Xin was overwhelmed by her friends the minute she stepped out of her bedroom. They spoke over another as they fussed with her, nearly strangling her with their hugs. "Guys, guys! C'mon, you're overdoing it!" she whined over their voices. "I'm fine!" she insisted. She should have known that her friends would freak out the moment they saw her.
"Fine?!" Karin echoed shrilly, leaning in close to Xin. "You were kidnapped and taken to Rasa! Do you understand how severe that is? Rasa isn't someone to take lightly," Karin scolded her, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Don't you know how worried we were?"
"I can take a guess," Xin sighed heavily. "Now c'mon, we're back so everything is all good, right?" she tried to smile brightly, noticing Suigetsu and Hinata were having a quick but quiet conversation while everyone was busy with her.
He looked frustrated despite Hinata trying her best to placate his shortened temper. "No, Xin, everythin' is not good!" he suddenly snapped, Hinata's pleas dying away. Everything came to a pause as everyone turned to look at him. "Tell em' about what just happened."
"What happened?" Neji asked.
Xin glared harshly, "nothing."
"Xin."
"Suigetsu."
"Is there something we should know about?" Tenten questioned slowly, looking in between the two. It wasn't often that Xin and Suigetsu bickered with one another, both being far too laid back to clash. "Did something happen?"
"Nothing happened," Xin huffed in irritation.
"Nothin'? You consider Gaara kissing you as nothin'?" Suigetsu asked incredulously. The group blanched at the revelation, whipping back around to stare at Xin. They each looked horrified, staring down at her like it was the worst thing in the world. To her credit, Xin didn't react one bit once the attention fell on her completely.
"He did what?!" Karin screeched first, face turning red to match her hair. "That redheaded nightmare kissed you?! And you let him? Xin, haven't you been listening this entire time? What part of dangerous don't you understand?!"
"Suigetsu, what the hell is your problem?" Xin peeked around Neji's larger form to glare at the demon. Honestly, Karin had a lot of nerve calling anyone a redheaded nightmare. "Didn't I tell you to mind your own damn business?!" she scowled angrily at him. "And quit screaming like a banshee, Karin. I'm old enough to decide these things on my own!"
"Would you listen to yourself?" Neji glared down at his cousin. "You can't decide anything without the right facts, Xin. I don't think you understand how dangerous he is."
"What does being dangerous have to do with me?"
"He could fuckin' kill you!"
"But he hasn't!" Xin waved her hands in frustration. "Look, not that it makes for a good argument but if Gaara wanted to kill me, I'd already be dead! We lived together, for shit's sake. It was just a kiss."
"Xin…" Tenten trailed off, face twisted in worry. "You can't really tell me that you've fooled yourself into thinking Gaara is relationship material, right? He's not kissing you because he wants to date you or anything…."
"He's just going to do you like how he did Matsuri! Fuck you and twist you around into an obedient fool until he's tired of you. He'll just look for the next pretty girl to entertain him while you're left heartbroken," Karin cut in, stabbing her finger into Xin's face. She just knew leaving Gaara alone with Xin was a terrible idea.
For a moment, it looked like Karin's words dug up Xin's insecurities for all of them to see. But then her eyes hardened as she squared her shoulders. "Heartbroken? Please," she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest. "I don't think it's that serious. And besides, what if I want him to fuck me?" she snapped crudely. "It's my business."
"Xin, you don't know him—"
"I don't know any of you!"
The argument came to a standstill as Xin simmered. "I thought I did but the only one who's been upfront with me this entire time is Gaara! You guys just want to control me, you don't give a shit about how I feel about anything. I don't ever understand anything because no one feels like they should explain anything!"
"Xin...we care about you, understand that, okay? Perhaps you're right about not explaining anything, but we do care about you, since the moment we've met…" Tenten tried to say calmly. "But Gaara is...we just don't want to see you hurt over someone like him. If he's kissed you, it's not because he wants a relationship with you...he just wants…."
"To fuck me, yes, you've all made that clear because that's all I'm good for."
"That was never said, Xin," Suigetsu replied quickly. "Gaara can't be trusted with ya and we shouldn't have to argue our point. He's just gonna use ya."
"Oh, for heaven's sake. I told him to kiss me. Nothing happened until I told him to do it."
"Doesn't matter who said what. This can't happen," Neji stated firmly, thinking of all the ways he was going to murder Gaara. He didn't give a shit if Xin had been the one to initiate something between them. Gaara should know better, she was a young human girl. He was a demon older than dirt; he knew better.
"Funny thing about that, Neji. It's not up to you to decide where and who I put my mouth on. If I want to kiss the psycho, it's my business."
The room fell into an awkward silence. Xin stood her ground, not willing to back down. They weren't even giving Gaara the chance to actually fuck up. What if he did want more with her?
I get what I want, and I want you, understand?
Nope, not a goddamn thing. She didn't understand a thing about this entire spectacle.
"How about we take a breather?" Hinata clapped her hands loudly, shattering the tense silence. "Neji and Tenten, why don't you go release Matsuri back to the demon realm? And Sui and Karin, how about you two go out and get us some food? When you all come back, we can put this argument behind us for another day, okay?"
Although she spoke in a suggestive tone, they knew Hinata wasn't giving them much of a choice. She wanted them out at the moment, she wanted to calm her sister. It was for the best, as Xin would start throwing things if they kept pushing her buttons.
They file out without a fuss, knowing the battle was lost. It never boded well when both sisters were both ticked off. The two watched them go, Hinata sighing heavily while Xin rolled her eyes. She entertained the idea of locking the door but decided against it.
"Well," Hinata's shoulders slumped as she dropped dramatically on the couch. "Gaara kissed you, hm?" she waved her sister over, patting the cushion next to her head. Xin easily complied, smiling when Hinata shifted around until her head was cradled in Xin's lap.
"Yeah…" Xin trailed off, finding the wall rather interesting. "It...it wasn't the first time," she spoke in a low whisper, like she expected their friends to come storming back in.
Hinata gaped up at her, amusement in her eyes. "You've kissed more than once? Before last night?" she asked in the same low tone. She watched as Xin's face flushed, laughing delightfully. They never got to experience staying up late, giggling and gossiping about boys.
"Yeah, the night before Masaru cracked me upside the head. In the kitchen, it was really...intense."
"Naruto kissed me last night…"
"He did what? Why didn't you say anything?!"
"I didn't want the third degree either."
"Traitor!"
Hinata and Xin fell to pieces, giggling and blushing terribly. Who would have thought that out of everyone possible, they'd both end up kissing a couple of murderous demons? Clearly, they both had questionable taste when it came to men.
"We have...terrible taste," Xin said after their bouts of giggling ended. "I mean, seriously, demons?"
"So, you do like Gaara then? You were denying it this morning when Naruto pointed it out," Hinata pointed out, still smiling despite her serious question. She watched as Xin thought her question over, lips slightly puckered in thought.
"Well, yeah but I mean, do you think there's some truth in what everyone's saying? I mean, we briefly talked about his relationship with Matsuri and all…"
"What did Gaara say?"
"That I wasn't a rebound and that if he wanted to just fuck me, he would've done so already…."
"How crass…"
Xin snorted, rubbing at her forehead. "I just hate feeling so insecure about this. I mean, does he actually like me? Are the others right about him?"
"I think that maybe you should give it a chance. They're basing their judgement off of who Gaara was before. People, even demons, can change."
"But what if they're right? What if it's just a physical attraction he has?"
"And what if they're wrong? You can never really be sure about anyone's intentions until you give them a chance. If he's going to do wrong, let him be the one to make this mistake. I know falling is scary and it's a long way down...but it's also half the fun, right?"
"You're disgustingly optimistic, sis."
When their group of friends returned, both sisters were sitting upside down on the couch. Their legs were thrown over the back of the couch and their heads hung off of the edge. They were watching anime, both childishly bickering about one thing or another.
The kids were alright.
Meanwhile, Masuyo scowled harshly as she stared down at the mangled corpse. She tapped her bare foot against the floor, arms folded across her chest.
"Honestly, you had ample opportunities to kill the miko and you let your obsession get in the way," she sighed heavily, speaking as if he was still alive. He laid in mangled strips, body torn and strewn about. The scent of blood hung heavily over them, causing her nose to wrinkle in distaste. "Rasa, your boy sure is violently primitive, isn't he?"
"You were supposed to kill her," the mystic pouted, shifting her weight between her feet. "Kuraim will free himself soon and both of those miko runts are still alive…" Masuyo unfolded her arms, staring down at the Masaru with a look of disgust. "Now, I'll give you one more chance but that's all I'm allowing. Fail me again and I'll personally kill you myself…"
Her hands began glowing, encased in dark shadows. She waved them around, chanting quietly. She had to hurry this along, knowing Rasa would sniff her out soon. Thanks to that damn miko, her plot against Karura had been discovered. She was sure that she was no longer welcomed in Suna.
She wondered if the men of Suna knew they were weak when it came to women they had affection for.
Masaru's strips of flesh began molding itself back together, leaving trails of blood as they migrated back towards his body. It wasn't a quick process, as Gaara had thrown his body parts, but it got the job done.
"One more chance, Masaru. Don't fail me again," Masuyo smiled sweetly, summoning a portal as Masaru slowly sat up. He looked nauseous, sitting in his own blood. "Come along, we must leave before we're discovered. Come, come," Masuyo bade him after her, stepping into the portal.
He stumbled to his feet, falling into the portal after her.
Naruto and Gaara stayed away from the twins for nearly two weeks after backing off. They kept busy and held up their bargain by tracking down rogue demons. It seemed like the universe knew that space was needed and kept throwing rogue demon after demon at them, each one more difficult than the last.
Gaara reached down, foot braced on the squirming demon underneath him. He scowled harshly at the demon, disgust leaking from his eyes. This particular demon had a penchant for young, untainted flesh.
Child eater.
His scowl was intense as he plunged his fingers into the demon's throat. With a languid pull, he ripped his throat out. Blood sprayed everywhere, ruining Gaara's pants as the demon clawed at his ruined throat. "Man," Naruto made a face in disgust. "That's some nasty shit, what's up with you tonight? That was a bit much...even for you."
Gaara continued to scowl, shaking his hand free of torn bits of flesh. "Nothing," he nearly snapped. "He was eating children, he deserved it," he continued gruffly. He was a pretty shitty person but even Gaara drew the line somewhere. Children shouldn't be harmed, and they certainly shouldn't be devoured.
"Well, yeah but…" Naruto awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "You've been acting like this since—" he came to a hard pause as sudden realization dawned on him. Gaara watched, less than amused. "Holy shit, man, don't tell me you're being so shitty cause of Xin."
"I don't see what she has to do with anything."
"You've been pissed off ever since we've been banned from seeing them. You miss her."
Naruto was grinning so brightly he could have put the sun to shame. "Wait til' I tell Sakura about this," he cackled to himself. "Gaara actually misses a girl. And not just any girl, not even a demoness! A human girl, this is fuckin' fantastic!" He was yelling so loud Sakura could probably hear him in the Demon Realm. Gaara rolled his eyes and reached over, smacking Naruto square in the face with his bloodied hand. "Fuck! My mouth was open!"
"Then maybe you should keep it closed."
They moved on after that with Naruto spitting like a ruffled cat, trying in vain to get the taste of sour demon blood out of his mouth. "It's not like there's anything wrong with missing her," he pointed out. Most people would be put off with Gaara's behavior, but Naruto thought nothing of it. Decades of friendship could attest to that.
"I never said I missed her."
Naruto only rolled his eyes. "Lie to God, don't lie to me."
Gaara sent him an unimpressed look. "I think it's against demon law to even speak to God."
"True but I'm sure lying is allowed," Naruto pointed out cheekily. The two shared a laugh at that.
He was sure that if the twins were around, they'd be scolded for joking about religion. But they weren't around so there was no scolding to be done. "But anyway, you've got a thing for her so it's normal to miss her."
"I didn't say I—"
"You did kiss her, didn't you?" Naruto rudely cut him off. Gaara's glare could kill. No one could get under Gaara's skin quite like Naruto could. Xin could give the blond a run for his money though. Unfortunately, he couldn't just smack Xin upside the head like he could with Naruto. "Listen, I know you want people to think that you're this cold-hearted bastard—and you are—but there's nothing wrong with having feelings for Xin."
He wasn't sure why, but he was quite insulted at the moment.
"Well, she is a bit young and human but those are just minor details. You like her, she likes you. You've kissed her a handful of times so there's really no point in denying that you like her."
"I've kissed women I didn't have any feelings for."
"Yeah? You ever tell Rasa to basically fuck off for a woman before?" Naruto asked, unimpressed. Gaara didn't have a comeback and Naruto was just smug about it. "Yeah, didn't think so," he crowed with a grin. "C'mon, man, it's fine. I miss Hinata."
"Because you're a fuckin' sap."
"Yeah? So're you, apparently," he grinned back at Gaara, not the least bit insulted. "Why are you denying it so hard? She likes you; you like her. She asked you to kiss her, you kissed her. And now you miss her. It's normal."
"You know it's not that simple."
"Yeah," Naruto suddenly sounded somber, "I know."
To their shared dismay, Karin and Tenten were waiting back at the townhouse when they returned. It didn't surprise either demon that the women were able to get inside despite the door being locked. "Breaking and entering is a crime," Naruto pointed out first as soon as he stepped into the living room. "It's also pretty rude too."
Tenten glanced up first, a curly smile pulling at her pink lips. "This isn't even your house," she pointed out wryly. It was obvious that Tenten would be the easier one to talk to.
"Still a crime."
Tenten let out a chuckle to match her curly smile. Karin was scowling. She didn't bother hiding her disdain for either of them, glaring daggers of fire straight at them. "Busy night?" Tenten prompted, nodding to Gaara's bloodied hand.
He held it up to show them, "child eater."
Tenten nodded with a grimace. Human or not, children were innocent things and were off limits. Anyone willing to harm a child would not expect mercy. Karin remained quiet, eyes never losing their ferocity.
"You trying to set us on fire, Rin?" Naruto asked, blue eyes meeting hers head on. He wasn't impressed with all of her glaring and usually he'd just brush his temperamental cousin off. But there was something in her gaze at that moment that was pining him with something he didn't like.
"Suigetsu said you kissed her," Karin finally spoke, directing her nasty look at Gaara.
"After she asked me to, yes."
"That doesn't make it okay and you know it."
"Consent doesn't make it okay?"
Karin's glare intensified. "Talking in circles is more of your sister's speed, isn't it?" she hissed instead of answering. "Whether she asked you to or not, you shouldn't have done it."
"I wanted to."
The demoness was not impressed. "And I want to rip your eyeballs out of your goddamn head but am I? No!"
"Not that you could."
Karin's face was the color of her hair as she let out a growl of irritation. As annoying as he was being, Gaara was right, though she hated to admit it. She really couldn't do much against him physically. "I think we're getting off track here," Tenten decided that the banter between the two redheads was quite enough. "We didn't come here to argue. We came here out of concern for Xin."
Naruto rubbed at the back of his neck, sighing heavily. "What? You think we're hurting her or something?" he asked meanly.
"Of course we don't think that—"
"—anymore—"
Tenten took a second to take a deep breath. She figured that bringing Karin would be for the best since Suigetsu and Neji couldn't be trusted not to physically attack Gaara. She forgot that Karin would just use her words to attack him instead. Gaara didn't react to Karin's accusation, opting to not argue the point. It wasn't like he really could deny that his relationship with Xin stemmed from violence. He'd have to eventually apologize for that.
"We don't think you're hurting Xin but that doesn't mean she won't get hurt," Tenten picked her words carefully, knowing Gaara's temper. "You're a dangerous demon, Gaara, danger follows you. Do you really think it's wise to have a relationship with Xin?"
"Danger follows Xin, regardless if I'm here or not," he said after a moment of silence. "We owe that to your miko twins, Jun and Junko."
"You can't blame them—"
"They trusted Kuraim when they shouldn't have and failed to kill him when the opportunity presented itself and now they're being hunted. I can and will blame them because it's their fault."
"Everything was perfectly fine until you showed up and ruined everything. Xin had no idea about any of this until you dropped in on her."
"So you think keeping them in the dark forever would have been the best bet? Kuraim would set himself free either way and come for them. And if you had your way, they'd die not knowing why."
Tenten and Naruto watched the two quietly with tense shoulders. They were nearly standing chest to chest at this point, both glaring furiously at one another. Naruto shifted closer, ready to grab Gaara in case he lost his temper and decided to strangle his cousin. It was almost comical to think of Xin in Karin's place, going toe to toe with Gaara despite how much shorter she was than both of them.
"Like I said before," Karin said slowly, like she was dealing with a fussy child. "I don't trust you with her. I know how you treat women and you don't treat them well. You're not going to turn her into a simpering idiot like you did with Matsuri."
"Matsuri and Xin are two different women," Gaara replied instead. "I don't think it's possible to turn her into a simpering fool."
"But I bet that won't stop you from trying."
Gaara's eyes squinted, slow and dangerous, but he stayed in place. He was distracted, thinking of the many times Xin stuck her face into his, much like Karin, to argue and snarl like some caged animal. While Karin's relentless need to bicker with him served to only annoy him, Xin's bickering got under his skin.
He could clearly see her pale face, colored a bright red. Her big eyes, usually full of mirth and mischief, were wide with rage. Her pretty mouth fell open to spew violent threats, anger rolling off her tongue easily. His blood stirred at the image in his head. Of pretty little Xin unleashing Hell on him in the form of sharp-edged words.
The urge in him was suddenly strong, too strong. The urge to find Xin, wherever she may be, to grab her and bend her over the nearest flat surface. To fuck the anger out of her until it's praises of his name rolling off her tongue instead of threats. Or maybe threats, he likes her mean spiritedness.
"—you even listening?"
Gaara blinked out of his dirty fantasy, eyes falling back on Karin. Right. He was in the middle of an argument with Naruto's harpy of a cousin over the human girl he wanted to do dirty things to. Right. This was his life at the moment.
"No."
Tenten sighed again, the second one in the span of barely fifteen minutes. Gaara and Karin were never a good mix, especially when it came to Xin. They never really got on before but now they actually had something in common to hate each other for.
"Why don't you just ask Xin what she wants?" Naruto prompted loudly before Karin could go off on a tangent.
Unfortunately, his suggestion didn't help not one bit. "She doesn't know what she wants, she doesn't know any better," the redheaded demoness snapped while turning to glare at the blond.
"She's not your kid, Rin."
"Perhaps if you stopped treating her like a kid, she wouldn't be so interested in me," Gaara said smoothly, watching as Karin worked out the words in her head. "What happens when you tell a child not to press the shiny red button? They press it just to see what happens. You treat the girls like they're children. You don't ask what they want to do, you just tell them what they need to do."
"And what, just let her have her way? She doesn't know you; she doesn't understand all that you're capable of. If you told her about the things you've done, I bet she wouldn't want you anywhere near her," Karin hissed cruelly.
He thought back to that first night in the kitchen, when she wandered in on him covered in fresh demon blood. Death and gore rolled off of him in waves and Xin, innocent Xin, had turned to look up at him with eyes wide with curiosity. Excitement flitted by in her eyes for a quick second, but he saw it. She understood the implications, what he'd been doing while in the Demon Realm, and she took a step closer to him. She moved closer to him, allowed him to grab at her while weakly protesting before those protests snuffed out. Blood still on his chest, she rocked forward on the tips of her toes and kissed at his mouth.
Xin was innocent, yes but she wasn't as ignorant as they were led to believe. He could understand where they were coming from. She was young and inexperienced when it came to romantic pursuits and Gaara was probably the worst man she could start out with.
But she'd already initiated something between them and there was no going back. He meant what he said two weeks ago in her bedroom. He got what he wanted, regardless of what anyone had to say. He wanted Xin and he would have her unless she said otherwise.
"Like Uzumaki said," Gaara smirked slowly, thinking of the handfuls of times he'd kissed Xin. "Why don't you just ask her what she wants?"
Karin rolled her eyes. "He's only advocating so hard for you because he's in the same boat," she turned a mean eye on Naruto. "You've always had a thing for women you can't have."
The room stilled, awkwardness washing over them. Naruto regarded Karin with a stony look, blue eyes revealing nothing of his true mood. He continued to stare at her.
"Karin…" Tenten started gently, disappointment lingering. While she knew this wouldn't be an easy discussion, she hadn't thought it would lead to such pettiness. "That was uncalled for," she said with a softness about her. "We're not here to be petty. We're here for Xin and Hinata."
The brunette stood to her feet, reaching for Karin to pull her away from Gaara. "The bottom line is that we all care for Xin and Hinata in some way. Platonically or romantically, we want to keep them safe."
"We've been keeping them safe," Naruto pointed out calmly. He was still looking at Karin, barely blinking. It was unnerving.
"Xin was kidnapped and taken to Suna; she wasn't safe there."
"I got her back."
"She wouldn't have been taken in the first place if it hadn't been for you and Matsuri's jealousy."
Gaara glared at Tenten. "And how many times has she been hurt when you were supposed to be watching over her? What's the scar on her arm from? Why did I have to carry her to you with a chunk of her table in her back? Why was she alone the night she ran into the forest?"
Nothing was said for a long moment. "You can continue to make a fuss about this," Gaara began, glancing between the two women. "But the truth of the matter is this: you can't keep me from her."
Tenten paled, Karin scowled.
"Unless she says otherwise, you can't keep me from her."
To their shared dismay, they knew Xin wouldn't say otherwise.
Xin was losing her fuckin' mind.
Well, to be fair, she'd lost most of it ages ago but now she was convinced that the rest of it was going. Most of it had been knocked down into nothingness when she met Gaara and unleashed a fuckload of folklore but now she was pretty sure that the last ten percent was going as well.
She was seeing things.
And not how she convinced herself that Gaara was a figment of her imagination while she was having a mental breakdown and just seeing things. No, this time around it was real.
She was seeing Masaru.
Everywhere she turned, she'd see the demon from the corner of her eye. He always stood at a distance, he never moved but he always kept a steady gaze on her. And then when she would blink, he'd be gone.
Xin knew that Masaru was dead, Temari said as much. He had to be but seeing him...it scared her. This wasn't just any old demon coming at her. He'd been dead and now he was just walking around, stalking her.
She missed Gaara. She hadn't seen or heard from him or Naruto for a good two weeks. She wasn't happy with her friends again and had barred them from seeing her for the time being. She was mostly relying on herself for protection for the two weeks. Everything had been fine for the most part but now…
Well, now she was seeing a dead man.
Of course she tried to chalk it up to her paranoia. She dreamt that Masaru was going to hurt Hinata only for it to be Suigetsu who was almost purified. It could be her mind playing tricks on her.
But...something told her that it simply wasn't the case.
"You're going to lock up, right?" Ami asked one night after a stressful day. She was in a bad mood and decided early on that she would be leaving first. She glanced behind the register at Xin while shrugging on her coat, noticing that the other girl hadn't said anything. "Hyuga?"
Xin blinked out of her stupor, eyes meeting Ami's curious gaze. "Sorry," she muttered while brushing a hand through her hair. "What'd you say?"
Ami sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. Xin had been acting off for days and she wondered if it had anything to do with that redhead missing. "I said you're going to lock up, right?"
"Uh—yeah. Sure, whatever," the bluenette mumbled, counting the contents of the register before locking up.
"You gonna be okay to go home on your own?" Ami pressed with a suspicious look. Distracted girls like Xin were the ones to turn up on the news broadcast as 'missing'. "Is anyone coming to get you?"
Outside, an impatient car honked.
"Your ride is here, Ami."
"Xin—"
Another honk, longer this time.
"I'll be fine."
She opened her mouth to argue, Xin hadn't answered the question. She didn't like the feeling she was getting just by looking at Xin. Something wasn't right and though they didn't always get along, she would never want anything to happen to her.
The car honked again.
"Night, Ami."
Ami watched the smaller girl all the way out of the bakery, never breaking her stare even when she was in the car. Her boyfriend complained about her taking so long to come out, but she ignored him. Something just wasn't right.
As soon as Ami left, Masaru appeared.
He stood outside the bakery, nearly pressed to the glass. Xin stared back at him with wide eyes, stomach sinking to her feet. Standing so close to the glass, she could see the ragged scars that now kept his face in one piece. The scars continued down his body, hidden beneath his clothes.
He finally broke his stare, eyes glancing towards the door.
Xin sprang forward immediately, rushing around the register to throw herself at the door. Her fingers shook erratically as she struggled to lock it. She was perfectly aware that if he wanted in, a locked door would not keep him out.
Her churning stomach rolled violently as his eyes slowly slid back towards her. He pressed his hands to the glass, leaning heavily against it. A smile broke his steady facade, blood spurting from his mouth.
"Miko," he hummed through the thick glass. "You thought you could run from me, but you can't. You can't. Not now, not ever."
He continued to grin at her, blood leaking like a broken faucet. Xin backed away; eyes wide as she did so. A scream tore itself from her lips when hands settled onto her shoulders. She whipped around, throwing wild fists at the figure behind her. She was not going to die, dammit, she was not going to die.
"Woah, hey, easy!" Jura struggled with her flailing limbs, hands finding their way to her slim shoulders. He gripped her hard, hands sliding from her shoulders to capture her wrists. "Xin! Hey, stop!" he shouted while dragging her body towards him, trapping her arms between them. "Calm down, it's me!"
"You're not real!" she shrieked shrilly, trying in vain to rip herself away. She fought to pull away, trying to focus her erratic thoughts into pumping her hands full of spiritual power. "You're not real!"
Jura frowned down at the frantic human, wondering what the hell had brought on this kind of hysteria. "Xin, Xin—look at me. I'm real, okay? Just calm down and look, I'm real."
He was caught off guard by the desperate expression in her eyes. She looked like she would break out into tears at any given moment. He felt his mouth go dry at the sight and he just knew he was about to do something stupid. One hand uncurled from her, reaching up to curl his fingers around her chin. Xin continued to stare up at him, eyes glassy and wide. "I'm real," he muttered softly. "I'm real."
He kissed her.
Xin didn't shove him away, but she stopped fighting him. In fact, she suddenly became boneless, like all the energy had been sapped from her by the lips. She leaned against him, pressing her lips against his. He pulled his other hand from her wrist, cupping her face in his large hands. "Jura," she gasped against his mouth. Mind rebooted, sense was smacked into her. She should not, for whatever reason, be kissing Jura.
"Just this once," he mumbled almost desperately, swallowing her gasps. "Please, just the once," his hands dropped to her waist, pulling and pulling until she was sealed against his body.
"Jura, please stop," Xin begged wetly, head tilting backwards. Blood roared in her ears, feeling the wrongness of Jura's mouth against hers. "Masaru—he—"
But Jura pressed his mouth harder against hers, arms locked around her waist. There was a thoughtful hum from him, big shoulders slumping in pleasure. It was wrong, he thought somewhere in the back of his head, to take advantage of her like this but he yearned for her. Even though he knew she didn't have feelings for him, he still pined away for her. He wanted to be selfish. Just the one time, he repeated in his head, just this once and he would be sated.
He was a fool, of course, for thinking he would be satisfied with just one kiss. He greedily took more than originally promised, kisses becoming more frenzied with each passing second.
A burst of anger suddenly fell over them, causing him to pause. Xin's boneless body stiffened while the slump of Jura's wide shoulders became tense. They were no longer alone. He pulled away from her face, hugging her body protectively, and slowly peered over his shoulder.
Gaara stared back at him.
Xin, far too short to see over Jura's shoulder, frowned softly. Her mouth was swollen and red, evidence of his kiss left behind. She wasn't sure who it was standing behind them, but she could practically taste the hostility in the air. Empty hands fisted at Jura's chest; her fingers twisted nervously in his shirt. "Jura?" she prompted with puffy lips.
"What are you doing?" Gaara finally asked, eyes bleeding away into a vibrant gold. Realization dawned on Xin, eyes becoming wide as his voice grated against her ears. Jura's arms unfurled from her and he carefully took a step away. He'd been wrong and now he was caught. Xin's eyes flickered, glancing between the two demons. While she was glad to see Gaara again, she wasn't glad to see his anger.
The tall redhead glanced at her, taking in her appearance. She was blushing and breathing heavily, lips alluringly swollen. Her eyes were wide as she regarded the two, nervousness bouncing off of her body.
She let out a shriek when Gaara barreled into Jura. They went down in a heap, nasty snarls shared between them as they wrestled on the floor. Fists flew, the sounds of their thuds echoing dully in her bakery. Gaara threw a heavy punch and Xin heard something crack, causing her to cringe.
"Gaara, hey, stop!" she finally got her wits about her, dropping to her knees next to the two roiling bodies. It probably wasn't wise to insert herself between two demons, but she'd done it before. She reached forward, hands grabbing at Gaara's big shoulders. "Gaara!"
He turned, quick as a whip, and scared the living hell out of her. His eyes glinted like fire under the lights as he glared savagely at her. "Move back, miko."
It shocked her, causing her to involuntarily flinch back. There was something deeply savage in those golden eyes at that point. Completely demonic and cruel. She wondered if she was seeing the real Gaara.
"No, get off of him!" she argued stubbornly. "You'll destroy my bakery, get up, please."
"No."
"Gaara."
"I said no."
Xin glanced down towards Jura. His nose was broken, and blood was gushing from it along with his mouth. One of Gaara's hands had settled around his throat and she was sure that he was slowly suffocating. She slid her hands down Gaara's broad back, feeling him stiffen underneath her. They curled around his arm and she pulled back, pressing it to her chest.
She tilted her head, swollen lower lip poked out. "Please stop? Please?" she begged quietly. It wasn't like her to use womanly wiles to her advantage but if it was necessary, then hell, she'd use the shit out of them.
It seemed to do the trick. He was a fearsome demon, but he still fell to her attractive ways. The demon allowed the miko to pull him away and to his feet, eyes never straying from her face. She gave him a very slow smile, whispering a thank you.
Letting him go, she stepped around his large form towards Jura. "Oh, Jura," she cooed softly, face breaking in concern. She dropped to her knees once more, leaning over her friend. She used the skirt of her apron to clean his blood away, sighing when she realized his nose was definitely broken.
Jura gingerly pushed her hand away, slowly sitting up with an obvious cringe. He glanced up at Gaara, frowning softly. Xin wouldn't understand just how disrespectful his actions were to Gaara. Kissing her was like challenging his friend.
Gaara was glaring down at him, large hand reaching for Xin. She let out a muffled squeak as she was pulled to her feet. Honestly he had the right to outright kill him. Demon's didn't take lightly to challenges for what they deemed as theirs.
Xin, human as she was, wouldn't understand.
"Gaara, his nose—"
"It's fine," the redhead glared down at Jura. "Go get dressed."
"And leave you here alone with him? Hell no!"
"Xin, do as you're told."
"The fuck did you just say to me?"
Gaara's temper was already at its breaking point, he wasn't in the mood to argue with the temperamental miko. He grabbed her arm and shoved her towards the back. "Go get dressed. Now. I won't tell you again."
"It's okay, Xin, just go," Jura managed to say despite the pain of his broken nose. He was standing now, holding his face. Xin didn't look convinced at all, frowning stubbornly. Her eyes very slowly slid away from Jura, instead opting to peer out of the window into the night.
"Is...is there anyone out there?" she asked in a small voice. Gaara blinked down at her, rage and irritation forgotten as he studied her unease. He glanced at the window.
"There's no one out there."
Xin took a moment longer to stare out into the dark before marching away. She was trusting Gaara not to hit Jura again, but she reminded herself to be quick. She undressed out of her work clothes, sliding into her regular clothes with a quickness. She washed her face and unbraided her hair, sighing as she did so.
She strained to hear for any fighting as she shoved her shoes onto her feet. She couldn't hear anything but low mutters as they carried in a conversation. She didn't hear anything breaking or shattering so she figured they hadn't come to physical blows again.
Jura was gone when she remerged. Gaara remained, leaning against the cash register while he waited. She eyed him, unsure of the extent of his anger. He noticed her unease immediately, and carefully held a hand out towards her.
Xin took a moment, but she relented, stepping towards him and allowing the demon to draw her in to him. One arm draped around her waist while the other reached up, fingers curling under her jaw. Her lips were still red and swollen from Jura's kiss, pissing him off.
"You can't just go around hitting people like that."
"Coming from the woman who hit me with her car," Gaara snorted, drawing her in to stand in between his legs. She was surprised by his blatant affection. "You can't go around kissing other men."
"I didn't—"
"He said you were panicking, what happened?"
She wouldn't meet his stare, opting to stare at his throat. "Can we leave?" she mumbled quietly. He wanted answers but she seemed entirely uncomfortable with being in the bakery, so he conceded.
The walk was quiet with Gaara leading her to the townhouse instead of her apartment. "Naruto is visiting your sister," he explained shortly as she stood at his back while he was busy with the front door. She made a noise at that, following him inside. Gaara waited patiently as Xin slid out of her coat and settled down on the couch before he asked her again. "What happened at the bakery?"
She glanced up at him from beneath dark lashes, pretty lips pulled down into a frown. "You're going to think I'm crazy," she uttered softly.
"I already think you're crazy."
She laughed, though it was hollow and tired. "I...for the past two weeks, I've been seeing Masaru. Always out of the corner of my eye, always standing still and staring at me."
"He's dead, Xin."
"He isn't, Gaara. I saw him. He was standing outside the bakery. He said I can't run from him."
"I killed him myself."
"His face is full of scars, like you tore him to pieces. How would I know that when I never saw his body after you killed him?"
Gaara gave pause, thinking about her words. She had a point. She wouldn't have any idea what Masaru looked like because he'd been sure to keep her away. How the hell did she know that? Was something truly sinister going on that he wasn't aware of?
"I just...I don't know what's real or not anymore. He was there and then...Jura was there, and I freaked out. He..um...to calm me down and convince me that he was real…" she trailed off, pointedly looking away. "You didn't have to hit him like that."
"He kissed you."
"I know that," she said quickly, face heating up again. "It was just...I don't know, he didn't mean—"
"—You are not going to try telling me that he didn't mean to kiss you, Xin. He's wanted to kiss you for I don't even know how long—"
"—He's already kissed me before—"
Xin let out a strangled yelp when she was suddenly pulled none too gently to her feet. She fell against Gaara's chest, scrambling to right herself. "What the fuck—"
"Let me ask you a question, miko," he snarled into her face. She tilted her head back, blinking in confusion. His moods change so fast that it gave her whiplash. "I'm attracted to you, but do you think for one second you get to lead me into circles?"
"Lead you into—what? I'm not leading you into shit, the fuck are you even talking about? You're the one who had Matsuri in your back pocket this entire time."
"That's different," some of his rage seeped out of him.
"Oh, bullshit," Xin rolled her eyes. "It's not like I gave Jura the impression that I wanted him to kiss me but Matsuri was convinced you two would get back together," she glared up at him, frowning harshly. "Which means you were giving her some type of attention and I bet it was more than just a kiss."
A tense silence fell over them, both of them sharing glares. "You didn't have to hit him," Xin broke the silence first, still scowling. Okay, maybe it wasn't right of Jura to kiss her when she was panicking but it didn't warrant a broken nose.
"I told you that I wanted you, remember that?"
Xin blushed heavily, "I remember."
"I meant that when I said it. That doesn't mean I want you partly or to share you with Jura. I don't share. Matsuri is a non-factor and I expect Jura to be a non-factor. If he challenges me again, I'm going to do more than break his nose, understand?"
Xin's words failed her at that moment, for once in her life. She was speechless by his bold assertion over her. She tried to remember Naruto's advice, that demon culture was different, but she still felt annoyed by Gaara's declarations. "I'm not something to own," she finally managed in a quiet voice. "By either of you."
"Call it what you want but understand what I'm saying to you. If he kisses you again, I'm going to kill him."
"But he's your friend!"
"I made it known what I wanted with you. Jura deciding to kiss you meant he was going against what I said. You don't do that. I know humans tend to be fickle, but demons are not. I want someone, I get them."
Xin sighed, dropping her head and pressing her forehead to his chest. "This is all so confusing," she muttered. "I'm not an object."
"No, you're a 'Xin' and I want that."
"Me. You want me?"
"Yes."
"In what way? Just...someone to kiss when you're bored? Or have cabin fever?"
Gaara stared down at her, all traces of anger erased. "I want you in its entirety."
"So, like a relationship?"
Gaara nodded silently. "Can...Can I think about it?" she asked in that same quiet voice. "It's not that I don't like you—I do. I've never been with someone who just wanted that, just me. And...you're a demon so things are different, more complicated. Naruto said the cultures are different. I'm having a hard time with how possessive demons are."
The tall demon took a deep breath, shoulders slumping as the last bit of his anger crawled away. He dropped his grip on her arms, hands settling at her hips. "Fine, miko, think about it. Try not to kiss Jura while you're at it. I won't promise not to hurt him."
Xin smiled but she knew he was being serious. "Um...can I...can I stay here for the night?"
His eyes narrowed down at her, "Xin...that probably won't be a good idea."
"Please? Just for the night. You can text Naruto and tell him to stay with Hinata," she persisted, hands twisting in his shirt. "What if Masaru gets into the apartment and hurts Hinata?"
"Xin…"
"I know what I saw, Gaara. He's alive and I can't let Hinata get hurt because he has some weird obsession against the two of us."
"So you're just willing to let yourself get hurt?"
"Well…" she trailed off, lips threatening to break into a smile. "You're here and you won't let me get hurt, right?"
"You must think I have an extreme handle on my control, miko."
"Don't you?"
"When it comes to you? No."
He let her go after that, moving away to call Naruto. She couldn't hear the blond's response but Gaara looked positively fed up once he ended the call. It was only seconds later that Xin's phone rang. She dug through her bag, frowning at the smiling picture of Hinata that greeted her. "Hello?"
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes, why?"
"Why do you want to stay with Gaara tonight? Are you two…"
"No! Christ, no. That's...way too soon, right? I just...something weird is going on."
"As opposed to what's already going on?"
"Hinata…"
"...Did something follow you from Suna? Are you trying to protect me by staying away?"
"I...yeah, I am."
"Xin...we're supposed to be in this together, remember? You have to tell me when something's up. I don't want you getting hurt trying to keep me safe."
"I know, Hina, you're right. I..um...I'll tell you what's been going on tomorrow, okay? I promise. Just...for now, just stay with Naruto."
Hinata sighed heavily into the phone but begrudgingly agreed. She made her sister repeat her promise before wishing her a good night and hanging up. Xin let out a deep breath and pocketed her phone, turning back towards Gaara. He was staring back at her but said nothing.
It was maybe three hours after agreeing to let her stay that Gaara regretted his decision. It wasn't that she was doing something intentionally. She was just…
She didn't have any clothes to sleep so she asked to borrow one of Naruto's shirts to sleep in. The very thought of her wearing Naruto's clothes made him want to punch the shit out of the blond. So, he simply gave her one of his shirts to wear. She was tiny enough and he was so much bigger. It was fine.
Things were not fine.
She returned from her bath, fresh faced and dressed in his shirt. And not much else. It was long enough, he reasoned, as it resembled a dress on her. He watched her closely that night, eyes always traveling towards her pale legs. It was ridiculous, he seethed, that a pair of stubby little legs were enough to unhinge him.
They shared dinner while watching some anime she insisted upon. He wasn't sure what was up with her and anime, but he didn't protest. He didn't protest much because he kept looking at her instead of the damn television. Her hair was piled messily on top of her head, stubborn locks slipping from her pins and her face flushed prettily from her bath.
This was definitely a mistake, allowing her to stay the night with him.
Thankfully they separated for bed with Xin taking up residence in the bedroom she once used before. She offered a grateful smile towards him, something sparkling in her eyes that made him swallow thickly. She leaned against the doorframe of the room, shirt falling delicately against her exposed thighs.
She was doing this on purpose, he was halfway convinced.
Xin leaned forward, like she was going to step towards him, but paused in the doorway. Her fingers twitched at her side and she quickly hid them behind her back, still smiling. "Thank you, for letting me stay for the night."
Gaara grunted, turning away from her smile. It didn't dissuade her at all, her smile still going strong. "Good night," she sang softly instead, vanishing into the darkness of the bedroom. Gaara glanced at the closed door for a long time before groaning quietly.
He was fucked.
Xin bolted up in cold sweat, limbs tangling in her blanket as she struggled to fight off her nightmare. It took her several minutes to realize that it was just that, a nightmare, but it didn't make her feel any better. She felt worse now, actually. It was like she couldn't escape Masaru. She wondered why she seemed more afraid of Masaru than she was of Kuraim or Masuyo. Maybe it was mostly because Masaru should be dead, and he wasn't.
She dreamt of her worst fear, of Hinata being tortured because of Masaru's weird obsession with hurting her. She could clearly hear her sister's screams and Masaru's stupid ass laughter bouncing around her head. She could hear herself begging for him to just please stop and that she would do anything if he just left Hinata alone.
He conceded, leading her into a false sense of security only to make her watch up close as he slashed Hinata's throat.
Xin breathed heavily, violently throwing her blanket away. She rolled out of the bed, nearly dropping to the floor in her haste. Tugging down the shirt past her hips, she stumbled out of the bedroom. It probably wasn't a good idea to go to Gaara right now but hell if that would stop her. She couldn't be alone, not when she was afraid of the goddamn dark.
Gaara's form didn't move as she crept into his room. She frowned, guilt weighing heavy on her chest as she leaned over him. He looked so peaceful for once and she felt bad for interrupting again but fuck that, she needed someone. She leaned even closer, carefully reaching out towards him.
Quick as lightning, a large hand clamped around her wrist. Xin startled, gasping loudly while she tried to tug herself backwards. The hand held fast, fingers threatening to break her tiny wrist. "Gaara!" she gasped in panic. Narrowed eyes stared up at her in the dark, color deepening into an impressive gold.
His eyes were still narrowed dangerously as he continued to stare up at her. "What are you doing?" he asked gruffly, sleep evident in his voice. Xin found herself blushing at the sound of his voice, finding it very appealing.
"I—uh—" Xin stuttered over her words, struggling to say something. She felt very silly, going to him because of a simple nightmare. She was suddenly four years old again, sneaking into her parents' bed after a particularly bad nightmare. "I'm sorry, I.."
"What's the matter?" his eyes were still shining in the dark.
"I had a nightmare about Masaru and…"
She definitely felt silly at the moment, staring a demon in the face and admitting that she had a nightmare. She was sure that he faced down many scary things in his life and here she was complaining about a nightmare. "I'm sorry," she repeated into the darkness, avoiding those golden eyes of his. "I shouldn't have come here, you were sleeping. I just...I'm sorry."
Gaara still hadn't said anything but he rolled over, still holding onto her wrist. He shoved his blanket away with his other hand before yanking her down. She went with a yelp, face hitting the pillow with a dull thump. He shifted before she could really think, arm slipping under her to wrap around her waist. "What happened in your dream?" he asked, mouth pressing against her head.
"Um…" she wasn't expecting that. "Masaru killed Hinata," she admitted in a soft voice. "She was screaming and crying, and he slit her throat in front of me. He was laughing and that's all I could hear. It felt so real."
"It was just a dream, Xin. You know that's not going to happen, Naruto won't let her get hurt."
"I know but…" she twisted around in his grasp until she was settled partially on top of him, face pressed just below his throat. "He's going to try to hurt her."
"I'll just kill him again then. I'll keep killing him if I have to."
It was a dark and terrible thing to promise. Again, Xin questioned her morals. She was a miko, she wasn't supposed to condone such violence. But deep down, her blood was pumping at the declaration. "Okay," she whispered into the darkness.
Before she could stop herself, she tilted her head back and pressed her lips to his throat. Underneath her, his body stiffened. His hand, now positioned at the small of her back, tightened into a fist. The material of her shirt wrinkled under his hand, shifting around her thighs. "Xin," he muttered in warning. "You said you had to think about this."
"I know," she mouthed against his skin. "I know but…" her teeth scrape against his neck and her nails threaten to dig into his chest. She didn't have a reason, no explanation as to why she felt the need to press her lips to him, to touch him. Maybe she wanted to make sure this was real?
It's not fair, she thought as she lifted her leg and hitched it to his side. She shifted again until her full weight rested on top of him. It wasn't fair to him to tell him one thing but do the opposite, but she persisted, lips falling to the pulse in his neck.
Gaara's fist remained tight on her shirt. He didn't pull her away nor did he push her closer. Xin ignored the hand at her back and kissed her way up towards his mouth. He's still beneath her and it caused her to come to an unsure pause just inches from his mouth. "Should I stop?" she whispered against his skin, losing her nerve.
For a moment that stretched far too long, he didn't say anything. Her fingers pulled into unsure fists against his chest before unfurling, pressing down hard. She was about to push herself up, to flee the room and hide on her own until morning when he let go of her shirt.
Gaara grabbed at her hips and swiftly twisted his hips. Xin went with an easy roll while letting out yet another undignified yelp. He pulled roughly at her legs, hitching them securely around his waist and practically crushed her under his considerable weight. She had no other warning, no hint when bared his complete weight down, mouth pressing insistently against hers.
Xin pressed up into his mouth, arms coiling tightly around his neck and nails scraping at his nape. She whimpered softly when he pressed harder, teeth biting at her lower lip. It was almost too much, there was a heavy pressure building between her legs and she had no idea how to relieve it. The frustration of it all nearly brought her to tears.
Xin shifted at the uncomfortable feeling, finally lifting her hips from the bed to grind into Gaara. Relief and pleasure, all rolled up into one with a nice bow, ran through her at once. A moan, muffled by Gaara's mouth, pressed against her lips. She repeated the motion, grinding into him and chasing the feeling of pleasure that was tightening in the dip of her hips.
She was so determined; she hadn't realized that Gaara had stopped all movement. He stilled above her, hands pulling away from her. With a vicious snarl, he grabbed her hips and pinned her to the bed. Her eyes flew open, a long keening whine erupting from her mouth.
"Gaara," she wailed, her frustration coming to a boil. She tried in vain to move her hips, to do anything, but Gaara's grip on her was relentless. Her hands slid to his chest, tracing meaningless patterns in his skin. "Please," she begged, hands coming to a hard pause as her nails dug in.
The redhead stubbornly shook his head. "Don't do that," his eyes were closed and to Xin, it seemed like he was trying to concentrate. He cursed his weakness for this miko, knowing damn well it was a bad idea letting her into his bed. Hell, it was a bad idea to let her stay the night. He should've marched her short ass back to her apartment when he had the chance.
"Don't?" she echoed in confusion. "Was it wrong? Did I do it wrong?" she pressed with a pout.
The demon let out a laugh, brittle and almost breathless. "No," he answered truthfully. "You didn't do anything wrong." He could tell that his reassurance wasn't doing much to convince her.
"Then why…"
"Remember earlier, what I said about being in control."
"..Yes?"
"You're testing it. You're really testing it right now."
Xin didn't immediately reply, opting for a thoughtful look. "Just...let it go," she said after a long pause. Gaara stared down at her, lips thinned in distaste.
Another laugh, although this time it was a harsh bark. "Let it go, she says," he muttered under his breath. "Xin, that's not a good idea at all. You don't understand, I could hurt you. Scratch that, I will hurt you if I just say fuck it."
"You don't know that—"
"Yes, I do. I literally know that for a fact. It's..it's too much for you."
He could tell by the stubborn set of her jaw that she was unconvinced. "How would you even know if we've never done this before?" she pressed stubbornly. Beneath his hands, her hips began to twitch impatiently. "Gaara, oh my God, please. You can't just...not."
Gaara remained still above her, scowling all the while. "Xin," he uttered in such a stony voice that she had no choice but to listen. "You need to understand this. I can't be gentle with you, it's not in my nature. If this continues, I will hurt you."
Blood rushed to her face and excitement bubbled from the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong with her if she was getting excited. She sat up, leaning all her weight on her hands. "So, what, I should go find someone who will be gentle with me? Maybe Jura?" she baited, knowing it would stoke his anger.
Another snarl erupted from his throat, fingers wrapping around her throat. He shoved her back to the bed, curving over her. His grip wasn't enough to stop her airway, but it was strong enough to keep her to the bed, his thumb pressed to the dip of her throat. The demon shook his head, breathing deeply through his nose. To both his surprise and confusion, Xin was nearly grinning up at him.
"You're fucking with the wrong one, Xin."
She reached for his wrist, fingers coiling around him. "You're going to hurt me if you don't let go of my throat," the miko pointed out, knowing she was toeing a thin line. "I bet Jura wouldn't do this, he would kiss and touch me as much as I wanted."
"Xin."
Xin let out a frustrated groan, locking her legs around him once more. "For shit's sake, Gaara," she wailed, hips canting upwards against him. "Please? Whatever everyone's been putting into your head, can you just forget about it? For now? We'll talk about things later but this feeling, I can't explain it, it's killing me."
His nasty look melted away into something akin to amusement. "It's called being turned on, Xin. You're horny," he pointed out, watching as her face flushed an even deeper red. "Sexually frustrated, whatever you want to call it."
"Do something about it."
Gaara didn't immediately reply, opting to look down at her for a long moment. "Can I touch you?" he asked.
"Yes, for fuck's sake."
"No, Xin, can I touch you?" Gaara repeated, eyes darting down below her waist. Despite her wanton behavior, there was still a shine of innocence in her eyes. His blood pumped in his veins at the thought of ruining that innocence.
The innocence morphed into confusion and then understanding. Her face was hot enough, shining brightly in the darkness. Slowly, as if she had to really think about it, she nodded her consent. "Please," she whispered softly. He's not really sure if she knows what exactly he's asking for, but he readied himself to stop in case she changed her mind.
He let go of her throat, hands dropping low to grab at the hem of her shirt. He rucked the shirt up to her chest, exposing her smooth stomach, milky thighs and scraps of black lace. He paused at that, head rolling back on his neck to stare up at the dark ceiling. She pressed her hands against him once more, fingers scraping against his abdominals. Blood roaring in his ears, he barely heard her aggravated huff, his name rolling off her tongue impatiently.
Nails skimmed up her thighs, dragging slowly against her skin. Her hips were still twitching, her impatience coming to a boiling point. Gaara leaned over once more, mouth slanting against hers at the same time his hand drew in between her legs. She inhaled sharply, caught off guard by the simultaneous touch of his hand and mouth against her. He rubbed in between her legs, grinning almost savagely as the lace dampened nearly immediately. The scent of her arousal filled the room, threatening to drown him.
He pulled at the hem of her panties, fingers curling into the fabric. They're dragged down her thighs, past her knees and dangle from her ankle. For a brief moment, he wondered if she planned this or if she just wore sexy lingerie on a regular basis. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, but he pressed on, pulling his mouth away to kiss at her stomach and waist.
She let out another low keening whine when his mouth pressed in between her legs. He tries, he tries to be gentle with her. He could tell just by the way she carried herself that she'd never been touched and if she had, she hadn't been touched right. He wasn't used to slow and gentle, more accustomed to being rough and fast, but he had to hold back. He had to.
Xin jerked in surprise when she felt his tongue drag the length of her slit. Her hands scrambled for something as waves of pleasure washed over her. Her head spun as her hands finally settled on his head, fingers pulling and twisting his hair. The once silent room filled with the lewd sounds of loud slurping and maybe if Xin could concentrate, she'd be embarrassed.
But the only thing she could focus on was Gaara's tongue between her legs and—fuck, he was too good. With each passing second of devouring her, he allowed her to fall apart against his mouth. Her hips began pumping against his face, only halting once a large hand splayed against her stomach to press her back into the bed.
The grip on his hair relented in favor of gripping at the sheets beneath her. She closed her eyes tightly, a whimper pressing against her lips. Pleasure tightened somewhere below her hips; it was nearly painful. Gaara shifted and threw her legs over his shoulders, hands gripping her thighs tightly.
The pleasure built, continuing to build until her moans fell from her mouth in quick successions. Gaara hummed against her heated core, her scent nearly overwhelming him. It was over, he realized somewhere in the back of his mind. He couldn't be with another woman, demoness or not, after tasting Xin. It was pathetic that only devouring her would ruin his chances to move on with another woman but that was just how the cookie crumbles.
He was undoubtedly hooked.
"Gaara," Xin was breathless, fingers twisted so tightly into the sheets that her knuckles turned white. "Gaara," she repeated again, more urgently. The pleasure was building, it was building to a new height and she wasn't sure if she could come down from it. He alternated in between laving his tongue against her and sucking loudly on her clit, causing the room to spin, spin, spin.
She was gasping, keening and moaning all at once, pretty sounds falling from her lips as his ministrations quickened. The pleasure was overwhelming and with one particular hard suck, Xin came apart in pieces. A loud moan bounced off the walls as that ball of pleasure finally shattered, her legs shaking with her effort.
It took her a few minutes to finally gather herself and when she came to, Gaara was sitting up. He was wiping his mouth, humming thoughtfully as she finally regained her wits. She struggled to sit up, feeling terribly boneless. Gaara shifted closer to her until she was leaning into him, a soft sigh leaving her lips.
She exhaled slowly, face burning once realization dawned on her. "Uh…." she trailed off weakly. She had no idea how they even got to that point, remembering at some point that they once hated one another. She had no idea that just some short months later, he'd intimately touch her instead of strangling her. "Should I…?"
"No," Gaara answered immediately. He did not have the strength right now for anything more. If they kept going at this point, there would be no stopping him. He wasn't sure if he could do that to her, just yet.
"But…" Xin trailed off, tilting her head back and pressing her lips to the pulse in his neck. "Aren't you..turned on? Shouldn't I do something about it?" she asked with that same air of innocence about her. It was endearing that she could still remain so innocent, even if he was working hard to dirty her right up.
"I don't think you're quite ready for that," Gaara answered after a moment. "That was enough, you need to go to bed," he suggested, watching as she frowned. Instantly she misunderstood what he meant, thinking he was kicking her out. She began to scoot towards the edge of the bed, pouting. Before she could retreat from the bed, Gaara grabbed her around the waist and hauled her back to him. "Where the hell are you going?"
"You just said I should go to bed," Xin huffed.
"I meant in here, you idiot," Gaara rolled his eyes.
"Well, be more specific next time you fuckin' moron!"
Gaara almost laughed, wondering how they could go from hot to cold in mere seconds. He didn't want to point out that her insistence that he should be specific next time meant that she would be willing to do this more and more with him again. She grumbled to herself as they shifted around, pulling the blankets back. It was almost too intimate when they settled next to one another. They weren't at the point of being in an amorous relationship yet, but it was more than just a friendship.
They could talk about it in the morning.
They did not talk about it in the morning.
Gaara felt their friends' presence before even hearing them. Xin was still fast asleep next to him when he rolled out of bed. Annoyance began bubbling beneath his stony facade as he watched her slumber away. He wanted to crawl back under there with her and sleep the day away, but he could feel them getting closer and closer.
The redhead pulled on a shirt and left the room, hoping she'd sleep through them dropping by. He remained calm and collected as Naruto let them in, parading all of them into the living room. Gaara eyed them all with an unimpressed look as the living room settled into an awkward silence. "Yeah?" he prompted after several seconds of silence.
"Where the hell is Xin?" Karin snarled almost immediately.
Gaara nearly rolled his eyes, "she's still sleeping upstairs. She had a rough day yesterday, you wanna go up there and drag her cranky ass out of bed?" he asked rhetorically. No one wanted to deal with a cranky Xin in the morning.
"Ya don't have to be an asshole about—" Suigetsu paused, eyes widening. Neji and Tenten shared a look of confusion while Naruto blinked with raised eyebrows and Karin's face turned red. The white-haired demon's gaze turned hostile. "Ya did not."
Hinata glanced at the demons. "Is something wrong? Is Xin okay?" she pressed, looking around at all of them. "Naruto? What's wrong?" she continued to press when no one answered her. She leaned into the burly blond, hand grabbing at his bicep.
"That didn't happen," Gaara answered before anyone could ask.
"But something happened. We can smell it all through this goddamn house," Karin snarled at him. "What the fuck did you do to her?" she demanded shrilly, ignoring the human's confused expressions.
"Only what she wanted me to do."
Neji didn't like that answer, honestly none of them liked it. The only ones who weren't angry were Naruto and Hinata, as usual. Naruto sighed quietly. When Gaara called him last night telling him that Xin would stay the night with him, he just fuckin' knew it was going to blow up in their faces. Of course, he wasn't expecting the two of them to actually fool around to that extent.
"What did she want him to do? What's the smell?" Tenten asked, frowning.
Upstairs, Gaara heard the bedroom door open. He closed his eyes, hoping Xin wouldn't decide to make an appearance at that moment but of course, fate told him to fuck off. Her footsteps were light as she came pattering down the stairs. Gaara turned, glancing up the stairs and nearly groaned. She wasn't dressed. She was still wearing just his t-shirt that she'd worn to bed last night. It was almost painfully clear that she wasn't wearing any underwear either and she had that messy 'sex' hair.
Sleep was evident in her face as she nearly ran into Gaara at the bottom of the stairs. "Uh," she mumbled sleepily. "What's going on down here? I'm trying to sleep," Xin whined, eyes finally opening to peer up at him.
Xin let out a yelp when she was yanked out of the way by Naruto. Suigetsu dove into Gaara first, nasty snarls erupting. Tenten held on tightly to Neji, stopping him from attacking Gaara as well. Naruto shoved Xin at Hinata, turning back to the fight. Hinata caught her stumbling sister, wrapping her arms protectively around her waist.
Before Xin could get her wits about her, Karin was in her face. The demoness grabbed her from Hinata, hands tightly gripping her by the biceps. "Xin, what is wrong with you? How many times do we have to tell you not to get involved with him before you finally get it through your thick head?"
Xin's brain rattled around in her head as Karin shook the living hell out of her. She wasn't sure how to react to Karin's question, confused as to what the hell was even going on. Neji yanked her away from Karin. She was going to get whiplash from being yanked around so many times.
"What did he do?" Neji demanded, eyes shining brightly in anger.
Xin blinked up at him, confusion slapped onto her forehead. "What the hell are you guys even talking about? He didn't do anything," she said slowly, glancing over her shoulder at the snarls that were resounding from behind her. Naruto was struggling with keeping Suigetsu and Gaara from killing one another.
"You smell like sex, Xin. We can smell it all over you," Karin bit out. The Hyuga trios' eyes widened at the same time. Hinata's face flushed heavily, Xin paled drastically and Neji's face contorted into rage. He let go of Xin, rounding on the fight with squared shoulders. Realizing that he was intending on joining the fight and stabbing Gaara with energy or whatever the fuck it is that he does, Xin reached forward.
"Wait, wait, wait!" she grabbed onto her cousin and pulled backwards. "You guys got it all wrong! I didn't...well…" she paused thoughtfully before shaking her head. "Everybody just stop! That didn't happen!" Xin shrieked over the noise.
Neji, Karin and Tenten paused but Gaara and Suigetsu continued to fight. Fed up, Xin conjured a ball of pure energy in her palm. She couldn't quite concentrate so it wasn't in the shape of a perfect ball, it was jagged, with sharp edges poking out of it. Not caring that it wasn't formed correctly, she threw it at the trio of demons.
Feeling the energy hurtling at them, the three of them broke away from each other. "Xin," Gaara scowled first as the ball bounced against the wall and exploded, momentarily blinding them. "What the fuck?"
"You guys wouldn't stop fighting!"
"I literally had no choice. Sui was trying to stab me in the fuckin' eye."
Xin rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "This is getting way out of hand," she growled at the group. "Look, we didn't...he didn't fuck me, alright? I wanted him to, and he said no," she revealed with a snap. If she wasn't so angry, she'd probably be embarrassed that she just admitted to something like that. "So, please stop fighting. Nothing happened."
"But we can smell—"
Xin turned her gaze on Karin, eyes glowing almost eerily. "I said what I said. Nothing happened and even if something did happen, that's my business. I'm twenty-one, not sixteen. You can tell me all day long; I'm going to do what I want. Stop treating me like a child."
The occupants began to look at one another, seemingly communicating. It was Tenten who gave in first with a sigh. "What are you even doing here?"
All at once, Xin remembered Masaru. She'd momentarily forgotten him due to Gaara's efforts but now he was at the forefront of her mind. Gaara noticed, eyes rolling and shoulders slumping. It had taken him a while to take her mind off of Masaru and now they were back to square one.
"There was this demon.." Xin started, fingers twisting at a stray lock of hair. "Masaru, the one who knocked me upside the head and dragged me to Suna…"
"Great, I hate that guy," Suigetsu scowled while rolling his eyes.
"Okay, well he beat the shit out of me and Gaara killed him for it. Only...he's not dead. I've been seeing him for the past couple of days and last night…" she trailed off, fidgeting. No one spoke. "I was at the bakery and he showed up. I panicked really hard, but Jura calmed me down," she ghosted over the fact that Jura kissed her in order to calm her down.
"I was afraid to go home and put Hinata in danger, so I asked Gaara to let me stay the night with him. He didn't think it was a good idea, but I talked him into it. I had a nightmare and Gaara was there for me. That's it."
They knew she was lying, Karin, Suigetsu and Naruto could literally smell the arousal mixed in with her usual scent. But if they pressed her, she'd only get agitated.
"I think I'm going to go lay back down," Xin said after a moment of silence. "I'm still tired and this...this isn't what I need right now," she mumbled almost forlornly. The miko turned on her heel, vanishing as quickly as she came. Gaara watched her go, noting that she'd gone back into his room instead of the guestroom.
"...I told you she was cranky."
When Gaara slipped back into his room, Xin was still awake. She had washed her face and brushed her teeth but that was about it, seemingly too tired to do anything more. "They're gone," Gaara said simply, approaching the bed. He climbed into it, settling down next to her. "Hinata went home, she's going to bring you a change of clothes."
Xin nodded slowly, humming softly as she did so. "Gaara, I'm scared," Xin admitted truthfully. "I know I should be afraid of Masuyo of Kuraim, but Masaru was dead. How can he be alive if you killed him?"
Gaara shifted closer, wrapping a heavy arm around her shoulders. "It's possible," he replied simply. "It's possible with dark magic. If the corpse isn't dead for long, someone capable can tether the soul back to the body."
Xin let the information sink in, frowning all the while. "This has Masuyo written all over it," she said with a scowl. God, she wished that the fruit loop would just fall off the face of the Earth.
"I was thinking that too," Gaara nodded. "Look, Xin…" he trailed off with a sigh. "It's my fault that Masaru even knows about you. I'm sorry. I'm going to make sure he doesn't hurt you. If that means killing him over and over again, then so be it."
"You might have to stick around longer than initially planned then," Xin chuckled softly. "I would hate to force you into staying here."
Gaara looked down at her. "You're here." He spoke in a simple tone, straight to the point. Wherever Xin was, that's where he wanted to be at. He was addicted, he'd known that before shoving his face between her legs. But he'd finally gotten a taste of her and he was hooked. He wanted more than just pining after the clueless miko.
He wanted everything that came with a relationship. The good, the bad, the innocence and the naughty. He just….he wanted her wholeheartedly. There was no point in denying it. He'd gone so far as defying Rasa for Xin. When the opportunity to fuck her brains out presented itself, he rejected it on account that she simply wasn't ready. He was prepared to stay by her side as long as necessary to keep her safe. Hell, even if it wasn't necessary, that's where he wanted to be.
A voice in the back of his head began soft whispers of love.
He wasn't sure if that was the case. He'd never been in love and couldn't tell but what he felt for Xin was definitely stronger than friendship. It wasn't often that demons even fell in love, but it happened. His parents, Naruto's parents, Sasuke and Sakura...it happened.
He just never thought it could happen to him.
"Do I really smell like sex?" Xin suddenly asked, throwing him off balance.
"Mm," Gaara nodded.
"Oh...is it unpleasant?"
"Not to me."
"Oh…"
Gaara nearly grinned, he could practically feel how red her face was. The smell was actually spurning him on, encouraging him to continue where they left off. He wanted more of her, last night wasn't enough. He wanted his face in between her legs again, he wanted to shove his dick into her mouth and fuck it until she was drooling mess. He wanted her to ride his face until she orgasmed straight into his mouth. He wanted to bend her over every hard surface and pound every inch of innocence out of her.
But he wanted the other parts too. He wanted the chaste kisses and tight hugs and...everything he should've had with Matsuri. He wanted all of that romantic, relationship bullshit and he wanted it with Xin.
Gaara peered down at her. She was still propped next to him, too busy fiddling with her phone to notice. He could see that she was texting Naruto, of all people, making Gaara roll his eyes. A smile was stretched across her face and he felt nothing but warmth in his chest.
Shit.
TeeBeMe: sooooo...the world has gone to shit. I work in the healthcare field so I still have to work but I'm still writing. Practice social distancing and always wash your hands! Stay safe out there guys!
Now about the chapter. Y'all know I was giggling my way through writing that lime lol. I had 'Come on Eileen' playing for some reason. Gaara and Xin are my favorite dumbasses together and I hope they're yours too.
Stay safe!