Sorry about the delay. You know how I was cosplaying last weekend? Well, I had a dance show this weekend, hence the no update. Seeing as I'm home sick today, I thought I might as well do something productive. I'll do my best to post a second chapter before the weekend to make up for that and this one being a little shorter than usual.
Onwards!
Chapter 9: The Urge to Protect
I sat on the couch, watching Midas mould the different coloured goo with difficulty.
"So you were a clay sculptor as a human." It wasn't really a question. Ever since I bought Midas the dough, Gaara had kept far away. I asked him why, but he refused to answer and continued to read. The play dough was formed into a misshapen bird. Midas had used his claws to create markings. His paws were a mess.
"That's so cute!" I gently picked up the bird. "Very impressive considering the lack of thumbs." Midas wagged his tail at my compliment. I paused and looked at him slowly with a wide grin.
"I could make a fortune off you." He backed away as I began to laugh manically.
"Think about it: a dog that can sculpt. It's unheard of! But meh, too much effort." I put the bird next to the TV.
"There we go, a place of honour." Midas nodded and began sculpting again. "Now… where did I put Burrito…"
Midas had grown quite a lot. So had his ability to sculpt. I was still amazed by his canine dexterity, even after a month. People had stopped asking about Gaara, so he was able to relax somewhat. He still clung onto my toy bunny. It was a rather humorous sight considering it was half his size. Burrito was doing much better. He was able to move his legs, but didn't have the strength to stand just yet. Thanks to that, I was finally able to use the treadmill. Once he was walking, his muscles would form much faster. I was just waiting patiently. Him? Not so much. Every time I stopped the exercise, he would growl, even though he was tired out. Every time I would have to convince him that it was still progress; that he had to be patient. I usually got irritated and snapped. My fuse was only so long. The fact that I had to put off my self-gift also made me annoyed. Stupid curses or spells or whatever was on the puppies. We were still waiting for the others to change back so we could figure out why they turned into dogs in the first place. It was still a complete mystery.
My train of thought was interrupted as my alarm went off.
"Alright, everyone up. I've got work today." Gaara rolled over. I took my bunny from his clutches and he woke up.
"My bunny." I said hugging it close. He just glared at me.
"My bed, my bunny, my house, my rules." I stated. "Go shower." He grumbled as he climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom. At first I was worried about sharing a bed with him since he said he was sixteen. However, he acted how he looked most of the time. It didn't feel like he was a teen. He was just a child, no matter how I looked at it.
Once everybody was fed and lunch was packed, I piled them all into the car. The day started just as usual.
"Morning Melissa." I greeted as I walked into the clinic.
"Good morning Leila, good morning Gaara." She greeted the boy with a sweet smile. She adored him.
"Hello." He said in return.
"How's my schedule today?"
"Busy but bearable." Mellissa responded, looking at the appointment book. And so the work began. Gaara kept busy by reading most of the time. Midas still growled at him, but Gaara ignored the puppy. I often saw Burrito on his back moving his legs around. I knew that soon he would be back to perfect health.
The day trudged on. All my appointments had been dealt with and I was about to pack up when the door opened. I recognised the dog before I recognised the owner. A beautiful English Mastiff. Marred by bleeding gashes covering his body. The huge man who kept him on a tight lead was also very memorable.
"You came just in time. Come in, I'll treat him immediately." The man followed me to the adjacent room. He lifted the dog onto the metal table. I noticed quickly that they weren't old wounds that had reopened. I would treat the dog first, and then deal with the owner. That's what I decided, and that's what I did. As I set about cleaning the wounds, I vaguely noted that Melissa had gone home early. She said she was feeling a bit under the weather. I pushed all other thoughts away as I concentrated on my patient.
I looked up at the owner as I took off my gloves.
"I'll be keeping him overnight. Some of his wounds need to be stitched up." I wasn't telling a lie. Some of the gashes warranted a few stitches, but they would still be fine without them. I just didn't want this dog to suffer any more.
"Stich it now. I can't come back tomorrow." The man stated in a gruff voice.
"Is it that you can't come or that you need your dog for something?" I glared at him.
"What are you implying?" he glared back.
"Nothing yet. I was asking a simple question."
"That's none of your business."
"I'm afraid it is. As a vet, I have taken an oath to help each animal that comes through these doors as best I possibly can. That includes your dog." I heard my voice rising with every word. "If you carry on making him participate in fights, I won't stand by idly. I will have to put a stop to it!" I yelled in his face. His eyes narrowed.
"What makes you think I take it to fights?" he hissed through clenched teeth.
"Oh come on, I'm a vet! Do you really think I wouldn't know what a dog bit looks like?" The realization of my stupidity then hit me. I shouldn't have said anything. It was an incredibly bad choice on my side. I could've kept quiet and slowly tried to extract information then call the police.
All my brief musings proved correct as the hulking man launched himself at me. Luckily for me, many years gaming as a child increased my reaction time enough to dodge his punch to my face. I scrambled out of the room. He thundered after me. I saw him look away from me. Looking in the same direction I saw Gaara looking at us with no readable expression. The large man smirked. Fuelled by rage and fear, I tripped him. It didn't work as well as I hoped, but it gave me enough time to rush over to Gaara. The man stalked over to us. I stood over Gaara protectively. I closed my eyes, waiting for the man's raised fist to connect to my face. A shadow passed over me but I felt no pain.
Was I dead? Is that why there was no pain?
Slowly, I cracked open one eye then the other. I was inside some sort of barrier, solid and dark. It bean crumbling around us. I glanced at Gaara who didn't seem fazed in the least. The man stood dead still, eyes glued to his arm in alarm. I followed his gaze and saw his arm, from his fingers to his elbow, was encased in sand.
"Leave. Now." Gaara ordered in a surprisingly threatening voice. The sand constricted. The man paled and began backing away.
"Out." Gaara growled. His voice warped, sounding truly terrifying. The man fled.
I sat on the waiting room couch, trembling. A few minutes had passed, but I hadn't said anything, just shook with fear and shock.
"W-what happened?" I asked the boy shakily. Gaara looked at me.
"You were attacked." He answered simply. I breathed slowly and carefully, trying to calm my frayed nerves.
"I know that much. Why aren't I hurt? What was with that sand?" Gaara paused before answering again.
"I controlled it." I stared at him. He stared back.
"You're serious?"
"Mostly."
"Mostly?" I asked sceptically.
"The defence erected itself."
"But you used the sand to surround his arm?"
"Yes." I couldn't help the urge to rub my temples.
"Man-dog controlling sand… what's next?" I grumbled. "Alright," I looked him in the eye, "explain fully." Gaara closed his eyes for a moment, deciding what to say.
"In my world, I was always able to control sand. However, since coming here, my chakra system has been disrupted. I believe the scene just now restarted it." He explained carefully.
"Chak-ra?"
"The energy present in the body used to do most things as a shinobi."
"Can the others use it?"
"Luckily not." I looked over Gaara.
"What exactly happened between you guys?" Gaara paused before sighing.
"The exact details of the battle are rather… lengthy. However, all that is needed to know is that he infused his clay with his chakra. The creations would come to life before exploding. He also has an irritating nasal grunt." An annoyed bark came from behind the counter.
"That's why you were so twitchy when I got him the play dough." I realized. I looked at the large clock on the wall.
"It's getting late. Let's go home for today."
Tada! Am I bad person for enjoying writing this chapter? Oh well, it was fun. Maybe I'll do a little filler chapter next. Something random and not serious. It would be short if I did. Tell me what you think.
OH! And for those who guessed who the important person was last chapter...BZZZT! All wrong XD nice try though.
Finally: your reviews make me so unbelievably happy. Would you like if I did little replies in the AN here as I've seen others do?
Until next time
I'm out.
