Hello again! x3
It seems that you all were rather pleased with the last chapter! Good!
And there were so many reviews that I decided to hop right on the next chapter! :3
You guys are fantastic!
And for all of those who are freaking out over why Gaara 'seems' so weak...
CALM DOWN! JESUS! IT WILL ALL BE EXPLAINED SOON! *cough* next chapter *cough* XD
Okay, moving on!
Gaara stared at himself in the mirror with a sour expression. He had just stepped out of the shower when his reflection caught his eye and made him stop. With a sigh, he realized that it was happening again.
His ribs were starting to show again. The bags under his eyes were starting to become more noticeable, too. The last time this happened was a few months ago; the result being that he passed out and ended up having to go to a hospital for a few days.
If his siblings or friends saw him like this...
With another sigh he left the bathroom and went to his closet. He would just have to wear some of his old baggier clothes until someone starts forcing him to eat again. Without much thought he grabbed a large black t-shirt with his kanji symbol on it and a pair of tattered jeans. It would have to do for now, seeing as how Temari got rid of a large amount of his old clothes...without his permission.
Gaara looked down at his feet and decided not to wear shoes. Today he just planned on going down to the beach and reading for awhile before someone came to bother him. If he was lucky, he would be able to finish the book he's been reading and even start another.
He picked up his bag at the foot of his bed and then stared at the little lump under the covers.
"Ryo, are you coming?"
The lump moved a bit before Ryo popped out from under the covers, his eyes squinty and his fur sticking up in odd places. Gaara snorted amusedly at his little companion and crossed his arms.
"Nevermind, go back to sleep. You deserve it." Gaara motioned back to the covers.
Without protest, Ryo squeaked and slunk back under the warm sheets to continue napping. On his way out, Gaara flipped off the lights for the little raccoon.
Gaara quickly made his way outside, not wanting to run into anyone in the dorms, and headed for the beach. As he approached, he couldn't help but frown at the huge crowd of teenagers occupying the sands. It was Saturday after all. Gaara began walking on the outside of the beach towards the North end; the least populated spot on the beach. Most teens avoided the North side of the beach because the waves were small and there were large patches of shade cast from the clump of trees that surround that end of the beach. Gaara still couldn't comprehend why so many people were obsessed with tans and whatnot.
Gaara sighed in relief as he plopped down in the cool shade. He never used a beach blanket because of how good the sand felt to him. Gaara felt a lot more relaxed now that no one was around him. Knowing that this peace wouldn't last forever, Gaara dug inside his bag and pulled out the thick book he'd been reading.
The Darkest Depths of Heaven.
At first glance, one might think that this book was filled with horror and scenes that would never let you sleep at night...which is undoubtedly correct. But what Gaara would never let anyone know is that the book was mostly centered around romance. No one would ever let him live it down if they found out. Especially Temari.
Gaara only ever read two types of books. Horror and romance. It was even better when the two were combined. It was no secret why Gaara loved horror books. The horrible scenes described on the pages would bring his vivid imagination to life and send jolts of adrenaline down his spine. The most horrific scenes would always bring out his artistic side and cause him to draw something amazing. His horror books were where a large majority of his inspiration comes from. Romance on the other hand...
Gaara honestly had no idea why romance novels attracted him so much. His guess was that it was because he had never really felt love before. While his siblings cared for him dearly, he'd never felt the warm love of a mother or father, or even a 'special someone' who felt the same way about him. When he read about the love that two people shared in books, it made the internal cogs and gears of his brain to work, trying to figure out what would cause anyone to feel that way about another person. And then, it also made him think about what it would feel like to fall in love with someone. For his usually cold heart to start beating erratically, for him to long for another person's presence, or to be embarrassed over the smallest gestures.
Of course, Gaara has no intentions of falling in love any time soon. In fact, he couldn't ever foresee it happening.
Within seconds, Gaara was absorbed in his book. His eyes smoothly rolled across the printed words and the world around him melted away. To him, this was peace.
Gaara sighed contently as he finished his book and closed it with a small pap. He really did have a fabulous taste in authors. After all, it took a true genius to come up such an ending as this one. The two main characters, the lovers, ended up drowning in their combined blood after attempting to kill each other. As it had turned out, they'd been plotting against each other throughout the entire book while pretending to love the other one. Beautiful.
Now in a much better mood than earlier, Gaara pulled out his next book to get a head start and opened it with a small sense of excitement.
"Gaara! There you are!"
Gaara's grip tightened in irritation and one of the pages in his book ripped. With an annoyed growl, he turned to glare at the intrusive person only to find that it was his sister. An all new sense of dread came upon him at that moment.
Temari approached him with a small smile but it immediately dropped when she saw what he was wearing.
"Gaara," She said slowly, crossing her arm. "Why aren't you wearing the new clothes I bought for you? You said you liked them!"
Gaara sighed inwardly and gently closed his book before placing it in his bag. Looks like his time alone had officially ended. "I just didn't feel like wearing anything fancy..." It was a lie, but he couldn't let her know about his condition.
"Fancy?" Temari asked incredulously. "A lot of the clothes I bought you were casual lounging clothes!"
Gaara rubbed his temple and muttered, "Temari, can we please not-"
"Go get changed."
"...Huh?"
Temari laid her hands on her hips and gave him a stern look. "I was looking for you because Kankuro and I decided that we should go out for dinner tonight. We haven't been spending enough times together as siblings. We're going somewhere nice so you need proper clothes."
Gaara sighed and stood up. "Do I have to go?"
"Yes, you do. We've already made reservations for five people."
"Five?" Gaara asked.
Temari nodded and smiled a little. "Kankuro is bringing his future mate and we figured you would want to bring someone, too. I-"
"Kankuro is courting someone?" This was news to Gaara and it didn't exactly make him happy. Who thought that they had the right to mate with his older brother?
"Yes and you'll meet him tonight. So behave," Temari placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "And please pick someone decent to bring to dinner. I would prefer that you bring someone...special with you, but I understand that you haven't found that someone yet."
Gaara groaned and lowered his head. There she goes with the whole 'special someone' crap.
"What about that Suigetsu boy?"
Gaara glared at her and stated bluntly, "No way in hell."
"Well, why not?" Temari asked with a frown.
"He's annoying."
Temari sighed and turned around. Her brother was so hopeless. "Just make sure you find someone to bring, ok? Meet us in front of the school at six o'clock." She smiled at him one more time before walking off.
Gaara sighed and picked up his bag. So much for his good mood. He started walking back to the dorms so he could get his shoes. Now he actually had to go find someone to hang out with. Which left him with the big question.
Who washe going to bring? Kiba was a no because he would probably insist on bringing Akamaru. Shikamaru would undoubtedly sleep the whole time. Bring Choji to a restaurant? Dear god no. Lee?...Gaara shuddered at the thought.
Suigetsu? Like he told his sister, no way in hell. It would only give the wraith the impression that he had a chance with him. And he was annoying.
That left Naruto as his only option.
And Neji.
Gaara grunted and stopped walking. Neji? Why the hell would he ever bring Neji? That asshole would undoubtedly bother him the whole time and molest him again. Neji wasn't even an option.
With another sigh, Gaara pulled out his phone and dialed Naruto's number.
Naruto stood at the side of the school's track with a large grin on his face. In his hand was a black stopwatch that had been working for ten minutes now. Today he was helping Kiba with his training and the demon hound was currently running the track at breakneck speed. Akamaru was running on the outside of the track to motivate him.
As he reached Naruto, he came to an abrupt stop and placed his hands on his knees while sucking in air. "H...how'd I...I do?" He panted as sweat poured down his body. He had his discarded his shirt at the beginning of training because he knew it would be drenched if he wore it.
Naruto looked at the watch and then at his friend, a huge smile on his fact. "You did AMAZING! You beat your last record by two minutes! How much have you been training?"
Kiba let out a breathy laugh and collapsed on the ground, his chest heaving up and down. "Three hours...ever...every day...each week. If...I can manage it."
Naruto laughed and sat down next to his friend. "And yet you're always so full of energy! I almost feel sorry for your mate." He snickered and poked Kiba in the side.
At the mention of a mate, Kiba laughed tensely and sat up. "Heh, yeah. I could say the same for you, though! Your stamina hardly has a limit!"
Naruto snorted and struck a pose with his hand behind his head and one on his hip. "But of course!"
They both burst out laughing at that and they took a good two minutes to calm down.
"Now that you've got your training in, how about we head down to the beach?" Naruto asked as he stood up.
Kiba hesitated before standing up and clearing his throat. "Um...yeah. Sure. But let's avoid the crowds, okay?"
"Uh, sure. No problem." Naruto frowned as he watched his friend go retrieve his shirt. Something was wrong...but it looked like the demon hound didn't want to talk about it, and Naruto knew Kiba wouldn't crack if he pressured him.
Kiba absolutely did not want to go to the beach. He just knew that Neji and his gang would be there. But more importantly...Shino would be there. And being there with Naruto would definitely make matters worse. Though his blonde friend didn't know it yet, he'd made a huge mistake after the cupcake incident the other day. A HUGE mistake.
As Kiba and Naruto made their way to the beach, Kiba got lost in thought and didn't realize where they were until it was too late. Neji, Sasuke, Shino, and their swarm of fangirls were directly in front of them.
"W-wait, Naruto! I left something at the track!" Kiba rushed out, stopping in his tracks and grabbing Naruto's arm.
"Huh? But all you had with you was Akamaru and the stopwatch and they're both here." Naruto raised an eyebrow and held up the stopwatch.
Kiba swallowed thickly and glanced behind him, realizing with horror that the trio was staring at him. Kiba risked a glance at Shino and felt his blood run cold. Even though the bug charmer's eyes and mouth was covered, it was obvious to anyone that he was pissed.
Naruto turned to see what he was looking at and a snarl erupted from his throat.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ASSHOLES LOOKING AT?!" Naruto shouted, throwing a protective arm over his friend's shoulder.
Kiba's eyes widened in horror at his friend's action. Oh shit.
"NARUTO!" Without warning, Sasuke was up and stalking towards them faster than they would have liked. They then realized with even more horror that Shino was following him, though at a slower pace.
Kiba grabbed Naruto's wrist and started pulling him in the opposite direction. "Naruto, we need to go! NOW!"
"Why? We can take these jerks!" Though his words were full of confidence, he turned and started running with Kiba.
"Just run you idiot!"
They ran until they entered the dorms and they immediately entered the first janitor's closet they came across. It was only when they heard pounding feet go by that they let out sighs of relief.
"What the hell was that all about?!" Naruto asked breathlessly as he leaned against the wall. "It usually takes a lot more than that to get them pissed off! Especially Shino! He's always the quiet one!"
Kiba groaned and buried his head in his hands as his back slid down the door. "Oh man. This is all my fault!"
Naruto crouched down in front of him with a deep frown. "Your fault? How's it your fault? I'm the one who yelled at them."
Kiba sighed and placed his hands in his lap. "Well...it has to do with what happened after the cupcake prank..."
"You mean when that teme tried to kill me?"
"Y-yeah. You see, Shino-"
"Did that jerk do something to you again?! I swear if he did I'll freaking-"
"Wait wait! He'd didn't really do anything as much as he did...say something."
Naruto frowned in confusion and sat down, scratching his head. "Well, what did he say?"
Kiba drew his knees up to his chest and bit his lip. "Well...um. First he actually laughed."
Naruto's eyes widened. "He laughed? I've never even seen Shino smile!"
Kiba laughed and covered him mouth, a small hint of red on his cheeks. "I-I know. He laughed and said 'Good job. You actually managed to get us'. But that's not the thing that really bothered me. He hesitated for a second, like he was thinking something over," Kiba blushed furiously now and buried his head into his knees. "T-then he said that I was going to be his mate...and that he was the only one allowed to touch me."
"HE SAID WHAT?!" Naruto screamed as he stood up quickly and banged his head against a shelf above. He cursed loudly and moved out from under it. "What gave him the right?! What did you say afterwards?! You hit him right? PLEASE tell me you hit him!"
Kiba stood up and rubbed his neck nervously. "I...I didn't hit him. But I sure did say something..."
Naruto grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Well, what is it?! What did you say?!"
Kiba sucked in a deep breath and rushed out, "ItoldhimIalreadyhadsomeonecourtingmeandthatsomeone wasyou!"
Naruto stared at him in silence for a few minutes before stating, "Um...come again?"
Kiba groaned. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just panicked and that was the first thing to come out of my mouth! Now he thinks that you're courting me and he probably wants to kill you!"
Naruto smacked his palm with his fist. "And he's using Sasuke to help him!"
Kiba stared at his friend, a blank expression on his face. "How much of an idiot are you?"
"...It varies."
Kiba groaned and laid a hand on his head. "Listen you moron, Sasuke's chasing you becau-"
"Because he's pissed that I'm going to have a mate before him!" Naruto decided with a huff. "Well, all you have to do is explain to Shino that I'm not courting you, right? Problem solved! I just have to avoid them until then!"
"Well yeah, but I don't think I can face Shino just yet! He'd probably try and kill me!"
Naruto hummed in understanding and stayed quiet for a few minutes. "Alright. Let's give it some time and then during lunch one day, let's both talk to Shino and explain the whole situation. How's that?"
Kiba smiled and said, "Sounds good. Thanks for not getting mad."
Naruto laughed and smacked him on the shoulder. "No problem! To be honest, I probably would have done the same thing! Now, let's get out of here."
Naruto slowly opened up the door and stuck his head out. After a quick glance left and right he signaled that it was safe. They quickly exited the closet and ran for the door. As the made it outside, Naruto's phone went off. He flipped it open and smiled when he saw the recipient.
"Gaara! What's up?"
"You're coming to eat dinner with me, Kankuro, and Temari. Meet me in front of the school at six. Wear something nice. You owe me for abandoning me the other day so no exceptions."
The line went dead and Naruto was left staring at his phone.
"What did he want?" Kiba asked.
Naruto put his phone back in his pocket and grinned. "I'm being forced against my will to go eat with Gaara and his siblings."
Kiba chuckled and patted him on the back. "Gee, don't I wish I could be in your place!"
Naruto snorted and pushed him playfully. "Oh, shut up! I'm glad to be spending more time with Gaara. He's always so distant."
Kiba shrugged and smiled as Akamaru came padding towards them. "Well, he likes his alone time. That's understandable."
"True. I worry about him, though." Naruto sighed and looked at the ground. "I almost never see him eat and he sleeps in most of the classes we share together."
Kiba sighed and leaned against his blonde friend. "Some people are like that. Look man, I'm beat from training and the attempted murder. I'm gonna head back to my room and-"
"OI! DOBE!"
Kiba and Naruto both froze and glanced up.
What the hell is with this timing?! Naruto and Kiba both thought.
Sasuke was half leaning out of a window two stories about them, a vicious glare on his face. He looked back and shouted, "Shino! I found them!"
"Shit! Run Kiba!" Naruto roughly pushed his friend through the dorm entrance. Kiba nodded and bolted to his room, which was luckily on the first floor.
Knowing that he would never make it to his room in time, seeing as how it was on the third floor, Naruto bolted back outside. A girlish, unearthly sound escaped his throat as a pair of feet slammed into his back and knocked him to the ground. A pair of strong hands pinned down his shoulders.
"Caught you." A deep voice growled in his ear.
"What the hell teme?! Did you jump from the freaking window?!"
"Yes."
"Well get off!" Naruto hissed and began to struggle. "And where's Shino?!"
Sasuke sat down on the blonde's back and glared at the back of his head. "He went after Kiba. And speaking of Kiba, it's time to have a little chat."
Naruto tensed and stopped struggling.
Ohshit.
End of chapter 10! :3
Like I said, the whole 'Gaara weaker than Neji' thing will be explained later! Don't worry, it'll make sense. ;P
P.S: I'm going to be starting another new fanfiction soon! :D It'll be SasuNaru with them working as Assassins for KonohaCity, so look out for it if you think it seems interesting!
PLEASE REVIEW~
Reviews make the next chapter appear faster~ ;3