I walked down the empty street quietly thinking to myself. The sun was setting and everyone was off training or something. Not me though, know why? It's because I'm an epic fail when it comes to being a ninja. No matter how much Lee helps me train I just can't do it. I really need to find a style that works for me. Just then something caught my eye; a red headed someone was sitting on a rooftop watching the sunset completely lost in though. I stopped walking and watched him.
"Hey Lee, what can you tell me about that redheaded guy?" I asked, taking a sip of water.
Lee stopped training and gave my a confused look, "You mean Gaara?"
"Yeah, him!"
"He's bad news. Stay away form him at all cost Aiko!" Lee announced in a parent like way.
"Aw come on. He can't be that bad…" I laughed.
"But he is! He doesn't talk to anyone and I've heard that he killed a man before…" Lee's voice moved toward a whisper at that last part.
"Really? Who did you hear that from?"
"…Naruto." Lee said, defeated.
"Ah yes, Naruto. Would that be the same Naruto that told you Gai was calling for you in the girl's bathroom?" I asked slyly.
"…Possibly." Lee pouted. I laughed a little and took another drink of water.
"Look Aiko, I'm serious. The guys bad news, please stay away from him." Lee tried one last time.
I looked over at Lee and saw that he was serious, "…Okay, I'll stay away."
"Good." Lee smiled, "Why did you want to know anyway?"
I looked Lee in the eye, "Do you really want to know?"
"Yes." Lee's face turned serious.
"I asked because," I waited a while, building the tension then said, "I though he was cute."
Lee's mouth opened so wide I almost heard when it hit the floor. I laughed and stood up, stretching my arms to the sky, "I'm just kidding Lee!"
But I wasn't kidding; Gaara was very cute in my eyes. I was still looking at said boy when he caught my stare. Shit. I quickly looked away and continued walking. I could tell that he was still staring at me as I walked away, staring down at my feet. Guess I deserve that for staring at him. He must think I'm weird or something… I looked up and saw Gaara standing in the middle of the road up ahead. Whoa, he moves fast. The sun was almost halfway gone but I could still see the glaring look in Gaara's eyes as he stepped towards me. Crap, crap, crap! I turned around and calmly sped walked away. I picked up speed when it started getting dark, I looked behind me and Gaara was still walking behind me. What is this some horror movie?!
Thud—!
I had tripped and fell right on my face.
"Ow…" I mumbled. I turned around and saw Gaara standing directly above me with that crazy look in his eye. I'm so dead…
"Aiko!"
Both Gaara and I looked to where the voice came from. Naruto was standing not to far away.
"N-Naruto!" I choked. Who knew my night in shining armor would have a bright orange jacket? I looked back up at Gaara and inched away before I stood up. I quickly turned and ran to Naruto.
"You okay?" He asked, worried. He was still watching Gaara and Gaara was staring at him back.
"Uh, yeah. Come on let's get out of here." I began to walk and he followed. I looked back and saw that Gaara was still staring at me.
"What did you do Aiko? You really shouldn't mess with him." Naruto scolded me as we walked faster.
/// * \\\ * /// (._.) \\\ * /// * \\\
"Aiko!" Lee yelled, annoyed.
"Huh?" I looked over at him.
"Concentrate Aiko! The exam is today. Have you even found a technique you like?" Lee has been a really good trainer but I'm just not a good ninja.
"Uh…no?" I laughed nervously.
Thunk
"Ow! What was that for?" I yelled, holding onto my head to stop the pain. Gai was behind me, holding two long wooden sticks.
"If you have to ask then you need a punishment." Gai growled.
"Gai sensei!" Lee bowed. Gai is the only person Lee ever bows to.
"Hello Lee! Here take this." Gai tossed Lee one of the sticks then handed me the other one.
I looked at the stick then at Gai, "Sword fighting lessons again? —"
Thunk
"What the hell?!" I yelled at Lee, holding my head as the pain pulsated.
"Pay attention to what your doing Aiko." Gai scolded.
Lee can at me with the stick again and I tried to block but he knocked the thing out of my hand. I looked at the stick on the floor then at Lee who was coming at me again.
"Fighting with a sword. Think of the stick as an extension of your hand. Let your energy flow through your body and shot at in the strikes." Gai continued talking as I got my butt kicked. I was now running away from Lee, trying to find a way back to my stick on the floor. Gai continued his little speech, "Use your surrounding to your advantage. The way of the sword is to find your opponents weak point and strike!"
Easier said than done. I zigzagged though the trees and saw my sword ahead of me. I did one of those run and roll things Lee showed me before and grabbed my sword. Just in time too because Lee was already striking down at me, I blocked it though. I pushed up against his stick and tried to over power him. Not a smart idea, Lee was way stronger than me and we both knew it. So I pushed his away with all the strength I had and ducked, missing his swing. I quickly spun and kicked Lee's knee outward. He fell down and I took this chance to strike at his neck, I stopped just before impact.
"Good!" Gai shouted in glee. "Congratulations Aiko, you found your technique!"
Lee looked up at me and smiled, "That was great Aiko! You really are good with a sword."
"Yeah, I guess…" I stated as I helped Lee up, "You okay? I didn't mean to hurt you…"
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Lee smiled. I smiled back.
"Aiko." Gai announced. Both Lee and I turned our bodies toward him. "I knew you were fond of sword fighting so I went ahead and got you this." Gai pulled out a long wooden box with a latch on it. I took the box and bowed to Gai as a thank you for the gift.
"What is it?" Lee asked, looking at it over my shoulder.
"Open it up Aiko." Gai encouraged.
I nodded and unhooked the latch. I pushed open the box and found a brand new sword lying within it. The handle material was black but the base was red. I was beautiful…
"T-Thank you Gai sensei! This is amazing…" I took out the sword and pulled it out of the sheath.
"I know you're still not use to using a real sword so until the exams start I want you to practice." Gai ordered. I looked up at Gai and smiled then bowed.
"Thank you sensei!"
/// * \\\ * /// (^-^) \\\ * /// * \\\
"No! I do not want to go next! I might as well go last!" Lee announced after Gai tried to give him hope that his match would be soon.
"Why the sudden change in heart Lee?" I asked, leaning on the rail that separated the small second level of the building. I was still tired from my match with TenTen, she put up a good fight but I won in the end because she used up most of her chakra. Lee continued to pout as the computer searched for the next two contestants.
"Rock Lee vs. Sabaku no Gaara." The referee announced.
"YEAH!" Lee shouted as he threw kicks and punches into the air, "By saying that I did not want to go next I increased my chances of being chosen!"
Gai gave a thumb up and showed his signature smile, "Great thinking Lee!"
The two continued to celebrate. I looked to the other side of the building and saw Gaara already making his way down the stairs. Memories of that night flashed back in my head; the cold breeze, the silent street, his glaring eyes. Our eyes met when the sand ninja reached the bottom, those cold and empty eyes sent chills down my spine once again. I pulled my eyes away just in time to notice Lee making his way to the center of the battleground.
"Lee!" I shouted. The black haired boy looked back at me, "Be careful…"
Lee simply smiled.
The battle went by so fast; at first Lee couldn't even get near Gaara, then Lee took off his weights and was so incredibly fast that the sand couldn't keep up with him then Gaara turned out to have this sand shield! I wonder how much training Gaara had to go though to learn to control that sand so perfectly.
"GAAAH!" Lee's scream snapped me out of my daydreams. Lee was lying on the floor as Gaara crushed him repeatedly with the sand. Lee's screams filled the room.
"Come on Lee! Get up!" Naruto shouted. Lee screamed as another wave of sand crushed into his body. This is crazy, Lee's practically dying and we're all just standing here! Someone has to stop Gaara; he's completely out of it! I gripped my sword and was about to jump over the railing but someone beat me to it. Gai landed between Gaara and Lee, "This match is over."
"Gai-sensei…" Lee was shocked. A wave of pain hit and Lee grunted in pain.
"Where's the medic?" Someone yelled.
I ran down the stairs just as men in white ran into the room. I followed them to where Lee was laying. They gave a quick examination before putting him on a stretcher.
"Lee…" my friends name slipped though my lips as they carried him away. Gai followed right behind them. I looked back at Gaara who was glaring at me. He began to step towards me. I gripped the handle of my sword and kept a close eye on the red head. He walked past me and up the stairs to were he stood before the match. I took a breath of relief before turning around to follow Gai and Lee.
/// * \\\ * /// (.) \\\ * /// * \\\
Naruto and Sakura walked into the hospital room, Sakura help some flowers in her hands. The two looked at Gai and me then at Lee on the bed.
"Is he okay?" Naruto asked worried.
"He'll be fine." Gai announced, "Just some broken bones and burses." Gai continued to tell the two ninja about Lee's condition. For some reason I couldn't take my eyes off of Lee's broken body. How could anyone let Gaara go so far?
"You okay Aiko?" Naruto brought me back down to earth.
"Huh? Oh yea… I'm fine. Just tired I guess." I stood up, "I should get going it's getting late…"
"I'll walk you home." Naruto offered. I nodded. To be honest I really didn't want to walk alone, not after looking into Gaara's blood lustful eyes.
"We'll see you two later then." Naruto said to Gai and Sakura then met me at the room door to leave.
We walked in silence for a while. When we were half way to my house Naruto spoke up, "You sure you're okay Aiko? You don't look so good."
I glanced up at Naruto and caught a glimpse of someone standing next to the tree by the path. I stopped dead in my tracks as I locked eyes with the same blood lusting ones as before. Naruto stopped and looked at me, "Aiko?" He followed my shocked stare and was just in time to see Gaara stepping out from the shadows. I stepped backward for ever step the red head took towards Naruto and I.
"Gaara! What are you doing—!" Naruto was cut off by Gaara's sand covering his mouth and circling around him like a snake.
I stepped back into a wall when Gaara came closer to me than he was before. I could feel his sand crawling up my legs. His eyes glistened in the moonlight, "You're afraid of me?"
The sand was tightening around me as it reached my stomach, "Y-You hurt Lee…" I found it hard to choke the words out. The rough sand moved around my back and up to my throat. It was impossible to scream because I was sure that my life would slip away like my yells and pleas in the wind.
Gaara grabbed my hair and yanked my head back, "He was weak, why would you care for something that useless?"
"He's not useless! Lee's my best friend!" I screamed when he pulled my head again roughly. Then, he let go. Gaara's sand was gone from my body and soon so was he. I looked over to Naruto and saw that he had passed out. I got up and ran to him.
"Naruto! Naruto get up!" I shook Naruto by his shoulder until he opened his eyes. "Naruto, are you—?"
"Aiko! What did he do to you?" Naruto looked me up and down, examining me.
"I'm fine." I mumbled.
/// * \\\ * /// (x.x) \\\ * /// * \\\
Sakura stopped by my house around noon and invited my to go visit Lee with her. We stopped by Ino's flower shop before to get Lee some flowers. Ino and Sakura's relationship continues to amaze me. Sakura had told me before that they were best friends until she told Ino about her crush on Sasuke. Leave it up to the emo boy to ruin someone else's life. I laughed at this causing Sakura to give me a confused look.
"You think to yourself a lot." Sakura pointed out in one of those 'you're-a-weirdo' tones
"Huh?"
"You haven't noticed? You always mumble to yourself in bookstores and laugh to yourself. You don't communicate well do you?"
"Uh, guess not. I just like to think to myself I guess." I said this just as we passed though the hospital doors.
We walked to the nurse behind the front desk and she told us that Lee's room was on the second floor, room 213. She also mentioned a loud blond and black haired male had just gone up and not to have more than five people in the room at once because Lee needed to rest. Sakura and I made our way up the stares and talked our way down the hall until something hard hit me.
"Sorry!" I rubbed my head where I hit and looked up to meet two green piercing eyes. G-Gaara…
"Hey watch where your walking" Sakura yelled in my defense. Gaara glared at her then grabbed my arm and pulled me along.
"Hey! Where are you going with her?" Sakura shouted and ran after us. Gaara's grip tightened as he looked back to stare at Sakura. The pink haired teen stopped when Gaara's eyes met hers and backed off. Gaara continued to pull my arm and led me out of the hospital. He's going to kill me.
. . .
Sakura stood there until the two were out of her sight. She turned around and ran into Lee's room to find Naruto and Shikamaru on the floor in shock.
"What happened?" Sakura kneeled down to help the two up onto their feet. Shikamaru stood but Naruto couldn't.
"I-Its was Gaara… Those eyes…" Naruto mumbled.
"What are you talking about? What did Gaara do?" Sakura demanded worriedly.
"We came to visit Lee but then when we opened the door Gaara had his sand around Lee's whole body…" Shikamaru explained, "Naruto and I tried to fight him off but…"
"But what?" Sakura was still on her knees next to Naruto.
"But his eyes. He really meant to kill Lee… And us." Naruto choked out.
"Oh no…" Sakura gasped.
"What?" Naruto and Shikamaru asked in unison.
"When we were coming up here, Gaara grabbed Aiko and walked off! We have to go get her!" Sakura announced
/// * \\\ * /// (+.+) \\\ * /// * \\\
Gaara threw me to the floor before walking back out. I rubbed my arm where Gaara held it the whole way here. I couldn't exactly figure out where 'here' was either. I knew I was in someone's room because there was a bed but that's all there was besides the door and window. I walked over to the wall with the door and pressed my ear agents it.
"Gaara, who do you have in there? You can't keep people hostage!" A male voice lectured.
"Kankuro, shut up! Look Gaara this can really jeopardize the mission, don't you think it would be better to let her go?" A female voice.
"I don't care about the mission, don't come in." Gaara strongly stated.
The door of the room opened and Gaara walked in. I pushed myself away form the wall and looked at Gaara. He stared at me as I walked backwards. I hit the wall with my back but Gaara kept walking towards me. When he was inches away he put his arms out against the wall and caged me in.
"You're still scared of me." He says.
"W-where did you bring m-me?" I stuttered.
Gaara stared at me for a while then dropped his arms to his sides, "My house."
Something's different…
"Then, this is a guest room?" I asked, giving the wall and me some space.
"You ask a lot of questions." Gaara snapped.
"This is only my second question." I shot back.
Gaara looked back at me and stared. His eyes. That's what was different; Gaara no longer had the scary look in his eyes. I wonder what happened to make him change? Gaara walked back towards me and my back kissed the wall once more. The red head put up his caging hands and the evil look came back into his eyes. Guess I spoke too soon.
"I could kill you right now if I wanted to." He leaned in closer with every word.
"D-do you want to kill me?" I pulled myself as far away from Gaara as I could but the wall stopped any chances I had of backing away.
Gaara simply stared at me. I felt myself sliding down the wall. Gaara followed me and kept his arms on either side of my head the whole time.
"Why aren't you answering?" I can feel my body shaking.
"I don't have to answer you." Gaara's expression stays the same.
"So, you do want to kill me?"
"..."
Gaara filled the gab between us and pressed his body against mine, his arms wrapped around my shoulders. We stayed like that for a long while. Just sitting there, with his arms around me, holding me in a tight hug. I lifted my arms to wrap them around him but he pulled away. He looked away from me and stood up, "Get out."
"Gaara?" I leaned forward to each for him.
"Get out!" He roared.
So I left.
. . .
Halfway home I ran into Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru. They where worried and explained what happened at the hospital. They asked me a lot of questions like 'Are you okay?' and 'Did he do anything to you?'. Then after they calmed down Naruto offered to walk me home. Sakura smacked him to the ground and called him stupid. Shikamaru ended up waking home.
"So troublesome. You can walk home on your own cant you?" He mumbled to himself.
"Sorry. You can just go home if you want."
"I promised Sakura I'd walk you home so I'm going to walk you home…"
"Then stop complaining."
Shikamaru glared at me through the corner of his eye. It was a silent walk to my house after that. By the time we got there the sun was already setting. I apologized to the lazy ninja once more before saying goodbye.
"Wait." Shikamaru stopped the door from closing with his foot.
"What?"
"Look I don't normally do this stuff but what the heck. You sure you're okay? Gaara's a creepy guy and I'm finding hard to believe he didn't do anything."
I stared at Shikamaru then smiled, happy he cares, "Well it not like he didn't try anything. I'm fine though, don't worry."
Shikamaru shrugged and removed his foot from blocking the door. He turned to walk away and waved a hand as his good bye.
/// * \\\ * /// (.) \\\ * /// * \\\
So, I didn't pass the semi-finals… I did say I was a bad ninja. Gaara made it though. We haven't had any contact since that night when I went to visit Lee in the hospital; my life went back to normal. I don't really mind though because I'm content with my normal life.
"Hey Choji can you share some chips, please?" I begged. The boy brought more than enough to share with everyone in the stadium, he had to share!
"No way. Go get your own." He teased with a mouth full of chips.
"Come on Choji! What about that time I bought you lunch? You own me." I whined.
"Just give her the damn bag so she'll shut up." Shikamaru growled under his voice.
"Hey aren't you supposed to be with the others?" Choji said as he handed me a full bag of chips.
"Naruto's being annoying. He keeps yelling…" Shikamaru rubbed the side of his head in annoyance.
"I am not!" Naruto yelled with a pouting face.
I glanced over to Hinata and poked her side with my elbow. She looked at me and I could see the blush on her face. I glanced to Naruto and smiled. She began to play with her fingers then stuttered out, "H-Hello Na-Naruto…"
"Oh, hey Hinata!" Naruto smiled.
. . .
The competition soon started and what a great competition it was! Naruto got a beating but won because of his will. Then Shikamaru fought that Temari chick. She was pretty good but Shikamaru was just to smart for her. That guys a genius! Though he forfeit in the end… Next up are Sasuke and Gaara.
"Looks like Sasuke's a no show." I sighed as I licked the crumbs from the chips off of my fingers.
"Don't say that! I'm sure he'll come." Sakura announced optimistically.
"What ever you say. I need too pee, be right back." I stood up and took the empty bag with me. I tossed it in a trashcan on my way to the bathroom.
When I reached the bathroom I entered the stall farthest from the door. Lock, unbutton, slip down, and sit. I sat hunched as I took the longest piss of my life. I grabbed some toilet paper when I finished and cleaned up. I buttoned my pants as I walked out of the stall. I looked up to see the long mirror on top of the three sinks. I washed my hands and dried them off, still looking at myself in the mirror. I tossed the wet paper into the trashcan and leaned forward on the sink to get closer to the mirror.
I looked at myself from all angles possible. Then I started to goof around and make faces. I puffed my cheeks out then scrunched my nose. I took another look at my hair and redid it, seeing as it was getting sloppy. I turned away from the mirror and walked towards the door. I gripped the door knob and—
"BLOOD! —ITS MY BLOOD!"
Flinch. What the hell is that?! I gripped tighter on the door as the words ran up my spine in a cold chill. I grabbed the handle of my sword and readied myself. I pulled the door open slowly, peeking through the thin slit. The hall was empty from what I could see so I walked out of the bathroom. I looked down both ways then ran towards the area everyone was at. The halls were very dark—THUD.
"Ow…" I lifted myself from the floor then turned to look at what tripped me. I couldn't really see anything so I felt around. It felt warm and flesh like. Wait…
"Kyaaa!" I jumped back and kicked the air in front of me. I pulled myself together and booked it out of there.
I ran up a flight of stairs and found everyone in the stadium knocked out.
"Watch out!"
"Huh?—" Just then Kakashi knocked me down to the floor. "Aiko? What are you doing here?"
"Uh, I went to the bathroom and when I came back everyone was knocked out… Kakashi, what's happening?" I spat out.
"We're under attack. Get up and fight." He yelled before getting up and disappearing behind the row of chairs.
I sat up and glanced over the chairs. There were some ambu fighting the village ninja. Did the ambu go rouge or something? I grabbed my sword and pulled it out of its sheath. I jumped out and charged towards the first bad guy I could see. After finally knocking him out I ran to Kakashi and started to fight near him.
"What happened?" I asked while blocking kunais.
"Gaara went crazy during his fight with Sasuke and left. Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura and the other went to get him."
"Gaara…?" I thought of what could have happened when an ambu surprised me with kick to the head. Black out.
/// * \\\ * /// (x__x) \\\ * /// * \\\
"…ko."
"…Aiko, you awake?"
"Hmm…?" I cracked open my eyes slowly as the bright light burned my eyes.
"Ah! She's awake."
"That's good. Hey Aiko you gave us a scare, that blow to the head was pretty hard wasn't it?"
"Shut up! She doesn't want to hear that right now. Just let her sleep."
. . .
I woke up to a bright morning… or noon, I couldn't really tell. I had a light thumping noise in my head. I turned to my left and saw Naruto sitting up in his bed. His head was all rapped up and had bandages all over him. He was looking down at his hands deep in thought.
"You look horrible." I stated tiredly.
Naruto looked up at me and smiled, "You're awake. You only got one blow to the head and you were asleep longer than I was."
"Tch. Shut up, it hurt." I tried to sit up and Naruto watched as I failed due to the pounding in my head getting harder. I sighed. "I'm a horrible ninja, I can't even manage a simple fight."
"Then why do you do it?" Naruto asked, the smile on his face gone.
I stared at Naruto then the ceiling, "Don't really know… Lee was so into it I guess I though I could get into it too. Besides, you cant be much of anything around here unless you're a ninja…"
Naruto stayed silent at my answer. I didn't really expect a response anyway.
"What happened?" I turned to face Naruto and found him looking down at his hands again.
"A lot. Gaara went crazy; I've never seen anything like it. He has a demon inside him…" Naruto placed a hand on his stomach, "Just like me. –"
"Ta-da!" Sakura and Lee busted through the door of the hospital room with flowers.
/// * \\\ * /// (=.=) \\\ * /// * \\\
It's been a week since all that happened. The village was back to normal, or what was considered normal for the Konoha village. I trained with Lee on weekends and did small missions during the week. Turns our Shikamaru is the only person that passed the exams. Naruto, Lee, Choji, Ino, Sakura, and I had a little party for him when we all heard.
"So, you wanna come?" Sakura smiled. She had been talking about some party/sleepover thing she was having for the girls. 'Something to help us untwined and relax,' she said.
"Uh, sure I'll come. Need me to bring anything?"
"Just the basics; pajamas, sleeping bag, and some chips or something if you want."
"Sure, I'll stop by a corner store on my way."
"Okay!"
. . .
Ding-dong—
"Hey! You're just in time, we're getting things ready for a game." Sakura announced as she opened the door to let me in.
"I brought some chips," I walked into the house and found that everyone was already here. Hinata, Ten Ten, and Ino had there sleeping bags spread out in a circle on the floor. There was an empty space, Guess that's for me. "Where do you want me to put them?"
"Anywhere is fine, really." Sakura closed the door and walked to her own sleeping bag on the floor.
I placed mine on the empty spot on the floor then sat down, placing the chips next to me but in reach of anyone that wanted them. "So, what are we going to play?"
Sakura lowered the music playing on the radio and smiled, "Truth or dare! I'll go first. Ino, truth or dare?"
"Ugh you always have to pick on me!" Ino complained, "Truth."
"Chicken. Fine, are you a natural blond?"
"What kind of question is that?" Ino barked.
"Just answer it!"
"Well as a matter of fact I am!" Ino pouted.
"Liar…"
"My turn! Hinata… Truth or dare?" Ino smirked.
I never realized how brutal this game could get…
"U-Uh… Truth?" Hinata hesitated.
"Is it true you have a huge crush on Naruto?"
That's dumb, everyone knows she does.
"U-um… Well… N-Naruto…" Hinata was bright red. Ino was enjoying this, you could see it all over her face. Kind of sad.
"Of course she does, everyone know Ino. God what a stupid question." Sakura stepped in.
"Not as stupid as yours…" Ino mumbled.
"Go Hinata it's your turn." I smiled at her, hoping I'd pull Ino and Sakura out of their little battle.
"O-okay. Truth or dare?" Hinata responded, calming down from her moment under the spot light.
"Dare, since no one's picked it yet."
"Okay, um… —"
"She dares you to steal one of Kakashi's books!" Ino interrupted.
"Oh I want to see this!" A male voice perked up. Everyone turned to the kitchen and saw Naruto standing there with Lee, Shikamaru, and Choji.
"What are you doing here Naruto?" Sakura stoop up looking ready to punch him into next year.
"Relax, we only wanted to come to the party." Naruto laughed nervously. "So are you going to do the dare Aiko?"
"Depends, what's the truth if I don't do it?" I looked to Ino since she gave the dare.
"Hm… You have to tell us all what happened to you that night Gaara kidnapped you!"
Suddenly, like one big gust of wind, his voice came back to me…
"I could kill you right now if I wanted to."
"I don't have to answer you."
"Get out!"
The boy I though I could never forget but had completely forgotten was back in my life.
"I'll do the dare." I stood up and stretched.
Ino's expression changed completely, "You serious? Was what happened that bad?"
I smiled, "No, the dare just sounds more fun." I lied.
. . .
Naruto showed me to Kakashi's house. The lights were off and everyone assumed the ninja inside was asleep. Everyone came along to see the dare and the continence of the book.
"Go and get that book!" Ino whispered like a captain giving orders.
I rolled by eyes but smiled at her excitement in the dare. I looked for an open window and successfully found one that lead to his kitchen. I quietly opened it and entered the house. It was dark but not dark enough that I couldn't see a thing. I found a hallway with two doors. As I went though the hallways I heard someone turn the shower on in one of the rooms. It made me jump. The first door to my left was the bathroom. That meant that the room at the end of the hall with the half open door is Kakashi's bedroom. I lightly walked down the remainder of the hall and entered Kakashi's room. I didn't know where to start looking for the book so I started with his clothes—
"What are you doing?"
Shit! I spun around and found Kakashi in his boxers and facemask staring at me from the doorway. "K-Kakashi. Uh, I'm not a pervert or anything!"
What am I saying?!
"What are you doing in my house?" the grey haired man questioned.
"Uh, well… It's a dare."
"…"
"Sakura was having this sleepover and we started playing 'Truth or Dare' and I was dared to take your orange book that you always read…" I rambled a bit.
"I see."
"I-If you let me have your book for tonight I promise to give it back to you tomorrow, Kakashi." I tried.
Kakashi stared at me for a while then smiled with his eyes. "No can do."
"Uh, alright then…" I sighed.
The rest of the night was a blur. Naruto convinced Sakura to let them spend the night as well and there were no more big dares after my fail at 'taking' Kakashi's book. I was very proud to see that Hinata manned up and offered Naruto to share her sleeping bag! Not that way though, she opened it up and they both had their own separate blankets, poor thing was blushing all night.
. . .
"Aiko get up!" Lee yelled as he shook my shoulder.
"Hm…?" I turned toward his body with my eyes still closed.
"Aiko, get up! Sasuke is gone."
"What do you mean gone?" I mumbled and turned back around. Lee pulled my shoulder to that I was laying on my back. Lee continued to shake my arm as he spoke. "Aiko, he left the village. Sakura tried to stop him last night but she couldn't. He's going to Orochimaru!"
I finally opened my eyes. "Sasuke is leaving to join Orochimaru?"
"Lee! We got a mission." Shikamaru announced as he opened Sakura's door.
Lee walked over to Shikamaru and Naruto at the door and they left. I sat up and looked around, the room was empty. I got up and walked around the house to find Hinata and Sakura in Sakura's room. She was crying. Hinata looked up at me, the worried expression on her face was shocking. I walked in and Sakura looked up at me with tears running down her face.
"He left. I tried to stop him but he didn't listen. He left!" She sobbed.
I never really knew what to do with crying people…
"You did what you could Sakura, Sasuke's just determined." I tried.
"But why? Why does he have to leave?"
"Because he wants to get stronger."
"He can get stronger here. We can all help him get stronger here. I can help him get stronger here!" She was at her limit. I walked over to the bed and sat next to the broken hearted girl and hugged her. She started to cry harder.
"I know. Sasuke's just desperate so he's letting that cloud his judgment and is acting stupid." She didn't stop crying so I hugged her tighter. "We'll bring him back Sakura. Naruto will get him back."
Suddenly she began to breath normal again and soon stopped crying, "I want to see Naruto."
I nodded. Hinata and I hurried to the Hokage's office with Sakura. We made it to the building but the guards wouldn't let us in. That didn't stop Sakura though, she ran thought those doors as if Sasuke himself was on the other side of them.
"Naruto!" she yelled.
Naruto turned around. He was worried as well.
"Naruto… I-… I need you to bring Sasuke back." She chocked out, she was trying not to cry.
Naruto smiled and held up his thumb, "I promise Sakura, I'll bring him back to Konoha."
. . .
"Are you hungry? I'll treat." I asked Sakura at the village gates. She wanted to see the ninja off but we haven't moved since they left this morning.
"You can go get something to eat if you want." Sakura mumbled.
I sighed, looks like she's not leaving until Sasuke comes back. She has to eat something though and she hasn't slept all night. I needed to get her mind off of Sasuke.
"Sakura, don't worry. They'll get him back. I'm sure as soon as they do Naruto or Lee will come and get us."
She stayed silent. I sighed again and looked up to the sky. It was a little after noon.
"Come on. You need food and sleep. You don't want to be looking like crap when Sasuke comes back right?" I glanced at Sakura. She looked away from the gate for the first time today and stared at the ground.
"You'll treat?" she asked.
I smiled and stretched out my hands, "Yeah. What ever you want, my treat."
Sakura looked at me and gave a faint smile. It was weak but at least she smiled. The two of us walked away from the gates and towards town. I glanced back at the gate when a girl and two boys approached it. The redheaded boy with the hard stare instantly caught my eyes.
"…G-…Gaara?" I stopped dead in my tracks.
The blond said something then the three of them left.
"Aiko?" Sakura noticed my stopping and was curious, "What are you looking at?"
I reached into my pocket and pulled out all the money I had and shoved it into Sakura's hand, "I have to go, here. Go eat and sleep." I said before running out of the village gates.
Was I hallucinating? That was Gaara right? I ran after the three but couldn't catch up. They were to fast. I ran faster then I ever had. I was getting closer I could feel it. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone lying beside a tree. I stopped and say that it was Choji. See if he's dead or chase the boy with red hair? I looked at Choji then in the direction the three were running in, back and forth, back and forth.
"Gah!" I yelled as I ran to Choji. I called his name but got no response. I checked his wrist to see is he still had a pulse. He was alive. He's fine; I've got to go catch up. I stood up and ran then decided tree hopping would be easier. After chasing them for about five minutes I realized that I lost them.
"Shit." I stopped and looked around. My breathing was uneven and legs were soar. "Maybe I should just go –"
The earth began to shake. Then just as fast as it started, it stopped.
"An earthquake?" I asked to myself. I climbed a tree and looked around to see if I could spot any sign of them. Then I saw a bit sandy area. It wasn't that far away. I got as close as I could without being detected and climbed another tree. There I saw Lee and Gaara standing at the shore of a sand ocean.
Gaara clapped his hands together and smacked them down onto the sands edge, "Sabaku Taiso!"
"Wow! That was amazing, surly he's dead now." Lee exclaimed.
"Why won't he die?" Gaara pouted.
"Huh?"
Just then a monster popped out from the sand. His skin was peeling off and it revealed a while inside. The mans right arm was in a form of a drill. He lifted it up and ran towards Gaara and Lee. Gaara blocked his move easy. Then the man was being sucked into the ground by sand.
"You will sink two hundred meters underground and be held there. Whit the sands pressure on your body you won't be able to move a finger." Gaara announced.
When Gaara finished, spikes came from under the ground and filled the whole area. Gaara was able to make the sand float and had it carry both him and Lee. I shied in relief that the two were okay.
"I'm not brainwashing!" a deep voice yelled, "That person, Orochimaru… Its all my own reasoning!"
The man charged his drill at Gaara and screamed, "What the hell would you know about it?!"
NO! I looked away.
Nothing.
I turned back to Gaara and saw that the man had stopped mid-hit.
"He's dead." Lee said nervously.
Gaara stood frozen there until Lee broke him from his trance. Gaara led them over in my direction and they both sat against the trees. I was to high up in the trees to hear what the two were talking about. Honestly I was in too much of a shock to even eavesdrop on their conversation.
I was right; it was Gaara. What was he doing here though? Wasn't he the bad guy? I looked down at the two and was surprised to see that Lee wasn't afraid of Gaara. I leaned forward to get a better view of Gaara. So is he good now?
Gaara looked up and met my stare then said something to Lee. Lee began to look up at the tree as well. Guess I've been found out… I climbed down the tree and dusted myself off.
"Aiko, what are you doing here?" Lee asked surprised to see me here.
"Uh well…" What should I say? 'Oh nothing I was just chasing Gaara to see if it was him.' Yeah right… "I was—"
"Following me." Gaara finished.
"You noticed?" I asked surprised.
"You're not a good ninja."
I couldn't tell if he playing around or being serious. Wait, this is Gaara… He's not playing around.
"Uh, sorry. I saw you, Temari and Kankuro leave the village and... I wanted to help." I lied. Honestly I didn't know why I ran after Gaara. This is that scary kid that used to torment my dreams, the guy that kidnapped me, and the ninja who tried to destroy my village. Why would I chase after him after he's done all that?
"So you came to help without any weapons?" Gaara questioned.
I looked down at myself and noticed that I was still in my pajamas; black tank top and red shorts. Gaara saw right threw me…
"That doesn't matter right now. Are you two okay?" I glanced at Lee but stared at Gaara. He saw my stare and looked down.
"I'm fine." Lee answered then joined me in staring at Gaara.
The redhead looked up at Lee and me then looked awake. He stood up and put on his gore, "I'm fine. We should head back to the village."
"You two go, I need to catch up with the others." Lee said as he ran off.
I sighed, "Lee, you're in no shape to continue fighting…" I mumbled to myself.
Gaara began to walk towards the village and I followed him. The first half-mile or so was quiet. I knew Gaara wasn't going to break the ice so I though I should. This way I could also get my questions answered. Killing two birds with one stone.
"Gaara, why did you come to help Lee?"
Gaara glanced back at me, "Temari was already helping Shikamaru and Kankuro was on his way to help Kiba. Lee was only one left."
That's not what I meant…
"So are you good now?" I tried to speed up so I was next to Gaara.
"Are you afraid of me?" Gaara asked when I matched his pace.
I thought about it for a little, "Well from what I just saw I'd have to say I'm not afraid of you."
"What changed your mind?"
I though about this too before speaking, "Well, when that guy almost killed you. The look in your eyes was human."
"What was human about them?"
"Hm, well I guess because you looked scared. Having emotions like fear and happiness are what make us human."
"Why?"
I laughed a little, "You're asking a lot of questions."
Gaara must have not noticed that I was joking because he stayed quiet after that. I wonder if he is always like this, all cool and serious like. How does his family put up with it? Well maybe they're all use to it and have certain signals. Like when he's hungry Gaara will rub his stomach or open his mouth and point inside it. I giggled at the image I held in my head.
"What are you thinking about?" Gaara asked, pulling me out of laughter.
"Uh, nothing…"
/// * \\\ * /// (*u*) \\\ * /// * \\\
After we returned to the village Gaara and I went out separate ways without a word of goodbye. We simply gave each other a glance and left. It's been years since I've seen him. I heard he's become the Kazekage now.
This was really just practice for keeping Gaara in character. Hope you liked it though! Oh and if you're mad that they didn't end up "together" in the end then get out because not every romance story has to end with the girl getting the guy. Think outside the box people.