Vindicated

Chapter 17: Playing Ball

Dragon man 180: XP hee! That's where I got the idea. I just had a funny image of Haku doing something totally stupid to get Gaara to laugh and was like ha Charlie Brown…

Junsui Kegasu: nyah! New stories are always over protected. Yay for getting it this time ha! I'd forgotten u hadn't gotten it the first go round. Sure u can marry the fic (sweat drop) go right ahead….

Chinese Fairy: ah…the thing about the GaaraNeji scenes is that I had already posted like…19 chapters of Vindicated then it got taken off for reasons I still don't understand, I'm adding little bits to each chapter to make them better (looks at chapters coming up) oh there'll be a bit of NejiGaa moments in the near future hakuna matata (just watched lion king ½)

K-bob: (whine) oooh! I can answer that for u yet! Don't worry he explains it to Kankurou later I promise!

Shinobi Gaara of the Sand: hit u hard why darling? Just not expecting it? I still think it odd that no one really expected it…no one was expecting it the first go round either…(dot face) though I did not get my surprise I did read it and I love it and I canna wait for more! (glomp u smexy!)

Ebony: ah…got a bit of news…everything that's happened (almost everything) are actually true stories…isn't that horrible? Some I've read in books that were based on true stories, some I've read online and other's I got from either personal experiences or from friends who have abusive parents… I'll tone it down though…(remembers something)…for the next few chapters…

Telly: was the Haku thing ok? I thought of it after I posted it (like a while after I posted it) and I was like …why could Haku hate Itachi? He can't just hate him cause of what he did to Gaara…then this horrible thought popped in my head and I'm like….gr….damn u itachi… and there u go

Kyu never considered herself a person who worried a lot. Nor did she consider herself a stalker. She was a sensible person. But it was now Tuesday and Kankurou hadn't been to school since last Monday. As the bell rang signaling the end of first period, she turned as she got up and glanced, concerned, at his empty seat. She spent the entire day thinking about him. In between one of her classes, she happened to see Kankurou's little brother walking to his class. She hadn't been able to stop and ask him anything because the bell had rung.

In her seventh period yearbook class, she sat in front of her computer, unable to concentrate on the article about the soccer team she was writing. Finally, she got up and told her teacher she was going to get quotes. She ran to the office and asked for a class.

Asuma paused in explaining a math equation as a knock sounded at his door. His students all perked up and whispered to one another. Quieting them down, he went and opened the door, speaking momentarily to the knocker.

"Gaara," he called.

Gaara looked up, surprised at his name being called. Around him, his classmates whispered and jeered, wanting to know what he had done. Now nervous and fearful he hurried to the door, avoiding eye contact by staring at the floor.

"She wants to talk to you," Asuma said, nudging him out the door.

Gaara stared at Kyu who was standing in the hall with a small notebook. She was smiling at him and it eased his nervousness.

"Hi," she said as Asuma closed the door. She leaned forward and whispered. "I'm supposed to be interviewing you but I just want to ask you something."

"Ok," Gaara said, confused.

They sat down on the floor, leaning against the lockers and Kyu settled down taking a deep breath.

"Um…I wanted to ask about Kankurou," Kyu said. "Is he ok?"

Gaara face changed instantly. His confused expression went to a nervous one, eyes widened and quickly darting down to the floor, his hand went to his mouth where he chewed on his finger. He looked scared, but worried as well, as if he was doing something wrong.

"It's ok," she assured him, continuing to smile encouragingly. "You can tell me, come on."

"I—I don't…know," he finally stammered.

"Why not? He's your brother isn't he? You must see each other at home," Kyu said.

"I…I know…I use to see him…a lot. I—I'd always stay in his room with him," Gaara said. "But he won't let me in anymore. He yells at me to go away all the time."

"Why's that?" Kyu asked, concerned.

"I—I don't know. I—I did something bad and now he's mad at me," he mumbled. "I haven't seen him come out of his room since last Monday."

"Not even to come out and eat?"

Gaara shook his head.

"Not even to say he's not going to school?"

Gaara shook his head again.

"Is he still alive in there?" Kyu asked, not meaning to joke.

Gaara nodded. "He always has his music on and he changes CDs every once and a while, but he wont even open the door or answer for Temari when she calls him," he said, hanging his head. "He yells me to go away when I knock."

"Oh, dear…I'm sorry," Kyu said, kindly, seeing how upset he was on the subject. She placed an arm around his shoulders, but he flinched and moved away. 'Doesn't like physical contact…' she mused mentally. She realized that before Gaara would be close to being comfortable with her, she'd have to work on his trust first.

Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a candy bar and held it out to him. "Do you like Milky Ways?" she asked.

Gaara eyed the candy bar hungrily then turned and shook his head.

"Aren't you hungry?" she asked. "Lunch usually isn't enough for me. Did you eat lunch?"

Gaara didn't answer. Then, barely noticeable, he shook his head.

"You haven't eaten?" she said worriedly. "Why not?" At Gaara's shrug, she continued. "When was the last time you ate?"

"T—Tuesday…" Gaara said quietly, not looking at her.

"You ate today?" she asked happily. Gaara shook his head. "No? You mean you—… You haven't eaten in a week?" she cried. "Oh my god…why not?"

Gaara winced at her desperate voice. He hadn't thought, or remembered to eat out of depression, though he hadn't thought of it that way. Kankurou had never completely ignored him before and it was eating him up inside. When he had realized he was hungry, his father refused to feed him, and told him that if he found anything missing from the kitchen that he would be punished. He didn't take anything from the kitchen and spent every day after school sitting outside Kankurou's room until his father came home, then he stayed with Temari. But he just sank deeper into depression, insomnia keeping him up at all times.

"Here, puppy, eat this," she said, holding out the candy bar.

"P—puppy?" Gaara glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Please?" she asked, unwrapping it for him and holding it out.

Gaara took it gingerly and nibbled at it, glancing at her unsure. His hunger took the best of him though and he ate it, starving. Kyu smiled proudly at him and pulled her purse out again.

"I have a bag of cookies will you eat them?" she asked, hopefully, pulling the bag out.

"Why are you giving me this?" Gaara asked quietly.

"Cause you're hungry!" she cried. "Any decent person would give you food. Here. Eat it…please!"

She shoved the bag of cookies into his hands and sat back and watched as he ate them, hesitantly at first then started stuffing them in his mouth.

"Um…so…you stay after school with the soccer team right?"

Gaara looked up, his mouth full and nodded.

"But you're not on the soccer team, how did you manage that?" she asked, whipping out a pen.

Gaara swallowed then replied. "Um…I went to the try outs once, but just to watch and Genma-sensei asked me if I wanted to come every practice and help him out," he replied, confused at the sudden change of subject.

"What kind of things do you help him out with?" she asked, scribbling.

"What ever he wants me to do," Gaara said. She gave him a pointed look and he continued. "Like, I type stuff out on the computer for him, and review plays and watch the player to make sure they get stuff right."

"So you're sorta like his assistant and manager, right?"

"….I guess."

"Is that fun?"

"Yeah," Gaara replied. "I like watching them play and sometimes Genma tries to get me to play, but I'm not that good."

"Oh, I'm sure you're a little good."

"No," Gaara said shaking his head and eating another cookie. "I really suck actually."

"What's your favorite thing they do?" she asked.

"I like watching lifting," Gaara said. "That's when you dribble the ball with yourself and not let it touch the ground."

"Have you tried it?"

"Yeah, it's really hard. I've only gotten up to two," he admitted.

"That's still good; I don't think I could do even one."

"Why do you want to know about soccer?" Gaara asked.

"I'm doing an article in the yearbook about the team. I've been hearing about a freshman that isn't on the team, but goes to practice everyday and did a little investigating. I was surprised that it was you," she said smiling.

"I—if you go to room 309…that's Neji and Kiba's class," he said quietly. "They're on the team."

"Thank you," she said, smiling wider. "I'll go talk to them. Thanks, puppy, eat those cookies!" she called as she left, heading towards the up stairwell.

Gaara stared after her, the now half empty cookie bag still in his hand. 'Puppy?…'

The house was quiet as Temari and Kyu stepped out of Kyu's blue car. Determined to learn more, Kyu had caught up with Temari and offered to drive her home. Temari told her as she began mounting the stairs to Kankurou's room that she didn't think he'd let her in, but she went anyway. Temari shook her head and left her book bag under the coat rack then left again to go to her new boyfriend's house.

She knocked a few times and waited. When no one answered, she knocked again. "Kankurou, its Kyu, please open the door," she said.

Still there was no answer. She knocked harder and harder until the picture handing on the wall behind her shook. As she knocked, she shouted and yelled at the door, demanding entrance. But none was granted her. She stood back fuming, thinking it over then stomped down stairs and out the back door. When she was a good fifteen feet from the house, she turned and looked back, staring at Kankurou's window. Noticing a large tree that grew near it, she grinned and climbed it. She moved carefully across the branch near his window and looked in, rapping loudly as she did so.

Kankurou was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling and listening to his stereo. When she knocked on the window he turned and jumped, falling off his bed in the process. She giggled to herself as he got up and came over to the window.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, throwing the window open.

"Chillin' in a tree," she replied, holding onto the branches. "But I demand entrance to your hovel," she said with a pouting and glaring expression. "If you don't, I will let go and fall to my death and you will have the guilt with you for the rest of your life!"

Kankurou gave her a funny look then thought for a minute, a mental war raging. This of course, pissed Kyu off.

"You have to think about it?" she screeched, nearly falling from her freak out.

"Kyu, I don't think you want to come in here, it's real messy," Kankurou said.

"So I've heard," she said. "You know what else I heard? I heard you haven't come out of your room since last Monday so I bet it stinks a little too, but I still wanna come in and talk to you!"

Kankurou stared and raised an eye brow. He opened the window as much as it could and leaned out, bracing himself against his desk. Kyu let him wrap his arms around her and she clutched him as he pulled her out of the tree onto his windowsill. She swung her legs inside his room and put them safely on the floor. She smiled at Kankurou who was giving her a weird look.

"What?"

"Kyu, you climbed that tree in a mini skirt and strap on shoes," he said, pointing.

Kyu glanced down at her dark red outfit and blushed. "Oops," she said, in a cutesy voice.

Kankurou sat down on his unmade bed and looked at her. "What do you want?" he asked, after a sigh.

"To see what's wrong," she said. "You haven't been to school in a whole week! Why is it so dark in here?"

"I like the dark," he replied.

"I don't," she said. She opened the window blinds all the way and turned his lights on. He groaned at this and told her to turn them off. She shook her head and turned back to him, gasping. "Kankurou! What happened to you?"

He instantly turned his face away from her as she came up to him, worried. "Nothing … got in a fight," he mumbled.

She reached out and touched the bruises on his cheek and black eye. "With who?" she asked. "….And what?" she added, noticing marks on his neck and arms as well.

"Just…some…guys."

"Are you lying to me?" she asked.

Kankurou didn't answer.

She gave him a worried look, then changed the subject. "I talked to Gaara today," she said.

"Stalker," he muttered.

"I am not a stalker!" she cried. "I was concerned."

"What'd you talk about?" he asked, not looking at her.

"I was interviewing Puppy about the soccer team," she said huffily.

'Puppy?' Kankurou thought.

"But Kankurou…why are you mad at him?"

"How did that come up in an interview about soccer?" he asked.

"Don't change the subject," she said. "I asked him about you and he told me that you've been in your room since last Monday and he thinks you're mad at him."

"News flash, Kyu," Kankurou said, gruffly. "Gaara always thinks someone's mad at him."

"Why's that?"

"Cause he's stupid like that, I don't know," he replied. "He just does it for attention, anyway."

"Kankurou, that's not very nice," Kyu said softly, her hands on her hips differentiating her tone. "He's really upset!"

"It's true!" he said.

"So? That doesn't mean you have to tell others you think like that," she said. "Do you really think he just wants attention from me? Cause honestly, I'd give it to him anyway…and I don't think it's me he wants attention from."

"He wants it from me, I know that," he said grumpily. "I'm just not giving it to him."

"Why are you in such a bad mood?" she asked, crossing her arms.

He shrugged. "I donno, … I'm sorry," he replied.

"Don't apologize to me," she said, coming up to him. "What happened?" she asked, sitting on the bed next to him, placing a caring hand on his knee.

He never knew why he did, but at her question, he spilled his thoughts he'd wanted to spill to someone—anyone—to her, telling her everything. About his father, about Gaara, about trying to help Gaara run away and his coming back. He told her that his father had praised Gaara's return, and had left him alone since and the real reason why, and he told her about his conversation with Ukon. By the time he was finished, his face and lap was soaked from tears and Kyu was sitting next to him on the bed with her arms wrapped around him. Her head was leaning on his shoulder and she was gently rubbing his back.

"You didn't get in a fight?" she asked softly.

Kankurou shook his head. "Dad left Gaara alone…cause…he was…" He didn't finish as he reached up and touched his face.

Kyu sniffed herself and held him tighter, burying her face. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, trying to keep her voice even. They sat it silence like that for a while. Kyu broke it as she sighed. "Do you want something? You look like you haven't eaten in a while."

"I haven't," he mumbled.

"Neither has Gaara, you know," she said quietly.

"What?" he asked, looking up at her, with a frown.

"He hadn't eaten since last Tuesday," she said. "I'm not sure, but I think he was depressed, cause he thinks you're really mad at him."

"Last … Tuesday?" Kankurou cried, a look of worried disbelief plastered on his face. "…shit…"

"I'll go make you something ok?" Kyu got up and went to the door.

"Kyu?" Kankurou called, stopping her. "Was he ok?"

"I think so," she said. "I mean…he ate what I gave him, and I told Neji to give him something to eat at practice."

"…." Kankurou looked down at his floor with a worried frown.

She gave him a reassuring smile before hurrying down the stairs to the kitchen.

She found everything she wanted and proceeded to make a large stack of sandwiches, enough for both of them to share. She took her time because she heard Kankurou come out of his room and get in the shower. She smiled to herself, wrinkling her nose.

'Good,' she thought. She didn't want to be mean, but she had noticed he did kinda smell.

Finishing with the sandwiches, she poured them both tall glasses of soda from the fridge and took the plate and glasses up to Kankurou's room. She set them down on his desk and looked around.

It looked like a room that use to be well kept and neat that had seriously gone down the dumps, there were clothes everywhere on the floor along with book and magazines that had been thrown at the book case. There was just a lot of stuff on the floor. She didn't mind though, she went about and straightened it, tossing the dirty clothes in a pile on the floor and put the books and such back on the shelves. She reopened the window Kankurou had closed and aired out the room, then turned and made his bed. She noticed on his end table two picture frames that had been placed face down so that the pictures couldn't be seen.

She lifted the first one and looked at it. It was a picture of the three siblings. They were sitting on a bench in a park, that didn't seem to be much of a park, but she remembered that the three of them were from a desert area so that was the reason there was no grass or trees. She smiled back at them, but it faded slightly as she examined each of their faces. She saw sadness in each of them, and pain of hiding pain. Gaara had that shy smile on his face he gave when he hoped to be over-looked, not wanting to be noticed. His clothes looked very old, worn and too big for him. Temari's smile was wide and happy, but her eyes were still sad, her clothes were much nicer then Gaara's and Kankurou's were. Kankurou sat in between them, his arms draped across the back of the bench, his siblings leaning in against him. He was giving her a fifteen year old bad boy grin that made her smile widen. But it saddened again when she saw his eyes. Temari's eyes were sad, but his were near complete depression. She noticed how he seemed to not just be sitting with them for a picture; he seemed to be almost protecting them, especially Gaara who was closer to his brother then Temari was, nearness making them both feel safe.

She placed the picture down and picked up the other one. She only glanced at this one before putting it back down. It was a family picture. One with their father in it, but she didn't want to see it just yet. Kankurou came back in the room, drying his hair, now dressed in new clothes. He glanced around the room then thanked her.

"You're welcome," she said smiling. "I made you sandwiches!" she said proudly, holding up the platter. "I wasn't sure what you liked so I made all kinds and I shaped them too!"

"…." Kankurou looked down at them and raised an eye brow. "…o….k…"

"Try them! They're good!" she said, stuffing one in his mouth.

"B-but I don't want—"

"Why is that?"

"Cause I-I c-can't kick," Gaara stammered, straining against Genma's grip.

"You'll never get good unless you practice," the coach said, effortlessly keeping him from running away. "Just try. We're short some people anyway."

"But…I don't..."

"What are you afraid of?" Genma asked.

"I'm not afraid. But...they'll laugh at me…I'm really not good," Gaara insisted quietly.

"No they won't!" Genma assured him. "And if they do, just beat 'em up. Or Neji'll beat them up. Either one will be quite effective."

"I can't beat them up!" Gaara said, staring.

"…why not?"

"Cause they're like this tall," he held his hand way over his head, "and I'm like this tall," he put his hand lower to the ground, notable smaller then he really was.

"Height doesn't matter, you know," Genma said, chuckling to himself.

"It's a great advantage!"

"True. But you don't need to be tall to play games like this," Genma said. He pointed out in the field where the players were playing five on five's. "See that kid? He's the shortest player on my entire team. He's five two, but one of the fastest players I got. He's a starter on varsity. Been with me for four years."

"…but he's really athletic. I'm only four foot seven! I'm little and puny and I'm not very strong," Gaara said after he looked at the player.

"Yes, I can see that," Genma said, still using no effort to make him stay with him. "If you really don't want to play on the field, you could be GK for us today."

"I don't wanna be a goal keeper either! You get hit with balls!"

"They don't hurt—"

"Yes, they do! Neji goes home with bruises all the time!"

"Does he complain about it?"

"No, he's an obsessed soccer freak, he doesn't care, but some people don't like getting hit with soccer balls and falling on the ground."

"What are you trying to say, kid?"

"I'm not going to be a soccer obsessed freak like you and Neji," Gaara said. It was a moment for arm crossing, but Genma still had a grip on his arm, so he just looked huffily at him. He couldn't believe he was talking to an adult like this without getting punished, but he couldn't stress enough how much he did not want to play.

"You don't have to be," Genma said, smiling. "I'm not trying to make you one. I just noticed that you're not very healthy and I'd like it if you were, and playing might help you out a bit. It's fun too, you must get bored watching all the time."

Gaara grumbled to himself, but relaxed. Genma let him go as he moved over to the goal box. He stood there, arms crossed, looking pissed and nervous at the same time. "What do I do?" he asked.

Genma looked overjoyed and followed him, explaining what he had to do, and reminding him that the ball wouldn't hurt him. Kiba was on the team he was helping—though he had no idea how he was going to help—and came up to him, excited.

"Look, just follow the ball," Kiba told him, making motions with his hands. "The other team will move their feet around to try and trick you, but you just gotta watch the ball."

Gaara said nothing, only making a small unsure noise voicing that he was still unsure of what he was doing.

Genma whistled for the five-on-five game to start. He watched each player, noting their strengths and weaknesses, deciphering positions each might be able to try out for. He had chosen this five-on-five carefully. With the exception of Gaara, each of the players were evenly matched and no one had gotten near either of the goals yet. But then one broke away from the rest and the ball was passed to him. Genma noted how well he handled the ball as he approached the goal box. He kicked the ball towards the goal it sailed straight at an opening, a perfect shot, moving quickly only 3 inches from the ground.

Genma stared, as did the other players for a moment, then Kiba cheered loudly and they other players joined in, then fell back waiting. Gaara stared as well. The ball was in his hands and he was on the ground. Genma called for him to throw it back out into the field. Gaara hurriedly stood and threw the ball as far as he could towards an open space where Kiba met it dribbling it down to the other end of the shortened field.

"Neji, did you see that?" Soccer player #4 said.

Neji looked up from where he was chugging down his water. "What?" he asked after swallowing.

#4 pointed towards the field where the newest newbies were playing their own five-on-fives. The team Kiba was on just scored a goal and one of the players was bringing it to the middle.

"They scored? So what?"

"No, no! Before that. Your boy-toy just threw himself on the ground and caught a 3 inch floater," #2, who had seen it too, said.

Neji did a double take and this time saw Gaara in the goal watching the ball get passed back and forth keenly. "What's Gaara doing in the goal box?" he asked.

"Must be short some people," #4 said. "Coach has been trying to get him to play with us since he started coming, but I've never actually seen him play."

"He doesn't like sports," Neji said absentmindedly.

Neji watch a moment longer, smiling proudly at Gaara as the smaller boy jumped to catch another attempt at a goal. He and Kiba had been called out of class by Kyu for an interview. She asked them a bunch of questions and took notes, then thanked them. Before he could go back in, Kyu had stopped him and spoke to him quietly about her concerns for Gaara. Neji had been shocked to learn that the boy hadn't eaten in a week, he himself barely making it from one meal to another. Before going down to the gym he led Gaara to the cafeteria vending machines and ordered him to choose at least ten things he wanted. Gaara had stared at him and told him he didn't want Neji giving him money, but Neji persisted and they walked away with a wide variety of mostly healthy items that he made Gaara eat, watching him keenly until it was all gone.

His smile widened as he watched Gaara save another, smiling broadly himself as he threw the ball back into play.

Kankurou flopped down on his bed, full of sandwiches and soda. Kyu giggled and stuffed the last of hers in her mouth, then laid down as well.

"Thanks, Kyu," Kankurou said, smiling at her.

"Aw…you're welcome," she said, snuggling up to him. "You don't look so pathetically hungry anymore."

Kankurou gave a dry chuckle. "I don't feel hungry anymore either. I'm stuffed."

"Good."

"Thanks for coming over, too," he said quietly. "I feel a lot better now."

"Are you gonna talk to Gaara when he gets home?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah…I don't think I'll tell him everything…but I'll tell him…well, I don't really know what I'll tell him," Kankurou said shrugging.

"Why did you put those pictures face down?" Kyu asked.

"Hm…I guess I was kinda mad at Gaara," Kankurou murmured. "I was tired of seeing him. Especially like that…"

"Like what?"

"Smiling like that. I think he's forgotten how to smile without looking scared."

"Oh…" Kyu looked sadly at the wall for a moment. "What about the other one?"

Kankurou scoffed and reached over, picking the picture up. He held it up for Kyu to see. She looked at it now, examining the picture.

Kankurou looked about six in the picture, which meant Temari was five and Gaara was three. Kankurou and Temari were holding Gaara while their father was kneeling behind them. Their father was smiling and the three of them were laughing. Careless. Painless. Real smiles.

"What's wrong with this one? Is it your dad?" Kyu asked.

"No…it's the memory of it," Kankurou murmured. "Stuff happened afterwards. See, he wanted one that was like a serious picture, but for reasons I can't remember Temari and I couldn't stop laughing and that made Gaara unable to stop laughing and he got mad at us."

"Oh…sorry."

"Not your fault," Kankurou said. "You—"

Kyu looked up as Kankurou stopped talking and listened to something. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Oh, shit," Kankurou got up quickly and stuffed the almost empty plate and two cups under his bed. He quickly glanced around the room, as if searching for something out of place then suddenly remembered Kyu was there. "Come on!"

He took her arm and pulled her out of the room, grabbing her purse for her on the way out. He pulled her down stairs, but they only made it three quarters of the way down before the front door opened and his father stepped in, freezing him in his tracks.

"No."

"Aw, come on. You're doing so well!"

"No."

"Please?"

"What part of 'no' do you not understand?"

"The 'no' part."

"I don't want to," Gaara said, folding his arms. "I'll look stupid." He turned and trudged back to the bleacher, leaving Genma standing by the field.

Neji, hurried after Gaara, deciding to back his coach up, who was practically begging on his hands and knees for his little redhead to play. He stopped Gaara as he reached the tree near the bleachers.

"Gaara," Neji said, stepping in front of him, placing hands on his shoulders. "Where're you going?"

"To sit down," he replied.

"Why? Aren't you having fun?" Neji asked, starting to brush the boy's clothes, covered in grass and stains. He laughed at this. "You're a mess."

"I fell," Gaara said, pointing.

"More like dove head first into the ground," Neji said. "Caught the ball and everything. I heard, but didn't see your first one though. I saw the others though, good job!"

Gaara blushed darkly. "But…I don't want to play," he stammered out. "Genma—"

"Coach," Neji corrected automatically.

"Coach…wants me to play on the field!" Gaara said. "I can't do that!"

"Sure you can," Neji said.

"No I can't!" Gaara said, near shrieking

"Why not?"

"Cause I can't kick a ball!" Gaara said for what felt like the fiftieth time that day. "I didn't want to be the GK, but I did it and I'm really tired now. Isn't that good enough?"

"Why can't you kick a ball?" Neji asked.

Gaara stood back for a moment. "I've never done it before," he said finally. "I did it last week and all with Haku…but it went all funny. And I tried when you all were changing and he was right I can't."

"Who was right?" Neji asked, frowning slightly.

Gaara froze. "N-no one," he said, eyes wide.

"Gaara…" Neji gave him a look. "Who told you you can't kick a ball?"

"I'm too clumsy and stu—"

"Gaara!"

"My dad!"

Neji stepped back and stared. "Your dad said you …can't kick …a ball?" he asked in a soft voice.

"I'm too stupid to kick a ball," Gaara mumbled, repeating the familiar words repeated to him. "I'm not smart enough."

"You don't have to be smart to kick a ball!" Neji insisted. "You dad is an ass Gaara, why do you believe everything he tells you?"

Gaara hung his head, avoiding Neji's eyes. "I donno…" his mumble was barely audible.

"Do you think you're stupid?" Neji asked.

Gaara shrugged. "I donno…no…yes…maybe…I'm sorry…"

"It's ok, Gaara, I'm not mad at you," Neji said, reaching out to touch his arm. "If you really have to be smart to kick a ball, I think you're a genius."

Gaara glanced up shyly at him. "But…I'm still not good at it…"

"Which proves you don't have to be smart," Neji said smiling. "It just takes practice. I'll teach you. You may be a little clumsy, but we can work around that."

"Hey, love birds! Quit kissing behind the tree and get over here! Let's play!"

Neji turned giving the speaker an evil death glare as Gaara's eyes widened and he ducked behind him. He saw immediately why he had. Itachi stood at the edge of the field, ball in hand, laughing at them.

"Go screw yourself in hell, Uchiha," he said, glaring.

"Ooh! Nice come back, Hyuga," Itachi said sarcastically. "I have a better idea. How about I screw him instead, since you're obviously not up to it."

"Touch him and die," Neji said coldly, turning to face him fully.

"Ooh…scary. How about I teach him how to play since you're so busy sucking up to Coach?" He stepped up to them sneering.

"I don't want him to teach me," Gaara said quietly, behind him, shaking from Itachi's reminders of what happened at the mall.

"Why not?" Itachi said, glancing around Neji. "You already know how good I am at giving favors, this is just another one."

"You just don't know when to stop do you?" Neji said angrily, stepping up to him as well.

"And you don't know how to start," Itachi said, as they faced down.

Gaara stared from one to the other, scared out of his mind. The two looked ready to take each other out. The players on the field saw what was happening and gathered around anticipating it as well. The two boys stared each other down, daring the other to make the first move. Itachi suddenly leaned forward and whispered something in Neji's ear that only he could hear.

"Doesn't it just piss you off that I kissed him first?"

Neji snapped and punched him square in the jaw, knocking him back onto the ground. Itachi laid there for a minute, dazed and quite surprised Neji actually hit him, but he got up fast and countered. Soon the two were on the ground, kicking and punching, trying to rip each other's throats out. The watching players shouted and cheered them on unable to resist the aspect of a fight. What was thrilling everyone there was that Neji, an underclassman, was getting the upper hand of Itachi, a senior, a well renowned street fighter. Gaara, however, looked positively terrified, and stared at them, worried for Neji, until he was accidentally pushed aside.

It would have been broken up a while before, but Genma was having trouble getting through the crowd. When he finally did, he put his whistle to his mouth and, grabbing the boys by the back of their necks, pulled them apart, letting the whistle scream.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" he shouted, causing all the noise to stop. "EVERYONE LINE UP ONTO THE FIELD! VARSITY ON THEIRS AND JV ON THEIRS! NOW!"

The boys all scrambled to the field and lined up, save for Itachi and Neji, who were still in Genma's grasp. Both were bleeding and gasping for breath. Gaara stared at the three, shaking slightly at the expressions on all three of their faces. He watched as Genma let them go, shoving them in different directions.

"Both of you get to your fields," Genma said glaring. As they turned and went with their team mates, Genma turned to both teams. "This is ridiculous! Watching a fight is just as bad as fighting. You all look like a bunch of sissies after a cat fight! This is your punishment, and I don't want to hear a single complaint: we will run suicides for the rest of practice. On my whistle."

"What's this?" his father's voice was icy cold.

"This is Kyu," Kankurou said quietly. "She's my classmate and she came to see if I was alright."

"And are you alright?"

"Yes, sir…"

"I suggest you leave," his father said to Kyu who was standing worried behind Kankurou. "No one is allowed to come over without my permission, especially when they are punished."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Kyu said. She took her purse from Kankurou and slinked around them. "Sorry sir. Bye Kankurou," she said quietly before going out the door.

The door clicking shut was the only sound made. They heard her car start and pull away, the noise dying quietly away. His father stared him down, but Kankurou stared back. Both glares were intense enough to but the other to ashes.

Gaara climbed out of Hiashi's black convertible and grabbed his bag. He thanked Hiashi for the ride, then leaned over to hug Neji. Neji leaned over the protesting Hanabi and returned it. The fight had left Neji with a few bruises, a nose bleed and a sore side, and a three game suspension, but Neji told Gaara that it was worth it to flatten Itachi, who, in Gaara's opinion had gotten worse then Neji. Gaara had watched him practically stagger across the field during the suicide runs, then limp away back to the lockers after practice, feeling oddly satisfied. After Neji got his stuff, they met Hiashi at the parking lot. Genma spoke to Hiashi for a few minutes then Hiashi drove them home, a solemn expression plastered on his face. Neji had apologized to Hiashi for fighting, but Hiashi just said, keeping his solemn face:

"About time someone knocked that bastard down."

They had laughed at this and Hiashi's grave expression dropped and he laughed as well.

Gaara climbed up to his porch and waved goodbye as Hiashi pulled away and out of his driveway in the direction of the Hyuga estate. He turned back to the house and opened the door, shouting immediately greeted him, but it wasn't directed at him.

His father was standing in the living room, a firm grip on Kankurou's arm, repeatedly kicking his side, shouting angrily at him. Gaara froze and stared wide eyed, scared as his father turned, noticing him.

"Oh, it's you. Why the hell are you so dirty?" his father demanded, angrily.

Gaara tried to reply, but his mouth was working just as well as the rest of him and he could only stare. Kankurou looked up and saw him. Seeing him, seemed to worry him as he coughed then looked Gaara in the face.

"Gaara, go upstairs," Kankurou said, evenly, not wanting Gaara to get mixed up in this as well.

"No," their father shouted. "He doesn't need you codling him all the time! He should learn the truth! You! Get over here!" he motioned angrily at Gaara, who stayed where he was a moment.

"No, Gaara," Kankurou groaned. "Please, go upstairs."

"Boy, you better get your ass over here right now!"

They watched him hesitate then take a few unsure steps towards them. Patience dying, his father reached out and grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him to the ground in front of Kankurou.

"See brat? Your precious brother isn't so great now is he? He's been lying to you your whole life, he's not really brave and strong. He's a pathetic wimp and sissy just like you. At least I tell you the truth."

Neither brother could look the other in the face. Gaara squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip as his father pressed his face further towards his brother's.

"That's not true. You lied to me."

"What?" his father demanded, shaking him so hard he nearly fell completely to the ground. Gaara bit his lip harder and didn't say anything else. "Answer!" He shouted, digging his fist in the back of Gaara's neck.

"You—you said I was too stupid to play ball!" Gaara stammered out. "I played today and I was good!"

"Like hell you were good!" his father said, grabbing a fist full of hair instead, forcing Gaara's face upwards, ignoring the crying protests. "They probably felt sorry for you and went easy! You're just to self centered to realize it!" he threw him backwards towards the front door again. Gaara landed with a sound thump on the hard wood floor, clutching his head where his father had had a grip of his hair. He curled up in a tiny ball, expecting more, but his father just yelled at him. "Get upstairs, now!"

The two watched as Gaara scrambled to his feet and went up stairs. After hearing a door upstairs close, their father turned back to Kankurou and began pounding him into the floor again, shouting angrily about Gaara now.

Fifteen minutes later, Kankurou staggered up the stairs to his room. He made sure he closed it all the way and locked it, before blindly going over to his bed, cursing as he stumbled and fell to the ground. His body hurt everywhere and he found he couldn't make it the rest of the way to his bed. He was just about to settle on staying on the floor, when a small face came out from around his bed.

Kankurou chuckled dryly. "Good idea, come in before I get a chance to lock the door," he said, the joke just as dry as his laugh.

Gaara came out and crawled in inches over to him. "Are you…ok?" he asked, though it was obvious he wasn't.

"I'm fine!" Kankurou assured him, grinning. "See? I can still raise my arm—Ow!" he winced and looked sheepishly away. "See I'm fine," he said, as Gaara helped him up to the bed.

Once he was sitting on the softness of the bed, Gaara let him go and backed away towards the door, ready to be kicked out again. Kankurou watched him fiddle with his fingers and sleeves, unsure and nervous.

"Come here, Gaara."

Gaara obediently came over to the bed and stood in front of his brother, staring at his feet. Kankurou said his name again, very softly, causing Gaara to look up at his face.

"I'm sorry," Kankurou said.

Gaara shook his head instantly. "You don't have to be sorry!" he insisted, almost frantically. "I was the one who—"

"No, Gaara," Kankurou said, keeping his voice low and even. "I've been a real bastard to you and you didn't deserve it. I'm really sorry."

"It's ok," Gaara said quietly. "You don't have…to…" At a look from Kankurou, his voice trailed off. "I forgive you," he whispered.

Kankurou smiled at him, then frowned and looked him up and down. "How did you get so dirty?"

Gaara's face brightened instantly as he told Kankurou about his afternoon. "Coach wanted me to play with the newer players cause the teams were short a few people, and I didn't want to but I did anyway. He made me GK—that's a goalie—and I did good! I caught all but one ball!"

"Good job," Kankurou said, grinning.

"Oh, and then later," Kankurou could tell this was what Gaara really wanted to tell him, "Coach wanted me to play on the field-field—"

"Isn't the goalie on the field?"

"I mean like running around with the ball," Gaara explained to Kankurou, who was trying not the laugh at his brother's many hand gestures as he talked. "Well, I tried to leave, but Neji stopped me and tried to talk me into playing, then Itachi started messing with Neji and then guess what?"

"What?"

"Neji beat the shit out of Itachi!" Gaara said, looking like this was the best moment of his life.

"Nuh-uh!" Kankurou said staring.

"Flat on the ground!"

"No shit! Really?" Kankurou asked, grin spreading across his face.

Gaara nodded happily, as Kankurou laughed, ignoring the pain from doing so. Gaara seemed to have forgotten for the mean time about what had happened downstairs. That was fine with Kankurou though, he wanted to keep Gaara happy for as long as he could, while he thought out what he was going to tell him.

wow...this chapter got loooong