Ola,ola,ola mi amigo,mi amiga! Chapter 11 is here finally! Yes! Enjoy reading dear readers!
DAMN REGRETS
By: Kyara-Gaara's Girl and Bakunawa
The Truth Behind a Hostility
CHAPTER 11
It had been five days since Kyara was admitted to Konoha District hospital due to her injured leg.
It was already 1 in the morning and she could not sleep no matter how she tried. She tossed and turned on her sterile white sheets, a sign of her impatience, but that didn't work either. She was so bored!
As she tried yet again to close her eyes to sleep, she tried to ponder the events the past five days:
Day 1
Sai and the others had came to visit, only to find her complaining about her leg. It was stiff and sore but, the legendary sannin, now Hokage of Konohagakure, strictly instructed her not to move them around or else the poison would spread faster. She understood her orders but Tsunade-sama did not trust her, knowing Kyara's impatience on situations like this, and decided to cast a jutsu that immobilized her leg.
"That ungrateful, old hag!" Kyara complained to Sai that afternoon. "I mean, what kind of medic lets her patient suffer immobilization and deep vein thrombosis!"
Kankuro and Sai looked at each other, as if waiting for her to explode then, the black-hooded nin checked Kyara's exposed leg.
"Kya-chan..." Kankuro said, after returning to his seat, "Your legs are still in shape and you don't have the signs of DVT."
"…yet! Not yet! Shickers! My leg looks awful!"
The kunoichi continued to whine while scratching her bandaged leg. The itch was starting to annoy her and she can't resist scratching them.
"Kyara-chan," Sai approached her, looking concerned over her leg, "Don't scratch. It's going to get worse if you kept on nicking it."
"But it's itchy!" the young kunoichi complained.
"Here." Sai started to rub his warm hand thoroughly, then gently placed it on the very spot where Kyara kept on scraping.
"Feeling better?"
"H-Hai. Thank you, Sai."
The itch started to fade and she felt a bit better. She leaned on the headboard to rest her back when a thought came to her mind.
"Uhm, Kankuro-niichan? Do you know where Gaara-kun is?"
"Nope. Why?" he asked casually.
" Well, I… uh, haven't seen him around."
Secretly, or maybe she was just good enough to hide her emotions, Kyara felt a bit stung, knowing that Gaara did not even bother visiting her to know if she's still alive or well.
Day 2
It was the worst day of Kyara's life. For the second day of her admission, Tsunade had informed her about the upcoming operation that she would undergo, prior to her poisoned leg. She had told her that the toxin was so resilient, that even Sakura's extraction jutsu won't be that effective.
"Surgery is our very last resort, Kyara." She remembered the great Hokage telling her with an authoritative voice.
But she wasn't deterred by it unlike other patient does. All she was worrying about is the scar that would stay on her leg and she knew that it wouldn't be a very good sight.
Just that afternoon before they wheel chaired her to the operating room, she asked Sakura if there are medicines or herbs or any jutsu that would conceal her scar after the surgery.
"Don't worry, Kya-chan. I'll take care of it." The rosette kunoichi assured her with a warm smile. "Not a trace would be seen."
"Actually, I'm planning on amputating her leg." Tsunade said with all the seriousness in her eyes.
"What?" Kyara yelled, as soon as she heard the word 'amputating'. "You have got to be kidding me. You can't just cut off my legs like that without my consent. I didn't even sign any waiver here!" she said, almost crying and everyone was expecting her to burst out of her skin out of rage. They were all getting worried except for Sakura and Sai, who knew Tsunade-sama's face so well.
"Kyara-san," Sai said, patting Kyara's shoulder, "When will you ever get used on Tsunade-sama's fake façade?"
"W-what?" the kunoichi said, eyes already wet with tears.
"She'll only perform a minor surgery, so amputating your legs is off the hook." The pale ANBU nin explained, while receiving an evil look from their great leader, for saying 'fake façade'. Or maybe for ruining her dumb joke.
"You mean…she's only joking?" Kyara asked dumbly.
"You're so slow, as always, Kyara-san."
She just smiled at him and gave him another warm hug, which made the former ANBU root blush, before entering the operating room.
Day 3
She sighed in relief as soon as she saw that her leg is still fine. As Sakura promised, there are no traces of incision or stitches on her leg. However, they were still immobilized for the medicinal jutsu to be effective.
Kyara pouted, knowing that this was going to be another boring day at the hospital. She tried watching the television but nothing caught her interest. She read the book Sai bought for her but she felt drowsy while reading so she stopped, not wanting to sleep the whole day.
She was somehow thankful that the former ANBU nin was with her.
"I want to do something." She said, sitting up straight.
"What do you want to do?" Sai asked.
"Hmmm…" she thought but nothing came on her mind. " I don't know. What do you suggest?"
"Let's see." The pale nin cocked his head to the side to think of something interesting. But obviously, there is nothing that he can think of.
"How about we play, the guessing game?"
"That's boring, Sai-kun. And that's for five year olds."
"But I can't think if anything else, Kyara-chan."
Kyara groaned in surrender annoyed that she had to stay in this stinking hospital while she had nothing to do but sit still. She glared at Sai for walking around, feeling jealous that he could just walk freely, while she sat there with her legs immobilized.
"I'm going to have deep vein thrombosis." She thought angrily.
Sai, being aware of his best friends feelings, suddenly walked up to her and gave her a very warm hug, which startled Kyara a bit.
"What is it, Sai-kun?" she asked, face a bit flushed.
"I've read from a book that a hug is a very effective therapy for depressed people." He whispered in her ear.
"You think I'm…depressed?" Kyara asked, confused.
"Yes. Since you can't walk yet, it may have some psychological effects on you. So a hug is my therapy."
The kunoichi just sighed and smiled, shaking her head at her friends over rationalization. Somehow, her boredom was lessened when Sai arrived and she was thankful. What would she do without a friend like him?
"Thank you, Sai-kun." She said, softly.
Unbeknownst to them, a man was standing behind the door, fist tightened on the door knob. He quickly left the hospital, without apologizing on the male nurse he had bumped on his hurry to escape the reality he just seen.
Day 4
Kyara was hyped that morning when Tsunade-san had her orders that she's well enough to be able to dangle her legs. She almost shouted with joy, that Sai and Sakura had to remind her about noise regulations. The whole team 7 celebrated her recovery with Naruto on the spotlight for talking the whole hour.
"Sakura…" Sasuke murmured beside his girlfriend, "Tell that idiot to shut up. He's been talking since we arrived."
The female medic nin just rolled her eyes upward, annoyed by her boyfriends sour mood. Sasuke could be a bit annoying at times, especially when he's being a kill joy or a jerk. Sakura sometimes wondered why she fell in love with him.
"Maybe I could get out of here tomorrow. Hopefully." Kyara murmured, though more to herself. She hated to stay for another day, but she knew she wouldn't be able to walk without some assistance. She knew Sai would be with her, but she did not want to bother him, especially that the chuunin exams are drawing near.
"Don't worry, Kya-chan, you'll be out here in no time. Sakura-chan will do everything to make you feel better." The blonde shinobi assured her, with a grin on his face.
"Of course. And I can't wait to have a spar with Sasuke-kun." She regarded him with a slight smug. "My muscles are getting really wasted since I've arrive. Will that be okay, Sasuke-kun?"
"Bring it on. I can't wait to test your fighting style as well." Sasuke answered, with a confident façade. Sakura just shook her head and whispered 'really' to herself.
Kyara's physical therapist came in that afternoon for her massage and she was more but willing to comply for her recovery. Anything for her healing and discharging.
Night time came and team seven left for her to rest. But she was glad, even if she was alone again, because, she knew that she would be okay because of her friends care and concern for her. She knew that they would never abandon her and they will always be there for her…to stand by for her. And she would never exchange them for anything else.
But a certain someone crossed her mind. Gaara never really bothered to pass by, and it made her sigh in disappointment. Instead, she just closed her eyes to forget about him until fatigue took over her.
Day 5
Sakura was the only person who came by that day. She had informed the kunoichi that she's allowed to walk even outside her room and the news had made her day. But her euphoria did not last that long. The rosette told her that she could not stay any longer.
"Why?" was the only question, Kyara had managed to ask.
" Hokage-sama had occupied both our hands for the chuunin exams and she's putting us all on pressure." Sakura answered, signing the documents on Kyara's medical chart, making a face.
"Shickers…"
"I'm really sorry, Kya-chan. Well make it up to you after you've been discharge, okay?" Sakura said, apologetically.
"That's fine Sakura-chan. Don't worry about it." Kyara said, sitting on an armed chair. "Say hi to Sai-kun for me."
The medic nin just gave her a smile, which she did in return.
It was a very boring day. Kyara had finished a whole book, and maybe would have finished a row if she had a book shelf inside. That afternoon, she tried searching for a nice movie again but to no luck. There was nothing but old films premiering, that if the third Hokage was still alive, he would have named them.
She really hated the hospital now! How many times she was admitted, she could not tell. Now, all she wanted to do was escape. She didn't care about her medicines, which are due for the next day, or even her therapy. She felt as healthy as a horse and didn't need any medical management.
"I have to get out of here. I might lose my mind if I stayed here for another day." She said to herself, facing a wall. Wait…she just talked to herself. And she did it on a wall!
Kyara's eyes widened then took a deep breath to prevent her self from hyperventilating. 'I'm not crazy.' She thought. To calm herself, she laid on the bed and tried to relax. It was effective. She even remembered three years ago, when she passed by a sleeping Shikamaru on a roof top. She just smiled at the random memory.
Then, Gaara crossed her mind again. She has been thinking about him a lot lately. And she admitted that she strangely missed him. She knew it was wrong to feel such a thing, but then she also knew that it's no good to lie to herself.
"Gaara-kun never came." She said, miserably. And she spent the day, feeling so fed-up about Gaara not showing up.
Day 6 (Present Day)
Kyara couldn't take it any longer. The sterile smell of the hospital already hurt her nose .Literally. 'How troublesome.' She had thought. That morning, around 3 maybe, she sneaked through the nurses' station using her ninja abilities. She was thankful enough that the janitor was in a very deep sleep in a sofa, when she passed by to get out through a window.
"Yes!" she whispered. She smelled the fresh air of the streets then exhaled in relief, looking at the tall trees, peaceful streets and colorful houses of her original village. It was like getting out of a prison that she almost wanted to jump and shout. But she has to get a grip of herself or else, she will be back before she could smell the rest of Konoha.
Now that she had ran away from the hospital, she decided to look for Gaara. The man owed her a good explanation as to why hadn't he bother to give her a visit, or maybe she just wanted to be with him? Kyara didn't have the answers unfortunately.
She had looked everywhere, but she couldn't find him. She tried going to familiar places Gaara would prefer, the most quiet places of Konoha is the most promising, but he just wasn't there.
'Where is he?' The young kunoichi wondered.
After searching some more, Kyara felt herself woozy. Not that she's exhausted. Days of lying in the hospital had made her sick of it but, she's only human. She already felt sleepy and Naruto was only the person she could think of, out of drowsiness.
Kyara knew that it's rude to intrude private properties, not to mention, going in through someone else's window. But she did not want to wake Naruto up. The poor guy must have been drained out for the preparations on the said exam. She could get arrested for this but she had nowhere else to go. She had thought of checking in on a cheap apartment, but unfortunately, she didn't had enough money and it left her no choice but to sleep the night on her best friend's house.
She succeeded going through his window, and landed soundlessly on the wooden floor, at the foot of the sleeping blonde ninja. She had seen him asleep so many times, during joint missions, classes, or even training that she just smiled and shook her head. Naruto's expression was still the same: mouth hanging open, snoring loudly, hands and legs spread all over the bed. The kunoichi smiled again from the memory. Naruto was indeed the wackiest ninja she had ever met.
That morning, she was the first to wake up. Maybe she was so sleepy last night that she did not remember sleeping on the floor, until she felt her back sore. So much for lying on a cozy bed of the hospital.
Naruto was still asleep when she sat up. He's still snoring and maybe he was dreaming about something, because he was smiling. Then out of nowhere, she heard the man murmuring Hinata's name and an idea struck her mind, making her smug.
Slowly, she climbed beside Naruto's bed and covered her body, showing only her bare shoulders. Her movement must have disrupted the male nin up that when he finally decided to open his eyes, shock was painted on his face and he was blushing madly at Kyara's sight.
"Ack!" Naruto exclaimed, moving away from the female ninja. "Kyara-chan! What are you doing here?"
Kyara pretended to blush and looked away from Naruto. "Don't you remember last night, Naruto-kun?"
"Whaaaat?"
"What have you done to me, Naruto-kun?" she made a coy façade, that made Naruto gulped. However, Kyara couldn't hold it any longer. She suddenly burst out laughing at Naruto's reaction, that made the other confused.
"I was joking, Naruto-kun!" and she laughed some more, now holding on her stomach.
Naruto was slightly irritated, but seeing that the young lady had laughed again for the first time since she returned, he felt relieved. She was finally loosening up and is back to her normal self again.
After telling Naruto about her escape at the hospital, the spiky haired nin, complained childishly.
"You should have told me you were going to escape. I could have helped you."
"I was, but seeing that you're pretty much occupied for the chuunin exams, I did not bother. So I have to do it myself." Kyara said, fixing her hair, while waiting for Naruto to fix up.
"Oh, right. I'm sorry we did not have the time to visit you, Kya-chan. But we could make it up for today."
"Today? You mean, Hokage-sama gave you a break?"
" Yep! And today will be my treat for Ichiraku ramen!"
The duo went to find Sakura, Sasuke and Sai to celebrate for Kyara's recovery. But Naruto-always full of surprises- did not bring them only for a ramen. Instead, he treated them in a restaurant called 'Barbe-q' where they had a good time eating yakiniku, inviting all the jounin of Konoha . Kyara had missed them all so much that she almost wished she did not have to go back to Sand and face her grumpy old teacher. These are her friends…her comrades who had helped her when she needed it and mostly, the ones who taught her to treasure friendship and camaraderie. They were always there beside her through good times and bad and Kyara would never forget them.
"What's with the long face, Kyara-chan?" Sai asked, noticing that she suddenly became very quiet. "Is something bothering you?"
She just shook her head then smiled, saying that she was glad that they had a reunion.
"It's nothing really, Sai-kun." She assured when he still looked weary.
"Nothing or something?" Naruto sneered, smiling at her. "Or someone?" he added with a sly grin on his face.
"Hey! Don't start with that, Naruto-kun!" she blushed, hiding her face with her bangs.
"What? I haven't said anything, yet you're blushing." The blonde would-be-Hokage taunted, making her redder on the face.
"Is it, Gaara, Naruto-kun?" Ino added, winking at her. "Should I call him then?"
"No, don't, Ino!" Kyara quickly held her down. "But, have you seen him?"
"See? Gaara is the remedy." And they all taunted her. Kyara knew that they were just making her laugh and she couldn't help but laugh with them too.
"Well, you can't blame her. That Gaara guy is somehow cute…" Ino stated as-a-matter-of-factly. "And hot, may I add."
Kyara spent the whole day, with all of them making her laugh and smile. She even received a gift from an also blushing Hinata, for helping her once with training. She had so much fun, that she forgot the disappointment she felt for Gaara. It was all thanks to Naruto, she would bring another fruitful memory when they have to go home to Sunagakure.
Kyara decided to spend the night on the apartment, her team mates were currently residing, not wanting to be a nuisance to Naruto or any of her friends. The idea of Gaara being there somehow made her uncomfortable and excited at the same time.
She was about to go, when she spotted Kankuro in the middle of the crowd.
"Kankuro-niichan!" the brunette kunoichi called, when she realized, the hooded puppeteer was not heading for her direction. In Kyara's view, it seem that he was heading towards the hospital, because he was carrying fruits with him. She realized that Kankuro didn't have the slightest idea about her little escape from the hospital.
At the sound of his name, the puppeteer turned and was surprised to see her out of her bed and in her gear.
"Kyara-chan…" he said, after reaching her. "I thought-"
"I'll tell you about it later, okay?" she cut him off, smiling. As much as she wanted to spend more time with her friends, she has to rest her body because, she could feel the sleepiness taking over her and at any rate now, she swore she would doze off.
"Okay then. By the way, have you seen Gaara? I haven't seen him the whole day." The black-hooded shinobi asked, looking from one to the other.
"No, we haven't seen him either." Naruto answered.
"Isn't he with you the last time we arrived?" Kyara asked, a hint of concern on her voice.
"Don't worry. I'll find him eventually, Kyara-chan. You two go on and have a rest. I'll go look for him."
Both sand ninja nodded and went the other way, while Naruto went to the opposite direction.
He had searched for some usual places but he couldn't find his fellow jinchuuriki. He looked for the chuunin exams stadium and realized that it was a rirdiculous idea. Why would Gaara stay in the stadium when it was still close until the exams? He searched everywhere but couldn't find him.
However, he wasn't giving up. He knew Kyara was worried, even though she won't admit it. He could see it all in her eyes.
He went to the opposite of his direction, hoping to find the red head and after an hour or so of leaping from one roof to another, Naruto had finally found him.
He was sitting on the tank above the hospital, Kyara had been admitted. Naruto knew he was in deep thought. He was always in a deep thought that Naruto assumed he was just sitting around.
"Gaara…" he greeted the man.
Gaara glanced at him then nodded, acknowledging the other mans presence, then went back to what he was staring before Naruto came.
"uhmmm.." the blonde shinobi started dumbly. "Kyara-chan is looking for you."
The red head half turned when he heard Kyara's name.
"Maybe you should go and tell her that you're alright."
Silence met him and he was obviously sweating from the awkwardness of the situation. He has conversed with Gaara a lot of times, but not like this; one-on-one and even from before, he sucked at it.
"Is she alright?" the sand-wielder asked, making the other male nin exhale in relief.
"Yeah. She even pulled a prank at me this morning." Naruto smiled, sheepishly.
"I heard she escaped the hospital."
"Y-yeah. Sorry about that, Gaara."
The red head did not answer. Instead, he took a deep breath. Naruto, sensing that something is wrong sat beside him.
"What's the matter, Gaara?"
Gaara was not the one to confide his feelings on others, except maybe to Kyara. But this was Naruto, the only person like Kyara who can understand him the most.
"Kyara…"
"Kyara-chan? How come?"
"I can't protect her."
Naruto was at loss for words. He didn't know how or what to say to Gaara. Somehow, he wanted to say out loud, 'you're right. That's why she ended up in the hospital' but knew that it would be inappropriate, but then, he knew Gaara loved Kyara so much, that he would protect her with his life. He had seen it on his eyes when he had said this. But then, he broke her and that confused him even more.
"And…she'll hate me for the rest of her life because of that."
"No, that's not true, Gaara. Kyara-chan could never hate you."
"I broke it off with her." Gaara shot at him with a cold glance and he got quiet for a short second.
"Well, that…" Naruto scratched his head, looking sheepish. "That was a different thing. Especially when she found out about the miscarriage-"
And that was it. Naruto wanted to slap himself for being so tacky and smart. He should have watched his mouth but it was already too late. Kyara's pregnancy was supposed to be a secret between team seven and her. Gaara or even Kankuro was not supposed to find out. Kyara made them promise, but he had broken it.
"Miscarriage?" Gaara asked, surprised though he had managed to maintain his apathetic look.
"You mean, you didn't know?" Naruto sighed in exasperation. Since he had somehow revealed some secrets, he decided to tell Gaara everything instead.
"Sakura-chan said she was three weeks pregnant when she got here. I honestly don't know a thing about pregnancy, but she was all pale when she arrived three years ago."
As Naruto explained, everything went clear for Gaara and it just made everything between him and Kyara worse.
It was still so clear in his mind. The incident three years ago before they broke up was still fresh and in all honesty, he could never forget it. Because that was the night he got carried away by his emotions and he himself could not even believe what he has done. He was scared after that, but Kyara had so much trust and faith in him that his fears were soon forgotten. But then he had broken her into nothingness after that night and that was the reason behind Kyara's hostility towards him. Because he got her impregnated and because of him, she had miscarried the baby…their child.
Gaara was silent after what Naruto had told him about the incidents three years ago. Now what is he supposed to do? He didn't know. How could he face Kyara? Or even his siblings? He can't even look at Naruto straight in the face.
He felt so…ashamed of himself. How irresponsible of him to send Kyara away, when she was carrying a life inside her body?
And for the first time in a very long time, Gaara shed a silent tear, and this time, Kyara wasn't there to comfort him.
Hey! Hey! Hey, guys! Kya-chan here! I'm so sorry this took so long. I know, I know I've been so negligent these past months. Sigh. But anyways, look on the bright side again! ^_^ chapter 11 is finally here! cheers so, sit back, relax and I really hope you enjoy reading! Chapter 12 is coming right up! Keep your fingers crossed! And please…pretty please review my story? Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
