Chapter Two
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"He's going to find out, I just know it." Naruto was muttering to himself. His tongue was jutted out to one side of his face and his expression was that of stern concentration. He pressed several buttons on the game pad, trying, but not really having the focus to slay his step brother at the current game on the screen. He watched pitifully as the K.O. flashed. He'd gotten him again. Grumbling, he hung his head and slouched in his position. The chair rumbled beneath him that was attached to the game's sound, signally, more potently, that he'd lost.
Sasuke arched a brow at him, but went back to the picking of another character and round setting. "Who's going to find what out, moron? At least make sure the other person knows what you're talking about when you begin a conversation."
Naruto narrowed his eyes at him, as if to ponder which way to kill him first. Burning him at a stake sounded good... he'd use a gun but he didn't have one... perhaps a knife? No.. too messy. "This is all your fault." And then he turned back to the game.
Sasuke's lips pursed in avid curiosity. "The game?"
"No, you idiot. Now he's going to know." And then he selected a character as well. The screen flashed, signaling the start of the next match.
"Who's going to know what?" His eyes went back to the screen, coal depths narrowing in concentration as he made the character do several flips to avoid Naruto's rather large one.
"Who do you think? Like I said, it's your fault." And then he growled as the screen flashed another defeat.
Sasuke dropped the controller, refusing to go any further without an explanation. "Who, dropout? Who? Believe it or not, I really can't read your mind. And really, I'd rather not be able to."
Naruto went about changing the game to one player and went to story mode, refusing to quit because Sasuke wanted to talk. He needed a distraction. Funny too, because he was the one who stupidly brought it up. "Gaara. Because of you he's going to find out I wrote that stupid love song."
Sasuke rolled his eyes, getting up to go to the kitchen not far away and grabbed a soda. "It was anonymous, dumbass. The point of anonymous is no one finds out." He said this as though he were talking to a child or an errant kid who just wasn't understanding something.
"It'd be great if it was. But soon, it won't be anymore." He finally gave up as the game kicked his ass. He dropped the controller on the floor and joined Sasuke in the kitchen. He moved to dig through the fridge as his brother leaned against a counter with his back to it, popping a soda open.
"Why not? Your name wasn't on it and you hardly speak to the guy."
Naruto grabbed the leftover pizza from last night and took out a slice before closing the fridge and moved towards the microwave. "No, it wasn't. But, now I have to work with him." He grabbed a plate from the cabinet and dropped the cold morsel onto it. Lazily, he shoved it in the microwave and started the cooking process. "Iruka-sensei wants us to write a musical together. I do the lyrics and compose the sound and he writes the play."
Sasuke took a sip of his off brand Coke before replying. "Is that why you went in early today? I had been wondering. You never go to school early." It was all said rather nonchalantly.
"Aren't you worried about this?"
"No."
Naruto looked... sad. But in a purely humorous sort of manner. Much like the look he'd given him when he wouldn't take him to the ramen shop.
"What?" He arched a brow. And then took on a look of 'why me' as Naruto kept his sad look up. "Let's say he found out. How bad could it be?"
Naruto looked horrified. "So.. what... Are you crazy? He'll think I'm gay."
"Yeah, well, you probably are. Only gay men write love songs about guys." He smirked and began to move towards the dining table, idly grabbing a magazine off the counter as he did so.
"I hate you." He muttered as he followed him with his pizza and sat down at the table.
He flipped through it, looking for an article. "Yeah, yeah, I love you to. So, let's just say he found out. It's not like anyone else would. Gaara's pretty reserved." He rested his chin on his fist, staring down at a picture. "Well, that and he seems to not like you much."
Naruto starting munching down on the slice and then swallowed. He licked red sauce from his mouth. "All the more reason for him to tell every body and leave my life a living hell."
"You're such a drama queen. He won't tell anyone."
"How can you possibly be so sure?"
Sasuke shrugged, taking another sip. "Call it a hunch."
Naruto paused then. Sasuke's hunches were pretty dead on. He'd never been wrong that Naruto could recall. So, maybe he really did have nothing to worry about. Maybe, just maybe, even if he did make the connection, Gaara wouldn't say anything to him or anyone else. And maybe, if Naruto was lucky, he'd get over these obsessive feelings. He liked women. He liked breasts. He liked long hair and soft female lips. Not men.
There was a sudden knock at the door and Naruto stood up to go get it. When he did a flurry of blond and boobs passed him by into the home, not even bothering to ask for entrance. He stood there, door open and brow arched. "Hello to you too." And then he closed the door.
Her hair was down, falling waist length. Her clothing pretty normal today. Black jeans and a blue top with a green undershirt. He didn't blame her for the undershirt, it was damn hard to keep those melons from falling out. He chuckled to himself.
Tsunade smiled. "Hello, Naruto, Sasuke." She stepped towards the dining room and Naruto followed her. He took his seat back. "I came to make sure everything was going ok. I called the school today and I'm happy to say your both doing quite well."
They both nodded idly.
"And, I hear your going to write and compose the songs for the musical in this year's drama competition, Naruto. The other student is Gaara, right? Sabuku Gaara?"
Naruto finished off his pizza, licking his fingers. "Yeah, sit down if you're going to stay for a bit. You wanna drink, Grandma?"
She visibly twitched as he used that name on her but, but let it slide. She'd tried numerous times to get him to stop with absolutely no luck whatsoever. No matter, she smirked a bit. "I know you have Saki stashed somewhere." She eyed Sasuke knowingly.
He blinked back as her. "What?"
"Don't 'what' me. I know you're the one stashing it." She was smirking at the raven-haired boy.
He took on an expression of indignation. "Feh, you won't do anything about it. You drink it more than I do. I just like the taste."
Naruto chuckled but grabbed the bottle and a small cup from the cupboard. He walked back to the table and set it in front of her. "Didn't you buy it the last time, Granny?"
Sasuke piped in then. "You're right." He smiled. "She did because she drank it all the last time she was here. Isn't that considered adding to the delinquency of a minor or something?"
She grunted. "Shut up." And downed her first glass. She looked over at Naruto and seemed to frown a bit. "You should know I didn't come here just to chat."
Naruto snorted. "Right. You came here to drink saki without that pervert bugging you."
She rolled her eyes. "No, it's not about that either. It's about the boy Gaara you'll be working with."
Now she was acting just plain odd. Tsunade, since he'd gotten to know her in the few short weeks, didn't do heart felt conversations. "What about him? He seems like an ass."
Sasuke coughed and Naruto narrowed his eyes on him as if to say 'shut up'.
"Well, there's a good reason for that."
"Yeah? Like what? Did someone shit in his Wheaties as a child?" He stood up and put his plate in the sink. The kid did seem like and ass despite the fact that Naruto found him... attractive... in a purely nonsexual way. Yes, purely nonsexual.
Tsunade sighed. "You could say that. Gaara lives with his two older siblings. His brother is a puppet master. An artist. He works for the Center for Puppetry Arts. He specializes in miniature Kabuki stuff. His sister is still in high school with him. A senior. She's trying to get a scholarship for Archery to a good school. Some think she might make it to the Olympics one day." She poured herself another drink.
"And, what does this have to do with me?" He got a drink from the fridge himself.
"Well, you're going to be working with him." She downed the next shot and licked her lips before continuing. "His father is rarely home and he lost his mother when he was born. The labor was very complicated."
Naruto closed the fridge as he listened and came back to his seat, soda in hand. He looked disgruntled. "So, his excuse for being a jerk is he has no mother and his dad's an absentee parent? Gee, I don't even have parents anymore. Maybe I should start being a jerk to people I don't know." His voice was laced with sarcasm.
Sasuke had to agree. "He's right you know. Our lives were much worse and Naruto is a shining example of the gay and joyfulness life should be." He meant the word in a purely 'happy' fashion. It still didn't stop his brother from glaring at him. He chuckled internally, but didn't let it show.
"Better to happy and nice than a scowling asshole."
Sasuke's only reply was a chuckle as he read his magazine.
"Anyway," Tsunade stressed as she continued. "there's more to it than that. In elementary school Gaara had a diary. A very personal diary. He wrote stories and poems in it all the time. And, well, you know how cruel kids can be. At any age. An older boy stole the book from him and in front of the entire class began to read from it."
"We all have embarrassing moments in elementary school. That's still no excuse to be cruel to people on a regular basis."
"You're right. It is no excuse." She leaned forward on the table and looked like she was feeling very empathetic. "But, in Gaara's case the diary was filled with love poems about other boys and men he found attractive in the media and out of it. So, everyone let it drag on for weeks and the teacher didn't do much about it. It wasn't until middle school it all finally quit and he put it behind him. No one really remembered. And those did just figured it was a 'faze'.
Then high school came around. I was working closely with a lot of the instructors to get the program you're in started and get kids into the appropriate grades."
Naruto was silent as she continued, Already more than a bit worried. His face showed slight expectation.
"One night there was a party going on at an American student's home. He was a transfer on a special scholarship. He was very bright and very popular among the other female students. His parents had even moved for the year to make sure he did well. Everything was going wonderfully. Especially for Gaara because he'd become very close with the student. You never saw them apart.
The American boy's parents were republicans. Very staunch in their religious beliefs. So, no one thought anything of it." She sighed. "And then the party took a turn for the worst. A series of students off in the backyard went looking for Gaara and the American student."
Naruto swallowed. "What happened?"
"He and Gaara were found in a very heated position, making out. Half of their clothing was scattered on the ground. It didn't take long for the students who found them to connect the dots. The rumors started all over again and the next day the American student's parents pulled him from school and moved."
She turned her small glass in her hands on the table. "His sister, who's still a student, made sure to let several school bullies who had tried to get physically rough with her brother know if they touched him ever again she'd well... you get the idea. A lot of pain would ensue. And those kids knew to leave well enough alone because Temari had started more than one fight in her freshman year. But.." she trailed off for a moment. "It didn't stop the talking. Nothing has and ever will, I'd imagine."
Naruto felt a wash of nervous dread and sadness. In one token he really wanted to back out of this whole school play thing now. But, on another token he really wanted to befriend the young man. He didn't hate gay people, but he wasn't gay himself. And if he ignored the boy, wouldn't he be just as bad as everyone else? That sent a wave of hated through his body. He wasn't like that. He wouldn't be. And in a way, he could understand the grief Gaara must feel over loosing someone probably very dear to him.
His mind suddenly flashed with a memory of his smiling mother and step father.
Tsunade smiled. "I just wanted to let you know since you'll be working closely with him for the next few months. Gaara really is a nice kid. He just... doesn't have any friends. The guys are scared of him and the girls don't know what to make of his cold demeanor. He's even had problems with a few of the teachers. Not everyone is so forgiving of sexuality." She stood up. "I'll be going now. You guys have a nice night and a good day at school tomorrow." With that, she left.
Naruto said nothing for a while. A very long while. And it wasn't until Sasuke said something that he moved at all.
"Seems your problems have just gotten bigger." His voice was actually soft.
Naruto looked over at him, his expression a mix of many. "I can't believe I did that. If I'd known... Had I had any idea... I wouldn't of put that damn thing in his locker. I feel like I was making fun of him."
Sasuke closed his magazine. "You weren't though. You feelings were real when you wrote them."
"But... "
"Quit trying to figure it out in your head. Stupid things happen when you think too much." He gave his brother a pat on his shoulder and started heading towards his room.
"I suppose..." His bit his lower lip as Sasuke left. He wasn't a mean person by nature. At most he could call the song a prank. A prank he wouldn't have done had he known more about Gaara. Now he just hated himself.
A lot.
ooo
Gaara opened the door to the house. It was rather quiet and dark. Many of the lights were turned off when he dropped his bag at the entrance. But, he saw a light coming from the kitchen and moved in that direction. His sister was at the counter, chopping up an onion. He moved towards the fridge, saying nothing.
His brother looked up from the mess on the kitchen table he'd made. Screws were everywhere. Wooden body parts twisted in odd directions. A few small bits of Japanese style clothing that only fit his creations were hung over one chair. "Welcome home," he remarked with a smile.
Temari looked up and grinned. She dropped her finished onion into a large pot on the stove. "I almost didn't see you. How was school?" She grabbed a towel and began to wipe her hands.
Gaara stared into the fridge for a while, not saying anything. Finally, he just closed it, no longer wanting a drink. "Boring."
Her smile never left. "Did you get it?"
He moved towards the table his brother occupied. "Get what?"
"Don't play dumb with me. I saw you leave early." She stirred the contents in the pot once over and then turned it on low. "The job for the school play in a few months."
"Ah," he remarked as if he'd finally understood what she said. He propped his chin up with his hand and watched his brother fiddle with a small puppet. He was screwing in a new set of legs. "Yes."
"I'm glad for you. I was talking to Shikamaru yesterday and I hear it's going to be a musical this year. How are you going to manage that?" She threw her towel on the counter and joined them at the table.
"I'm not."
A screw flew off in an odd direction and Kankurou muttered a curse. He turned to him and said, "Who then? You can't write music. Doesn't the play have to be original?"
Gaara's eyes narrowed as he thought about it. He leaned back in his chair and tapped a few fingers on the table. He paused and then responded. "Some dumbass Iruka picked. He rarely pays attention in class, so I have no idea how he's acing it."
Temari frowned and looked across the table at Kankurou. He caught the look in her eye and gave a look of 'what?'. She sighed. Gaara had been this way since elementary school. Somehow in middle school he'd managed to get better... but then after that incident... well, he'd just went back to being relatively cold. It hadn't even been his fault or the fault of the other student's. That didn't stop their father from coming home a few days after it though and well... it hadn't been pretty. She'd never seen Gaara so angry, so defensive, so cold, and so down right murderous to their father.
He'd left immediately after the argument, making an excuse of another business trip. But, they all had known he'd left because of their younger brother. Gaara and their father had never had a close relationship before to begin with.
"So, who is he?" Kankurou asked.
"I told you, some dumb ass."
"I mean his name."
His lips drew a flat line. "Not that' it's important, but, Uzamaki Naruto."
Temari seemed to think of something for a moment and then it looked like it dawned on her. "Isn't that the new transfer student? He has a brother doesn't he?"
"Yeah... Uchiha Sasuke."
His brother's brow furrowed. "Their last names are different?"
"They're step brothers."
Temari snapped her fingers in realization. "That's right. They're in Tsunade-sama's new program. The one where they take orphaned kids and try to get them ready to be productive members of society. It's a really good one. I know it helped quite a few students who would have otherwise drained to the bottom of the system."
Gaara didn't say anything for a moment. "They're orphans?"
Kankurou muttered another curse when the arm of his contraption gave him issue. "That's odd, most siblings, especially step siblings, don't stay together when they're run through the system."
Temari nodded and stood up to check on her stew. "That's true. I wonder what they're story is." She smiled softly as she stirred. "You'll find out though, since you'll be working with him, hm?"
"I could care less what his story is."
There he went again, she idly thought. She wished it'd never happened. He'd been so close to Joshua. He's been such a nice guy. Whenever Gaara talked about him in that first year his whole face lit up. It's like the American had made him into an entirely different person. And she knew Joshua returned the emotions.
She knew the rumors were bad. But that hadn't really been what hurt Gaara. He was strong and she knew he could have dealt with that if the young man had stuck by his side. What hurt the most was watching the boy he cared about leave. He didn't even know about it. The next day he was just... gone. And Gaara had been left with nothing but whispered rumors.
It had made everything worse. Everything. He came home crying that first night and refused to speak to either of his siblings. He locked himself in his room. And then... then his father came home.
Vincent Sabuku ran in very high circles. They weren't rich by any means, but, he worked for people with very high standards. As soon as he'd gotten wind of it, which was that day, he came home and scolded his son. He'd been embarrassed, furious, and couldn't understand why his son had done it. He, like everyone else during Gaara's elementary years, had assumed it was a faze. Some sort of year of confusion.
Gaara had been torn up over Joshua's quick goodbye without even a goodbye attached to it. So, he'd yelled back. He didn't understand why he liked guys. He just did. Apparently, it'd been a pretty big blow to her father's ego. He loved his children, all of them, in his own way. But, he didn't tolerate his son's preference and made it quite clear.
"What are we eating?" Gaara pulled her from her thoughts.
"Vegtable and meat curry."
He nodded. "I'm going to my room. Let me know when it's ready." He left and coolly as he'd entered. His brother and sister idly watched him with expressions of worry.
"So... Uzamaki Naruto, huh?"
"Seemed like he's not happy about the prospect," Temari said as she stirred the pot's concoction.
"No, it doesn't." He finally finished the puppet and began to clean up.
"Think he'll bring him by?"
He shrugged as everything started going back into his tool box and wooden chest. "He'll be spending a few months with him. One would have to assume 'yes'."
She paused for a long time, thinking about saying something. "It'd be the first time he brought someone home since Joshua."
Kankurou gave his sibling and angled look as he walked up next to her. "Just because he's working with another guy doesn't mean he'll like him. Joshua was special. Very special."
She looked to be pouting. An odd look for the strong woman. "I know... but. He's so..."
"One guy is not going to fix Gaara. Like I said, Joshua was special. We shouldn't expect one guy to anyway." And then he walked out of the kitchen to put up his things.
She frowned, tapping her chin as she stared down at the pot, seeing her reflection. "Still..." she said to herself."... it would be nice to see him smile again..."
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Ednama, thank you for the review. It's much appreciated. And. you're right, it is very reminiscent of Silentz's Reasonable Madness. But, this will not be the same. I loved the way she did her characterizations of Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara and Kankurou; so, in a my own way I'm trying to keep with those. I also loved the banter between Naruto and Gaara even though I always see Gaara as very neutral when it comes to people later on in the anime. But, based on what happened to him in her story, it makes sense. You could say I'm writing a fanfiction of her fanfiction.
My story will be like hers in the sense of characterizations and Gaara being generally angry at the world for a 'horrible' reason. But, it will be different in many other ways. Many twists to this plot line. -smiles- But, I really just realized I forgot to dedicate my inspiration to her for this story. I read hers through twice. Chasm too. What a wonderful writer. -fixed that now-
