When is it that someone can say with absolute certainty that they are an adult? Was it at the legal age that the village elders had decided? Was it when you graduated from the academy and started out in life? Or was is something that you just wake up and realize has happened, no matter what your age?
Whatever the case, Ryo was pretty sure he could think of himself as an adult, even if it was in the privacy of his own mind. After all, he shopped for himself, he went to school by himself, he fed himself and Kiato, he made sure the apartment was clean and most importantly, he could decide what the rules were.
Not the big ones, like laws, but small things, like what time to come home or when to do his homework. Which was exactly what he was thinking to himself as he scrambled to complete his homework which he'd personally procrastinated for the past week that was due later that day.
He mumbled incoherently under his breath as he struggled to understand the mathematic equation currently eluding his mind. Beside him, Kiato was grinning while he lazed back on the couch. Somehow, Kiato had managed to complete all his homework and even turn it in early. Ryo was certain cheating had been involved, but he also knew that Kiato honestly just understood the work, cheating or not, because if he asked for an explanation, Ryo was sure to be provided help, smug as it was.
Finally done with his assignment, Ryo put his work away and grabbed some breakfast that Kiato had burnt trying to make without him.
"So, easy right?" Kiato asked grinning as Ryo sat down. Ryo scowled then rolled his eyes playfully.
"Whatever. Let's just see how easy you think it is when we get the history exam next week." At Ryo's comment it was Kiato's turn to scowl. They both knew it was his worst subject.
After a while they packed their schoolbags and headed out of the apartment. Once out on the street, Ryo took a moment to look around the shadowy surroundings. Getting up so early to do his homework had left him a bit drowsy, but the cool air of a February morning was quick to wake him.
As they walked to school, Ryo realized that Kiato had started to talk, something about an annoying teacher they shared, who Ryo honestly didn't care about, and eventually their feet lead them to their destination.
As they entered the school Kiato suddenly stopped talking and glared at a group of three students walking their way. Ryo tugged at Kiatos's sleeve, hoping he'd take the hint and just walk with him, but to no avail.
"Look, the civilians got lost on their way to school." One of the kids said mockingly. Ryo sighed knowing exactly what would happen next.
"We're not civilians!" Kiato yelled angrily.
"Oh yeah? Prove it." Another kid in the group laughed stepping forward to fight.
Ryo felt sick, the students had years of training compared to the newbies, but he knew Kiato wouldn't back down from a challenge and nothing he did would prevent what would happen next.
"Fine!" Kiato yelled.
Kankuro walked as fast as he could. Not that he really wanted to be where he was going, but if he were late to class, again, the school might actually follow through on their threat to call his father and he was sure his father wouldn't react very understandingly.
More likely Kankuro would receive a harsh conversation followed by extra early morning practice with his tutor for the next few months and a complete stop in what little allowance he was provided, if he was lucky.
As he rounded the corner he saw a group of students tussling in front of the school. Well, more like three of them were beating the heck out of another student. Kuroko didn't so much as debate it. Anger fueled him forward as he knocked the head of the first one he reached.
"What are you idiots doing?" He asked once he had their attention.
"Uh..." One of them stuttered recognizing who it was that'd caught them.
"Shut it." Kankuro growled, his flash of anger abating enough for him to speak. "You realize this is going to get you expelled right?"
They all looked struck with horror, a paleness washing over their features.
"Yeah. That's right. Beating the new recruits? It's a punishable offense. You could go to jail. Maybe for life. What do you think of that, huh?" Kankuro wasn't actually sure of that, but it could be and the look of terror was amusing, so he rolled with it.
"He started it!" Yelled one of the kids, pointing at the white-haired kid on the ground.
"No, he didn't." A brown-haired kid standing nervously to the side spoke up.
"I don't care." Kankuro said angrily. "Go to class before I call a teacher."
The kids scurried off leaving him alone with the two civilian recruits. Kankuro didn't think much of the new students, but he didn't really have to deal with them anyway. He'd almost finished his schooling, only another year or so to go, and that was far out of the league of anyone who'd been brought in recently for training. Still, he supposed it might be annoying, actually having to work with incompetent fellow students. He'd never be able to trust for certain that they knew what they doing.
Then again...he wasn't sure that was actually all that different from what he was forced to deal with now anyway.
He quietly helped the brown-haired kid pick up the white-haired kid who was injured and together, they dragged him to the nurse's station.
"Thank you." The brown-haired kid said quietly.
"Whatever." Kankuro shifted his hold on the dead weight. "I wouldn't be getting into fights anymore though. Students here have been working their lives to be ninja, you can't take them in an actual fight."
The kid nodded then looked at the white-haired one. "Tell that to him." He said quietly.
Kankuro snorted, "Would he listen?"
"No." The kid admitted. "He didn't listen to me."
"Why didn't you help him?" Kankuro asked readjusting the white-haired kids arm around his shoulder.
"I tried. They just knocked me over." The kid looked down embarrassed.
Kankuro nodded as they finally made it to the nurse's room. After dropping them off he turned to leave.
"Thanks. Again." The brown-haired kid said as he left.
"Yeah. Sure. Oh, and uh, don't worry. Just keep practicing and someday you'll be able to stand up to those idiots. They won't knock you down forever." Kankuro said as he walked away.
Just as the kid shut the door a dark shadowy feeling of dread overcame him.
Oh kami...he was so late.
Sasuke watched as the clock ticked. Time couldn't move any slower, he decided. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Gaara spinning a pencil to relieve his boredom...with his sand.
Sasuke paused a moment interested, before huffing and turning his attention back to the front. The teacher pointed out colorful lines on a complex looking diagram of the human body.
Still, no matter how boring, Sasuke refused to slouch as he saw his fellow students doing and he tried to follow along with the redundant information provided by their teacher.
Finally, the bell rang and the students were released.
"Remember, you have a test next Wednesday! Study for it!" The teacher called out to the uninterested listeners. Sasuke watched as Gaara grabbed his bags and darted out of the room before anyone else could crowd the doorway.
"Sasuke-kun!" A blue-haired girl he had noticed sitting in the front of the room ran up to him as he slung his bag over his shoulder.
"Hn?" He wondered what she wanted.
"Uh..." The girls face became red and she stuttered. "Well...I was just...What are you doing later?!"
Surprised by her outburst, Sasuke took a moment to respond.
The girl hurriedly started again. "I was just thinking, if you wanted, you could hang out, you know?"
"Hn..." Sasuke tried to remember if he actually had plans any time in the future but drew up a blank. Living on one's own with limited friends tended to not eat up your time.
"I mean you don't have to or anything! I really like your new glasses! Bye!" The girl rushed away blushing.
Sasuke was left confused, before he remembered that he was still wearing the goggles he and Gaara had gotten. He shrugged it off and headed to the door.
"Sasuke?" The teacher called to him.
"Hai, sensei?" Sasuke seriously wondered why the universe was cutting his escape off so frequently.
"How are you enjoying your extra classes?" The teacher asked.
Taking a moment to recall what that meant, Sasuke remembered the consent paper and the address he'd forgotten to look into thus far.
He bowed hastily and apologized. "I haven't been to the class yet."
"Oh? Make sure you get over there soon, 'kay? You seem like a bright kid, I don't want to lose you over some silly stuff you could've easily caught up on." The teacher packed up and left.
Sasuke left the school and dug out the sticky note with his new destination written on it. Recognizing the street as one nearby, he headed down the road to find the building.
Passing a few stores and expecting to find a school-like setting, he was surprised to find the building with the correct number was large and set away from the other buildings. He opened the door and stepped into the room.
It was quiet and a fake plastic tree sat in the corner where passed it was a front desk with a sign-in sheet.
Sasuke thought about leaving as an uncharacteristic nervousness took hold, but he shook it off and walked to the desk. The place was empty, but after a moment a man came forward with a glass of tea and sat down, unaware of Sasukes presence.
"Ehem." Sasuke politely cleared his throat to gain the man's attention.
"Ah!" The man dropped his tea as he jumped out of his chair and startled Sasuke.
"I'm...uh...here to," Sasuke had no idea who it was he was supposed to talk to, "give this..."
Sasuke set the papers down on the desk and waited for the man to dry himself off and take them.
"Huh?" The man patted his shirt, then looked at the consent form. "Ah, gotcha! Wait right here!"
The man went to the back and Sasuke hoped he had the right place once again as he stood waiting for someone to return.
Eventually a woman came out of a side door, adjacent to the waiting room Sasuke was in and looked him over.
Sasuke studied her in return, taking note of the lack of weaponry on or visibly under her white clothes or in her silver hair. Still, Sasukes instincts told him the woman was noteworthy and his Sharingan flickered to life under his glasses.
"I'll take it from here." The woman said to the front desk man. "Follow me."
Sasuke hurried to do as he was told and he made his way through the door as she led him to an office.
"Alright. Sasuke, hm?" The woman pulled out his papers and read the letter the teacher had sent.
"Yes." Sasuke nodded.
"Extra lessons?" The woman muttered to herself. "Like I'm some kind of tutor?"
Sasuke swallowed. "The teacher said you taught for the school sometimes."
The woman looked up, then sighed. "You help out once and suddenly you're at their beck and call." The woman snorted.
"So, you won't be giving me lessons?" Sasuke asked as he readied himself to leave.
"I didn't say that." The woman put the papers down and put her fingers on her temple before standing. "But I won't take on just anyone, especially before they've even proven themselves a capable student. There's all kinds of paperwork involved here, so you're gonna have to prove to me you're worth the trouble."
Sasuke felt at a loss. Outside of his father, he'd never felt he actually had to prove himself worth anything to anyone. Just being an Uchiha was enough for anyone back in Konoha, even at a young age.
Composing himself somewhat, Sasuke bit back the strange feeling and looked the woman in the eyes, a determination settling in his chest.
"Whatever you tell me to do to prove myself, I'll do it." Sasuke stated with conviction. The woman held his gaze and nodded.
"Fine. Follow me." The woman walked out of the office and passed some empty rooms Sasuke couldn't see into, before stopping in front of a closed door. She took a moment to unlock and open it, then led them into a dimly lit room that held a human model set out on a table.
"Here we are." The lady announced. Sasuke stared confused at his surroundings. Aside from the model on the table, there were diagrams on all the walls of different systems of the body, shelves with odd equipment, and a sink where above it was a cabinet.
Sasuke turned his attention back to the odd woman and stepped up to the table with the model. He found a handy stool beside it and used it to see the whole table better. On the model were a cluster of lines that Sasuke vaguely recognized as chakra coils.
"I want you to draw the chakra system, from top to bottom. Don't leave out a single detail. You can use any of these diagrams and the dummy or whatever else you think could help. You have until the end of the tomorrow to prove yourself worth my time. Hop to it." Then the woman walked out of the room, leaving Sasuke completely alone.
For a moment, Sasuke simply stared at the room. Then a quiet panic settled in.
How was he supposed to draw the entire Chakra system?! They were only just talking about the basics in class. This was high level stuff.
But still, Sasuke felt determination within himself. He'd said he would prove himself, and an Uchiha never stood down from a challenge. He could do this.
Now all he needed to do was find a pencil.
Gaara rushed out of class to his meeting spot with the Kazekage. Though it'd been a while since the man showed up, Gaara figured it was better not to test his luck and managed to make it just on time. He looked around, noting the man's absence, and sat down a moment to rest.
Just as he was thinking about going inside and grabbing a drink, or better yet, just leave and hang out at Sasukes house, his sand activated, alerting him to the man's presence.
Gaara stood hastily, a fleeting worry at having been caught slacking off floating through his mind as he looked to the Kazekage.
The man said nothing for a moment as he watched Gaara settle into his katas.
"Stop." Gaara flinched subtly at the man's voice, but discontinued his actions and returned his attention on the Kazekage.
"We'll be working on your progress with your sand manipulation today." The man raised a hand and brought up sand, showing Gaara a fine-tuned movement with the tendril and gesturing for Gaara to copy him.
As Gaara effortlessly fell into form, the Kazekage continued to increase the complexity of the movement, before stepping back to watch Gaara.
"You place a great deal of power on your ability to wield sand. Not every land has sand though, most do not in fact." The man commented.
Gaara continued his actions, half listening to the man's words, understanding an underlining threat within the last sentence. There was a heartbeat of silence.
"What will you do, if you leave the desert?" The Kazekage asked randomly.
Gaara faltered, looking at the Kazekage, unsure of what to say, or if he was supposed to say anything at all.
"Figure out a solution. I want a well thought out response by the time I see you again." Then the Kazekage took his leave and in his wake Gaara stood confused.
He made his way into the house thinking about it.
How would he protect himself out of the desert? He remembered the incident with the ice user that had stopped him from using his sand. If Sasuke hadn't distracted them before, they'd have probably succeeded. He wondered if taking a bodyguard with himself was an appropriate answer.
Shaking his head, he made his way to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Using his sand to open the cabinet and pull a glass down, he didn't notice as Kankuro walked in until he heard a yelp.
Turning and nearly dropping the glass, Gaara glared at his brother, annoyed by the reminder that the only family he had left either hated or feared him. They didn't even have the decency to pretend the way Yashamaru had.
"What?" Gaara growled.
Kankuro glared back, nervously keeping a hand near his kunai pouch near his thigh.
"Nothing." Kankuro finally said, backing out of the kitchen.
Gaara watched him leave, an anger poisoning his thoughts as he slammed the glass on the counter and stormed out of the building headed for the one place he knew wouldn't make him feel like a flea in the world.
Sasuke poured over the scrolls on his living room floor. The diagrams and colorful images etched into his mind as his sharingan spun wildly to accumulate the information. Suddenly his door burst open and he reached to pull down his glasses before realizing it was only Gaara.
"Ever heard of knocking?" Sasuke inquired as his adrenaline abated. Gaara knocked on the wall beside himself before coming to sit down as Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"What's this?" Gaara asked, motioning towards the paper strewn across the normally tidy floor.
"Chakra diagrams, charts, descriptions, and anything I could possibly find." Sasuke said slightly annoyed by the mess.
"Okay...why?" Gaara asked puzzled.
"Remember those papers the teacher gave me? For extra classes?"
Gaara nodded, sort of recalling the papers.
"Well," Sasuke huffed, "the lady teaching me is insane."
Gaara watched Sasuke sift through some papers and jot a few notes on a paper beside him.
"Yeah?" Gaara prompted him.
"Yep." Sasuke said distractedly. "She wants me to draw the Chakra system."
"So?" Gaara wondered what the problem was.
"So," Sasuke picked up a scroll and tossed it to Gaara, "it's pretty much impossible."
Gaara looked over the complex lines crisscrossing over a body.
"Why would she have you do that then?" Gaara asked.
"To see if I was worth teaching, she said." Sasuke jotted a few more notes down.
"Huh." Gaara looked through the papers. "So, what happens if you can't do it?"
Sasuke grimaced. "She won't teach me and the teacher wanted me to learn from her for some reason. I can't mess up."
Gaara nodded. "Can I help?"
"No." Sasuke scribbled something. "I have to do this by myself."
Gaara felt a little dismissed, but let it pass as he looked around.
"Do you know how someone who uses sand would be able to protect themselves with no sand?" Gaara asked into the silence.
Sasuke set down his scroll and drew a few more lines on his chakra project.
"Hn," Sasuke started distracted, "maybe, learn a different skill? Something without sand?"
Gaara nodded, "But what if, they can only use sand?"
"You can use more than sand." Sasuke responded.
Gaara felt embarrassment creep up. "Not me, just anyone using sand."
"You are literally the only person I've ever met who uses only sand." Sasuke said monotonously.
"Yeah...but this is just a question. Not me." Gaara answered.
"Okay," Sasuke put his pencil down and rubbed his eyes, "maybe, take the sand with them?"
"With them?" Gaara repeated. "How would I do that?"
Sasuke laughed. "Thought it wasn't you."
Gaara heated up. "Fine. How would they do that?"
"Maybe, like in their pocket? I don't know." Sasuke yawned.
"I...They need more sand than that." Gaara supplied.
"Okay. How about a container, with lots of sand?" Sasuke set aside papers on his lap, interested in the conversation now.
"It'd have to be a lot of sand." Gaara said thoughtfully.
"That would get heavy," Sasuke realized, "how about, just enough sand for small things, like the shields you use and learning other skills. The sands really strong, people wouldn't expect you to know other things, like water jutsu? Or wind?"
"Not me." Gaara reminded Sasuke absentmindedly. "What kind of container anyway?"
Sasuke smirked, "Hn, I don't know. Something big, but also easy to carry. How about a bag?"
Gaara shook his head. "No, sand would just fall out."
"Okay," Sasuke pondered this, "I'm not really sure then."
"Me either." Gaara was stumped, but at least the conversation had generated ideas.
"So," Gaara said in the lull, "how are you going to finish this?" He waved his hand at the papers.
"Hn." Sasuke yawned. "I have no idea." He finally admitted.
"Seems pretty hard for homework." Gaara observed.
Sasuke hummed in agreement reading over a scroll absentmindedly.
"Your eyes can remember whatever though, right?" Gaara asked watching his friend's eyes spin.
"Hn...yeah. I think so." Sasuke said distractedly. "It's a lot to remember though, and even if I can see it, doesn't mean I understand it."
"Oh." Gaara nodded picking up a book to read. After a moment he found himself bored with the material and realizing his friend had no intention to take a break anytime soon, he came to the conclusion that he was hungry.
Gaara looked over to the kitchen. Remembering the first time he and Sasuke had tried cooking he wondered if he could give it another shot, after all he'd watched Sasuke cook a few times since and it didn't seem too difficult.
He made his way over to a counter and dug around a cabinet, pushing aside some cans of tomatoes and bags of dried fruit. Then, going to the fridge, he looked through the milk and vegetables Sasuke had stored away. He sighed indecisively and moved back to the cabinets.
Deciding on making some rice finally, Gaara set to work.
Temari dragged her way back home, stumbling over random odd bits as she walked through the door and set her shoes aside.
Since starting her time as a genin and training under her new sensei, she'd done nothing but work up her stamina in training lessons. According to her sensei, everything from this point forward was teaching her the best strategies for evasion in the case of a jinchuriki escalation, diplomacy in extreme situations, both in calming enraged monsters, and avoiding unnecessary conflict inside and outside of team dynamics. Any heavy hitting would be dealt by Gaara and she was simply the clean-up crew.
While it irked her to no end, her own dislike for her predicament was nothing in comparison to Kankuros disdain. Temari knew Kankuro was just angry about the unfairness, but both of them were also worried. There was a reason after all that the Kazekage would only allow his own children on the same team as his handmade weapon.
Temari grabbed a tub of ice cream and sat on the couch happy to rest for all of eternity. After a moment, Kankuro came out of his room holding some papers and sat on the end of the couch with her.
"Was' up?" Temari asked around a spoon of ice cream while poking him in the side with her toe.
Kankuro scrunched his nose and pushed away her feet. "Gross."
Temari tried again, "What is up?" She nugged him.
"Nothing! Jeez! Get your feet off me!" Kankuro pushed her away again. "I was just late for class again."
"This morning?" Temari asked. "Ooooh. Is someone in trouble?"
Kankuro glared at her teasing, "No. They gave me some papers to get dad to sign."
Temari snorted. "Let me guess. You're trying to forge his signature, aren't you?"
Kankuro stuck out his tongue, "You know you would too." Then he showed her some official documents their father had signed.
Temari looked them over then rolled her eyes, "What do you mean 'would'?"
Kankuro looked over curious.
"How else do you think I never get in trouble?" Temari asked. "Here, these are different, he doesn't sign school stuff with his official signature anyway. That's just for show as the Kazekage."
Temari picked up the late slip Kankuro needed signing.
"Hey, wait!" Kanuro looked flustered.
"What?" Temari paused as she held a pen over the paper.
"We only get one shot here. You have to be super careful!"
Temari grinned shaking her head then scribbled on the signature space. "Done!"
Kankuro looked horrified. "What did you do?!" He looked at the paper in distress.
"Don't worry." Temari waved him off. "Just confidently set it on your teacher's desk and you'll be fine. Once I accidently wrote my own name on the paper and they didn't even notice. It's all about presentation. If you act like dad signed it, then dad signed it."
Kankuro seemed to calm down some staring at the paper, "Act like he signed, he signed it. Okay."
He set the paper on the table beside the couch and took Temari's spoon, grabbing some ice cream.
"So, how goes training?" Kankuro asked.
Temari groaned.
"That bad?" Kankuro grinned.
"You have no idea." Temari took her spoon back and glared playfully at him. "Go get your own spoon."
Kankuro huffed and stood to go to the kitchen. "I saw the creep in here earlier. He left sand all over the place."
Temari nodded. "Yeah he does that I guess."
Kankuro sat back down, spoon in hand. "Wish dad didn't have him living here. I mean, why do we have to be subjected to it and no one else?"
"Oh, subjected? That's a big word" Temari laughed as Kankuro spattered her with droplets of ice cream.
"I'm serious!" Kankuro stated.
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Temari ate a spoon of ice cream thoughtfully. "I guess, to make sure someone's keeping tabs on him?"
"He could just have actually trained shinobi live with him."
Temari sighed. "Yeah, well, not many volunteers."
Kankuro nearly snarled. "Like we had a choice?"
Temari nodded, "We're underage."
"You're not." Kankuro pointed out. "Genin are considered adults. You could move out."
With a grin, Temari replied, "Aw, but where would I be without my cute baby brother?"
Kankuro rolled his eyes and stood up, grabbing his forged signature and heading for his room. "Right. I've got homework to do. Goodnight."
"Goodnight!" Temari called out watching him disappear into the hallway.
In the quiet, Temari pondered over his words. Could she move out? Probably not, considering she still needed the money to live and her current status as a genin wasn't providing an income.
Letting the idea slide into a corner for further observation at a later date, Temari put the spoons in the sink and set the ice cream back in the freezer.
Kiato felt the bandages before he opened his eyes. With a groan he managed to sit up and look around and look at his surroundings.
He was back in his apartment and at the table was Ryo working on some homework.
"Hey." Kiato said making Ryo jump.
With a grin Ryo got up and looked over the wraps.
"Hey! You're awake! We went home after you woke up in the nurse's room, but you went back to sleep when we got here. Are you feeling better?"
Kiato tried to remember what Ryo was talking about but couldn't recall a nurse's room. The last thing that came to mind was some jerks stopping him and Ryo from going to school and someone showing up and helping him stand. Then everything went fuzzy.
"Hey!" Ryo waved a hand in front of his face, making him realize just how bad of a headache he was ignoring.
Kiato groaned and laid back down.
"Wait!" Ryo sat him back up. "You shouldn't go back to sleep. Here! I made some dinner!"
Ryo helped him stand up and make their way to the table where Ryo sat a bowl in front of him.
"Thanks." Kiato said dully.
"You okay?" Ryo asked nervously.
"I'll be fine." Kiato barked.
"Jeez." Ryo went back to his homework.
Kiato stared at his food, anger simmering just beneath his skin as the shame of defeat crawled through him. He slammed his chopsticks down and stood up.
"Those freaking jerks!"
Ryo, anticipating Kiatos outburst gave a sympathetic nod, but otherwise continued his homework.
"I mean, how dare they?!" Kiato yelled. "They can't just beat people up! I deserve to go to that school too! So do you!"
Ryo nodded again, "Mm-hm."
Kiato sat back down angrily eating his food. "They almost killed me!"
"Sh. You'll get the neighbors calling on us." Ryo said dismissively.
"Why aren't you angry?!" Kiato exclaimed.
Ryo sighed, done with homework for the day. "I told you to stop picking fights with them. You never listen to me! Today they almost killed you, but you'll still fight them again won't you?"
Kiato glared. "They can't stop us from going to school."
"And you can't stop them from stopping us." Ryo replied.
Kiato growled. "Whatever. You're just being a wuss."
Ryo slammed his book closed and put his books away headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Kiato asked.
"Somewhere else!" Ryo slammed the door, leaving Kiato alone to fume.
It wasn't his fault the jerks at school attacked them. He was only defending himself! Ryo just didn't get it. Kiato would just have to protect them both.
Kiato waited a while, eating the rest of his meal, less interested than before.
Suddenly the door opened. Thinking Ryo had returned Kiato felt a smugness overtake him as he anticipated an apology for Ryo's outburst.
"Hey Kiato!" Saburo's voice filled the air and Kiato felt a mixture of happiness and annoyance at the mix up.
"Hi." Kiato waved.
"Hey, where's Ryo?" Saburo asked distractedly as he set down a bag of groceries.
Kiato looked at the bag interested. "Huh? Oh, I don't know. He got angry with me and left."
Saburo unloaded the bag on the counter, revealing a box of cookies, some rice, flour, a carton of juice, and some dried fruit.
"Well, let him know I grabbed some peaches for him here." Saburo waved as he headed back out.
"Where are you going?" Kiato asked.
"Ah, sorry. Hana needs me back at the house. I just stopped by to make sure you guys are eating. See ya later!" Saburo opened the door then turned remembering something, " Oh, and don't forget to tell Ryo you're sorry!"
With that Kiato was alone again. With a sigh he rifled through the food and upon finding nothing else to spark his interest, grabbed the cookies and settled on the couch again.
In Sasukes apartment the occupants were quiet, a light burning smell from Gaaras cooking earlier still permeating the air. Sasuke had cleaned up, then after scribbling what looked like gibberish to Gaara, Sasuke finally succumbed to his natural need for sleep leaving Gaara himself with nothing to do.
He assumed he should probably have headed home by now, especially considering his orders were to be home by ten every night, but he couldn't bring himself to drag his body back to a house that neither knew he was there nor wanted him there. Considering how his supposed brother flinched or yelped every time he noticed him in the room, Gaara felt hanging out at Sasukes was probably the better of his limited options.
He watched out the window as thin tendrils of clouds wisped across the night sky. The night was beautiful in Gaaras opinion. It was quiet, no one to disturb the silence beyond the occasional nocturnal animal or a ninja on patrol. The starry skies seemed so endless without the sun overshadowing their light, like a monstrous creature swallowing the life of the night.
With that train of thought, Gaara felt a terrible and, unfortunately, familiar feeling. The monster in him wanted to talk. Not that Gaara had let it talk to him in months, he'd found that ignoring it and focusing on talking with Sasuke or reading, or just anything but giving it attention, would irritate it enough to silence it.
"Blood. I need to kill! The child cares nothing for you, he'll try to kill you to! Establish your right to live! Kill him!"
Gaara sat back on the couch, refusing to provide a response and instead picked up a book.
"I could help you. I could love you! We don't need anybody!" The monster in him screamed frantically at its cage's refusal to acknowledge it.
Gaara felt a dizzying sense of nausea as the monster's emotional instability affected his mind, making it difficult to hear or see his surroundings.
Gaara growled. "Knock it off!"
Sasuke stirred and Gaara froze watching Sasuke settle down again. After a moment, Gaara realized the monster wasn't throwing a fit anymore. Its silence spooked Gaara almost as badly as its sudden appearance.
Finally fed up and somewhat curious, Gaara muttered softly, "What are you doing?"
Immediately he regretted his action as he waited for the monsters reply.
"Deign to speak with me?" The monster replied, insanity laced about its every word. "I don't need your sympathy! I'll rip your eyes out and feed them to you whole. Swallow your blood 'til death grabs your soul as I shred every inch of your skin long after you're gone!"
Gaara listened unimpressed. It was neither the first time he'd heard this kind of language nor the first time it'd been directed at himself. The monster was powerless inside him, besides giving him headaches, nausea and making it impossible to sleep or have a functioning relationship.
"I could give you so much power! We would be unstoppable! The desert would rain in the blood of those who question our existence!" The monster babbled.
"What about outside of the desert?" Gaara asked, his assignment coming to mind.
At this the monster halted, stunned into a silence and Gaara had a very odd feeling that he was being inspected.
"What does the desert have to do with killing?" The monster finally asked confused.
Gaara bristled, not sure now that he actually had its attention that he really wanted it in the first place.
"You're the sand right? How would you do anything away from it?" Gaara finally asked warily.
The monster cackled. "You doubt my ability?! I could level mountains! Tear the very earth to ribbons! Drown its rivers in the blood of my victims!"
"But what about the sand?" Gaara pushed.
The monster growled and flipped about in agitation making Gaara lightheaded.
"What does sand have to do with it?! I'd rip their throats out!" The monster snarled in frustration.
"What if you could only use sand?" Gaara didn't understand why this was such a difficult concept here.
The monster stilled while sputtering. "You'll only let me kill with sand?"
"No! I'm not letting you kill anyone!" Gaara drew away from the conversation. It was obvious to him at this point that the conversation was leading him nowhere.
"Wait!" The monster screamed. "But you said! I said WAIT! Listen to me! I'll help you! We can help each other! I'll protect you! I'll keep you safe! We can kill everyone together!"
As the monster became more frantic its words melded together, until it was finally babbling nonsense that Gaara could no longer interpret.
With a sigh, Gaara settled into ignoring the monster again, hopeful that talking to it wouldn't lead to more trouble later but knowing very well he'd be granted more frequent visits for his break in ignoring it.
Eventually the monster settled down, either from exhaustion or because it had nothing better to do was anyone's guess.
Gaara went back to the book he was reading, something fictional about a heroic character going on some adventure. It was an oddity among the non-fiction that littered Sasukes apartment, but it was required reading in class, not that anyone expected Gaara to read it.
As he continued reading Sasuke began to roll over and groaned before laying still again. Worried he'd disturbed his friend talking with the monster Gaara held his breath waiting for Sasukes breathing to mellow out. Once Gaara felt it was safe he began reading again, but Sasuke rolled over once more mumbling something in his sleep.
Gaara stared, listening intently, but Sasuke quieted down before he could make anything out.
Shrugging Gaara, again, returned to his book, but took note of the cold in the room and the lack of blanket for his friend. Thinking it might help Sasuke sleep to have something warm, Gaara stood up to grab a cover, but knocked over a book on his way up.
The result was automatic, Sasuke shot up from the couch, kunai in hand, directed at Gaara, his eyes spinning red.
"Just...getting a blanket." Gaara said quietly. Sasuke continued to stare a moment, processing what was going on, before he blinked, a look of recognition passing over his expression.
"Hn." Sasuke relaxed and set aside the kunai. Gaara hesitated, but continued on his way, grabbing a blanket for Sasuke.
"What time is it?" Sasuke asked through a yawn.
"Four am." Gaara set the blanket down beside Sasuke.
"Hn. What are you doing up?" Sasuke rubbed his eyes. "Wait...never mind."
Sasuke stretched then picked up a book reading over the title with a sigh.
"I'm never getting this finished."
Gaara nodded sitting back on the couch. "Maybe she didn't expect you to."
"Yeah." Sasuke set the book down. "What about you? Find anything useful?"
Gaara thought about mentioning his conversation with the monster, but decided against it, shaking his head.
"Maybe you weren't expected to figure it out either?" Sasuke asked tiredly.
Gaara snorted. "The Kazekage isn't like that. If he tells you to do something, you do it."
Sasuke grimaced. "That stinks."
"He's the village leader." Gaara stated blankly.
"And your dad." Sasuke pointed out.
"Tch." Gaara didn't comment any further.
The two sat on the couch each contemplating their own troubles, as outside, the sun began to rise.
Hey you guys! Irl is busy, so updates will be at fluctuating intervals...but if you've stuck with me long enough (or followed any story writer on here) that's pretty much the norm.
Duchessliz: Too true. His siblings will warm up to him...maybe. At some point. Lol. And the Kazekage neither knows nor cares about Gaara's friends, but he might notice Sasuke's influence. Who know?
Synchronicity911: Yeah, I just happened to have a lot of time and inspiration at that moment. As you can see, I'm not always so efficient when updating. Also, I've read multiple 'Sasuke hides his eyes with sunglasses' stories, I can't take credit for that. But thanks. Lol.
Cyanide4live: Maaaybe.
iii: You ask, I provide. :P
Sasuke's Brother: Great to hear your thoughts! I like where the tangent was going. Lol. As for Itachi, that's a pretty good idea, I might go with something similar, but I've officially decided that Itachi has no idea where Sasuke is or what happened to him. He just doesn't think that the Leaf did anything.
Tralala: Yeah, I like super mellow calm Sasuke better too, but I felt he needed to ease into that. It's not like living in Konoha was the only reason he was an emo hothead. He went through something awful and had no one to talk to or anything. Here he has Gaara and the OC's I provided. He's learning how to live without family or revenge, but it's a slow process. He'll get there...eventually.
Me and not you 1001: Glad to see you're enjoying it. :)