A/N: As promised, here is chapter 10. A lot has changed since chapter 1, as I slowly worked my way into the concrete plot you see unfolding before you. This was the bitch chapter to write, let me tell you now. As you can see, the rating went up. This is for suicide and child abuse. If these things offend you, than please, please, PLEASE read no further. I beg of you, the last thing I want is to offend someone. You have been warned.
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"Hey, Yashamaru...sorry for coming back here so late. Gai brought Kakashi home really drunk, so we decided to come back here."
Lee stared at his friend as they walked through the door. That was the most he had ever heard the quiet redhead say.
"He's probably sleeping", Lee offered when they got no response.
"No. I don't think so...", Gaara's green eyes scanned his house.
"What happened here?", Lee asked.
The house was in shambles. The couch was thrown over, it looked like things had been went through. Gaara could see the kitchen table flipped on it's side. There was a knife and broken glass on the floor, and in the midst of all that.
"Yashamaru!" Gaara ran into the kitchen. His uncle was lying curled on the floor, his hands wrapped around his side.
While Gaara checked on his uncle, Lee called the police and an ambulance.
"Come on, wake up", Gaara whispered, turning the blond man onto his back. His uncle was bleeding steadilly from a wound on his size that looked like it came from a knife as well as what looked like a bullet hole in his thigh. "Yashamaru"
Yashamaru's eyes fluttered open, the normally expressive purple orbs dull and glossy. "Gaara...get out of here...She might still be here..."
Gaara flinched. His uncle's voice was very weak and he couldn't miss the pain in it. Yashamaru was really hurting badly.
"Who?", the redhead demanded. "Who did this to you?" He was mentally planning a slow, painful, agonizing death to who ever it was that had dared to harm his kind-hearted uncle.
"Just go, Gaara. Hurry up." His voice sounded weaker and desprate.
"I called the cops and they're sending an ambulance", Lee said, stepping into the kitchen. "Are his wounds bad?"
"Shh...not so loud, Lee", Gaara scolded.
"We've got to get him out of here...", Lee whispered
"Yes, because we can just move someone who is bleeding", Gaara rolled his eyes. He stood up and moved to the refridgerator to pull down the first aid kit.
"What do you want me to do? How can I help?", Lee asked, kneeling beside Yashamaru.
"I'll bandage him up. You go outside and wait for the cops."
Lee stood up and wiped his hands on his jeans. "Alright", he agreed.
"You're not going anywhere."
The boys turned around and saw a girl from Temari's class pointing a gun at them. Her name, Gaara remembered, was Tenshi. She had Temari had done a project together earlier in the year.
"Don't either of you move" Tenshi shifted the gun so that it was on Lee.
Lee put his hands up in the air. Gaara, who now stood beside him, quickly swatted them down.
"Why are you doing this?", Gaara asked
Tenshi opened her mouth to speak to them, but was cut off by the sounds of sirens approaching.
For a moment, it looked like Tenshi was going to drop the gun. Her face went pale, and she was shaking. Then, without warning, she started shooting.
Lee and Gaara threw themselves on the ground as shot after shot went off. It felt like they remained frozen on the ground for an eternity, even though it couldn't have been more than a few seconds. Vauguely, Lee thought he could hear the voices of police officers outside.
As quickly as it had started, the shooting stopped. Lee peeked his eyes open. Tenshi now had the gun pressed against her own temple. "No!", he screamed.
Tenshi ignored him and pulled the trigger. There was no way she would let herself be caught...
A short while later, after an unconscious Yashamaru had been put on a stretcher and the three of them where on their way to the hospital, Lee felt Gaara put his hand on his shoulder. His dark eyes locked onto the mint green ones of his friend. Gaara had an uncharacteristically gentle look on his face.
"Are you alright?", Gaara asked.
"I..." Lee trailed off. He was what? He was going to tell Gaara he was alright, but he couldn't. He wasn't bleeding or seriously injured, but he definitely wasn't "alright". He wouldn't be "alright" for a while. No, after seeing Tenshi kill herself infront of him, he would probably have nightmares for weeks.
Gaara stiffened as Lee's long, skinny arms locked around him without warning. The black-haired youth was crying on his shoulder. It made Gaara think back to the last time he had cried-eight years ago, when he had been six. His father had finally snapped, had finally had the last straw. He had killed their mother and then beaten Kankuro senseless before turning the knife he'd killed their mother with on himself.
He remembered all the blood everywhere and Temari screaming and the police coming and taking him and his sister away to go live with their uncle. He remembered Yashamaru's grief-stricken face as he was told his sister had been killed by her husband and how he had put his grief aside to comfort Gaara and Temari. He could still picture his uncle smiling at them as he promised they would go visit Kankuro in the hospital and get him a really nice get-well present-as soon as they had eaten just a few bites of their dinner.
Most of all, Gaara remembered how safe he had felt wrapped in Yashamaru's arms as he sobbed, his face pressed against his young uncle's chest, the young man silent, gently stroking his hair.
Feeling a little self-conscious Gaara lifted his hand and brushed it lightly against Lee's hair, surprised at how soft and silky it felt under his fingers. As the minutes passed and Lee's sobs quieted, Gaara found he didn't find comforting Lee as ackward as he thought he should have.
He glanced at Lee and saw that the dark-haired boy had fallen asleep. His face was pale, lips slightly parted, tears still clinging to his long eyelashes. He knew many people considered the boy unattractive, but fast asleep, with the moonlight streaming in onto his pale skin, Gaara had never seen anyone so beautiful.
A protective feeling washed over him, frightening him as much as it intrigued him. He glanced once more at the soft light on Lee's face and realized Lee ment a whole lot more to him than he was comfortable admitting.
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"Wakey wakey, eggs and bacey", a sweet-sounding voice chimed.
Sasuke opened his eyes and saw someone gazing down at him. A nurse, by the look of her uniform, but she was definitely younger than any nurse he had seen.
"My, my, my. You are an attractive one. I think you're actually better-looking than Itachi..."
Sasuke's fatigue lifted off him in an istant at the mention of his brother's name.
"Who are you?", he demanded, staring at her levelly.
The girl laughed. She had to give him credit. Not many people would behave so calmly after being woken up by strange people in the night, especially when their legs are in traction.
"My name's Hanabi. Tell me, how are things between you and Naruto?"
Sasuke couldn't stop the blush from creeping into his pale cheeks. That was all Hanabi needed.
"It's thanks to your brother that you're together, isn't it?", Hanabi asked.
"What does that matter?", Sasuke asked, thought he knew she was right. Itachi had, after all, set the two of them up.
"Well, you see, my big sister has a huge crush on Naruto. So you can imaging how upset she was when she overheard your brother talking to that stuck-up redhead, telling him about the cute blond that's been coming over and how he was going to set the two of you up."
Sasuke didn't have to think hard to know that she was talking about Sasori. Sasori, if Sasuke remembered clearly, had come to school half of the Friday before his date with Naruto to discuss his up-coming date with Deidara. Sasuke had had no idea Itachi had been planning to set him up with Naruto so far in advance.
Hanabi smiled at the horrified panic that flashed through his dark eyes. Sasuke reached for the small box placed directly in his reach-the nurse call button.
"Why isn't it working?", Sasuke muttered to himself.
Hanabi showed him the cut cord. "You've been disconnected. That won't work."
Sasuke dropped the remote, defeat in his eyes. It was over for him. No doubt Hanabi had locked the door. If he screamed, he'd be dead before the nurses got the door open.
"You're Hinata's little sister, right?", he asked, thinking very quickly. "Do you think Hinata would like it if you killed me just so she could date Naruto? Do you think she'd want her sister to go to jail for her?"
"Shut up", Hanabi hissed, her pale gray eyes flickering angrilly. She slapped him bodilly, her hand leaving an angry red mark against his white skin.
Sasuke rose his hand to his cheek, surprised at how much it hurt.
"Well, you're certainly rude." Naruto's voice called loudly, almost cheerfully. "Picking on a guy in tractor..."
"Traction", Sasuke corrected.
"Yeah. That."
Hanabi slapped her forehead. Her sister was in love with a total moron.
"How long have you been standing there?", she asked.
"Hmm...long enough to hear the whole conversation. I decided to jump in when you slapped Sasuke."
"I'm surprised you stayed quiet so long", Sasuke said, sounding amazed.
"Well, if you two are done conversing...I don't have all night", Hanabi muttered.
"Oh, but we do...think fast!", Naruto cried, throwing a tray full of medical supplies at her.
Hanabi dodged the tray and gasped as she found a bedsheet wrapped around her. Naruto had outsmarted her. Naruto, of all people.
"Let me go!", she screamed furiously.
"No.", Naruto said, securing her with the sheet. She struggled helplessly against it, watching as Naruto went over to Sasuke and started unhooking him from the bed.
"What are you doing?", Sasuke asked as Naruto tried to pick him up.
"What's it look like, I'm saving you. And we'd better hurry, because that sheet's not going to hold her forever."
Naruto managed to get his leg out of traction and got him into a wheelchair. Sasuke hissed in pain.
"Put the leg rest up!", he gasped.
Naruto obliged and unlocked the door. "Hold on. This is going to be quite a ride".
Naruto's voice was cheerful.
Sasuke, however, did not find humor in the situation. Ok. Maybe a little when mere seconds later Hanabi had broken free from her bindings and was chasing after them.
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"Ugh. Everyone's so quiet.", Itachi muttered. The silence in his car was so thick it could have been cut with a knife. "How about I put on some music? Maybe that'll cheer us up..."
"Go for it", Kisame muttered. He'd pulled off his jacket, which was now draped like a blanket over Deidara's sleeping form. He pressed his head against the window and sighed.
That's all I wanted the singer on the radio trilled sometimes love can be mistaken for a crime. That's all I wanted just to see my baby's blue eyes shine...
Sasori reached out and turned off the radio. "Ummm...maybe we'll just skip the music...", he said softly, pulling Itachi's jacket closer around his still trembling frame. He and Deidara where going to get pnemonia. He knew it. He could already feel himself getting sick.
Itachi shrugged.
"You said you had Kabuto with you. Do you know if he's alright?" Kisame suddenly pipped up from the back seat. He tried to sound casual, but neither Sasori nor Itachi missed the faint note of worry in his voice.
"Kabuto? Yeah, he's the top student in our grade. I'm sure he's fine", Sasori said. He honestly wasn't worried. He was sure the silver-haired young man could look after himself.
"What does intelligence have to do with a psychotic killer?", Kisame asked.
"It means Sasori is sure Kabuto is smart enough to get himself out of whatever situation he's put himself in", Itachi replied. He eased the car into the hospital parking lot and looked for a place to park.
Sasori and Deidara would have to get medical treatment. He and Kisame would see them off, and then get down to Sasuke's room.
While Itachi was trying to determine the best place to park, he felt a car slam into his.
"Shit. I am changing my name to Kimishima(1)", Itachi muttered, pulling into the closest parking spot.
A truck pulled up along side them. Itachi was surprised and happy to see who it was.
"Toby! What are you doing here?", Kisame asked, climbing out of the car and craddling Deidara to him.
"I'm driving an injured person here", Toby explained.
"Well, I'm not exactly concerned about my car right now", Itachi said. He motioned to Sasori and Deidara. "Can I leave them in your hands?"
"Of course, of course", Toby replied cheerfully.
"Good. We'll follow you into the ER. You can stay with the patients. Kisame and I need to see Sasuke"
"No problem", Toby said, opening the doors and helping his party out.
Together the group walked into Konoha General. The night's adventure had just begun.
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A/N. 1: This is an S-Cry-Ed reference incase anyone didn't know. Kimishima is a young man who has absolutely no luck with cars at all and crashes his vehicle almost every episode.
I have no witty comentary this time around. I hoped you liked the chapter. It is now back to once a week updates, so come back next Sunday, and I shall have up chapter 11. Oh, and see the little review button? Please push it. Thanks!