Temari walked her way to school, she took her usual route, and as usual her attention was in a book. She loved reading, and she loved every kind of book. Mystery, romance, war, you name it and she's read it. She was now 18 and a senior in high school, she lived at home with her two little brothers. Her mother died giving birth to her littlest brother, Gaara. Her father use to be the governor before he passed away from a heart attack.
She worked as a waitress in a small cafe even though her father left enough money to raise her two little brothers, extra money was always nice. Plus it gave her something to do other then raising two kids.
She arrived at the front of the school; she closed her book and shoved it into her backpack. She walked up the stairs and too her locker. She opened it and put her backpack in and took out a note book her favorite Shakespeare book and a pencil. She always read before class began, and sometimes during when the teacher is talking about something she already knew everything about.
"Excuse me." A soft voice came from behind her. She turned around and saw a girl named Ino, she was new to the school this year, standing behind her. She nodded and scooted over a bit seeing as she was standing in front of her locker.
Temari then walked away and into her first hour class, Advanced Biology. It was her second favorite class next to French.
She noticed Ino walking in after her; she never knew she was in her Biology class. She shook the thought and began listening to the teacher.
The bell rung and Temari closed the notebook she was taking notes in and sat up, heading towards the door.
"Temari could you come over here for a second?" Mr. Taki asked. Temari nodded and walked towards the desk. Ino was standing near his desk too.
"I need someone to tutor Ms. Yamanaka here, and I thought you would be perfect for the job." He said smiling. Temari sighed.
"Come on Mr. Taki, I've tutored 3 kids for you already." She said a bit annoyed.
"I know I know, but this time I'll make it worth your wild." He said with a big grin.
"How so?"
reached into his desk and pulled out a book. "A first edition Romeo and Juliet!"
Temari was in awe. She instantly grabbed it and smiled. She had never seen a first edition Romeo and Juliet before.
"I'll do it!" She said, still staring at the book. Ino giggled, but Temari didn't notice.
"Good!" He handed her the teacher's book with explanations and answers in it, so she could teach Ino easier.
"Meet me in front of the school after school, and we can head to my house." She said, still reading the back of the book. Ino nodded and the two walked out of the class.
Temari walked to her locker, still in awe. She couldn't wait to read it!
"What took you so long?" Temari asked, sitting on the steps in front of the school, with her prized new book in her lap. She didn't really mind that Ino was late, it gave her a chance to start reading her new book.
"Sorry, I had to talk to my history teacher." She said, walking past Temari, and then turning around. "So where do you live?"
Temari got up and started walking. "Only a few blocks away." Ino nodded and followed next to Temari.
"So, you like reading huh?" Ino said, trying to break the tension. Temari nodded.
"Yep, love it." She said, closing the book and putting it carefully in her backpack. They arrived at her house after a few minutes of walking and went inside.
"Gaara! Kankuro! I'm home!" She yelled, she heard a bit of rustling then saw a small red head run out of one of the rooms and ran into her arms. Temari giggled and hugged the little boy.
"Your 15 minutes late, and who's this?" He said, still attached to Temari's waist.
"Sorry, this is Ino, I'm going to be tutoring her." Gaara nodded and then walked into the kitchen.
Ino giggled. "Is he your little brother?" She asked.
Temari nodded. "Yeah, his name is Gaara."
"Where are you parents?" Ino asked, walking in and sitting on the couch.
"Long story, let's get started." She said, plopping down next to Ino and opening the book.
About two hours later Temari slapped the Biology book closed and yawned.
"Let's take a break, your starting to catch on." Ino nodded and closed her book and put down her pencil.
"Want to stay for dinner?" Temari asked, getting up and heading to the kitchen.
"That would be nice." Ino said, stretching her arms. Kankuro walked in.
"Whoa, who are you?" He said grinning. Temari scowled at him, and then threw one of her sandals at him.
"Settle down Casanova." She said smirking. Kankuro growled at her. Ino just laughed.
"What do you want for dinner?" Temari asked Gaara who was sitting at the kitchen table drawing. He was only 8 years old. Kankuro just turned 14.
"Can we have pizza?" He asked smiling, she nodded and walked towards the freezer, and grabbed out two pepperoni pizzas, Gaara's favorite. I peeked over the doorway and saw Kankuro sitting next to Ino, who looked very bored. I giggled. I put the pizza in the oven and set the timer, then smiled to Gaara and walked back into the living room.
"Oh, Temari. What are you making for dinner?" Ino asked, trying to get Kankuro to stop talking. Temari laughed.
"Pizza, you like pizza right?" Temari asked.
"Of course, who doesn't like pizza?" She said giggling. Temari nodded.
"Good point." Temari said, sitting on the chair and flipping through the channels on the TV. Kankuro got up and walked back to his room. She noticed Gaara walked in and sat on the couch near Ino.
"Hey there, I'm Ino." She said, smiling to Gaara. Gaara smiled back, I was happy to see he liked her, I liked her too.
She held out her hand and Gaara shaked it. I laughed and went back to watching tv, but then the oven timer went off, I jumped up and ran to the kitchen.
After taking the pizzas out and letting them cool down a bit, I walked into the living room and found Ino and Garra playing paddy-cake. Gaara didn't get use to people very quickly; he was a shy and sometimes sad boy.
"Pizza's ready guys." I said with a smile on my face, Gaara hurried in and ran past me, grabbing a slice. Ino giggled and sat up walking towards me.
"He's really cute." She said, Temari nodded. She put two slices on a plate and handed it to Ino, who thanked her and walked into the living room. Temari soon followed with her own plate and sat next to the pretty blond girl.
The two girls sat and watched Tv for another hour, they watched a comedy movie and laughed almost the entire time.
"Oh shit." Temari muttered, looking at the clock.
"What?" Ino asked.
"We were supposed to study. Oh well. What time do you have to go home?" Temari asked, grabbing both plates and heading to the kitchen.
"Oh when ever. It's Friday so I have no curfew." She said, stretching out her arms again and yawning. Temari nodded and put the dishes in the sink. She walked back in and sat back down.
"If you want you can just sleep here, we can make up the two hours in the morning." Temari asked, rubbing her eyes. She looked at the clock, it read 9:14.
"Alright, let me just go call my mom." Ino walked into the kitchen and called her mom. A few minutes later she returned.
"You really don't mind me staying the night?" Ino asked, sitting back down. Temari nodded. Temari thought it was a bit weird that she invited a girl she never hung out with beforehand to spend the night but for some reason she didn't care.
"You seem pretty nice, plus Gaara likes you, and he doesn't like many people." Temari said smiling. Ino smiled and nodded, looking back at the TV. Temari thought about Gaara for a bit, she got up and walked into Gaara's room.
"Hey buddy, what are ya doing?" Temari asked, walking in and seeing Gaara sitting at the desk in his room. He was drawing again; it was his favorite thing to do.
"Drawing a picture for you." He said, switching colored pencils. She smiled and looked over his shoulder. It was a picture of two blond girls and little red head in the middle.
She giggled. "Where's Kankuro?"
"He doesn't get to be in it cause he ate my cookie I was saving." He said annoyed. Temari laughed and kissed his head.
"Get to bed soon alright?" She said, walking out of the room. He nodded and got back to his drawing.
Temari walked in and Ino was lying on the couch sleeping. She through a blanket over the girl and sat back down on the chair. She reclined it and laid back, closing her eyes.
_
Temari quickly opened her eyes, hearing a scream pierce the night. She quickly looked at the couch and noticed Ino wasn't there. Her eyes widened as she threw off the blanket covering her and ran to Gaara's room. She tripped, hitting her head on the table in the hallway; she ignored the pain and pushed open the door.
She saw Gaara sitting next to Ino. "What happened?" She asked quickly, holding the side of her forehead, feeling something dripping down.
"He had a nightmare, it's alright now. What happened to your head?" Ino said, with Gaara sitting next to her. Temari shook her head and smiled.
"Oh this? It's nothing. Are you alright Gaara?" Temari asked, concerned.
"Yeah, just a nightmare." He said, obviously tired. He lay back down and Ino smiled at him.
"Try not to wake up again Kay?" Ino said, tucking him in. Temari's head started throbbing. Ino turned around and pulled Temari into the kitchen.
"Move your hand." Ino said, as Temari moved her hand away from the cut on her head. "It doesn't look too bad, but I better clean it out anyway." She said, grabbing her purse from the table and bringing out a little med kit.
"Do you always carry medical supplies around with you?" Temari asked, curious. Ino nodded.
"My mom's a nurse, so she makes me carry this stuff around. It comes in handy though." She said, pouring something onto a small cloth. Temari knew what was coming next. Ino dabbed the cloth on the cut, causing Temari to flinch a little.
"It always stings a bit." Ino said, making sure to clean the wound thoroughly . Temari nodded. Ino reached back into the med kit and brought out a bandage, then put it over the cut.
"There you go." Ino said, trying to contain a yawn. Temari looked at the clock, it was 3:30AM. She stood up from sitting on the table and stretched her arms.
"Thanks for taking care of Gaara. How did you get in there before me?" She asked, pouring herself a glass of water.
"I just finished using the bathroom. It scared the hell out of me." She said smiling, Temari laughed. It really scared her too.
"Oh, and thanks for bandaging me up." She said, pointing at her forehead. Ino nodded and walked back into the living room.
Temari followed her and looked through the DVDs on a shelf, she couldn't fall asleep without watching TV. She grabbed a romance movie, she didn't really like romance movies that much but she had seen every other movie she had. She popped it in the DVD player and sat back onto the chair. Ino was already laying down under a blanket, staring at the TV.
"So where did you move from?" Temari asked, waiting for the previews to finish. Ino looked at her.
"California. My dad's job got moved here." She said, sitting up and leaning on the arm of the couch. Temari nodded.
"So, where are you parents?" Ino asked, curious.
"My mom died giving birth to Gaara, and my father died from a heart attack. He was the governor. "She said, bringing up old feelings. She shook them off; she had to stay strong for Gaara and Kankuro. She saw the blond girl sitting on the couch frown.
"I'm sorry..." Ino said, looking down at the ground. Temari shook her head.
"Don't be." She said, putting on a fake smile. Ino saw through it though. The movie started and the two girls watched it for about a half an hour before both passed out.
Temari woke up the middle of a dark room. She looked around, looking for anything she may find familiar but she couldn't see. Suddenly a door opened, releasing light into the room. Ino was standing in the doorway, Temari looked confused and stood up. When she stood up Ino ran from the door way, Temari chased after her. "Where are you going?!" Temari yelled, it felt like the hallway went on forever. Ino didn't respond, she just kept running. Temari started to get pissed off, she ran as fast as she could, finally catching up to the blond girl. Temari tackled her, causing them both to fly forward. She spun the blond girl around. Something was very wrong. Temari let out a loud scream. Ino was missing her face. It was just empty skin, no eyes, no mouth, nothing.
_
Temari slowly opened her eyes. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the light shooting through the windows. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and sat up.
What a weird dream...
"Something wrong?" Ino asked, walking next to the chair she was sitting in. Temari shook her head, she wondered why Ino was up, and wearing an apron.
"Oh, well I thought I would make you breakfast, since you let me stay over last night." Ino said cheerfully. Temari smiled and sat up, then followed Ino to the kitchen. When she got into the kitchen she saw Gaara and Kankuro sitting at the table eating pancakes, and bacon.
"Whoa, that smells great." Temari said, sitting down. Ino smiled and put a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of her.
"Ino you're a great cook!" Gaara said happily, making Ino laugh. She poured him a glass of orange juice. Temari smiled and took a big bite, it was as good as it smelled.
"How did you learn to cook like this?" Kankuro asked, stuffing his mouth full.
"My mom taught me when I was 14. Looks like it comes in handy huh?" She asked, putting a few dishes in the sink and sitting next to Temari.
"Thanks Ino." Temari said, taking another bite. Ino nodded.
"How's your head?" Ino asked, taking a drink of her milk. Temari shrugged.
"Still hurts a bit." She lied, her head was pounding. Ino didn't looked very convinced though.
After Gaara and Kankuro were done eating they went and sat in the living room, watching TV. Temari helped Ino wash the dishes. Ino pulled a bottle of aspirin out of her purse and handed Temari two tablets.
Temari was surprised. She took them from her and popped them, drinking some water after.
"I can finish the dishes; I can tell your head still hurts." Ino said, pulling a chair out from the table. Temari nodded and sat down, rubbing her temples with her hands. Ino frowned.
"Well I have to go home now, my mom wants to take me shopping." She said, standing in front of the pained girl. Temari nodded.
"We can make up the rest of the studding later tonight if you not busy." She said, standing up next to her.
"How about 6:00?" She said, heading for the door. Temari followed her. Gaara noticed her leaving and ran over to the door.
"Good bye Ino, it was nice meeting you." Ino laughed and waved goodbye.
"Bye Gaara, see you Kankuro." She said to the boy sitting on the couch. He yelled by.
"I'll walk you home." Temari said softly, putting on her jacket. Ino nodded and they both walked out.
"Maybe you should just go lay down, you still seem like you're in pain." Ino said, walking next to her. Temari shook her head.
"It's fine. Where do you live?" Temari asked, walking a bit slower, trying to ease the aching pain in the front of her skull. Ino frowned.
"I actually only live around the corner." Ino said, Temari nodded.
A few minutes later the two girls stopped in front of a white house, about the size of Temari's, just a little bigger.
"I want to thank you again for getting Gaara back to sleep, it takes me like an hour to get him back to sleep after an hour, but you got him back to sleep in minutes." She said chuckling.
"It's no problem, he's a cute kid. I love kids." She said, walking up the stairs. She stopped and walked back down.
"Do you have a phone?" Ino asked.
"Yeah, but I left it at phone. If you want to give me your number I'll text you." She said smiling. Temari usually didn't get along very good with people, but for some reason she felt very at ease with Ino.
"Let me just get a pen and paper." Ino said, walking towards the door.
"You can just tell me it, I'll remember it." Temari said. She had almost perfect memory. Ino chuckled.
After Ino told Temari her number, she started walking home.
She was glad that she had the chance to hang out with the blond, she was very nice. Gaara only liked a few of Temari's friends, so it was nice to able to hang out with someone. All Temari had to worry about was Kankuro. She laughed and continued home.
When she got home she opened the door and found Gaara and Kankuro still watching TV. She was in a very good mood, ignoring the pain behind her eyes. She walked next to the couch.
"I'm going to go take a nap for a bit, Gaara could you make sure Kankuro doesn't destroy the house?" She asked laughing, Gaara nodded and she walked to the hall, ruffling Kankuro's hair while she walked by. He growled at her and she just smiled. She got into her room and pulled her shirt off, then proceeded to pull off her pants. She slipped under the covers and sighed. The pillow felt great on her sore head. After a few minutes she drifted off to sleep, the last image in her head was of a certain blond girl.
Ino got home carrying a few bags, her mom followed behind her and they both set their bags on the table. She checked her phone and there was a text.
Text From Temari: Don't forget your book.
Ino smiled and her mom noticed.
"Is that your new friend?" She asked. Ino nodded and began texting back. Her dad walked into the room.
"Hey honey, how was shopping?" He said, his wife walking into his arms. Ino giggled, her parents always were mushy.
"It was fine; Ino couldn't decide what to buy. Like always." Her mother said laughing.
"She takes after her mother I guess." Ino's dad said, receiving a light slap on the chest from his wife.
Text to Temari: I won't. How is your head feeling?
Ino carried her bags upstairs to her room. After a few minutes she had packed all the cloths she bought into her closet, she fell backwards onto her bed, enjoying the soft plush of her blanket. The sun was shining through her window. It was a nice day outside.
Text From Temari: It's feeling a lot better. I took a nap and your aspirin worked wonders.
Ino smiled and quickly typed back.
Text To Temari: That's good (:
Text From Temari: Alright, I'll see you when you get here.
Ino smiled and shoved the phone into her pocket; she closed her eyes and thought about a few things. She sat up and went into the bathroom. She quickly ran out, forgetting a towel. She stripped down and jumped into the shower.
30 minutes later Ino stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a pink tank top and white jeans, her hair was still wet. She was humming as she plugged her blow dryer in, turning it onto high power. She turned the sink on and squeezed toothpaste on her red toothbrush. After brushing for a minute or two she spit into the sink and then started to dry her hair off.
She looked at the clock, it was 6:05. She looked in the mirror and she was ready, her hair was up in her classic pony tail and her bright blue eyes could be seen a mile away. She pulled her jacket on and walked downstairs.
"Mom I'm heading over to Temari's!" She yelled into the kitchen. She didn't hear a response. She shrugged and walked out the door. She saw a man running down the side walk in the opposite direction, she didn't think about it too much though. She turned and started walking towards Temari's.
A few minutes later she arrived and knocked at the door. She heard a few yells and then her new blond friend opened the door.
Temari turned around. "Kankuro stop messing with Gaara!" She yelled, Ino giggled and walked in. The two walked and sat on the couch. Ino pulled her Biology book out of her purse, it barley fit in there. She looked at Temari; she was flipping through the pages of her teacher's book looking for the right lesson.
_
"Can we take a break now? I'm exhausted." Ino said, slouching onto the couch. Temari smiled.
"Sure, I probably should make dinner anyway." Temari said, standing up and putting her teachers book onto the table in front of the couch. Ino stood up and followed her into the kitchen.
"I'll help, what are you making?" Ino said, leaning onto the counter. Temari tapped her finger onto her chin. She didn't have much, she had to go shopping.
"Maybe I'll just order in." Temari said, grabbing the phone from the wall and looking through a Chinese food menu. Ino nodded and sat at the table, laying her head down onto the clean kitchen table. She listened to Temari talk on the phone. She ordered for Kankuro and Gaara, Ino guessed that she knew there favorite foods from that place.
"What do you want?" Temari asked, tossing the blond girl the menu. Ino looked through for a few seconds before telling Temari what she would like to eat. Temari told the person and then hung up.
"I'm starved." Temari said, feeling her stomach growled. Ino heard it and laughed. Temari couldn't help but laugh a bit too.
"What do you want to do until we get our food? TV?" Temari asked, Ino nodded and the two blonds walked back into the living room and Temari turned on the TV. After a few minutes of flipping through channels Temari turned on the local news.
"A man and woman were murdered today, stabbed to death gruesomely." A woman newscaster said. Ino frowned.
"Turn this crap off, I hate the news...WAIT! That..That's my house!" Ino said franticly. She felt her heart shook; this had to be a nightmare. She quickly sat up and ran out the front door, leaving her purse and jacket. Temari looked at the TV in shock, then got up and chased after her friend.
Ino ran. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, what felt like days were just seconds, she flew around the corner. She heard Temari calling after her but she didn't care. She kept running, she was not even half way down the street before she saw police lights and sirens. Tears were flying out of her eyes.
"NO! NOOOO!" Ino yelled, being held back by two officers. She continued to scream, everything was like a blur, she could still make out two body's being wheeled out under plastic wraps, blood dripping off the sides.
"Are you Ino? Ino Yamanaka?" A cop asked. Ino was sitting in the back of an ambulance, wrapped in a blanket. Temari sat close to her, making sure to hold her hand.
Ino just nodded her head. She was in shock. The police asked her a few more questions but she didn't speak a word. She would randomly start crying, and Temari could see why. When Temari was younger she cried every day for a year, she wanted to die.
"Do you have a place to stay Ino?" The police officer asked. "If not we have a foster home ready." Ino did not respond, Temari frowned.
"She can stay with me, I have extra room." She said quickly. The officer nodded and walked away, leaving Temari his card to contact him. Temari felt a empty feeling inside of her, she knew what Ino was feeling was something she could never fathom, having both your parents murdered. She sighed, and stood up taking Ino's hand with her, after a few seconds Ino stood next to her. Temari intertwined their fingers together and began walking towards her house. Temari didn't even try to talk.
When they got home Gaara was asleep on the couch, Kankuro was in his bed. Temari sighed and walked the pained blond girl to her bed room. Ino sat down on the edge of Temari's bed. She bursted into tears. Temari wrapped her arms around the girls' waist.
"Everything will be alright Ino; I know you're in pain..." She said slowly, she felt Ino's arms wrap around her neck. Temari felt her neck and shoulder becoming damp but it didn't bother her. Ino cried into her shoulder for what felt like hours.
Temari finally laid Ino down in her bed, pulling the covers over her. She frowned, today was a dark day in Ino's life. A tear rolled down Temari's cheek, before she turned off the light and closed the door. She walked into the living room and sat next to Gaara, who was sleeping on the couch; she put her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him, despite tears rolling down her face. She kissed his forehead and walked back into the hall way, and into Gaara's room.
I know the first chapter went through a lot of things pretty quickly but after this things will slow down a bit. Please review and enjoy!