the academy,” Gai frowned and sweatdropped, turning and smirking at Kakashi. “Oi, Hatake. I don’t envy your luck with students in the least.”

Kakashi just sighed and slumped a bit, a bead of sweat trailing down his cheek.

Gai suddenly flinched, gritting his teeth with a glare at Kakashi, “ACK! So hip…”

Sasuke barely noticed the idiocy of the moment, turning and staring at the ground in front of his feet. Movement caught his attention and he looked up, noticing Haku a bit away watching silently as if still awaiting his death.

‘Just what happened?’

“SASUKE!!!” Naruto’s voice cut through his question, arms wrapping around him from behind as he was glomped by a very healthy blonde angel. “I’m so happy we’re alive!!! Stupid teme, scaring people like that!”

Sasuke frowned and turned around, glaring at Naruto and feeling a little better already. “What do you mean, don’t scare people like that, dobe? Who was the one faking dead just now??”

Naruto blinked and flushed in embarrassment, glancing off and mumbling something unintelligible. Sasuke smiled a little and turned, wrapping his arms around Naruto’s neck and burying his face in the skin underneath the blonde’s chin, seeking the safety and warmth he’d felt once before in his angel’s embrace.

“Neh…Sasuke…why are your eyes red?” Naruto asked, reaching up and stroking Sasuke’s hair like he always did for him.

“Why are yours?” Sasuke replied with a soft chuckle, not really knowing the answer for either of them.

“They’re not red. They’re blue,” Naruto answered with a puzzled frown.

Sasuke grinned and held Naruto tighter to him. “Dobe…”


***word dictionary***

Ototo-chan – “Ototo” means ‘little brother’. Chan is the more personal, ‘I know you’ suffix.

Onii-san – “Oniisan” means ‘older brother’. Don’t confuse with “Oneesan” which means ‘big sister” ^^

Makyô Hyô Shô – the japanese name for Haku’s bloodline technique, “Demonic Ice Mirrors”. Creates twenty-one mirrors out of ice in which he travels between at super high speeds, firing needles in an illusion that makes you think he’s in every mirror rather then just one.

Kuso - I sure it means either 'shit' or 'damnit' ^^

Gomen nasai - 'I beg your pardon' or 'excuse me'

***terms***

Demon Arts – Nothing to special name wise. Instead of calling the bloodline abilities, bloodline abilities, which go against what I’ve got going for Sharingan, I’m calling them Demon Arts. Byakugen, Sharingan, Makyo Hyo Sho…these are examples of what falls under the Demon Arts category.

***notes***

Sasuke – O.O Go Sasuke. XD You’re probably a little confused about the ending, but the explanation will come in the form of Kakashi next chapter. But yeah! Sharingan has finally fully bloomed in Sasuke. ^^

Haku – I worked harder to fit Haku’s personality better in this chapter. Probably still failed. Hee hee. ^^ Don’t worry. The end of Haku’s story will happen next chapter, so we won’t leave a loose end here. ^^

***reviewer responses***

Nomme de Plume - Well, thank you. ^^ I’m glad Gaara’s story was sad, because unfortunately…it’s supposed to be. I hope Lee’s will be to when the time comes to tell it. ^^ But lots of fighting and fluff this chapter. Oo Hoped you like it. ^^ And I wanna see more of that musical of yours!! XD despite the idea of Sasuke being with Neji or anyone other then Naruto… *makes a face* ^^

Kyu – Hiya, pwned! ^^ Hopefully now people won’t have to log in to review. Stupid AFF for doing that without warning. XD And sorry for the Gaara/Lee chapter again. But I needed to get that out. ^^ Sasuke and Naruto are the main, main characters, but Gaara and Lee are also main characters. That and almost everyone in this story has a back story to them. I’ve realized that just now. Oo

Xzanayu – Yep. I was worried that would be unGaara like. But then I remembered the chuunin exam arc in the anime. He wasn’t that reluctant to reveal his past then, either. So I officially deem it safe for Gaara in my story to open up about it. XD

nine_tailed_seraph23 – Heh. I’d love to write my own anime. I’m working on manga drawing in my deviantArt…and hopefully someday I’ll do my own original manga. ^^ Thank you.

CommGonn – Well, you don’t have to anymore. But it was a pain, wasn’t it? I was so mad. I didn’t even get half the normal reviews I normally get, which was depressing. Anyways, my account name of FF was Animefan-Artemis. =P But I haven’t wrote there in a long time. Not because of flames. I only had two in my side hobby as a story writer. ^^ I stopped cause one: I was on a yugioh rush but ran out of ideas, two: they took away all ratings above pg13, and three: they told us authors we couldn’t respond to our reviewers in our stories anymore. I like the freedom here on AFF better, anyways. And people are more mature. ^^ But you’re still free to peak at my old stories. I sucked then, though. XD

Amyrose – Yami no Matsuei rulez!! Tsuzuki and Muraki are so for each other (and I love Muraki =P). ^^

Nusku – I’m glad Gaara’s story was sad. I was hoping it had come off as such. But don’t worry. Our Gaara-chan is loved. ^^

bloodyrose – I know. I hate all these new precautions. But thankfully, you won’t need to sign in anymore to still review. ^^ And Lee? Well…he’s got his own story. ^^ Besides, you have to love Lee for his personality. He’s so noble. ^^ Neji/Hinata will only be slight hints and in my head. Kiba/Shino is coming up soon. ^^

kameotoluvsgaara – Thanks. I love Gaara/Lee. Not sure why. I blame that one fight against the bone guy where Gaara protected Lee for my fandom of it. They were so cute!! ^^ Anyways, glad you’re tolerating it. ^^’

ClosetEmo – I changed it back so you don’t have to log in anymore. For some reason, whatever the admins did reset it so people had to log in to review. So annoying. -_- And yeah, poor Gaara. Driven to kill himself. People can be so mean.

Jessica – Awe. My grammar. My grammar sucks. XD I have Mirandler43 who does grammar check for me now, though. But personally, I find it hard to understand how people get annoyed with grammar. When I read a story, I’m to in to it to bother with noticing bad grammar. XD I got lectured by my friends though when I asked them how they could let it bother them. Alas, I’ll never understand people like you and my buds. ^^ I promise though, I’ll try not to make to many mistakes. But…*shrugs*…I can only do my best and Mirandler43 can only do her best. ^^

Mirandler43 – lol. That’s ok. And yeah, there’s Lee/Gaara in this story, definitely. ^^ Probably not a lemon, though. I think the only pairings I’ll go far enough into detail for lemons will be Sasuke/Naruto. I don’t want to shove to much upon myself. ^^ And yes. I love Lee. I mean…he scared me at first when he first arrived in the anime. But you just can not fall in love with his noble personality and big heart. ^_^