"A month of detention! And guess what you all get to do? Whatever I say. Starting today. I expect you all here after school. The punishment for missing one detention is another month, so make sure you're here, got it?" Tsunade asked. Her students mumbled incoherently. "I said, GOT IT?" "Yes Tsunade," they grumbled, slightly louder. "Good. Now get to fifth period. You kids are lucky I didn't suspend you all-" she grabbed at a few pieces of paper on her desk and they took this as a sign to leave.

"I wish she had suspended us. Then we could've gone home," Sasuke said as soon as her door was closed. "That fight got out of hand," Naruto said, scratching his blond hair. "Sorry, Lee, I was just worried about Sakura." Lee nodded. "It is all right, Naruto, for neither of us are hurt and it was an equal battle. Farewell!" They watched him scamper off before Sakura turned on Naruto."I was capable of handing it on my own," Sakura snapped at the blond. "Yeah right," Tenten baited her. "I won that and you know it!" Tenten flicked her off and the pink-haired girl was tempted to start another fight. But before she could really consider this, Tenten went to her fifth period classroom. "That bitch," Sakura snapped. "Yeah," Naruto agreed.

"So did you see my fight, Sasuke?" Sakura asked. "I saw you get a beat down," Sasuke said, enjoying Sakura's face as it flushed red with embarrassment and disappointment. She suddenly broke out into a sprint and was around the corner and gone in seconds. Well she could run away quickly, Sasuke would give her that. "So we going to Gym?" Naruto asked. "Yeah," Sasuke said, glancing at the clock. Damn, just in time. So they didn't really have an excuse for being late and didn't get to miss any Gym.

"That is so cool! Believe it! Gym is the best class ever! I love running!" Sasuke suddenly noticed the redhead. "Are you following us?" he said, lunging at the redhead, only to pull back. It was a test, a fakeout. To his surprise, the redhead flinched and his shoulders scrunched. "No. I have Gym fifth period," he said flatly, relaxing just a bit and resuming his long stride and brisk pace. The two friends watched him until he turned the corner. Oh wait, they were going the same way. Oh great, Sasuke was sharing Gym with the freakin' psychopath who'd attacked him for no reason. Great.

"Well you start fights for no reason too," Naruto said. Sasuke gaped at him.

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

"I guessed. But you do, all the time."

"What-? No I don't, not all the time, just sometimes."

"Maybe he was just-"

"Why are you making excuses for him?"

"He seems lonely."

"What? Lonely? Where the hell did you get that from?" Sasuke stopped yelling abruptly as they entered the changing room. The boys were looking at the duo funny and he hated audiences. "I'm just saying, he's a psychopathic jackass and he's a crazy. Seriously, you should've seen him in Art," Sasuke whispered as they took a lock from the bin. Each locker had a piece of paper attached to it that said the combination. You opened the lock and fastened it around whichever locker you wanted.

"You have Art with him? How romantic," Naruto said dreamily. He picked a locker in the far corner. Sasuke picked the one next to it. The last locker available was near theirs and Gaara was forced to take this one. Sasuke glared daggers at the redhead, but Gaara didn't seem to care. His eyes were distant again. "Romantic? Are you fucking kidding me? Did you just call me a faggot?" Sasuke asked. "No, gee, I was just kidding around. And you think Sabaku's the psycho?" The blond dodged the raven's half-hearted punch.

Gaara waited. He waited for the other two to leave, his eyes on the ground. He refused to change while anyone was around, even if it did make him late to the gym every day.

When they left, he pulled his shirt off and winced. His chest was a mess, bruises and scars criss-crossing each other in a sick, grotesque colorful way. Memories of the last summer assaulted him and he clutched his brick red hair, trying to push them away. It hurt to think, to remember and his body seemed to throb in remembrance.

Burning, fiery spikes of pain, unbearable, please, Father, stop, leave me alone, go away, someone help, I can't take this anymore, Temari please make it stop, no Temari stay away, I don't want him to hurt you, please, Shukaku help me, I can't-I can't handle this, please...

"Hey Gaara, they want you outside like right now, believe it- hey Gaara, you okay-?" the sound of the pesky blond's loud words was enough to snap him out of the flashback. He yanked his gym shirt over his body, just in time. The blond came in and grabbed his wrist. "Come on!" he tried to yank the redhead, but Gaara was fairly strong, and he wrenched his wrist out of his grip. "I can walk," he heard Shukaku spit, through his own mouth. "Okay!" the blond shouted, smiling an idiotic grin, a grin Shukaku wished he could wipe off his face.

Why was he being so nice? Shukaku was confused and so was Gaara. Hadn't he just beaten up Naruto's best friend? So why was he so damn happy and nice? It's an act. We can't trust this one, Shukaku hissed. Never trust any living being. In case there was any doubt, Shukaku reminded Gaara. He shoved the flashbacks forward and Gaara was forced to watch them again. I know, Shukaku, I remember, I remember, I know, please stop, he cried out in his mind. He tried to shove the memories away, but the demon pushed them back and they burst to life in front of his eyes again. You must remember. Your body bears the mementos of your past pain. Your body remembers.

Naruto turned and noticed Gaara had stopped. "Gaara?" Naruto asked, edging a little closer. The redhead was shaking, and his head was bowed, his hand pressed to his forehead. On his Japanese symbol tattoo. "No, I know, I remember," he whimpered. "Remember what?" Naruto asked. "Leave me alone!" Why did Naruto get the feeling that Gaara wasn't talking to him? "Please, I know!" "What are you two doing here? You two ladies should be out in the gym, showing the power of youth, not standing here talking!"

It was the gym teacher. Guy. The weirdo. Lee's dad. He was wearing the same stupid jumpsuit as Lee and he had the same haircut and eyebrows. "Guy, I don't think Gaara is feeling-" "I'm fine. I apologize for the delay," the redhead interrupted smoothly, eyes curiously blank again. He stared straight ahead expressionlessly as if nothing had happened. His usual expression. But not a few seconds ago. Something had been wrong, Naruto was sure of it. And he was going to find out what.

"Fifty laps! Around the field! Show us some youthful power!"

"Don't you hate the word youthful?" Neji said into Sasuke's ear. The two teenagers were jogging side by side, since they were both the fastest and had left everyone in the dust. Okay, not completely true. Lee was the fastest, but he was lapping everyone, constantly, so it seemed like they were in the lead since Lee was always in a different place on the track every time they looked. "Yeah, Guy is as weird as his son," Sasuke said. One second Lee was barely in his peripheral vision, just out of the corner of his eye, and the next he was fifty feet ahead. Man the kid was fast. "I mean look at those green jumpsuits. Guy gave him special permission to wear that thing in class," Sasuke said. "Just be content that he hasn't forced us all to wear them," Neji said. Just the thought made Sasuke want to barf.

Gaara hated running. It was physical movement. Not only did he hate physical activity, but he also hated performing physical activity with scars that could open and bleed any time with strenuous activity. But it wasn't like he had a note to excuse him from P.E. so he would have to just suck it up.

Naruto loved running. He had a lot of energy from sitting still all day long and now was the time to release some of that pent up energy. He wasn't fast, but he was an endurance runner, so he could run the mile without slowing down even a little. It's what he did now. "How-can-you-have-so-much-energy?" Choji puffed as Naruto lapped him. "Gee, Choji, you haven't run a lap yet and you're tired?" Naruto giggled. "Not all of us have the energy levels you have, Naruto," Shikamaru said. "Shikamaru, you're okay!" Naruto said, delighted. "Okay? It was just a nosebleed," Shikamaru yawned.

"Shikamaru Nara, come on, put some effort into it!" Guy yelled at the slacker as he passed. "Yeah, effort, Shikamaru!" Naruto shrieked. "What a drag," Shikamaru sighed, making no effort to move faster. "Yeah, everyone watched Naruto and Lee, showing off their youthful strength and power! Atta' go, Lee," Guy roared. "Yes, Father, I shall run a hundred laps," Lee cried enthusiastically. "Not if I run 'em first," Naruto challenged him. "That is a challenge," Lee cried. They both sped up.

Naruto didn't look where he was going. Gaara wasn't paying his surroundings any attention.

Both were surprised when suddenly they were airbourne.

Gaara choked on the sand and dirt of the track. He'd opened his mouth in surprise and gotten a handful into his throat. He coughed and tried to stand up, but found someone was lying on him, pinning him to ground and preventing proper respiration. "Get.. off," he gasped. "Off... now..."

Hands were around his throat. His hands grasped at the fingers, trying to pry them off, but they were like iron. Iron that tightened around his windpipe, effectively cutting off any oxygen. He choked and his legs kicked, but he couldn't move, not with his father straddlng him. "Get... off... now," Gaara choked. "Get... off..." After that, all coherent thoughts faded away, replaced only with panic. And it was then, it was then that he first heard Shukaku. When he was six. In the depths of his mind, he heard a voice. And as he began to fade, Shukaku took control of his voice. "If I die, you'll be arrested," Shukaku said. This seemed to remind Father that if he killed his son, it would be almost impossible to cover it up. He got up and shoved Gaara away from him. "Stay here," he growled.

"Who are you?" Gaara gasped, breathing in deeply, trying to get air back to his starving lungs. He was saved. Saved by the voice in his head. He wanted to know who his savior was. "You can call me whatever you wish," the voice purred through his own lips. "I'm here for you, Gaara. I am your friend. I just saved your life. You can trust me." His breath hitched in his throat. Someone who cared. Someone who cared. He'd thought no one cared, that he was all alone. But maybe, he wasn't as alone as he thought.

Then panicked filled his senses. Was he going mad? Voices in his head? I must be going crazy or I have that disease were you talk to voices in your head, Gaara thought wildly. I'm going crazy! "Gaara, relax, and listen to me. You aren't crazy. You're-" the voice stopped talking as the door swung open. "You're talking to yourself?" It was his father. Not that Gaara expected anyone else. "Something is wrong with you, I know it, and I'll have to beat some sense into you, for your own good. There's something screwed up in your brain. If I beat it out of you, maybe you'll be a better person then." "Oh there's an excuse," the voice hissed, using Gaara's voice to speak to the man. "What? Insolence!"

Gaara saw the punch coming. He knew it was coming and he didn't bother blocking.

He didn't.

Shukaku, as he would later dub the voice, did.

He blocked the punch and returned the punch with surprising power, way stronger than the power a six year old should have. His father grunted. "You-you," his meaty fist swung again and Shukaku forced Gaara's body down, dodging the hit. He backed up, avoiding the kick that would've broken Gaara's ribs and made a run for the door. But it was Gaara who screamed when he felt his father's heavy, powerful hand grab his leg. And snap the bone.

Gaara, Shukaku cried.

After that, the only thing he remembered was waking up on the ground, his father above him with a knife. He closed his eyes. It didn't stop the pain. It didn't stop the scarring or the blood or that ironic Japanese kanji for love on his forehead. But he didn't have to see it, and that was something. Better than nothing.

"GET OFF OF ME!"

Gaara flipped and threw the other boy off with surprising strength. Naruto ended up flying four feet in the air and skidding six feet away into the grass, not the track, fortunately for him. "Gaara-?" Something about the redhead wasn't right. His face was pained and he was crouched in a defensive stance. "Gaara?" His eyes were wild and one hand went to the ground and clutched at the rocks while the other crept to his forehead, his fingers pressing to his tattoo. His hands were shaking.

"What's going on?"

"What's the problem?"

"Is someone hurt?"

Kids, perhaps glad to have a reason to quit running, gathered around Naruto. "What's up? What happened?" they all wanted to know. "I-nothing, just keep running-" "Mr. Uzumaki, are you all right?" Guy asked. "That was a nasty tackle." "Why is everyone concerned about me? I wasn't the one who was tackled, Gaara was. I landed on him, I'm fine, believe it. Wait, where did he go?" the blond added. He looked around. When people had begun to crowd around him, the redhead must've escaped his sight and run away.

It took him a few minutes to get everyone away from him. "I'm fine, no really, Sasuke I hit him, he didn't hit me, he pushed me off, that's it," he stammered to his best friend. He was a little irked. Everyone seemed to care what happened to him, but no one cared about the redhead, who'd probably gotten the worst of the impact. Naruto did have to admit though, it was nice that they were all concerned. Even Sakura had seemed concerned.

"Good Naruto, just brush it off, that was a fierce tackle, but you're all right and that's what counts-"

"Yeah, that's great, Coach, um, but can I go inside and get a few band-aids?"

"Sure, class is almost over anyway. Hey you, put some youthful effort into it!" While Guy went to go scream at Shikamaru for being lazy again, Naruto went off in search of the redhead.

"Now think, where would he go?" Naruto asked himself. But he realized he couldn't answer his own question because he didn't know anything about the redhead besides that he seemed bi-polar. He seemed to be angry for no reasons at times, and sometimes he seemed apathetic and uncaring. It was weird, like he had two personalities. An angry temperamental side and a monotonous apathetic side. Polar opposites. Weird.

Could it get any weirder? Yeah. It was weird that Naruto cared. Weird that he cared about some redhead who'd attacked his friend. But then, he was friends with most of the people who'd attacked Sasuke. Kiba out of fury, Lee for competition, Neji to test his combat skills, Sakura in the pursuit of love, Ino for the same reason as Sakura, and many others. He had weird relationships with many people and this was not the weirdest relationship he had ever pursued. So why the hell not? That was Naruto's motto.

Review. Man, I'm not used to putting so much in one chapter, but one thing lead to another and I couldn't stop until I got here. So anyway, thanks for reviewing so quickly. So whataya think, too many people out of character? I kinda thought Neji and Lee and Tenten seem kinda out of character. And a few others. Sakura is out of character. Kind of. That's how she acted pre-shippuden, though, so it's not too off, I hope.

Now who updates fast, huh?