-Matsuri POV-
Temari chased after Tenten when she suddenly dashed into the thick brush to put some distance between us. This left me alone with Gaara, something both he and I didn't want. I couldn't count on my fingers the amount of times I've reached out and offered a kind hand to the boy, but the same goes for the amount of times my approach has just pissed him off.
When it comes down to it, I honestly want to be his friend. He knows my intentions are pure, too, because we've spent countless hours in one another's head.
During our first M.A.T. session, I realized he was unbearably terrified of every single person he's ever met. The crippling fear mentally froze me, but his reaction was to lash out in anger in an attempt to both protect himself and keep everyone else at bay. After that first session, I'd nervously asked him if he was alright and he threatened to kill me with his bare hands if I didn't mind my own business and keep my mouth shut.
Then, when our training was intensified, I was finally shown why he was the way he was.
His mother died giving birth to him and his father abused him both physically and mentally for his entire childhood as a result. That small, helpless child was blamed for something out of his control. That fact alone made me want to somehow help him. None of his family members, not even his siblings, lifted a finger to protect him.
When he was thirteen, his dad came home drunk and attacked him with a broken beer bottle and Gaara accidentally killed the man trying to defend himself. Since his body, and mental health, showed proof of the continuous abuse he'd suffered, he wasn't punished. It didn't really matter either way because the damage had already been done.
His brother Kankuro was seventeen at the time and became emancipated so his younger siblings wouldn't have to go into the foster system. He and Temari never directly apologized to their younger brother for pretty much allowing him to be hurt for over ten years, but their relationships healed enough that they could at least live together.
I'm not sure what glimpses of my past he saw and he didn't offer any hints by acting differently, so that only added to my anxiety. It's not like I have a crazy traumatic background or anything. There are only a few bad things that I can recall having happened in my life so far. My dad died in a car accident with me in the backseat when I was around nine or ten. Other than that, when my mom finally got back out there a couple years later and got a boyfriend, he ended up being violent toward both of us.
That's why I signed up for The Program. I want to use the prize money so my mom and I can escape him. He's only hit either of us a handful of times, but when he did it was pretty rough so she and I walked on eggshells to prevent setting him off. It's been maybe a year since the last time I'd been hit, but that's because I rarely went home after school so I wouldn't have to see them.
A fist nearly collided with my face, tearing me from my thoughts, and I barely managed to duck out of the way and shoot a few feet back. There wasn't a point in wasting energy trying to land hits on him because he wouldn't feel them anyway. Instead, I focused on letting him wear himself out.
Hateful teal eyes bore into mine as he continuously attacked and I kept on dodging. Gaara knew what I was doing and it was only pissing him off further.
After realizing he'd lost the ability to feel pain, I focused my training on speed so I'd be able to dodge more easily. Not only did I anticipate having to fight him at some point, but it wasn't a bad idea anyway because I'm so much smaller than everyone else and it was harder for me to gain much muscle. Call it playing to one's strengths.
I held back the urge to smile proudly as our tragic little dance continued. It was easier than I thought it'd be to predict his movements. Maybe being mentally linked so often had actually offered some benefits.
Just as I finished that thought, he abruptly changed the direction he was moving and caught me off guard. His fingertips brushed against my stomach as I somehow managed to jump away, but my foot got caught on an uproot and I fell backwards to the ground. My arms instinctively flailed out, but I wasn't quick enough to catch myself and the back of my head smacked roughly against the ground.
A cry of pain left my lips and my hands shot up to press against the wound as I saw stars and rolled onto my side. A blazing heat was thumping from the point of impact and it took several long moments for my vision to clear.
When it did, I realized Gaara was crouched at my side, staring at my face with his usual glare. I let out a surprised yelp and tried to shoot away, but a wave of dizziness rolled over me and one of my hands had to shoot down to keep myself from falling again.
"Get up and fight me."
I met his gaze in disbelief, but he ignored it and pulled me roughly upright by my arm. My brow furrowed when another wave of dizziness came through me, but I didn't have time to dwell on it because he was attacking me once more. It didn't take long for him to land a hit and when he did, it was in my stomach.
I thought I was going to fall to the ground, but he surprisingly wrapped an arm around my body and held me upright against him. His voice would've been terrifying if I wasn't so used to hearing it in my head, "You're so weak."
A familiar feeling rose from the pit of my stomach up into my throat and I shoved against him, "I'm…I think I'm gonna be sick!"
His eyes widened and he let me stumble over to the tree's edge so I could empty the contents of my stomach. A cold sweat dusted my skin once I was done and I shakily wiped the back of my hand over my mouth with a red face. My dizziness was gone, but it cost me my dignity and breakfast.
"Are you done? Get up."
I turned to give him an incredulous look. After three entire months of holding my tongue because I felt sorry for him, his lack of humility when I was feeling humiliated threw me right over the edge.
"Are you serious? It's not like I have a chance of winning, Gaara. Do you expect me to be eager to face you? Give me a minute to get it together. I'm a human being for fuck's sake!" I ran a shaky hand through my hair before wiping my hands on my lap and getting back to my feet so I could face him.
His glare had hardened further at my sharp response and I immediately regretted letting my temper get away from me. He'll probably kill me now, where before he might've considered letting me live. It was too late now. Regardless of my undoubtedly signed death certificate, I met his eye firmly. My patience with his unwillingness to be humane had finally run out.
"If anyone else had been your partner, they would've given up on you a long time ago. I am sick and tired of you treating me like this!"
He lunged forward and we started our dance once more. Hit after hit missed and with each one, I could feel his irritation grow, but so did mine. A dangerous aura was steadily forming around us and minutes later it finally exploded when he tackled me to the ground. The breath was knocked out of me when I landed, but I met his glare with my own.
To my surprise, he didn't immediately start to pummel me like I thought he would. Instead his eyes danced angrily over my face and he started to tremble slightly before almost yelling at me, "When will you give up!?"
My glare turned into a look of absolute shock, but he ignored it and roughly shook my shoulders, "You are the most annoying person I've met in my entire life! You're relentless!"
A heat rose to my face when I realized his enraged expression had fallen into one of almost comical irritation. It was a look I've never seen on him.
"What the hell are you smiling at? That's exactly what I'm talking about!"
I couldn't stop myself from wrapping my arms around his torso and pulling him down on top of me tightly with a small, relieved laugh. He made a sound of annoyance and tried to pull away, but it was obvious he wasn't trying that hard or else he'd easily be able to overpower me.
"Let…Let me go!"
After enjoying his tantrum for a moment more, I obliged and loosened my hold. He pulled up a bit before putting his hands on my shoulders so I couldn't do something like that again, "What's wrong with you?"
I was euphoric. He'd spoken more words to me in the past five minutes than he has over the past three months. I grinned, "You showed me a face I haven't seen before. It's nice."
Gaara's mouth clamped shut and then he climbed off me, "You must've knocked something loose…"
One of my hands came up to hold my still-throbbing head as I sat up. I turned to respond, only to see him walking toward the jungle in the direction his sister and Tenten had gone. Worried he was going to join Temari in attacking my friend, I stumbled to my feet and hurried after him, "Where are you going?"
He didn't respond and just kept walking, so I silently followed him. After a few minutes, the lights went out and a loud explosion was heard in the distance. I'd crouched low to the ground on instinct, but got back up when I heard him start to walk in the direction the sound had come from and started following him again. If he noticed or cared, he didn't say anything.
We got close enough to the explosion that we could see heavy smoke rising toward the ceiling from the flames when, suddenly, I was shoved into his back and both of us toppled forward to the ground.
An angry growl rumbled through him and I went to climb off of his back, only to feel large hands roughly grab my wrists and pull my arms behind my back. A shocked gasp left my lips and I struggled to kick whoever was attacking me, "What the…Let me go!"
Cold metal clasped around my wrists and my eyes widened. Are these…handcuffs? I was pulled up to my knees and Gaara climbed out from under me to turn and see what was going on. My neck ached as I also tried to see who was trying to take me prisoner, but the slightest movement came from behind him and I shouted, "Behind you!"
Wide teal eyes shot over in time to see two darkly dressed people coming at him. In the incredibly dim lighting, I caught a glimpse of their outfits and realized the back of their bullet proof vests said ANBU. That branch of Konoha's military is only used for incredibly dangerous missions, so why would they be here?
Gaara was quickly taken down and cuffed, like me, and then we were led through a clearing and out a side exit these soldiers had blown into the wall.
My eyes widened when I searched the area of the clearing as we passed it. Suigetsu's body was on fire, but he wasn't moving. A sickened sound ripped from my chest and tears immediately started to run down my face. Was he killed and then set aflame, or had he burnt until his body couldn't handle it anymore? Whichever it was was a tragedy.
Gaara followed my gaze with a blank expression, only to face forward again once he knew what I was reacting to.
We were soon outdoors and my eyes took a long time to adjust, but when they did I saw a group of medics loading someone on a stretcher into a helicopter not far away. I tugged at my cuffs and spoke in a panicked voice at the person firmly pushing me forward, "Who is that? Are they okay?" They shoved me forward with a bit more force, but didn't respond in any other way.
Gaara and I were shoved into an armored truck and strapped down into our seats. Since I knew fighting would be useless, I didn't bother wasting my energy on it, but he sure did and the soldiers didn't appreciate it. He was given a shot of what I assumed was a sedative because he quickly settled down and his pupils dilated.
Temari, Tenten, and Kiba were in the truck, too, but I was surprised to see Deidara, Sasori, and Kankuro as well. Once the door shut, the vehicle began moving.
"Did you guys see Hinata? Is she okay?" Kiba asked in a concerned voice.
We all shook our heads, but I was worried about his demeanor, "Why? What happened?"
Tears rose in the boy's eyes and he frowned, "I don't know, but she wasn't moving and there was a lot of blood."
I recalled what I'd seen just minutes ago.
"They were loading someone onto a helicopter. Maybe that was her," I tried to sound hopeful for both him and myself, but then I remembered what else I'd seen.
My chest tightened and ached so hard that I had to squeeze my eyes shut in order to keep myself from sobbing, "Suigetsu…he's dead. I saw his body in the fire." Everyone but Gaara looked at me in disbelief, but I couldn't meet anyone's eye or else I'd lose my composure.
"There was a fire? What were you guys-"
Deidara's question was cut off as the soldier watching us hit his temple with the butt of his gun, "I've had enough of your talking. Shut the hell up, all of you."
The blonde man winced with an angry glare at the man, but he didn't argue. A small trail of blood started to run down the side of his face from the wound.
Multiple hours passed in a tense silence before the truck finally came to a stop. One by one, we were led out of the truck in shackles and my heart sank when I saw where we were. It was a mental hospital.
An asylum.