Lost and Found
By: Junsui Kegasu
A/N: I need...to...catch up...to...Vindicated!
Disclaimer: Don' own it.
Chapter Seven
Kankurou didn't think he'd ever say it, but he was grateful for their suspension. Gaara definitely needed to stay home; the last confrontation had left him with a fever of 103. So, now, he didn't have to worry about leaving him here alone.
Surprisingly enough, their 'father' hadn't said a word to them before going to drink his sorrows away. Kankurou thought he would finish business with him, but all he had done was send a glare across the room, which only he had detected. Gaara was still asleep, or unconscious. Either way, he hadn't seen it.
Furrowing his brow, which was for one not painted over with the FACE STUFF (:COUGHANIMEGIRL189COUGH:) that he usually wore, he once again thought back on why he hadn't been beaten into a bloody pulp.
He couldn't really remember, but he thought he remembered a flash of red before their father had been knocked off of him.
Had Gaara come and rescued him? He didn't think his brother had the courage, but he wouldn't not believe in him. He was taking a big step doing something like that, though. Gaara had always shriveled back in fear where the man was concerned.
There had to have been something else other than getting into trouble at school that happened...and he knew it was important...
He just couldn't for the life of him remember what yesterday had been. He'd probably feel bad later if and when he remembered, but whatever. For now, he had to worry about getting the redhead to wake up before the demon grew impatient.
What was beyond him was how their 'father' had managed to seal a demon into the infant and still keep his mother happy. I mean, he couldn't have done it discreetly; one of the side effects was his insomnia!
Sighing, he winced at the pain in his own back. Gaara had actually gotten off a lot easier than Kankurou had thought, with more large, dark bruises and welts than cuts or abrasions. That perplexed him also. Gaara had been up there for...well, maybe it had just seemed like hours.
It was all quite confusing to him, so he decided to just stop thinking and watch his brother.
...But WHY couldn't he remember what yesterday was! Maybe if he knew the date, it wouldn't bother him so much, but there was just this nagging feeling that something important happened on the date of yesterday. ...Whatever that was.
His head snapped up as he heard a small sound from the redhead next to him. Gaara rolled over, which was probably quite painful due to a nasty bruise on his side, and with a sharp intake of breath, woke up.
"Hey..."
"Hi..."
They sat like that for a while, Gaara trying to collect himself, which he generally had to do after sleeping, and Kankurou still trying to figure out what yesterday was.
He didn't want to ask Gaara, because he was afraid that if something bad had happened that he SHOULD remember, but right now couldn't, he'd offend the smaller boy.
"Kankurou...is...I mean...Was..." he mumbled something incoherent.
"Hm? Go on, you can ask. I won't ridicule you or anything" (Ooo...Kanky used big words! ((put in for the sharp reaction she knows she will get from her cousin)))
"Was...was it my fault...that Mom died...?" He said softly, almost inaudibly.
Something went off in Kankurou's head. THAT'S what yesterday had been! How could he have forgotten something that important! Yesterday had marked the day that, exactly 11 years ago, their mother had died saving her toddler from an oncoming car.
"NO! Never! Don't you EVER think like that, Gaara! EVER." he said firmly. He believed it, too. It hadn't been Gaara's fault he was where he was; and mom didn't have to have saved him. It wasn't an obligation, but it had been her final act of love.
Gaara sighed and looked down, playing with his hands. "He...he didn't come at you again, did he?" he asked, changing the subject.
Kankurou shook his head. "No, but you got off okay this time."
Gaara nodded blankly. "Yeah...I guess...But...that's 'cause...I tried fending him off."
If Kankurou hadn't any dignity, his jaw would have dropped to the floor. "Y-you did! That's GREAT Gaara! That's awesome for you!"
A small flush tinted the pale cheeks. "I was just...so afraid...so I let my body go on auto-pilot, or whatever..."
Kankurou grinned, and pulled his smaller brother into a gentle hug, so as not to disturb the bruises.
Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door. Both brothers exchanged glances. Their father wouldn't knock, so who was it?
Kankurou stood up to go check, since Gaara was currently wearing nothing but a large t-shirt that had a stretched neckline, so it showed a good portion down his chest and a pair of pajama pants. He himself wore pajama pants, but his shirt didn't have such a stretched neck, so he went.
Yes, their logic defies all logic. But who cares?
He was surprised to find Neji at the door.
"...You remembered where we live?"
"Yup! Hi! Hope you don't mind this so early!"
"No, of course not", he said, glancing at the clock. It was only 8:30? "Just, hold on before coming in, Gaara and I should probably change out of pajamas..." he said, flashing a sheepish grin before leaving Neji to go get him and his brother dressed.
"Oy, Gaara! Temari washed your pants! I'll still give ya a shirt, okay?"
Gaara mumbled his response, but Kankurou didn't really care about what it was; the boy wouldn't refuse clothing. He tossed the clothing items over the landing, where they landed near the couch and left to go up to his room to change.
Gaara sweatdropped. So he was changing down here in the living room? He glanced around to make sure all the blinds were closed before quickly pulling on the pants, noting that the pain in his ankle had subsided to a dull ache. He easily pulled the whitish grey shirt over his head and slipped Kankurou's on just as easily.
He scowled. This shirt must have been big on Kankurou, because the neck opening almost went to the edge of his shoulders and a bit far down. Oh well. His brother was being generous lending him clothing.
Rolling up the sleeves of the large shirt, he stood up to test out his ankle. To his surprise, he could walk fairly easily on it, and only with a slight limp. He quickly limped up the stairs to go claim the bathroom before Kankurou.
Brushing his teeth didn't take too long, and he quickly wet down his hair to tame his bed head.
By this time, Kankurou had started banging on the door. Rolling his eyes, he quickly pulled it open and stepped out.
"Who was at the door?"
"Neji. Let him in now, okay?"
The redhead nodded, then limped back down the stairs to the front door.
Upon opening it, he found Neji with a 'dot eye' face.
"Hi."
"..."
"..."
Silence.
"...Wanna come in?"
"...Sure."
Where said silence was coming from, Gaara had no clue. But Neji did.
'HOW DID HE MANAGE TO DO THAT IN A MINUTE FLAT!'
"So...anything you wanna do today? Are you two in trouble?"
"Actually, not really. I don't think so anyways. I don't know what I want to do."
"What about the mall or something?"
"I guess that'd work. I haven't been to one in a while...Kankurou says I need new clothes."
"Mm. So, the mall?"
"Let's see. KANKUROU, WANNA GO TO THE MALL WITH NEJI?" he suddenly shouted, shocking the crap out of Neji, who had no idea the petite freshman beside him could possibly vocalize that loud.
"SURE! WE NEED TO GET YOU CLOTHES THOUGH!" came the just-as-loud shout from somewhere upstairs.
The redhead sighed. "FINE."
Neji stared. He seemed so open at home. At school, he looked so paranoid of the world around him. He actually found it kind of cute...
Wait. He did NOT just call the new student at school cute. He had long ago accepted that he was either homo or bisexual, but he still didn't want to pressure either of them with these feelings.
Silence sunk in for a few more minutes, as Kankurou was taking quite a while in the bathroom.
Neji took this time to examine the 'object of his affections'. He really didn't look like he should be out of the house, he concluded. His face was slightly flushed, and there were a couple bruises on the side of his head. He must've gotten sick or something.
It was then Kankurou decided to tromp (:giggle: That's a funny word...tromp...) down the stairs rather noisily and walk over to the pair.
"Hey, Neji." he said, grinning through his FACE STUFF.
"Hi. So...the mall it is?"
"Yeah. Just one thing." he whipped out a thermometer from nowhere and stood in front of Gaara.
"Open, please." he said, cheerfully.
Gaara stared.
"You had a fever this morning, I'm just checking if it went down."
"...Oh." he opened his mouth just enough for the older boy to stick the thermometer under his tongue before snapping it shut.
He sighed and turned to Neji. "Gaara doesn't like thermometers. He used to have a lot of fevers as a younger child, so now he doesn't really care for them at all."
"Mamm Meii!" (Damn Strait)
Both boys laughed at Gaara's attempt to join into the conversation. Kankurou popped the thermometer out of his mouth. "Thank you."
He read the small little red line (random note: I WANNA PLAY WITH MERCURY! DUDE, THAT'D BE FUN!) then smiled.
"It went down to 101, so you're fine to go."
"Are you sure he's okay to go?" Neji asked, concerned.
"Yeah, he'll be okay. He really needs new clothes..."
"I don't know, Kankurou...101 is kind of high..."
"Well...Gaara, do you want to go, still?"
Gaara swallowed, hesitating. In truth, he felt really dizzy and still was experiencing the consequences his body gave him from sleeping, but he didn't want to worry either Neji nor Kankurou.
"I'm fine." he said, forcing a small smile.
Kankurou glanced at him suspiciously before standing up. "Alright then. Are we walking?"
Neji blinked in surprise. "No, it's way too far. Unless you have a car, we'll be taking a TARTA bus."
Gaara paled. TARTA buses were internationally known, so he knew of those from Sunaga. He could get very claustrophobic on those.
"Well...I don't know if TARTA is the best way to go..." Kankurou trailed off, again glancing at the redhead.
Neji gave him a questioning glance.
"Gaara tends to get very claustrophobic on TARTA's..."
Neji's face fell. "Oh...well, I suppose-"
Gaara interrupted him. "I'll be fine. It's early, so hardly anyone will be on."
They began walking again. Gaara trailed behind, pale hands clenched into fists at his sides. He hated having people have to adjust their lives to him. He really was nothing more than a burden...their father was right...
"Gaara?"
His head snapped up.
"Are you sure you're okay? Come on, try to catch up." Kankurou said, worried.
He nodded, and then jogged (as much as his leg would allow it) up to where Neji and Kankurou were walking before falling into pace with them.
They soon reached a TARTA bus sign, but it didn't have a bench, so they stood. Fifteen minutes later, approximately, the bus came down the corner. Kankurou dug two dollar bills he had from his pocket and handed Gaara one. Neji had his own bus card, so he just scanned that into the scanner while Gaara and Kankurou fought to get their crumpled bills into the box.
Finally, the bus driver, fed up with their time usage viciously snatched the bills from the hands of the two teenagers.
This did not have a very pleasant effect on Gaara, who automatically flinched and half put his arms up to defend himself from what he thought was another blow.
Kankurou glared at the driver, then pulled Gaara into the main part of the bus.
Which they now noticed, was very, very full of Jr. Highschool children. Some of them were already standing.
Neji stood towards the back of the bus, which was required, in a crowd of giggling girls among others.
"LIKE, OMIGOD, LOOK HOW CUTE HE IS!" One of the proclaimed, pointing at Gaara. Her posse made cooing noises at the redhead.
Kankurou sweatdropped, half jealous.
"Jesus Christ, Gaara! They really think you're cute!" he said, in an almost joking manor.
Gaara blushed and looked down at his feet, mumbling something akin to a protest. All of a sudden, the bus lurched, sending Gaara, who was too short to grab the bar, flying in Neji.
Blushing, Neji held the small boy close for a moment, until the bus got back onto smooth pavement, when he realized he still held him.
"Th-thanks…" the redhead managed to stammer, pushing himself up to barely grasp the bar. The whole time, he couldn't help but think that he really hadn't minded being held. He hadn't minded being held yesterday, either. It was so odd. He didn't quite comprehend it himself at the moment.
He didn't have much more time for thinking, as the bus stopped in front of a large, orange building and all the students got off. Neji grabbed a seat and motioned for him to do the same. The entire time, he was waving his arms wildly, explaining all the gossip. They waited for him to finish, not understanding a word.
When he was, Kankurou grinned.
"You like riding this bus in the morning, don't you?"
Neji smiled. "Yeah, I guess I do. It's quite entertaining."
A/N: HA! AFTER THE LONG AWAITEDNESS, I HAVE COMPLETED THIS! This is actually before I expected to, because my dad is home all this weekend, and so I've been afraid to type. So...yeah. I was expecting to finish on Monday morning. GO ME! I BEAT MY DEADLINE!
Reviews of doom:
spork ai - Yeah...it does kind of seem like something out of a rape story...but it's not. I just went REALLY morbid there. So yeah, he wasn't raped. As for death, you reviewers get to do that. You'll see. I had fun with Tsunade; it amused me. I felt like being really humorous with the entire Temari being really mad at Neji thing. I'm sure none of us would mind it to be true...
Dragon Man 180 - :sigh: If only it was that simple. Do not worry; you shall get to kill him later. And it shall be quite amusing. Bwahaha...
Sabaku-no-Gaara-sand-nin - ...Your sister didn't SEEM evil...maybe that's just me. Whoa. You liked the story so much you were almost late to school because of it! I feel special...
Hkokuryuha - I'm glad you like it! I updateeeedd! Not very quickly though...
TheFutureFreaksMeOut - OMIGOD. I LOVE YOUR STORY. I'm sorry, I had to say that. I love it A LOT. Anyways, Temari calling Neji a sex offender was quite amusing. I liked it, everyone else liked it...
Hurricane-rider - What can I say, I luff torturing j00. :sadistic grin: But! This one's longer! REJOICE!
Fantastical Queen Ebony Black - Yeah...they'd really freak out. As I'm writing this, I'm being really skittish as to where my father is so he can't see me...Curse you family computer...Thankies for the compliment about my age. It's quite amusing, online, people don't think I'm 12. They're like 'No. Way.'. It's so funny.
someone - OMIGOD. YOU REIVEWED. I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! Good job Kankurou, good job...
spirit element - Yes, yes. I'm not a younger sibling, but family is good! Don't worry, you as a reviewer will kill him...
Chronic fever- GO PERVERSION! Dude, KankyGaa rocks my socks. I love that pairing so much...I like odd pairings. But a love triangle? Nah, not for this story!
Kurisuteru-chan - I know...it's so sad...SO WHY DO I WRITE IT? UWAAAHH! I don't KNOW! But it makes me sob too...I hope this is soon n.n;;
Taaa DA! Now, click the pretty button or die.
Also...Please don't pressure me too much for fast updates...because I had a small case of writer's block, and with my family issues right now, it's quite difficult. So...yeah...thank you! Bai bais!