Food Fit For A KING

Chapter Fourteen:

I stood against the ugly concrete walls, waiting patiently for my siblings to wake. This was the last day, I could finally get back to Kimi. I wanted her, I needed her, like a quick fix of an unhealthy drug. She was pulling on my sanity and she wasn't even around me. I had grown so tired because of her, the thoughts of her that were draining my energy. I hated her and wanted her, liked her and needed her. Damn her. Just I started the rant in my head, I saw her image in the moon light that shimmered against the opposite wall. She was just standing there with her apron, offering up food and smiling at me. I glared and ripped my eyes from the hallucination towards the small pack that the team had left of food. Instantly, I dropped to my knees and pulled it open. Inside was a small container of cherries, just sitting there inside. I pulled it out. Slipping to a sitting position, I sat the bowl in my lap. I knew that eating them wouldn't help, but Kimi had specifically put these in for me. There was a note on it just for me.

'Just because I know they're your favorite.'

-Kimi'

I stared at the note, eyeing the curve of every letter. I was just imagining her there, writing it. Opening the container, I reached in, took the stem off, and popped them one by one in my mouth. They were juicy and fresh and sweet and tart all at the same time. I was so concentrated on eating and savoring the cherries, I didn't notice Temari waking up.

"nu…hn….Ugh…Gaara?" I looked up and there she was, stretching and yawning. I sat there huddling the bowl of cherries. She wasn't going to have my cherries! They are mine, my Kimi Cherries! My wide eyes turned to slits as she crawled over and grasped the water canteen. She gulped down water before slipping down in front of me.

"Yes Temari?" I asked

"I see you found Kimi's Cherries…" She trailed off with a yawn. "You know, Mother used to love cherries, she'd eat them all day long if she could" Temari crossed her legs in a clumsy fashion, like an elephant with no control of their limbs trying to sit down. However, as much as I wanted to insult her and say I didn't care about mother, I found myself looking down to the cherries. Mother? I had blamed her, hated her, needed her. My mother was the thing ripping me apart and ever since Kimi came around, I was able to push my mother away from my mind. However, when we came to this village, being closer to Kimi kept bringing up my mother. I would hear the demon's voice and instantly know it was my mother's influence. My mother's voice was becoming what I thought was the Shukaku's voice. The screech in my head that bothered me and was irritating me. I was starting to feel unstable, all because of her.

"I don't care about mother" I hissed, pushing another cherry into my mouth. I was trying not to think about her, but ever bite brought up the vile in my head. This poison like vile that washed around my brain and made me cringe. But I couldn't stop eating the cherries, they were Kimi's cherries but they brought up my mother. How could such a stupid fruit bring up such a fight within myself.

"Yea, sure…" Temari finally answered back. I watched her suspiciously, just daring her to try and snatch a cherry. This were my Cherries! But Temari grabbed a piece of Naan and a small Tupperware bowl of sweet berry mixture spread. She ate quietly next to me, not even looking at me as I dug into my bowl of temptation cherries. I couldn't stop myself, it was rather pathetic but as long as they were mine who could judge me. Who would judge me, everyone was afraid of me.

"Ugh?" I looked up from my bowl, finding my second sibling stumbling from sleep. Kankuro, was never a morning person. His hair spiked out from his face and his eyes were red, and every movement he made, something in his body cracked. When he sat up, all the bones from his tail bone to his shoulders cracked, and very loudly. It actually made both Temari and I shiver a bit, when his neck cracked and he let out a loud groan.

"Yea…" He whispered, getting to his knees.

"You look like a clown, Kankuro," Temari snipped. She pulled her hairbrush from the bag nearest to her and chucked it at his head, knocking him upon the forehead. Snickering, I went back to my cherries, popping another in my mouth.

"What was that for?" Kankuro snapped at Temari.

"For looking like a mental patient!" Temari snapped back.

"Kankuro, come eat," I commanded. I looked up from my Tupperware of cherries, debating if I should eat anymore. If I ate them all, they would be gone and who knows when I'd get more. But if I didn't eat any more, they would make me crave them. Glaring at the bowl, I pulled the lid on them and pushed them back into the bag. Scrappling up on my feet, I watched my siblings bicker softly, while I turned and began to walk off. Hopefully today was the last day. They did say 5 days, and this was the fifth moon I had counted, so unless the moon was messing with me, this had to be the last time being cooped up in this place. My feet had been moving while my eyes barely took in where I was going, my thoughts burrowing me. I was trying to escape my thoughts, my thoughts of Kimi, and my thoughts of my mother. My mother had come back up into my mind, she was scratching at me again like she always did. That stupid photograph of her smiling at me, it infuriated me. How was it she could smile in that photo, but every time I saw her behind my eyelids, she was just this angry being. She was angry, at me, hateful towards me. Only, that's when I heard hushed voices and scuffling of materials, my thoughts halted. I stopped at a corner, leaning against it and keeping dead still. So there were other people in this tower.

I closed my eyes, forming my fingers to my left eye and held my other palm out against my hip, the rush of sand running to my hand.

Opening up the third optic!

Suddenly my vision went from my eyes to the small eyeball in my hand made of sand. I clenched it hard in my hand and felt the sand rush away, doing my bidding. Who was around the corner?

"Gai Sensei says to be on our toes, that there are lots of odd people who could definitely make it…" A male voice came whispering around the corner. My sand could see him, his green spandex and horrible black bowl cut hair do.

"We'll be fine Lee. Do you know when they're coming to collect us all? I mean, they can't coop us up here all day. It's already the fifth day." A female whispered back. My eye scoped her digging in a small bag, packing a few scrolls in the bag then closing it. She attached it onto leg before standing up.

"Hopefully soon… anyone who is going to make it, has already make it… Sasuke, and the other two even made it in last night" A boy whispered back, a third one, with long black hair and a head band around his forehead. I pulled my eye back, I had heard all I needed. Sasuke had made it. That's all I needed. For, the only person I wanted to fight was here. Smirking, I squished my eye, allowing sight completely back into my eyes. Turning slowly to keep from making noise, I padded back towards where my siblings were. After walking for a bit, I stopped hearing whispering from the odd ball group. I hadn't paid attention, but after heading far enough, I heard the quiet conversation between my siblings. They had finally stopped bickering and were now getting ready. I don't know about them, but I could feel it. It was time for this. To see who was weak and who was strong.

I turned into a doorway and found them sitting against a wall, packed up and ready to go. At my shadow, they looked away from each other and stood up softly, their conversation ending. There was this silent agreement between us all, as we turned and headed for the wall. There was no time to just sit around. The three of us walked into the long hall of openings when the loud speaker broke in a hazy voice.

"Will all teams head towards the center of the tower, follow the blue lines on the wall for direction…" The speaker fuzzed out as bright blue lines glowed around the walls. Instantly a group came out from a cove in front of me, the ones I had spied on. They looked back and stopped as me and my siblings continued forward and walked past them, not even sparing them a glance.

XX

Kakashi had said it was the last day and that he had to be with his team. It was understandable, so I took the day to be on my own. The two of us had done so much in the last few days. I learned how to actually hit something, kick hard enough to make damage, and how to defend against someone who came out to hurt me from behind or from a blind spot. I was actually good at flipping people over my shoulder, thanks to heaving large, heavy foods, flipping large things in pans, and carrying other such things. Now, I was sitting on the couch, staring at the wall before me, the hotel brand photo in a large frame. I needed to do something, I needed to get out. I was just sitting here, and bound to end up thinking about him. It was bad enough I had dreams of him, dreams that made me blush and sweat, waking up red and very jittery. I needed to get out. I had finished another letter to my family, prepped for a welcome home dinner, cleaned up the rooms and all.

First of all, the cleaning up part was the worst idea of my life. Cleaning up after Temari, putting up her clothes wasn't bad, because I knew that she had lady clothing like I. Of course, cleaning up after Baki and Kankuro wasn't hard- I had tons of brothers I took care of all the time. But Gaara scared me the most, just by cleaning up. His dirty clothes were already folded and put in the corner of his room. All that was dirty was his bag, fresh clothes and objects spewing out of it. I went to go put it in order when I found sand which scared me. Then, after I gained my normal heart beat, I began to put things away when I found a small photo in his pack that made me want to blush and rip it up at the same time. I hate camera's, I'm not photogenic at all, and there I was, walking down the street with groceries and that focused face I pull when I'm thinking. It was horrible. My hair was a mess, my face was scrunched, my clothes covered in flour… it was atrocious. What was more terrifying? The picture, or the fact that he carries it with him?

This was why I needed to get out.

"Damn!" I snapped and jumped to my feet. I bolted off the couch, grabbed my keys and ripped out the door. Locking it behind me, I put my keys around my neck. I needed to get Gaara off my mind. Get him, and the team, and my family off my mind. I was in a random town, with people I'll never see again in my life, with only a few hours left before my life comes crashing back. Yea, now I was thinking what the hell. What's better to get everything off my mind and keep entertained than to go and play.

Skipping down the stairs, I stopped at the bottom to look at my clothes. A small, tan tank top with black lace framing it, black jeans ripped at the end, and a pair of sand sneakers. My hair was pulled into a messy bun. Yeap, definitely screamed what the hell with life. Opening up the doors to the lobby, I skipped out, going around the small crowds towards the front.

"Miss?" I stopped dead. Damnit, no! Please, twins of evil comments at the front, can you please not ruin my day? I turned, smiling softly at the women who were behind the desks. They had giant smiles, tilting their heads this way and that.

"No Lover today?"

My jaw dropped, okay, this was it! Screw this! The team could always find another hotel. These broads were going to get my iron fist in the face!

"What?" I snarled, glaring at them. They just smiled and looked to each other before looking to me.

"The man with silver hair…" one spoke.

"Is he not your lover?…" The other spoke.

"Shame, the red head is definitely more your type…" They finished together. Oh no! Oh HELL no! My fists clenched hard, narrowing my eyes as I stormed up to them. They didn't seem to mind or care until I slapped my palms hard on the front desk and brought my face right into their little bubble. Everything in the room went tense as I narrowed my eyes at them.

"He's not my lover, he's my trainer, and the red head…" I stopped, a lump had grown in my throat. I couldn't say anything more for the moment, I couldn't get myself to say he wasn't my type, or wasn't my boyfriend, or my lover. I stopped, pulling back. "The red head, and I… well…" I dropped it, laughing at the thought. Their eyes went wide as I turned and chuckled on my way, skipping away. Oh, that should mess with their minds for a while. I skipped merrily right out of the hotel, dusting my hands off on my shorts before deciding. Left or right.

"Hmm…" Right! I turned and skipped the other way, towards the smell of food, the sound of laughter and loud people talking. If I was lucky, there was a fair going on. I love fares, the foods always home made and far better than factory line food in restaurants, and the people are far more homely. They have stories, which always makes the food better. My feet made almost no noise as I skipped down a street of almost empty people. The only people I could see were slowly turning corners, holding the hands of children, or couples holding hands and making the lovey dovy face. Banners and streamers were lightly hung around the whole town as I came closer to the fair. Oh yes, It was definitely a town fair.

Oh, I could smell it, I could taste it. My mouth was watering already as I turned another corner and was blown away. The smells were over my head, the sight was bright and colorful, everything was just marvelous. I stepped onto the road and was instantly greeted. Little children took my hand and spun me around with them, handing me a ribbon to wave along as they laughed and ran about.

I smiled and rushed around, amazed like a kid in the candy store for the first time of their life. A kid with large, rich family funds, and enough money to make them regret giving it to me. I smirked and ran, I had to taste it all, see it all, try it all.

"Baked Meats!"

"Dough rolls!"

"Candy sticks!" I was thrown into a world of different ethnic foods from all cultures. Sweets made of sugar and all colors and fruits. Dried fruits, caramel fruits, fruits made into rock candy, rock candy made into fruit. Sushi on a plate, sashimi on a stick, glazed beef on a stick, rotisserie chicken on a ladle.

"Oh my skies! This is amazing!" I claimed to the chicken man who grinned and handed me another ladle.

"Home recipee!" I moaned and bit more into the boneless chicken on a wooden stick. The flavor was exploding but not hot, it wasn't sweet but more fruity.

"Oh no… Pineapple?" I squeaked, smiling at the man who laughed and nodded. "I LOVE PINEAPPLE! We never get it in the sand, I'm so coming back for your chicken at the end, make sure to have some to pick up. My team will definitely want some." I nodded to him, handing over some money and extra coins before taking my second ladle with me. This was far too good to waste. I even shared some with the kids, watching them munch on the delicious, moist chicken. I even let them braid my long hair, ribbons and flowers in all. I loved kids. I don't know if I want any of my own, but I definitely liked them. However, there was no time to talk about kids for me, there were kids begging me to dance with them to the loud, yet well performed live music. Large guitars, bongos, and other musical instruments played for us as I spun with the kids.

It was atleast an hour before I had to take a break from all the spinning and jumping, giggling with kids and joining in with the band with a tambourine. I was never really good at music, but it was fun for me to be terribly off beat and everyone laugh with me. Sunakagure needed this, they needed liveliness, they needed street fares, food and music. They needed this!

I was sitting down for a breather when I heard whispering around me. I turned and found little girls conspiring against me, and I could see it. In their eyes and the way they looked at me while they talked. I couldn't tell why I was scared of them, they were a third of my height and age, but for some reason I stood up and was walking slowly away. This could not be good.

Only, I was shoved by these little girls, hard in a direction then the next, watching as I came closer and closer to a booth. It took me till the last second to see what it was and instantly go red. I blushed as my hips rammed up into the hard wood of the booth, looking into the green eyes of a very good looking boy. Not Gaara, of course, but he had shaggy brown hair that framed his face, and he looked overly eager to do his job. I gulped and looked up to the sign,. Yup, it still said kissing booth.

"I… Uh… this wasn't my choice" I mumbled, trying to escape, but the glares of little girls stalked me in all my escape points.

"Don't worry, I promise it's good," The boy laughed, tapping me lightly on the hand. I looked to him and he smiled, "Just breathe. That's my little sister over there. I think she's tired of old ladies kissing me… I'm kind of glad she's pushy…" I looked to the little girl where he was pointing, and found her with her arms crossed and pigtails swaying in the wind.

I stopped. Well… Gaara… would he? I mean, it wasn't like he said I couldn't kiss anyone else. And wasn't I supposed to be saying what the hell? I was having fun! This was supposed to be my day! MY LAST DAY! Oh what the hell.

I ripped around and planted one right on the boy. I pressed my palms against the booth tip and leaned into it. His lips were warm, soft, and gentle. Something different for me! I was incharge here, I didn't have to be thrown against a wall, I was able to take it as slow and soft as I wanted. Ignoring the guilt in my stomach, I smiled into the kiss. It was nice… only, it didn't end nice.

"AHEM!" SHIT! I ripped from the kiss, turning to the voice I knew all too well. There was Temari, arms crossed with a smirk on her face. I knew what she was thinking, and Kankuro next to her, and Baki next to him. They were all thinking 'she gets around fast' I knew it, they were all thinking it. But Gaara… he was not. Fear shot me as I looked to him, standing their arms crossed and a puzzled look on his face that quickly turned to anger, a fierce anger pointed at the boy.

"Oh,… Hey… I was just… we should go!" I didn't even look back at the boy. I grabbed my stuff and walked as fast as my feet could take me towards and past them. I was close to passing Gaara when a hand grabbed my elbow and forced me to walk in tempo. Gaara's hand. It wasn't tight, but it wasn't soft either, and it kept me right next to him. I looked anywhere but to him, knowing that if I caught eyes with him the guilt would build up in my stomach.

What had I done? I hadn't cheated, I mean, it was a kissing booth! And we weren't dating! Yea, he couldn't say that I wasn't allowed, I wasn't his object, I could do as I wanted. As much as I wanted to tell him that, I kept my mouth shut and walked beside them like a scolded puppy as they slowly dragged me back out of the far and onto the street. I didn't even look up when Temari spoke up to break the silence.

"So, Kimi, did you have fun while we were gone?" She asked, but was laughing while she did.

"I think we know the answer to that" Baki spoke up. I stole one glance towards Gaara who was just looking forward without saying a word. I hate how I can never read him.

XX

I can't believe she did that! I stood against the wall, watching her lay on the couch, so comfortable and asleep while I stayed awake with my brain banging harshly against my skull. How dare she kiss another man! Didn't she understand she was mine and no other? My frustration and anger was bad enough, due to the battles. A month before the final battles and I could fight with Sasuke, the only thing that didn't make me angry. I was so confused… the boy in the green spandex, his teacher, even the blond. Why? WHY? I growled, ripping off the wall. Was she that stupid? No! I was going to show her who was in charge here. She was not allowed to choose who she kissed and what she did when. No! SHE WAS MINE! I scrunched my face, pushed the coffee table back effortless and soundlessly and then kneeled on the couch. My hands snatched her shoulders and I shook her hard.

"Ga-aa-ar-a-a-a!" She whispered under her breath as her eyes shot open. I stopped shaking her and looked her in the eyes, watching the fear instantly come up onto her face. She knew, she better know! I held her down hard against the couch, my glare ripping hard into her eyes.

"I… Gaara… I-it…I-" I cut her off. She was not allowed to speak right now.

"No! Shut up!" I snarled, pulling her up so I could shove her hard into the couch. She gulped, her hands gripping at the couch, her teeth biting hard at her lips. I watched with narrow eyes as tears began to spill. Good! She should fear me! The Shukaku's growling started up in my head, scratching at my skull and my rib cage. A clenching in my chest panged me, forcing a flinch that only made me grasp her shoulders harder. My fingers dug into her skin, and I could feel her shivering and wincing at my touch. She looked away, and I was not going to be ignored.

"No! Look at me!" She swallowed again. "Kimi." I warned. Seconds went by, but she turned her head and looked at me, eyes wavering. Damnit…

My chest pangs were running through my body, the anger being soaked up in it. I could hear screeching in my head from the demon, scrunching up my face, hoping it would stop.

"You… Are… MINE…" I hissed. That's when her eyes flashed, the fear was gone from her face. With that flash, she pushed off my hands and shoved back against me. My sand came flying to protect me, and I watched her punch hard and slam her knees against sand.

"Who died and made you king!" She snapped. I furrowed my brow as she pushed at my sand. "Let me up!"

"No!" I snapped back, grabbing her hands and shoving her hard back down. This time, she didn't just lay there and take it like I wanted. She wrestled, she made noise. It was frustrating, trying to pin her down and demand she be mine. I was beginning to panic. What had gotten into her? She didn't hit this well; she had gotten stronger. What surprised me most was when she got the upper hand on me, grabbing my wrist and shoving up hard. I felt sand rush to cushion me as I flew back, her toppling on top of me. She pinned my legs closed with her knees and had her chipped nails attempting to dig into my wrist, sand rushing to keep her fingers from digging in.

"No, I'm not going to be your play thing! You're like an addiction and I hate myself for getting stuck on you! No! You do not get to mess with my emotions like that," She growled through clenched teeth, her long hair falling over her face. It cloaked both our faces, making it even easier to only concentrate on her face. I had to grab onto my anger, I needed it now but it was slowly dissipating. What was going on! Why wasn't I angry? I wanted to hurt her, shove her into a wall but… my sand wouldn't do it. It laid there as her grip grew light on my hands.

I watched intently as her glare went from a death glare, to only slightly there. I couldn't catch it, but almost instantly, her lips were on mine. My body reacted, my right hand rushed to her hair, tangling in it while my other hand pulled her as close as I could to me. Her palms were on my cheeks and I could actually feel heat between us, getting hotter till it almost burnt to touch. But I couldn't stop, like the Cherries, I just had to have just a little more. I felt like a starved animal who had been in the desert, just stumbling upon an abandoned meat factory near a waterfall. I thought that it was always me being the forceful one in the kiss but Kimi seemed to want it just as bad.

I didn't want her to pull away, I almost stopped her, but she pulled away and pushed me down.

"I got training while you were gone! I'm not going to just let you beat me up anymore." She spoke look me in the eyes. I scoffed, training? Yea, sure, she got training in kissing stupid boys who if I ever see again are going to be ripped to shreds.

"No, I'm serious! I had a Jounin training me! I'll beat you up." She snarled, anger coming back to her face.

"You can't touch me." I sneered at her. Only, she brought her face close to mine, and my sneer went away as she smirked at me and seemed to laugh in her own way.

"I just did…" And with that, she shoved off me. I laid there, taken back by her words. Had she just won? No! I never loose, but I watched her like a turtle on it's shell, as she strut to her room. I jumped to a sitting up position. What had just happened, had she changed? No, she was still afraid of me at first, but she had gotten more confident. I watched, not even noticing I wasn't breathing as she turned to look over her shoulder and winked. Wait, winked? What had happened to her? With that, she slipped in the room. That's when the ringing and tingling on my temples came rolling back in harsh tidal waves.

"My head," I hissed. Gasping for breath, I put my hands to my temple and glowered at the floor. Damn her, she was so confusing. Messing with her emotions? She was messing with my head.

I slowly stood up on my feet and stumbled to the balcony door, pushing it open. Fresh air rushed to meet me as I gasped for air and gripped at the door and it's frame. Dizziness and wooziness gripped me hard, sand rushing to it's normal, gourd form, back from the couch where it had cushioned my fall.

I needed to escape, be up in the cold air under the moon, where things made sense. Images of Mother and Kimi began to swirl in my head. I wasn't able to focus on anything. What was wrong with me? What was going on. I walked onto the balcony and shut the door, attempting to move further but I could not.

A loud, animalistic cry errupted from my lips as I fell to my knees on the balcony, holding my head and the rail at the same time. The screaming from inside my head added to the swirling of my vision. The Shukaku was either laughing or complaining, I couldn't tell, the whole world was spinning. For the first time in my life, a hot vile like substance rose in my chest. It was hard and before I knew it, I was throwing it up. It fell from my lips, spreading over the ground and it burned my nose and my throat. My eyes widened as I tried to steady myself.

What was this girl doing to me

Author's Note: I'm so sorry this one took so long to update, work has gotten hectic, but I promise that I'm going to keep updating, I love this story too much. But if you want something to read, I have a second story I'm kind of working on when I'm stuck with this one, called 'The diary of a party ANIMAL', it's a KIBAXOC story.

Anywho, please, don't be afraid to ask questions or suggest anything. I am open for constructive criticism, I love to hear from yal