-Matsuri's POV-
For the millionth time in the last five minutes, I glanced at Gaara's attractive profile as we walked through the abandoned residential area of Otogakure. We were looking for the symbol Neji and Tenten had put in the yard of the last house our group had looted so we knew where to start.
Without actually saying the words, he and I became a couple two days ago. To my delight, nothing's really changed minus the fact that I no longer had to hide the fact that I couldn't keep my eyes off him.
I don't see how anyone could blame me. Ever since we had a good conversation and cleared things up between us, he barely ever forces his default glare onto his face. So, the tranquil expression he was suddenly wearing was hard to look away from.
His siblings haven't said anything to me about it, likely because Gaara threatened Kankuro to leave me alone and the elder Subaku brother almost definitely passed the warning along to his sister. Ino and Tenten didn't hesitate to question me about it, though, and I chickened out of telling them about our new relationship.
To someone else, it might look like I didn't want others to know about it, but that's not the case. What I don't want is for everyone to suddenly change how they acted around him because he might not like it. Instead, I'll help him gradually relax more around the others so they can also become friends with him. Then, once our whole group is more close and comfortable we'll come clean.
I already had a conversation with Gaara about it so he wouldn't get the wrong idea and think I'm embarrassed of him. He agreed solely because he wants everyone to leave him alone, which brings us back to my goal of helping him make more friends.
The person it was going to be hardest to keep it from was Kankuro, not only because we share a bedroom with him, but because he's seen us cuddling three mornings in a row now. Then again, he just complains and pouts that I don't give him any affection either so maybe he's more dim-witted than I thought.
Sakura was finally able to heal my wounds enough that the stitches could come out, but dark bruises still dusted my skin where the bullets and taser had injured me. I was most glad that I could wear clothes comfortably again.
My eyes landed on a rundown-looking house with the letters "NT" carved into the side paneling and glanced over to see Gaara saw it as well. We wordlessly got up to the porch and I stood watch with a handgun while he unlocked the door.
Ever since the day I fought the boy we captured, we haven't had any run-ins with…well, anyone at all. It was like everyone else on Earth had disappeared and we were the only humans left. Even if all the missing citizens were being inhabited like that kid, they didn't just disappear into thin air. Everyone had to be somewhere, but we couldn't fathom where.
I heard the door creak open behind me and gave the area one last look over before following Gaara inside. After verifying where the exits were and locking all doors, we split up. I took the second floor and he took the ground level. Both of us had a large backpack to make carrying our findings easier.
Our primary goal was to look for clothing. Our group had split into pairs and took turns leaving the house. Each pair was focused on bringing back specific items. Ino and Sai look for medicine and weapons while Neji and Tenten look for food. Kiba and Kankuro typically take turns switching out with others if someone doesn't feel like going out or has something else to do.
Shikamaru and Temari do the primary lookover of houses to verify there wasn't any danger inside, arguably the most dangerous job out of them all because they were walking into unknown territory over and over again.
I lightly brushed my palms against one another once I was at the top of the stairs to knock away any dust that might've gotten onto them from the banister. Looking around, I let out a defeated sigh. The place wasn't dirty, per say, but it was extremely cluttered. Storage totes, cardboard boxes, and plastic bags full of who knows what filled the hallways and when I peeked my head into one of the bedrooms it was in the exact same state.
Downstairs looked like this as well, so Gaara and I would likely have to make a few trips today and maybe even come back tomorrow. Ladies and gentleman, we had a hoarder on our hands.
Since our job was to locate clothing and shoes, we had at least a general idea of everyone's clothing sizes. The shopping district of Oto was too far away to make the trip on foot in one day, so we had to make due with what we could find in these houses. It was a take-what-you-can-get type of situation so no one ever complained, except maybe Ino when she had to wear men's clothing.
With another sigh, I decided to head to the furthest room from the staircase and work my way back. I tripped over loose objects on the floor like cables and books as I headed to the end of the hall.
When I turned the handle to the furthest room, though, it was obvious something was leaning against the door. Whatever it was seemed movable, though, so I pushed and shoved for a few moments. It budged relatively easily, but whatever was on the other side would fall back against it and push the door closed again.
My body warmed with annoyance and I glared at the door in determination. After glancing behind me to make sure I wouldn't fall over anything, I took a few steps back before angling my shoulders and tackling the door with all my might and weight. Finally, it opened, but once I passed it, it closed behind me. So, whatever was keeping it closed was hanging in front of it.
I turned around to figure out what it was only to scream in terror and disbelief. It was a man. He'd hung himself from the coatrack on the back of the door. His body was half decayed and the room smelt awful.
My hand covered my mouth as I gagged and turned to shove box after box out of the way to the window so I could finally wrench it open and take a deep breath of clean air. Tears poured down my face when I turned back to look at the body, my hand back over my mouth and nose to keep the awful stench away. I was lucky it was winter or else the body would've been much worse, not to mention the smell and bugs that'd be present.
Shikamaru and Temari were going to hear about this when I got back. How'd they miss an entire room?!
"Matsuri?"
Gaara's voice came from behind the door and I automatically took a few steps toward it, only to freeze and have to get back in front of the open window lest I puke from the smell, "G-Gaara, don't open the door unless you can hold it open. Can you try?"
There were a few thumps against the door, but I was surprised to see it wouldn't even budge for him, "It's locked."
I could've died right there.
"I'm gonna climb out the window, just go back downstairs."
He didn't respond, so I assumed he obeyed my request. I pulled the collar of my coat and shirt up over my nose so I could use both of my hands to pave a way to the entirety of the small window so I could fit out of it. The redhead was probably baffled at what all the commotion was as I carelessly shoved box after box out of my way, but I didn't care. I had to get the hell out of that room.
I was finally able to squeeze out of the tiny opening and managed to get my balance on the thin sliver of roof outside. My brow furrowed as my anger boiled even hotter. The roof was filthy. Absolutely disgusting. Not only that, but the window I'd climbed through led to the backyard, which was legitimately just a giant pit filled with mud and debris.
When I got back to the house, I truly and honestly was going to murder those two.
I carefully worked my way to the wider section of the roof, hoping to find a way to climb to the ground, but the moment I put my weight on the new section, I realized it, too, was coated with mud and then I was sliding. A shocked yelp slid from my lips as I tried to grab onto the edge of the roof and missed. Then, my back hit the muddy ground with a heavy thud and the air was knocked right out of me.
My eyes were wide as I stared up at the cloudy sky and tried to pull in a breath. Without moving I could tell the entire backside of my body was caked with mud. I was so angry that I didn't know what to do about it. As if things couldn't get worse, a drop of freezing rain suddenly stung my cheek, and then another, and then it was pouring.
"Are you hurt?"
My eyes darted over to see Gaara making his way toward me from the backdoor, likely having heard me fall off the roof. A gasp of air finally came into my lungs and I slowly sat up. My eyes moved away from his face and down to my body and my temper finally got the best of me, "Damn it!" My warm winter hat even fell off my head when I sat up because the mud weighed it down.
Gingerly, I got to my feet and accepted Gaara's hand when he offered it to help me out of the thick mud. My shoe came off and I let out an exasperated groan as we both turned to see it was stuck, "Can this day get any worse?"
He wordlessly guided me inside where I slid off at least my coat so I could try and wipe off some of the dirt and muck that'd gotten onto it. Goosebumps dusted my arms as I glared angrily down at the item of clothing while I worked. Even my hair was dirty.
I don't care what Shikamaru says about only bathing every two or three days to conserve energy. I'm getting straight into the bath when we get back, even if the water was cold as ice. The damn generator runs on gasoline anyway, so if and when it does finally go out all we'll have to do is siphon fuel from some cars to get it back up and running. I'll do it myself if he's mad about it.
After about half an hour, I'd managed to get as much mud as possible off my body and went back upstairs to continue the search for clothing. Gaara didn't say anything and I was honestly glad he didn't because my mood was sour and I didn't want him to see me like that. So, even after a couple hours had passed and we left the house to head back, I kept my teeth grit and my glare on the pavement.
My shoulders and back ached from falling, which made carrying a giant bag of heavy clothes and shoes that much more annoying. Luckily, I'd found a pair of boots that I could wear to walk back in, but they were at least four sizes too big so my footsteps were loud and clunky. Once we entered the yard of the house, I leaned down and took them off, throwing them angrily on the ground nearby before knocking loudly on the door, two quick times and then one slow one after a pause.
It unlocked after a few moments and Temari held the door open for Gaara and I to come inside, "Woah! What happened to you?"
I turned to face her once in the family room, letting my giant bag fall to the ground before ripping my coat off and throwing it on top of it with angry tears in my eyes, "You missed a whole ass dead body that's what happened!" I heard someone snicker from the dining room and turned to see Kankuro and Shikamaru quickly turn their heads to pretend they hadn't been eavesdropping.
"What? Where at?"
My tears overflowed as my rage morphed into exhaustion and I knelt down to pick up my coat and bag, regretting losing my temper like I had, "There was a man hanging from the back of the door and I got stuck in there with him!"
The aura in the room wasn't amusing to the others anymore and I wordlessly turned on my heel to deliver the clothes I'd found to Sakura for sorting before hurrying upstairs to take the bath that hadn't left my mind in hours. I was just glad no one tried to stop me or talk to me because I definitely wanted a moment alone to soak in my ire.
As soon as it was deep enough to climb into, I was in the bath trying to clean the awful day off my body. Once the tub was full, I turned off the water and slid under the surface to angrily scrub my face and scalp of dirt, only coming back up when my lungs began to burn. Then I crossed my arms over the edge of the tub and rested my chin on top of it with a pout.
Realistically, I should be grateful the mud was wet instead of frozen or that fall would've hurt a hell of a lot more. My body was so cold, though, that when I first got into the hot water, the difference in temperature stung my skin. The town had a good half-inch of ice coating it from the freezing rain by the time we got back and hadn't shown signs of stopping, so we might all be stuck inside tomorrow.
After almost feverishly scrubbing my entire body with soap, I washed my hair before getting out of the bath. Only as I stood there with my wet hair and a large towel around my body did I realize that I hadn't grabbed any pajamas to change into, not even a robe. I'd been so angry and so focused on getting clean that I completely forgot about it.
My irritation, which had lightened a bit in the bath, re-heightened and I gently thumped my forehead against the closed door a few times as I silently cursed myself. Left with no other choice, I put my ear to it to listen for people and when I was sure no one was out there, I hurried through the hall with the towel gripped firmly around my body before finally making it to the room and slamming the door shut behind me, closing my eyes as I tried to catch my panicked breath.
"Pfft!"
My eyes shot open and I turned around to see Gaara and Kankuro staring at me with wide eyes, the elder of the two with a hand over his mouth as he clearly tried not to laugh at my stunned face.
My entire body was alight with a humiliated blush and I raised my free hand to gesture in a soothing manner, "P-Please, Kankuro, just shut up." Rather than listen to my request, the Subaku man bursted out in loud laughter, laying back on the bed as he lay a hand on his stomach.
My teeth ground together tightly as I stomped past both him and his silent younger brother to crouch in front of the dresser to search for a big shirt to wear.
After a few moments, Kankuro sobered up and spoke to me in a flirty voice, "You know, I think you look cute in a towel," I rolled my eyes as I successfully mouthed his next words as he spoke them. His pick-up lines were too predictable, "I bet you look even cuter without it. Let me see."
"Have you ever even had a girlfriend?" I bit back at him without turning in his direction.
He snickered, "Of course I have! Why? Jealous?"
My fingers finally grasped a decent shirt and I rose back to my feet as I turned to face him with an annoyed expression, "No. I was just wondering if there's a girl out there desperate enough to fall for you."
His eyes traveled over my appearance and he waggled his eyebrows, "If you drop the towel, I'll pretend you're my first."
After grabbing some undergarments from my backpack, I crossed the room with the intention of going back to the bathroom to dress. My hand froze on the handle when the unmistakable sound of Tenten and Temari laughing floated in from the hall. It was still and silent in the room for a moment as I waited for the two women to leave, but their voices weren't fading away.
What the hell! Were they sitting out there talking? If Temari saw me leaving her brothers' room in just a towel, she'd have a conniption and if Tenten saw she'd never stop teasing me.
Hanging my head in defeat, I turned to face the boys, "Can you guys please not look?"
Gaara nodded automatically and covered his eyes, but of course Kankuro just grinned, "Come on, Matsu! You're not even gonna give us a peek?"
I took a deep breath before choosing to let my temper shine rather than hold it back, "If you don't turn away right this second you're gonna pray you never get a glimpse of me again."
He laughed, but finally obeyed and covered his eyes while turning his back to me, "Fine. Fine. There's no need to get violent."
Even if they both weren't looking, I couldn't help but rush to slip on the clothes with my eyes trained on them. Then, I threw the towel across my shoulders and opened the bedroom door to return it to the bathroom, hearing Kankuro tease me as I left, "Oh, come on! You really aren't gonna give us anything?"
Later that night, I lay on my back and glared at the ceiling as I listened to Kankuro's soft snoring. Honestly, the constant background noise of the older Subaku brother had grown on me a bit, so it wasn't what was keeping me awake. The day had really drained me, but I was still trying to push it from my mind so I could rest.
A sudden weight on my chest shook me from my annoyed thoughts and my eyes widened in surprise when I looked down to see Gaara had rolled over toward me. His ear rested against my chest as his torso was strewn lazily across my body. For a moment, I thought he was awake since the placement of his ear was where he often placed his hand at night to feel my heartbeat, but then I realized his breathing was steady and slow.
The familiar warmth of my adoration for him heated my body and I softly brought a hand up into his messy hair to hold his head against me. Just like that, all the negative emotions keeping my mind active faded away and I was able to fall asleep.