A/N:
Hello,
Sorry about the late update, but exams were taking up my time. Hope you enjoy reading it, and now on with the story.
Warning: This is a maleXmale fic. It is rated M for language, and adult themes. This is an
AU fic, and characters are mostly OOC.
Neji X Gaara
Sasuke X Naruto
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor will I in the foreseeable future.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
A Case of Malady
"I can't wait for Halloween!" exclaimed a jubilant Naruto.
In his excitement he had smacked Gaara on the back earning him a very hostile glare from the red-head sitting next to him.
"Sheesh. Calm down, Naruto," Kiba said in a slightly annoyed tone, although he was also secretly thrilled about the upcoming holiday. I mean, who wouldn't be?
It was the one night of the year where you could dress up and run around at night, all the while acting like little children. If that wasn't great enough, people actually gave away FREE candy simply for knocking on their door. What could be better than that?
Yep, Kiba really liked Halloween.
Beneath a cherry tree, the rest of group was gathered around a table each eating their home-made lunch.
"What a troublesome holiday. Why would anyone want to cut down on their sleep time just for a few pieces of candy?"
Clearly not understanding the fascination everyone had with the holiday, Shikamaru simply shook his head as if it was all just too troublesome to deal with.
"What?" yelled a rather shocked blue-eyed blonde, "you would rather sleep than go trick-or-treating! Shikamaru, I am going to PERSONALLY drag your ass out this Halloween and you WILL have fun even if I have to BEAT it into you!"
"Geez, Naruto. Kill him why don't you," Kiba said in the same tone while rolling his eyes at Naruto's Halloween mania, "besides, you'll probably have to literally drag him around all night. He'll probably fall asleep on you as soon as you turn your back."
"W-why don't we all d-do something t-to-ge-ther?" Hinata shyly asked.
At 16 she was still shy but not as shy as she'd been at age 13 when their group had first formed.
Back then, she had had a school girl crush on Naruto, but was too shy to even think about telling him. But, as time passed she discovered that her feelings for the blonde boy were merely of admiration. She admired Naruto for his self-confidence, courage, and above all she admired his boldness.
Naruto was everything she was not. He embodied qualities she had always wanted in herself, yet could never display being the timid girl she was; however, she was slowly learning how to step out of her shy cocoon which was more than she had ever thought possible.
"What did you have in mind Hinata?" asked Choji.
He was also fond of the holiday, and spending Halloween with his friends sounded like a good idea.
Hinata was taken by surprise, she had just thought it would be nice to spend Halloween with her friends; she hadn't really thought about doing anything in particular.
"Ah-Ah-h…I-I didn't really ha-have anything in mind," she stuttered out.
"It's okay Hinata," Naruto spoke up, earning a grateful smile from the shy girl, "why don't we all think about it. We can throw some ideas out next time we meet, hopefully that'll give us enough time to come up with something good."
Everyone nodded in agreement, spending their remaining lunch hour eagerly talking about possible things they could do on Halloween.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Two months had passed by without much incident. Naruto and Gaara had become very close in that time and spent a considerable amount of time with each other, something that did not escape Kankuro's or Temari's notice.
They had been a little surprised that their anti-social little brother had made friends so quickly—considering his apathetic attitude.
However, once they met the energetic ball of sunshine also known as Naruto, they immediately understood how the blonde boy had gotten passed Gaara's usual cold exterior. They were grateful to the blonde for bringing some happiness to their little brother, although Gaara didn't show it, they could see the subtle difference that engulfed his personality.
Gaara was less paranoid and a little more open, even going as far as speaking to them in complete sentences.
Moving to Konoha had been a good move on their part and as time slowly passed by the Sabaku siblings began to understand that family was more than shared chromosomes—it was the awareness that whatever happened, be it good or bad, they would always have someone to share it with.
Growing up in their father's household, simple things such as a shared moment of happiness with another was a rare occurrence, especially when dinner time came around. All three siblings new what dinner time meant—shared time with their father (if he happened to be home).
However, shared moments with their father were never happy.
Back in Suna, dinner was a formal play where everyone had a part to play. The rise of the curtain occurred on cue when the grandfather clock dinged the 7 o'clock hour announcing the start of dinner and Act I.
A blonde female would enter the scene eyes a little dimmed with sadness. Not far behind her a tall teenage male with messy brown hair would enter via a side door. At his arrival, sad eyes gained a little light and the female gave a genuine smile to her older brother.
The two would talk to each other for a few minutes, each asking about their day always being careful to stay away from the subject of family.
As the seconds ticked away and slowly turned to minutes, the mood of the two siblings would hover between a sense of happiness that their small chats induced, and the impending doom that would soon make its presence known, but had yet to make his appearance.
Happiness was an ever fleeting joy the two experienced, and as the clock struck ten minutes after the hour the ever present essence that hovered over their happiness would make his way into the scene.
Striding to his seat at the head of the table without any greetings towards his two children, the father of the two would take his seat and gesture to them to sit as well.
Not wanting to make their father angry, the two would immediately take their seats across from each other. By this time, the food had already been served by the blonde female, and the three of them would start dinner never waiting for the fourth member of the family to arrive.
A few minutes into the meal, a small red-head would enter the scene and thus Act II could now commence.
At the sight of the late arrival, the mood of the table would instantly fall for all knew what was to come.
The father would sometimes ignore the last of his offspring, but most of the time he would make his opinion known.
The youngest Sabaku had no choice but to endure another meal of torment with his father, who had no qualms of making his life a little more miserable with his calculated comments, and so Act II would be a long scene in which the youngest child was emotionally abused by the person who was supposed to love him without reservation.
As the scene came to a close, the young red-head would lower his head all the while trying desperately to hold in the tears that were threatening to fall from his red lashes, while his father looked on at his struggles with a satisfied smirk on his face.
Act III, the final Act, would always be the most unpredictable; it ended according to the mood of the father of the three. If he was satisfied that he had made the youngest suffer enough, he would simply exit the scene and head toward his study were he would pour himself a bottle of Scotch. However, if he was unsatisfied with the red-head's suffering he would stay in his seat and start a conversation with his children. Both older siblings loathed these occurrences because they knew it did not bode well for their little brother.
Act III came to an end when the youngest of the three finally began to believe his father's words as truth, and see himself as his father saw him—a disgusting monster.
However, that was the past.
Now dinner time commenced when Temari's patience had finally reached its limit and she would yell at her two brothers to come down to dinner.
If she was in a particular nasty mood she would threaten their manhood as punishment for late arrivals. Not wanting to lose his precious buddy, Kankuro would hurriedly make his way downstairs only stopping by his little brother's room fully ready to drag him downstairs, and thus saving him from a fate worst than death.
Gaara wasn't one to be moved by threats, but according to Kankuro's way of thinking, he needed to set his priorities straight, and keeping your precious little buddy safe was a top priority for any guy.
On this particular night, Kankuro found Gaara's room empty. Assuming that his younger brother had already gone downstairs, he immediately made his way to the kitchen.
"Glad you could join us," Temari commented at his arrival.
"I was checking if Gaara was still in his room," he said by way of explanation, "you know how he is—no sense of self-preservation."
Smirking at her brother's words, the blonde simply pointed at the seat next to her where a young red-head was currently glaring at the brown-haired Sabaku.
Seeing his brother glaring at him, Kankuro simply let out a sigh—typical.
Dinner went by smoothly with only a few comments here and there about the days events. As Temari got up to check on the chocolate chip cookies currently cooling on the kitchen counter, the oldest Sabaku began to talk to his younger brother.
"So, what have you been up to lately?"
"…"
"Hmm, sounds interesting."
"…"
"So…how's the little ball of sunshine doing? Has he dragged you to the mall lately? Last time he managed to haul you down there he seemed a little more excited than usual."
Crossing his arms, Gaara turned his head, the perfect picture of a pouting child.
"He did not drag me anywhere. I DECIDED to go with him to keep him out of trouble, knowing him he would probably manage to burn down a shop."
"HA! HA! HA! HA!"
Kankuro clutched his stomach as he broke out in peals of laughter. It was always amusing to see Gaara behave like an innocent child.
"Who are you kidding with that lame explanation?"
In response, Gaara turned an I'm-going-to-bash-your-head-in-with-bat glare on Kankuro's laughing frame.
"What lame explanation?" asked a curious Temari while balancing a plate of cookies in her left hand. She had walked into the kitchen only to find Kankuro laughing so hard he had to hold on to the table top to keep himself from falling off his chair.
'Men are weird,' she thought as she raised an eyebrow at her brother's theatrics.
Gaara was soon distracted by the sight of chocolate chip cookies, and dropped the glare he was sending his older brother.
Noticing the attention Gaara was placing on the cookies, Temari set the plate down in front of him.
"Here. Take your pick," she said with a smile.
Gaara turned teal eyes on her, and for once allowed the small smile tugging at his mouth to blossom. As the moment passed between brother and sister, the youngest Sabaku picked up three cookies from the pile and placed them on a clean plate.
"Hey! How come he gets first dibs," yelled an outraged Kankuro, effectively ending the moment.
At Kankuro's outburst, Gaara simply took a big bite out of one of the chocolate chip cookie earning him a glare from his older brother. Temari simply rolled her eyes at their antics, and made another trip to the kitchen this time bringing back three glasses of milk.
Once they all had a glass, Temari watched as her family settled in to eat their dessert, and couldn't help but feel genuine happiness at the sight.
"So, what do you guys want to do for Halloween?" she asked her two brothers hoping to start a conversation.
After gulping down some milk, Kankuro spoke in an excited voice.
"We have to make a Haunted House! It'll be awesome!"
Liking the idea, Temari smiled evilly.
"That sounds interesting."
Losing his smile, Kankuro broke out in a frown—he had clearly thought of something that would most likely spoil their recently made plans.
"But we can't pull it off with just the three of us. We would need more people," he said a little disappointed.
"How many more?" asked a curious Gaara.
"At least ten people, and that's cutting it," answered Temari.
'Hmmm...' thought Gaara.
"Why'd you ask?" asked Temari noticing her brother's thoughtful silence.
"Naruto and the group wanted to do something together this Halloween, and I just thought they might be interested in helping out in a Haunted House project," stated the red-head.
"That'll be great!" exclaimed Kankuro.
"I'll ask them tomorrow," said the red-head while polishing off his third cookie.
The rest of the night was spent making up plans for their Haunted House skit. Kankuro and Temari just laughed evilly at all the schemes they came up with, while a slightly curious Gaara looked on with an emotionless expression plastered on his face.
Later on that night, while half the world had long gone to bed, a red-haired boy gazed out his open window and watched as the moonlight bathed the night in a faint shimmer. Leaning on the window sill, the red-head allowed his thoughts to drift with the wind that was currently playing with his hair. As the wind picked up, he felt his skin prickle at the cold draft, and without making any noise, the boy closed the window and made his way to bed hoping the sandman would soon visit him.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Gaara's POV
"That's better than anything we came up with," said an excited Naruto.
It was finally Friday, and I had just told the group about the Haunted House project. Everyone had been throwing out their own ideas so I simply placed mine on the table. I wasn't really expecting anything out of it, but as soon as I told the group they had immediately perked up to the idea.
It seemed we were going to spend Halloween scaring little children—I could really learn to like this holiday.
Naturally, Naruto and Kiba had immediately gotten to work and started coming up with plans of their own, and they seemed a little bit too eager at the prospect, I noticed.
Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!
As the bell for lunch ended we all went our separate ways.
I picked up my book bag and headed towards 6th period.
These last two months have turned into routine for me, aside from 2nd and 7th period—the classes I have with the Hyuuga.
Out of everyone in school, he seems to be the only mystery to me. I'm usually good at figuring people's motives and personalities, even though I'm not a social person, I can clearly see the minute subtleties of society. I've always been able to see straight through a person and understand them inside and out.
However, I can't seem to understand the Hyuuga, which has never happened to me before. I've always been able to read people, but there's something about Neji that I can't figure out.
He intrigues me.
Maybe that's why I haven't knocked some sense into him for his audacity.
It started that first day in chemistry when I looked up from my book and found him staring at me. I was a little annoyed at his boldness, but as I thought about it, I found it didn't bother me as much as I first assumed; however, had I known that that would not be an isolated incident, I might have been so forgiving.
During school, I often catch him staring at me like before. At first, he would simply pretend he wasn't watching me and would send me a bland look as if he had no idea why I was glaring at him. The nerve. However, he doesn't bother pretending anymore, his blatant examination of my person is almost an everyday occurrence. When I notice his eyes on me and send him a glare, he simply turns his attention elsewhere never bothering to apologize or pretend resentment.
He doesn't look at me with anger, but rather his gaze is intent as if he's trying to discern something, but can never quite find it.
Over the years I've learned to instantly distinguish loathe in a person's eyes. Father's eyes always held a look of hate every time he set eyes on me. However, Neji's eyes hold no such hate, but if not hatred then what?
As time progresses there seems to be a kind of expectancy hovering over both of us that neither one of us wants to meet; so here we are at a stand-still—neither friends nor foes.
There are too many unanswered questions that keep bothering me.
What does he want? Why does he keep watching me? Why do I feel as if my stomach is doing somersaults every time I feel those piercing eyes on me?
Why do my thoughts always drift to the long-haired male?
At first it was the artistic part of me. Since leaving Suna nothing had really inspired me to create, but on that first day, I felt drawn to those light lavender eyes full of unfulfilled emotion. I wanted to capture the intensity of those eyes, but there was always something missing, something I haven't yet identified. So, grudgingly, I set the piece aside for the time being.
I have no reason to be thinking of him anymore, yet I find my thoughts and eyes unconsciously stray their way to him.
Often times I've caught myself gazing at the pale-eyed male while he's busy with his work, but I quickly turn away before he finds me watching him. However, when he does notice my eyes upon on him, he simply smirks at me and continues on with his work, never asking me to stop.
I don't understand.
CRASH!
The sound of a trashcan falling snaps me out of my confusing thoughts, and stops me in my tacks.
'What was that?' I think.
I turn around and head toward the direction I first heard the sound until I arrive at a dead-end. There's nothing but a pair of restroom's both of which seem undisturbed.
I glance around, and hearing nothing I start to turn around when I hear another loud sound pierce the silent walls.
It was coming from the boy's restroom.
Without thinking, I swiftly open the door and go inside only to fall speechless at the sight before me.
Head wrapped in a white bandana, eyes shut in pain; a pale Neji Hyuuga valiantly tried to lift himself off the dirty restroom floor, while a fallen trashcan rested mere feet in front of him.
Never noticing my entrance, the long-haired Hyuuga continued on with his efforts. Back up-against the wall and using the sink for support, Neji tried to push himself off the floor with his legs; however, before he was halfway to his goal his legs unexpectedly gave out.
He would have fallen on the tiled floor had I not moved in time and grabbed him by the waist, but he instantly stiffened at my touch and quickly opened his eyes.
"Neji...are you okay?" I asked.
He didn't respond, but looked up at me with a mix of shock and astonishment radiating from his eyes. He had clearly not expected anyone to find him here.
"Neji, are you okay?" I repeated.
Never taking his eyes away from me, he nodded his head before bucking over in pain while I tried to keep him from crashing to the floor. I watched in panic as he clutched his stomach, and tightly closed his eyes once more. He let out a hiss through clenched teeth, before I gently set him down on the cold tiled floor.
Not knowing what to do, I dropped by book bag, class long forgotten, and knelt down next to him.
"Do you need me to call the nurse?" I asked in a controlled voice. I quelled my panic knowing full well that I needed to stay calm—alarm would do him no good.
"No," he hissed out through pale lips, as he tried to hold in the pain.
"I need to go," he continued as he began to search for something with his free hand. I watched him grope the floor in pursuit of something, and soon realized what he was searching for when I saw a pair of keys a few feet away from him. Leaning forward, I reached out and grabbed the keys on the floor.
"Where are you going?"
Opening his eyes, Neji looked at my hand where his car keys were currently being held, and hissed out in a cold tone.
"None of your business. Now give me my keys Sabaku."
"You can't even stand up, let alone drive your car. Now tell me where you're going so I can drive you there," I said in a patient, yet commanding tone.
At my statement, Neji looked at me with disbelief.
"Why would you do that?" he asked suspiciously.
"Because you are in pain, and I wish to relieve you of it," I said without hesitation—it was the truth.
I watched as his eyes widen in shock, it seemed I had surprised him. He stayed quiet and lowered his eyes not letting me know what he was thinking. I simply stayed where I was waiting for his response.
"I don't know," he said a minute later in a defeated voice. I didn't say anything knowing he wasn't finished. "I don't know where I'm going," he said more to himself than to me.
I stood up, and without a word secured my book bag from the floor before bending down and picking a now surprised Neji off the floor. Although he was obviously much bigger than me, I carried him without effort—I was used to carrying heavier things.
"What are you doing? Where are you taking me?" demanded an outraged Hyuuga, pain momentarily forgotten.
Without breaking stride, I answered him, knowing he would struggle if I didn't respond.
"I'm taking you to my house."
Stunned speechless at my answer, I watched as Neji tried to get his thoughts in order, but just as he was going to retort his body spasm in another fit of pain.
I watched as his face tightened in anguish, and in an unconscious gesture, he leaned into me seeking relief from his suffering.
I responded by wrapping my hands tighter around him, making sure I had him secured, before widening my strides and picking up my pace.
In these last two months Naruto and I had gotten close, and being the prankster that he is he knew various ways to sneak out of the school grounds which he had no qualms about informing me of. So, using the mental map in my head, I made my way to the west side of the school which was usually abandoned at this time of day and used the fire exit door, which Naruto had conveniently disabled last year, and took my leave along with a sick Hyuuga.
Throughout the entire trek, Neji lay still in my arms with the occasional flinch; the only indication that he was still conscious was the death grip he had on my shirt. When I reached the parking lot, I felt as Neji tried to lift his head—he was trying to find his car.
"Don't worry, we'll take my car," I said by way of explanation, before reaching into my pocket rather awkwardly, since I was still carrying him, and took out my keys. After pressing the unlock button, I instantly heard the doors unlock, and quickly opened the passenger door and place Neji on the seat before securing him with the seatbelt.
"Neji, you have to let go of my shirt," I said to him as gently as I could make my voice—I couldn't leave his side because he still had my shirt in a death grip.
At the sound of my voice, Neji lifted his head and looked me in the eyes before slowly unclenching his hand and effectively freeing me.
I quickly made my way around the car and got into the driver's seat. I gunned the engine before slamming on the gas and sped out of school a perfect imitation of Temari.
I made it to my house in a record time of seven minutes. As I sped into the drive-way, I slammed on the breaks causing the car to jolt to a stop a few inches from the garage door.
Barely making sure that the car was off, I got out of the car and quickly opened the front door. Task finished, I went back to the Hyuuga currently holding on to the seat as if his life depended on it.
At the sound of my approaching foot-steps he let go of the seat as I lifted him from the passenger seat, and using my feet I kicked the door shut. I went inside and headed straight to my room. Opening my door, with some difficulty, I walked to my bed and set Neji down on the soft mattress.
As I set him down on the bedding, he instantly curled up in the fetal position.
I could do nothing for him since I've never taken care of anyone.
Not knowing much I simply imitated Temari's actions when she took care of Kankuro when he got a little bit under the weather.
So, with little knowledge of what I was doing, I reached out to check for a fever but the bandana wrapped around his head was in the way. Frowning at the piece of cloth, I tried to pull it off only to have my hand slapped by the seemingly defenseless Hyuuga.
"Leave it," he hissed out.
"I need to check for a fever," I said a little impatiently.
"I said leave it!" he yelled out before curling into himself again.
Not wanting to upset him, I left the bandana where it was, and got up to take my leave. However, halfway to my door I heard my name called out. Although he whispered it, I heard it clearly for it was the first time he had used my first name.
"Gaara," Neji whispered through pale lips, "where are you going?"
"I need to get some things. I'll be back in a while," I said and as an add reassurance I added, "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
With those parting words, I left the room and headed downstairs where I searched the cupboards for any type of soup.
End of Gaara's POV
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Neji's POV
After Gaara left, I clenched my fist as another convulsion racked my form—it was getting worse.
If I had known that it would get this bad, I would have stayed home today, better yet, I would have asked Hiashi for the shot; but ever since the incident that night about two months ago I tried to keep my distance from him. I wasn't ready to talk to him yet.
When I first noticed I was running low on pills I just ignored it, thinking I still had about two weeks left before I needed another shot. What I forgot about was the pills purpose. The pills extended the time intervals in which I needed to take the shot, but since I wasn't taking the pills anymore (since I ran out), the time interval for my next shot shortened.
This morning when I noticed the barely visible seal on my forehead, I knew my mistake. I had planned on asking Hiashi this afternoon, and decided against staying home.
I hated staying in that prison.
So, wrapping my head in a white bandana, I left the mansion, naively leaving the matter of taking my medicine for tonight.
I paid for my stupidity.
After first period a slight discomfort plagued my body, but thinking I could endure it until tonight, I disregarded it. However, as the day wore on, the slight discomfort quickly turned into a throbbing ache and gradually worsened until, in 4th period, I was forced to ask my instructor for a bathroom pass.
I went to the bathrooms in the west side of the school knowing they were usually deserted at this time, but by the time I got there, the pain had increased, and stumbling inside, I let my body slide to the floor and waited for the pain to recede a little—it only got worse.
By the time lunch ended I finally gave in and decided to go home before it got any worse. So, placing all my concentration on getting out of there, I began to push myself up only to find that my legs were too weak to lift me up—I had waited too long.
Cursing my weakness, I looked around the bathroom in search of anything that might help me, and spotting a trashcan a few feet away, I reached out and pulled it close to me.
Using the trashcan for support I tried to lift myself off the floor, but as I pulled myself up, I clumsily placed too much weight on the flimsy trashcan and ended up toppling over, trashcan and all.
Damn it! I needed something sturdier.
I looked around the room once again and I noticed my keys a few feet away.
Great.
For the time being I left them where they were, my first priority was getting off the damn floor. As I continued on with my search I spotted the sinks. Perfect.
So, using what little strength I had left, I scooted over just enough to reach the sink and used my arms to pull myself up, however my grip on the sink slipped, and for the second time today, I fell to my knees.
Resting my back against the bathroom wall, I regained my breathe and tried one last time. Using the sink and wall for support, I pushed myself up one last time on wobbly legs, only to have my body give out on me once again; and as I prepared to fall for the third time today, a hand wrapped around my waist effectively stopping my fall.
I instantly stiffened at the contact.
I was sure I was alone, but the hand wrapped around my waist said differently.
"FUCK!" I thought.
"Neji...are you okay?" I heard the person say.
"No fucken way," I thought.
"Neji are you okay?" I heard him ask again.
"Fucken Hell! Why did it have to be him? Why couldn't it be someone else?"
Not wanting the red-head to see me in this condition, I nodded my head; too bad my body betrayed me at the moment and decided to plague me with another dose of pain.
As the pain blossomed in my body, I instantly buckled over feeling as if I was being ripped apart. I shut my eyes in pain once more, and felt Gaara's grip tighten as he tried to keep me from falling on the floor.
As I felt the pain slowly recede, gentle arms slowly placed me on the floor. After making sure I was okay, he asked me if I wanted to see the nurse—had I not been in anguish I might have laughed.
Please. The nurse could do nothing for me. Not even the most re-known doctors could help me.
So, knowing I had to take care of this myself, I answered him with a no. I told him I needed to leave to which he didn't respond. Ignoring my current company, I tentatively tried to grab my discarded keys.
As I searched for my keys, I felt as Gaara leaned into me, and instantly felt the warmth radiating from his body. But it didn't last long because he was soon leaning back.
"Where are you going?" he asked me.
Opening my eyes, I saw my keys in his hands.
"So, that's why he was leaning forward. Idiot, of course there was a logical explanation." I thought in reprimand to myself.
"None of your business. Now give me my keys Sabaku." I hissed out a little angrier than I meant to.
"You can't even stand up, let alone drive your car. Now tell me where you're going so I can drive you there," he told me in that tone of his that makes a person feel like a little child.
"Why would he want to help me?" I thought to myself. There had to be more to this than I was seeing.
Strangers did not offer their help without some type of benefit for themselves. I've known this all my life.
Individuals don't freely offer their help. There are always strings attached. I've watched this hundreds of times in the Hyuuga mansion, and I've always been careful to decline any offer of help. I do not want to owe a "favor" to anyone, no matter how small, and so experience told me that there had to be some invisible strings to Gaara's offer.
"Why would you do that?" I asked suspiciously all the while trying to figure out the hidden agenda behind his offer.
"Because you are in pain, and I wish to relieve you of it," he instantly responded.
At his quick response, my eyes widen in shock.
Though I've known him a short time, I've never known Gaara to lie or hide the truth. At first, I thought it was because he didn't speak much, but as time wore on and he opened up a little, I never caught him in a lie, be it big or small. His words were not riddled with hidden meanings and he said exactly what he meant without worrying about repercussions if his words were met with a closed mind.
He said what he meant and he said it bluntly without circling around a subject, something I've never observed in another person.
His words shocked because I knew he meant exactly what he said. He only wanted to help me without any hidden agenda.
However, the only problem now was the fact that I had no idea where to go.
This had happened to me once before and Hiashi had warned me then that if I ever disregarded taking my medicine again he would restrict me to the Hyuuga mansion. I couldn't allow that to happen—I did not want to become a full time prisoner.
As my thoughts ran away with me, I began to talk to myself out loud, forgetting my current company.
"I don't know, I don't know where I'm going," I said to myself, and before I knew what was happening, Gaara picked me up and began to carry me in his arms.
I was literally shocked.
Who did he think he was!
"What are you doing? Where are you taking me?" I demanded.
Gaara simply kept on at the same pace ignoring my outrage.
"I'm taking you to my house," he said in an unconcerned voice as if he was talking about the weather.
Had I not been suffering at the moment, I would have done a double-take.
"His house!" I thought in panic. "He can't take me to his house. He can't!"
However, just as I was going to protest my body was griped in another wave of torment. It was worse than last time, and as it blasted through my system I unconsciously sought comfort from the only person with me.
A flood of agony raced through my form and as I tried to keep conscious, I clutched Gaara's shirt in a death grip, waiting for the pain to recede once more.
By the time I re-surfaced we were in the parking lot.
"Fuck, were did I leave my car? Damn it, I can't remember!"
"Don't worry, we'll take my car," I heard Gaara say as if reading my thoughts, and moments later he had me in the passenger seat.
"Neji, you have to let go of my shirt," he said to me, and as I opened my eyes, I noticed that I still had his shirt in a death grip.
"Idiot."
I let go of his shirt as quickly as I could, and watched as he slid into the driver's seat. Moment's later we shot out of the parking lot, and for the first time in my life I felt that I wasn't going to make it.
"Who the HELL ever gave him a fucken driver's license!" was the phrase that kept screaming through my mind as we blasted out of the parking lot and to his house.
About seven minutes later, I watched in terror as he pulled into a house at full speed and quickly hit the brakes, causing the car to come to a jolting stop a mere inches from the garage door.
I could only sag in relief.
As he swiftly got out of the car, I tried to unclasp my hands which were currently glued to the seat. As soon as he hit the gas back at school, my hands had immediately reached for anything that was bolted down, and I soon found myself holding onto the seat as if my life depended on it, which it probably did.
Moments later, Gaara came back and picked me up from the passenger seat. The explosion of pain that circulated through my body as he lifted me up was excruciating, and as soon as he put me down, I curled into a fetal position drifting between consciousness and pain-induced sleep. However, I soon snapped back to reality when I felt warm hands trying to remove my white bandana. Instinctively, I slapped the hand away with as much strength as I had left.
"Leave it," I hissed out. I couldn't let him remove the cloth. It was the only thing preventing him from seeing the seal.
"I need to check for a fever," I heard him say little impatiently.
"I said leave it!" I yelled out.
If he saw it, he would ask the inevitable questions, questions which I did not want to answer. Besides, if he knew the truth he would turn away in disgust.
No one ever treated you the same after they found out you were sick, and often times, they turned away from you as if getting to close would instantly infect them.
I did not want anyone's pity or sympathy, besides it was forbidden to tell anyone outside the Hyuuga family about the virus.
Hearing footsteps walk away from the bed, I looked up to see Gaara making his way to the door. Panic instantly gripped me.
I know I was a little harsh, but I didn't mean to drive him away. I didn't want to be alone.
"Gaara, where are you going?" I said in a soft and weak voice.
"I need to get some things. I'll be back in a while," he told me, and turning around he added with a slight softness to his voice. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
As I watched him leave the room and gently close the door, I concentrated on making a plan before the pain consumed me.
I needed to call Hinata and ask her to bring me my pills. It was far too late for the pills to fully work, but they would at least give me a day or two before I needed to take the shot. It was a simple plan, and I still needed to take care of a few details, but I couldn't think of anything else at the moment.
Plan made, I tried to concentrate on something else other than the throbbing ache that engulfed my mind. Therefore, desperately looking for a distraction, I looked around the room, and instantly knew just who's room I was currently occupying.
The few articles of clothing scattered around the room could belong to no other person, Gaara had taken me to his room rather than a guest's room.
As I studied the entire room, I understood why he intrigued me. Once again Gaara managed to astound me. I never would have fathomed his room to be like this.
Black painted walls covered the entire room from floor to ceiling; thus, accentuating every piece of furniture and ornament that lay scattered around.
However, the bed, which I was currently on, was the only thing out of place—as if it didn't really belong but was rather tucked away in a corner of the room seemingly out of sight.
Along the walls, dozens of pencil drawings were carelessly taped without regard to order or symmetry. Many of the drawings overlapped, but somehow they made a weird sort of sense, and looked exotic in a way that would not have been possible had they stood alone.
In the right side of the room, a book case sporting a variety of different writers and textbooks, took up much of the free space along with a large surround system, while a large oak desk littered with a variety of different objects dominated the left side.
An assortment of different colored vials decorated the top of the desk, along with a large variety of other metal object such as tongs, ladles, hand-held torches and other metal tools that I'd never seen before. Next to the desk, a small metal bench held two long metal pipes which were carefully arranged so that both openings were covered in some type of cloth, probably to make sure no dust got into them. Although the items scattered around the desk were unusual to say the least, the most peculiar object in the room had to be without a doubt the large gourd next to the closet.
"What is that?" I thought to myself, as I inspected the large object. I could come up with no reasonable explanation for its presence. As I was intently examining the large gourd, I noticed a grainy substance beside it.
"Wait, is that…" looking at it more closely I figured out what it was but was more puzzled than enlightened, "… is that sand scattered around it?"
Although the room screamed of chaos, I could sense a type of symmetry, though not all of it. I didn't understand why all these random things inhabited his room…unless they weren't random.
Gaara didn't seem the type to do things without a reason, and so I logically came to the conclusion that everything in his room was somehow related, I just needed to put the pieces together. So, trying to escape from the torment my body was currently experiencing, I placed all my attention on the riddle that was Gaara, and spent the next half hour contemplating the reason behind a certain red-head's choice of decoration.
In my pursuit, I was able to effectively gain a respite from the pain as I slowly drifted off into a light slumber.
End of Neji's POV
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
I thought it was running a little long so I decided to stop here. Hope you liked it. Next chapter will conclude this scene and the plot will start to roll out.
So, can you guess what type of artist Gaara is?
Reviews are greatly appreciated, so if you want, tell me what you think so far. ;)