-
"ALL RIGHT! TIME TO LET YOUR YOUTHFUL ENERGY GO WILD!" Gai-sensei said, once again clad in his green spandex.
One would think that he could be content with scarring everyone's eyes by wearing that suit. But no, he wanted another torture technique. The gym clothes that all the students had to wear were green spandex and orange leg warmers with weights. So, on the track and in the gym, everyone wore the horrible color.
Gaara stared at the outfit long and hard.
"I'm not wearing this," he said calmly, shoving it back into his gym locker.
"But you have to, Gaara! It's required!" Naruto said, waving his arms around. "Even I have to wear it, and it's not like my dad can't just come and say, 'Gai-sensei, I'm afraid I must insist that my son not be forced to wear the gym outfit'! Come on! It's only fair!"
"Since when has the world been fair?" Gaara asked.
Naruto frowned at the vague reference to the Yashamaru incident, as Naruto had secretly dubbed it.
"Come on, Gaara, on some people it doesn't look AS bad," Naruto continued.
Gaara looked at Naruto and looked him up and down. It didn't look HORRIBLE on Naruto. Hell, it might've looked better on Naruto than it did on Gai-sensei, the one who invented the fashion style. It also looked better on Rock Lee than it did Gai-sensei. Gaara looked at the outfit again, and he glanced at Naruto again.
"Even Sasuke has to wear it!" Naruto added in an attempt to get him to do it.
Naruto promised himself to never use Gaara's and Sasuke's dislike of the other to make Gaara do something ever again.
Gaara thought long and hard, then he nodded.
-
"There you two are! What took you so long? Now, because of your tardiness, you both have to run two thousand laps!" Gai-sensei announced.
Gaara raised an eyebrow. He didn't know how he was going to do that. He felt really uncomfortable in this outfit. It clung to every curve on his body and every inch of skin. He was thankful that it couldn't stick to his cotton boxers, however.
"What are you waiting for? Go, go!" Gai-sensei said.
"What? Gaara's new! Does he really have to run that much?" Naruto complained.
"Just because his gym classes started later than everyone else's doesn't mean that he gets to slack off. Now go!"
Naruto grumbled to himself as he and Gaara started their laps.
Thirty minutes later
Gaara fell to his knees, perspiration dripping off of him like a waterfall. He tried to catch his breath, but that seemed impossible, like he suddenly developed asthma. He didn't think he did, though.
Naruto backtracked to where Gaara collapsed.
"Hey, you okay?" Naruto asked, knelling down to take a better look at his friend.
Gaara looked up at Naruto, wondering how he could still be going. In response to Naruto's question, Gaara shook his head no. Slowly, the whole world went black.
-
"This is why you don't make the new kid do so many laps, Gai-sensei!" screamed a voice Gaara didn't recognize.
"We're sorry. Only Kankuro and I really had to do any type of strenuous exercise back in Sunagakure. Gaara was actually home-schooled, you see, and Dad and Uncle Yashamaru would hardly let him outside the house," said Temari's voice.
Gaara opened an eye and saw Naruto and Kankuro hovering over him.
"Hey, li'l bro," Kankuro greeted. "How are you doing?"
"My head hurts," Gaara grumbled, sitting up.
Gaara realized his surroundings looked like a school nurse's office.
"What happened?" Gaara muttered.
"Well, apparently, you shouldn't sweat that much," Naruto said, handing him a water bottle.
Gaara took it and unscrewed the top. When he was done with the bottle, he lowered it from his face and looked at Kankuro who looked like he had just seen his little brother do something amazing.
"What?" Gaara asked.
"Nothing, it's just that . . . I've never seen you swallow that much before. You're the one with the small appetite, remember?" Kankuro commented.
Gaara grunted and threw the empty bottle away. Gaara looked over to the side and saw Temari talking with the school nurse (he didn't know her name) and Gai-sensei. Gai-sensei looked sincerely worried. Temari looked over at her littlest brother, squealed happily, ran over, and gave Gaara the hug of doom.
"You're okay!" Temari exclaimed.
"Temari . . . can't . . . breathe. . . ," Gaara managed out.
"Oh! Sorry!" Temari said, letting Gaara go. "I just hate it when anyone in the family lands himself in the hospital or the nurse's office in this case. You know that!"
Gaara nodded while checking to see if any ribs were broken.
"I think I'm fine. What time is it?" Gaara said.
"It's actually the end of school already. One more month of it and it's winter break," Naruto said, glancing at his watch. "I'm supposed to be home by now. Promised Dad. See you later!"
Naruto gave Gaara a quick hug and ran out of the nurse's office. Gaara sat there, stunned. He blinked several times and his usually pale cheeks turned pink. Temari saw the blush and giggled while Kankuro just looked at the doorway then looked back at Gaara, looking confused.
"Aw, does Gaara-nii-chan have a boyfriend?" Temari asked teasingly.
Gaara glared at her, his cheeks still pink.
"No," he answered coldly, getting out of the bed. "Can I get out of this horrid outfit now?"
-
Kankuro kept an eye on Gaara all the way home. That blushing had been a bit weird, but personally, Kankuro thought that Temari had gone a little far saying that Gaara had a boyfriend. Gaara never opened up to anyone, not even his siblings, ever since Yashamaru's death. He really doubted that some kid who wasn't in the family would be able to get him to open up so much. Maybe it was just a crush if he felt that way at all? Maybe he just didn't like being hugged in public. That last one was probably it.
They reached the house and Temari opened the door.
"We're home!" Temari said, hoping that their father was home.
Naturally, he wasn't. He hardly ever was. Kankuro and Temari walked in, but Gaara stopped in the doorway. Kankuro turned around.
"What's the matter, Gaara?" Kankuro asked.
"Why was the door unlocked?" Gaara said.
Temari had gone ahead of them. Kankuro raised an eyebrow at Gaara.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm the one with the key today. It was Temari who opened the door. Meaning that the door was already unlocked. And Father's not here. Meaning that someone that we don't know is in there."
Kankuro's eyes widened.
"TEMARI!"
Kankuro and Gaara ran ahead inside. Kankuro took out a pocketknife from his pocket, and Gaara grabbed a knife from the kitchen counter. Kankuro ran up the stairs while Gaara stayed on the ground floor. Gaara's eyes trailed off to their father's study door. There was a silhouette on the door's window.
-
Kankuro checked all the rooms upstairs. No one was there. He did scare Temari by barging into her room with a knife out, though. Because of that, Temari was now walking with him with a special fan in hand. The fan was actually made of metal and the edges were extremely sharp.
"The intruder must be on the ground floor," Kankuro announced, then slowly added, "with Gaara."
Temari and Kankuro looked at each other for two seconds, then ran down the stairs, just in time to hear a gun shot and hurried footsteps.
"GAARA!" Temari and Kankuro yelled, turning a corner.
The sound of the front door being slammed echoed through the house. Temari and Kankuro ran into the hall and saw an open study door and Gaara, lying on the ground, unconscious, and bleeding all over the wood floor.
"Call an ambulance!" Kankuro exclaimed.
Temari nodded and dashed to the phone.
"And call the police while you're at it!" Kankuro added, knelling down next to his brother, ripping off part of his jacket so he could stop some of the bleeding.
-
"Hello, Konoha Police Force. Mitarashi Anko speaking," said the purple-haired cop.
She blinked at the rapid talking. It sounded like a teenaged girl of fifteen or sixteen.
"Woah, woah, slow down there. I can't understand you."
Anko listened to the incident. She gathered that someone had broken into their house, they came home from school, the person was in their father's office, the girl's younger brother found him and he was shot.
"Okay, I'll send a car or two right away. Hey, Itachi! Obito!" Anko yelled.
Itachi and Obito walked into her office.
"Yes?" they said in unison.
"There's a break-in case at 2895 Shodaime Drive. There was also a shooting. The youngest of three kids got shot. An ambulance is already on its way, the girl said," Anko reported.
Obito nodded and ran down the halls to get his partner and go. Itachi, however, stayed behind.
"Isn't that where the family from Sunagakure moved in?" Itachi asked.
"Uh, yeah, I think so. Why? You think it has something to do with Sunagakure?"
"Yes. A mafia boss is supposed to be in town. I think it's their father. If it is, then we'll finally be able to catch Wind Shadow. The problem with that idea, though, is why would he be here unless there was a big problem. The only human-like quality I've seen Wind Shadow possess is an attachment to his children. Meaning if something in Sunagakure has gotten so dangerous he'd rather risk getting caught than let his children die, we actually have bigger problems."
"Well, whatever. You have to go now!" Anko said, shooing Itachi away. "Okay, kid, the police are on their way. What's your name, anyway?"
"Temari."
"And your brother's?"
"Well, Gaara's the one who got shot, but there's also Kankuro who's taking care of him right now. When's that ambulance getting here?"
"Soon, Temari, trust me. It's only going to take them a few more minutes. Is your brother trying to stop Gaara's bleeding?"
"Yes."
"Then you're doing great. Just hold on."
-
Itachi's and Obito's police cars arrived after the ambulance departed with Gaara. Obito and Kakashi emerged from one and Itachi and Arashi from the other. Temari and Kankuro stood on the porch, looking stressed-out, worried, and depressed.
"What took you so long?" Temari demanded once they approached them. "It was bad enough the bastard could get away before we could even see what happened to Gaara! He could be anywhere right now! It's been hours!"
Temari suddenly broke down into tears. Kankuro patted her on the back.
"It's okay, Gaara's going to be fine. He's a tough kid," Kankuro comforted.
"But he's never had any wounds before!" Temari exclaimed. "If it was you or me, we'd be fine! But, Gaara . . . Gaara . . . ."
Sobs overtook words. Itachi and Kakashi looked at each other, both thankful for Obito's and Arashi's gifted talents of dealing with teenagers and children.
"I know this is hard for both of you, but we need a complete story about what happened. If you can give us any hints on who would do this, that would be good. Itachi, Kakashi, and Obito will be looking for any clues in the house, such as fingerprints. In the meantime, I need you two to work with me, okay?"
Temari and Kankuro nodded.
"Hey, aren't you Naruto's dad?" Kankuro asked suddenly.
Arashi blinked. He didn't expect to be asked that.
"Yes, yes I am."
"Naruto's actually been hanging out with Gaara lately . . . ." Kankuro said, wondering why he brought this subject up in the first place. "Anyway, here's what happened."
-
Itachi, Kakashi, and Obito walked into the hall where the study was. Obito made a face.
"Man, that's a lot of blood. To think it came out of a twelve-year-old."
"Just look for fingerprints and stuff," Kakashi reminded Obito, pulling on rubber gloves; Itachi did the same.
They dusted for fingerprints for two whole hours. Kakashi found lots of guns in the drawers along with blank papers and some pens. All of the guns had no identifications on it to suggest that the burglar used it. If anything, they were all the father's. Kakashi assumed that, if one was to live in Sunagakure, that one would have to have so many guns. Obito and Itachi couldn't find anything.
"Looks like we'll have to ask Gaara if he lives," Itachi said, walking out of the office first.
Obito made another face as Itachi walked through the bloody mess.
"I swear . . . ." Obito said, but what he swore only Kakashi knew because he whispered whatever it was to him.
Kakashi nodded and shrugged.
"What can we do about it? He's second-in-command," Kakashi reminded.
Obito pouted.
"Still, he can at least leave the crime scene completely the way it was."
"That's only so detectives can find clues. We are the detectives, and we searched for clues. There are none here, so he can do whatever he wants with the blood. Hopefully, those kids plan on cleaning it."
"Kakashi-koi!"
Kakashi flinched. Obito only used his pet name when he was either aroused or upset. Currently, he was obviously upset.
"If I was shot, I wouldn't want the police walking in MY blood!" Obito pointed out as he carefully walked around the red pool.
Kakashi sighed. Obito sometimes stressed him out.
"While we're on the subject," Obito continued; Kakashi's shoulders slumped in an obvious sign of being tired, whether physically or emotionally, "I don't think his siblings want us to be walking in his blood either. If I was shot, would you want people walking in mine?"
Obito turned his head to Kakashi expectantly. Kakashi thought about it for a moment.
"No, no I wouldn't," Kakashi answered.
"Thought so," Obito said.
"Are you guys coming or what?" Itachi called. "We're finished here."
Obito grumbled to himself as he walked toward Itachi. Kakashi looked at the pool of blood in front of him. Avoiding it by walking around it would be too troublesome, seeing how big the pool was. He couldn't walk through it now because Obito would know and then yell at him. He made a few hand signs that he remembered from Arashi's police training, disappeared in a puff of smoke, and reappeared a little ways down the hall, far away from the blood. He thanked Kami-sama for the invention of ninjustu. Too bad it was against the law to use it often.
-
Gaara woke up, the white color of a hospital temporarily blinding him. He blinked a few times and his eyes adjusted.
"Glad to see that you're awake."
Gaara sat up and turned his head so fast his neck cracked. His eyes landed on a man with spiky black hair and goggles over his eyes. He wore a headband over the left side of his goggles; the headband was adorned with the Konoha symbol, a leaf. His visible iris was a dark color, almost blending in with his pupil. His skin was pale, like Uchiha Sasuke's. His face was remarkably similar to Sasuke's. Same cheekbones, same mouth, same nose, same ears, the only thing that differed was his eye.
"Who are you?" Gaara asked, moving to take out his concealed knife.
"It's not there," said the man, holding up Gaara's knife. "I'm not going to hurt you anyway. Arashi-sempai says that you're a friend of his son, and besides, I'm just here to ask a few questions. My name is Uchiha Obito, and I'm part of the Konoha Police Force. I'm one of the four investigating the break-in of your house and the attempted murder which you are the victim of."
Gaara stared at the man long and hard.
"You're related to Uchiha Sasuke?" Gaara asked.
Obito's expression went from professional to informally confused.
"Yes, but I'm related rather distantly. Sasuke's my . . . uh, third cousin? Or is it fifth?" Obito said, then shrugged. "Whatever. Can you tell me in your own words what happened at 7:30 pm at Shodaime Drive yesterday?"
Gaara informed him with the smallest amount of words possible.
"Can you describe your assaulter?" Obito asked.
"Black hair, wore a mask over half of his face, no shirt, army arm-warmers, a seat-belt-like thing."
"What was his skin color? I think I know who this is already, but I need to be sure."
Gaara thought for a long time.
"It was an odd tan. It looked like a grayish bluish tan," Gaara said, then after a minute, added, "which I didn't know was possible."
Obito nodded. Yes, that was definitely Momochi Zabuza, meaning that someone else wanted something from the building. Knowing that the father was from Sunagakure could mean anyone from a petty thief to a gigantic mobster.
"Thanks, kid. Hey, Temari-chan! Kankuro-kun! You two can come in now!" Obito called as he exited, waving good-bye to Gaara as he left.
Gaara watched him leave. He didn't seem that bad. Maybe there were good cops.
"Gaara-nii-chan!" Temari exclaimed, trapping Gaara in a Vulcan Death Grip, alias Hug of Doom.
"He can't breathe, Temari-nee-san," Kankuro informed, sitting down in Obito's former seat. "How'ya doing, Gaara-nii-chan?"
"Fine," Gaara said as he leaned back into the pillow. "My head just hurts."
"That's because the doctor said the guy shot you . . . in the . . . head," Kankuro admitted, looking at his shoes.
Gaara's eyes widened. What did he say?
"The doctor said that the bullet's stuck in your skull, so there's no brain damage, but they need to do surgery to get it out and reconstruct your skull so the fragments won't cause any damage or bleeding. He said that if they don't do it, the bullet might get dislodged and harm your brain or skull fragments might cause - ."
"Stop it, Kankuro! I don't want to hear all of that again!" Temari interrupted.
"He has to know what's wrong, Temari!" Kankuro retorted.
"Shut up both of you. You're making the headache worse," Gaara interrupted, lifting a hand to hold his head.
"The doctor said no one should touch your head until after the surgery. You can request some pain meds, though," Kankuro said, looking at his shoes again; he had looked up to yell at Temari.
Gaara took all of the information in. He told Kankuro to continue and he did. The skull fragments might cause dysfunctional thinking and/or paralysis or a bunch of other things. Gaara sighed and closed his eyes. What the hell has he gotten into now?
-
Red Roses2: Did everyone else know it was Zabuza? I hope so, because it was a little obvious on who it was. You know the drill. Read, review/flame/praise/critique.