After three long days on the road with only a brief power nap, Gaara had finally made it to Suna. Traveling back and forth between here and Konoha was nothing out of the ordinary, however, it was always to retrieve drugs from or deliver large quantities of cash to lower-ranking members of the gang, typically meeting up with them on isolated back roads on the outskirts of the city. Aside from when he was initially brought on to be their drug mule seven years ago, the gang's leader had never requested to meet with him personally. His stomach was in knots, anticipating what this was all about. He wanted nothing more than to relax and close his eyes for at least five more minutes, but he needed to get this meeting over with.
As he pulled up to the address Deidara had given him, Gaara noted that the surrounding area was desolate. The setting sun allowed the tall building to cast an eerie, long shadow over the surrounding area. He exited his car and cautiously approached the old warehouse that had long been abandoned and degraded; the perfect place for a haunting.
The front doors were chained shut. Wandering the perimeter of the building, he searched for another way in. Eventually, he came across a back entrance. The metal door that had once secured this entryway was beaten up and on the ground as if it had been bashed in with something large and heavy.
It was clear that this had become a frequented hang-out spot for the rebellious youth in the surrounding area. The concrete floors were littered with broken beer bottles and trash, and various stains on the cement floor looked like piles of vomit- some maybe even human feces. The walls were also defaced, covered from floor to ceiling in graffiti ranging in skill level from beautiful art to offensive chicken scratch. Wind blowing in from busted windows stirred up thick layers of dust that had accumulated over the many years that this place had been left to rot. Gaara squinted and quickly pulled his shirt over his mouth and nose to protect himself from the awful stench- a combination of trash, human excrement, and decaying matter. He wouldn't be shocked if he stumbled across a dead body.
He meandered through the warehouse until he reached a wide-open room towards the front. It was littered with more trash and broken furniture. Why he was asked to come here instead of one of the other meeting locations, he did not know.
A voice echoed from the shadows and stopped him in his tracks.
"It's about time," the voice said from one of the dark corners. A man stepped out to reveal himself, the dim sunlight shining through the broken windows illuminating his face. "It's nice to see you again after all these years, Gaara."
"Madara," Gaara sort of greeted, his voice muffled from still holding his shirt over half of his face.
"I was beginning to think you wouldn't show," Madara said.
"I got here as soon as I could," said Gaara.
"Better late than never, I suppose. Lift your shirt and spin."
Gaara withheld a scoff. Had he been too late, there certainly would have been dire consequences. He lifted his shirt and spun around to show the Uchiha that he wasn't wearing a wire.
"Why is it you wanted to see me?" Gaara asked, pulling his shirt back down. Before he spoke, Madara ran a radio frequency detector over Gaara's arms and legs.
"Your cell phone?" he asked after the detector failed to signal that Gaara had any devices hidden on him.
"It's off and in my car," he said, "I know the rules."
Madara cleared his throat and stepped back. "It appears there is a mole among our ranks," he said. He waited to see Gaara's reaction- or lack thereof, before continuing. "You are not surprised by this news?"
Of course, he wasn't surprised; he already knew because Sakura told him. But explaining how he obtained this information seemed more troublesome to him than deflecting.
"I am wondering why it's me you're sharing this news with and not one of your higher-up disciples," Gaara replied, hoping his poker face was strong enough to convince him.
"I tell you that we have a mole, and your concern is why I'm telling you about this?" Madara narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps it is you?"
"It would be unnecessary for you to summon me all the way here and meet you in such an aberrant place if you thought I was a snitch," Gaara stated, "and you don't strike me as one who would carelessly waste their time. You could have easily ordered me killed back in Konoha."
"You've always been quite observant," Madara smirked, "I knew I made the right choice in keeping you alive."
"So…why is it you wanted to see me?" he asked again.
"I'm getting to that," he scolded the redhead's impatience. Gaara watched as Madara walked over to one of the workbenches and set a black briefcase on it. He motioned for Gaara to approach him. He hesitantly obliged. "If you were the mole, you surely would have used police resources to go into hiding after Sasori took your brother's leg. But, there were no reports of you even taking him to the hospital. Instead, you covered it up, and you've continued to do our bidding as if nothing happened, remaining loyal to us like you always have…"
He watched as Madara flipped the latches on the briefcase. He opened it to reveal its contents: several stacks of money, a set of keys, a small pistol with a silencer on top, and a couple of cases of ammo. Madara removed the gun and placed it in Gaara's hands. He was surprised that something so small had so much weight to it. He looked at Madara and waited for an explanation, his poker face long vanished and became replaced with confusion.
"Have you ever fired a gun?"
"...No?" his response came out as a question- why would he need to?
"You'll need some practice then,"
Gaara could only blink in response.
"The Red Moon is bugged and too hot, so I'm shutting it down temporarily. We need to launder the money through a new location. That place is going to be your family's business for now until we can find something better."
'Great, Temari's going to be pissed,' Gaara frowned.
"The set of keys in here belongs to a house in Konoha. There is a tag attached to them with the address. Feel free to live there if you please, but it is intended to be a storage location for the drugs. As for the mole, I am pulling the Akatsuki out of Konoha until I can identify who it is. I fear we may lose our position there during our absence, however. I want you and your siblings to take over the entire operation there in the meantime and make sure that doesn't happen."
Gaara looked back down at the gun in his hands, then back at Madara.
"Are you serious?" he asked, knowing damn well he was.
"You're moving up in the ranks, kid. At least for now," he laughed, "prove you can handle it, and maybe I'll consider it a permanent position. It would be very lucrative for you and your…family. Now, go rest up and get back on the road."
With that, Madara left Gaara standing there, eyes focused on the gun in his hands, listening as his footsteps faded away.
"Rest up…" he repeated, followed by a scoff. He placed the gun back in the briefcase and closed it. Knowing he was about to go face Matsuri, there would be no time for rest.
xxx
Gaara was relieved to see the driveway vacant when he pulled up to the apartment he shared with Matsuri. He entered through the front door which led straight to the living room. Given that the locks had not been changed and all of his belongings were exactly where he had left them, it was a clear, and unfortunate, indication that Matsuri was still waiting on his return. But, she wasn't here now, so he hoped he might squeeze in a quick nap before the long journey back to Konoha and with any luck, he'd get to avoid her completely.
"Prrrrrow?" came a noise familiar to Gaara from somewhere in the living room. A small Siamese cat came prancing from around the couch and stopped at Gaara's feet, staring up at him with large, blue saucers for eyes.
"Hoshi," Gaara greeted his feline friend. He knelt down to pick him up. Hoshi purred and rubbed his face against Gaara's; he had missed him. This was always how he would greet his human, ever since the day he pulled him out of a maggot-infested dumpster a few years ago, starving and crying out for his mother. Gaara was his mother, now.
With Hoshi still in his arms, Gaara made his way to his bedroom for a change of clothes. He let the cat jump onto the bed where he proceeded to roll around and watch Gaara with curious eyes.
Gaara changed into a loose dark red t-shirt and a pair of gray jeans, then tossed his dirty clothes toward the laundry hamper. He missed and they hit the side of the hamper, landing on the floor. Too tired to care, that is where they would stay for now. Since he had brought so little, expecting his trip to be shorter, he had been mostly stealing his sibling's clothes for the last few months. Grabbing an empty backpack he found in the closet, he stuffed it full of all the clothes he could fit. Once finished, he set his phone on the nightstand, but before he could lie down on the bed, he heard the sound of the front door bursting open.
'Oh, no…'
"GAARA!" a loud shriek echoed throughout the home, followed by the sound of quick footsteps that abruptly stopped upon reaching the bedroom. Hoshi retreated under the bed. There stood Matsuri, wide-eyed and panting heavily after sprinting from outside. She clenched her fists to her chest and jumped up and down like a child on Christmas morning. "You're here! You're finally home! I didn't even know you were coming back today, what a wonderful surprise!" She charged and threw herself at Gaara, squeezing the life out of him and nearly knocking him off his feet.
Gaara squirmed in her grasp and grunted in discomfort.
"I've missed you so much," she sobbed, "I was so worried something happened to you. I've been calling and texting you, and you never answered! I almost drove to Konoha to make sure you were okay! Do you need a new phone?"
"N-no," he said, his tone notably irritated. He forced himself out of her grasp.
"Then… then why haven't you returned any of my calls?" she asked.
'Just say it,' his thoughts insisted. 'Get it over with.' He stared into those dark, sad eyes that were begging him for an answer. But therein still lay a problem: he was so desperate for a few hours of sleep, and with nowhere else to go besides his car which would bake him in the Suna heat, it was going to have to be here for now. He wouldn't be getting that sleep if he broke things off with her right now, she'd make sure of that.
"I've just been very busy," he lied and pushed past her. "I need sleep." Now that she was here, he would opt for the tiny, single-person couch in the living room to avoid her trying to lay with him.
"O-okay," she said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "I'll wake you up when dinner is ready!"
Perhaps it was due to how exhausted he was and all the unknown fumes he breathed in from the warehouse, but he now had a pounding headache that he was sure Matsuri was partially to blame.
xxx
In Konoha, the rain pouring down was powerful and unforgiving to those on foot. It had been a while since the city received such a heavy rainstorm. Outside a small diner, Sakura watched from the comfort of her warm, dry car as people rushed into the diner to escape the nasty weather. Naruto had called and requested she meet him here, but she was taking her sweet time exposing herself to the downpour.
'Better not keep him waiting all day…' She exited the vehicle and hastily made her way to the entrance, freezing upon grabbing the door handle. She spotted Naruto sitting in a booth by the window, but he was not alone. Sasuke was next to him. If they hadn't also noticed her, she would've turned around and gotten back in her car. Naruto gave her a wave and signaled for her to come inside. She hesitated, but someone approaching from behind encouraged her to go inside to get out of their way.
Sakura slowly made her way over to them and took a seat, eyeing them both suspiciously.
"Naruto," she started, looking directly at Sasuke, "you failed to mention you wouldn't be alone. What is this about?" Her guard was already up.
Naruto forced a cough and nervously cleared his throat, staring down at the cup of coffee between his palms.
"Coffee?" asked a waitress coming by with a full pot.
"Uh- yeah sure!" Naruto blurted out, visibly anxious. The waitress leaned over and observed that his cup was already full.
"Um… what about you two?" she asked Sasuke and Sakura.
"No," Sakura replied with heavy disdain, quickly realizing that she came off rude. She tried to correct her tone. "No- thank you, very much."
Sasuke, with his chin resting on folded hands, just shook his head no.
"Okay, well," the waitress let out an anxious giggle, sensing the thick tension that this table was radiating, "just let me know if you three need anything." She hurried away.
Sakura glared at Naruto, waiting for him to answer her question. It was a look that always caused the blonde to instantly break out into a panic-induced sweat.
"Well, Sakura, you see… Sasuke and I… we uh… you know… um…" all he could manage to do was babble.
"We want to question you, unofficially…" Sasuke answered for his blockheaded partner. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out an envelope, and slid it across the table to Sakura. She opened it to reveal some rather intimate photos of her and Gaara in his bedroom. Embarrassed, Sakura couldn't help but blush. "...about your involvement with Gaara."
"That's none of your business," she scowled, shoving the envelope back at him.
"The baby… it's his, isn't it?"
Sakura broke eye contact with Sasuke to shoot Naruto another intense look.
"Sakura! No-" Naruto exclaimed, "I-I didn't say anything I swear-"
"It wasn't hard to piece together," Sasuke cut him off, "you wind up pregnant, refuse to say who the father is, then I find you at the home of a criminal and-"
"You've been spying on me?" Sakura interrupted.
"Let's not pretend that I wasn't just doing my job," Sasuke replied.
Sakura folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in her seat. She knew that Sasuke wasn't some kind of weird stalker, but she still didn't appreciate being followed as if she were some kind of hardened criminal.
"Your private life is none of my business," he said, "if you want to move on from us, that's your prerogative. But it isn't my fault that your personal life is bleeding into a criminal investigation."
"You say move on from us as if there was an us to go back to," she said. "Do I need to remind you that you left me? You. With no explanation as to why. And now you keep popping back up in my life saying shit like, you still love me, and using words like us, asking questions about my pregnancy… but yet, you speak about what my prerogative is?"
"Sakura," he sighed, "you don't understand. This entire case is much bigger than all of us."
"And what does this case have to do with us?" she asked.
"A lot," he said, "as I said, you just don't understa-"
Sakura slammed a fist down on the table, causing the silverware to clatter and Naruto's cup of coffee- that he still hadn't even sipped yet, to spill slightly.
"Then make me understand, Sasuke," she whispered her demand harshly through her teeth.
Though her voice didn't carry beyond where they were seated, the sound of her fist on the table was enough to draw a few pairs of curious eyes from around the diner.
Sasuke gave another sigh, deeper this time.
"I can't give you all the answers you want right now," he said, "but you have to trust me when I say that I left to protect you."
Sakura rolled her eyes. She knew that Sasuke had always taken his job very seriously, but she didn't appreciate that it was affecting her life and she was supposed to stand by and accept it.
"I have an informant that's part of the gang," Sasuke continued, "he told me that they know who you are to me, Sakura. The Akatsuki is relentless and will do whatever it takes to hold their place in this city- even if that means coming after our families to make us back down."
"Wha…what exactly are you saying?"
"In the event they were targeting you, I had to cut ties," he said, "they wouldn't waste their time going after somebody I'm no longer involved with."
"If that's really what you were worried about, what about Naruto and Hinata? Why hasn't Naruto done the same as you?"
"I asked Hinata to go stay with her father until the case is over just to be cautious," Naruto finally spoke, "and besides, Sasuke is the lead investigator in this case. If they're going to target anyone, it's going to be the person in charge first."
Unlike Sakura, Hinata came from a rich, powerful family that had the means to keep her safe. Anyone, even the Akatsuki, would be foolish to go after them. Sakura also couldn't afford to abandon her career and go into hiding.
"And how do you know this informant of yours is being honest?" she asked Sasuke.
"Because," he started, then paused briefly, "...he's my brother."
Naruto and Sakura exchanged surprised looks. Sakura remembered her blonde friend telling her about Sasuke's informant, but his expression made it clear that even he didn't know it was Sasuke's brother.
"So, Sakura. I'll give you another chance to answer the question: what exactly is your involvement with Gaara?"
As she stared into those dark, expressionless eyes, all she could do was think about the first few weeks after he had left and that hole in her heart she desperately tried to fill with a slew of poor choices.
'It's not you, it's me,' he said that day. He had to go 'find himself,' but it had to be 'on his own.' 'Maybe we'll find our way back to each other.'
Either those words were more cryptic than she initially thought, or he simply lied. But how was she to know at that time? Regardless, the truth had only offered more confusion. She swore she could literally feel that hole in her heart expanding.
'Have I ever lied to you?'
She thought he hadn't. But how could he break her heart so easily and then play it off as 'trying to protect her' after all this time? Then to tell her it wasn't any of his business if she chose to move on with her life- did he not care if she waited for him or not? Did he ever really care about her to begin with?
As far as she was concerned, Gaara didn't even want to be working for the Akatsuki. Giving up anything she knew about him would not only be a favor to Sasuke, but it would cause more issues for Gaara. At this point, Sakura felt that he and his family deserved to be nullified, not persecuted further. With her unborn child factored in, she felt a strong connection to Gaara's family and thought it would be a great betrayal to cause them more trouble. Furthermore, if the Akatsuki truly did know of her, what would they do if they found out she told the DEA about one of their men? If cutting ties with her was Sasuke's idea of "protecting" her, she didn't want to know what type of protection she'd receive if she chose to speak about Gaara.
Her lip curled in disgust and her eyes began to well up with tears. She shook her head in disbelief. She knew she was a grown adult that was responsible for her own choices, yet, a part of her blamed Sasuke for the position she was currently in. Screw the integrity of the investigation, he should have told her the truth from the start. But of course, he didn't, because Sakura would always come second in Sasuke's life.
"Sakura," Naruto said her name softly. He reached across the table for her hand, but she quickly pulled away, her fierce eyes remaining fixed on Sasuke's.
She could feel her cheeks heating up with rage and her glare grew more intense. Without speaking another word, she rose from her seat and stormed out of the diner. Naruto chased after her.
"Sakura!" he called out her name, which was almost impossible to hear over the sounds of the heavy rain. He caught her by the arm. She stopped but refused to look at him. "Sakura… we wanted to see you here instead of at the station so we could talk to you as your friends. We care about you and we want to help you and that baby. Please, just come back in and talk to us."
She yanked her arm out of his grip and continued walking toward her car.
"Sakura, if you don't talk to us now," Naruto said, hesitating to finish his sentence, "...then you're going to be on the wrong side of this investigation and we won't be able to protect you."
Sakura peered over her shoulder at him.
"That's a nice way to say 'we're going to treat you as a criminal now,'" she said. Looking forward, she continued to walk away from her friend. "I'll take my chances."
Naruto watched wistfully as his friend got into her car without another word and drove off.
xxx
Matsuri draped a light blanket over Gaara, who had instantly passed out as soon as he hit the couch. She had never witnessed him snoring loudly and drooling in such a deep sleep. He must've been so exhausted.
BING!
The sound of a cell phone notification stole her focus away from the sleeping redhead. After checking her phone and seeing it wasn't hers, she went to the bedroom where she last saw Gaara's. It was still sitting on the nightstand. She turned on the screen and tried to input the password, but it was incorrect.
'He changed it…'
Even though she couldn't access it, she swiped off the password screen and saw a text notification displayed. It was from an unsaved number.
Hi. It's Sakura. Can you call me?
"Hm… he's never mentioned anyone named Sakura before," she said aloud.
Thinking nothing more of it, she set the phone back on the nightstand and looked around the room. Clothes were thrown about, the bed was unkempt, and the floor could use a good sweep. Knowing that Gaara preferred to exist in tidy spaces, she thought it would be nice to clean up the room for him.
Once she fixed the bedsheets, she moved on to collecting the clothes around the room. They were all her own, except for the couple of articles of clothing that Gaara had left on the ground by the laundry hamper earlier. When she went to pick them up, a folded glossy paper fell out from one of the back pockets. She bent down to pick it up and unfolded it to reveal an ultrasound picture.
"Huh…? Why would Gaara have this in his…"
She noticed the name in the top left. Haruno, Sakura.
Her eyes widened as her mind instantly made the connection to the text message. Was this… his baby? Taking a deep breath, she folded the ultrasound photo back up and inserted it into her front pocket. There had to be a reasonable explanation for this- there's no way he'd be unfaithful. For now, she'd allow him to sleep for a few more hours and ask him about it over dinner.
xxx
With his elbow resting on the table, Gaara sighed and leaned into the palm of his hand. He picked at the atrocity on his plate that Matsuri dared to call "food" with his chopsticks. Fortunately, he wasn't hungry anyway, but Matsuri had never been a good cook to begin with.
Gaara lifted his head to glance at the woman sitting across the table. She had been oddly quiet this evening. Not that he minded- he preferred her this way. However, this was an uncomfortable silence. There was clearly something up with her, but he didn't care enough to ask.
He averted his gaze to the tacky decor around the dining room, his eyes eventually landing on the "live, laugh, love" sign hanging above the archway that led to the kitchen. He cringed. That wasn't there the last time he was here. He looked back at Matsuri. This was supposed to be his apartment. How did he let this woman enter his home and vandalize it with her cliché picture quotes and bad style? She was supposed to be a one-night stand, something he allowed himself to experience when he had the urge for a release. Unlike the other women, however, she just never left. He settled with the convenience of having easy access to his sexual desires at first, but then things got weird once she started calling herself his girlfriend. Eventually, he gave up on trying to make her leave because she'd act insane and get violent every time.
Matsuri looked up from her plate and locked eyes with Gaara.
"I'm so happy you're home," she said, "it's always so lonely here when you have to go to Konoha. All I do is think about you and wait for you to come back. Even though you only stay here for a few days… I always feel like my best self when I'm around you."
Gaara, still deep in his thoughts, heard nothing she said. He did notice the smile on her face, which subconsciously caused the corners of his lips to twitch to form a scowl. She continued talking, and he continued to ignore her. He wondered if he should even bother telling her that he was moving to Konoha tonight. An easy, but temporary solution could be to wait until she fell asleep and then just leave- but if he didn't tell her he wanted her out of his life, she'd probably come to find him eventually.
"...No matter how lonely I feel…" she continued, "I always stay faithful to you. You're the only man I ever think about."
Her reaction was going to be extremely unpleasant regardless of how he left or what he said.
"Do you think about me when you're away?" she asked him. He stared straight through her. "...Gaara?"
"Hm?"
"You stay faithful to me when you're away, right?"
"Mmhm," he said with a slight nod. He still wasn't really listening, but could tell by her tone that she was asking a question. Better to just agree with whatever she said, he thought.
There was a long, awkward silence after that. Matsuri set her eating utensils down and pushed her plate forward.
"Who is Sakura?" she asked, finally breaking the silence.
Gaara focused his eyes on hers.
"...What?" he wasn't sure if he heard her correctly.
Matsuri pulled something out of her pocket and slid it across the table. Glancing down, he immediately recognized it as the ultrasound photo without having to unfold it.
'Fuck.' He maintained a blank expression on the outside. Inside, his heart had already begun to beat faster. His fight-or-flight instincts were beginning to kick in. This was bad.
"I found that in the pockets of your pants," she said, "judging by the fact that you're not looking at it, I'm assuming you already know what it is."
The shock in his eyes was beginning to show.
"I thought so…" she mumbled.
'Why is she still smiling like that…'
Her eyes began to water, adding to how wildly terrifying she looked right now.
More silence, though somehow it seemed deafening now. He watched as Matsuri's face slowly contorted with rage.
"...Shit," Gaara breathed.
Just as Matsuri jumped up and snatched a knife off the table, Gaara flipped the table in her direction, sending everything on top of it crashing against the wall and trapping Matsuri beneath it. She would only be subdued for a moment, but it was long enough to give Gaara a head start to the bedroom to retrieve his things.
When he slammed the bedroom door shut, the knife pierced through it, nearly slicing his hand. Matsuri fought to push the door open but Gaara overpowered her, slamming it shut once again and locking it. He stumbled back, breathing heavily. His eyes frantically searched for his phone and his backpack.
"Open the door!" Matsuri roared from the other side.
She kicked and punched until she eventually broke the doorknob off. Before Gaara could escape through the window, she was already in the room.
She charged at him, swinging the knife in a frenzy. She managed to slice his right arm a few times before he gained control of both of her wrists. He swung her around and slammed her against the wall, struggling to hold her there while she writhed in his grip.
"You're fucking nuts,"
"You've been cheating on me," she seethed.
"I never agreed to be with you!" he shouted, tightening his grip on her. "And even if I did, that's no reason to try and kill me!"
Matsuri's expression softened. "If I can't have you… nobody will," her tone was chilling.
Before he could respond further, Matsuri quickly plunged one of her knees into Gaara's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He fell backward onto the floor, gasping for air. He felt the weight of her body straddle him. Light reflecting off the knife caught his eye and he grabbed at her wrists again, stopping her before she could thrust it down into him.
"S-stop…" he grunted through his teeth, "I don't want to hurt you!"
"You already have, you asshole!"
As they struggled for control over the knife, Gaara eventually managed to sit up with Matsuri still on his lap. He made a quick effort to stun her by pulling her forward and slamming his forehead against hers, knocking her to the ground.
They both stood up and resumed the fight. One final time, Matsuri swung the knife and he dodged, swiftly moving behind her and putting her in a chokehold. She squirmed and tried to pry his arm away from her neck. With the knife still in her hand, she managed to stab his arm a few times- but even this was unsuccessful in making him let go. Gaara pulled her against the wall and slowly slid down until they were both sitting, tightening the choke hold once he felt her movements begin to weaken.
Finally, she stopped moving. Her body went limp and her hands relaxed, sending the knife clattering to the floor. Gaara released her and pushed her off of him. He sat against the wall with his eyes closed, panting heavily. When they first sat down for dinner, he noticed the knife on the table and thought it was odd, considering Matsuri didn't make anything that needed to be cut. He now assumed it was only placed there for her to use on him after confronting him.
"Crazy bitch…" he muttered between breaths. He lifted his arm to assess the damage she had done. He was bleeding heavily and needed to do something about it right away.
Stumbling into the bathroom, he rummaged through the cupboards for a med kit. Once his arm was all wrapped up, he took the rest of the bandages out and stuffed them into his pockets. With how much he was bleeding, he was going to have to change it at some point soon. He returned to the bedroom to retrieve his things. Matsuri was still unconscious. He knelt down to check for a pulse. Fortunately, she was still alive. He didn't want to deal with getting rid of a body on top of everything else he had going on right now.
Gaara gathered his things and headed for the front door, pausing in the dining room. Hoshi was sitting in a pile of broken dishes, lapping up the remaining food. Sensing his human's presence, Hoshi lifted his head and meowed at Gaara.
"Let's go," Gaara said, scooping the cat up.
They got into the car and began the three-day journey back to Konoha.
xxx
Sometime later, Matsuri woke up in a daze. She staggered around the apartment looking for Gaara, but he had already left. Turning on her cell phone, she went to her contacts and scrolled down to Sakura's name- she had saved her number earlier after seeing it on Gaara's phone.
Hi :), was all she typed out and sent to her. She'd be damned if Gaara get out of this scot-free.
A/N: Gaara strikes me as a cat person, so I gave him a cat.
Review responses:
I hope there's no Gaara/Matsuri. I'd hate to have to stop reading. :(
Don't fret, I am not a GaaMat fan. She's just here to add to the drama. Also, if you are the same tanuki that corrected me when I shared the wrong username in my A/N on the old story, thank you so much! I fixed it. And thank you for joining me on this new version of the story, it means so much to me!
I am crying! I have missed you so much. So glad you came back to this and I love how you revised it. Everything was well written. I cant wait for the rest of the story .Update soon!
I really hope that I can keep you invested through the end. I never wanted to stop writing this, but life sometimes gets in the way of our hobbies. I was so worried about giving it another shot after so many years. Thank you, and everyone else that has rejoined me or is joining me for the first time. So much. I will see it through this time.