This chapter has given me so much grief it's unbelievable. I started it months ago and some time between then and now my writing style has changed slightly so that when I look back at the first half I feel the need to rewrite it all. But it has been rewritten so many times that I no longer have the will to revise it again. I just hope I haven't messed it up too badly when I've tried to alter it.
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, your words of encouragement really mean a lot to me. I'm not sure about who I'm pairing Kakashi up with just yet. Depending on how I order events (i.e. when Deidara makes his next appearance) depends on whether pairing him with Iruka will be plausible. As for there being 4 against one...next chapter should deal with that problem ^^
Chapter 10
Gaara rhythmically drummed his fingers against the polished wood of the table. His eyes skimmed the document in his free hand, occasionally moving back to the beginning of the paragraph when the words ceased to make sense. The more often this occurred the more creased Gaara's brow became with concentration and annoyance.
The drumming ceased. The document was released as Gaara's hand made its way up to massage his temples. He was getting a headache.
Lips that had previously been sounding out the legal terms he knew so well shaped themselves into the form of a curse. Leaning back in his chair, Gaara absently stared at the ceiling as he focused on the one who had pillaged his concentration. Naruto. He wanted to go see the blond human, wanted to make sure that the Hunter hadn't harmed or corrupted his mind, but his pride refused to let him. Last night, when Naruto had chosen the Hunter's company over his, he had been insulted and hurt. He'd fumed all night over the incident as he'd searched for Deidara. When he hadn't found the elusive vampire he'd been deeply disappointed. His ex. would have made the perfect punching bag upon which Gaara could have released his pent up fury.
Naruto wasn't the only one who Gaara was angry with. The Hunter (being a sworn enemy of the whole vampire race) was naturally not at the top of Gaara's Christmas card list. However, due to the man's actions the night before, he had secured his place at the top of Gaara's list of enemies. The Hunter had had the audacity to talk down to him, to forbid him from seeing Naruto. Gaara had wanted to tear the masked man limb from limb but Naruto had stopped him. The blond had wanted to listen to the Hunter even though Gaara had told him that the man would only spout lies about vampires. In a way Gaara was scared to go back to see the results of the Hunter's brainwashing. If Naruto hated him he doubted he'd be able to control himself. He'd kill the boy and quite possibly go on a rampage until he was either killed by the Hunter or crippled by the pain that comes after the overwhelming fury of being forsaken.
Gaara cursed as he leaned forward, returning his gaze to his work. He'd made the foolish error of starting a relationship with a stranger, a human, someone he hadn't been one hundred percent sure he could trust, and now he was paying the price. Betrayal and heartbreak seemed to be just beyond the horizon but he couldn't back out now - he was in far too deep for that. Naruto had somehow carved a place for himself in Gaara's heart of stone and to try to remove the boy from his life would only cause him pain. Naruto had to be the one to deliver the first blow, to give kindling to the fire that was Gaara's resolve to leave before he got hurt. Because he always seemed to be the one who got hurt, the one who carried the most scars. He was such a fool to fall in love.
Gaara jerked as he realized what he'd just been thinking. It wasn't love – he was a vampire and didn't know how to love – but he was sure it was something similar. Over the years Gaara had had many relationships and although many of them had been intense they had never been like this. Gaara looked back on his time with Deidara and remembered that at one point he'd wanted to protect the man, but that hadn't been until after they'd lain together and Gaara had been sure that Deidara was his to command and control. Naruto, on the other hand, had never been that intimate with him and yet Gaara would have died to protect him.
Looking back Gaara saw many key differences between his current and past relationships. The most prominent was that Naruto was human and the rest had been vampires. Gaara had slept with humans but he had never wanted to have a relationship with them. That might have been because back then he hadn't seen humans as anything more than prey, but Gaara didn't think that was the whole story. He'd known from the beginning that there was something special about Naruto, something he couldn't place, something that drew him towards the blond with an unearthly ferocity that at times scared and confused him. He wanted the boy's body and blood, but only if he was given permission. For some reason the idea of just taking what he wanted repulsed him. Gaara wasn't sure how much was his new perspective on life and how much was due to Naruto's affect on him. All he knew was that it would be suicide to cut the thread that bound Naruto's life to his.
Accepting the fact that he wouldn't get any work done until his mind was at ease, Gaara stood up and put on his shoes. It was time to stop torturing himself and go find out where he really stood with Naruto.
The giant concrete building appeared as it always did at night. A few windows radiated light from electric lamps but most were dark and empty; the occupants of the rooms were already fast asleep. Gaara still flew up to Naruto's room carefully, mindful that anyone could see him during his exposed ascent. He didn't want to be caught and the alarm to be raised.
When Gaara reached Naruto's window he was surprised that it was open. The night was not particularly cold but it was also not particularly warm. Why then had it been left open: was it a trap or had Naruto meant it as a sign that he wanted him to visit? The ambiguity made Gaara suspicious and apprehensive about entering. His acute hearing could only detect Naruto's soft breathing but it was possible that the Hunter was there too, silently lying in wait for him.
After a few tense minutes in which nothing stirred Gaara slipped through the window into the apartment. With his night vision he easily spotted Naruto sprawled out on his bed, a small trail of drool running from his parted lips to his chin. Gaara repressed a smile at the sight; it was very much Naruto in a nutshell.
Gaara silently moved to stand by Naruto's head. He needed to wake the teen to talk to him but it was unlikely that Naruto would be quiet after being rudely roused from his deep sleep. The only way Gaara could ensure that Naruto wouldn't attract the Hunter's attention was by entering the boy's mind and talking to him there. The only problem with that plan was that Naruto had made it quite clear that he didn't want Gaara entering his mind without his permission. Even if his intentions were pure Naruto would be angry with him and that was something Gaara definitely didn't want.
Settling on a compromise, Gaara reached out a finger to Naruto's temple, intending to gently drag the boy's mind back to consciousness. He stopped when he heard the soft creak of the door.
With lightening fast reflexes Gaara moved away from Naruto into a darkened corner of the room. As he watched the door apprehensively the hairs on the back of Gaara's neck stood up. It was therefore no surprise when the Hunter was revealed as the intruder.
Kakashi surveyed the room calmly. "There's no point in hiding Vampire; I know you're there."
Gaara cursed silently. He remained where he was on the off chance that the Hunter was bluffing and trying to lure him out.
Kakashi sighed and looked directly at Gaara's hiding place. "I thought I told you that your presence wasn't needed here. If you want to be helpful you should be tracking down Deidara."
"Deidara will have hidden himself so that nobody will find him until he's recovered. Then he'll try to take Naruto again and he will succeed in his endeavour unless you let me protect him," Gaara said as he moved out of the shadows.
"You're right, Deidara will succeed if I allow you to protect Naruto," Kakashi replied in that annoyingly cool tone of his.
Gaara growled and bared his fangs. "I have severed all ties with that man – I want him dead as much as you do. I will not betray Naruto."
"You say that you won't but when the time comes you'll show your true colours. Don't try to trick me Vampire; I'm not naïve like Naruto. I know you only want to protect him because you want his blood. As soon as you're bored with him you'll throw him away like yesterday's trash. I'm not going to let that happen."
Something in Kakashi's words disturbed Gaara but his anger at the man suppressed the feeling. "You have no idea what you're talking about Hunter. You know nothing about me so don't claim that you do."
Kakashi tilted his head and Gaara imagined that there was a mocking smile beneath his mask. "You'd be surprised how much I know, Vampire."
Gaara growled and made as if to lunge forward. Kakashi moved to block but a moment later was cursing as Gaara sent a mental attack not at him but at Naruto. The blond awoke immediately, frantically looking around for the source of the shock that had rudely torn him from his dreams. He eventually switched on the bedside lamp and spotted Gaara and Kakashi, both squared off and ready to trade blows.
Naruto stared at the two rivals, taking a moment to find his voice. "What the hell is going on?!"
After glancing at Naruto and seeing that he was unharmed Kakashi levelled Gaara with his gaze. "That was a sneaky trick Vampire."
Gaara smirked.
Meanwhile, due to being ignored, Naruto's confusion was quickly transforming into annoyance. "Hey, I asked you a question, aren't you going to answer it?"
"The vampire attacked you in your sleep."
Kakashi knocked aside the punch aimed for his face and grabbed Gaara by the throat. The vampire snarled, grasping the wrist that held him and nearly crushing it. Kakashi responded by tightening his own grip, his free hand sliding towards his gun.
A blow to Kakashi's jaw snapped his head to the side but didn't make him relax his grip. Slowly he turned to see Naruto with his fists clenched, his eyes blazing with fury. From between clenched teeth the teenager hissed, "Let. Gaara. Go."
Kakashi stared at him for a moment before slowly releasing his hold. Gaara did the same, the vampire backing away from Kakashi as he rubbed his abused trachea.
There was silence as the vampire and the Hunter regarded each other distrustfully. Every movement, every intake of breath, was observed with suspicion. They watched each other carefully, eyes searching for weak points, hate simmering beneath the surface of their composed exteriors.
They were the opposite of Naruto, whose anger was clear to see. "I know you two don't like each other but that doesn't mean you can pick a fight every time you meet. You're both supposed to have a common goal – protecting me. Would it kill you to at least pretend to get along until all the crazies who are after me have been dealt with?" When his question was met by silence Naruto growled. "You two better come to an agreement or I swear I'm going to go into the street with a sign that says 'Son of Famous Vampire Hunter that killed your mother and waiting to be slaughtered'. I'm sure neither of you will be happy then, when all the vampires with grudges try to tear me to pieces." Naruto glared at the two rivals some more to make sure they'd got the message. He then released his anger in the form of a deep sigh. "Gaara, what happened?"
Gaara continued to glare at Kakashi as he said, "I distracted the Hunter and sent out a small pulse of mental energy; not enough to harm but enough to shock you awake. I thought you should have a say on whether I stayed or not."
Naruto turned to Kakashi. "You were going to send him away without telling me?"
"It's for your own good Naruto."
"The hell it is," Naruto said, his righteous anger quickly returning. "After I told you last night that I trusted Gaara and didn't want you ruining my life by scaring him off you go ahead and do it the minute my back is turned! I ought to punch you again!"
As Naruto glared daggers at Kakashi Gaara felt his heart lighten. He'd made the right choice in coming here. Naruto hadn't been taken in by Kakashi's slander, he'd rejected the ideas that the Hunter had tried to force on him and was still loyal to Gaara. Their relationship wasn't a lost cause after all.
Kakashi frowned at Naruto's reprimand. "You're letting your emotions cloud your judgement; you're making it easy for him to manipulate you. Why can't you see that I'm only trying to protect you? Why do you have to fight me at every turn?"
"Because I don't want to cut Gaara out of my life and your plans always seem to revolve around doing just that. I don't want to lose a friend; why can't you accept that?"
"Because vampires are unnatural beings. They are born out of death and hate. After such a birth they can't help but be evil. Maybe some are able to adopt the persona of humanity in order to blend in but that mask is easily cast aside. It is in a vampire's nature to be evil – a creature of darkness – and, to protect those who they would kill to satisfy their lust for blood and carnal pleasure, they must all be eradicated. Listen to me Naruto; I'm trying to stop you from being hurt. You need to trust me; I'm trying to help you."
"Why should I trust you?" Naruto asked. "I've known Gaara longer, I've been saved by him more often, I actually know people who can vouch for him. Why should I trust you more than him?"
Kakashi frowned. "Who do you know that can vouch for him?"
"Don't change the subject!"
Naruto quickly clamped his hand over his mouth as his brain registered the volume of his outburst. When Iruka didn't come barging into the room he dropped his hands and resumed glaring at Kakashi.
"The bottom line is that I'm not letting you throw Gaara out again. He's one of my closest friends and I'm not losing him because of you."
Kakashi's gaze was a mixture of anger and disappointment as he stared at Naruto. "In that case I'm going to have to make it impossible for you to be together, regardless of your opinions on vampires. I'm not going to let those vile creatures ruin you like they did Minato."
"Oh really? How are you going to do that?" Naruto asked cockily.
"I can withhold information about your parents and refuse to answer your questions about Hunters."
Naruto lost his grin. After a moment of contemplation he shrugged. "If it's a choice between Gaara and the answers to a few questions then I choose Gaara. Some secrets are probably best left untold."
Kakashi produced a shrug of equal nonchalance. "Your loss. I guess it would also be your loss if I accidently let it slip to Iruka that you have a boyfriend who is a member of the group that killed your parents."
"But Gaara didn't have anything to do with my parents' deaths!" Naruto protested vehemently.
"In my eyes all vampires are equally responsible for their deaths," Kakashi said, his tone as cold as ice.
Naruto glared and clenched his fists. Injecting confidence into his voice, he countered with, "Well if you're going to tell Iruka about Gaara then I guess I'll have to tell him that you're not a real FBI agent. Maybe I'll even add in the little white lie that you made up the whole story about my parents being murdered. He'll be so mad he'll kick your ass before you have time to say 'Not guilty'."
"Maybe," Kakashi replied calmly. "Or maybe he'll think that you're covering your tracks, trying to discredit me so that you won't get into trouble. After all, if you really did believe I was an imposter you would have said so long ago. Even if you deliver your news first my news will still have more of an impact. If nothing else it will make Iruka suspicious. Then he'll be the one who you have to fight for your freedom. There will be a rift between you and I know you don't want that to happen."
Naruto looked down, realising the truth of Kakashi's words. Iruka's suspicions would be ignited, even if he was pissed with Kakashi. Naruto was sure that he'd be watched like a hawk if that happened and that Iruka would inevitably be drawn into the world of the supernatural. Naruto didn't want that for his guardian, he didn't want Iruka to have to realize the danger they were in.
Once Iruka knew about vampires it would only be a matter of time before he knew about Gaara. If Iruka knew about Gaara things would become even more complicated. The fact that Naruto was dating a man four years older would have concerned his guardian. The fact that Gaara looked four years older but was actually much older than he looked would definitely do more than concern Iruka, it would send him into a frenzy! He'd probably lock Naruto away in his room in a misguided attempt to protect him from the reality that vicious creatures roamed the streets at night in search of blood. Like any normal person he'd want to deny that vampires existed, he'd want to block out the memory of the time his path crossed with that of one of those supposedly mythical figures. He'd do Kakashi's dirty work for him and make sure that Naruto and Gaara were unable to be together.
There was, of course, a way around this problem. Gaara could erase all of Iruka's memories of vampires so that Naruto's guardian could once again become oblivious to the danger that existed. This would be a simple solution that would keep everyone happy.
Only, it wouldn't keep everyone happy. Naruto didn't want Gaara messing with Iruka's mind, or anyone else's for that matter. It didn't seem right – a person's thoughts and memories were personal and should only be known by another if the one who those memories belonged to was willing to share them. The idea that Gaara (or any vampire) could enter a person's mind and more or less gaze upon a person's soul scared Naruto. It was the only one of Gaara's powers that he had encountered so far that he hated and it was this (as well as the bloodlust) that made him wary of fully trusting Gaara.
However, the alternate wasn't all that pretty. Iruka would realise that Naruto had been lying to him for the past few weeks and would be furious. He'd shout and scream and ground Naruto for life. And then he'd turn away so that Naruto wouldn't be able to see the pain that he'd caused.
That was the real reason Naruto didn't want Iruka to find out about Gaara. His guardian would know instantly that that was where Naruto had been every Friday night for the past few weeks. Iruka would be devastated that Naruto had been unable to trust him with this knowledge, that Naruto had gone behind his back and done something that he'd known Iruka wouldn't approve of. Naruto didn't want to cause Iruka any pain and so he would do everything in his power to spare Iruka from finding out that he'd lied. And if Gaara had to mess with Iruka's memories to do that…It was hard to tell which would be the greater of the two evils.
Watching Naruto run through the consequences of his possible revelation made Kakashi smile bitterly. He'd found a way to force Naruto's hand but he took no pleasure in doing so. Even if Naruto didn't share his opinions on vampires Kakashi still liked the boy. His heart was in the right place, it was just a pity that he was a kid and his loyalty was misguided. Naruto had been through a lot in his short life and Kakashi didn't want to cause him any additional grief. But if that was what it took to keep him alive then he'd do it willingly.
The two humans had been so caught up in their argument that they nearly jumped when Gaara rejoined the conversation. "He'll believe you if you say that the Hunter molested you and threatened to hurt you if you told anyone."
Both Naruto and Kakashi stared wide eyed at Gaara for a moment until what he'd said had properly sunk in.
Kakashi's brow furrowed. This threat perturbed him more than Naruto's had. It would definitely overtrump his claim that Naruto had a boyfriend that had helped kill his parents. In today's society paedophilia caused as much of a stir as murder; if Naruto made such a claim Iruka would ignore whatever Kakashi tried to say in his defence. The police would be called immediately and make it a hell of a lot harder for him to watch over Naruto. There would probably be other repercussions as well, but with everything that was currently happening there was no point in thinking about those just yet.
Noticing the disconcerted look in Kakashi's eyes made Gaara smirk. The Hunter had never considered that they'd use that against him. Gaara had caught Kakashi out and now he and Naruto had the upper hand in this game.
Looking over at Naruto, Gaara noticed that the blond also looked troubled. Gaara was unsure why his suggestion should worry him – it would help them triumph over the Hunter after all. Maybe it was because the success of the plan relied upon him lying to Iruka? Gaara knew that Naruto didn't like having to lie and keep secrets from his guardian so maybe that was what caused him to hesitate?
Gaara was about to say that he could always implant the delusion into Iruka's mind to save the blond from lying to him, but decided against it at the last minute. Such a sentiment would probably make the situation worse rather than better. Mind manipulation was up there with lying in Naruto's book of taboo.
After recovering from the shock caused by Gaara's suggestion Kakashi returned to his usual state of calm indifference. "You could tell Iruka that. If he believed you then, I'll admit, it would cause me problems. But, in the end, it wouldn't matter that my cover had been blown. I can just as easily protect you from outside your apartment. Just because my first plan failed doesn't mean I'm going to give up. I'm not going to allow you to associate with vampires, Naruto; I'm not going to let you be manipulated and murdered by those monsters. Up until now I have done this by peaceful means for your sake, but if you refuse to listen to reason I will use more forceful tactics to make sure no harm comes to you." With that he turned to Gaara and took a menacing step towards the vampire. "Now, are you going to leave willingly or am I going to have to show you the way out?"
Gaara clenched his fists, his eyes blazing with fury. Kakashi's blatant challenge incensed him and (regardless of the fact that Naruto had said earlier that he wanted them to work together) he was going to make Kakashi regret his overconfidence. Nobody came out of a battle with Gaara unscathed.
It was at that point that a rational part of Gaara's mind reminded him that the Hunter was a match for Deidara. The man was strong, possibly as strong as Gaara himself. And therein lay a problem. If Gaara was to take him on he'd need to be at full strength and at that precise moment he wasn't at full strength. It had been a long time since Gaara had last had the chance to feed and replenish his reserves of power. If he fought the Hunter now (when the man was potentially stronger than him) it was likely that he'd lose. To stand a chance of winning Gaara had to enter the battle when he was fully prepared and not blinded by rage.
Taking a deep breath Gaara reigned in his temper. Calm, he pinned Kakashi with a glare and growled low in his throat. "Don't worry Hunter; I don't need your assistance." Just because he'd listened to his common sense didn't mean he wasn't bitter about the fact that he'd been forced to back down from a fight.
Kakashi smiled sardonically beneath his mask and for a moment Gaara was tempted to forgo common sense and take on the Hunter regardless. He managed to resist (though barely) and instead turned to Naruto.
Naruto stared at Gaara in bewilderment, unable to believe that he was giving in that easily. "You're leaving?"
The look Naruto gave him tugged at Gaara's heartstrings. Fighting for control, he nodded. "Over the years I've learned that battles fought in haste are often lost. When I fight for you I won't lose."
Seeing the hurt, confused frown on Naruto's face made Gaara want to throw caution to the wind. Years of training stopped him, focused his mind on the bigger picture. Lose this battle and win the war – that was his plan. He couldn't lose sight of that plan, not when one wrong move could get him killed. He needed to play it smart and lock away the emotions that being around Naruto brought out of him. It was hard (and painful) but it needed to be done if he wanted Naruto to remain by his side.
Slowly, as if Naruto was a wild animal that would flee if he moved too quickly, Gaara moved his hand towards Naruto's cheek as he simultaneously leaned down to kiss the blond.
Naruto was still as Gaara moved towards him. He didn't understand why Gaara was leaving. The vampire had said something similar to the old proverb 'Choose your battles wisely' but Naruto didn't understand that. Surely this was a battle worth fighting? Kakashi was trying to stop them from seeing each other – didn't Gaara care about that?
Naruto mentally berated himself. Of course Gaara cared; the look of sadness in those deep jade orbs told Naruto exactly how much it pained Gaara that he had to leave. So then why washe leaving?
Naruto didn't know, but he was sure that it wasn't because Gaara was giving up on him. There was determination in the vampire's eyes as well as sadness, a determination not to lose. It was like Gaara was silently promising to find a way around Kakashi. He would need some time to do it but he would find a way. He wasn't going to give up on what they had and Naruto shouldn't either.
Belatedly Naruto realised that was the reason Gaara was leaving. Right now the only way he'd be able to stay would be if he went head-to-head with Kakashi and won. Such a fight would be sure to wake Iruka, as well as everyone in a five mile radius, making things increasingly complicated. At that moment the smartest thing for Gaara to do was to leave and wait for a more opportune moment to make a stand against Kakashi's rule of terror.
Finally understanding Gaara's reasons, Naruto gave the vampire a rueful smile and closed his eyes. The corners of Gaara's lips twitched in response. He was glad Naruto understood, glad he trusted his decision. He'd need that trust in the days to come.
Just before Gaara's hand made contact with Naruto's cheek Kakashi darted forward and slapped the hand away. At the sound of the resounding smack stunned blue and teal eyes were immediately focused upon him. Kakashi smiled grimly. "When I said it was time for you to leave I didn't mean after you'd given Naruto the kiss of death; I meant immediately."
It took a moment for the meaning behind Kakashi's words to sink in. Once they had Gaara was consumed with the urge to rip the Hunter's head from his body. All thoughts of postponing their epic battle flew from Gaara's mind – at that moment all he could think about was making the Hunter scream for mercy.
Meanwhile, Naruto was also seeing red. Kakashi had gone too far; there was no way Naruto was allowing him to get away with this.
Kakashi saw the blow coming and easily caught Naruto's wrist. He then effortlessly manoeuvred the blond into a hold whilst simultaneously whipping out his gun and aiming it at Gaara. "Change and I won't hesitate to shoot."
Gaara snarled, the edges of his iris' already gold. He managed to hold himself in check, his eyes trained on the gun as he growled, "Let the boy go."
Kakashi gave him a lop-sided smile. "I don't think you're in a position to be making demands."
Gaara released another vicious snarl, his glare shifting towards Kakashi. "If you hurt him I swear I'll kill you."
Kakashi remained calm in the face of that malicious stare, one hand steadily pointing the gun at Gaara's heart whilst the other restrained a struggling, cursing Naruto. "If I intended to hurt Naruto I would have shot you the night we met. In fact, the only reason you're still standing is because I want to kill you when he isn't watching; it's less emotionally damaging that way. That's why I'm giving you the chance to leave and never come back. However," here Kakashi's eyes narrowed and his voice adopted a menacing tone, "if after this I ever see you again know that I won't hesitate to do to you what I do to all vampire scum."
Gaara's shoulders shook as he struggled for control. His eyes were more amber than green, he could feel his lust for blood growing stronger by the second. He needed to leave before he lost control. But, if he left, it would mean that the Hunter had won. At this point that was unacceptable – the Hunter needed to be stopped before he gained any more ground. However, if Gaara made a stand he'd have to access his full power. It wouldn't be pretty; it wouldn't be something he'd want Naruto to see.
As the two conflicting desires warred in his mind, Gaara returned his attention to Kakashi's gun. The Hunter had fast reflexes; if Gaara tried to attack he'd undoubtedly get shot. Even if the wound wasn't fatal he'd still be at a disadvantage. Kakashi would overpower and kill him, regardless of whether or not Naruto was in the room.
Turning his attention to the blond, Gaara noticed that Naruto was still trying to escape Kakashi's hold. The teen's enraged curses weren't quiet, making Gaara wonder exactly how deep Naruto's guardian could sleep.
The click of the safety being removed was heard over Naruto's incensed protests. Kakashi was becoming impatient.
Gaara growled again, his gaze straying from the gun back to Naruto. If he fought the Hunter Naruto might get caught in the crossfire. In such a small room it could easily happen. And if Gaara lost control, if he got lost in the blood lust, then there was no telling what would happen. It wasn't worth the risk.
Spitting out a curse Gaara turned on his heel and moved to the window. Without looking back he dived out into the brisk night air, every one of his senses coming alive as he surrendered to the darkness within.
Gaara went into freefall for a moment before his levitation kicked in and he came to a gentle stop. His feet touched down gracefully on the pavement, his eyes still brilliant gold. A second later he was running, running towards the heart of the city. The urge to kill was still very much alive in him and he needed a way to channel it before he did something stupid.
He knew the perfect outlet.
Once Kakashi was sure Gaara wouldn't be returning he released Naruto and moved to lock the window. The teen fell limply to his hands and knees, his eyes falling shut as his entire being was consumed by a despairing weariness. He was running on empty now that Gaara was gone, now that he had nothing to fight for.
Satisfied that the window was secure, Kakashi turned back to Naruto. Guilt bubbled up inside him when he saw the state the blond was in. Kakashi hated that he was the reason Naruto looked so broken, but he knew he'd done the right thing. "I take no pleasure in this Naruto; I'm only doing it because it's for the best."
"For the best?" Naruto repeated as he jumped to his feet, his eyes ablaze with rekindled fire. "For the best – what the fuck does that mean!? Is that another way of saying, 'You'll thank me later'? Because if it is here's a newsflash for you: I won't be thanking you for ruining my life! Everything was going fine until you showed up! Sure, things weren't perfect, what with a psycho vampire after my head, but at least I had control over my own life. But now? Now I have someone dictating what I can and can't do and who I can and can not associate with! You have no right to do that! I'm fifteen Kakashi – fifteen! I'm old enough to live my own life and make my own choices. If I want to ignore your advice I should be able to, I shouldn't be forced to listen. You're not my dad – you can't tell me what to do! And don't give me some bull excuse about how you're only saying what he'd say because that just won't cut it! You don't know what he'd say, nobody does, because he's dead!"
Naruto stopped to take a deep, shuddering breath. Unshed tears sparkled in pain filled blue eyes and Naruto hurriedly turned away from Kakashi to hide the evidence of his sorrow. The Hunter had pushed too many buttons, broken too many barriers that night. It was too much for a person to take.
Kakashi stared at Naruto for a moment, still reeling from his outburst. His actions must have hurt Naruto more than he'd realized. Tasting again the bitter flavour of regret, Kakashi moved to comfort Naruto, but the blond beat him to it.
"Please, Kakashi, just leave me alone. It's late and I have school in the morning."
The Hunter stopped, his hand hovering in midair as he deliberated whether or not he should go through with the planned act of comfort.
Finally, with a soft sigh of resignation, the hand returned to Kakashi's side. He turned and made his exit, only looking back once he was outside the boundaries of Naruto's bedroom. Naruto was still in the same position as before: fists clenched, head down, shoulders hunched, back to Kakashi. He was in pain and there was nothing Kakashi could do to help him.
Releasing another soft sigh Kakashi murmured, "Goodnight Naruto," before gently closing the door.
When he was sure that Kakashi was gone Naruto dived onto his bed. He buried his face in his pillow, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps as his defences failed and the tears fell.
Why? Why was this happening to him? Hadn't he suffered enough already, why did the past have to once again rear its ugly head? He'd thought he'd gotten over his parents' deaths, he'd thought he was ready to move on with his life, but ever since he'd visited the graveyard with Gaara the past had returned with a vengeance and ripped open old wounds.
This wasn't just about the death of his parents – it was also about the isolation he'd felt as a child. Before Sasuke and Haku he had been friendless. The other children had thought him a freak and distanced themselves from him. Now Kakashi was forcing the past to repeat itself by pushing Gaara away. Naruto couldn't understand why Kakashi was being so cruel, why those kids all those years ago had been so cruel. The only logical explanation he could come up with was that it was because he was the son of a Hunter. It was his heritage that was destroying the existence he had created; the duty and the grudges his father had passed to him were slowly but surely obliterating any chance he had of being normal.
The worst thing about this situation was that Naruto didn't know how to resolve it. He'd already tried everything he could think of to make Kakashi change his mind: diplomacy, brute force, threats, blackmail, bribery; none of them had worked and he was fresh out of ideas.
He knew Gaara had a plan (or at least an inkling of a plan) that basically consisted of waiting until Kakashi let down his guard so that Gaara could kick the shit out of him. In all honesty it did sound like a good plan, but there were two things that Naruto didn't like about it. The first was that Naruto hated waiting – he wanted to be free of Kakashi's tyranny now, not in the hazy future. His second objection was that he didn't feature in the plan. He didn't want the responsibility of getting them out of this mess to fall solely on Gaara's shoulders. He wanted to bear the burden with him; he wanted to fight alongside him. But that would never happen because in this Naruto was way out of his league. When Kakashi had put him in a hold earlier that night Naruto had tried his hardest to escape but all his efforts had been in vain. If Naruto tried to fight beside Gaara he was sure to get in the way, to distract him, to become a liability. If Naruto tried to fight they'd be sure to lose.
Naruto clutched his pillow tighter to his chest as another frustrated sob escaped him. It hurt, knowing he was worse than useless, but it didn't hurt as much as he knew it would if the plan failed. He knew that Kakashi wouldn't hesitate to kill Gaara. The Hunter saw Gaara as part of an infestation that the planet needed to be cleansed of. There would be no remorse when he pulled the trigger because, in Kakashi's eyes, killing a vampire wasn't murder – it was a service.
Eventually there were no more tears left to shed. Turning onto his back Naruto stared up at the dark ceiling. He needed to get stronger. If he was going to be of any use he had to find a way to become as powerful as a vampire. He knew it was possible; Kakashi and his father were prime examples of the fact that it was possible for a human's strength to rival or even exceed a vampire's. The only question was: how was it to be done?
Naruto had a sneaking suspicion that the answer was a secret known only to Hunters. If that was the case then Naruto was in luck because he had a Hunter living in his apartment. The only problem was that Naruto didn't trust Kakashi. He was sure that the Hunter would see his motivation for wanting to learn the trade straight away and either refuse to tell him or lie. That meant Naruto was going to have to figure things out on his own.
Using his fingers Naruto counted off the abilities he'd seen Kakashi use so far. Super strength, super speed, use of weapons, use of deception, ability to change eye colour. Naruto didn't understand why Kakashi had that last one (except possibly to aid in disguise and deception) and he was sure that being able to use a gun would mean nothing if he didn't have the first two abilities. Those were the abilities Naruto would need if he was going to return the favour and protect Gaara. Those were the abilities that would stop him from eternally being the damsel in distress.
Naruto was sure that achieving that level of power was easier said than done but that didn't matter. Once he'd decided to do something Naruto Uzumaki never stopped until he'd achieved his goal. The only question was: how did he reach that goal? Running would be his best bet; it was free, simple and convenient. In addition he could do sit-ups and push-ups and all those other exercises his gym teacher had told him about. It might be tiring and painful but it would be worth it. Every sore muscle would be a testament to how Gaara wasn't the only one fighting this battle – Naruto was right there preparing to watch his back. It was proof that he wasn't a burden.
Feeling better now that he had his own plan of action, Naruto turned to look at the clock beside his bed. The vibrant red numbers informed him that it wouldn't be long before he had to get up for school. Sighing, Naruto turned off his bedside lamp and slipped under the covers. Due to lack of sleep and emotional exhaustion he was going to be dead on his feet tomorrow morning.
As he closed his eyes a thought occurred to Naruto. The fact that he was so tired wasn't going to escape the notice of his two best friends. Tomorrow he was undoubtedly going to be interrogated about everything that had happened that night. Groaning at the prospect Naruto turned over and buried his face in the pillow. There really was no rest for the wicked.
Please Review!