The chunnin exams had finally come around, however, Nikki was there merely to watch, Jessica and Nikki had past the chunnin exams, however, Cameron still had some work to do.
Chijou had went and gotten herself pregnant, so they couldn`t train, she talked to the Sandaime and had gotten him to do some kind of private test.
Now, Lee and Gaara were fighting and Jessica, who was standing next to her was going absolutely crazy.
"GO GAARA-KUN!: Jessica yelled.
"Ever since I introduced you to Gaara, which was when he first came here for the chunnin exams, you have stalked him, Gaara told me you were ticking him off," Nikki muttered.
Jessica stared, "How do you become friends with all the anti-social people who would normally rather kill themselves then have friends?"
Nikki shrugged, "Gaara has a demon inside of him, like Naruto and I, Sasuke`s family got killed by Itachi as did mine, the others, we get along, but I don`t think you could call us friends. Ino is alright, but I don`t really like her, and then there is Sakura and I HATE her, however I do like her fanboy."
"Rock Lee?" Jessica asked.
"Ya, Lee is cool. That is why I can`t cheer, I love them both very much," Nikki said softly.
Jessica frowned, "Come on, Fuzzy-brows isn`t half as cool as Gaara!"
"Lee might be a spazz, but he is a very loyal friend, he works hard and he never gives up. Gaara, he is lonely, homocidal, against the world, and doesn`t grasp the concept of love," Nikki mumbled.
Jessica sighed, "You have changed, Nikki. When we were younger, you`d cheer for the cutest guy, like I remember when you`d always run over to Kakashi-sensei and hug him, calling him the cutest guy ever."
Nikki blushed, "I was seven...."
"And you have Neji-kun now," Jessica laughed.
Nikki blushed even more, "No, Neji-sama is merely my stalker."
"What is all this talk about me being a stalker?"
Nikki turned around, only to look Neji in the eyes, "Heh, heh, Neji-sama, I thought you were over there with TenTen, cheering Lee on, since he is your teammate afterall, right Jessica?" THere was no answer, "Jessica?" she looked over and noticed Jessica was gone, then noticed she was talking with Shikamaru. "Baka...." she muttered angrily.
"You know, fate destined us to be together," Neji said with a smirk.
"..." Nikki stared at him, then was gone in a puff of smoke and standing behind Jessica. "JESSICA-BAKA!" she yelled, hitting her friend over the head.
"Ow! Shikamaru and I were discussing who we woul---" she stopped, hearing a scream from Lee, Nikki turned to see Lee had been knocked out and Gai was standing between Lee and Gaara.
Nikki jumped down next to Gaara and grabbed him by the arm, "Gaara! Come on...." she hissed, Gaara walked besides Nikki, glaring at her.
Once Nikki got him back with his brother and sister, they stared at Nikki. Amazed that she would drag Gaara out of there.
"Temari-chan!" Nikki exclaimed, running over and hugging her friend as if she hadn`t seen her in forever, when she had been hanging out with Temari every chance she got.
Temari smiled, "Nikki-chan, you`re not joining in the fun? I haven`t seen you fight for quite a while."
Nikki smirked, the sand siblings always made her like this for some reason. "Pft, I`m already a chunnin, but, that vest is silly looking, mabye I can help you guys train for the finals?"
Temari laughed, "Sounds fun!"
She turned her attention to Kankurou and almost tackled him to the ground with her hug, "Kitty boy, I`m so glad you`re here!"
Kankurou blushed, "Hai... Nikki-chan." He returned the hug, then let go, allowing her to stand next to Gaara and watch him, since she was probably one of the only ones brave enough to stand up to him.
"Why do you pretend to be happy?" Gaara asked, his voice was cold and cruel, it made Nikki shudder.
"I don`t know what you are talking about..." she muttered coldly.
"You are sad and you try to hide it, why? You give love to people and act as if no one ever betrayed you," he hissed.
"Gaara, you know me too well, as you`ve known, after my parents were killed by Itachi, I became very cold and depressed, yet tried to hide it with a large smile, much like Naruto-kun does, but it seems I can`t fool my friends very well now..." she frowned.
Gaara nodded, "Atleast no one fears you and hates you.... but, these people, they are there for me to kill and make me happy, so I guess it doesn`t matter."
"Actually, Gaara, they think I killed my parents, no matter what the Hokage says, they think I did it, so many of my parent`s friends hate me, and then there is Sakura, but that is a mutual hate, oh, and Gaara, remember that I love you. You and Sasuke have been like my brothers forever and I love you for it," she said, smiling weakly at Gaara who stared at her in a confused fashion.
"Love?" Gaara asked.
Nikki nodded and grabbed Gaara`s hand, "Even if I leave one day, you can always remember the happy beggining, that once upon a time, Nikki loved Gaara more then anyone ever had."
Once Upon a Time
TBC