Oblivion
Chapter Ten: Who is MR. M? Pt. One
"It's been less than a day and you've already caused this much trouble, Naruto?"
The blonde started lightly, and picked his head from between his arms to stare up at the intruder.
Kakashi looked back at him, with his arms crossed and a small sad smile on his face. "You haven't changed much since you were younger." He said lightly. "You used to cause drama like this all the time."
Naruto blinked back at the man before he sat up straight, untangling his hands from Kiba's sleeping paw. He didn't say anything back, only narrowed his eyes warily. After several moments of staring, the gray haired man finally chuckled. "You don't have to look at me like that, Naruto. I'm not here to hurt you."
Naruto widened his eyes in slight surprise. He didn't know what kind of look he had on, so he wondered exactly what the man was seeing in his expression. "I—" he started to say, but a yawn escaped him suddenly. It was loud and obnoxious, despite his attempts to stifle it. The motion hurt his jaw, and he had to hold his face in pain when he felt odd cracks at the hinges that held his mouth.
He heard another soft laugh from the gray haired man. "How long has it been since you've had a decent sleep, Naruto?" he asked.
The blonde blinked. That was an interesting question. The bed at the hospital had certainly been a lot more comfortable than the hunched position he'd arranged himself in now—but he had had that wicked nightmare in that room. Naruto stifled a shiver, lest Kakashi saw and tried to ask him questions about it.
He began to think intently about the sleep he just had. His back was aching from bending over so long, his neck hurt from its craned position, and his torso was throbbing with pain from being in the same awkward position for so long. And he felt…
He felt great.
Naruto blinked. Then he blinked again. Then he smiled—only slightly—lest he looked crazier than Kakashi already thought he was.
"A long time." He replied, turning away from the man to look at the sleeping dog. It had been several hours since Gaara had brought them to hospital. The room didn't have any windows, but Naruto figured that if he looked outside, he'd find the streets dark. As happy as he was to see his dog alive, it was still in a lot of pain—only numbed by whatever liquid was flowing into its veins—and she periodically went in and out of consciousness. Kurenai, the red eyed doctor, told Naruto not to worry about that.
"I had to speak to your grandmother again." Kakashi said suddenly, taking a few steps towards the bed.
Naruto straightened up some more in his chair, and made a move to wipe the sleep dust out of his eyes.
"She wants to see you, Naruto."
Naruto jolted, albeit groggily, in his chair. "No." he whispered harshly, looking up to stare hard at Kakashi.
The man sighed. "Your grandmother told me you would disagree…" then he shook his head. "That's why she isn't already on her way here."
Naruto squinted at Kakashi. "So she isn't coming?" he asked suspiciously.
The man shook his head in confirmation.
Naruto relaxed. "Good." He said nodding his head.
"Why don't you want to see your grandmother, Naruto?"
Naruto's eyes flicked to the gray haired man for a split second before he looked away and frowned in the distance.
He could feel the man's stare on the side of his face. "What do you have to lose by telling me, Naruto?" he asked softly.
Naruto almost turned to stare at Kakashi incredulously. Why was the man acting all concerned for? He had no business to be.
Or.
Or maybe his grandmother was paying him to be nice to blonde.
Naruto began to glare into the distance now, and he tightened his small hands into fists. Now everything made sense. Kakashi had been awfully nice to him—too nice to him. He'd let Naruto off easy when anyone else would've probably been thrown in the precinct jail and kept there until some answers were found. Naruto found that he'd rather be that person, than the charity case his grandmother was making him out to be.
"How much is she paying you?" he asked bitterly, and bluntly. There was really no point in beating around the bush.
Kakashi blinked at him. "Excuse me?"
"Baa-chan. How much is she paying you to do this? To be nice to me." Naruto looked up to stare at the gray haired man's face then, so he could show his seriousness.
Said man continued to blink at him, opening and closing his mouth unattractively before spluttering incredulously, "You think your grandmother is paying me?"
Naruto reeled back. He was going to deny it?
"Naruto, " Kakashi started with a shake of his head. "Your grandmother—Tsunade—would kill herself before she has to bribe her ex-boyfriend's son."
Naruto's eyebrows rose to the line of his forehead. "What?"
Kakashi smiled sympathetically at him. "All of that doesn't matter—it was a long time ago but…Tsunade's like family to me."
Naruto stared hard at the gray haired man. His grandmother had tons of men after her, but he never pried into her love life that much. It was just so…wrong. And he'd been too young to be interested in things like that anyway. "That still doesn't explain things." Naruto continued with a hard shake of his head. "Family has hardly been good to me. What makes you—a guy I've only met this morning—any different?"
The gray haired man dropped the sad smile he had to stare at Naruto for several moments. The blonde inched back in nervousness. "What?" he asked.
Finally the man sighed and shook his head, displaying that sad smile again. "I suppose I should tell you." He said lightly. "But promise me, that if I tell you this, you'll tell me why you won't see your grandmother."
Naruto made a small grunting noise of surprise before he shook his head. "No."
The gray haired man smiled at him. "You remind me of my brother."
Naruto blinked. "Huh?"
The man closed his visible and blew out a gusty sigh. "That's the reason I'm being so nice to you—or rather—as nice as I am to you without your grandmother breathing down my back. It's because you remind me of my brother."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "S…so?"
The man smiled again. "He's dead."
Naruto flinched. How could a man smile and say that? "I'm…" the blonde shook his head. "I'm sorry…but—"
"He died quite a few years ago. He was younger than you are now—sixteen." Kakashi shook his head in wonder when he interrupted. "Although he was a little bit—ah, brighter—perkier, even. Smiling all the time, making jokes out of everything. But a few weeks before his birthday…he began to…" the man paused and looked to the ceiling for words. "He lost a bit of his…light." Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and turned to pace casually around the clinic room. "I didn't think much of it then, because I was too wrapped up in getting my master's degree to actually pay attention to him…"
Naruto shook slightly in his chair. He didn't like where this story was going. His fingers twitched in anticipation and he bit his bottom lip to keep from just screaming for the man to stop.
"But then…on September 17th, 11:34 pm in Hiroku Station Complex, my little brother was shot to the ground by a gang of drug dealers." Kakashi shook his head. "It was a deal gone wrong, apparently," then he chuckled, "I didn't even know my brother was using that stuff."
Naruto felt that beating of his heart slap his chest painfully. Of course it had to be drugs. Of course it had to be drugs.
"Naruto, the only reason why I'm telling you this is because this morning…as you sat in the middle of the hard floor of that jail cell," the man turned around to stare sadly at the blonde, "you looked exactly like my brother the last few days before he was shot."
Naruto jolted again—violently. His fingers began to shake and he hid them between his legs as he stared tearfully at the gray haired man. "I'm—" he started to speak, but stopped when his mouth began to water with the familiar preamble for tears.
The man smiled at him. "You don't have to say anything, Naruto." He said. "I dedicated my life to helping kids like you—like my brother— so I want you to know that what I do and the way I act towards you, is all genuine. I don't want you to be thrown away to a jail cell…because I know you're like the thousands of kids out there who fall into drugs—not because they're bad people, but because circumstances drive them to, or because they're at the wro-ng place at the wrong time," the man's voice broke for the first time. He shook his head before he continued. "I am one hundred percent on your side, Naruto. I want you to know that. You're no longer alone in—whatever it is the life you used to live. So don't insult me by thinking I'm in this for money." Kakashi's voice turned hard at the last sentence, and he stared at Naruto for long moments before his eyes softened.
Naruto was looking up at him incredulously, a wetness still present in the back of his eyes. He wanted to curse at himself. How could he assume that this man…Then he shook his head. He had every right to assume what he did. It was the way his grandmother got her way. He'd made a mistake, he could admit that. But he wasn't sorry for looking out for fake relationships.
"Your turn." Kakashi said suddenly. He smiled at Naruto.
Naruto looked to him questioningly.
"Tell me why you won't see your grandmother."
Naruto twitched lightly. He didn't want to tell him why. The man would ask questions, or worse, he might think his reasons were stupid because he wouldn't understand. Naruto stared hard at the gray haired man before shaking his head. "I…don't want to tell you." He said lightly.
Kakashi stared at him for long moments. "Then what will I tell your grandmother?"
"Tell her to wait." the blonde responded almost angrily. "That's all I want her to do. I want her to wait for me—I want her to stop looking out for me and just—"
"Wait for what?" Kakashi asked calmly, but insistently.
"Just tell her to wait! She doesn't need to know—I mean, I did tell her—over the phone—but I didn't—I mean—"
"Naruto." Kakashi said softly. He stepped a little close to the bed. "What do you want your grandmother to wait for?"
The man—Kakashi—was eyeing him with sympathy in his eyes, and understanding, and calmness—Naruto hated it. It pissed him off. He wanted the man to leave alone. He didn't know why he was feeling so flustered all of the sudden, but all he knew was that he wanted that man to get the hell out of Kiba's room—
"Get out." He grounded out. The shaking in his hands was becoming uncontrollable, and he wrapped them around each other to lessen it.
He didn't know what it was, but something flashed through Kakashi's eyes. "Not until you tell me, Naruto." He said in that damned sympathetic voice.
"I said get out!" Naruto screamed, and he stood from his chair violently enough to send it knocking to the ground. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He was beginning to see red and the sight of Kakashi's pity just pissed. Him. Off. His hands were spasming at his sides now. He couldn't control them, and he didn't know why.
The gray haired man's eyes flicked to Naruto's hands once, and a deep frown settled on his brow. "Naruto—"
"It's because I'm not ready yet!" the blonde screamed, his whole body suddenly racking. He didn't know what he was saying—why he was saying it. It was like his mind was suddenly being taken over by some foreign thing he couldn't see or hear—"It's because I'm too different!" he screamed again, louder than last time. Naruto settled back into himself in horror—but his body was still moving on his on—his mouth still moving on its own—"I have to go back! I have to go back to who I used to be before I can—"
"Naruto!"
Naruto! the blonde called out to himself. Suddenly separate from his body. It was like he hovered over it, watching it make a fool of itself—shaking, trembling—just he did when he was in the—
Naruto's eyes went wide.
It was just like the time in the grocery store.
Naruto shook violently, and like a splash of water, he was suddenly back inside of himself, with control of his mouth, but no control over the rest of his body—shaking, shivering—
Naruto opened his eyes. H-how long were his eyes closed? Naruto's eyes widened, and he jerked. Since when was Kakashi was so close to him—touching his shoulders, gripping him with panic in his eyes. The gray haired man was screaming something in his face, but Naruto couldn't hear a word. He felt a wetness drip onto his lips, but he couldn't pay attention to that now—not when he was—
"S-s-so c-c-cold."
"What?"
Ah. Kakashi's voice. Or was it the voice in his head? No. it was Kakashi. The voice in his head sounded harsher than that.
"Naruto, Naruto—you're bleeding. You need to—"
No. It didn't matter that he was bleeding, Naruto wanted to scream, but his eyes were flickering rapidly open and closed and he couldn't see straight. What mattered was that he was freaking cold, and he needed something to warm him up—
"Damn it, Naruto!"
Was that the voice in his head? No. The voice in his head never showed concern.
"Doctor!"
Too much shouting, Naruto wanted to pull away from whoever was holding him—who was holding him again?— but there was a circle of heat surrounding the man. He couldn't leave that heat. It was too cold. Much too cold. So Naruto reached out, and hugged the person. The person, whoever it was, stiffened.
"It's so cold." He whispered into the person's chest. "It's so cold."
No. It wasn't cold.
It was fucking freezing.
Another shiver racked his body, and Naruto dug his fingers into the man's back. "S-s-so cold."
He felt hands pull him tighter into a hug.
And then—
Warmth.
Naruto sighed.
Yes. It was becoming warmer now.
He could breathe now.
It wasn't as cold anymore.
His hands were shaking anymore.
The blonde breathed deeply.
And then—
Everything came back.
Naruto jerked against Kakashi's arms. Yes, yes. These were Kakashi's arms.
He pulled back hastily and stared with apprehensiveness and shock into the man's eyes. "I—
he started to say, but stopped when an strange taste entered his mouth.
He put a finger to his lips.
Blood.
Naruto gasped inwardly, and traced the blood on his lips to his nose. He dabbed the liquid incredulously before he tried to wipe it messily with his arms.
"Stop that, Naruto." Kakashi said softly.
Naruto looked up at him, the same incredulity on his face. That looked only deepened, when he saw the pain in Kakashi's eyes. "Wh…what?"
The gray haired man's eyebrows turned up in disbelief. "Do you have any idea what just happened to you?" he whispered.
Naruto blinked. He had a few ideas. He had another episode. Not having the drugs to spike him up in so long—not that he wanted them to—came with its consequences. He could deal with that.
Kakashi opened his mouth to say something again, but the door to the room opened. The red-eyed woman came in. She paused at the door when she saw Naruto, but Kakashi had her back turned to her. "Ah…was there a fight in here?" she asked, closing the door behind her.
There was silence for several moments. When Naruto was finally about to speak, Kakashi turned to speak instead. "Kurenai. It's nice to see you again." Even when his back was turned to him, Naruto knew the man was probably giving the woman a small sad smile, like he always seemed to do.
Kurenai nodded her head. "Nice to see you too, Hatake." She said cautiously. "How's Hinata and the baby?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes. Hinata? Why did that name sound familiar?
"She's alright." The man said distantly. Then he cleared his voice and looked back at Naruto for a moment. "Can you bring someone to clean Naruto up?" he asked the woman, turning back to her. "He had a nose bleed."
Kurenai blinked. "Well how did he—"
"Can I talk to you outside?" Kakashi said, interrupting her.
Naruto couldn't see the look on Kakashi's face, but whatever was there, made the woman shut up and nod her head gravely. The red eyed woman nodded to Naruto once, before she opened the door to step out. A few long strides later, Kakashi was out with her.
"We'll bring someone to clean you up, Naruto." he heard the woman call out, before the door was closed in his face.
Naruto stared at the closed door for a moment confusedly before he shook his head.
He had had another attack. It had been…strange. It didn't hurt. And the voice never came so…he supposed he could handle it if more came.
Naruto looked dazedly at his hands. He was going through a withdrawal of some sort. He'd experienced something like it, in the back of his high school when he went for a several days without having any kind of fix. Naruto wrinkled his nose. But it had only been a few days now. Why was he going through this now? What the hell was in those drugs Zabuza gave him?
The blonde shook his head.
It didn't matter what it was. As long as he didn't go anywhere near it.
Naruto would've smiled at this if it weren't for the events that just passed. A month ago he would've gone desperately searching for drugs to prevent himself from feeling the effects of not having them. And to feel good of course. There was always that.
After he stared at his still lightly trembling hands, and the smear of blood at his arms, Naruto reached to pick up the chair he couldn't remember knocking on the floor.
Then there was a movement at his door. "Room service!"
Naruto looked up. What?
He saw the desk nurse from earlier, Sadako, coming up to him with a small white box in her hands. She closed the door behind her with her foot and stopped in front of the other side of the bed. Then she stared at Naruto.
Naruto blinked back at her. "…Ah…are you here to…clean me—"
"So what's the dog's name?" she asked, interrupting him, chirping as she did so.
Naruto blinked. "Her name is Kiba."
The woman's face suddenly turned sour. "Her? Kiba? That's a boy's name. Nuh uh. No good, sir. Change it."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Uhm—"
"Or!" the woman exclaimed. "Your dog is a lesbian." She hopped once. "In that case, it's quite understandable."
Naruto felt his eyes go wide. "I don't—"
"Let's get you cleaned up, shall we?" her voice suddenly turned serious and she stalked around the bed to step right in front of Naruto. She was only a few inches taller than the blonde, but Naruto still felt intimidated by her. "Sit down." The woman growled. Naruto did as he was told. Then the woman crouched down on the floor with the box and opened it. She had her head down as she rummaged through it, taking out things Naruto couldn't really pay attention to because he was so weirded out. When the woman picked her head up however, she had a tragic look on her face. "Give me your arm, please." She said, with a voice that was thick—as if she was going to cry.
Naruto blinked at her. He extended his arms hesitantly, stretching it as far as the bandages on his elbows would let him. "Uhm—"
"I was fired from my position again." the woman said as she began scrubbing the blonde's bloody arm with a wet towel that stunk with something alcoholic.
Meanwhile Naruto nearly jerked away. Fired? Then what was this woman still doing here—?
"I suppose it's alright. Maybe I'm not meant to be a desk nurse. I'll have to go back to being a stupid— Blow." She cut herself off and extended a tissue to Naruto with her free hand. "Get as much blood as you can on the tissue—try not to make a mess." She was sounding all professional now, as if she hadn't been on the verge of tears just moments before.
Naruto squinted his eyes apprehensively. This woman was crazy.
The door opened then. Naruto saw Kakashi enter the room with Kurenai right behind him. Both had solemn looks on their faces. As if they regretted what they were about to do.
Naruto stared back at them apprehensively.
"Sadako. Have you finished cleaning Naruto up?"
The nurse tending to him looked up suddenly; she didn't notice them walking in. "Kurenai-sensei. Ah—almost."
Naruto saw Kurenai narrow her eyes at the nurse's job. She smiled then, and nodded her head. I think he'll be good for the time being, Sadako. For now, Kakashi and I need to speak to Naruto privately."
Naruto clenched his mouth in fear. Damn it, now what?
Sadako stood up from her position and grabbed the paper Naruto was holding to his nose violently.
"Sadako." Kurenai said with a shake of her head. "Don't be rude."
Sadako pouted at her before her face magically morphed into one of pure sadness. "I'm so…sorry." She half-sobbed.
Naruto blinked up at her. Yes. This woman definitely had something wrong with her.
"Why don't you go give Gaara company?" Kurenai said lightly. "Just remember to stay away from the desk. You're on punishment for screaming at one of our incoming patients."
The nurse actually stuck her tongue at the woman before she hopped out of the room.
Naruto squinted after her before he shook his head. "What's…" he paused to look at Kurenai. "What's… wrong with her?"
Kurenai laughed. "Wrong? Nothing's wrong with her. She's just being her normal…bi-polar self."
Naruto frowned lightly. He didn't know what bi-polar was.
Kurenai must've seen the confusion in his face because she began to speak again. "She came from the same institution as Gaara. She's an MR F—surely you already knew that...?"
Naruto blinked. What?
Kakashi coughed lightly. "Ah, he doesn't know anything about that, Kurenai."
Kurenai turned to him. "Huh? But I thought you said Gaara was his parole officer."
Naruto saw Kakashi looking slightly out of place. "Gaara is. It's just…I don't think Naruto needs to know. Not yet."
Naruto wanted to ask what the hell they were talking about, but Kurenai shook her head and began to speak instead. "Aside from all that, Naruto, there's something important we need to talk about." She walked forwards until her knees hit the other side of the bed. She looked at Naruto with serious eyes. "Kakashi informed me of your situation earlier, but it seems it goes deeper than he thought."
Naruto blinked at her. "What are you—"
"We need to know how violent your withdrawal attacks are, how often you have them, and what happens when you have them Naruto."
"What? I—"
"And once we've established that, we're going to work on locating you into a rehabilitation center."
Now that, Naruto understood. "No!" he half shouted, standing up in chair once again. "I am not—"
"Naruto." Kakashi said from behind Kurenai. "What makes you think you don't need it?" he asked softly. "You told me yourself that you wanted to be the same way you used to be for your grandmother. How can you do that by just suffering through these attacks and doing nothing about—"
"I don't need the center." Naruto growled out. "I don't need it. All you have to do to get over the drugs is to stop using them. That's all it takes. I've stopped. I don't need the center."
Naruto had his fists clenched to his sides, and he was talking very slowly. He needed the people in front of him to understand. If he flew off the handle, they would put him in the wacky house ten times faster.
"Naruto," Kakashi started again. "Who's to say that one of your friends will contact you, and pressure you into using agai—"
"I have no friends—"
"That doesn't mean the influence isn't there. We checked out where you live, Naruto. It's so easy to get drugs where you're from—"
"But I'm not going to. I told you, I'm through with it. I have no reason to—"
"We still have to send you to the institution, Naruto." Kurenai said with a shake of her head. "If what Kakashi told me is true, then you need a lot of help. A sequence of spasmodic withdrawal attacks can lead to seizures and heart attacks if they're not properly monitored, and you won't find any of that in this clinic or in your apartment, Naruto. You have to go to a rehabilitation center."
Naruto stared at the two in incredulous disbelief before he shook his head again. "I don't—they don't—I don't need a center!" he finally shouted. He waved his hands angrily before he turned to stare hard at Kakashi and Kurenai. "All they do is stand by your bed, and tell you how much of a failure you are, and inject you with needles that calm you down when you cause a riot, and when you come out all you want to do is use again. I know because, my friends—m-my friend—they—he went and it didn't—i-it didn't work." Naruto growled out the last bit, and collapsed back into his chair. "I don't want to go to a place where they'll know I'm a freak, and laugh at me when I fail at everything. I don't need it. I don't need it. I don't. I don't need it. That. I don't need that." The blonde gave one final long shiver before breathed deeply, and leaned silently back into his chair.
There was silence in the room for several moments.
"Naruto."
The blonde didn't move. He stayed in his position, leaning back in his chair staring into the distance with a light frown on his face.
"Listen to me, Naruto." that was Kakashi's voice. "You're lucky, you know that? If it weren't for your grandmother, you would've been through a trial. There would have been a court case, you would have had a dead beat good for nothing lawyer who would have only been able to guarantee you two years minimum in jail for possession of drugs, and maybe, just maybe, the alternate of a rehabilitation center. Because you do have a grandmother, because you are lucky, you have a choice. You have a choice to get help. You have a choice to let go of your insecurities and trust us—Kurenai and I—to find a center that will treat you with respect and help you save your life. To help your grandmother see you the way you used to be."
Naruto didn't reply, but his fists clenched together.
"It's your choice, Naruto." Kurenai said lightly. "I really hope you make the right one."
"I have made the right one." Naruto grumbled bitterly. He looked up and glared at the both of them. "I've stopped. And I'm never going to do it again. The drugs. The attacks—the withdrawals—they don't matter. I'm—" Naruto cursed inwardly when he felt a tear escape the bottom lid of his eye. "I'm changing. I don't need any more doctors telling me that I'm fucked up. I know that, and I'm changing." Naruto sniffed the string of snot that was threatening to come out his nose. He was thinking about too many things at once. His life, his failures, Kiba, who'd been in and out of rehabilitation centers so many fucking times—"All I need is Kiba." Naruto said pathetically. "If she's here—a-as long as she's alive, a-and as long as Baa-chan waits for me…I'll be…I'll be fine." Naruto looked over at Kiba then, who was panting loudly in her sleep. "This…" Naruto said reaching to smooth the dog's paw, "will always be enough to keep me from the drugs."
More silence followed, but Naruto didn't look up at Kurenai and Kakashi. He was too busy smoothing out the fur on Kiba's paw. The dog didn't stir. Kurenai told him that she was on a heavy dose of something that would keep her asleep for hours.
Finally, Kakashi cleared his throat. "In that case," He said lightly. "I can't force you to go to the center, Naruto. However, I will take measures so that you do not have a chance to ever become influenced by the drugs again." Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "I can't allow you to stay at that apartment of yours any longer."
Naruto's eyes widened and looked up at Kakashi incredulously. "What do you mean you're can't—" then Naruto stopped and adopted a look of horror. "You…" he started gravely. "You're going to send me to my grandmother." It wasn't a question.
Kakashi put his head down. "It's the only way to keep you safe, Naruto."
"Bullshit!" Naruto screamed, standing up violently for the third time. "I told you that I don't want Baa-chan seeing me like th—"
"Naruto, your grandmother will love you no matter what you've don—"
"Fuck you!" Naruto screamed. It took him every inch of his will power not to pull at his hair. "You don't understand anything!" Naruto was shaking again, but it was from his anger more than anything else. "Baa-chan is sixty years old! She pretends to be strong, but she's not—I know she's not. I don't want to hurt her anymore, I can't hurt her again! She has to wait! It will destroy her if she sees me like this!"
Kakashi looked at Naruto with struggling eyes. He stared at the wide grey-blue eyes, and the hollowness that seemed to surround them. He looked at the stick like arms, and the gaunt face that was all skin and angles. If he was seeing his grandson for the first time after so many years, and had to come to face with this unhealthy body, he supposed he would break down. "What the hell do you suppose I do, then?" Kakashi said, raising his voice frustratingly. "What do you suppose we do, Naruto? You don't want to go to a rehabilitation center, you don't want to go back to your grandmother—god damn it, Naruto, you're sick. You need help, and you're refusing every—"
"Just let me do it my way!" Naruto screamed. He couldn't help it now; he pulled at his hair. "Just let me get through this myself! What's so fucking hard?"
"Naruto—" that was Kurenai.
"I'm not your fucking brother, alright!" Naruto continued, pointing an angry finger at Kakashi. "I'm not in a gang, I'm not gonna get fucking shot—alright! I've stopped! I'll never use again. Get that through your thick fucking skull and stop making me your stupid charity case because your brother died! You're not helping me—you're not."
"Naruto!" Kurenai cried in disbelief.
Kakashi stood behind her, a blank look on his face. He stared at Naruto for several long moments, and the tension between the two men never wavered. "Alright then." He said after several moments of tense silence. He ran a tired hand through his hair and looked away from Naruto. "I'm going back to the station. Kurenai, call me when Naruto's realized that stabbing old wounds won't get him anywhere."
"Kakashi—"
"Don't contact me until then, Kurenai. In the meantime," Kakashi said, giving Naruto one last look before he exited out of the door, "you can remind Naruto that visiting hours are over." And with that he left the room.
Naruto stared after the gray haired man, breathing harshly. Then he sat back onto his chair, sighing gustily. He unclenched his fists slowly put his head in his hands.
Kurenai didn't say anything for long moments. Instead she hovered over Kiba, taking notes as she did so, and moved wires around so she could get a good look at the dog's condition. After a few minutes, she pulled back from the bed and sighed. "Kakashi's right." She said putting a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Visiting hours are over."
Naruto looked up at her with blank, distant eyes.
Kurenai looked away. "There are—conditions. This is a multi-clinic so we sometimes accept in-patients—like your dog, but most people don't have to stay the night. We're a little different because we've established ourselves on all medical fields. Like I said, we're a multi-clinic. Some family members choose to stay the night. But they—fill out—papers. Sometimes they stay because it's a child in the clinic, or a woman has just given birth, or the person just doesn't have that much time to live— during which case they're usually sent to a hospital but—"
"Let me sign the papers." Naruto said at once. He sat up in chair then, because the way Kurenai was talking unnerved him. She was explaining too much when she should've just given him the papers to sign already.
"I'm afraid I can't do that." Kurenai said with a shake of her head.
Naruto chose not to answer. Instead he stared at her.
Kurenai shook her head again and continued. "Naruto…" she began softly. "In your condition…"
Naruto shut his eyes and put his head back into his hands. Of course.
"Listen to me, Naruto." the doctor said raising her voice. "You're not…stable. I would've gladly swore on my life to trust you in this room alone with the dog—I know you're not going to harm anyone—but I'm afraid that in the condition you're in—these—attacks—I just—I can't let you stay here. It's for your own safety."
Naruto said nothing.
"Someone needs to supervise you, Naruto. That's why Kakashi mentioned the center…"
Naruto still said nothing.
"It will help you, Naruto." she continued. "You'll be surrounded by experts day and night, and they'll—"
"Gaara." Naruto said suddenly.
Kurenai paused. "What?"
"Gaara." Naruto said again, picking his head up. "He can stay in the room with me. All night. He'll watch and make sure that I don't—"
"And don't you think Gaara needs his rest too?" Kurenai asked incredulously.
Naruto blinked. "He's my parole officer." He said lightly, as if it was obvious. "It's his job to stay and watch me. Kakashi said that if I—"
"No." Kurenai said with a jerk of her head. "Surely Kakashi put restrictions? Gaara can't be used like that. Not again."
Naruto stared at her disbelievingly. "What are you talking about?"
Kurenai shook her head and backed away from the bed. "Please, Naruto. You're welcomed to come visit your dog anytime you want to—during visiting hours—but for now you have to leave. Go home and rest."
Naruto stared at her with a look that said screamed betrayal. "How will I get home? The car I came in is—"
"I will make arrangements for you and Gaara to be sent home." She said cutting him off. "For now, you have to leave."
Naruto glared at her. Why the hell was she being so defensive? All he did was suggest that Gaara stay the night. Kakashi did say something about not abusing parole officers, but Naruto hardly thought this was abuse. It was the redhead's job to watch him.
"Fine." Naruto said standing up angrily. "But…" he softened then, because his eyes traveled to Kiba's sleeping form. "When will I be able to take her home…?"
Kurenai looked at the dog for a moment before she sighed. "If all goes well," she began softly. "In a few weeks."
Naruto nodded his head and began to walk towards the door.
"But Naruto," she continued as Naruto put his hand on the door knob. "The place you live in…after what Kakashi's told you…do you really think that it's the best place you should bring a helpless animal to?"
Naruto gritted his teeth as he pulled the door open and stalked out of the room.
He walked blindly down the hall, swiping his fingers across his eyes constantly to keep away the tears. It was just as he thought. No one understood. No one understood what he was trying to do, but worse than that was that no one believed in him. They thought he couldn't do it. Kakashi spoke to him like he knew everything and anything about troubled addicted children, but he knew nothing about Naruto. Nothing at all. If Naruto said he was going to do something, if he said he was going to change, he damned well was going to do it—without the help of some rehabilitation center. He didn't need that. All he needed was Kiba and baa-chan. Those were the only people who he really wanted to have faith in him, because they were the ones he was fighting for.
Naruto knew his apartment wasn't ideal, but it was enough to keep the rain out. He would bring Kiba there when she was healthy again, and make the best of it. He would take her on walks so she wouldn't have to see the dirty apartment all the time, he'd run up the stairs with her so she didn't have to suffer the terrible smell of feces and marijuana on the staircases too long, he would clean the place up and allow her to sleep on his bed, he'd give her the bigger portion of the bed and wrap her around sheets so she was always warm. He'd do everything for her. It didn't matter if his apartment was crap. He was going to work it out, and damned if he was going to tell know-it-all Kakashi tell him otherwise.
Naruto stopped in the middle of the hallway then, because right in front of him was a dead end. The blonde blinked and turned around. The hallway was mostly empty. There were a few nurses walking about with clipboards against their chests, and what looked like patients exiting offices with doctors. Naruto decided to follow one.
Naruto didn't know the difference between a hospital and a clinic. This place seemed considerably larger than the hospital he had been in, but ten times friendlier. Everyone was smiling and laughing with each other. Even the patients in wheel chairs and the senior citizens being aided by nurses seemed genuinely happy. Naruto wondered idly if the rest of the staff was as crazy as the Sadako woman was.
He realized that following the man in front of him would end in vain. The man was heading towards the bathroom, not the exit. Naruto sighed. Even if the man did lead him to the exit, he couldn't leave. He was supposed to be under Gaara's watch at all times, first of all. Secondly, he wouldn't know how to get home from the clinic.
With another shake of his head, Naruto began to walk around the clinic. It couldn't be so hard to find red hair, right?
Thirty minutes.
It took thirty minutes to find red hair. By this time Naruto had walked into every ward in the clinic, and almost everyone knew his name. The people in the clinic were so nice it unnerved Naruto. He was used to people being rude to him when he asked for directions, but these people, especially the senior citizens, beamed at him whenever he repeated, "have you seen a policeman with red hair?"
It went to the point where he was asking people the same thing twice. A few of the older women laughed at him as he went by, and by the end of the thirty minutes, people were calling him by his name and asking, "did you find him yet?"
Naruto supposed he was enjoying the attention, but he couldn't have helped from wondering if the redhead left him alone in the hospital to fend for himself.
Finally, after a half hour search, Naruto saw that red blob in the distance, standing very still in front of what looked like a glass frame, with a familiar nurse sitting on the floor beside him with her legs sprawled in front of her.
Naruto didn't call out to him. Instead he walked towards them silently. He didn't want to call out to the man and find out that he wasn't Gaara after all.
Alas, several yards away, it became obvious that it was Gaara in the distance, staring into the glass of a maternity ward. Sadako saw him first, and waved maniacally from the floor before putting a finger to her lips. "Shh…" she started. "This is Gaara's favorite show."
Naruto blinked at her. Then he took a look at glass the redhead was staring at. Behind the glass were two babies. One in pink, the other in blue. They were both asleep, and a nurse stood sitting at a chair beside the infants, eyes drooping with weariness. The babies were cute, he supposed, if people were into pink crunched up faces.
He turned away from the babies and looked at Gaara's back. His broad shoulders didn't budge, and his hands lied unmoving at his sides. He was breathing shallowly, like he always seemed to be doing. "Uh…Gaara…" Naruto started softly.
He was only half surprised when Sadako waved maniacally from the floor again, and 'shh' ed him. Naruto blinked at her, and then looked back at Gaara's broad back. He wrinkled his nose. How long had Gaara been standing there?
With a sigh, the blonde walked towards the wall, and stood beside Sadako. Then he slid down to the floor, so he could sit the way the nurse was sitting. He didn't sprawl his legs in front of him like she was doing. Instead he brought his knees to his chest and stared at the wall in front of him.
"Hey." Sadako whispered next to him.
Naruto turned to look at her warily. "Yes?"
"Are you Gaara's friend?"
Naruto blinked. "Uhm. I don't—I don't know."
The woman stared at him incredulously. "Then why do you follow him around?"
Naruto opened his mouth, and then he closed it again. He didn't really know how to explain to someone like Sadako how he was under suspicion of having illegal drugs and had to be kept under a parole officer. "I…" he started lamely. "Gaara has to…take care of me."
Sadako nodded her head like she understood and patted his shoulder. "Good, good." She said, still nodding her head. "Gaara knows how to take care of people."
Naruto looked at the woman blankly. "Is that so?" he responded softly. They were still whispering.
The nurse nodded her head some more. "Gaara is always taking care of things." Then she pouted and looked at the wall ahead of her with sad eyes.
Naruto squinted at her. "What's wrong?"
Sadako looked at him with tragic eyes. "Gaara's always helping people…but he's always sad."
Naruto blinked at that. Then he looked up at the redhead staring at the glass window with a small frown. From his position, he could only see the redhead's chin, throat, and the clothes that wore on his body. "Sad?" he asked. "How so?"
Sadako suddenly lost the teary look to her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. "He's always losing things." She said with a nod of her head.
"Losing things?" Naruto repeated.
"Yes. Things. People." She shrugged her shoulders again and yawned.
Naruto frowned at her. "People?" he took a quick glance up at the redhead and whispered, "You mean…like…dead people?"
Sadako looked at him with wide serious eyes. Naruto didn't realize how close they were, so he reeled back. "Not everything dies when you lose it." She growled at him. "You just can't see them." She glared at Naruto hard before a smile suddenly lit up her face. "Gaara's lost a lot of things. Dead things. Living things. He's lost them all." She made a strange weird weaving motion with her hands. "And he's sad…Not because he can't find them…"she looked at Naruto then, with the most sober eyes he'd ever seen on her face. "But because he doesn't know what he's lost."
Naruto blinked at her warily.
"If you want to be his friend," she whispered, inching closer to him. "you have to help him look for them."
Naruto shook his head confusedly. "Look for what?"
The woman only smiled at him. Then she stood up suddenly, and clapped her hands. "It's ten o'clock!" she shouted. "Do you know where your children are!"
Naruto stared up at the woman incredulously before he stood up himself. He looked at the nurse for long moments before asked, "What…what kind of nurse are you?"
Sadako stopped hopping and turned to face him with a beaming smile. "Oh, I'm not a nurse." She said offhandedly. "I'm a patient~" Then she winked at him, and spun in a circle.
Naruto stared back with wide eyes. "What? How can you be a patient when…when you're…" Naruto shook his head. "You treated me."
"Nurse Sadako, at your service." She bowed. When she looked up again, she had a smirk on her face.
Naruto gave up then, because, honestly, where was he going to get with this woman?
"Kurenai-sensei!" Sadako shouted then, and pointed behind Naruto's head. When the blonde turned around, the red-eyed woman was indeed walking towards them quickly. She paused slightly when she saw Naruto, but continued none-the-less.
"Sadako." Kurenai started warningly. "It's passed nine thirty. Why are you still wearing the nurse's outfit?"
Naruto blinked. Were they serious? He had noticed that Sadako was the only one wearing a purple nurse's attire. But he thought was because she was the desk nurse.
Sadako crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Kurenai. "Who are you to tell me I can't wear a nurse's outfit?" she said in a man's voice.
Naruto had to stutter at that.
Kurenai only shook her head and pointed down the hall. "Take it off, and go to your room."
Sadako's face fell. "But—"
"I'll take away your desk nurse privileges forever."
Sadako started walking down the hall without a word.
Kurenai watched her go for several moments before she turned back to the two men. She eyed Naruto for a few wary moments before she walked up to Gaara, who was still looking through the glass. She put a hand on his arm. The redhead, ever so slowly, turned his head to look at her. Kurenai smiled at him. "Gaara." She said lightly. "Your car's been sent to the auto shop for reconstruction. Your brother's coming to take you and Naruto home. I'm sorry; taxis don't run this late around this area."
Gaara continued to stare at her. Kurenai only continued to smile. "I know Kankuro can be trouble sometimes, but I don't want you taking public transportation so late." She patted the redhead lightly on the arm before she inclined her head towards Naruto. "You can take him to the lobby and wait for Kankuro to come and pick you up, alright?"
The red eyed woman took both of Gaara's shoulders then, and turned him around so they faced each other fully. When the Kurenai spoke again, it was in a whisper and Naruto couldn't hear her. Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. The doctor's back was to him, but he could still see Gaara's head towering over her, bending slightly so he could hear. There was no expression on the policeman's face so Naruto couldn't really guess what kind of news the woman was telling him.
After maybe a few minutes, Kurenai pulled away from him but still kept her hands on his arms. "This is still your choice, Gaara. I want you to know that you will always have a choice. Now tell me, are you okay with this?"
Naruto blinked and looked at the redhead. Gaara looked back down at Kurenai for a few moments before he nodded his head lightly.
Kurenai's back was to Naruto, but he thought she was smiling. He was going to say something, but had to pause when he saw green eyes shift to meet his own. The blonde felt his breath hitch.
The redhead blinked owlishly at him, before he turned from Kurenai, and began walking down the hall. Kurenai let her hand linger on Gaara's arm before he was far enough away for her fingers to fall.
Then she turned to the blonde and wagged a finger in his face. "This is for your own good." she said forcefully. "Remember that."
Naruto stared at the woman confusedly. He would have asked what she meant, but she was already walking down the hall. A few moments later, he got his feet to work again. He followed the redhead cautiously, who was walking slowly but with long enough steps to give the blonde a bit of catching up to do. Naruto turned to look back at Kurenai one last time and saw her shaking her head and turning away. Naruto frowned at that, and continued to walk behind the redhead. The walk was longer than Naruto anticipated. This clinic had so many hallways that led to so many different directions. Anyone would get lost were it not for the small plaque signs on the walls that pointed to the direction of every set of rooms.
When they finally entered the lobby, Naruto saw a set of chairs he hadn't seen before. The chairs were set in four rows, and Gaara sat in the first one. Naruto hesitated before he sat in the chair next to the redhead. Gaara's knees, just like they did in the clinic bed, gradually spread until Naruto's knees were touching his thigh. Gaara sat in a hunched position, with his hands dangling between his legs and his back curved in a way that suggested flexibility.
Naruto sat awkwardly. What felt like his butt bone was being crushed as he sat down on the hard chair, and he was getting tired. He'd woken up more than an hour ago, so he wondered why he was getting tired already. He supposed the events of today had tired him out. Too many arguments, too much drama. He wanted to flush everything out and just relax.
It wasn't working. The lack of comfort in the chair made him squirm impatiently, and he sighed. What was he going to do now? He looked up at the redhead then, who was staring impassively ahead of him, in the same position, unmoving. Naruto squinted at Gaara for a moment, before he inhaled deeply. Sometimes he still couldn't believe he was in the position he was in. He felt as if everything was somehow all a dream, and he would wake up back in the first hospital—or even worse, back in the streets with suspicious powder clinging to his nose and begging for money.
Naruto wrinkled his nose. He would rather be here, with Kakashi breathing down his back, and Kurenai forcing him to go to a rehabilitation center than be in a place as dark as his past. The drugs, the severed relationships—it was all too much.
He would—
He would rather be here.
There was a scuffle at the entrance of the clinic, and Naruto heard heavy footsteps push through the door. When the blonde turned to look, he saw the muscular policeman he'd seen earlier, stalking towards the—new—desk nurse with a scowl on his face. He spoke to the woman for a short while, before he jerked his head with searching eyes. He didn't have his uniform on, but he didn't look any less intimidating in the dark jeans and shirt, that could have been either blue or black from what Naruto could see in his position.
Finally, the man's eyes found on his. The man nodded to the desk nurse viciously before stomping over to them.
Naruto gulped and reared back a bit. He turned to Gaara. The redhead had his head down still, and his hands hung idly between his legs. His hair covered his eyes, so Naruto didn't know if they were closed or not.
"Ah…"he started tentatively. "Gaa—"
"Gaara!" The man was a few yards away from them now. He ignored Naruto completely but glared hard at Gaara's fallen head.
The redhead didn't stir for a long moment, and the muscular man huffed viciously before he walked closer to the two. He was about to say something else, but something stopped him. Naruto heard shuffling on his left side. When he turned, he saw Gaara lifting his head up with eyes barely open. He didn't look tired, but he looked…chill. As if an earthquake could bring down the clinic and he still wouldn't bat an eye.
Gaara stood up then, and Naruto, in a rush, stood up with him. The blonde had to flush when Gaara kept going up, up, up with his height and Naruto was forced to compare his own with the redhead.
The muscular policeman walked until he was right in front of Gaara, pushing past Naruto to get there. Naruto rubbed the arm the man pushed indignantly and tried to glare up at the man, but stopped short when he saw the way he was staring down at Gaara.
The man was maybe an inch shorter than the strange policeman, but the muscles and his glare was enough for that not to matter.
"Listen to me, Gaara." The man said lowly, getting close to Gaara's face.
Gaara didn't look at him. Instead he had is head slightly to the side and had a thin line across his mouth. There was the barest tightening at the corner of his eyes, which was the only thing that told Naruto he was feeling something in the face of the man.
"Sakura's in the car," the man continued. Then he pointed an accusing finger at the man's chest. "I don't want you to talk to her, attempt to touch her— I don't even want you to do any of that staring. She didn't want to be here, but I had no choice to bring her."
Naruto raised his brow at this. What was the man talking about?
"Do you understand me, Gaara?"
Gaara said nothing. He stayed in the same position, with his head casted to the side. Then Naruto saw it: the smallest tightening of his eye, the slight crinkle on his nose. It was as if—
"I asked if you understood me, Gaara." The man said again, grounding it out so it sounded like a growl. He let out a revolted sound then, and in a movement that almost went unnoticed Naruto, took Gaara's jaw with his hand so the redhead could face him, "I asked if you underst—"
Fwap—!
Naruto couldn't help it. He jumped. Gaara, in a motion so swift, lifted the hand that always seemed dormant at his sides, and smacked the hand gripping his jaw.
Naruto blinked a bit. The hand on Gaara's face—for some reason that gesture was familiar to him. Then Naruto gasped inwardly. He remembered now. Back at the hospital, the blonde woman—what was her name? Ino?—had done the same thing. She had taken Gaara's jaw out of frustration or irritation because the redhead wouldn't listen and now the muscular man was doing it to and—
Naruto's thoughts had to stop short when he realized they weren't keeping up with the situation at hand. Why did people talk to Gaara as if he…as if he…
Naruto didn't know what word to put to it. People were cautious or angry around the redhead. It didn't make any sense.
He heard a huff ahead of him, and when he looked up at the tall men, he saw the muscular one grinning viciously. "Resulting to violence already?" he asked lowly.
Naruto would've taken the time to try and understand what the man was talking about, but he was too wrapped up in the look on Gaara's face. It wasn't obvious, it never was, but Naruto saw. He saw the way the redhead's hands were twitching lightly at his sides, the way his mouth quivered at the corners, and his eyes, gods his eyes. Gaara's eyes were narrowed in a way the blonde had never seen them before, and the sides of his nose were crinkled slightly, as if he was squeezing his face from the inside. Gaara looked—
He looked murderous.
Naruto shook a bit, but he…he wasn't scared. No. No, he wasn't. There was something there, yes. Maybe a little bit of apprehensiveness bubbling in his tummy, but there wasn't any concrete fear. Instead there stood….what was that feeling? Concern? It was a little like what he felt when they had told him earlier in the day that Kiba couldn't eat dog food yet. Naruto had worried about the dog's nutrition, and now he was worried about Gaara's…Gaara's what?
Naruto blinked. The two men in front of him were glaring at each other, albeit the brown haired man's eyes weren't anywhere near as vicious as Gaara's were. The time that passed were mere seconds, Naruto knew this, but they went by like crawling snails.
And then Naruto knew why. It was because he was going to make a decision.
He stepped forwards—hesitantly; (he wasn't a man of steel after all)—and, with the familiar build of apprehension in his stomach, took a hold of Gaara's index finger. Naruto felt the shock of cold skin rush through him the way one would feel cold breeze on wet hair. "Gaara." he said, low enough not to truly disturb him, but loud enough for the man to hear.
Gaara stayed incredible still. His finger didn't twitch or move away the way anyone else's would after sudden contact. Naruto held his head downcast and contemplated what to do next.
Instead of a reaction from the redhead, the muscular man moved instead. He looked down at Naruto with a raised eyebrow for long moments before scoffing and shaking his head. "Let's get the hell out of here." He said, whipping his head to the side and stalking back towards the entrance.
Naruto twisted his head to blink after him before turning back and looking up at Gaara. The redhead had his head casted to the side again, the murderous look in his eyes once again replaced with that calm indifference. Naruto contemplated saying the man's name again, but couldn't when the policeman suddenly pulled himself from Naruto's grip, not harshly, but enough for the blonde to question whether the gesture was wanted or not, and began following the muscular man passed the entrance doors.
"Ah," Naruto started to say, but gave up when he saw how far the redhead was already walking. He had to jog a bit to keep up with him, but he caught up none-the less. It was so dark when they left the clinic. The night wasn't as dark as it could get by his building, given the lights the clinic cast around the streets, and the working street lights, but it was still dark enough for Naruto to shiver from the juxtaposition of relentless brightness to sudden black.
The muscular man ahead of them walked like he had something to prove, with his fists clenched at his sides, and a slight dip that could have been some sort of swag, Naruto didn't know. The man had worn short sleeves even though it was cold. Come to think of it, even the redhead in front of him was wearing short sleeves. Hell, even he was wearing short sleeves. Naruto remembered then that he'd left his box back in the clinic, in Kiba's room. He probably would have asked to go back and get it if it were just him and Gaara, but the man ahead of them walked with such purpose, as if any distraction would make him go ballistic. Naruto kept his mouth shut. He'd be able to get clothes and maybe a sweater from his apartment anyway.
They'd been walking for maybe a few minutes, when Kankuro suddenly stopped in front of a running car. The lights were on in the front, and from this distance, Naruto could see a woman sitting in the front seat. It was either a woman or a life-like doll because her hair…it was pink?
Walking closer, Naruto realized that the woman's hair was indeed pink, and that she was quite real. She stared ahead with a strong frown on her face, and she was, Naruto realized with the tiniest pang of jealousy, absolutely gorgeous.
"Get in the back." The man in front of them barked at the both of them. He had to walk into the street to get into the driver's seat, and he watched Naruto and Gaara with narrowed as the redhead opened the seat to the back of the car.
Naruto blinked when Gaara stepped to the side to let him in instead of going into the car first. He still wasn't used to all this politeness. It didn't really make any sense to him. He got into the car quickly, partially because he was cold, and partially because he knew the redhead would be cold too. Gaara got into the vehicle in a smooth motion, the way he did everything. His tallness made him seem awkward in the back seat, legs as long as they were, squishing against the front seat.
Gaara turned to Naruto then, and pointed to something behind him. Naruto looked back and only saw the window. He turned back. "What?"
Gaara blinked at him slowly before pointing again. "Seatbelt."
Naruto "oh'ed" lightly and reached over to put it on. He did it somewhat frustratingly. He really didn't understand Gaara's concern for seatbelts.
There was a shuffling in the front of the car, and the muscle man suddenly threw something in Gaara's direction. Naruto jumped, but let out a relieved sigh when he saw Gaara catch it.
"You can bring it to the damn auto-shop when they call you to pick your car up."
Squinting at the thing in Gaara's hands, Naruto realized that it was a license plate. Those things looked a lot bigger when they weren't attached to a three ton vehicle, Naruto realized. The license plate white, like every other license plate, but there was something that caught his eyes. The black letters and numbers were assembled in a strange order—that was normal. But next to the license number was, in huge red letters and in parenthesis, MR M.
Naruto blinked. He recognized those three letters on that sticker in front of Gaara's car from this morning. Naruto found that a little odd, but then again, so many things were odd with Gaara.
But Naruto couldn't put all his attention to the redhead right now. He was in a position that allowed him to see the woman's profile perfectly. She sat still, with her hands on her large round stomach. Naruto narrowed his eyes at that. Was the woman pregnant?
The muscle man did something to the car that made it roar to life. Then the car was moving. The man drove like Gaara did, albeit his movements were a little less smooth. But the confidence was there, like he knew every inch of every road by heart.
"Kankuro, slow down." Naruto heard the woman speak for the first time. Her voice was rough, but soft around the edges. Was that possible? Naruto wrinkled his nose.
"Sorry." He heard the muscle man—Kankuro—mumble before the vehicle gradually slowed down.
The car remained silent for the next few minutes. Naruto found himself wondering if the man knew where he lived. He hadn't kept his eyes on the road when Gaara was driving him home, and even if he had, he probably wouldn't have recognized anything when it was so dark. They were driving a place with little rectangle houses, or condo's—whatever they were. They all looked quaint, with circular windows and mailboxes at the foot of their lawns.
Naruto might not have recognized the street, but one thing he knew about his apartment was that to get there you needed to drive towards the city, not away from it. "Uh, sir—"
"Gaara."
Naruto blinked when he heard the woman's voice again. He turned to look at and saw her face set in the same tight frown from what he could see in her profile. Then he turned to look at Gaara. He had his elbows on the rim of the closed window, and his head leaned into the glass. His face didn't show any acknowledgment to the woman's call.
"Gaara." She said again, and the tone she said it in held a sort of angry desperateness.
"Sakura, you don't have to talk to him." The muscle man said to her lightly.
Naruto tried to raise an eyebrow at this, but was too confused to do so. What the hell were they taking about? What kind of history did they have with the redhead—and where the hell were they taking him?
"Uhm, sir?" he tried again.
"What?" the man asked with annoyance thick in his voice.
"Uh…where are…Where are we going?"
The man made a sound that reminded Naruto of the days when he really didn't know how to snort coke up his nose. "Where the hell do you think we're going? To the twit's condo." He jerked his head towards the back, so Naruto knew he was talking about Gaara.
"Oh." Naruto didn't think they would choose to put the redhead home first. After all, he was supposed to be in his sight at all times. Maybe the redhead lived closer or something? Or maybe the muscle man's apartment was in the direction of Naruto's apartment? Naruto supposed that would make sense. It would mean less of a trip.
"So…" Naruto started again. "Do you need…my address? For when you take me home afterwards?"
The driver made a sharp turn, and the woman in the passenger seat swore.
"What the hell are you talkin' about kid?" the man asked. "All I was asked to do was bring Gaara and his pet project to the twit's house."
Naruto blinked. "What do you mean? Gaara and I live in opposite directions." Or at least that was what it seemed like to Naruto. There were so many trees in the area they were driving in.
"Listen kid," the man said exasperated. "There's only two places on my list. Gaara's, and mine. And you sure as hell ain't crashing at my place. You figure out what the hell is going on."
Naruto stared at the headrest ahead of him with wide eyes. What…what was the man talking about? Was he actually planning of leaving him at Gaara's…
No.
Naruto shook his head. That wasn't possible. It didn't make any sense. He was probably hearing things wrong—another after-effect of the drugs. He leaned back into his chair and blinked hard.
Then he realized Kankuro was easing to a stop. Naruto blinked rapidly and looked around him. On his left side he could see a small little house. It was rectangular like the others down the road, but with square windows.
"Alright." The man said loudly. "Get out. The both of you."
"Ah—wai—"
The blonde was cut off when Gaara opened the door noisily and stepped outside.
"H-hold on," Naruto started panicking. "I can't—"
"Get the hell out of my car, kid." The man said again. He banged on the wheel to emphasize. Naruto jumped and began tugging his seatbelt off. He saw the pink haired woman—Sakura?—look at him through the rearview mirror. She looked as if she was raising an eyebrow.
Naruto ripped the seatbelt off him and slid out of the car angrily. Damn it. What the hell was going on? He found Gaara waiting outside the car, holding the door with his right hand. He closed it behind Naruto when the blonde stepped out. Without even pausing for a good bye, the car roared to life, made a U-turn and drove away noisily.
Naruto stared at the back of the car in disbelief. Wh...what?
"I…What's going…?"
The redhead started walking behind Naruto, towards a house similar to the one Naruto saw. Quaint with large windows.
"Gaara!" Naruto called out, rooted on the spot, trying hard not to explode from the sheer amount of betrayal bubbling up in his chest. "Why is this happening?" he asked desperately, and damn it, he could feel that choking feeling in the back of his throat, preamble for tears.
Gaara turned and looked at him levelly. He looked strange in the night, with a white hand-me-down shirt that advertised the clinic. His bright red hair juxtaposed with the night sharply enough to distract the blonde from his pain, but not enough to take it away.
"Why am I here, Gaara?" Naruto asked helplessly.
Gaara blinked at him owlishly before his hand twitched lightly. "Kurenai-sensei." He said softly, sounding quiet even at night where everything around them was so still.
Naruto felt a tug of anger rip him from the inside.
This is for your own good. Remember that.
That bitch. What part of Naruto recovering his own way didn't she understand? Naruto closed his eyes and grinded his teeth together. He didn't know how he looked in front of the redhead, but at the moment he didn't care. These people imposing on his life were probably better than the drugs, he knew that, but damn it if they kept forcing him like this, if they kept making decisions for him like this—it was like when he was younger and his grandmother, and her rules, and her anger, and her rules—it was why he ran away, damn it. And now these people were—
"You are upset."
The voice didn't startle Naruto. Not this time. Instead he shook his head angrily and glared at the redhead. He wasn't angry at Gaara, god forbid he ever was; it wasn't the redhead's fault. Probably. He was just following orders, right?
It seemed the redhead was good at that, Naruto realized, wheels turning violently in his head. If Gaara was so damn good at following orders, then he wouldn't mind if Naruto had a request for him, right? And Naruto knew he must have been going against some sort of promise, and he knew that this was probably wrong of him, and why the hell was Kakashi's warning not to abuse Gaara ringing in his head—
"Gaara." He said roughly, ignoring all his stupid thoughts and the stupid voices, and the stupid tears running down his face. "Take me home."
He knew it was selfish. But what he also knew was that Gaara would do it. He would take him home even if they had to walk there.
The redhead looked up at Naruto then. He was half turned towards the small house in front of them, half turned towards Naruto. He said nothing for long moments, as if waiting for Naruto to change his mind. Then, finally, he moved. He put a pair of keys—when had he taken them out in the first place?—in his pocket and turned to fully face the blonde. "Okay."
The feeling of triumph was just enough to douse Naruto's guilt.
End of Chapter
Author's Notes
13,000 words!
This update took forever, now didn't it? It's because I've been going back and forth with trying to update really really old stories, and LFFB, =/. SO much work, and on top of that I have school. Baahhhh humbug. .
First of all, let me tell you guys a little about withdrawal:
It can be a different experience for everyone. Some people shiver and shake, some people spasm and get angry and pissed off at everything, and some people don't have to go through any of that. I'm going to make it so that Naruto had periodic bursts of convulsion, shivering, and the idea that it's really cold, and the attacks will probably get stronger and stronger until some sort of turning point. Also, I'm going to make Naruto a little angrier and selfish. He doesn't know that this is because he's been away from the drugs so long so…Yeah, =]
Anyway! About this chapter. This is part one to finding out Gaara's "problems" tee hee~ Do you guys have any idea what those problems might be?
Let's make a list of Gaara's oddities, shall we? and then you guys can tell me what you think his problem is:
Gaara's Ten Oddities:
1. He speaks very little
2. He doesn't express a lot of emotion with his face
3. He follows orders very well, without any complaints, no matter how outrageous
4. He seems oddly concerned about the well-being of others
5. His sense of logic isn't quite normal
6. Kakashi and Kurenai act very cautious around him
7. Kankuro appears to hate him
8. Sakura seems to have some strange history with him
9. He likes babies
10. He has MRM on his license plate.
So. Can you put a name to what's wrong with our favorite redhead? You can tell me in your reviews. And please, feel free to chastise me for taking so long. It was your reviews that made me get off my lazy ass and finally finish this chapter, xD.
Off to finish LFFB, =]
Ciao