Mercy Killing

Trust vs. Mistrust

It took about two hours before I found a shop I actually wanted to go into. It was an imports store and was filled with hundreds of different cultures and styles of clothes. The store was designed in stalls, so that travellers, traders, anyone who wanted to sell something here, payed a small fee, and got a space to sell their thing.

Kankuro picked up a tanktop with arabian embroidery on the sides, and grinned. "This is pretty, what do you think?" He asked. I turned around, shutting my mouth. I had been gaping in awestruck silence at the gigantuous-sized store. No matter how many times I came here, I just couldn't get over the fact of how huge and beautiful it was. I swaggered up to him, and rolled my eyes.

"You just want to see me in a tank top," I teased. Sure enough, his face turned red, and he glared.

"Do not!"

"It may not be the only reason, but you know you want too~" I continued, spinning lightly, flashing a grin.

"I DO NOT!" He shouted. I rolled my eyes.

"Sure you don't~" I purred, walking up to him.

"I swear, I don't!" He was starting to look panicked. I faked a hurt expression.

"Are you saying I'm unnatractive?" I asked in a soft, childish voice. His expression was priceless. He stumbled for words for a second, then just settled for glaring. Ah, the simple pleasures of dating the Kazekage.

"You are a cruel, cruel woman." I grinned.

"I know." He rolled his eyes. I took the tanktop from him, and looked for the pricetag, when I read it, I whistled loudly, set it back on the rack, and backed away slowly.

Kankuro quirked a brow. "I thought you liked it?"

I nodded. "I did. But I don't like tanktops. And that specific tanktop is thirty dollars." Kankuro raised his other brow.

"I get not liking tanktops, but that isn't much." I looked at Kankuro like he was crazy. Thirty dollars not much?! MAYBE HE IS CRAZY! I decided to tell him so.

"You're crazy." Kankuro sighed.

"No, I'm just filthy rich because I'm the Kazekage's brother." Whoops. I'd forgotten that.

"But that doesn't mean you should just blow your money. What if he disowns you?" I asked. Kankuro laughed.

"Now why would he do that?" I stood for a second, then shrugged, and starting walking down the isle towards the rack of fur scarves.

"Maybe I told him to." I snickered to myself lightly as I heard Kankuro trip behind me.

"You didn't, did you?!" He shouted after me, still on the ground. I just laughed.

"What do you think?"

For the next two hours, I piled a shopping cart high with stuff I liked as me and Kankuro teased and bantered. I still hadn't really explained to him what had happened two years ago, but it didn't really matter any more. Kankuro also tripped over his own two feet four times, tripped seven other times, knocked over two racks, broke a shelf, and all in all, was very clumsy. Strange.

"Kankuro, why are you so clumsy today?" I asked, not at all joking. He took it as a tease though, and just scoffed. I rolled my eyes. "I'm not insulting you, I'm serious. It's starting to scare me a little."

He just looked the other way. Bad sign. He's hiding something from me. You'd really think, being a ninja and all, he'd be better at hiding things. Guess not.

"Kankuro, you're a ninja for Kami's sake."

He turned and glared. Whatever he's hiding must be pretty big.

"Can't a guy just be fucking clumsy?" It was my turn to narrow my eyes. Now he was cursing at me!

"No, not when he's a ninja!" He grumbled something under his breath, crossed his arms, and turned his back. Great. Now he's throwing a tantrum. I sighed, rubbed my temples, and counted to ten. Yelling at him wouldn't help.

"Kankuro, I'm just worried about you," I murmured.

He rolled his eyes. "Sure you are." That hurt. I looked up at him. Did he really think that? That I didn't worry over him day and night, every time he went out on a mission? Hell, every time he left the mansion or argued with Gaara?! God, and they say I'm an idiot!

"Kankuro, you truly are an idiot," I murmured after a while.

"Why the hell this time?!" He snapped. I flinched. Was my teasing... really hurting him? Shit.

"Kankuro... I'm sorry... I don't mean it when I tease... I just... Don't know how else to say I care for you..." Kankuro turned around, eyes wide.

"Mean it?" He mumbled. I nodded. He sighed, and pulled me into a tight hug. He rested his face in my hair, and sighed. "I hurt myself in the undead battle pretty badly on the hip." My eyes widened, and I moved to hold him tighter, but he flinched. I pulled back.

"I'm sorry..." Then I looked up at him in confusion. "If you're still in recovery, why are they still sending you out on missions?" Kankuro looked confused.

"What missions?" My eyes widened.

"Gaara... he said..." Kankuro sighed.

"Shit. He didn't tell you, did he?"

"Tell me what?" I asked slowly.

"Kairi, I'm the Kazekage's brother, I have a high social status that I have to mantain..." I just gave him a confused expression. I didn't get it. This wasn't making sense. So what if he had a social status?

"I don't get it..."

"I have to go to parties, meetings, conferences... dates..." My head shot up then, eyes wide.

"Dates?" He turned his back to me again, and nodded.

"Yeah, dates. I'm sorry, I don't mean any of them, but..." For some reason, I felt rage and... relief?

I thought I loved Gaara? Do I still have feelings for Kankuro?

I gripped my head.

"Whatever. I've got a headache. I'm going home."

I abandoned the overflowing shopping cart and Kankuro, and ran home.

X.x.X.x.X

I reclined on the kitchen counter top, my jug of chocolate milk snug under my arm. I stared at the ceiling, searching for shapes in the crimson-painted plaster. I was drowning my sorrows in chocolate, and skipping training for the day. I wasn't even really sure why I was sad. Because Gaara lied to me? Because Kankuro was hurt? Because Kankuro was seeing other woman? Why did any of that matter? Why did I care about Kankuro at all, atleast more than a brother? Why did it surprise me that Gaara lied to me? Why did he lie? I groaned. My headached was back.

Suddenly, I felt a tingling sensation on my arm. I looked down at it, and my eyes zeroed in on a small creature.

I let out a blood-curdling scream.

Within seconds, a flustered, nearly terrified Gaara had slid into the door, in his boxers. I was as still as a statue, not moving, staring wide-eyed at my arm, tears spilling down my cheeks. I glanced towards him, trying not to move, and whimpered.

"What is it? What's wrong?" His sand was swirling protectively around us as he stepped closer. I gave a pointed look to the eight-legged terror on my arm. Gaara narrowed his eyes.

"A spider? A fucking spider made you scream like that?" I couldn't glare, more tears just welled in my eyes. I hiccupped, shaking my body, and the spider crawled higher up my arm. I flinched, whimpering.

"Get it off…" I murmured to him, begging him with my eyes.

He sighed, and grabbed a papertowel. He reached forward, as if to kill it, and my eyes widened and I stopped him with my other arm.

"Don't kill it!" I cried. He gave me a confused look.

"But it…" He couldn't finish the sentence, but I wondered.

"It's alive, and innocent, just… oh god its moving… get it off, get it off, get it OFF!" I screamed, closing my eyes and biting my lip. Gaara, taking his chance, squashed it in the papertowel and threw it away.

I gave him a horrified look.

"You killed it!" I exclaimed. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"In case you have forgotten, I kill on a regular basis, innocent, insect, or criminal." My eyes widened as I realized my mistake. He turned around to walk away, stiff, hurt.

Shit. I walked up to him, and wrapped my arms around his tense waist.

"Thank you," I whispered in his ear. I would have sworn he shivered. He turned around, forcing me to release his arm, and took my chin in his hand so that he could see my eyes. He smiled that rare, childish grin that I treasured more than my own life.

"Not at all." He leaned down, velvet lips pressing into mine. I grinned into the kiss, standing on tiptoes, attempting to wrap my arms around his neck. I got my hands on his shoulders, and left it like that, pressing my tongue against his lower lip.

He pulled back immediately.

I sighed. I seemed to be making a lot of mistakes. I had forgotten he refused to French kiss me.

"Why not?" I asked. He sighed.

"I have my reasons," he replied, voice that scratchy cold it got when he was hiding something. I sighed, rubbing my temple. Relationships were difficult when one partner was naturally uncommunicative, and the other talked to much.

"How about this then: why don't you tell me anything?" I grumbled out, moving to push by him, leaving my chocolate milk on the countertop. He reached out, grabbing my arm and successfully stopping me from leaving. I shook free, and turned to face him. He seemed to battling inside himself, his eyes troubled. I sighed, laying a hand on his chest, and kissing beside it, the only place I could reach without him bending down.

"It's allright. You can talk to me when you're ready."

"But… you're…" He struggled for words.

"I know, I can't promise I won't be frustrated, and I can garuntee you that this relationship will go nowhere without you telling me anything, but allright. You need your time. Besides, you're four years older than me, and you're the kazekage." He gave me a confused look.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked slowly. I sighed, looking away, and rubbing my arms.

"Nothing," I mumbled. He quirked a brow, cupping the side of my face, slightly roughly, so that I had to look at him.

"There is never a nothing with you," he stated. I stared at him, studying him, judging what his reaction would be. He never reacted well to these things.

"You're way out of my league," I said simply. He narrowed his eyes, and his hand tensed as if he wanted to slap me.

"And you're an idiot," he growled out. He let his hand drop and turned around, crossing his arms.

"Yeah. So?" He let out a frustrated sigh.

"Will you drop it with the self-putdowns? Do you NOT see yourself?" It was my turn to cross my arms and sigh.

"I see myself very clearly, and I am less than ordinary," I said authoritively. Gaara turned around, and glared.

"No. You. Are. Not." He growled out. I glared.

"Then what the hell am I?!" I growled out, venting my frustration. He had the nerve to pretend he cares after lying to me. He sighed, rubbing his temple, before storming out of the room.

"Oi! Get back here!" But of course, the Shukaku's Jinchuuriki doesn't take orders from anyone.

Well that's just peachy. I groaned, rolling my eyes. "Fine, walk away," I mumbled. "Everybody hates me today." I sighed, feeling depressed, and found my chocolate milk. I took a large swig, and walked up to the roof.

Me and mister racoon need to have a little chat.