Paints
Chapter Four
Meaning
"Extremely strange...
how something I hate so much
actually helped me find the meaning...
meaning of my life.
..."
Gaara returned the glass to the sink and grinned a little, watching He/she's surprised expression when he/she finally realized they had been painting with no paint. He sighed and began to do the dishes.
A terrific crack and a agonized cry had him flying to the balcony. His eyes widened as he took in the broken ladder rung, a blood-stained rock. Then he saw the five girls, four of which were familiar, disappearing behind an alley wall. Gaara felt the old rage grow inside him and he prepared to jump off the balcony—then remembered that if the fangirls saw him without a shirt, hell would sort of break out. Wait...didn't that mean he was walking around He/she half-naked?! Shit. Gaara burst into Naruto's room and shook him awake.
"Naruto!! Wake up!! Give me one of your most hideous shirts!"
o o o o o o o o o o
Hinata felt herself being thrown into the air. She landed with a hard thump on a pile of rubble. The five girls surrounded her, their fists clenched and muscles flexed. Miyuki pushed her way into the middle and stood over Hinata. She swung her arm and struck Hinata on the side of her head, knocking her hat off. Miyuki then grabbed the spiky black tufts of her short hair and yanked upward. Hinata cried out in pain and grabbed Miyuki's wrist, tears dripping off her chin.
"You little whore," Miyuki hissed. "I warned you to stay away from our Gaara, didn't I? DID I NOT?"
"P-p-please don't h-hurt me! I-I-I d-didn't do a-anything wrong! I—" Another hard yank to her hair cut her off.
"You do nothing but LIE, you little bitch!" Miyuki began yanking her back and forth. Hinata fought back. She kicked this way and that, swung her fists around frantically. She swiped at Miyuki's face. Miyuki dropped Hinata's hair and clutched her cheek. Two of the fangirls grabbed Hinata's bony limbs and pushed her to the wall. The third girl ran up and threw a handful of rocks at Hinata. She was now badly injured, but so were the other girls holding her.
Using most of her strength, Hinata pulled away from their grasp, leaped up and began to run away. She saw Kaourain in her way and couldn't stop what came next. Hinata felt her flexed hand clawing across Kaourain's cheek; she saw blood dripping down and her golden eyes alight with shock. It didn't matter anymore as to who Hinata hit or not. She just had to get away NOW.
"CATCH HER!!"
One of the girls tripped Hinata and jumped on her, pinning her down to the floor. Hinata squirmed around underneath and found herself face-to-face with the girl Kaourain. She stared at Kaourain's eyes. They were dark red and wide with rage. The nail marks on her cheek was already swollen and the blood was running into the edges of her lips. Despite Kaourain's beautiful looks, Hinata never saw anything more terrifying in her life. She began screaming and tried to crawl out from under the girl. Kaourain clamped a hand over Hinata's mouth.
"Stop moving!" she hissed through her teeth, and Hinata immediately stopped struggling. She saw Kaourain sit up and raise a large-knuckled fist. Hinata squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the terrible split in her face...
"THAT BITCH SOCKED ME!! OH MY GOSH!! DID YOU SEE HER HIT ME?!"
"SHE HIT ME TOO!!"
"I'll KILL her!! I'll beat the living SHIT out of her!!"
"KAOURAIN, get the HELL off of her!"
"She's unconscious."
"So WHAT?! Get off of her!"
"She won't feel anything. It'll be no use hitting her; and besides, you're just gonna waste your own energy."
Hinata felt her hand being lifted and dropped to the ground..
"See? Totally out of it."
"Oh really?"
Hinata suddenly felt a sharp kick delivered to her ribs. She screamed out in pain.
"What the—"
"SHE'S AWAKE!!"
"BEAT HER UP!!"
"GET—OFF!!"
Hinata felt Kaourain being shoved off her and another weight dropped onto her stomach. Fists grabbing at her painfully and nails dug into her skin. There were loud slaps as Miyuki hit her face over and over, while the three other fangirls held her arms and yelled. Warmth was running down her face and all she was able to see was blurry dark clots of red. She felt fainter with every blow to her face.
"What's going on here?!"
There was a gasp, and everything stopped. Hinata tried opening her eyes, but she couldn't; they were swollen shut. She listened to the voice, but it was one that she did not recognize. All she knew that it was indeed a man's voice. It was saying something to her. Hinata tried to reply, but instead felt herself succumbing to darkness.
Gaara lay in wait, impatiently drumming his fingers against the tabletop and feeling enraged. He hated the fact that he knew someone was being harmed, yet could do nothing about it. It sent his Kazekage instincts out of control. He also wanted to sock Naruto for not having any clothes, the main reason why he was still stuck in the apartment. He couldn't take it anymore.
Gaara threw open the balcony door and jumped off, landing gracefully. He bolted through the alleys, heading in Naruto's direction. Within several seconds, he saw the silhouettes. He heard crying, yelling, hard breathing. He heard Naruto's cry of "heartless crazy bitches!" echoing through the alleys.
Gaara jumped and landed next to Naruto. The fangirls gasped and began running towards him. At first he didn't register. He was too mesmerized by the sight of so much gore on such a tiny pale person...thick dark blood smeared on the perfect, small face...discolored spots forming all along the limbs...there was still a tormented look about He/she's sleeping face...
"Gaara-sama! EEEE!!! You're even hotter without your shirt!"
"Oh Gaara-kun! You have orange paint stains on your face! How cute!"
"Can I wash it off for you, Gaara-sama?"
Miyuki shoved her way through the girls and pushed herself up against Gaara's chest. "Oh Gaara-sama," she said, using her sweetest voice. "Me and my friends had no choice. We noticed that girl always sneaking off to see you during the night."
"Stay the hell away from me!" Gaara shoved Miyuki away, but she immediately pulled herself back to him.
"But Gaara-sama," she whimpered. "That girl was trying to attack us! Just because she wants you for herself!"
"Get off him, Miyuki." All eyes turned towards the girl with the long black hair and golden eyes. Her slender face held no emotion, except for her eyes, which were dripping disgust. She gave Miyuki a glare and her eyes flashed purple. Miyuki gave a frightful look before reluctantly pulling herself away.
Gaara internally thanked the girl and returned his eyes to He/she. The body was so fragile and white; it was almost fake-looking. He/she's blood also reeked of metal. It stained the ground, the hands of the fangirls, the wall, the smell of the air. It was making him feel very sick. He breathed an uneasy breath and took a step towards He/she.
Rage filled the fangirls' eyes. Gaara took another step.
"G-Gaara-sama." Miyuki strained to keep her voice light and sweet. "W-We'll take care of her for you. We know which way the hospital is. You should just go back to your apartment and...and ..."
Miyuki's honey-sweet mask melted away and she bared her ugly yellow teeth. "What are you doing!" she hissed. "You're not actually giving help to somebody— a NOBODY who doesn't deserve it, are you?!"
The fangirls watched Gaara's eyes, waiting for some sort of hesitation from him.
Gaara walked another step. He took great pleasure in infuriating the fangirls, especially this bratty purple one talking.
Miyuki balled her fists and howled. "Kazekage Gaara-sama! I never expected that someone as great as you would have the nerve to go near someone who shouldn't even exist!"
"SHUT UP!!" yelled Naruto.
Gaara slowly knelt down and turned He/she over. He slid his hands underneath the body and lifted He/she up without any difficulty. The girls gasped and cussed.
"I'll kill that bitch," one of the fangirls begin to say, but Naruto raised a chakra-infused fist to her.
"Don't you freaking dare! Do that kid harm and I'LL be harming you, even if you're a girl!"
While Naruto drove the girls away, Gaara carried He/she back to the apartment and set them on the floor. Naruto returned and locked the door behind him while rubbing a bite mark on his shoulder.
"Crap, Gaara." Naruto wiped his forehead and whistled. "Your fangirls are SO much more intense than Sasuke's."
He walked over and examined He/she. "She had a back wound from what I saw, bruises, possible scalp wound, judging from the hair, and cuts on the face, maybe also inside the mouth."
Blood was beginning to pool on the floor. Gaara wiped blood off He/she's face. There was a deep cut on her cheek. Naruto groaned and fetched an antibiotic.
"I wonder what this girl did to provoke your fangirls like that," he said. "Are Suna fangirls like this? Are all fangirls—wait...what the...?"
Naruto stared in surprise and horror at the face below him. He pointed at the face, a sweat running down his forehead. "G-Gaara? Who is—is...is this a girl?—a guy?—what the—I thought it was a girl—but he...she...he..."
Gaara finished treating He/she's wounds and sat up. He smirked and pointed at the face. "This, Naruto, is that painter person from couple weeks ago. Remember? And therefore, since I also couldn't determine this person's gender, I have been calling it 'He/she'."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"Dude, Gaara!" Naruto choked out from between gasps, "I know another name!"
"What?" Gaara snickered.
"Shemale!!" Another round of laughter.
"Oh, I know one! Woman!!"
"A robot! Asexual jellyfish!"
"You're lame!"
"This is so cheesy anyway-WAIT!" Naruto screamed and leaped off the floor. He gasped and pointed at He/she. Gaara looked, then groaned. Gaara had forgotten to treat the cut on her back. Which meant the carpet was stained with blood.
"Aww, Gaara!" Naruto yelled, grabbing fistfuls of his hair in agony. "First, it's orange paint! Now, it's red blood! Is my house becoming a rainbow or what!"
"Yeah, it is," said Gaara. "Those yellow ramen soup stains on your pajamas. The green mold growing between the tiles in your bathroom, and the blue paint on your room walls, and—"
"That purple mark on the wall your old gourd made when it fell...," Naruto groaned. "Aw, damn it. Clean it up for me, Gaara. I'm gonna buy some stain remover."
Gaara gave He/she a nervous look, then jumped up and grabbed the keys. "Wait Naruto. Why don't you let me buy the stain remover?"
"No, it's okay," Naruto said happily. He reached for his frog purse and Gaara snatched that away too. Naruto groaned. "Gaara, I know you feel guilty but really, it's my house. It's my money. And you're my guest. I'll buy the stain remover."
"No, no, let me buy it. You can take care of He/she..."
Naruto smiled at his friend and shot a wary look at the bloody body behind them. When he turned back, the smile was forced. "G-Gaara...give me my stuff."
Gaara also put on a smile to hide his growing fear. "You don't really want to go that long, long way down to town just to buy remover? Let me do it."
Naruto tried reaching for his belongings. "You wouldn't do it if I didn't want to. But today I want to. Give me my stuff."
"That means I want to walk today too," said Gaara. "I'll buy the remover, or we can walk together."
"Someone has to watch He/she. And thanks for the offer, but I'll buy it. Give me my stuff!"
"...No."
Both of them began to fight for the keys and purse.
"Give me my stuff!"
"You're the owner of this house, Naruto! You should be watching over He/she—"
"Oh, but you're my guest! My guests should never be doing my errands for me, eh? Ho ho NO they shouldn't be! I treat my guests with the best of hospitality. Now give me my fucking purse!"
"Watching He/she is an errand you're giving me, punk! And guess what? What if I'm a guest who WANTS to offer help from the bottom of his heart? You should be grateful that you're even getting an offer from ME! It's not everyday that someone gets an offer from fucking Gaara!"
"If you want to offer any goddamn help, then you help me with what I ask you to help me on! GIVE—ME—MY—STUFF!"
"NO!!"
"Mmfprgh..."
Both teens stopped fighting and stared at He/she. He/she rolled over and lay perfectly still, a tiny trickle of blood running down her face from a reopened scab. It looked just like a murdered corpse. As the two friends stared at the body, Naruto found his chance.
"I'M SORRY GAARA," he yelled. "BUT I JUST HAVE NO CHOICE!!"
Gaara lay on the floor groaning, both hands at his crotch. The door slammed behind him and Gaara grit his teeth, cursing Naruto inside his head. "Hospitality to guests, huh? That flaming shitbag." In the silence that followed, Gaara felt fear beginning to fill up his body. He was alone with He/she. A bloody He/she. Bloody, pale, zombie-like He/she. The metallic smell of blood in the air didn't help either.
His eyes popped open when He/she groaned again. He watched in horror as He/she rolled in his direction, facing him. Then very slowly, one swollen eye slowly slid open...
Hello everybody! Didja like the chapter? Lots of dialogue. Heh :P Next chapter may be coming soon. Please review, and if this chapter was a bit crazy, well then it's because of my dog. Yes, my dog. She peed four times on the floor today. She only pees on the floor when it's just me around. The rest of my family, she doesn't dare. I mean, what the hell? Bitch. Oh wait, make that FIVE times on the damn floor!