Gaara was led into the room that they used for "testing" and once again, Tsunade was already there waiting for him. He was about to sit in the chair, like he normally did, but Tsunade stopped him.
"We're going to try it without you being restrained today," she told him. The redhead looked up at her with fearful eyes and shook his head.
"I-I can't…."
"You can," Yumi interrupted, resting an assuring hand on his shoulder. "You're always so negative. It won't hurt to have a little bit of confidence you know."
Gaara looked down at the ground in shame and nodded. "Fine, I'll try." The brunette smiled and went to stand off to the side.
Tsunade took out a small test tube with blood and held it out in front of Gaara. She was tired of cutting her hand open, so she just used a small sample of sterile blood instead. She poured it onto a white cloth and held it out for Gaara to see. The pre-teen immediately fell to his knees, crying out in pain. He gripped his head in his hands, tangling his fingers in his messy red locks. Tsunade held a tranquillizer in her other hand, just in case things got out of control.
Gaara shook furiously as pain surged throughout his entire body. He did his best to keep breathing deeply, but was starting to struggle with the breathing period. Tsunade noticed this and looked over at Yumi, who gave her a simple nod. The brunette slowly approached, but stopped when Gaara put his hand up, signaling for her not to come any closer. She cringed as Gaara vomited onto the floor, his body still shaking intensely.
Tsunade sighed, but smirked at the boy. "I guess that's better than attacking someone," she muttered under her breath. Gaara wasn't able to catch what she said, and the blonde was kind of grateful that he didn't. "I think that's enough for today. Yumi will help you back to your room, okay? You should really get some rest." The redhead nodded weakly, still shuddering slightly.
Yumi crouched down beside him and grabbed him under his arm. As she stood up straight, she brought the redhead with her. Gaara's knees shook viciously beneath him, threatening to give out at any minute. The brunette kept a firm hold of his arm, making sure that he didn't collapse. He leaned up against Yumi for support, fearing that he wouldn't be able to stand otherwise.
The two of them slowly made their way down the hall. Yumi paid close attention to Gaara as they sluggishly approached their destination. About halfway there, the female had her patient sit down against the wall while she made a quick stop to the staff lounge. She came out a few moments later with a bottled water and opened it before handing it to Gaara. He gratefully accepted it and took a few sips. When he finished, he handed it back to Yumi and she closed it. She helped him back to his feet and walked him over to his room.
Yumi made Gaara lay down on his bed and she sat down on the edge. The redhead winced as she brushed his bangs away from his eyes. Upon seeing his reaction, she quickly pulled her hand back. Sometimes Gaara wouldn't mind being touched by other people, but for the most part, he didn't like it. He didn't mind when it was necessary, like when Yumi helped him to his room. It was those affectionate touches, like just now, that he was uncomfortable with.
"I'm very proud of you," the brunette told him softly, trying to redeem herself for her mistake.
"I almost lost it," he whimpered, tightly shutting his eyes closed.
"But you didn't, and that's what matters. You have been doing very well."
"Thank you, Yumi," he mumbled weakly.
The brunette watched as her patient's breathing evened out and his muscles relaxed. "Do you want me to leave so you can get some rest?" she asked softly. Gaara nodded slightly, still not opening his eyes. "Then I'll see you tomorrow." The redhead nodded again and turned over on his side with his back facing her.
XxoooooooooooooooooooooooxX
Another week passed by quickly. They "tested" Gaara around blood a couple more times and found that he had gotten better at keeping himself under control, although he made himself sick at nearly every session. Near the end of the week, the pre-teen started becoming stressed out from all the "tests" and Yumi canceled any other sessions they had scheduled for that week. She didn't want him to become physically ill from all the pressure that was being put on him.
Gaara was sitting on his bed, concentrating on the Sudoku puzzle that Yumi had given him. The brunette had taught him the rules and showed him what he was supposed to do. He liked logic puzzles and was glad about having something else to do to pass the time.
Yumi sat next to her young patient, smirking at him as he tried to solve the puzzle she had given him. His facial expression showed that he was deep in concentration. Five minutes went by and Gaara finished the Sudoku, looking up at Yumi with blank eyes.
"I can bring in some more for you to do when I come tomorrow," she told him sweetly.
Gaara raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. "Tomorrow's Sunday," he said softly. "I thought that you didn't come on Sundays?"
"I'm coming tomorrow because Tsunade doesn't want me to come in on Monday." Gaara tilted his head to the side, giving her a questioning look. "She wants to give you a final test on that day. In order to do that, she doesn't want you and me to have any contact then." Gaara bit his bottom lip, looking down at the ground with nervousness. "What's wrong?" she asked.
He looked back up at her for a moment before returning his stare to the ground. "I don't know if I can do it," he whispered.
"You won't be able to with that attitude," she told him with a frown. "Have more faith in yourself. I'm sure you'll be amazed at how much you can do by just having a little more confidence." He nodded and sighed. "I think you can do it, Gaara. Just practice what you and I have been doing for the last month."
"I'll try," he sighed, running a worried hand through his hair. Yumi put a gentle hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Do you remember when I said that I didn't want to become friends?" he asked randomly. The brunette thought for a moment before nodding.
"I believe that was on my second visit," she told him, still thinking back to the day he was talking about. "We both agreed to just be acquaintances."
Gaara looked up at her with emotionless eyes. "Do you still think of me as just an acquaintance?" Yumi shook her head. "Does that mean that we're friends then?"
"If that's what you want."
He thought for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I'd like that."
XxooooooooooooooooooooooxX
When Yumi came the next day, Gaara immediately noticed something different about her. She didn't seem as lively as she normally was. He felt kind of bad, thinking that he was responsible for making her feel that way.
"Did I cause any trouble?" he asked sadly.
The female's eyes widened with shock. "Of course not!" she gasped. "I'm sorry; Sunday is just not my day." Yumi knew that Gaara would detect the gloom that hung around her. This was the main reason she didn't come on Sundays. She would just have to get over that until she left. Gaara was more important at the moment.
Yumi sat down next to her patient on his bed. He looked at her with skeptical eyes.
"You can go home if you want," he offered. Gaara didn't want to keep her there if she wasn't feeling up for it. She never made him do anything when he wasn't in the mood. Sure, she would often persuade him into doing what she wanted, but if he truly didn't want to do something, she wouldn't make him.
The brunette shook her head. "I want to be here, since I won't be tomorrow." Gaara nodded and sighed. "Do you like animals?"
He shrugged. "I guess they're alright. They are kind of annoying though." Yumi giggled and nodded.
"Yes, they can be at times. Did you ever have any pets?"
Gaara smirked. "We had a turtle for about a month. Temari found it in our backyard and said that it looked sick. She took care of it for awhile, but then said that it looked sad and let it go. Kankurou teased her by catching a garter snake and saying that it looked sick and suggested keeping it. Temari flipped out. She hated snakes and my brother always teased her about it."
Yumi giggled. "That's not really what I meant, but that works." Gaara shrugged and pulled a leg to his chest, resting his chin on his knee. The female opened her purse and took out a small book, holding it out to Gaara. He took it from her and looked at it. It was a book filled with Sudoku puzzles. He smirked and thanked her.
The two of them were silent for a while before Yumi broke the silence. "Is there anything you want to talk about before tomorrow?"
"I'm worried," he sighed.
The brunette nodded. "That's understandable. You just need to relax and think positively."
"What happens if I fail?"
"What happened to thinking positively?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Gaara shrugged and the female sighed. "If it turns out that you do fail, then we'll just keep trying."
"And if I don't fail?"
"Tsunade will fill out your release papers and you'll be placed into a foster home."
"We'll still be friends, right?" Yumi nodded and smiled. "Will I be able to call you at three o'clock in the morning and tell you any sob stories?"
Yumi laughed and nodded again. "Yes, Gaara. You may call me anytime you need to." The boy smirked and chuckled.
"I'll hold you to that."
XxoooooooooooooooooxX
It was Tuesday and Yumi was walking down the hall towards Gaara's room, but was stopped by Tsunade.
"We need to talk," she told the brunette. Yumi nodded and followed her boss into an empty room.
"How did it go?" she asked nervously.
The blonde smirked and folded her arms across her chest. "I knew that we weren't going to get top notched results, but I figured that they were good enough."
"What happened?"
"He ended up passing out. We took him back to his room while he was unconscious, so he still doesn't know anything."
"I see," the female stated blankly. "So what do you want me to do now?" The blonde thought for a moment before speaking.
"Why don't you take your vacation at the end of the month?" she suggested. "That way you still have two weeks left to finish up with Gaara."
"Are you saying that you're releasing him so soon?" Yumi asked, raising an eyebrow with curiosity.
Tsunade grinned and chuckled softly. "I'll fill out the paperwork this week and I'm going to need you to fill out some forms as well."
"What am I allowed to tell him?"
"You can tell him about his accomplishment, but don't say anything about the fostering situation yet. I think we should wait until we get that part finalized." Yumi nodded in agreement.
"I understand."
"Come see me after you finish with Gaara. I want you to fill out the forms right away so we can get them approved as soon as possible." The brunette nodded and left the room.
XxooooooooooooooooooxX
Gaara sat on his bed with his legs pulled up to his chest. His blanket was draped over his shoulders as he waited for Yumi to show up. He was hoping that she would bring the results of the test that had been conducted the previous day. Having blanked out not long after being exposed to the blood, he didn't know what had happened afterwards. When he had come to, he was lying on his bed. He was left to wonder what had happened since Tsunade didn't come in to tell him. To say the least, he was very nervous and had many doubts. Maybe he failed and they just didn't want to tell him the bad news. He was sure that if he had passed that someone would have told him sooner.
Gaara's head shot up as his door opened and Yumi came in. She walked over to him and took a seat beside him. Gaara looked up at her with pleading eyes, causing the female to smirk and wrap her arms around him.
"You did very well," she laughed, hugging the pre-teen close to her body. "I'm so proud of you." Gaara pulled away from her and looked into her eyes, wanting to make sure that she wasn't lying. He couldn't find anything that told him otherwise. His blanket fell off from around his shoulders and he just ignored it.
"What happened?" he asked emotionlessly.
"Tsunade said that you ended up passing out, but that was good enough for her. She's going to start filling your release forms out tomorrow and they should be completed by the end of the week." Gaara's eyes saddened and he looked down at the ground. "What's wrong? I thought you would be happy."
Gaara sighed. "I have been locked in this hell for 2 years. Not only that, but I have nothing to go back to."
"At least you get the chance to start over again." He shrugged.
"I guess you can look at it that way. I guess I'm just kind of nervous."
"Gaara, you have to keep control of yourself from now on. You understand that, don't you?" The pre-teen nodded.
The room entered an uncomfortable silence, but as usual, Yumi broke it. "My brother called me yesterday," she told her patient with a smile. Gaara looked up at her in curiosity.
"What's his name?"
"Ryuu."
"I'm glad you got to hear from him." Yumi nodded.
"His wife had a baby about 3 days ago, so he called me up and invited me to come out to see her."
Gaara smiled weakly. "You should go."
"I will probably go in a couple of weeks. Anyway, is there anything you want to talk about?" Gaara thought for a moment.
"You said my father died." Yumi nodded. "How?"
"He died not long after you were admitted. Tsunade told me that it was from alcohol poisoning."
"That doesn't surprise me," he sighed. "He was an alcoholic before I was admitted. I wonder why I wasn't told though."
The brunette shrugged. "I'm not sure, but you probably should've been." Gaara sighed and shook his head.
"It doesn't matter. I was never told much of anything."
"Gaara, was your father abusive to you and your siblings?" The pre-teen bit his bottom lip and nodded.
"It never got too bad though," he told her. "That is, until he killed them."
"Did he ever touch you anywhere he…"
"He never molested me," Gaara interrupted, staring at her with intense eyes. They slowly softened and he sighed again. "Most of what he did was with words. He was an expert at making someone feel like shit."
"Watch your language, Gaara," she warned him softly. Her patient apologized and she nodded. "Did you have any friends before the incident?" He shook his head.
"Not really. Kankurou would sometimes let me hang out with him and his friends, and Temari's friends all thought that I was cute." The female giggled. "I didn't like Temari's friends. All they ever wanted to do was hug me to death or dress me up in these degrading costumes."
"Why didn't you have any friends of your own?"
He shrugged. "I'm not really sure. The other kids just avoided and shunned me."
"That must've been hard." The he nodded slightly.
"It doesn't matter anymore though. I don't really care."
Yumi looked down at her watch and sighed. "I have to go." Gaara nodded. "Do you want me to bring a game of cards for us to play tomorrow?" He nodded again and the she got up to leave. "I'll see you then."
Yay! Another chapter!
Okay, I sincerely apologize for not posting when I said I was going to. It's only a day late, but from my point of view, it is unacceptable. I just got caught up in stupid things yesterday and procrastinated my posting, and that's what makes it unacceptable. To make up for my stupid procrastination, I'll post chapter 15 on Sunday.
Also, sorry if it feels that the story is suddenly starting to speed up. I couldn't really think of any filler chapters. Plus, the story still has a ways to go, so there's still plenty of stuff to be told and to be read.
Okay, so there were several of you who said that a bonus chapter about Touma would be awesome, so I'm going to try and make that possible. Like I should have mentioned, I don't know which chapter it's going to be. I have to see where it will fit in the best. Also, because I haven't typed this chapter up yet, and because I'm going to make it before some of the chapters I have already typed up, my posts might be delayed. Hopefully that won't happen. I'm thinking that I'll probably be making that chapter 17 or 18. Somewhere around there.
Here's my plans with that chapter. It's going to be more based on Touma's life outside of his counseling sessions with Yumi. You'll learn more about his mother, his school and home life, his father, and there will probably be some hints as to how his death occurred. If there is anything else you guys can think of that you want to know about Touma, please let me know. Since this is an AU story, a person's hair isn't normally blue. I might make up a tid-bit for this as well. I don't know. But I will tell you this, the more ideas I get, whether you give me suggestions or not, means that the chapter will be longer and you will know that much more about the mysterious Touma. So, if you have any suggestions, you're not only helping me, but you're adding stuff to your plate as well.
Okay, On to the thank yous for the reviews from last chapter.
AP-Rhapsody, RainBunnyBow, NeferNeferi, Gaara-frenzy, Cuzisme, AddictedtoBleach, kitkat kezia, slack-jawed cheese hugger, Kitsune Slave, Angel of Mercy, Me and Gaara 4ever, Lela Rye, and Yume Ninja.
Thank you all so much and for all your support. It really means a lot and it gives me so much motivation to make this story the best that it can be. It also makes me want to make it as long as I can without making it boring or anything. I'm really going to hate when this comes to an end. Thanks again.
So look for the next chapter around Sunday. Again, I'm sorry about the day late post.
PLEASE REVIEW!! THANKS!!