Lost and Found
By: Junsui Kegasu
A/N: (YAWN!) Starting this chapter…right after I wake up…on the first day of school…ahh…need…coffee! KANKY-CHAN MA- …Oh, she's gone…
Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'cept a tube of eyeliner.
Note: There's a flashback in this chapter, so you know the drill: Flashbacks are in italics.
Four days seemed to go at an antagonizing pace for the Sabaku siblings. Perhaps this was because that since Kankurou's recent act of defiance, all three of them were in highly potential danger.
Yes, potential danger.
However, Kankurou realized something: He could fight back. And he could protect his siblings, so he would. He had already realized that his stunt would probably have earned Gaara and him death. However, he also found out that he and his father were pretty equally matched and any time the man (usually drunk) would go after Gaara, he'd fight him off, earning himself quite a few bruises, but keeping Gaara safe and actually managing to harm his father.
Today was Tuesday. Yesterday in school, Neji had been curious to why Kankurou had a black eye. The older teen only grinned and said it was a battle scar he was proud of. The rest of the school figured he had gotten into another fight.
Kankurou had no idea that his little brother and Neji were an item. Gaara was unsure about how to break the news to either of them, feeling that they would reject them.
"Don't worry about it," Neji told him as they walked to the school together. "They wouldn't reject you. They'd probably be really happy that you're in a relationship."
Gaara thought about this for a while and realized that Neji was probably right. They had scheduled their date tomorrow at his house, when his father wouldn't be home.
"So," Neji asked Gaara as they were walking out of the school, "When do you think we'd be able to go on, you know, a date? My house probably isn't a good idea…Hanabi…ugh…" "We could…" Gaara started, trailing off. "We could…go to m-my house…but it'd have t-to be on a Wednesday."
"What's with the Wednesday?" Neji asked, remembering before that Kankurou said Wednesday was the only good day for him to come over.
"Well…Dad always goes out to a lot of bars and gets real drunk from 8 in the morning one day to 12 the next," Gaara explained, almost hesitantly, as if this new accumulation of knowledge would make Neji reject him.
"…Oh…" was all Neji managed to say, actually hoping that one of those drinking binges would end with the man's death.
"But…" Gaara spoke again, so quietly that Neji almost couldn't hear him, which he suspected was the goal. "We have that math test on Thursday…and I really suck at math…if I fail it, Dad'll kill me…" he muttered, trailing off.
"Hey, you know, if you want, I can help you in math while I'm over there," Neji provided. "It's one of my better subjects." He smiled at the flustered look on Gaara's face. "I know, interesting thing for a first date, but if you're worried about it, I want to help," he told him.
Gaara didn't speak for a while, as if he was considering if Neji should help him with his math or not. Finally, he nodded, and Neji beamed, nearly embracing him again, but they had long since reached the doors, not bothering to step outside in their conversation.
Wednesday…why couldn't it come sooner? In truth, Gaara was as excited as he was nervous about his first date. True, he should've been studying for the math test on his own, because he didn't deserve Neji's help, but he couldn't help looking forward to some alone-time with the older boy.
But, he needed to tell his siblings first. There was no avoiding it. He'd have to do it after school today.
Gaara pulled all his things from his locker and wormed his way to his first hour class, plunking himself into his chair and resting his chin on the stack. Iruka-sensei, as he had been doing yesterday, as well, went over and asked Gaara how he was doing.
"I'm fine," he told him, smiling.
Iruka blinked. "Well…you look fine…you haven't been skateboarding recently?" he asked skeptically at the lack of new bruises over Gaara's thin frame.
"N-no…my skateboard broke," he lied.
"Ah, well, that's no fun! I hope you can buy another one soon," Iruka told him, but Gaara was sure that was fake. The man had too much of a parental urge to want him to buy another skateboard that he repeatedly managed to bruise himself with.
The bell rang and Iruka started roll call, bringing Gaara to attention.
Neji stared at the clock on the wall; already wishing it was 2:25 instead of 7:46. Actually, he wished it were 2:25 on Wednesday. He was looking forward to he and Gaara's date immensely. He'd show Gaara what love was.
Whoa, where did that thought come from? Either way, it was making him blush like a lunatic!
"Hyuuga Neji!"
"Mm…" Neji managed, and then remembered that it was roll call and blinked. He needed to stay focused. The teacher ran through the rest of the names and Neji sat with his chin on his hand, lost in his thoughts.
What would he and Gaara do on their first date? Obviously, they wouldn't get very far…Gaara seemed very shy, and he didn't want to push the redhead into doing anything he didn't want to.
Neji realized with a jolt that avoiding that would be more difficult than anything. Gaara was used to being pushed around and not getting what he wanted. Would he think Neji to be the same as their father? How could he show them that there was a big difference?
He tried to get himself to snap out of it. All he and Gaara were going to do on their date was study for that math test. Sure, it wasn't that romantic, but Neji remembered that Gaara had never been in a relationship before and that a member of his own family beat him on a daily basis.
A lot of people would say that was high maintenance and therefore, Gaara wasn't worth their time, but Neji begged to differ. What the boy needed was someone patient who was willing to show him that everything would be all right; someone other than his family, because his family had probably told him that all his life and it wasn't getting him anywhere.
Was he a key in this entire ordeal?
Gaara stared at the clock; almost dreading it's descent onto 2:25. He was afraid of telling his siblings he was prepared to go on a date with Neji. What if they rejected him?
A hopeful part of him was sure that they wouldn't, but years of pessimism implanted into his brain told him not to believe that. He was scared, afraid of telling them what was going on.
Wouldn't they react better, though, if he told them instead of them walking in on he and Neji? They probably would, but it would probably just be a matter of not hitting him and doing what their father would do.
But Kankurou and Temari would never hit him. They had made that clear before.
He would just have to chance it, then. If they rejected him, maybe he could live with Neji, and they'd be happy and his father would never hurt him again.
Gaara tried to keep this thought in mind as the bell rang and he scooped up his stuff and ran from the room.
As usual, the two people on either side of his locker were already there, obscuring the tiny orange compartment from view, much less access. Gaara patiently waited, even though his textbooks were beginning to make his thin arms ache.
Finally, the two boys moved and Gaara undid his lock and quickly shoved all his things into his bag, thinking for just a second to grab his math book from the top compartment. Thankfully, his was lower, so this was no problem.
Finally done, he looked around. He'd go find his siblings. He walked down the hall a little, struggling under the weight of all the books he was carrying from class (regardless if he needed them at home or not) as well as his math book.
He found Kankurou first; Temari must have been off somewhere. The older teen was currently fighting with his lock, doing the combination (or, at least what he must've thought was the combination.) and when the lock wouldn't come undone, scowling and kicking the orange metal. Gaara had a feeling the dent near the bottom was the result of his brother's annoyance.
"K-kankurou?" he started, hopefully loud enough for the brunette to hear him.
"Hm?" he answered without turning around, doing his combination again.
"Um…w-well, first of all…y-you need to g-go past zero three times for that lock." That was a good save.
"…I know what I'm doing!" Kankurou said, but as he did so, was careful to turn the dial past zero three times before doing the combination. It came undone very easily.
"…Okay, okay, shut up, you were right…" he mumbled, jamming his stuff into his bag. The halls were almost empty now, but they didn't care, since they walked home.
"Um…K-kankurou…th-there's something I n-need to tell you…" he started again, trying to steel his nerves. The rhythm of his heart against his chest wasn't very reassuring.
Kankurou turned to face him, blinking while shouldering his bag. "Uh-huh? You can tell me anything," he reassured the boy, kicking his locker shut and doing the lock back on, not bothering to check if it had really locked.
"Um…w-well…y-you know Neji?" he said, quietly, staring down at his feet, both of which turned in, like a duck's. (Hey, shut up, that's how I stand. And I like to walk on the sides of my feet. I don't know why. Oh, and curl my toes in when I stand. My dad says it looks very uncomfortable, but it's actually very nice)
The older teen's brow furrowed. "Uh-huh…yeah…what about him?" he said casually.
"Well…u-u-uhm….uhm…w-well….we-we're….we're…"
"You can tell me, Gaara," Kankurou told him. He looked kind of worried.
"We're…we're…um…." He muttered something so quietly, he was sure Kankurou couldn't hear it.
"…Come again? I'm not gonna hurt you, come on!" Dark green eyes blinked, confused.
"Well…well……meandnejiaretogether," he said, so quickly, he almost hoped his brother didn't get it.
It took the older teen a minute of thought before he really got it.
"WHOA!" he exclaimed, smacking a hand to his face.
"I'M SORRY!" Gaara countered, flinching away. Kankurou sounded angry.
"No, dude, I'm not mad! This is great for you!" the older teen told him, beaming. He reached forward, and enveloped his much smaller brother into a bear hug that threatened to crush his ribs.
'…I can't believe he's so accepting! That was almost too easy!'
Kankurou's day had been boring. Very, very boring. He was glad to get to his locker, knowing that soon, he'd be going home. Of course, if his father was home, home wouldn't be any better than school, but at least it wasn't boring.
No, home was the kind of eventful that you wished there was a calm between the storms.
It took him a moment to realize, in his thoughts, that he was tugging on his lock, but it wasn't coming undone. He could've sworn he'd spun the dial. He did his combination again, yanking on the little mechanism. Again, it didn't give way.
"Oh, come on, now!" he exclaimed aloud, trying again. This time, when it wouldn't come undone, he kicked the locker, which was already dented from frustration over the period of time they had been at school. He had never been good with locks. Damn requirements…
Was someone saying his name?
"Hm?" he took a guess, acknowledging whoever was behind him.
"Um…w-well, first of all…y-you need to g-go past zero three times for that lock." It was Gaara; Kankurou could tell by the stutter and nervousness to tell him to do something differently.
"…I know what I'm doing!" He snapped, flustered. He could do this! He'd been doing it since they had come here! …Wait, three times? Oh, yeah… He made a careful attempt to turn it, although was very begrudged when the locker popped open easily.
"…Okay, okay, shut up, you were right…" he mumbled, jamming his stuff into his bag. The halls were almost empty now, but they didn't care, since they walked home. Plus, the halls were always so full of shitheads, Kankurou was glad for the empty space.
"Um…K-kankurou…th-there's something I n-need to tell you…" Gaara was saying. Just the way he was saying it worried the older teen. He turned to face the redhead, pulling his heavy bag onto one shoulder at the same time.
"Uh-huh? You can tell me anything," he told Gaara, who he knew wouldn't tell him if he didn't think Kankurou would enjoy hearing from him.
"Um…w-well…y-you know Neji?" Gaara asked quietly. He seemed to be finding his shoes very interesting. Kankurou didn't see why, they were just a pair of black converse. Gaara hadn't even scribbled all over them.
"Uh-huh, what about him?" he asked, trying to sound casual. The way Gaara was acting, it seemed like Neji had hurt him or something. But, then again, he remembered that if Neji had hurt Gaara, Gaara wouldn't be saying anything at all out of fear. It was the redhead's instinct.
"Well…u-u-uhm….uhm…w-well….we-we're….we're…"
"You can tell me, Gaara," he said, worried at the increase in his brother's stutter. Had Neji hurt him?
"We're…we're…um…." He muttered something so quietly, Kankurou couldn't make out what it was.
"…Come again? I'm not gonna hurt you, come on!" he told him, trying to coax him to talk. It's what Gaara needed.
"Well…well……meandnejiaretogether," he said, so quickly, again, Kankurou almost didn't get it.
He replayed it in his head for a moment.
Meandnejiaretogether
Me…Neji…together…
Me and Neji are together.
"WHOA!" he exclaimed, smacking a hand to his face, amazed at his own stupidity.
"I'M SORRY!" Gaara countered, flinching away. His outburst must have scared him.
"No, dude, I'm not mad! This is great for you!" he said, trying to stifle and immense hatred for Hyuuga Neji at the moment. He'd need to have a word with him.
'Hyuuga Neji, I think I might just kill you…'
Neji craned his neck, trying to look over the crowd. It was hard to miss Gaara, with his shockingly colored hair.
'I wonder if that's dyed…' he thought absently, thinking that he'd ask him when he saw him next. Had Gaara already left the grounds? He didn't think so; Temari was still hanging out with a girl he knew, Ten Ten. Gaara wouldn't have left without her, or Kankurou, but he couldn't see the brunette either.
'Well, it's harder to catch him in a crowd…' he thought, again. 'His hair color's pretty common, but he's also pretty tall.'
He started sifting his way through the crowd, making his way closer to the doors in case they were inside, still. Just as he'd fought past the most violent part of the crowd, a group of people obviously in a gang (They kept shouting "SOUTH SIDE!" in excited voices.) he saw them. Gaara exited first, and he had the largest grin on his face that Neji had ever seen. He had never seen Gaara smile so openly; it made a big difference.
After him was Kankurou, who was also smiling, but his eyes seemed searching. For a moment, brown met white and Neji could've sworn he saw something menacing pass through Kankurou's gaze, which made him shudder.
He watched as Kankurou told Gaara something, and the redhead nodded and went off in Temari's direction. Neji was about to follow him, but he saw the older teen walking towards him, looking very casual, but something about the walk scared Neji.
"Uh…h-hi, Kankurou," he started, unsure why he was so nervous.
"Dude…you're…dating my brother," Kankurou told him slowly.
"U-uh…yep!"
There was a pause.
"…You're dating my brother!" he repeated.
"I know! What, is it wrong to be gay?" Neji asked, somewhat annoyed.
"No, it's not that, but you're dating my brother!" This was beginning to get confusing.
"Well, yeah, I don't know anyone else who's brother I'd date!" Neji snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.
Kankurou advanced again and Neji closed his eyes, waiting to get punched.
"Dude, you didn't ask me!"
Neji blinked, and stared at Kankurou.
"A-ask you?" he managed, confused.
"Yeah! You didn't ask me if you could date my brother!" Kankurou repeated, crossing his arms over his chest.
Neji kept staring at the older teen. There was something seriously wrong with the brunette. "Um…I'm sorry?"
"Oh, it's okay, as long as he's happy and –" he grabbed Neji's shirt. "If you break my brother's heart, I'm gonna kick yer ass!"
Since Kankurou was very scary sounding, Neji yelped, shaking a little. "I won't! I wont! Never!" he said, truthfully. "I don't have the heart to hurt him in any way possible! I'm practically afraid that if I touch him the wrong way he'll shatter!" he admitted, somewhat against his will.
Kankurou blinked and dropped him. "R-really?"
"Yeah! He's so…so…fragile…" Neji tried to explain, flustered that he had shared that little bit of information. People were beginning to give them odd looks.
"You…you really care about him…" Kankurou said, as if he was surprised. "That's…wow…Neji…dude…you have permission to date my brother!"
"I NEVER ASKED YOU!"
Yay! Writers' block: GONE!