Author's Note: Sorry about that. Was a bit busy. No excuse though. Here you go! Thanks for the reviews, made me super motivated D.
Note to new beta: I tried sending it to you..but I couldn't attach it and then my Windows Live went all AJRKELA;EWR and so did my browser and then I got lazy xDD. I'll send you the next installment in a bit ).
Chapter Four: Past Revealed
The blonde sat in the chair not saying a word. She'd been like that for the past 20 minutes; since Kankuro had gone to school. It was a good thing her brothers didn't go to the same school.
They really cared about each other. At least inside. Well, Kankuro did. And sometimes, Gaara would give her reason to believe he cared as well.
Temari picked up the cup of coffee on the table and put it to her lips. She sipped slightly.
There was a knock on the door.
She put down the cup, her forehead creasing. She got to her feet. It wouldn't be Gaara…her younger brother wouldn't bother himself with knocking. And Kankuro had a key. Plus he always left the door open.
Temari got to her feet and contemplated actually opening the door. Whoever it was couldn't possibly be important. She sighed. But, if it was..
She took her time walking to the door. The person was still there. In fact whoever it was were still knocking.
"A waste of my precious time." Temari mumbled, before putting her hand on the doorknob and turning it. She opened the door.
"Uh...Um...Gaara? Um, what's wrong?" 8 year old Naruto Uzumaki stammered, looking at his new found friend writhing on the floor, clutching onto his head.
The young boy let out a quick gasp as a wave of sand grew and-
"Urgh-Ahhhh!!" Naruto grunted and then shouted as the wave hit him int eh face and threw him backwards. The small body flew through the air and slammed into a brick wall of a house. The blonde fell to the ground into a motionless lump.
"Gaara! Shit." Naruto looked up and cursed again as he saw no one, no one that could help in sight. "Damn it."
"Nar-Uzumaki, what happened?" A voice behind him. Before turning around, the twelve year old tried to place the voice. But he hadn't heard it for such a long time. Not without the fear or hatred that it usually held.
But it couldn't be...
The Uchiha.
The blonde had turned his head, and now stared, not in relief, but in shock at the dark haired boy standing behind the pair, hands in his pockets, and head tilted slightly to a side.
"Sa-You."
"What happened?" An undertone. Barely louder then a whisper. As if he couldn't be heard talking to the outcast. The demon.
Naruto opened his mouth to retort that it wasn't his business when-
Gaara shifted. Naruto turned his attention back to the redhead in his arms. A groan escaped from the other's lips.
"Naruto, answer me."
"Shut up for a second, will you?"
The headache ceased in the redhead on the ground, and Gaara found himself breathing a bit more evenly.
The boy opened his eyes and let out another groan. He pulled himself up into sitting position and looked around for the blonde.
"Naruto?" The little redhead froze. He saw the blonde slumped against the wall. Not moving.
So? What's the matter? You've done it before.
The redhead was shivering. Gaara, instead of knowing the he should be going towards his 'friend', started to back away. No. He didn't want to face Naruto up close. The resignation that would be in his eyes. That he…his…
He saw the blonde struggling. Getting to his knees. Gaara could hear him coughing.
"Hey-" Naruto broke off coughing. He stumbled to his feet and then staggered. He leaned against the wall he'd been so viciously thrown at, and looked at the redhead, on the ground just over 15 yards from him. Sand was strewn around the area.
Here it comes. Gaara closed his eyes and gathered his composure. This is why he never-
"Hey, Gaara, what was that for?!" Gaara's eyes flashed upwards and widened. What was this? He was shouting in anger, not fear.
And even the anger had a bit of exasperation in it.
"Uh, I, uh.." What was this feeling? He hadn't felt it in such a long time.
"Huh… do you do that normally?" The blonde scratched the back of his head and let out a cough before starting towards the redhead on the ground. "Because if you do, I'll start having to watch my back a lot more often, don't I? Heh." The…the blonde was grinning at him.
He was grinning.
"Uh...I.."
The boy stood in front of him now, holding out his hand for Gaara to take.
He tilted his head to a side at the look Gaara was giving him. "What's wrong?"
"You…you…"
"Oh, is that it?" Naruto shrugged and let out a chuckle. "I'm not hurt much. Why, were you meaning to hurt me?" Mock suspicion. He wasn't mad. He wasn't…he was still…but…why? "My knee hurts a little, but a good night's sleep will cure it, won't it?"
Gaara sniffed. Not like I would know. "You…you aren't mad?"
"Why should I be mad?" The blonde asked, his curiosity sincere. The hand was still out, inviting the redhead to take it.
The redhead just looked at the other boy. There were scratches on his face, and sand in his hair. He wasn't mad? But…how…
"The sand thing is pretty cool though. Does it normally do that? You don't think you could teach me to do that, huh?" The smile on his face was still genuine.
He wasn't mad.
He was..
"Argh." The 8 year old clutched his red hair. He…was…so confused. What was this boy playing at?
"Gaara?" He was curious. Concerned. That was all. And there wasn't fear in his voice!? Why wasn't THERE FEAR?! What wasn't he running away?
Fine. Then he would bring fear. There was no way this boy would leave without fearing him.
"Y-you!" Temari gasped, backing back into her house, her eyes wide at the person who stood there.
"Temari. What a pleasure."
"H-How-y-you-" The blonde was suddenly seething, anger pulsing through her veins. Temari instinctively put her hand behind her only to find-she hadn't put on her fan yet today. "What the hell gives you the right to come here!? After what you've done!"
"Tsk, tsk Temari. That's no way to speak to your father now, is it?"
"G-Get out of here. What-what do I have with you?" We left to get away from you.
"Now, now, Temari-kan, why the anger?" His passive face-how dare he? After what he'd done-no what he was doing to his…her..
"Leave. I…I don't want to talk to you." She started to shut the door when-
"Umph! What-what-" Temari felt her back hit the wall as the door was forced open by her father's subordinates.
"Where is Gaara?"
"What-I-But-"
Then, a knife to her throat. Her father stood in the doorway, as indolent as ever.
"Where is he?"
The sharp end was pressing. Temari gasped as she felt a sting and then red liquid trickling from the cut. She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Where...is…What the-"
A slam. A thud. The knife was pulled away, and then more crashes. Temari's eyes flew open and she saw a boy, couldn't be older then her own brother, standing in the middle of the room, and a large shadow from under him. His onyx hair was in a pony tail and his hand showed a technique.
No one was moving.
"Who-?"
"You alright? A man must never pass a woman in distress without jumping into action. No matter how troublesome it may be." The boy sighed, rolling his eyes.
Who was this kid?
"Gaara?" The blonde whispered, frowning in concern at the boy in his lap.
"Why do you bother?" A cold voice tinted with curiosity asked from behind him.
"Why do you care?" Naruto snapped back. "Why don't you just go already?"
The Uchiha sighed, looking at the blonde mildly.
"I'll go get help."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Why?" Why after all this time..? After all that had happened?
A red light emitted from a furious blonde surrounded by his friends. Being only six, most of the children didn't know what it was. But Nara Shikamaru did.
"But…the chakra…it's…not blue." The boy with the ponytail said warily, eying his blonde friend anxiously.
"I have a bad feeling about this." said a chubby boy named Akimichi Chouji before popping a couple chips into his mouth.
"Leave him alone!" Shikamaru cried out, running in front of Naruto and spreading his arms out, almost as if to guard Naruto from Sasuke's words.
The almost in tears Uchiha's eyebrows flew upwards defensively. "You can't tell me-"
"N-Naruto?" Inuzuka Kiba clutched the white puppy to his chest, eyes widening. "Wh-wha..?"
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Shikamaru flinched and then grunted as his blonde friend shoved him away to the floor. The red chakra increased, spiralling around the blonde and the in shock brunette. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR PROBLEM IS, BUT I DID'NT DO NOTHING!"
"Anything." Shikamaru automatically corrected under his breath. He sat frozen, staring at the boy he'd considered friend, now frightening all his classmates.
Meanwhile Naruto had grabbed the Uchiha by his collar and had lifted him up. Kiba's eyes widened as he noticed, was it FANGS?, in the mouth of his best friend.
"I-uh-.." Sasuke's eyes had no hint of anger left in them now. Fear was the only thing that had appeared in his onyx eyes.
"UZUMAKI NARUTO, STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" An elder voice demanded in a loud voice from behind Shikamaru. Shikamaru detected a hint of fear in the older man's voice as well.
Said boy's head snapped to the side, eyes widening, the fangs shrinking, and the redness? from his eyes disappearing to the dark blue they were. The red chakra decreased. There was a thud as Sasuke Uchiha hit the ground and lay there, eyes wide at the shorter blonde, who staggered back. The chakra dispersed.
"Mmph." Both sets of eyes flew to the shuddering redhead. "Hn-N-Nar-" Eyelids opened to reveal icy turquoise. Confusion at seeing the blonde and the Uchiha. "What?"
"Gaara!" Naruto grinned. "You're okay!" The boy blinked. Once. Twice. Then his eyes widened and he sat up, pushing Naruto away forcefully in the process.
"What do you think you were doing?" Gaara spat wrathfully, nose scrunched up. The Uchiha frowned. Naruto looked at the redhead dumbfounded.
"Huh?"
"Don't ever touch me! How many times have I told you that?" Gaara snarled. "You can never tell what happens when I-" The boy quickly cut himself off, looking away. Sasuke looked at Naruto who simply had his head tilted to a side. He didn't seem to mind that the boy was yelling at him right after having been taken care of by him.
Well even if the blonde didn't care, it sure pissed Sasuke off.
"What do you think you are doing? This kid was helping you!"
Naruto froze. What was going on with the Uchiha?
Gaara looked up from the brunette to the blonde calculatingly. His eyes narrowed.
Naruto moved forward, towards Gaara. Something was in his eyes, something Naruto didn't trust.
"Get away!" Gaara suddenly cried out, in a shrill voice Naruto had never heard him use.
And then there was sand.
Okay, in all honesty, I don't really know where I'm going with this xDD. Well I have some bit of an idea, like ANGST ANGST ANGST, but still...(smirks) I like romance too. There are lots of pairings I've opened with this update, which was the point of it, I guess. There will be ANGST ANGST ANGST, no worries. But I'm a fun person too ..
Gaara: Of course. Anyways, review please. (picks up cookie and munches on it)
I've worked on the next chapter, and I'm almost done. I'll post it up once I've gotten a satisfactory amount of reviews. I've been unbearably busy, considering this IS the March Break and I SHOULD be emo about being bored...but I'm not . ...Well we're also about to move so its complete and utter chaos. Anyways, review, and I'll update as soon as I've sent it to my precious beta .
Gaara: Weren't you saying something about starting another fic with me in it, but Sasu/Naru being the main stuff?
Uh, actually about that...Yeah. It's more angsty but with some humour. I'm planning on setting Gaara up with Neji D...or whatever. Anyways...um...(scratches back of head) Review please?