Disclaimer: See Prologue (Chapter 00).
Spoilers up to Chapter 245.
Human Nature
By: TailFear
Beta: Asteroid Blues
Chapter 04: Destruction on a Sunny Day
Gaara and Naruto climbed the steps to Naruto's apartment slowly, tired after three days of traveling. The few tenants that were out pulled themselves back into their apartments as the two boys passed by, heads peeking out fearfully after they had passed by. Neither boy paid it any attention, instead they kept their eyes forward as they ascended the stairs to Naruto's lonely apartment. There was a tension in the air that made both of the boys wary, their eyes darting from side to side and to each other as the tension built with every step.
Naruto tensed as he inserted his key into the apartment lock, listening for anything amiss as he turned the key, then opened the door. There was something going on in the complex that made everyone even more wary that they normally were around him and Gaara. The door swung open slowly, not making a sound. Light streamed in from the windows in the living and dining rooms, reflecting off of broken glass and ceramic shards.
"Shit," Naruto muttered, pushing the door fully open, allowing more light to flood into the apartment.
Gaara followed Naruto into the apartment, eyes narrowing as he surveyed the damage that had been done to the small apartment. Most of the small windows were smashed, glass strewn across and crushed into the floor. What used to be a lamp was the source of the ceramic shards. The couch was in shreds, stuffing torn from cushions and strewn across the room, the frame broken and bend. The partition had been mostly torn down, and the dining room table overturned. Paint was smeared in bold red letters across the walls.
Naruto's eyes went first to the closed kitchen door, then to the closed bedroom door. Relief flashed across his face for a brief moment before he started to work his way through the apartment, trying to see if anything was salvageable. He was lucky that his couch had been more than second hand, and that he would need three new windows at least.
"Why were the kitchen and bedroom left alone?"
A feral sneer crawled across the blond's face as he eyed the two unharmed doors. If Gaara had been anyone else he would have been intimidated, but Gaara was Gaara, and had seen worse on his own face. The look was only there for a moment before Naruto's face smoothed back into its normal, calm lines.
"I was on an extended training mission for three years with Jiraiya. Somewhere along the way I picked up how to ward doors and even whole rooms," Naruto sighed, then looked at Gaara. "That's how Sakura was able to enter through the balcony, and I know that Kakashi added you to the list of people the wards recognized, or else you wouldn't be able to come and go."
"So they're like protective barrier jutsus."
Naruto nodded as he went into the kitchen for a broom and dustpan. Gaara had already started cleaning up when he came out, picking up pieces of couch stuffing and broken wood and dumping them into a pile. They worked silently, sifting through the mess that had been made of the apartment. Whoever had torn the apartment to pieces had done a good job, even leaving a few holes in the walls to accent their messages of "MONSTERS WILL DIE" and "FUCK YOU FREAKS".
The sounds of the balcony door sliding open put both boys instantly on the defensive, as they both fixed their gaze onto the bedroom door. When they heard Sakura's muffled mutterings both boys relaxed and continued cleaning up.
"What happened?"
Sakura's gasp brought about an awareness of how bad the apartment really looked as both boys stopped to look around once again. Naruto sighed and went to go stop Sakura before she stepped on glass as Gaara kept piling couch debris in the center of the room.
"Sakura-"
"This is horrible, Naruto!" Sakura's eyes were wide as she continued to look over the damage.
"Sakura," Naruto sighed, taking her by the shoulder and leading her back into the bedroom.
Gaara watched them go, standing in the middle of the destroyed living room. The red head wasn't too sure why he was even bothering to clean up, it wasn't like it was even really his home, or as if he really cared. But something resigned in Naruto's face led him to help. There was something about the other boy being used to actions like this against him that led him to help. Even Shukaku was uncharacteristically quiet. But then again, no one had ever been stupid enough to try anything like this to him.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU AREN'T GOING TO DO ANYTHING?" Sakura's shriek made Gaara stop and look at the bedroom door.
Naruto's voice rose a little behind the door, shushing Sakura before she could start a full blown rant. Gaara smirked, then released his sand to finish cleaning up, using the sand like a large broom and sweeping the room from end to end until the glass and ceramic shards were in a large pile next to the pile of couch debris.
Naruto came back into the living room with a haggard look upon his face, his blue eyes showing his agitation. Noting the pile he set about remaking his partition, pulling the thin metal back into place and righting a makeshift shelf that partially disguised it. Using chakra helped to straighten out the dents, but the partition wasn't going to look as nice as it had.
"Thanks for cleaning up," Naruto said, looking at the two piles.
"We can set what's left of the couch on fire," Gaara said, eyeing the wood.
"I'll throw away the glass."
While Naruto swept up and threw away the glass Gaara worked his sand under the pile until the whole pile of stuffing and wood was lifted into the air, sitting on a cushion of sand. Naruto came back and opened the window in the living room that hadn't been broken, righting the dining room table as he went to open the last unbroken window in the dining room as well before he came back and performed a quick jutsu.
Both boys watched as the remains of the couch burst into flame. Smoke billowed up from the pile, filling the room only to escape from the small windows. Naruto sighed as he watched the fire die down, noting the stoic look that bordered on anger on Gaara's face. The blond wasn't sure if it was actual anger, or just the fact that someone had dared to destroy something of the red head's. But Naruto also knew that Gaara's status in the village was also being kept quiet, so the people who had vandalized his apartment probably hadn't realized that Gaara was living there.
"Tsunade wants to see us," Naruto commented offhandedly to his partner.
Gaara's eyes flickered over to Naruto before he nodded once and used his sand to smother what was left of the fire. Naruto didn't ask when the other boy pulled the ashes into his gourd with his sand, he didn't even want to know why or how, as long as they weren't in his even more dilapidated apartment.
"You need a new couch."
"I think Iruka-sensei has an old one that he wants to get rid of," Naruto mused as he and Gaara started back out the door, anger and irritation rolling off of them in waves.
-
Tsunade looked at the two boys as they sat down in her office. Something was bothering them, that was easy to tell, but exactly what was harder. Gaara was practically radiating killing intent, while Naruto was radiating resignation and irritation. Actually, the blond almost looked as tired as Gaara always did, but less intimidating.
"I called you in here to discuss your mission, but the two of you look like you have something else on your minds," she said, watching the boys' reactions.
"It's nothing," Naruto said, but Gaara only started glaring, his eyes focusing out the window.
"Naruto, what happened?" Tsunade asked, watching as a hard look entered Naruto's eyes.
"Nothing happened," Naruto repeated, looking into Tsunade's eyes.
"Naruto. What. Happened?"
Naruto wilted at Tsunade's tone of voice, sighing and looking away in defeat. Even Gaara wasn't looking at her, turning his glare to the floor so that he wouldn't see her reproachful look.
"It was nothing Tsunade-baba. Someone just destroyed my couch," Naruto said, ignoring Gaara's snort.
"Just destroyed your couch? In your apartment?" Tsunade asked, anger starting to flash in her eyes.
"It wasn't a big deal," Naruto protested futilely.
"It is too a bid deal. Someone broke into your apartment and destroyed your property, and you're trying to tell me that it isn't a big deal?" Tsunade growled, her fists clenching on top of her desk.
"They painted on the walls as well," Gaara added with a shrug, still looking anywhere but at Tsunade.
"Look, its nothing that hasn't happened before," Naruto snapped, starting to get angry. "This isn't anything that I can't deal with, so just drop it. And we aren't going to go hunting anyone, Gaara."
The red head shrugged, a flash of disappointment crossing his face before disappearing into his normally impassive face. Tsunade watched the two of them for a moment before sighing and letting the subject drop.
"So, how did your mission go?" she asked, watching relief wash over Naruto's face at the subject change.
"It went well, even with a few bandits who tried to get in the way," Naruto said, talking with his hands as he described the events that had happened on the trip. "We also got to do a little bit of sight seeing in Cloud Country when Aoishi-san had checked into her room."
Tsunade smiled, "So you two worked well together?"
"Yeah. No problems," Naruto said, smiling brightly at Tsunade as the woman looked between the two boys.
"That's good. That's very good."
-
"Well, do you want to get something to eat?" Naruto said.
He and Gaara were walking down the street, blending in with the masses of people, or at least the ones who weren't giving them a wide berth. They were headed back to Naruto's apartment for some rest.
Gaara shrugged, a gesture that Naruto was starting translate as a "yes". The blond smiled and laced his fingers together behind his head, watching Gaara out of the corner of his eye. Together the two of them made their way through Konoha, skillfully dodging people and carts while still blending into the crowd as much as the could. One couldn't be a ninja and stand out, that just wasn't the way of things. Shinobi couldn't blend in while standing out in a crowd.
They stopped at Naruto's favorite Ramen stand and ducked under the hanging drapes, taking two seats at Ichiraku's bar. Gaara had figured out the blond's obsession with the noodle dish within the first week. It wasn't that Naruto absolutely loved the stuff, it was just cheaper than everything else, including fresh fruits and vegetables, even when eaten out.
They weren't there for five minutes when they were joined by Shikamaru and Chouji. The other two chuunin waved and ordered, leaving Naruto and Gaara mostly alone except for the occasional comment added to Naruto's mostly one sided conversation.
"We heard about your apartment," Shikamaru said, staring into his noodles as he made a face and poked them with his chopsticks.
"Shit, how did you find out about that?" Naruto slammed his chopsticks onto the counter and leaned around Chouji in order to glare at the lazy boy.
"Sakura let something slip. There were also some older chuunin and gennin who were talking about something similar, so I put two and two together," Shikamaru said, ignoring Naruto who was trying to get into his face and eating his noodles.
"It's not a big deal, don't worry about it," Naruto said, pulling back and resuming his meal. Shikamaru and Gaara both snorted, but didn't say anything.
By the time Naruto and Gaara made it back to their shared apartment it was well past dark, and Naruto was dead tired. As soon as Naruto saw his bed he was basically passed out in it, asleep within seconds, leaving Gaara alone for the rest of the night.
The red headed boy sighed and went to go look for some blankets and a pillow in order to make himself comfortable for the night. He already knew that the blond boy didn't really have anything worth reading in his apartment, except for a few technique scrolls, and some dated academy texts.
Outside the air was cooling rapidly as a breeze blew through the city, ruffling Gaara's hair as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. He was only free at night when he was allowed to roam. There was a small book store open late that he had found in his first week in Konoha.
He entered silently, quieting the bell before it could jingle. The bookstore employee looked up as Gaara walked by, looking down again quickly before the red head could take much interest in him. He'd heard about Gaara's capacity for violence.
Gaara walked through the isles, eyes quickly scanning over various titles and sections. He picked up a few books on geography and history, as well as some scrolls for advanced jutsus and a few books for amusement. Gaara brought his small load up to the counter and set them down, scaring the poor employee out of his wits. The purchase was rang up quickly and bagged as Gaara unfolded the bills and handing them over, ignoring the shaking of the employee behind the counter as he took his bags and left.
Gaara entered the apartment through the front door, dropping his bags and gourd onto the floor as he went to go make himself comfortable against the far living room wall. He released his hold on the chakra that kept the gourd solid, allowing the sand to spread across the floor, creating snaky patterns that stretched across the length of the hardwood floor. Sand swirled around his form before settling around him as he prepared to spend the rest of the night reading.
-
Naruto squinted at the sky, moving a hand in front of his face to block out the sun. The ground at his back was warm, calming, as he lounged in the grass next to Shikamaru on the other boy's favorite cloud watching spot. Neither boy felt like training, so Naruto had followed the brunette out to the edges of the Nara property where they would be relatively left alone.
"So what are you going to do about this apartment thing?" Shikamaru asked, not bothering to turn his head towards the blond.
After a while Naruto answered, "Nothing. I'm not going to do anything."
The brunette squinted over at the blond, dark eyes half closed, but sharp. Naruto hated it when the other boy gave him that look, it made him feel transparent. Even though he'd been gone for three years the other boy still held an uncanny ability to see right through any mask Naruto might choose to put up.
"Look," Naruto sighed, lowering his hand and closing his eyes, "It isn't like this hasn't happened before. It isn't a big deal."
"Is that why you don't buy good furniture?"
"Yeah," Naruto said, "That's why I don't buy good furniture, because most of mine ends up getting destroyed."
"You know that this isn't your fault, right?" Shikamaru asked in his drawling voice, looking back up at the sky.
"Yeah, right. Somehow its my fault anyway."
They lapsed back into silence as they watched the clouds roll by, just looking into the endless blue of the sky above them. Naruto let himself relax, allowing the sun to soak into his skin and warm him. Beside him Shikamaru slowly fell asleep, his eyes drifting further and further closed. A warm wind blew over them, bringing a smile to Naruto's face.
Quiet footsteps sounded behind them, coming up over the edge of the hill. Naruto leaned back and opened his eyes, squinting against the bright light. Gaara came over the hill and stopped above Naruto. The blond smiled up at his partner, and patted the ground next to him, motioning for Gaara to sit down next to him.
"What's up?" Naruto asked when Gaara had sat down.
Gaara watched as his partner closed his eyes again, occasionally opening them to watch the clouds roll by overhead. The red head settled down, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. They stayed quiet until Shikamaru groaned and sat up, nodding to Gaara.
"I've got to go, or else my mother will start nagging at me," the brunette said, a look of distaste on his face. Naruto waved a hand lazily and Gaara nodded as Shikamaru disappeared over the hill, walking slowly.
"How did you find me?" Naruto asked after a while, eyes opened and focused on his red-haired partner.
"I followed your chakra," Gaara said, focusing on the trees in the distance. He still wasn't used to the trees, and the feeling of open space.
"Ah."
Naruto watched as Gaara stared into the distance, just looking at his partner. He was surprised that the other boy had bothered to find him. From what he had known of Gaara most of his motives were completely random, especially when it concerned something that he had destroyed.
"Why are we hated so much?"
Gaara's eyes flickered over to the blond who had sat up. Bitterness was welling up inside of the blond, and it showed.
"They hate us because they're afraid," Gaara said. Naruto shivered at the hostile look on Gaara's face, reminding him of the danger that Gaara represented. "They hate us because they're afraid, and no one likes to be afraid. So they lash out, and try to destroy us, but they can't, because they aren't strong enough. So we get placed with the blame."
Abruptly Gaara stood up, sand starting to swirl around his form in agitation. Naruto looked up as his partner's fists clenched, his eyes narrowing in a glare. Naruto didn't know if it was because of Shukaku's hate for humanity, or Gaara's own distrust. The red head closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded to Naruto before leaving the blond alone with his thoughts as he disappeared over the hill.
Naruto shook his head and flopped back down to look at the sky some more. Asking Gaara the question that had been on his mind hadn't been the best idea, but he was almost desperate for anyone to say that it wasn't his fault. With a sigh he got up, stretched a little, and started making his way towards the Ninja Academy to see Iruka.
Classes weren't out when Naruto walked into the Academy, so he waited outside of the door until he heard the class being dismissed. Once the stampede had ended Naruto entered, smiling as Iruka looked up.
"Naruto! What are you doing here?" Iruka asked, setting aside the papers that he had been grading.
"Hey, Iruka-sensei. I was wondering if you still had that couch you were trying to get rid of," Naruto said, taking a seat in the front row of the classroom, fiddling nervously with a kunai.
"Why do you want it all of a sudden?" Iruka asked, watching Naruto's fidgeting curiously.
"My old couch, uh, kind of died on me," Naruto said, not meeting Iruka's curious look.
"What happened to it?" Iruka asked, watching a blush slowly spread across Naruto's face.
"It was destroyed," Naruto whispered, the tiles around his feet catching his eye and keeping it there.
He heard Iruka sigh, "Naruto-"
"Look Iruka-sensei," Naruto cut him off, waving his hand around, "I didn't destroy my own couch, okay? Someone had the pleasure of doing that for me."
"Your house was broken into again?"
Naruto nodded, the blush still staining his cheeks, whiskers and all. Iruka got up and went over to the teen, placing a hand on the blond's shoulders.
"You should say something about this, and it would be taken care of," Iruka said, trying to comfort the obviously distressed boy.
"It isn't as if it hasn't happened before," Naruto protested.
"But it's the same principle," Iruka said, pulling over another chair. "You are a citizen of this village, with the same rights as everyone else."
"Except everyone hates me," Naruto growled, looking away from his teacher.
"Naruto."
"Sorry I said anything Iruka-sensei. Can I pick up the couch?" Naruto had plastered a hopeful smile on his face as he turned back around. Iruka sighed and nodded, earning himself an enthusiastic hug from the smiling blond.
"So how are you doing with your partner?" Iruka asked, noting a few specks of sand lingering on Naruto's clothes.
"It isn't too bad. We're getting along well, and he hasn't randomly destroyed anything but my alarm clock, so it's been going pretty well," Naruto said with a smile.
Iruka smiled and ruffled the blond's hair, earning himself an indignant squawk as Naruto batted him away, smiling again. Naruto's smile dropped a little as he left the Academy and headed home, stopping to pick up some cheap white paint on the way home in order to finish cleaning up his apartment.
Gaara was reading when Naruto entered, camped out on the floor in the middle of a nest of pillows and blankets. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the red head as he set the cans of paint down on the ground, but shrugged when he received what almost amounted to a glare of death. He decided to do the smart thing and not comment as he went to the kitchen to start cooking dinner, leaving the green-eyed boy alone with his book.
"Here."
Naruto turned around to see a book shoved in his face. He took it and looked at Gaara who was already walking away.
"What's this for?"
Gaara turned around and gave him a look that was better than Shikamaru's when he thought at stupid question had been asked.
"It's a book, you read it."
Naruto sighed, "I know that, but why?"
"Because you need to read more," Gaara said before disappearing. Naruto sighed and put the book on the dining room table.
End of Chapter 04Alright, so I lied and there's a chapter this week, but its only because my family didn't come into town. (They think that they're coming next weekend….yeah, right in the middle of a 24 hr. Gundam Wing marathon. Good luck.)
Anyway, thanks to figurechan, hogo-chan, Fallen Dragon, A.L.S., Lady-Frisselle, and Fairady for their reviews.
And thanks to esther, gargoylesama, rembrandt, and FiendisHSerapH for their reviews on Taller.
And as always, thanks to Asteroid Blues for beta-ing.
