Chapter 2
The next day was violent the Sabaku household. Konkuro was constantly avoiding Gaara, hoping to avade any plans he had for his older brother. Temari was trying to be the peacekeeper, but her fear of her littlest brother was too strong. Gaara made the decision to approach Pein again during school. He was certain that Pein knew everything he wanted to find out. During lunch was the best time to approach him. He waited until Pein left the lunch room with the few companions that following him. Gaara followed as well. Pein was about to head up the stairs to the roof where his gang usually was. Gaara called out to him.
"What do you want now?" Pein said, annoyed. Gaara motioned for them to keep going up the stairs.
"Tch... awfully polite of you Gaara..."
"Pein, the only reason I'm acting so nice today is because I have a favor to ask you," Gaara said. Pein eyed him curiously.
"What is it?" They reached the roof. Both walked out the door to face the large gang of thugs Pein lead.
"I want to join your crew," Gaara said. Everyone took noticed of what Gaara said, the entire roof fell silence. Pein took a look at his gang. Gaara could see his brother sitting next to Kisame, eating an onigiri. His eyes went back to Gaara.
"I thought you would say that... I just didn't expect it so soon." Gaara's eyes narrowed.
"Really? What made you say that?"
"Simply because of how long you were with Shizuko yesterday... also in the way you fight. I don't need to ask any questions, and neither do you. I'll accept you without any obsticles to enter." Deidara got to his feet.
"What a second! You're just going to let this fucker in, un?" He snapped. Pein smirked.
"Deidara, just because he's stronger than you, doesn't mean he can't join."
"Yeah, so remove the dirty tampon and sit your ass down!" Hidan snapped. Everyone broke out into laughter. Pein took Gaara by the shoulder and lead him to a isolated area away from the gang.
"Listen, Gaara... I realize that you probably joined to get more answers about Shizuko."
"Yes. That's exactly it. I want to k-"
"Shush. I only tell you enough so you're equal to what everyone else knows." Gaara looked back to the crowd of hoodlums.
"What everyone else knows?"
"Yes. Everyone knows a certain amount of Shizuko. They have rights to know why I protect her so much," He said. Gaara leaned against the fence and crossed his arms.
"I'm listening." Pein began telling Gaara about Shizuko. But it was limited, so some of the questions Gaara had weren't answered.
"Shizuko was raised as a normal child, but... at school, because of how she thought of things, she was treated horribly. A childish reason to be abused by others, really. But there was one person at the time who liked the way she viewed things. It was the person she lost a while back..."
"Itachi," Gaara said. Pein eyed him, getting tense.
"How do you know his name?" He demanded.
"Shizuko cried out the name while she was... releasing her emotion..." Pein gave a slight nodd.
"She often does that..." A sad look was in his eyes.
"Anyways... Itachi saw her an intelligent girl. They kept going on as friends, and then in middle school, Itachi and Shizuko decided to try and go further in their relationship. Unfortunately, Shizuko's first year in entering High School was the worst year of her life. Itachi was riding with Shizuko and her family. They were driving him to a meet at the school. She was the first out the car, getting ready to go around and unload some things in the back. A moron who decided to visit the bars early lost control of the car and T-boned the car. Shizuko was thrown to the ground and barely missed getting crushed by the car as it ran over her. It killed Itachi instantly. That's what I heard..." He took in a breath.
"It also killed her father, her little sister, and her mother. Her older brother is in coma-" Gaara stopped him.
"Her family was... I thought they had nothing to do with Shizuko's suffering?" Pein shook his head.
"I only told you small details of the story, Gaara. I didn't tell you everything. You didn't have the right then. Will you let me finish?" He said darkly. Gaara waited.
"Her older brother is in a coma... unfortunately, the doctors said that it was likely that he wouldn't pull out of it... Shizuko's been through hell just dealing with that alone. She saw them die with her own eyes." He shook his head.
"It must be a living hell for her... I wouldn't be able to stand it. That... is probably why she's been doing drugs behind my back... as well as alcohol and letting herself be used as a fuck doll when she passes out from all the shit she puts in her blood. Sometimes I just wonder why she doesn't just kill herself with what she does to herself..." Pein said, shaking his head. Gaara understood why Shizuko looked so off the first time he noticed her. She must have been doing drugs during that time. For all Gaara knew, she could be sneaking drugs during class. If Pein said she was hopelessly addicted to them, she just might be using them every single day.
"I do everything in my power to protect her. But I have other things to worry about like my family. I can't keep an eye on her after school for very long because I have a job to support my siblings... Jesus... I just wish someone would actually do her a favor and watch out for her!" He muttered, putting a hand to his face. Gaara peered around the corner at his brother. Konkuro was talking to Kisame still, but telling a joke for all to hear because everyone was laughing.
"You could just ask my brother. He has nothing to do after school. It won't be too hard to convince him if you ask. If I asked, he'd just do it out of fear." Pein smirked.
"Actually, I was thinking you could do it." Gaara stared at him in surprise. Pein seemed satisfied with what he had said though, he didn't seem to be doubtful.
"Me?"
"Of course. If Shizuko finds traces of Itachi in you, I think she'll listen to you more than anyone else. Especially since she fought for you yesterday. Let's just say it's your first mission to do for me. It's a newbie intro to my crew," He explained. He waited for Gaara to say something, his eyes still very calm and patient. He let out a sigh and started to walk away from Pein.
"You expect the best work, right?" He said as he left. Pein watched his back as Gaara disappeared down the staircase.
It took a long week and a half for Shizuko to recover. When she returned, hardly anyone greeted her. She was just entering the school grounds, clutching the strap of her bag and eyes flickering back and forth with worry as if someone was going to attack her from the shadows. Gaara waited for her inside, next to the doorway. She was very cautious with her steps, bags were under her eyes and her skin was still sickly pale. As soon as she stepped inside, Gaara walked beside her, hands in his pockets. Shizuko stopped at the staircase, wondering why he was walking with her. She held her bag in her hands at her knees, her eyes very timid and scared.
"Um... Gaara-san, what are you doing?" She asked. He casted his eyes to the staircase doorway and acted aloof.
"I'm escorting you to class..." He said, still mantaining his usually poise as a dark person. Shizuko stared up into his eyes; blinking every now and then. She smiled a bit. A small giggle came from her lips as she turned her head. She stopped as soon as the door opened. A few upperclassmen walked out. They stopped, seeing Gaara and Shizuko standing in front of the door. One of the smirked and decided to act tough.
"Out of the way deadbeats!" He shoved Shizuko into Gaara to pass by. Gaara caught her and put her behind him.
"Hey..." He growled. He roughly grabbed his shoulder. The upperclassman turned around, angry.
"The hell are you doing!" Gaara's fist collided with his nose. There was a terrible cracking sound. The other upper-classmen rushed to his aid.
"The fuck! The fuck! Agh! God dammit! You fucker, I'll fucking kill you!" He cursed, his voice muffled by his hands; holding his bleeding nose.
"You better watch it Gaara, we'll fucking destroy you!" Gaara took a step forward, casting on a dark and menacing look that made them shiver. Shizuko watched in awe. One of the upper-classmen decided to test his nerves.
"The fuck are you staring at, freak! Trying... you trying to be tough? Huh?" Gaara raised his fist again. Shizuko stepped forward and stopped him, a childlike expression on her face.
"If you keep messing with us... I'll tell Pein..." She said darkly, her eyes still like a child's and face innocent like a child. Gaara took a glance at her then back at the upper-classmen. They retreated instantly.
"God... S... sorry Shizuko..." One muttered. She took Gaara's arm and pulled him away from the scene and to the staircase.
"You have a short temper, Gaara..." She whisepred. Gaara scoffed, turning his gaze away from her.
"It's not... polite to shove a lady like that..." He muttered. She stopped, staring up at him. She let out a long line of laughter, she buried her face into her hand, muffling her laughter.
"What's so funny?"
"No one... hm! Not even Pein considers me a lady..." She said, laughing still. They were in the middle of the staircase, still on their way to case. But Gaara had to stop her.
"Shizuko... I've heard enjoy to get the gist of what you do... But you're still a woman. And you aren't a snob like most in this school. So to me, you're a lady..." He said, holding both her arms in his hands. She stared into his eyes, almost like a naive baby. Then her face scrunched to hold back the tears that began to flow out of her eyes. She pulled away and put her hands to her eyes.
"That's... that's what...!" She cried, throwing herself agianst the way. She let out a sharp cry of grief and buried her face into her hands. Gaara wanted to smack himself across the face.
Dammit! I have to be careful of what I say! Pein said she was going to fragile... I should have known she would especially because I remind her of Itachi! He put his arms around her, rocking her back and forth, trying to sooth her. She clung to his shirt, trying to muffle her cries and stop her tears. He looked up and down the stairway, making sure no one saw him as he was. Shizuko pushed away from him, wiping her eyes clean of her tears. She sniffled a bit, regaining control and looked up at Gaara, smiling weakly.
"Sorry!" She said meakly. She ran a hand through her hair, casting her eyes down.
"Uh... should we go?" She asked quietly.
Gaara waited patiently at the gate after school for Shizuko. Pein and his gang were already gone; Konkuro with them, of course. He felt a bit odd waiting outside of the gate and watching every other student pass by him to go on with their lives. He wanted to leave badly, his uneasiness in the situation was making him edgy. Then he saw Shizuko running out to him.
"Sorry I took so long!" She fixed her hair a bit and smiled a little up at Gaara. He felt his face get hot a little and turned his eyes away. He rubbed the back of his head.
"Alright... let's go..." Shizuko walked ahead of him, happiness on her face. They walked in silence for a good ten minutes. Yet Shizuko was still happy to be walking with Gaara. Gaara felt embarassed, but he did feel happy to be walking with someone. He was also content with the fact that he was able to make Shizuko feel better. They were heading towards the downtown area of the city, the streets got dirtier, members of gangs began to show up, hanging around the street corners, and there were a lot more policemen. Yet, Shizuko was still acting happy and walking as carefree as she could be. She stopped and looked down the street, as if she was looking for someone. She walked quickly to an allyway and waved to Gaara.
"I'll be one second. I have to pick something up for Pein," She said. Shizuko disappeared into the allyway. Gaara peered down, his eyes adjusting to the darkness to find Shizuko talking to a few thugs. She handed over a piece of paper and they nodded, bringing out a simple square box and handing it to her. She bowed and came out of the allyway.
"Ok! Sorry for the little stop," She said, tucking the box inside of her bag.
"Just what did you get?" Gaara asked. She shrugged.
"I'm not sure... Pein gets all sorts of odd things. Actually, this sort of thing isn't what he would normally buy. I guess he was just ordering for someone else. But still..." She continued walking. Gaara peered down the allyway again, the thugs were injecting heroine into their arms. He shook his head. Whatever Shizuko got was obviously drugs. He didn't want her to get mixed up in it like Pein warned him. As they kept walking, she was getting more and more sincere. Her old face as a doll was coming back. Gaara kept his hands in his pockets, his eyes alert and flickering around, observing that the farther they walked, the worse the neighborhood got. The crowd was thinning out, more gangs were appearing. Houses that were broken into and spraypainted lined the streets. Shizuko turned to one house, one of the few that wasn't spray painted, and headed to the front door.
"I'm guessing this is your home?" Gaara asked. Shizuko turned around and blinked.
"Oh... actually..." She looked up the street and to the house. She hesitated.
"Um... Yeah..." He eyed her suspiciously.
"Excuse me, Shizuko, but I really hate it when people lie to me. And I mean flat out lie to me... I really don't see why you would lie to me. I thought I was your friend," He said. Shizuko had little surprise on her face. She opened her mouth to explain when the door opened. Kakuzu was standing, his shadow looming over her.
"Oh!" She spun around in surprise. Kakuzu let out a growl.
"What are you doing just standing out here? And where're the goods?" He snapped. Shizuko took off her pack and dug through it, then pulled out the box. Kakuzu took it, paused, and looked down at Gaara.
"Well... the new guy... I guess I should thank you for escorting... Shizuko... here. You can go home now. She'll be fine. Hurry up..." He pushed Shizuko through the door and stared at Gaara.
"Don't try to fix her, Gaara. Believe me. She's way too fucked up..." He murmured, then shut the door. Gaara narrowed his eyes.
"Too fucked up? Hmph... people said that about me and told me I couldn't get a single friend... then what is Shizuko...?" He muttered under his breath. He smirked and slowly walked to the side of the house. The window was lite up with a light glow. He could hear some people talking inside, Kakuzu's low voice booming over them as the commanding one.
"Well... your home seems pretty well kept compared to the others... I'll just add something to make it match..." He extended his leg up, his hands still in his pocket and shot it forward, the window shattering instantly. He chuckled and bolted out of the yard and hid behind the house across the street. A head popped out of the window, a few others ran outside. Streams of curses could be heard from where Gaara was. He smirked.
"Now that looks just like the other houses here!" He sneered.
Gaara was calm as he could be the next day in class. Shizuko was, as always, staring off into space; a distant look on her face. The teacher was in the middle of a lesson, giving no care to what the students were doing. It was the middle of the day, the birds chirped happily outside of the window. Gaara's mind was buzzing over what to do today. Obviously, he was going to walk Shizuko home again. The question for him was, where was she going to go to today? He knew that last night, Shizuko went to Kakuzu's house. It definatly wasn't her own home. His dark eyes flickered to Shizuko. She was too quiet today. Although she was normally quiet, she seemed much more like a doll with sewn lips today. While he had walked her to school, he tried to talk to her, in return she only replied with one or two word sentences. His thoughts were interrupted with the door slamming open and the sound of thundering footsteps coming towards Gaara.
"You fucking asshole!" Kakuzu snapped. He reached out and grabbed Gaara's collar, pulling him up to his face. The students around Gaara leapt out of their seats in fear, obviously knowing the rumors of Kakuzu's strength. Shizuko sat in her seat, still staring into space. The teacher was in a panick, the sudden entrance and yelling caused him to lose focus of the situation.
"What do you want Kakuzu?" Gaara growled. He leaned in close to Gaara, rage across his face.
"You know fucking well what I'm here for! You busted my window last night!" Gaara kept a dark yet calm look in his eyes.
"I broke it? You're mistaken."
"I saw your fucking foot go through my god damn window! I saw you running after you broke it you little shit!" He screamed. Gaara smirked.
"What's this? I broke your window? Please. You have enemies all around you in that neighborhood. How do you know it wasn't one of them?" He asked, a smart tone in his voice. Kakuzu let out a growl.
"Just because you're really good pals with Pein doesn't mean you're protected by everyone, faggot!" He snapped. The teacher finally tried to step in.
"Now, Kakuzu, just stop this! This is class time! Can't this wait until after sc-?" Kakuzu threw a chair at him.
"Don't interfere asshole! This is my business!" He snapped, his booming voice ringing throughout the classroom. A head peeked into the classroom, his expression was bored and annoyed.
"Kakuzu! Hurry the fuck up! I want to actually learn how to dissect a human foot today! Let's go dammit!" Hidan called.
"Shut up Hidan! I'm busy right now!" Gaara smirked and pushed Kakuzu off of him.
"You're interrupting classtime, Kakuzu. You don't want a bloody nose, do you?" He growled. Kakuzu and Gaara's eyes pierced into each others. Shizuko turned her head, her eyes dazed and distant. Gaara stood up, cracking his knuckles as he clenched his fists.
"Shall we have a small brawl since you can't just cool down and admit that I didn't break your window?" He asked, cracking his neck as he tilted it to the side. Kakuzu smirked and loomed over Gaara's head.
"I'm gonna enjoy this so much more than I should..." He mutttered deeply. Shizuko stood up, her eyes glued to Kakuzu's back.
"I hope you're ready to eat your own ass, Gaara!" He announced, grinning. She walked calmly in front of Kakuzu, her eyes doll-like and gazing up at his, a shadow drifted over them. Kakuzu let out an annoyed growl.
"The hell are you doing, Shizuko? Get out of the way!" He snapped. Hidan put his whole body in the door, getting a better view of the situation. His eyes narrowed at the sound of Shizuko's name.
"What is that girl doing?" He breathed. Gaara stared at her back, a pissed look still on his face.
"Shizuko, this is my fight, back down," He said calmly. Shizuko was silent, her eyes still on Kakuzu.
"Move it, bitch! Or do you want a broken spine next?" Kakuzu screamed in rage. She raised a finger very slowly.
"If you attack, Kakuzu, I'll tell Pein-"
"This again! It's always 'I'll tell Pein this' or 'I'll tell Pein that'! It's sickening! He isn't going to protect you all the time!" He yelled, his eyes in a fury.
"And I'll dismember your body..." She said darkly. Kakuzu paused.
"The hell has gotten into you? You can't do anything with your weak ass body!" He bent over her, grinning as his shadow drifted over her.
"You're doped up on drugs, sweety. Don't try to pick a fight with a grizzly bear when you're just a mouse," He murmured.
"Shizuko, get out of the way! You'll only get hurt!" Gaara said. She slowly turned her body to the side, lowering her arm and keeping her head turned towards Kakuzu.
"Fine then..." She murmured. Kakuzu grinned. He started past her.
"That's a good gi-" Shizuko's heel collided with his chin, sending him up and back. Her leg was perfectly straight up in the air, her hair whooshing upwards and hiding half of her face. Only one eye was revealed; it was frightening to look at. He fell heavily on his back. Shizuko's eyes were still doll-like; wide and glassy. She leapt on top of Kakuzu, reaching into his pocket and grabbing his knife. She held it to his throat.
"Am I a mouse?" She whispered into his ear. Hidan ran out the door, looking for Pein. Gaara was taken back by surprise. He didn't expect Shizuko to do anything close to what she had just done. Gaara stepped forward.
"Shizuko!"
"Get off of me, bitch!" Kakuzu thrashed, trying to hit Shizuko and send her flying. She twisted her legs around Kakuzu's, pinning him down and rammed the knife down into his side. He let out a yell of pain.
"Fucking bitch!" He roared. She leaned over top of him, her eyes still wide; like a ghosts. Her hair drifted down over his face.
"This is payback for stabbing me..." She said in a monotone. She took the knife out and held it high above her head.
"And this is for picking a fight with Gaara-san..." She whispered, a grin came across her face. Kakuzu's eyes widened.
"The hell are you on!" He yelled. She brought the knife down, Gaara lunged at her hand, the knife only grazing Kakuzu's neck. Shizuko's eyes flashed to Gaara. They were still for a moment. Gaara kept his eyes on Shizuko's.
"This isn't like you, Shizuko." The students in the classroom began whispering to each other; their fear for Shizuko turned into fear against her.
"Gaara, please let go," She whispered. He gripped her wrist tightly.
"Let go of the knife." She stared into his eyes.
"Let go."
"What just happened was definately not the Shizuko I know. She wouldn't dare do anything like this." Besides... that look on her face when she was getting ready to stab his throat... What happened to her last night? Shizuko relaxed and dropped the knife.
"Get her the fuck off of me!" Kakuzu yelled.
"I don't need it," She whispered. Her eyes were still on Gaara's, her wrist still clenched in Gaara's hand; and yet...
"AHHHHH!" Kakuzu screamed as Shizuko bent his knees upwards with her own legs. A sickening crack was heard throughout the room. Gaara froze, his eyes widened.
"Shizuko... you didn't...!" He breathed. She grinned, a shadow going across her eyes.
"He's learned his lesson now, Gaara..." She whispered. A few girls screamed. The students panicked and fled out of the room. Hidan came back, Pein and a few others with him. Pein saw Shizuko and the screaming Kakuzu and ran in hurridly.
"Shizuko!" He yelled. Shizuko didn't move, her eyes still on Gaara.
"Good morning..." She said. Pein froze, his eyes wide.
"Damn it, no!" He breathed. She unwrapped her legs from Kakuzu's and pushed herself up to her feet, wretching her wrist free from Gaara. She stood, her back to the window and eyes staring at Pein, her head tilted down a bit and hair hanging in front of her face.
"Shizuko-" Gaara started. She jumped backwards, flipped back on a desk and forced her feet through the window; shattering it to pieces.
"Dammit! Shizuko!" Pein ran to the window, ignoring the fretting Kakuzu, watching her fall down three stories to the ground. She landed heavily on her feet, rolling once and jumping up to stand. She looked up at Pein, still grinning and waved once.
"Good morning!" She called. Pein cursed and turned to Gaara.
"What happened?" He snapped.
"The bitch broke my legs! And she fucking stabbed me-"
"Shut up Kakuzu! She did that because you beat her again, didn't you!" He snapped. Gaara stood up.
"What was that, Pein? That wasn't Shizuko. She was... completely different..." Pein paced back and forth, a hand in his hair and a distressed look on his face.
"This is what happens when she's strained herself past her limit..." He murmured.
"What do you mean?" Gaara demanded. Pein stood over Kakuzu.
"What did you do to her last night?" He growled.
"She just had a few drinks! I don't fucking know! I'm bleeding and have two broken legs, Pein!" He yelled. Pein brought his foot down on one of his legs. Kakuzu let out a scream of pain.
"What did she take! What did you do to her!" Pein screamed.
"I don't fucking know!" Kakuzu yelled back. Gaara went to the window, Shizuko was just exiting the school grounds.
"Fuck this..." He growled, running out of the classroom.
"Gaara! Shit!" Pein hissed. He waved to Hidan.
"Get him to a hospital." He went after Gaara.
Shizuko calmly walked down the sidewalk, people passing by her and staring at her because of her creepy grin. She hopped back and forth between street stalls, gazing at each item and still grinning like a fool. Her eyes were narrow and dark; her face spelled out danger. She stood next to a street thug while waiting for the light; his body showed the years he spent fighting opponents. He was someone Shizuko knew from the multiple parties she went to. She glanced up at him, still grinning. He looked down at her, then smiled.
"Well... loosey is here so early? Wow... skipping school, bad girl...?" He said, reaching for her ass. She grabbed his wrist, a dark shadow drifted over her eyes.
"What do you think you're doing, bitch? Let go!" He snapped. She tilted her head to the side.
"Good morning!" She said sweetly, then brought her knee to his elbow and snapped his arm down, his bone splitting through his skin. She leapt back into the crowd, blending in quickly. He grabbed his arm and screamed in pain.
"AAGGHHH! GOD MY ARM!" He screamed. People turned to him, then backed away, women gasping at the sight. His blood spilled to the ground, his screams of pain brought him to his knees.
"Call an ambulence!" Someone yelled. Shizuko grinned.
"Good morning!" She said again.