Tears streamed down her face. She wiped them off with her wrist. "I…I can't believe m-myself..." She stuttered, each breath heaving. She wasn't quite sobbing, but it wasn't just crying. Gaara looked a bit surprised. "I can't believe that I still ran away after that…" Gaara couldn't help but put his arm around her. An ache banged in his chest.
'What is this feeling? Why am I doing this? How am I doing this for this girl?' He thought. Confused and angry at himself, he started to leave. Ai was nearly pushed down by surprise. Gaara turned around fully and walked off, sand swirling around him, until he disappeared. Ai felt hurt.
'I thought he cared about me. I thought he might have actually cared about someone…' She too was confused now. She started to go after him, but she realized that that wouldn't do anything. She turned and started to run towards her own home. She ran further and further, until she was finally on the porch. She looked at the ominous looking door. She opened it a little, and she felt a strange feeling, like she was trespassing. She slid it open all the way. She looked inside at her familiar home, the lights shut off, and the rooms empty. Silently she walked in and stepped all the way to her bedroom. Its aqua colored walls gave it a cool yet warm feel, and the bedspread was a warm pink. Touching its soft fabric made a nostalgic feeling swoop over her, even though she had been there just two days ago. The vanity in the corner of her room reflected her face. It showed a tired face, streaked with tears, the azure eyes showed every aspect of pain, and her mouth turned down into a frown of hurt and emotion. She barely recognized herself. Was this really the girl who had been training with her friends just two days ago? Was it really the girl who had been eating lunch in the basement a week ago? She moved a little and her mother's necklace made a beautiful jingling noise. Gently Ai walked out of her room, and stepped into her parents' room. The blood was cleaned up, and it showed signs of being analyzed and bagged by the black ops. Walking further into the room, enduring the pain and ambush of emotion, she opened the closet door, and touched some of the belongings. She saw her mother's plant clippers, and her father's spare kunai. A sad smile spread across her face and a tear fell from her eye. Deciding that she had to go back to Mae's before she started worrying, Ai got to her feet and left the house. She walked two streets down to Mae's house in silence. As she walked, she saw a figure walking in the opposite direction. Stopping, she looked across the street, and saw his face lit by a street lamp. His red hair was messier than usual and his emotionless eyes seemed to sparkle with tears from across the road.
"Is Gaara crying?" Ai thought. "No, it must just be an optical illusion or something. Should I talk to him?" She looked at him again. "No he probably doesn't want to talk to me anyways. After tonight, he must hate me." She rushed down the street, and knocked on the door to Mae's. Little did she know that Gaara had noticed her and was actually crying. Never the less, she didn't know, and entered the house to see Mae wearing purple pajamas on the couch watching her sappy soap operas again.
"Oh, hi Ai." She said from the couch. Ai waved. "Jeez, you're a mess, was the date okay?"
"I wouldn't call it a date. It really wasn't." Ai shrugged. She explained to Mae how she wanted to go back to her own house, after much prodding for answers from the night.
"Ah, are you sure about that? I don't want you to be another emotional breakdown, it's really annoying." Mae teased with a smirk. Ai nodded, and grabbed her things from the guest room.
Ai woke up in her own bed. She stretched her arms and yawned. She looked at her clock and realized that if she didn't move faster, she'd be late for training. She hopped up slow as possible and opened the still packed bag on her dresser. As Ai was digging through it, she found something unfamiliar. It was a plastic shopping bag with a few items of clothes in it. Surprisingly, they were unfamiliar, and on top of them was a note.
Haha Ai-chan. I tricked you! While you were dazed in the clothes store, I got you clothes! But you still had to pay for 'em. Sharpen up, or you'll never be a Chuunin!
Mae had obviously duped her. "Shit." She murmured under her breath. Ai still didn't want them to go to waste, so she opened the bag. She picked up an aqua blue tight tank top and a white skirt slit at the ends for better movement. "Not bad at all…" She said, grabbing a pair of flexible black shorts.
That day during training, Machiko had announced something big. Chuunin exams. Again. Last time, Ai hadn't been in the village, and Mae hadn't had the proper training her old sensei thought she needed. This was odd, because Mae was one of the strongest kunoichis you'll probably ever meet. Mae was strong-willed, almost never gave up, had powerful taijutsu, and could absorb your chakra through a two sided katana. Despite her feminine appearance and girlish habits, she could really beat the crap out of you. Ai on the other hand, was swift and had powerful genjutsu, which could really mess with your head. Really. It was almost funny how two different girls could actually be best friends. Gaara, however, hadn't made a single comment this entire session. This was for the most part normal.
"You will run into the most powerful ninja you have ever seen during these exams. You will be pushed above and beyond the limit, and you're going to have to face your fears." A chill ran down Ai's spine, and she wondered how far she could be pushed. Pushed past a limit never required to be established? Shoved into the face of failure? Thrown out by the cruelties of life, and destroyed in the process? From what Ai heard, people died during these exams. They were murdered in cold blood for the sake of a title. They were annihilated just to be called a Chuunin. The true stories of life are the scariest.
There you have it readers, unanswered questions and a newly added Q/A section. Ask Ai, Mae, Machiko, Kankuro, Temari, or Gaara any questions. Other characters are permitted sometimes. I guess, this is really just a bit of character development the fun and easy way. enjoy.
Sign lights up and three chairs are shown
Ai's Mailbag.
AI: Hi…
MAE: Sup.
MACHIKO: Wipe that look off your face. -glares-
