Hey guys!
You don't know how happy I am right now! :)
My depression is backing off and I'm so thrilled with all the reviews and favs and followers I've been getting lately!
I love you guys!
Thanks to all you little beauties who reviewed~
Sorry it took so long! XD I'm trying to work fast while also making it fantastic so just bear with me!
Knock knock knock!
"Go away!" Came the muffled voice of Gaara, who was currently hiding under the covers of his bed.
It had been two hours since the little redhead had been humiliated in front of his peers and his animalistic features had yet to disappear. What other choice did he have but to hide in his room? Naruto had been pounding at his door and trying to convince him to come out for the past five minutes. Gaara was having none of it.
"Come on, Gaara!" Naruto yelled. "It's not that bad!"
Gaara stuck his head out of the covers long enough to yell, "Go to hell!" Before disappearing again.
Naruto huffed and crossed his arms. He needed to find a way to lure the sand demon out of his room. He couldn't stay in there all day! Laying one hand on the door Naruto yelled, "Look, I'm sorry for laughing at you earlier! I shouldn't have! Just please open th-"
Suddenly, the door swung open and an adorable, angry Gaara was glaring at him; ears and tail fluffed up.
"Go. To. Hell." He spat. And the door slammed shut again.
Naruto groaned and banged his fist against the door. "Gaara, I'm serious! Open the door!"
Silence.
"If you don't open the door, I'll go get Lee!"
More silence. With a slight growl, Naruto stormed off.
Gaara, without coming out from under the covers, muttered, "Is he gone?"
Ryo, who had taken up position guarding the door, let out a quick squeak. Sighing, Gaara crawled out from under the covers and rubbed his face. So far, today had been terrible and it was probably going to get worse. Why the hell did Neji have to piss him off? Why did he even bother leaving the room? He'd be better off turning into a hermit.
Sensing his companion's stress, Ryo jumped onto the bed and pressed his forehead to Gaara's arm. Gaara instinctively picked him up and stroked his head.
"You're lucky I can't stay mad at you," Gaara muttered. "It's basically your fault anyways."
Ryo squeaked innocently and pushed his head against the hand petting his head. Gaara sighed and got up from the bed.
"I don't know what to think of this place, Ryo," The sand demon muttered, slowly walking around his room. "I have actual friends now, but I have more enemies than back at home. I've been getting into more fights, which is sure to get around to him...and then there's the mating season coming up. There's also the Asshole to worry about. Not to mention S-" Gaara stopped short at hearing a faint sound outside his door. Frowning in confusion, he walked over to the door and pressed his ear against the wood. He listened intently as the sound gradually became louder. It took a few more seconds of listening before Gaara finally recognized the sound and just barely threw himself to the side in time before his door flew off its hinges into his room.
"GAARA MY YOUTHFUL FRIEND! I HAVE COME TO RETRIEVE YOU AT THE REQUEST OF OUR FRIEND NARUTO!" Proclaimed a sparkling Lee, standing in the doorway in all his green jumpsuit glory.
Gaara stared at his misshapen door lying in the center of his floor. "...Did you just kick down my door?" He asked flatly.
Naruto strode into the room and stopped in front of the redhead. "I told you I'd get Lee," He grinned, crossing his arms. "Now, ready to come out of your room?"
Gaara stared at the floor. "You kicked down my door..."
"Forget about your door! You can't hide in your room for the rest of the day!"
Gaara glared at his blonde friend and held Ryo closer to his chest. "I'm not going out until my ears and tail are gone."
Naruto sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "Well, how much longer until it wears off?"
"It varies. It can last from a few minutes to hours-" Gaara's sentence dropped off as something pink outside caught his eye. Pushing past his two friends, he walked out to the hall and pulled a flyer off the wall.
"Gaara?" Naruto called, confused by his friend's strange behavior.
The raccoon demon was silent for a few moments before muttering, "Naruto, you said you were sorry for laughing at me earlier, right?"
Naruto slowly made his way next to the redhead. "Yeah, why?"
Gaara showed him the flyer and a small, morbid smile crept onto his face. "You're going to help me get revenge on a certain Asshole. You can also get a bit of revenge of your own."
Gaara sighed as he slowly trudged towards his Anatomy class. He was already ten minutes late but given who his teacher was, he could care less. As he walked into the room, he automatically made his way to the empty seat beside Naruto.
"You're getting anxious too, aren't you?" The fox demon asked with a grin.
Gaara hated to admit it, but he was anxious. The scheme that they'd come up with a few days ago had already been put into action, but it wouldn't actually take place until tomorrow.
"I guess." Gaara muttered, laying his head on his desk before closing his eyes.
Naruto frowned, recognizing this as a sign of one of Gaara's class naps. "Are you that tired again?"
Gaara grunted in response.
"Gaara...how much sleep do you get at night?"
The sand demon's eyes slowly opened at that question, and he turned his cold gaze towards his blonde friend. "It's none of your business."
Naruto sighed and let the subject drop. He'd quickly learned that there were some things Gaara wasn't willing to talk about. Just like everyone else, Gaara had secrets that he was entitled to keep.
"Good morning everyone." Came the cheery voice of Kakashi as he strolled into the room.
"Kakashi-sensei!" One student yelled. "You're ten minutes earlier than usual! What gives?"
Kakashi smiled behind his mask and laid a small book on his table. "I'm here early because we have something very important to go over today." Picking up a piece of chalk, he slowly began to write on the board.
Gaara paled as he realized that the white-haired teacher was writing DEMON MATING SEASON on the chalkboard. He exchanged an uneasy glance with Naruto.
"I know it has nothing to do with anatomy, but the school board has asked me to give a small lesson on the mating season coming up in three weeks," Kakashi sat down in his seat. "Now, how many of you are demons?" He nodded as over half the class raised their hands. "Excellent. But this doesn't just apply to demons. This also applies to any creature who might mate with a demon in the future."
As Kakashi continued to speak, the hairs on the back of Gaara's neck stood on end. Someone was watching him, and he knew exactly who it was. He didn't dare turn around.
"Now, I know all of you are aware of the basic rituals and rules, but there are some other things you need to know!"
Listenc losely, Gaara.
Gaara's body went stiff as a voice entered his head. And it was not his voice.
"Lets start with the 3 gifts! Everyone knows about the gifts that a dominant must present to their submissive, but what most people don't know is that each gift has to have some sort of sentimental value," Kakashi began to place some items onto his desk as he spoke. "The first two gifts have to mean something to the dominant, showing the submissive just how much they mean to them. The third gift must mean something to the submissive, which will show that the dominant listens and pays attention to their potential mate's likes and dislikes."
I wonder, what do you like, Gaara?
Gaara shuddered slightly. The voice was like silk, wrapping itself around his thoughts and caressing them. It sounded familiar, but there was something dulling the full volume of the voice.
"There's also the matter of the Dominant Fights. Some submissives try to take advantage of the fact that they get to choose the location and rules of the fight so that the dominant they favorite will have the upper hand. This is not allowed under any circumstances. The submissive must choose a terrain and choose rules that will make the fight fair and give each dominant a chance at winning."
Hm. That pathetic wraith did not stand a chance in the first place. Don't you agree?
Gaara grit his teeth and glanced at Naruto. He narrowed his non existent eyebrows once he realized that the blonde was equally as pale and a thin sheen of sweat coated his skin.
"Also, if there is more than one dominant courting a submissive then the Dominant Fight must take place within the first week of the mating ritual." Kakashi got up from his seat and moved to the front of the desk. "And I'll give you all a small tip. If you're planning on telling someone that you're going to court them, make it special. Don't just walk up to them and say 'Hey! I'm going to court you!'. Let me tell you from experience, that'll only get you a kick in the butt." He chuckled and leaned back against his desk. "Does anyone plan on courting someone this mating season?"
Gaara heard a slight shuffling behind him but kept his face forward, still not daring to turn around.
Kakashi raised a surprised eyebrow. "Neji! I didn't think you would be one to raise your hand. Do you have an idea of how to announce your courting decision?"
"Yes, actually," Neji purred. "I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I'm very anxious to see his reaction."
There were a few startled reactions around the room at hearing that the famous Neji Hyuga's choice for a mate was a 'he'. The news would probably spread like wildfire once the class let out. There would undoubtedly be a large amount of unhappy fangirls as well.
"That's good to hear," Kakashi said in approval. "Now, does an-" A knock at the door interrupted what Kakashi was going to say next. "Come in."
The door opened and Gaara immediately shrank down in his seat.
"Sorry to interrupt, sir. I'm just here for my brother. Tsunade-sama wants to see him." Temari said unhappily as she walked into the room.
Kakashi nodded, knowing about Temari's excellent school record, and glanced up at the redhead. "Gaara, you are excused."
Unsure about what was going on, Gaara slowly rose from his seat and walked down the steps to his sister. Temari placed a hand on his shoulder and silently led him out of the room. Once they were further down the hall, Gaara decided to speak.
"Temari, what is this about?"
His sister sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Tsunade-sama doesn't actually want to see you. I got you out of class because me and Kankuro need to talk to you." As she said this, they rounded the corner and Gaara's older brother came into view.
Gaara frowned as a weird feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. "Talk to me about what?"
Kankuro crossed his arms and sat down on one of the hallway benches. "We've heard about the fights you've been getting in with Neji Hyuga."
"And you stabbing Suigetsu in the hand with a fork." Temari added sternly.
"And the way you've been letting Ryo attack Suigetsu." Kankuro finished.
Temari's face fell from a stern look to a pleading look. "You can't be doing these kind of things, Gaara. You know just as well as we do that if father hears about this..."
"He'll send me back home." Gaara muttered, finishing Temari's sentence.
"Exactly," Kankuro said, crossing his arms. "You need to be more careful, kid! We'll protect you as much as we can but we can only do so much."
Gaara sat down next to his brother and bowed his head, a stubborn expression on his face. "I don't need protection."
Temari frowned and crouched down in front of the sand demon. "Gaara, we're your older siblings and we're going to protect you whether you like it or not. I know we don't show it all the time but we love you. So please stop getting into trouble; for our sake and yours." Temari stood up and crossed her arms, her voice taking a lighter tone. "Now, what's this I hear about Suigetsu wanting to court you?"
Gaara flushed slightly, somewhat uncomfortable with discussing a topic such as this with his siblings. "It's nothing. He's just an idiot who's gotten his hopes up."
Kankuro and Temari both made a 'hm' sound and studied their younger brother. Gaara shifted uncomfortably under their gazes. The longer they studied him, the more unhappy Temari looked.
"Alright, I believe you. But now that we've gotten all that out of the way, it's time to breach a more serious topic." The blonde fairy placed her hands on her hips and pursed her lips.
Gaara gave her a questionable look.
Temari pulled him off of the bench and placed her hands on his shoulders. "After school today, I'm taking you out shopping. You really need some new clothes," She stared at his face for a few seconds. "And a haircut."
Gaara frowned and glanced down at his paint splattered t shirt and ripped, faded jeans. "What's wrong with my clothes?"
Kankuro laughed and jumped up from the bench. "Are you kidding me? You look like you were just dragged out of the trashcan!"
"No I don-"
"Yes you do." The older siblings said at the same time with serious expressions on their face.
Gaara gave up on protesting, knowing it wouldn't get him anywhere. At least he would be able to keep his old clothes and mix them in with whatever his older sister deemed as 'acceptable'.
Temari smiled at him, realizing that he'd given in, and gave him a small hug. "Go back to class, Gaara. I'll see you after school."
Gaara hesitated before slowly bringing his hands up and placing them on his sister's back. A hug every once in awhile never hurt.
A sigh escaped Gaara's lips for the hundredth time that day as Temari gave him another armload of clothes to try on. They had already accumulated five bags from two different stores. So far they had bought four dress shirts, twelve tshirts, five pairs of skinny jeans, much to Gaara's displeasure, three pair of shoes, and four shorts. All of these were in different shades of reds, greys, and blacks of course.
Gaara begrudgingly walked into a dressing room and laid down his pile of clothes on a chair. His sister had been getting more and more daring with her selections and he was almost afraid to see what he had to try on.
The first article of clothing wasn't so bad; a grey long sleeve shirt with black stitches forming an X on his chest. Liking it enough, he took it off and placed it in the 'yes' pile.
The second shirt was a bit more. A crimson shirt with a small v-neck and quarter length sleeves. He wasn't exactly pleased. Gaara put it on and after glancing in the mirror walked out for his sister's opinion: thus was their agreement.
Upon seeing her little brother, Temari grinning and said, "It looks great on you Gaara. Very flattering. Now keep that on and try on the pants I picked out for you with it. I'm going to run to the ladies room real quick. Just come on out once you have it on."
Gaara grunted in acknowledgement and went back into the changing room. Kicking off his shoes, Gaara picked up the pair of pants on top of the pile and nearly choked. In his hands were a pair of black leather pants.
"No way in hell." Gaara hissed. Despite saying this, he knew he had to at least try them on and let his sister see.
Not used to wearing tight pants, Gaara struggled for a few minutes before the pants were finally on and he dared a glance in the mirror. Gaara stared at his reflection in the mirror and pursed his lips. He actually looked...really nice. Despite his too thin frame, the shirt and pants seemed to compliment his body in a way his old clothes never did. Gaara groaned and stepped out of the dressing room to wait on his sister.
As he waited, Gaara glanced around the store. Luckily today wasn't a very busy day so there weren't many people in the store. There were a few women by the sportswear, a older gentlemen by the suits, a girl looking at jewelry, a long haired boy looking at slacks-
Gaara's face turned pale as he did a double and realized that he knew that long haired boy. He knew him all too well. And to make matters worse, he was only a few racks away. Gaara had no idea how he'd missed him before but there was no way he was going to be caught by anyone in these clothes, especially him.
Gaara quickly crouched down behind the rack of shirts in front of him and peered through them to keep track of the other boy. He remained like this for a few minutes and he frantically began to wonder where Temari was. A tap on his shoulder startled him and he spun around to see an unhappy employee staring down at him.
"Can I help you sir?" The woman asked with a frown.
The sand demon quickly stood up and, thinking fast, muttered, "No. I dropped my phone and slid under the clothes rack. Is that a problem?" Gaara fixed her with a cold stare and she automatically shrank back, an unsure expression on her face.
"O-of course not sir. I was just seeing if you needed assistance." She stuttered.
"I don't." He stated coldly.
"Of course. Um, please excuse me for irritating you." With that, she quickly scurried off.
Sometimes it paid to be intimidating.
"Gaara?" Came a silky, inquisitive voice from behind him.
Shit.
Gaara turned around to find Neji Hyuga standing a few feet away from him.
"Leave." Gaara demanded immediately, not wanting to deal with him at the moment.
Ignoring his command, Neji arched an eyebrow and let his eyes roam over the sand demon's frame. The sorcery demon slowly began to circle Gaara, drinking in the sight of his altered appearance.
"My my," Neji purred. "I had no idea you could clean up so nicely, Gaara."
Gaara felt a spark run down his spine at the way the other demon had spoken that last set of words.
And suddenly, Neji was right in front of him. Gaara was so surprised by the chest appearing in front of his face that he stumbled back into the wall behind him. Not missing a beat, Neji was back in front of him, staring him down. Gaara tensed as those pale orbs raked over his body a second time. He got a distinct feeling that he was a piece of meat being stared down by a pack of lions. Only, there was one lion.
While Gaara may not have been the brightest when it came to body language, he was not oblivious. And he was definitely receiving a 'come-hither' vibe from the other demon. The only problem was that it didn't make sense to him. Especially due to the fact that they detested each other.
"You should buy those."
Gaara was abruptly brought out of his thoughts by Neji's honey sweet voice.
"Huh?" The sand demon asked smartly.
Neji chuckled and grinned at him. "Those pants. You should buy them."
A light pink dusted Gaara's cheeks. He glared at the sorcery demon and hissed, "Why?"
In a flash, Neji had his lips pressed against Gaara's ear and a hand was placed on his hip. "They make your legs look amazing...amongst other things." He purred in that velvety voice. Gaara flushed red and he could practically feel the bastard smirking against his ear. He was too close. This made him feel too weird.
Without thinking, Gaara quickly pushed him away with a bit too much force and ran back inside the dressing room without seeing where the bastard would land. This time he would admit to running away. That freaked him the fuck out.
Gaara changed out of those clothes as fast as possible, which took a few minutes, wanting nothing more than to go back to his dorm and hibernate for a while. He quickly changed back into his normal clothes.
"Gaara?" Came the curious voice of his sister.
Bursting out of the dressing room, Gaara shoved the pile of clothes into Temari's arms and hissed, "Just get them all." As soon as he said it he practically ran out of the store to his sister's car.
Dazed, Temari stood there for a few minutes before slowly snapping out of it and walking to the register.
"I wonder what's gotten into him..."
End of chapter 8!
Sorry if this one seemed short and a little random too! I'm still trying to get back in the swing of things!
Next chapter, Gaara shall finally get his revenge on Neji! With a little extra surprise mixed in~ x3
Please review! :D
