Thanks very much to all who reviewed, though hardly anyone did. (Insert sobbing author) and without further a due, here is chapter four!
Chapter four: When one gets sick
"Atchoo."
"Why did he run away?"
"Atchoo!"
"Ugh… I can't breathe through my nose."
"ATCHOO!"
Yukiko's sneezing spasms stopped as she broke out into a fit of coughs. She sighed, snuggling into the warm depths of her covers. It had been two days since her encounter with Gaara. Hours after he had ran off, Sakura found her in the rain crying. She had a complete fit telling Yukiko how she looked everywhere for her, and that she was stupid because she didn't have enough sense to get out of the rain. The exposure to the wind and weather had dealt her a wonderful cold, and her fever hasn't broken since.
"Yun-chan, your soup is done!" called a distant voice outside the bedroom. The door creaked open and Sakura walked in carrying a tray with a steamy bowl of chicken noodle soup balanced on it.
"Mmm," she mumbled and forced her fatigued body into a sitting position. Sakura gently propped the tray up over her lap, and pulled a chair to her bedside.
Yukiko's room was separate from the remainder of her apartment, and was painted a deep shade of lavender. Her bed sheets were silky and black, and the pillows were fluffy and milky white. Near the entrance to her bathroom was a small vanity and dresser. The chair that Sakura had just moved used to rest in front of the vanity.
"I can't believe you, standing out in the rain! How could you be so careless? Getting sick is not worth any boy."
"Maybe not any boy but this boy is definitely worth a hundred colds."
"Its just a small cold, there's really nothing to worry about!" assured Yukiko beaming hesitantly.
"ATCHOOOOO!"
A gale of sneeze sent chicken broth and overcooked noodles flying, which shortly splattered onto Sakura's face. Sakura twitched as Yukiko stifled nervous laughter. She pawed at the napkin on the tray and began to wipe off Yukiko's meal.
"I rest my case. Now eat the food: I already took a shower today, I don't need a second one."
"H-hai," Yukiko stammered flushing slightly, and reached for the spoon with her right hand.
A wave of dismay swept over her as she looked at her wrist.
It was bare.
Flashback
"Yukiko-chan," gasped a young woman of 27. Seven-year-old Yukiko rushed over to her side sobbing uncontrollably.
"Sensei! Kanade-sensei," she bawled, dropping to her knees and taking her dying teachers hand, "please!"
"Oh my Yuki-chan," she said warmly, "I killed of the last of the assassins. They're all gone."
Cough. A stream of blood trickled down the woman's bluing lips. Her long, matted brown hair catching the droplets of the crimson waterfall.
"Follow the trail, you will reach Konohagakure, my home town, in two days. Tell them that you are Sarutobi's apprentice, and ask for Tsunade-sama, she will be able to continue training and train you well. Then you will become a true ninja."
Another coughing convulsion of blood aroused in the woman. Kanade lifted her arm and tugged the glittering band on her right wrist. She smiled and tucked the precious bangle into Yukiko's small hands.
"This is-"
"My bracelet," she finished, smiling with pain, "It was passed down in my family from generation to generation. Take it, and keep it safe. Bear the name of the Sarutobi clan well."
"DON'T LEAVE ME!" she howled, hugging her teacher's cold body. A gentle hand rested upon her head comfortingly.
"You will always be in my eyes, my beloved daughter."
And with those words, she let go of her very last breath.
End Flashback
Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as she recalled that distressing day.
"ACK! Yuki-chan, GOMEN-NASAIIIIII! You-don't-have-to-eat-if-you-don-"
"I lost Kanade-sensei's bracelet!" she wailed, hugging her sheets and sobbing.
"Kanade-sensei?" wandered Sakura ash she touched her friends shoulder with sympathy.
"Yukinon, tell me about the bracelet."
"Maybe its not that big of a deal, I mean it might just be the effects of the cold."
Yukiko wiped her face with her forearm and shivered, "My sensei gave me that bracelet to me on her death bed," she said bitterly.
"Okaaaay, so it is a big deal."
"Tell me, what does it look like?" she inquired calmly. Sakura was astonished that she had never noticed it before.
"It's a gold band," she explained, closing her eyes and swallowing, "and attached to it is a raven charm, made from a pale blue glass."
Sakura stood up, lifted the tray off the bed and set the bowl of half-eaten soup on the nightstand. She then eased Yukiko to lie down.
"I will go and find Ino," she told her sweetly, pulling the covers over her sickly body, "and together we will go look for your bracelet."
"Uh-huh," she squeaked, nodding sleepily. She shut her eyes and relaxed her tense body.
"Now get some sleep."
And she did just that.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Why am I here?"
As if expecting an answer, Sabaku no Gaara stood on the worn bridge: arms folded, blank expression. It had been raining all of the previous day, and today it had ceased, perfect for him to go walking with out getting wet.
"Everyone needs someone."
Gaara growled and bit his lip. Why was he remembering what the girl had told him now?
"-you tried to kill me, but you didn't. I am fully aware that-"
"Stop."
"I know the pain-"
"Stop!"
"-because I carry one inside me."
"Don't say anymore."
"Gaara-san!"
"I DON'T HATE YOU!" he bellowed. A flock of birds that were previously perched scattered across the late morning's sky. Gaara inhaled slowly: he finally admitted that he didn't hate the girl… Yukiko, that was her name. But he wasn't so sure if he could completely trust her.
"Huh?"
A ray of light caught his attention. He walked smoothly towards the glint, and knelt beside the object that had cast it.
A tiny gold band lay on top of the bridge floor. It was slightly worn from the rain, and had a little pale blue glass charm in the shape of a bird on it.
Gaara picked it up and studied it. It seemed somewhat… familiar. He dangled it and the object caught his eyes in a ray of gold. And then it hit him.
"This is-"
A mental image of Yukiko's hand on top of his flashed though his mind – no doubt it was hers. But there was still one dilemma – was he supposed to return it to her.
"Its nothing. I bet she doesn't even miss It." He told himself.
"Still." He glanced at the piece of jewelry again – from what he could deduce about it was that it looked very old fashioned, and very expensive.
Gaara sighed, pocketed it, and started to walk in the direction of Yukiko's apartment.
…
Sakura walked rapidly down the road ash she maneuvered towards Ino's house.
"On a missions, on a mission to saaave yun-chan's bracelet, on a-"
"Will you stop singing?" Great, now she was talking to herself.
"Hmph", growled inner Sakura, "I never get to have any fun."
"On a mission, on a missiooooon," she sang quietly under her breath.
Gaara coincidently, happened to be strolling down the exact same street. He however, was chanting something completely different in his head.
"I'm just returning the bracelet, I'm just returning it, just returning it."
"On a mission-hey! On a-"
"-just-"
THOCK – red head knocks elbows with pink head.
"Sorry I- its you." She said menacingly. Sakura angrily pointed her finger at him and jabbed it in his face.
"You hurt Yukiko-chan's feelings making her stay out in the rain and catch a bad cold!" She instantaneously clamped her hands over her mouth.
"She's…sick?"
"Crap. He's gonna kill me," she though shaking.
Sakura sprinted away screaming.
"NOOOOOOO! He's gonna KILL meeeeee!"
"She's sick," he thought miserably. He pulled the bracelet out of his pocket and gazed at it.
"It's-"
Clench
"- my fault."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx
Knock Knock
Gaara stood in the doorway patiently waiting for Yukiko to answer the door.
She didn't.
"Perhaps I should…let myself in."
The images of Yukiko undressing and or attacking him with a frying pan for breaking entry flashed through his mind.
"I can wait a little, I'm not in a rush."
Gaara knocked once more. Several minutes later, the door… still wasn't answered. He shook of the idea of being hit with a kitchen utensil, turned the doorknob, and let himself in.
The entrance of the apartment was a small kitchen with pale blue paint. Its contents were that of a standard kitchen: table, fridge counter, and stove. The room then sort of bled into the living room that was panted with a jade green. An old sofa, a rugged chair, a bookcase, a desk, and a lamp sat in their places silently. Yukiko wasn't to be found in either area, so he walked into the living space.
He quickly spotted another door. Carefully, he turned the knob. It swung open gently, and he stepped in.
There she was, sleeping in her bed. He hesitated for a moment, then walked up to her bedside.
"Is she really…"
Temperature check. Gaara touched his palm to her forehead. It burned on contact, and he sighed. Withdrawing his hand, he gazed at her sleeping face.
"Gaara-san."
Gaara jumped – an unusual sight to see considering he was almost always on his guard, about three feet into the air from the spontaneous calling of his name. Yukiko extended her arm from out of the cover, dropped it, and turned slightly.
"Why is she calling my name in her sleep?" he thought, relieved that she hadn't woken up.
He reached into his pocket, and pulled out what he had come to return. Prying her hand open gently, he placed it there, and then closed her hand, allowing his to cover hers for a few moments. And then he took his leave, closing the door behind him.
"Huh?"
Yukiko stirred, she felt the coolness of metal in her grasp. Sitting up, she opened her hand, and what she saw rendered her speechless.
"My bracelet!"
Well… sort of.
"But who?"
Yukiko's ears caught the noise of a door slam. She hopped out of bed, and walked quickly out of her room, past the kitchen, an swung open the front door.
The outside was slightly chill, and she shivered. She glanced to her right, nothing. And then to her left, and caught a certain person with a gourd (so totally not obvious…) attached to his back running of in the distance. She looked back at her bracelet, and then the person who returned it, and beamed.
"Gaara."
Yukiko sauntered back to her bedroom, and nested under her covers. A heavy weight had just been lifted off her chest and she was feeling much better already.
"Thank you."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
For the passing days, Gaara returned to watch over Yukiko for a few hours or so. He managed to spot the window that hung over her bed. Though one thing had seemed to trouble him…
"Is this stalking?"
Gaara sat on the windowsill cautiously as questioned himself. Wasn't watching her being some sort of stalking hentai? What if he had caught her undress-"
"No."
Gaara shook his head to rid himself of the thought. But it was too late; the picture was already burned, etched, inside his little 14-year-old mind. He growled at his good-for-nothing pictographic memory.
"Oh damn…" said a feminine voice.
"Who was that?" Gaara looked around briefly – on one was to be found.
"-oh well," said the same voice, Gaara perked up once again.
"I think I know that voice…her friend. What was that girl's name again? Sakuro? Saraku?" he couldn't remember.
"I'll just use Yukiko-chan's trash can in the back, I'm sure she won't mind."
"Aw hell."
Haruno Sakura walked to the back of her friend's house to throw away her empty pop can, and met a pair of nervous panda eyes.
Stare.
"HENTAI!" She screeched launching herself at him.
"Uh, Wait! I can explain I-"
WHAM! Sakura's fist made perfect contact with Gaara's face, sending him toppling backwards. He lay on the ground sprawled out as she cracked her knuckles.
"I don't give a fuck if it's you – I detest all perverts."
"Shannaro."
"YOU ARE GOING DOWN, YA HEAR?"
"SHANNARO!"
"Eh?" called a third voice.
Both Sakura and Gaara glanced at the window. The instantly dropped to the ground as Yukiko sat up rubbing her eyes. The sleepy girl poked her head out the open window, looking left and right.
"Is someone there?"
Sakura tried to call out, but Gaara enveloped his hand over her mouth. As Yukiko shrugged and lay back down in her bed, Sakura fought back.
Chomp!
"Gah!" Gaara drew his hand back, and quickly scaled all the way up to the rooftop.
"I was eventually going to let go, you crazy bitch!" Gaara snapped at her, "And I'm no pervert."
And with those words of wisdom, Gaara took off.
"Crazy Bitch! What right does that psycho bastard have to call me a crazy bitch!" She growled mentally, though she was alleviated that Gaara didn't kill her, or Yukiko, or try to do something else bad to them.
As Gaara reached the forest, he slowed down, walking instead of running. He sat down, leaning against a tree. He slid down the surface of the rough twisted bark, releasing the stress inside him with a good sigh.
"This girl, Yukiko," he told himself out loud, running his hand over the moist grass, "I think, maybe… that I can allow myself-"
He calmly ran his fingers through his head, and allowed his face to form a small smile.
"To trust her."
Yay! Another chapter done. Now all I ask of thee is that thee review for the sake of the cute panda eyed hunny.
Gaara: Onegaiishimasu?
Awww, look he said please. Please? PLLLEAAAHEHEASZZZE! (sob sob, wail wail, cry) WATASHI NO DESPERATU!
This has been another public service announcement from your author (beams)
Ja ne