Ch. 4: What Those Idiots Mean

A/N: Don't hate me...The mentions in this chatper area bit...well...yeah... Gosh, I'm very descriptive, aren't I? It's not graphic or anything...(At least I don't think so...) It just has not-happy moments in the middle-end. I like my ending though!

Mm...So yeah...

He was a disgustingly irritating man. His skin was blotchy, his smile disconcerting, his hands rough, and an infernal cigarette was always in his foul smelling mouth. Gaara did not want this man to be his sensei. Frankly, Gaara did not want any man to be his sensei.

But this particular man just rubbed him the wrong way.

What kind of a fucking name is Yukio, anyway? Let me kill this moron.

No. Despite his abhorrence of Yukio he did not want to kill him. Gaara had a reason for wanting this one alive. This man ensured his being able to be a shinobi, and as a shinobi he could meet other much stronger people. People he could pit himself against. Plus, he had a strong suspicion the reason he was allowed to be a shinobi now was because of a sacrifice that Kankurou and Temari had made. He wasn't sure what that meant, but he should at least try to refrain from killing this man.

Bullcrap. You know what Yukio means? 'Gets what he wants'. You know what this asshole wants? To live. Let's give him what he doesn't want; let's kill him!

"We're done training for today." Yukio announces.

Not that Gaara had trained with them anyway. He'd just sat back and watched. No blood was spilled, but it was interesting to watch. His 'siblings' were quite strong and determined when they chose to be.

"You can go home." He pauses. "But, Temari, I'd like to have a word with you."

Temari's blond head perks up. Her eyebrow's knitting confusion. "Oh?"

"It'll be quick."

"Ano," She's sitting on the sand, her clothes are rumpled and her hair is messier than usual. Gaara can tell she just wants to go home and relax. "Very well, Yukio-sensei."

Kankurou straightens. "Well, I'll see you, Tem. I'm fucking tired."

"KANKUROU!" she berates him. "STOP CUSSING!"

Kankurou waves her rants away. "Whatever."

Gaara stands to leave too, but something about Yukio stops him. Their supposed sensei looks…odd. His callous brown eyes are looking down at Temari's tired figure. But it's the WAY his eyes are looking that bothers him. They roam from her feet to her torso to her chest, and they linger there for a bit, before exploring every other crevice of her body. He doesn't like that look in the least. Temari, who's lying on the floor, her green eyes staring up at the sky, doesn't notice it all. Gaara's never once given any thought to her outfits in the past, but looking at her now, he's a bit disturbed. As far as he can remember, (except for this one brief period) Temari has always worn dresses. Her current one is mauve with a low neckline, not too tight, but not too loose. Underneath the dress is a tight red tank top, and it's tied in the middle with a dark purple obi. The red top stretched underneath is visible throughout the light fabric of her dress. It looks very nice on her, probably too nice on her. Shukaku is always complimenting it; of course, right after he does he demands her blood, so Gaara never much pays attention to the demon. But as Gaara looks at Yukio, he thinks there's something wrong with her outfit.

You should kill him.

Why is he looking at her that way?

NOW you choose to talk to me? Fine time. Only when it's convenient for you.

Fine, don't tell me.

Yukio looks at Gaara. Then man wants him to leave but is too afraid to say so.

Temari flicks her eyes to him, noticing him for the first time. "Ano, G-Gaara, do you wish for something?" She sits up and looks at him.

"No." Gaara doesn't miss the way the man's eyes have redirected back to Temari. The way he seems to be…exploring her. Gaara takes one last look at the man's eyes and uses his sand to teleport a few blocks away. Settling on the floor, Gaara activates his eye where he had previously been – where Temari and Yukio were.

Why the hell do you care so much about that blonde?

I'm curious.

No need. I can tell you what it all means. I was human once.

So? What does it mean?

Gaara can feel the demon grin inside him.

He wants her.

Wants?

Physically.

I don't understand.

I forget how stupid you are.

With his eye know activated, Gaara can see what's going on. Yukio's look has not disappeared. Not in the least. In fact, it seems stronger, more obvious, and perhaps a bit more sinister.

Temari looks up at him. She notices. Her eyes narrow and she stands effortlessly placing a good degree of distance between her and the man.

The drawback to the eye Gaara notices, is he can't hear what's going on. Gaara makes a mental note to learn how to read lips.

Yukio moves closer to her, his eyes looking at her in that disgusting manner. Temari takes a step back and seems to shout something at him. Yukio pays no mind. His hand wraps around Temari waist and leans forward to mutter something in her ear. Temari struggles furiously and turns a bright red. She tries pushing him away, she tries to dance away from his grasp, but she's too exhausted from their training and her fan is out of her reach. Yukio's hand seems to slip up her dress. Temari's expression turns furious and…scared. Not the kind of scared she displays toward Gaara sometimes. A different fear, a worse fear.

What's happening!?

Wouldn't you like to know? Shukaku taunts

What is happening? He demands of the demon.

He's taking her. He's taking something from her that she doesn't want him to have. He's violating her.

He's still not quite sure what the hell Shukaku is talking about, but he feels an odd twist in his gut. Whatever is happening shouldn't be happening to her, that much he knows. He dispels the eye promptly and appears before them. Temari is trying to scream, but her mouth is gagged so all that comes out are muffled murmurs. Yukio's hands are all over her and for some strange reason Gaara feels angry. Without thinking the cork pops from his gourd and darts and Yukio.

He doesn't think Temari or Yukio have time to react or even realize what's happening.

The sand slams into the brown-haired man's side forefully. Yukio is pushed to the sandy ground. His brown eyes are wide with unrelenting fear. Temari sinks wearily to the ground and pulls at the bind across her mouth.

"Wh-What are you doing?!" Yukio demands.

"What am I doing?" Sand dances around his 'sensei's' body and pushes him up. "Care to explain what you were doing?" Gaara rasps slowly.

"I wasn't – I wasn't!"

Sand closes around the man's body, leaving only his mouth and eyes open. Gaara contemplates what a worse death would be: asphyxiation or gradually being crushed to death?

CRUSHED! If you do it slowly, he'll feel every bit of it. He'll feel his skin pushing into himself, his bones grinding in a direction they shouldn't be grinding in, his insides being compressed, the blood spilling from inside of him causing him excruciating pain. CRUSH him slowly. Let him suffer for what he did.

So you think he did something wrong?

Shukaku's voice is smug and haughty. Of course. I want to taste the blonde bitch's blood as much as anybody, but she's still your kin. If anyway should hurt her, it's you.

Sand closes around the man's mouth, but leaves his nose open. He doesn't want to hear him scream. Slowly he presses the sand against the brown-haired man. Slowly it crushes the man from the inside. He can see the furious pain in the man's eyes as he destroys every bit of his body. Then blank.

He's dead.

Temari is breathing heavily, her face is flushed, her shoulders are shaking and in her eyes…there's not fear, but relief – gratitude even.

Yukio's body falls to the floor as Gaara's sand slides back into his gourd. Gaara bends down to pick up the cork and slides it in its place. He looks at the blonde, ever more curious than before. Wearily, she manages to sit up somewhat.

"Why…" she's still having trouble breathing correctly, "Did you do…that?"

Can we kill her too?

Shut up.

"Did he hurt you?" Gaara is surprised at his own question.

"I-I…N-no. Not really." She pauses. "You stopped him before he did anything." Shakily she pulls her dress down, patting it into its proper place. "How did you…did you even…?"

"I was watching with my eye. Be more observant, Temari." He rasps coldly. This is the most he's ever said to her. And from the shocked expression in her green eyes, he knows she's noticed. "It would do you well to always carry extra weapons with you."

She nods dumbly.

Gaara is about to teleport away with his sand, when the pretty blonde speaks.

"Th-Thank you."

"Don't." He responds coldly. "I would just as easily kill you." Shukaku's eager chants raise a decibel in volume. "This has nothing to do with protecting or saving you, oneesan."

He disappears then, but his words echo in his mind. He called her sister. He also told a slight lie.

He would just as easily kill her.

He did constantly think about killing her.

He still wanted to kill her sometimes.

BUT, what he did just awhile ago had everything to do with protecting and saving her. He didn't like the way Yukio had looked at her. He didn't like the things Yukio was doing to her. And he most certainly didn't like what Yukio was trying to take from her.

Even if he still wasn't entirely clear on what Yukio had been doing. Just that it was something – something bad.

Temari was a strong and beautiful creature. But sometimes she was just so stupid. Sometimes, he thinks, she needs someone to look out for her.

Why do you want to keep that slut alive?

I…I like her.

She wasn't his sister, not really. Maybe he wanted her to be his sister. Like he wanted Kankurou to be his brother, but the fact of the matter was that they weren't. They feared him. Maybe hated him. But that didn't mean he was going to let those idiots kill themselves.

If they were going to die.

He would be the cause of it.