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Chapter 2: Homesick
The car jostled him about on the leather seat when it hit yet another bump on the ice-covered road. Just one more reason to hate winter, aside from just the simple fact that Gaara hated shivering. Such a distraction. Speaking of which, how could he get his brother to SHUT UP!
"Kankuro." The brunette carried on in his idle chatter with the driver, and Gaara gave up. Chatter. Teeth. Cold. He really hated winter.
Fog coated the back windows of the small, black vehicle, and Gaara blew out one more breath just so he couldn't see himself anymore. It faded away quickly, and his reflection was clear just a few seconds later; brilliantly green eyes lined in a dark charcoal grey- make up enhanced natural features, was it wrong for those features to belong to a young man?- and shaggy red bangs spiked all around his somewhat round face, the length of the fiery strands pulled into a short, tight ponytail at the base of his neck that was poking irritatingly at the collar of his jacket. He never would know the reason for keeping his hair so long.
"Gaara, I really think you'll like this place. Dr. Sarutobi recommended it for you," His sister said from the seat next to him, her hand resting idly on his forearm. He just nodded, annoyed with his hair once again when it pricked lightly at his neck.
The plane ride had taken hours, far more than he'd been willing to count. It'd touched down just over half an hour ago and there'd been a car waiting for them at the airport. The man had been holding the sign upside down, so it did take a while longer to find him then Gaara would've preferred.
"Where exactly are we going anyways? And why'd we have to come too? You know I don't like travel like this." And there went his brother's mouth again.
"Kankuro! Would you shut the hell up already? It's been non-stop since we left Suna." Temari ran a hand through her frizzy hair, frowning when her fingers got stuck in her bangs. "This is why I hate taking you places." She pulled her curly blonde tresses back into a tight ponytail. A few loose strands fell attractively across her forehead, but she just blinked them irritatingly out of her eyes.
They bickered, but the question remained unanswered, and for some reason, the young redhead was bothered by it. His cheek hit the window with a quiet thump, the coolness of the glass instantly pulling a sigh from his lips. Cold was one thing, the driver blasting too much heat because of the cold was entirely different.
How ironic would it be to die of heat stroke in December? Worse than drowning in a fire.
Gaara brushed his fingers absently across the tattoo that graced his forehead. Love. Thank goodness he'd gotten it at least partially sober or else, instead of the somewhat intimidating Japanese character that was permanently ingrained into his pale skin, it could've been a heart like his sister had wanted. Once again, it was something he would never understand exactly. When the hell had he gotten the bloody thing?
He pulled the scarf from his neck and settled it in his lap, droning the sound of his upset siblings into the background. He couldn't understand them anyway. He pressed his forehead back against the cool glass of the window, eyes glued to the passing pavement below.
"I've never noticed before. The ground is moving so fast." He paused, inwardly berating himself. "But then again, the ground isn't moving at all, we are. But it looks so backwards from the truth. Fascinating." His voice was muffled against the window, and his eyes closed as he delved more fully into the thought.
"He's doing it again, Temari." Kankuro shielded his mouth with his hand, the tips of his fingers dyed the same bright purple that adorned his eyes and the warpaint-like designs decorating his cheeks, though it was slightly faded.
The blonde woman glanced over at her youngest brother, his lips moving too fast to read and his words too low to hear. "I've worried for so long, but nothing's come of it. Maybe this isn't worth it. Coming all this way, that is." Kankuro lips twitched in response.
"You never did answer my question!"
"Back to the shouting? I swear, you're such a child!"
The driver rolled his eyes, wishing he was off in Lala land like his youngest passenger.
. . . . . .
Two hours. Plus four, but he didn't really count those. Too much time spent in the confined company of his siblings, it couldn't be healthy to feel so agitated. He'd have to meditate later.
His suitcase was on the ground in seconds, and the slamming of a trunk door filled the air a moment later. Finally, sweet freedom. The sign that simply stated 'Welcome to KONOHA' was just a few feet to his right. "I wonder why it's in caps. Strange, that is." A blast of warm air rippled his plain white, long-sleeved t-shirt as the cab drove off from the curb in a hurry. "Lucky bastard." Gaara straightened out a crease on his now heat-wrinkled khaki pants.
"Gaara, get over here or we'll leave you behind when the bus arrives." The redhead pulled the handle of his baggage up and wheeled it behind him as he walked. At least the streets here were paved. Cobbles tended to irritate him. Too many bumps.
"It's just about ten minutes from here on the shuttle, so it shouldn't be long." He sat down between the two older adults and settled his bag between his knees, his jacket sitting in a folded pile on his lap. The orange and yellow colored leaves in the tree branches overhead rustled in the light breeze. It was warmer here, at least, just a cooling breeze every now and again to remind oneself of the time of year. It was almost peaceful, in all actuality.
"Do you think I can meet some new women here? Ladies have a thing for foreigners." Kankuro ran a hand through his hair and slung his arm around the back of the wooden bench.
"Only when they have something other than an accent going for them." Gaara closed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. His sister's laughter drowned out the constant sound of mountain wind, and he realized he didn't miss it. There was too much noise here, natural or not. A car horn blared in the distance. Ah, just like home.
"Got 'im there little brother!" Temari patted Gaara's knee and rustled around in her seat, attempting to pull down the back of her t-shirt without the use of her hands. "I hope this friend of Sarutobi's is a nice man. I couldn't stand living with another person like Kankuro."
"What exactly is that supposed to mean?!" Kankuro reached his arm around his younger brother and managed to give his sister's head a light love pat. "I'm not that bad!" Gaara shoved the heavy brunette off of the bench, fighting back the uncharacteristic urge to smile that had overcome him. Kankuro spluttered, wiping dirt from his jeans. "What was that for?" His brother knew better than to yell at the redhead.
Gaara considered it for a second. "Does there have to be a reason?"
"With you, there's always a reason." The younger man reached out to his brother to help him stand.
"Not necessarily a reason, always a purpose." Kankuro accepted the redhead's offered hand and pulled himself up, automatically brushing the dirt caked to the seat of his jeans. He adjusted his windbreaker and plopped himself back onto the white-painted bench, this time, on the other side of Temari.
The blonde wrapped her arm around the young teen gingerly and leaned her head on his broad shoulder. Gaara stiffened and attempted to scoot away, but she held him tight. Her hair poked at the red stubble that was trying its hardest to grow on the underside of his chin, and his hands twitched with the need to scratch. "This is why we'll never understand you baby brother." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye in question.
"Great, there's the bus," Kankuro said, getting to his feet and slinging his bag over his shoulder.
The tires squealed, and with a slight hiss of a breaking seal, the door cranked open to one side. The steps shook under Gaara's feet, and the entire vehicle bounced when his siblings fought to board behind him. If he didn't need them for money, food, and shelter, he'd have gotten rid of them ages ago.
The entire bus was a beehive of activity, from the elderly men and women seated near the front to the rebellious-looking preteens that were smacking gum and playing on cell phones in the large back seat. Small children skittered from seat to seat, ignored by busily chatting parents. One woman was holding two crying babies that were oblivious to the fact that they probably weren't going to get what they wanted until 'Mommy had finished her discussion' with the surprisingly out of place Hispanic man that was smiling nervously and nodding every few seconds. As a fellow foreigner, Gaara sort of felt for the man. At least he spoke English.
The redhead turned to the driver, giving Kankuro the chance to elbow past Temari into the main bus aisle. The blonde wasn't far behind, her angry shouts only adding to the controlled chaos.
"Do you take foreign currency?" The woman seated behind the wheel glanced between Gaara, the money box, and then the rear view mirror. She bit her lip as if thinking it over, then a sly, devilish smirk quirked her pink lips upwards.
"Honey, if you'll just say a few choice things very, very slowly for me, I'll let you and the two apes you brought with you ride wherever you want. No charge." The purple haired woman ran her dark eyes from the worn brown boots on his feet to the impassive look on his porcelain face. "I love me a sexy foreigner." She winked, the spiky ponytail perched on top of her head bouncing with a jerk.
Gaara pulled his hand from his pocket, dropped a few loose coins into the slot on the change box, and turned on his heel, mumbling, "You take foreign currency." The woman just shrugged and started the bus. He was a bit young for her standards, and Anko Mitarashi didn't settle for anyone that didn't meet her standards. After that last time, that is.
She puffed out some hot air and pulled out into the street to turn around, a smug grin glued to her face. "Jailbait."
. . . . . . .
"Get the hell offa my bus!" Her southern drawl was thickly pronounced.
Kankuro stumbled down the last step only to land on his face at the feet of his siblings, the green bag he'd been carrying landing soundly on his back a moment later. The door shut on his foot, dragging him with it a few feet until Anko finally opened it a crack to release the imprisoned young man. The brunette tumbled to a stop in an ungraceful heap in a driveway a few yards away from the bus stop.
"That's what you get for being an idiot." Temari crossed her arms over her chest and went to help her tactless brother up.
Gaara set his bag down on the sidewalk and scratched at the stubble on his cheek, raking his eyes over the quaint building he'd be calling home for the next few months. The porch was enormous, wrapping around the entirety of the front of the house and back around the side to a yard he couldn't quite see. White posts held up a navy blue awning. A porch swing hung from a wooden beam. There were two wide windows, with no curtains he could see, facing him on either side of the simple cream-colored door. The welcome mat was a neon orange that contrasted nicely with the serenity of the decor. It wasn't entirely atrocious.
Temari dragged Kankuro to his feet and back over to their younger sibling. "So, Gaara. What do you think?" The three started for the porch and climbed the five steep wooden steps to the front door. Kankuro buzzed the bell once.
A group of young-looking people flickered in the corner of his vision before quickly disappearing behind the pale yellow house on his right. Somewhere, not too far away, the sound of a basketball being thrown sounded loudly enough to echo throughout the otherwise quiet cul-de-sac. A young girl fell off her bike across the street and started crying, only to be comforted by an almost deceptively nice looking elderly woman.
Gaara's gaze locked back onto the yellow house, more specifically the garage where he just knew someone was watching him; multiple someones.
"I think I'm quite ready to go back to England now." And then the front door exploded.
. . . . . . .
End Chapter 2.
It's so nice being able to write short chapters just for fun. My other stories take so much thought, but this one just comes and I don't feel the pressure of writing ten thousand words a post. Just write what I want to, it's a good feeling!
Thanks for reading! I want to see some reviews before next time. :) They make me happy. Love, AMB11!
