When Angels Cry
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
A/N: Yeah, this one had to come up somewhere.
OoOoOoOoO
Chapter VII
Outcast
It was... awkward. Walking with Gaara in the steets during the daytime, that is.
The first time it happened, Matsuri didn't understand what everyone was doing. Ushering kids into houses, stands closing up, not even caring if a customer was still holding merchandise. Slamming their backs against walls, and hiding behind trash cans or trying to look invisible.
Matsuri almost lost her footing then. Were they carrying the plague with them? Was the boogie man next to her?
But when she looked, all she saw was... Gaara.
No boogie man. No terrifying monster. No Shukaku. Just... Gaara.
She whispered, "What are they doing?"
Gaara blinked, as if he didn't evven notice the scene change around him. It made Matsuri sad - people shouldn't become accoustomed to that! "What is who doing?"
"Them." She said as-a-matter-of-factly, pointing out an old man. Immediately, the old man began to scream, and nearly killed himself wobbling away. She heard him mumbbling to himself, "I don't want to die here!"
Then Gaara saw them, and his eyes saddened, "Oh... them. They're just... letting us through."
Matsuri knew it was a lie. But that time, she let it go. And she let it go the second and third time.
But the fourth time...
She heard a man whisper, "Heh, it's the monster's new play toy." Then he spit at Gaara's feet. Gaara didn't even give him a second glance, but Matsuri did.
She grabbed his wrist, "I am not his 'play toy'! I am his friend, and I am his student! Spit on him again, and I promise that you will wake up twenty years from now!" His hand was turning white. She kept her glare.
Then the guy smiled, "Violent bitch. Perfect match for a violent monster. I bet your kid would be-"
Matsuri slapped him. She didn't even see the crowd coming to watch.
The only thing she noticed was Gaara's husky voice saying in a low whisper, "Stop. We're getting out of here." Then he grabbed her wrist, and they began to push through the people.
When they reached the training fields, she spat, "What was that? Why were you sticking up for him?"
Gaara deadpanned, "I'm an outcast. I've always lived like an outcast. And the thing is, I don't want you to become an outcast too."
