Cancer, so Naruto had cancer.
To be honest, Gaara was not expecting such a serious illness. The blonde boy was so happy and full of energy; there was no way he could have guessed that, not in a million years. So where did he go from here? Should he pretend that he never asked and play dumb? After all, telling the other that he knew would mean admitting that he had asked and that would be like admitting that he cared.
Which he didn't…did he?
No, no, Gaara definitely did not care. Why would he? He wouldn't…didn't…doesn't. Whatever, right now, that was the least of his worries. After Sakura had deemed him ready she had led him beyond the threshold of his room and out into the mysterious beyond. Apparently he was in a watch area. He probably should have guessed that, but it surprised him all the same.
She must have sensed his uneasiness because she turned and gave him a reassuring smile. As much as he'd hate to admit it, it sort of worked. Actually, the whole place gave him a sense of calm. He couldn't really explain it. Just being there, it gave him a small amount of hope; perhaps things could change, get better. Maybe he wouldn't have to be so messed up anymore.
It was weird to have such positive thoughts. Now that somebody knew, was paying attention to him, he couldn't help but be just a little happier.
"Gaara?" the red head stopped and looked up.
"We're here." She pointed to the large metal double doors in front of her, pulling out a set of keys and an ID card to open them. "This is the ward where you will be staying."
Gaara looked around anxiously as they entered a large area. To his left was a small nurse's station and directly in front of that was a tiled area with tables. To his right was a large open space. The only thing that filled it was the large plastic chair/booths and a small TV against the wall. On the far right and just behind it were sets of doors. They must have been the other patient's rooms.
"Shizune-san?" Sakura walked up to the nurse's desk and peeked behind. "Shizune-san, I brought the new patient."
Gaara winced lightly as a grunt followed by a loud crash sounded throughout the room. A couple papers flew out from behind the desk as Sakura picked them up quickly. They must be patient files, perhaps even his own.
"A-ah, thank you very much Sakura-chan. I've been so busy lately!" She turned to Gaara, "So, you must be Gaara. I'm Shizune, the head nurse. We have a few things to do before I can't let you get settled so if you would please follow me."
He looked to his pink haired friend as she nodded her approval. Looking silently at the ground he followed the dark haired woman into what looked to be a small conference room. She closed and locked the door behind her, setting the clipboard down on the large table.
"Alright, Gaara. I have a few things that you have to help me fill out here. This first one, "She pulled out a piece of paper with a person in the anatomical position on it, "Is for you to draw on. Take this red pen and wherever you cut yourself I want you to recreate it here."
Gaara felt his cheeks get warm. These people kept saying things about him and his problems…and yet, they just moved on with things like it was normal. Maybe for them it was.
He nodded, doing as he was told. It only took him a minute before he handed it back; shame staining his cheeks.
"Alright, you didn't come here with mush so we don't have to go through your belongings. Um…Oh! Rules and regulations! They're pretty straight forward, but listen well anyway."
Gaara sat silently nodding his head every once in a while to show that he was still listening. Shizune took longer than he suspected, but it was done quickly enough.
"And that's it. Any questions?" he shook his head. "OK then. Come on, I'll take you out onto the floor and you can start getting to know people."
He cringed inwardly. He didn't do well with people normally and he was pretty sure that this wasn't going to be much different. He prayed that there weren't too many that were too young. He didn't do well with children. There was just something about them that he couldn't handle; that set him off.
Once they left the room, Shizune left his side, giving him an encouraging pat on the back before heading to the nurse's area. Gaara looked around. There were only a few other patients, none of which, that looked normal.
There was a couple in the corner that he spotted first. The smaller of the two was a young, lighter red head. He was talking to what Gaara had assumed to be a girl, but on closer examination, had determined to be a guy. He had long blonde hair, half of which was held in a pony; his bangs falling over the left side of his face.
A second pair sat not too far away. These two were far more bizarre looking than the others had been. Perhaps one of the weirdest, scariest people in the entire world was the dark skinned male. His arms and face were covered in scars and healing gashes. Looking at him reminded him of himself and his own cuts, but nothing compared to the other male. He even had scars starting from the corners of his mouth leading up towards his cheek bones. It was gruesome. His friend on the other hand seemed fairly normal. His lengthily short silver hair was combed back and his person looked almost boring. His smile was something else though. It held a hint of underlying insanity; something that made Gaara quite nervous.
Compared to these people, Gaara looked like an angel, the perfect child. He honestly wondered how he was going to survive this. How long was he going to be here? It could be weeks, months even! He wasn't so sure he could handle that.
Talk the talk and walk the walk. That's all he had to do to get out of here and he was determined to leave, one way or another.
…
I am so sorry this took so long to update. I've been pretty busy lately, what with school and some family issues going on.
On another note, my friend's mom passed away on the 23rd of March. She was the one I had mentioned before. Honestly, she was the main inspiration for this story; this is my dedication for her.
ASDFGHJKL OK, enough sadness.
Don't forget to leave a review!~