Vindicated

Chapter 22: Grudges Against Itachi

I am so sorry this took so long I didn't mean it to, it just took me FOREVER the next one should come out sooner I promise! please dont hate Shu! she's sorry

Birds sang joyful notes through the open window as if they knew this day would be good. The sun was shining in the room, lighting gently on Neji's face. He smiled as he jumped out of bed and hurried to get ready. His aunt smiled at him when he came into the kitchen, practically glowing with excitement, and sat down. She gave him his breakfast and he ate quickly, staring intently at the clock. Gaara was coming at eight, one more hour to go.

The two older Hyugas looked at each other with small smiles. Neji wasn't their son, he would never think of himself that way, but he was still like a son to them and they loved seeing him this excited.

The door bell rang, causing them all to jump slightly. Neji and Hiashi both made a dash for the door to see who it was. George however beat them to it, of course.

"May I take you're jacket?" George was saying.

"N—no that's o—ok…"

"Gaara!" Neji cried happily, swooping into the foyer. "You're early!"

Gaara winced slightly. "I'm s—sorry," he said, looking nervous.

"It's ok," Neji said going up to him. "I'm happy to see you!"

He wrapped his arms around Gaara and pulled him into a hug. Gaara involuntarily cried out in pain and Neji pulled away startled.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worried.

"N—nothing, sorry," Gaara stammered out, wrapping his arms around Neji and hugging him.

Neji frowned slightly and didn't hug him back. Something was wrong. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hiashi and George exchanging glances. He knew his uncle was guessing the truth and who knew what went on in Georges mind.

"Wanna go up to my room for a bit?" Neji asked, looking down at Gaara.

"Yes," Gaara replied, smiling happily, completely oblivious to the two men's suspicions. Neji decided it was best to keep it that way; Gaara would only worry himself sick if he knew.

Neji took his hand and lead him up the stairs to his room. When they were both inside, Neji shut the door. He turned to Gaara, who was still smiling, and gave him an interrogating look.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "And don't you dare say 'nothing'," he added when Gaara opened his mouth to say just that.

Gaara's smile fell instantly and he looked down at the floor. Neji frowned slightly. He had gotten so use to reading the redhead, but this expression was new. He looked nervous, he always did, but there was something else in his face. Neji had never seen it on Gaara before. He went up to him and placed a hand on his cheek, not forcing him to look at him, just to touch him. Gaara smiled slightly and leaned into his touch as Neji rubbed his cheek with his thumb.

"Is it from Monday?" Neji asked quietly.

Gaara shook his head.

"What hurts? Please tell me. Is it from…last night?" Neji asked, hiding the worry in his voice.

Gaara nodded and leaned forward against him. "M—my back…"

At the invitation, Neji reached around him and gently lifted his shirt up and looked. "Oh, my god…" he breathed. He rolled the shirt up more and saw the rest of the marks. "Oh, my god, Gaara…" He hugged Gaara again, this time being careful of where his arms were. "Why did he do this to you?" he asked, his voice shaking. When Gaara was silent, Neji held him tighter. "Please tell me."

"Kankurou…got suspended…I didn't want Kankurou to get hurt…" Gaara said quietly in a slow voice, muffled by Neji's shirt. "Dad punished me instead…but he made Kankurou watch…it was Kankurou's punishment."

"Your dad…hurt you…to punish Kankurou?" Neji asked. He felt his arms shaking and knew Gaara could feel it. He felt Gaara nod against him and suddenly pulled away from Gaara. "Oh, god…I think I'm gonna be sick," he said, his voice breaking, as he placed a hand over his mouth. He felt like he was going to throw up.

Gaara looked horrified and didn't seem to know what to do. "I—I'm sorry Neji!" he cried. "I shouldn't have told you! I'm really sorry! I—I wanted it to happen! I didn't want dad to hurt Kankurou! I—"

"Gaara, shut up…" Neji said, taking deep breaths. He glanced over at Gaara who was standing there, shaking, with his hands covering his mouth. His sleeves were too long for his small arms so all Neji could actually see of his hands were his finger tips. If it had been any other moment or situation, Neji would have wanted to take a picture. He looked so cute like that, but now wasn't the moment or situation for that kind of thought and it was forgotten almost immediately.

"Gaara, go lay down on the bed."

"What?" Gaara asked from behind his sleeves.

"Lay down, okay?" Neji said, voice still quavering and uneven. "I'll put something on it to make it feel better."

"N—no, no, it's okay," Gaara said.

"Just… do it," Neji said forcefully, then turned and walked out of the room.

He stepped into the bathroom and sank to the tiled floor. His mind was reeling, yet floating in an empty space, not knowing where to go or what to think. His stomach was churning unpleasantly. Placing a hand over his mouth, he took deep breaths and swallowed carefully, hoping he didn't throw up. It took a long while for him to calm down.

That bastard.

That evil fucking bastard.

Neji put his face in his hands, but he was so upset that tears couldn't form, no matter how much he wanted to cry. How could he hurt Gaara like that? Was it even possible to be that evil? Hurting someone to teach them a lesson was one thing, but hurting someone's little brother instead? And then making them watch? That was beyond…anything Neji's mind could handle.

What had Gaara said?

I wanted it to happen! I didn't want dad to hurt Kankurou!

Gaara had interfered. He had stopped his father from physically hurting his brother. That's what was different about his expression before. He was proud of himself. Proud he stood up to his father and protected his favorite person in the entire world. Neji knew Gaara loved him, but he could never live up to Kankurou. Kankurou was the center of Gaara's universe, and he had helped his younger brother in every way he could. To be able to repay that in some way…

Neji sniffed slightly and sat back. He ordered his mind to get a hold of himself. Slowly, he stood and went over to the window. Gaara would be worrying because he was taking so long.

When Neji came back, Gaara hadn't moved an inch from where he left him. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, as Gaara shifted nervously, knowing Neji had wanted him to lie down and he hadn't listened. He looked down at the potted plant in Neji's hands with a blank look of curiosity.

"What's that?" he asked.

"It's an aloe plant," Neji told him. "It'll make it feel better; please lay down." He put the plant down on his nightstand, then turned to Gaara and started to carefully pull Gaara's shirt off.

"No, Neji…the—the sc—…they look…I don't want," Gaara whimpered out, keeping his arms down. "The—the …scars…I don't want you to…"

"Sh…it's ok," Neji cooed softly. He leaned down and kissed Gaara, who stopped stammering instantly. With their lips still locked, Neji led him to sit down on the bed, then placed his hands behind his head and brought him closer. He tried to kiss him deeper, but Gaara suddenly pulled away. Neji bit his tongue to keep the sigh of annoyance from coming out. They were never going to get passed this part were they?

"Why are you so nice to me?" Gaara cried, hanging his head and gripping the bed sheets with his good hand. "What did I do? I don't understand! You—you're cool…and you're popular and you're good at everything. I'm just some stupid, ugly, pathetic nobody…I don't understand…"

Neji sighed and pulled Gaara's shirt off and pushed him gently down to lie on his stomach. He carefully pulled off one of the many stems from the prickly plant and peeled the skin away. Even more gently, he smoothed the oozing juice on the red welts, carefully avoiding the few areas where the skin was broken. He smiled when Gaara sighed slightly in comfort. The aloe felt cool and soothed the burning on his back. Neji blinked when he realized Gaara was still looking up at him in question, wanting an answer. To his disappointment, none was given.

"Neji…?"

Neji sat down, parallel to the bed and leaned his chin on his hand, his elbow on the bed next to Gaara. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"…No…I can't think of what to say to you…I like you when you're happy and when you're sad or hurt I want to comfort you. I want you to smile for real. The smile you always give is always so sad and nervous. But I love you and I honestly have no idea why. Do you love me?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"You're really nice to me no matter what and you're really patient even though I annoy you so much," Gaara said instantly.

Neji winced slightly. "You noticed?" he asked sheepishly.

Gaara nodded looking down at the sheets. "And…you don't make fun of my stutter and always want to help me. No one but Kankurou's ever done that for me." Gaara hid his face in Neji's sheets. "I—I'm sorry…those are stupid reasons…b—but I've never liked someone like this before…"

Neji smiled and finished putting the aloe on. He wiped his hands on his carpet and reached out to run his fingers through Gaara's hair. Gaara peeked up at him in question.

"You excited about going?"

"Mmhm!" Gaara said, getting up slowly. "Where are we—" he quickly covered his mouth with his hands, "sorry!"

"It's a surprise, silly!" Neji said with a smiled as he stood.

"I know I'm sorry!" Gaara cried.

"But…we're taking a bus for a bit," Neji told him, picking up Gaara's shirt from where he had dropped it.

"Really? I've never been on a bus before!" Gaara said, in an excited voice.

Neji laughed a little and helped him put his shirt back on. He wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and pulled him closer. They had twenty minutes until they had to leave. Neji didn't want to waste it.

He was shocked when Gaara stood on his toes to kiss him first. Did he say earlier that they were never going to get passed light kissing? Holy shit.

When Gaara finally paused for breath, Neji stared down at him in total shock. His expression must have been an odd one, because Gaara shrank back looking nervous.

"I'm sorry! Did I do something wrong?"

"I…didn't know you could kiss like that," Neji said shaking himself slightly.

"…I'm—I'm sorry?" Gaara looked confused.

"No, no, no! It's ok!" Neji said laughing, pulling him back as Gaara took a step back in an unsure behavior. He rubbed their cheeks together and lightly kissed him. "I'm totally cool with this…I thought you weren't. But you're a really good kisser!" he added, still slightly shocked. "What other hidden talents you got and ain't sharing?"

Gaara stammered in embarrassment, then blushed darkly at his compliment. Neji laughed again and kissed his nose then moved down to kiss him on the mouth again. Gaara complied and it soon became a light dance of their tongues in each other's mouths.

"Oh, puh-LEASE! Get a room already!"

Neji twitched and whirled around angrily. "We are in a room, Hanabi! My room! And the door was closed! Go away!" he shouted pointing away from his room.

Hanabi scowled and crossed her arms. "Daddy! Neji's kicking me out of his room so he and Gaara can have sex!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Neji ran to the door and Hanabi wisely bolted down the hall. "We are NOT having sex! And who cares if we ARE! Grow. Up. Hanabi!" he shouted after her.

He slammed the door shut, huffing angrily. When he turned Gaara was peeking out from behind his sleeve covered hands, his face nearly the same color of his hair. He gave him a crooked smile and laughed slightly. Going up to him, he took Gaara's hands in his.

"I'm so glad you're dad let you come!" Neji told him.

"Huh?"

"You're dad let you come, I'm glad," Neji repeated.

Gaara's eyes suddenly widened slightly and darted around the room nervously, then he stared at the floor.

"….Gaara…?"

"Uh…well…"

"Where the fuck is he?"

"I don't know dad!" Temari cried, near tears from worrying. "Kankurou already left to go looking for him. He wasn't here when we woke up!"

She wasn't sure how many times she had answered that question that morning, but it was starting to get on her nerves. She had been rudely woken up when Kankurou had burst in her room saying he couldn't find Gaara. He had searched the whole house, but he couldn't find him. The only place he hadn't searched was their father's room and he was worried that's exactly where he was. Several minutes later their father had come out of his room and Kankurou had angrily confronted with about Gaara's whereabouts and learned Gaara wasn't actually in the room and got him in more trouble then if he had just kept his mouth shut.

Kankurou had gone and searched the whole house and the outside again, cursing the whole time, muttering what he was going to do to Gaara when he found him. He didn't mean the things he said, Temari knew that, but she wisely stayed out of his way the whole time he searched.

Her father scoffed angrily and stormed up the stairs. "I want to know the minute he gets back."

Temari nodded, though he was already gone. She went to the window and stared out as grey clouds slowly made their way across the sky.

'Gaara…what are you doing? You're not stupid…'

"Kankurou!"

Kankurou stopped and turned and the cheerful cry of his name. Kyu pulled up in his blue car, the top down, and smiled at him. Next to her in the passengers side was Ukon, grinning good naturedly, but not high. 'For once,' Kankurou thought to himself.

"Hiya!" she said.

"Oh, God, thank you!" Kankurou cried rushing over to her car. "Kyu, have you seen Gaara? He's missing!"

"Gaara? Yeah, I saw him. I gave him a ride this morning," Kyu said, looking surprised. She thwacked Ukon's arm and told him to get in the backseat. When he had clambered over the seats, she patted his previous seat. "Hop in!"

Kankurou put his hands on the car and literally did just that. As Kyu pulled away from the curb, he looked at her in worry. "When did you see him?" he asked.

"Real early this morning," she said. "Ukon and I went to watch the football game at the school and slept over a friend of mine's. We were coming home and I saw Gaara walking on the side walk and told him to get in."

"Where was he going?" Kankurou asked.

"Neji's," she said shortly.

"Neji's?" he cried. "What the fuck? What the hell was he—"

"Kankurou, honey, calm down," she said kindly. After Kankurou took a few deep breaths and slumped back in his seat she smiled. "I'll take you to Neji's house ok?"

"You know the way?" Kankurou asked in surprise.

"Kankurou, I am a girl. I am all knowing and all seeing."

"Kyu-chan, didn't you have to asked birthday boy how to get to Hyuga's—"

"Shut up, Ukon."

Kankurou snickered quietly and stared out at the houses and yards that weren't there anymore. He didn't understand why Gaara had left. He knew he would get in trouble for leaving with out telling anyone, but still he had left. He had gone to Neji's once before, but he had been really upset then. Was he upset? Kankurou was at a loss last night. Gaara didn't seem upset at all, if anything he was practically floating around all night. The only option Kankurou could think of was that Neji invited him over to do something at school that day and Gaara had forgotten to mention it. That didn't make sense, because Gaara would have just not gone if he had forgotten.

When they pulled up into the Hyuga's enormous driveway, Kankurou got out and went up to the door. As expected, George answered the door and inquired his business as if he had never seen Kankurou before in his life.

"Is Gaara here?" Kankurou asked, peeking in the house as if Gaara would be standing right there in the foyer.

"No, I'm sorry to say he isn't," George replied. "Neither is Neji-san. They left some time ago together."

Kankurou's eye twitch. Neji had invited Gaara over. Mentally cursing, he shoved his hands in his pockets and started thinking. "Do you know where they went?" he asked finally.

"The bus stop is all I know," George said.

"Who is it George—oh, Kankurou," Hiashi greeted as he walked up to the door.

"Hi, do you know where Gaara and Neji went?" Kankurou asked, aware that Kyu and Ukon were standing behind him.

Hiashi shook his head slightly. "The bus stop is all I know," he told him. "Neji told me that he would be gone all day though."

Kankurou's eyebrow raised slowly in surprise. He glanced back at Kyu and Ukon at a loss of what to do now.

"At least we know he's safe," Kyu suggested quietly.

Kankurou gave a half hearted grin and turned away from her. Safe? Yeah he was safe for the moment, but he wouldn't be when he got home. Their father had been livid when he learned the Gaara was gone. Kankurou still couldn't believe Gaara had left. With Monday, last night and now the foresight of another punishment Kankurou was scared their father would kill Gaara this time, or that he wouldn't be able to cover it anymore. Would he even be able to recover completely? If his father was really mad, it would be worse then Monday had been. Gaara would need to go to a hospital and there father would refuse to take him.

Kyu took Kankurou's hand and gave him a little tug. "Kankurou, it's ok, he'll be back later ok?" she said quietly.

Kankurou nodded and then nodded his thanks to the two Hyugas in the door. The three turned and walked back to Kyu's car, then Kankurou thought of something and turned back to them.

"Does Neji have his cell with him?"

"He never goes anywhere without it," Hiashi said, smiling slightly.

"'kay. Thanks."

"Ukon, out," Kyu ordered.

"What?" Ukon cried.

"This is you're stop," she said, pointing at his house.

"But I wanna stay with you guys!" he whined.

Kyu and Kankurou both turned and gave him a look. He threw his hands up in the air, then climbed out of the car and strode up to his front door. Just before they started down the road, he turned and shouted back at them.

"Use condoms!"

Kyu accidentally slammed on the brakes making them both jerk forward. Kankurou coughed in embarrassment and they drove in silence for a long time.

"Um…you wanna go get something to eat?" Kyu asked quietly, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Sure," Kankurou said, smiling stupidly. They were seniors for crying out loud! They could handle this like adults!

Apparently not. They continued to drive in silence, unable to think of something intelligent to say now that their minds. They pulled up into a Friendly's and trudged into the building. Standing right inside the door was Ukon, smiling broadly at them.

"Hi!" he said cheerfully.

"How'd you do that?" Kankurou demanded.

"Cut through the woods," Ukon said cheerfully.

Kankurou glared at him then turned to Kyu. "Hey, can I borrow your cell phone?" he asked. "I just wanna know if he's ok."

"Sure, here you go," she said handing him her cell phone.

The bus' low rumbling and soft rocking acted as a lullaby to Gaara as he sighed in contentment. The gentle arms wrapped around him only added to the immense comfort and peace he was in. Earlier, Neji had asked the attendant if, instead of sitting in the seats he had bought for them, they could have the extended three seats in the back. No one had purchased them so she told them it was okay. Neji had been afraid Gaara would accidentally rub his back against the seat and wanted him to be as comfortable as he could for the long ride they had. Neji had laid down across the three seats then made Gaara lay on top of him as though he were a giant pillow. Gaara had protested of course, but complied and was glad he did.

As Neji shifted underneath him, Gaara looked up in concern. "Are you okay? I—I can move if you're uncomfortable," he said quietly.

"No, of course not," Neji said smiling down at him. He put his hands under Gaara's arms and pulled him higher so that Gaara could snuggle into the curve of Neji's neck. "You're so light, you feel like a comfy blanket." He nuzzled against Gaara's forehead. "I could stay like this for hours."

Gaara smiled happily at his words. He could live with that. Lifting his head up, he met Neji in another kiss. He wouldn't mind if this never ended.

A few small giggles drifted to their ears and they broke away. Gaara hid his face, wincing at the laughter as Neji looked up to see who had laughed. A few little old ladies smiled kindly at him and went back to their quiet chatter and knitting. Neji caught such phrases from them as "They're so cute", "Young dears", and "Adorable boys". It made him laugh a little himself.

Looking down at Gaara, he never would have thought they would have gotten this far. He wanted to, of course, but Gaara was so shy he had had his doubts. Everything about Gaara shone with innocence. When they had first started going out, Neji fully expected that he would have to teach Gaara everything about relationships and what that involved. Nervous and shy as Gaara was, Neji was beginning to realize that the redhead in his arms knew much more then he let on. It made Neji wonder what else he knew, and also where he had learned it from. Hadn't he said he'd never gone out with someone before? No, he hadn't. He had said that no one had ever treated him so nice before.

Neji watched as Gaara rested his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes. Had Gaara gone out with someone before him? If so who? And what had happened? Something bad? He couldn't have learned from Itachi. So many questions he wanted to ask. Would Gaara answer them? He didn't want to force him into answering, but he was so curious.

Startled, he blinked as he felt a low rumbling against his stomach. Neji bit back a laugh as Gaara blushed darkly and tried to ignore his complaining stomach. Neji had never felt someone's stomach rumbling against his. It felt kind of funny. "Hungry?" he inquired.

"No!" Gaara said quickly.

"Sure," he said sarcastically. "When's the last time you ate?"

His playful smile dropped when Gaara dodged his question. "I—I'm not hungry, really!" he said, only to be proven wrong by his stomach again.

"I brought food, you know. My aunt packed us a feast or something," Neji said, leaning down to slide his duffle bag out and pull out one of the several brown paper bags in there. "Here, eat," he said, offering it to him.

"N—no! I'm not hungry, Neji, really! Thanks for—for offering, but I'm not allowed—" Gaara clamped a hand over his mouth and turned his face away from Neji as the older boy sat up a little.

"Not allowed?" Neji asked, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"I—I was bad…I didn't listen to dad yesterday and he says I eat too much anyway and—and not eating for a while is good…cause I'm—I'm f—…I eat too much…"

Neji sighed, visibly pained by Gaara words. He placed his hands on either side of Gaara then let them fall on to his own stomach, measuring the distance. He cringed and bit his lip. He was too skinny. Way to skinny. He could feel every bone on Gaara's back. If someone didn't know him, or if he didn't wear such baggy clothes, people would think he was anorexic. Neji remembered the first time he saw Gaara with out his shirt on and how unhealthily skinny he was. It wasn't good, and now he wasn't 'allowed' to eat? He couldn't believe anyone calling Gaara fat, but Gaara still believed everything his father told him, a trait Neji hoped to rid eventually.

"Gaara, you're not fat. Look how much thinner you are then me; that's not healthy! You can get really sick!" Neji said, looking at the back of Gaara's turned head. "You don't think I'm fat, do you?"

"No!" Gaara cried. "You're not fat, you're…you're…you look…" Neji raised an eyebrow in question as Gaara's face turned the same color as his hair, to embarrassed to say what he thought Neji looked. "I am fat…I eat too much."

"I've seen you eat, Gaara, and a bird picks at food more then you do," Neji told him. "You're too thin." He took Gaara's hand, noting the difference between his own and then thin one he was holding. He gently rubbed it, almost afraid he'd break it. "Please? Just one sandwich? It's not like anyone's gonna see…"

Gaara finally turned his head back towards Neji and reached for the bag. He pulled out a lunch meat sandwich, cut in triangles, and started nibbling at one. As he did, Neji's cell phone vibrated in his pocket, causing Gaara to jump. Neji apologized and pulled it out, reaching to him to let him rest back down in his previous position.

"Hello?" Neji said, into the phone as Gaara looked up at him, chewing on the sandwich. "No…no…yeah, he's right here…sure hold on. It's Kankurou," he told Gaara.

Gaara swallowed what was in his mouth and nervously took the phone from Neji with a shaking hand. "Hi," he said quietly.

"What the hell, Gaara! What do you think you're doing?" Kankurou's voice sounded very angry and it made Gaara cringe and bite his lip.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"You damn well should be!" he snapped. "Where the fuck are you?"

"O—o—on—on a b—bus," Gaara said, clearly upset by Kankurou's yelling. "I—I—I'm s—sorry! I—I just…I m—mean...I d—don't, I—"

Neji took the phone away from Gaara, frowning. Gaara hung his head and buried it into Neji's soccer hoodie sniffing slightly. "My god, Kankurou! Chill out!"

"Chill out? Neji you don't fucking understand how bad this is! Dad doesn't know where he is, I don't know where he is! My god, Neji! Don't you get it? He'll fucking kill him!"

"Don't talk to me like that!" Neji said angrily. "I didn't know until he got here that you didn't know. Besides, he can have fun sometimes too! I know you're worried, but you can try to do it a little nicer?" Neji took the receiver away from his mouth for a moment and glanced down at Gaara. "Gaara, breath," he ordered.

Gaara took a shuddering breath, but held it again like he had been, trying not to cry.

"Is he crying?" Kankurou said suddenly. His voice had changed. He now sounded very concerned.

"Yes," Neji said shortly, as Gaara sniffed again and silently hiccupped. Neji hugged him tighter, running his fingers through his red locks.

"….lemme talk to him."

"No!" Neji cried, nearly appalled that Kankurou would even suggest it now.

"What?"

"It's your fault he's upset! Don't worry, he's fine, he's with me. We'll be back later. Don't bother us!" Neji hung up, turned his ringer off and dropped his phone in the open duffle bag. He wrapped both arms around Gaara and nuzzled against him. "Shh….it's ok…take deep breaths. It's ok…"

"No, it not!" Gaara cried, his voice muffled by Neji's hoodie. "K—Kankurou's m—mad at m—me! I—I was b—bad and—and now K—Kankurou hates me!"

Neji sat up in his seat, causing Gaara to slide back to sit on his knees. He stopped Gaara from covering his face in his hands to hide his tears. Gaara stared at the area between them, lower lip trembling until Neji cupped Gaara's face and made him look him in the eye.

"Don't say that. Kankurou does. not. hate. you," Neji said sternly. "Just because people yell doesn't mean they hate you. Kankurou was just worried ok?"

Gaara nodded and hung his head, but Neji didn't think he believed him. They sat in silence for a while as the bus continued down the smooth road. Gaara quietly finished the first triangle of the sandwich, but looked like he was subtly trying to hide the rest. Neji gave him a look and he pulled out another triangle with a sigh. He watched Neji leaned down and pull out his cell phone as it beeped, signaling he had a message. He listened to the message then pressed a button and held it out for Gaara.

"Hey. Gaara, I'm really sorry I yelled at you. And I shouldn't have talked to you like that. Don't be upset, I was just really scared when I woke up and you were here this morning. I want you to have a good time with Neji, ok? You can yell at me later if you want, Kyu already did…what?...oh, Kyu says hi and—hey! Ukon—"

"Hey Birthday boy! Have fun with Neji and don't for get to use—"

There was the sound of someone getting hit and then fighting in the background.

"Hi, Puppy, it's Kyu. Hope you have a good time and—"

"Kyu, gimme the phone."

"I'm talking to Gaara!"

"You're talking to a machine."

"Are you calling me stupid?"

"No! I—uh…um…"

"Kankurou says bye, ok Puppy? He may not have a girlfriend when I get through with him, but he says bye. Bye-bye Puppy! We love you!"

Kyu turned around and gave Kankurou the look of death. He still had Ukon in an upside down head lock and they were both looking at her like frightened little animals. Kankurou dropped Ukon and smiled at her.

"I love you, Kyu," he said.

"Suck up," Ukon muttered from the floor before Kankurou stepped on him.

Kyu turned huffily and went to sit down at a booth. The two boys couldn't see it, but she was silently giggling the whole time. They sat down across from her and Ukon began looking around for some means to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Holy shit!" he cried suddenly in a loud whisper. "Look!"

Kankurou and Kyu turned and saw Itachi walk into the restaurant and sit down at one of the smaller tables. He was still sporting the black eye and busted lip Kankurou had given him. Kankurou and Ukon exchanged glanced then shared an evil grin.

"What happened to Itachi's face?" Kyu asked. "Wait…didn't he get expelled?"

"Yeah," Kankurou said, nodding. "For fighting and carrying drugs."

"Yeah, and get this!" Ukon said leaning forward. "Itachi had bought those drugs from Kankurou that morning."

"You still sell that horrible stuff?" she said, frowning slightly.

"I have to," Kankurou muttered quietly.

Kyu gave Kankurou a small look, then sat back. "Who was Itachi fighting?"

"Kankurou!" Ukon told her.

"Why were you fighting?" Kyu asked.

"Because that bastard was trying to rape Gaara in the middle of school!" Kankurou said angrily, feeling fully justified.

"Gaara?...Your brother?...cute little Gaara—he was trying to do what?" she cried in disbelief.

"This was the second time too," Ukon added. Kankurou gave him a look, but Ukon twitched his eye, letting Kankurou know he knew what he was doing.

Kyu gapped in shock then fixed her fiery glare on Itachi. "That fucking asshole!"

Kankurou and Ukon both exchanged looks of shock. Kankurou had never heard Kyu curse like that, and Ukon knew it was only when she was extremely mad.

"You know what you should do Kyu-chan?" Ukon said suddenly. "You should go up to him and make him nuts."

"I donno…"

"Kyu-chan, you hate Itachi!" Ukon said.

"What?" Kyu said in confusion.

"Exhibit A," Ukon said, holding up a large zip lock bag with a bright pink object inside.

The instant Kyu looked at it, realization dawned on her face and her eyes flared up and she stood angrily, then stormed away. Ukon snickered and put the bag down.

"Uh, Ukon? What's with the shovel?"

"Let's watch come on."

"Where are we?" Gaara asked as they walked. Neji had told him to cover his eyes and not to peek. Guiding him with a hand on each arm was Neji grinning slightly.

"You'll see," Neji assured him. "Big step up."

He helped Gaara up onto something solid. When he was steady, Gaara felt Neji jump up next to him. Whatever they were standing on was uneven and Neji had to catch him a few times because he lost his footing and slipped as they continued to walk.

"I hear water," Gaara said, making sure to keep his eyes covered. "Are we there yet? Can I open my eyes?"

"Soon. We're almost there I promise," Neji said, smiling at Gaara's uncontrollable excitement. He moved Gaara so that he was standing in the exact place he wanted him. "My mom and dad use to bring me where when I was little," Neji told him. He hugged Gaara from behind and rested his chin on the smaller boy's shoulder. "Open your eyes."

"Oh, my GOD! Uchiha Itachi! Holy crap, it's been so long! What happened to your face?"

Itachi looked up when he heard his name and watched as a pretty girl clad completely in different shades of violet walked over to him and sat down. She looked vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't place her name. At the mention of the appearance of his face, he frowned darkly.

"Got in a fight," he muttered. "Who are you?"

"Oh, Itachi! That hurts!" she cried feigning the hurt of his not remembering her. "I know we haven't seen each other in a long time, but my god! I'm Kyu!"

Itachi's mouth dropped open and the fry he had been holding fell back onto his plate. Kyu? This was Kyu? He hadn't seen her since middle school, and hadn't talked to her since elementary school. She'd changed since then…in more places then one.

"Hey," he said, shaking his head slightly.

Kyu giggled. She paused then stood up. "Can you order me something? I need to use the rest room," she said.

Itachi shrugged nonchalantly in his smooth kind of way.

Kankurou glanced over at Ukon as they peered at the table Kyu had just left. "What's going on?" he asked quietly, both oblivious to the waitress standing behind them trying to get their order.

"You're about to see Kyu-chan at her best," Ukon said, an insane grin plastered on his face as he watched Itachi talking to a different waitress.

"What's she gonna do?" Kankurou asked as Itachi's waiter left to place Kyu's order.

"You'll see," Ukon said in a sing song voice as Kyu came back.

The two at the table were laughing at something or other as the waitress brought Kyu's food to the table. She looked down at it, seeming to think hard and then looked up at Itachi with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Itachi, I can't eat this," she said, looking down at her plate which sported a hamburger and fries.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Why?" he asked.

"I have to be a vegetarian," she said, looking away as though she were ashamed.

"Why?"

Kyu bit her lip, looking like she was going to cry and placed the back of her hand over her mouth. "My boyfriend thinks I'm fat!" she cried loudly.

Itachi glanced around the restaurant as its occupants all turned to see who had just cried out in hiccupping tears. "You're not fat!" Itachi told her. "You're like this skinny!" he added, holding his hands about eight inches away from each other.

"And you think I'm anorexic!" she screeched.

"What? No I don't!" Itachi cried, as more and more people turned and stared at them.

"Oh, my god! You just said I was this skinny!" Kyu cried, holding her hands out.

"I was complimenting you!"

"Oh, that's a hell of a way to compliment someone! I get enough grief from my boyfriend, you know! You could be a little more supportive instead of an insensitive jerk!"

"I am not an insensitive jerk—"

"Yes you are!"

"Look, if this is about that damn shovel—"

"OH! Oh! You had to bring up the shovel!" she screeched angrily. "I was forgetting about that! I was starting to forgive you! But NO! You had to bring it up! You bastard!"

Getting up, she stormed away, then came back and smacked Itachi with her purse. Itachi got up and stormed after her as she headed towards the bathrooms.

"What the hell Kyu?" he cried. "It was just a shovel! And we were five! God!"

"Don't, 'god' me!" she snapped. "You scarred me for LIFE, Itachi! I can't believe you!"

Reaching out, she smacked him across the face then grabbed his shirt and shoved him into the girl's bathroom and locked the door from the outside. Ignoring the feminine screams from the inside of the bathroom and Itachi's pleads to be let out, Kyu turned and stalked back to the two waiting boys.

"Dude, Kyu! You just bitch-slapped Itachi!" Kankurou said, holding his sides.

"Bastard had it coming," she snapped, with a pouting glare.

"Kyu-chan I'm so glad you're on our side," Ukon said, banging his fist on the table.

The three of them stood and walked out, telling the people to leave their check with Itachi. Rain clouds were rolling across the sky so they helped Kyu put up her roof, then drove to Ukon's house and watched movies the rest of the afternoon, thoroughly enjoying themselves as the rain poured outside.