Lay Me Down
"You stupid little cunt!" Gaaras father yelled, and the room was filled with the sounds of flesh hitting flesh as he continuously kept hitting his youngest son.
"You killed her, it's your fault shes dead!" he screamed as he reigned down hit after hit on the small red-headed child.
"What are you doing you crazy fuck!" Kankuro yelled, he was ten years older than Gaara who had just turned 8 a few days ago. The older boy ran and tackled his father and held him down before hitting him a few times to get him to calm down.
"You can not do that to your own son! He couldn't have done anything to stop mom from dying and its time you learned that!" Kankuro screamed as he punched his father again.
"You ever hit him again and it will be the last thing you ever do." Kankuro said as he picked up the small boy and carried him out of the one bed room apartment he and his father shared in Suna.
Kankuro carried Gaara to his own apartment that he shared with his boyfriend Kiba. Gaara had always liked visiting his older brother and 'uncle' Kiba. He liked playing with Akamaru their big German Sheppard.
"What happened?" Kiba asked coming into the living room to see Kankuro gripping his younger brothers bleeding and bruised little body.
"It was our father, I told him I would be coming over and when I got there I found him wailing on Gaara. I all but beat the piss out of him." Kankuro said. He walked over to the couch and laid the still little body down on the couch and then collapsed. He had no idea that today was going to be this rough.
Neji Hyuga was turning 9 in a few days and couldn't be happier. He had a loving father, and a mother who doted on his every move. He was the perfect child at that, he listened to his parents and did everything that was asked of him.
They all lived inside the Hyuga compound just outside the city, in the suburbs of Konoha. He was walking down the hallway towards his uncles office, that was where he usually found his father. His uncle was some kind of politician. Nothing big time, but still a very important man.
When he got to his uncles office he found his uncle and aunt crying, along with his cousin Hinata. They had sent the maids to look for Neji but it was all for naught it seemed as he had found them.
That is where they broke the news to him, that his parents had been killed while taking Hiashis place at a convention. It happened as they where walking into their hotel room, the man had been waiting for them and when he saw them he shot first and asked questions later.
Neji felt everything fall out from underneath of him, and the next thing he knew he was being held by his aunt. Tears gushing down his face he didn't understand. It seemed like just five minutes ago he was the happiest little boy in the world, and sadly it seemed that way because it was.
Six years after that Neji Hyuga was getting ready to start is tenth grade semester at Konoha High School. He has had perfect grades since elementary school. He is possibly the most well-behaved boy in the entire school.
After his parents death Hiashi raised Neji as his own son. Sometimes it was like he forgot he wasn't really Nejis dad, but he never left Neji wanting for a thing, though he never asked for much. Sasuke Uchiha was his best friend since before he lost his parents, they could always be found in the others company.
Neji always felt like something in his life was missing, and it went beyond his parents, but like a part of himself wasn't whole. It didn't matter what his uncle gave him or what his friends did.
Six years after that incident Gaara started living with Kankuro and Kiba. He didn't have many friends throught out middle school and most people just left him to himself, but he was about to go through one of the biggest changes of his life, because in a week he was starting high school.
Kankuro was very proud of Gaara, despite the things their father had beaten into him as a child Kankuro and Kiba had been trying to fill the void of parents in Gaaras life. Kankuro saw him more as a son then a brother, but he never patronized him. He knew he wasn't his father, but he looked after him all the same. The ten-year age difference played a big part to.
The next weeks seemed to go by so quickly, Gaara found himself sitting on a bus at six in the morning. The first day of high school, he wasn't nervous. He just wanted to get high school over with.
He got there and immediately every girl in eye sight of him had stars in their eyes. He had his own fan club and he was not happy. At 5 foot 9 he was taller than most girls, but still shorter than most of the other guys. He weighed around 130 pounds and was built very nicely. His shoulder length red hair was naturally messy and he hated brushing it, so he rarely did.
Sakura, a pink haired girl was the first one to come up and try to talk to him, followed very closely by the blonde haired Ino, Gaara had known them since middle school. They hadn't paid him any attention then, he was hoping things would have remained the same, but alas it seemed his luck had run out.
"Gaara?!" Sakura said with stars in her eyes. Gaara said nothing and crossed his arms over his chest. He wore a black button up shirt, a pair of black jeans that hugged his hips and a pair of red chucks. He was never a fan of his looks, but from Kibas drooling this morning he guessed he must have looked half decent.
"OH my god Gaara... Your hot..." Ino said very bluntly, half drooling herself. Gaara was then ganged up on by more than half the female student body.
Sasuke was standing by the door watching the whole ordeal with a chuckle, at least he didn't have to deal with the crazy fan girls for now.
Gaara found himself running down the halls. He didn't know the layout of the school and right now that worked to his advantage because the girls chasing him didn't know the layout either. He saw his best friend all the way at the other end of the hall, it was hard to miss the bright yellow hair.
Gaara ran and jumped onto Naruto and wrapped his legs around him, "Play along" Gaara whispered into his ear. He felt Naruto nod. Naruto owed him one anyway.
"OH NO NOT AGAIN!" Sakura screamed as she saw Naruto and Gaara making out against the lockers. Followed but other moans of unhappiness and other words of anger. After the girls had dispersed Gaara hopped down and brushed his clothes off.
"What the hell was that about?" Naruto asked.
"I needed to get them of my ass." Gaara said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. In this case it was, the blonde was just to dense to understand.
"So you decide to make out with me?" Naruto said exasperated.
"It was a spur of the moment thing and I didn't hear you complaining." Gaara replied. He had once, long ago, thought of Naruto like that, but no longer. He had become to good of a friend.
"Well okay then." Naruto finally said his face bright red. The two walked down the hallway and stood in a corner they found suited them. They could see everyone who came in the door and had multiple escape routes planed out.
"So how was your summer vacation?" Naruto asked.
"Kiba and Kankuro took me to the beach." Gaara said and hung his head.
"And?" Naruto asked.
"They made me get a tattoo." came he quiet reply.
"I don't see any tattoo." Naruto said accusingly.
Gaara sighed and leaned off the wall, and he lifted the back of his shirt up to revel a tattoo on his lower back. A tramp stamp by any other name. It was a Kanji, it stood for love.
Naruto wolf whistled and then laughed. Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow. Those had burned off one night he tried to cook for Kiba and Kankuro on their anniversary and had just never grown back.
"Its pretty hot." Naruto said. Gaara twitched and then snapped a quick punch into Narutos ribcage.
"It doesn't leave this conversation." Gaara said threateningly.
"I don't get how such a little guy like you packs such a big punch." Naruto said with a nod. "I get the point though."
"Good." came the gruff reply.
The two had ben friends since they got into a fight back in middle school. Gaara had beat Narutos ass up and down the hallway. To be honest Naruto did deserve it, after calling Gaara a faggot for wearing rainbow socks. After that he felt even more guilty once he realized he himself was gay.
Neji walked into the school noticing a lack of girls hounding him. He walked up to Sasuke and found he also had no girls bothering him.
"Whats going on? Did our fan clubs abandon us?" Neji asked hopefully.
"It seems they found a new target earlier this morning. One Gaara Subaku." Sasuke said.
"It must be to good to be true." Neji said.
The two walked in to the building and Sauske pointed out the red-head boy. "That's him." He said.
Nejis jaw all but hit the floor. Gaara was the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on. The blood-red hair stuck out like a sore thumb against all the drab colors around them, well other than the bright yellow of Narutos.
"I can see why they would be interested." where the only words Neji could make out. Sauske gave him a disbelieving look.
"Not you to Neji." Sasuke said.
"You have no room to talk. I've seen the way you look at Naruto." Naji said with a massive smirk.
Gaara caught him from across the room, if he was honest with himself, he noticed him the second he walked in the door. He was HOT. Far out of his league for sure. His milky white eyes seemed to look right into him, it was like they were cutting through the bullshit walls he had set up and he saw Gaara for who he was as a person.
He walked with a swagger that screamed high-class, but not conceded. He was a man who screamed that he was important, but not over the top. He wore a white short-sleeved button up shirt and a pair of light brown cargo shorts.
Naruto was studying his friend and found he was staring, very openly, at Neji Hyuga.
"Why don't you just go say Hi?" Naruto smirked.
"Shut up." Gaara muttered.
Neji saw him looking at him and smiled. Not a smirk but a smile. Sasuke made a sound like he was going to gag and then parted ways with his friend. Neji didn't pay him any attention. His focus was elsewhere.
"Well hello there. Neji Hyuga." Neji said, Gaara had stopped looking at him, and was deep in conversation with Naruto, who was now staring wide-eyed at Neji. Gaara slowly turned around and his mouth fell open and his cheeks turned a bright pink.
"Im told I have you to thank for not being accosted this morning by the female population." Neji said extending his hand. Gaara took it and shook it, but he felt lost in Nejis eyes. He shook his head and recomposed himself.
"Gaara." He said introducing himself, though he knew Neji probably already knew his name.
That was the start of a friendship between Garra Subaku and Neji Hyuga that became the topic of discussion for many years to come in Konoha High School. Classic wrong side of the tracks friendship. The rich boy who had more swagger then he knew what to do with, and the trouble maker who was notorious for getting into fights.