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Drifting off in Thoughts of you

Chapter Eight- Incomprehensible Feelings

Natsumi's eyes snapped open as she shot up in bed.

'That bandage…around Nee-Chan's head… That wasn't there before she left with Ichiro…'

Natsumi frowned as her hands shook slightly.

"That bastard did something to her…" she muttered.

Her gaze ran to the window slowly. She squinted her eyes as the sun began rising. Her small hands clenched into fists.

Ai tossed and turned in bed. Memories if the night with Ichiro ran through her mind.

"No-!" Ai shot up in bed and looked around the room quickly. She breathed heavily. Cold sweat poured down her face slowly. She rubbed her eyes as her breathing slowed down to normal. Ai sighed and shut her eyes. She rested her head in her hands.

Ai bit her bottom lip before swinging her legs over the edge of her bed. She stood up slowly and looked out the window. She looked over to where the Kazekage's office was.

'Temari-Chan and Kankuro-San aren't going to be home for a little while…maybe I could-…'

Ai smiled and grabbed some of Temari's old clothes.

Ai pulled the shirt over her head quickly. She tugged the shirt and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes ran down to her feet nervously. Ai looked back up at the mirror and smiled. She grabbed her small black bag and ran out the door, closing it behind her.

She came to a halt and felt the bandage around her head. She took the bandage off carefully and stuffed it in her bag. Her smile grew slightly as she ran to Gaara's office.

Ai stood nervously. She tugged her skirt again and put her bangs behind her ears. She walked forward nervously. A young man carrying papers stopped and looked at her. He smiled widely and walked towards her.

"Hi, my name's Kenji- how can I help you?"

Ai stammered slightly.

"I- I- I came to see- I mean, I- I was wondering if you needed help or anything…"

Kenji's smile grew wider.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear that!" he said happily as he pushed the papers into Ai's hands. She looked at him strangely, and then looked down at the papers.

"I'll be on a break if you need me!" He shouted as he walked out the doors.

'A person like that…working here…is that allowed?'

"We're busy today! Give those papers to Kazekage-Sama!" someone shouted.

Ai jumped slightly and walked to the large doors in front of her.

'Aren't you busy everyday if you work here…?' Ai thought as she shook her head.

She raised her hand shakily and knocked on the large doors twice. She heard a muffled voice telling her to come in.

Ai opened the door slowly and looked around the room. She noticed Gaara looking out the window.

Gaara stood silently. Ai walked in slowly and closed the door behind her. She turned around quickly and dropped some papers.

Ai bent forward as all the papers fell out of her hands. Her face grew hotter as she dropped to her knees and picked up the papers.

Gaara turned slowly and froze.

"I- I- I- I'm really s- sorry…" Ai stammered quietly.

Gaara walked towards her and bent down. Ai looked up at him shyly for a moment before looking back down. Gaara reached forward and picked up some papers. Gaara looked down at Ai's hands and saw them shaking slightly.

Ai kept her eyes lowered as she picked up the last paper. Gaara and Ai stood up quickly and silently.

"I- um…N- No one was at home…and I- I- figured I could help…" she stammered.

Gaara looked at her red face. Ai kept her head down. Her hands continued to shake slightly. Gaara took the papers from her hands and put them on his desk.

"Where's Kenji?"

Ai continued looking down.

"He- He went…um…H- He's on a break…"

Gaara nodded slightly and looked down at the papers.

"You can go…" Gaara said quietly as his back faced Ai.

Ai raised her head quickly and looked at him. Her eyes ran back to the ground as she nodded. She turned around and walked to the door.

Gaara's eyes widened as he raised his head. He turned around quickly to see that Ai was gone. His hand clenched into a fist.

'…What's going on…? Why do I feel-…'

Ai felt tears prickling her eyes. She rubbed her eyes and walked down the street. She turned around once and looked back.

Ai sighed and walked to Temari's house, looking at the ground.

Ai bumped into someone and looked up quickly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't-…"

Her voice trailed off. She stepped back quickly. She looked into Ichiro's angry eyes. Ai's gaze ran to the three large men behind him. She recognized them quickly. Fear etched its way onto Ai's face. Ai held onto her bag tightly and ran past them.

She looked back to see them running towards her. Ai ran into a nearby alley. She skidded to a halt and froze. Ai looked around at her surroundings.

'There's no way out…'

She heard deep voices behind her. A single tear ran down her face as she turned around. One of the men quickly covered Ai's mouth.

'Not again- not again, please!'

Ichiro stood in front of her, looking at her angrily. His angry frown quickly turned to a smirk. The man who covered Ai's mouth licked his lips as he looked down at her chest. Tears of anger and fear poured down her face. Ichiro sent a kick to Ai's stomach. Ai groaned as she fell back.

Ichiro and one of the men walked to the front of the alley and stood there.

The large man uncovered her mouth and pulled out a kunai knife. Ai stood frozen to her spot.

"Don't you dare scream…" he muttered angrily. Ai could smell alcohol in his breath.

She raised her hand and punched his nose. He doubled back and held his nose. Ai tried running away, but was held back by another man. The man who held his nose stood up angrily and walked towards Ai. He grabbed her and ripped off her shirt as the other man held her. He held the kunai knife up and Ai was about to scream. Ai stood silently as the tears continued to pour down her face. He raised his hands allowed them to roam over Ai's body.

'Damn it…'

Gaara punched his desk and walked out his office.

Kenji looked at Gaara curiously.

"Kazekage-Sama-…"

Gaara walked past him quickly.

Kenji scratched his head in confusion and shrugged.

"Stop it, please," Ai said quietly.

The men glared at her as one of them slapped her. Ai breathed heavily.

'I don't care- I'll scream…It's not like I'm needed in this world…'

Ai opened her mouth and screamed. Ichiro and the three men looked at Ai angrily. One of them gripped the kunai knife tightly and put it against Ai's face. He cut her cheek slowly as he glared at her. Ai winced in pain.

Gaara froze as he heard someone scream. He turned around and walked back to where he heard the scream. He looked towards a dark alley and noticed Ichiro. He walked towards him slowly.

Ichiro turned to see Gaara walking towards him. He gulped in fear and stepped back. People on the street stopped and turned to see Gaara.

"Wh- What do you want now, you bastard?" Ichiro asked angrily. Gaara continued to walk towards Ichiro silently.

Ai looked up through her blurry eyes. Her bottom lip trembled as the men held her arms tightly.

"Gaara…" she said quietly as she whimpered.

"Gaara-!"

Gaara's eyes ran to Ai. His hands curled into fists. Gaara stood face-to-face with Ichiro. Ichiro looked at him fearfully. Gaara's fist collided with Ichiro's nose. Ichiro fell back and grabbed his nose as it bled heavily.

"You asshole- go kill yourself, you monster!"

Ai stopped crying at Ichiro's words. Gaara narrowed his eyes as sand circled itself around Ichiro. Ichiro screamed as he tried to stand up. He looked back at the large, drunken men and glared at them.

"What the Hell are you waiting for? Kill him!"

The men ran past Ichiro and stumbled as sand curled around their feet and hands. Ai dropped down to her knees and looked up at Gaara's angry face. Tears began pouring down her face again. She looked down as she heard the crunching of bones and screams of agony. She picked up her ripped shirt shakily and wrapped it around herself as best as she could. The quiet murmurs of the villagers could be heard. They walked away from the alley quickly, not wanting to be close to Gaara. All four of the men fell down with their hands and feet out at strange angles. They slipped out of consciousness quickly.

Ai wrapped her arms around herself and continued crying quietly. Gaara walked towards her slowly and bent down in front of her.

"Ai…Are you okay…?"

Ai looked up as her eyes became redder. Gaara's eyes softened slightly. Ai threw her arms around Gaara and buried her face in his chest. Her tears started soaking through Gaara's shirt slowly. Gaara raised his arms awkwardly and hugged her back. Gaara stood up slowly, keeping his arms around Ai.

"Come on…" he whispered as he walked past the bodies on the ground.

Ai's tears stopped slowly as a faraway look placed itself on her face. People stopped to look at them for a moment. Gaara ignored their confused faces and continued walking slowly. Ichiro's words ran through Ai's mind continuously.

'He's…not…a monster…'

Gaara and Ai stopped walking when they faced Temari's house. Gaara dropped his hands and looked at Ai through the corner of his eye. Ai looked down and shifted uncomfortably. They stood in an awkward silence.

"Go inside, Temari should be there…" Gaara said as he turned away.

'Come on…say something…' Ai thought to herself.

"Gaara-Kun," she said quickly.

Gaara stopped, but had his back facing her again. Ai looked down nervously.

"Thank you…" she said, barely above a whisper.

Gaara nodded and walked back to his office. Ai sighed and walked into the house slowly. She turned around to see that Gaara was already gone. Her hands shook slightly as she closed the door.

Gaara looked at her from somewhere else for a moment before she closed the door. He turned around and continued walking back to his office.

Ai stood with her back leaning against the door. She looked down and shut her eyes for a moment. She could hear the sound of water hitting the ground quietly and knew that Temari was in the shower. Ai walked into the room she was staying in and plopped down on the bed. She ran her fingers over the cut on her cheek

'What's wrong with me…?'

The day passed by quickly. Ai sat on her bed, looking out at the darkened sky. She hugged her knees and looked up at the tiny stars twinkling outside. A single tear ran down her face.

'Gaara…'

Ai crawled into bed and closed her eyes as another tear ran down her face. She fell into a deep sleep quickly.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Review please!