"What do you mean she's got crappy taijutsu?" Komaru asks.
"I'm simply saying she needs more practice." Gai-sensei replies.
"Who are you talking about?" I ask. They both jump and look at me and Daisuke.
"Where did you two come from?" Komaru-sensei asks.
"Err, my house?" I reply. Komaru shakes his head.
"That's not what I-.. never mind." He says then faces Gai again. "Fine, I'll let you train her this month then if that's what you really want."
"Who?" I ask again.
"You." Gai-sensei says, giving me the nice guy pose.
"You mean, I have bad taijutsu?" I ask.
"Well.. it's not bad, just needs improvement. Now, Komaru-san, I will show you the move I taught her. Setsuki, show him the Konoha Senpuu." Gai says. I nod then jump back a few meters, then run at Komaru-sensei, jumping in the air then going to kick.
"Konoha Senpuu!" I say, his eyes widen slightly not expecting this, but he manages to catch my ankle, stopping me. I frown slightly, it's like I can't hit anyone with that move.
"Wow, that is impressive. Alright Gai-san, I'll let you train her then." Komaru-sensei says.
"What?" I ask, falling over because he still has hold of my ankle. Gai gives Komaru-sensei the nice guy pose.
"Thank you Komaru-san, I promise she will become even stronger!" Gai exclaims. Komaru nods.
"What's going on?" I ask. Komaru-sensei lets go of my foot, allowing me to stand up and brush the dirt off me.
"Setsuki, Komaru-san has granted me permission to train you for this month in your taijutsu!" Gai exclaims. I smile, feeling excited, finally a new sensei. "Now, are you ready to go?"
"Ye-"
"No! She's staying with us!" Daisuke retorts, throwing his arms around me and holding me back. Both Komaru-sensei and Gai-sensei blink, I just frown.
"I want to!" I exclaim.
"But I don't want you to." Daisuke says.
"But I want to!" I exclaim, pushing out of his grip.
"But.. but Setsuki.." Daisuke grumbles. I poke my tongue out at him, I know he's just jealous because I get to have a cool sensei.
"No I wanna go!" I exclaim, then stand beside Gai-sensei. Gai puts his hand on my shoulder and gives me a thumbs up. I look at him, smiling. "Does that mean I'm part of Team Gai now?" I ask. Gai nods.
"Temporarily, yes." He replies.
"Yay! Lets go!" I exclaim.
"Very well, I will see you later Komaru-san." Gai says. Komaru-sensei nods and Gai and I jump off.
We end up at the training grounds where Tenten and Neji are already standing around waiting. "It's about time." Neji grumbles.
"Morning Neji-kun, Tenten-chan." I say.
"Morning." Tenten blissfully replies.
"Hn." Neji grumbles.
"Alright you lot, listen up. Setsuki here will be a part of Team Gai for this next month." Gai says.
"Oh, how lovely! I'll get to have another girl to talk to!" Tenten cheers. I smile, it's the same deal with me.
"But there is no time for girl talk Tenten, we have training to do!" Gai exclaims.
"Sheesh." Tenten grumbles. "So pushy.."
"Now, I think we'll start the day off with some warm ups. Everybody now! One, two." Gai says then starts doing star jumps. Both Tenten and Neji gave him reluctant glares, this made me giggle.
Before I know it, the month was gone. I haven't seen my best friend Naruto for quite a while either, he must either be pulling pranks or actually training.
It was midday and I had just finished training with Gai-sensei and the others, and I was hungry. I end up walking past the hospital on my search for food, then thought I should pay Lee-san another visit, who knows? Maybe he's woken up! I smile to myself, it would make my day to see him awake.
I turn around and head back to the hospital, and as I walk through the hallway, I heard familiar voices from one of the rooms with the door open slightly.
"Hey, you're finally awake."
"Where am I?"
I walk over to the door and peep my head in, seeing who I think is Susumu sitting by the bed with his back towards the door, and Naruto in the bed. Wait...
"The hosp-"
"Naruto-kun?" I ask, walking in, cutting off Susumu. They both look at me.
"Setsuki-chan?" Naruto asks.
"Waaaait a minute, you're not Susumu." I say, looking at the boy. He blinks.
"... I'm Shikamaru." He says.
"You look just like Susumu.." I mention. "It must be your hair.. or maybe the lazy-looking eyes.. o-"
"Ahem.." Shikamaru clears his throat, cutting off my rambling.
"Huh? Oh yeah, so Naruto-kun, why are you in the hospital?" I ask.
"I heard he was asleep for three days straight." Shikamaru says.
"Sleeping?" I ask.
"Three days?" Naruto asks. "... THREE DAYS!" He then immediately stands up on the bed from his lying position, and faces Shikamaru who was now freaking out.
"W-what?" Shikamaru stutters. These sudden bursts of energy Naruto has also scares me.
"Shikamaru! When are the final matches!" Naruto questions.
"Tomorrow.." Shikamaru says in a scared tone, and raises his arms defensively thinking Naruto might attack him.
"WWHHHHAAAAATTT!" Naruto practically screams, then jumps off the bed and grabs Shikamaru's shirt and pulls him face to face. "WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME EARLIER! I DON'T HAVE TIME TO JUST SLEEP HERE! WHERE'S THE PERVERTED HERMIT? WHERE IS HE? I NEED HIM TO SUPERVISE MY TRAINING!"
"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru questions. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"
Naruto lets go of him and throws his pillow off the bed like he was looking for something. "My clothes are gone!" Naruto panics. He looks around frantically on each side of his bed. "Where? Where? Where?"
"Geez, he's sleeping one minute and causing a ruckus the next." Shikamaru grumbles.
"NARUTO! CALM DOWN!" I shout over the top of him, making Naruto pause in an odd crouching position on his bed.
"Geez. There's no point in panicking the day before the finals. Resting can be considered a part of your training." Shikamaru says.
Naruto fell backwards onto his butt like he was depressed.
"Hey, Naruto.. What's wrong?" Shikamaru asks.
Naruto's stomach growls and he turns his head around with anime tears. "I'm hungry." He whines.
"Come on.. Don't scare me like tha-"
"How about some Ichiraku Ramen?" I ask with a big smile. Naruto's eyes light up.
"Yeah!" Naruto strongly concurs.
Shikamaru sighs. "Now hang on a minute." He says.
We both face Shikamaru that that 'huh?' expression as he bends down reaching for something. He pulls up a basket of fruit. "This is troublesome but I brought some fruit for Choji. The doctor said he can't eat them, so lets eat them together."
"Choji?" Naruto asks. "He's hurt that badly?"
"Don't get the wrong idea." Shikamaru sniggers. "He ate too much barbecue and his stomach isn't feeling well-"
Shikamaru was cut off by Naruto cracking up laughing. "That sounds like Choji alright!"
"Heh. Here." Shikamaru says, tossing Naruto an apple.
"What about me?" I ask.
"Yeah here." Shikamaru says, then tosses me an apple. I catch it and take a bite, it was a juicy one, and I love juicy apples, so this made me very happy.
"Mmm this looks very good! Aaa-!" Naruto went to bite it but then stopped to giggle.
"Huh?"
"Lets go eat in front of Choji." Naruto sniggers.
"Ngh, what a troublesome guy." Shikamaru grumbles.
We walk to Choji's room. "Shh." Naruto hisses, creating a slight echo down the corridor, after all the hospital does seem rather empty. Shikamaru and I look at him, wondering what he's up to. "We'll scare him." Naruto mouthes. I'm not a lip reader but I could understand that. Shikamaru nods and grabs the door handle, sliding it open very slowly and we stood on an angle so that to Choji, it looks like there's no one there.
Once the door was open wide enough Shikamaru sticks the fruit basket through the door.
"Geez, did you come to annoy me Shikamaru?" Choji grumbles.
"Well, yeah." Shikamaru laughs then we all enter. Choji frowns at the three of us.
We sit around the bed and begin eating in front of him, making him very.. infuriated.
The food didn't last long, especially with Naruto's "starving" stomach. We broke out in a conversation which varied over many different things, too much to write down in a list.
Naruto started to trail off about his lecture on how Ichiraku Ramen beats every other food, and he turns his head to me smirking. I blink. "Say, I'll bet you came just to visit me right Setsuki-chan?" He asks.
"Well I didn't even know you were in the hospital." I bluntly reply. Naruto gets anime tears and Shikamaru and Choji laugh.
"Wait, then why did you come to the hospital then?" Naruto asks.
"Oh, I came to check Lee-san. It's been about a month so, I'm guessing he's woken up by now." I say.
"Lee? He's been awake for a while now." Shikamaru says, capturing my attention.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Ino told me a while ago that she and Sakura went to visit him and Sasuke. However, both their beds were empty. Of course they went to visit Sasuke first, but because he was gone they went to visit Lee but his bed was empty too. Turns out he was outside struggling to do push ups." Shikamaru explains.
"What? Push ups in his condition?" Naruto questions.
"How could he even get outside in the first place?" I ask, remembering his crushed leg. Shikamaru shrugs.
"Beats me." He says.
"Wow.. that guy has determination huh.." Choji says, his facial expression showed he was probably talking to himself.
"Yeah.. it's a real shame.. I don't understand though, why of all people did it have to happen to him?" Naruto asks, getting that slight sorrowful look.
"Mm.. He wanted to become a Taijutsu specialist like Gai-sensei." I say.
We all had a moment of silence... which was shortly to be interrupted by Choji's stomach growling, followed by his whining.
"... Lets go visit him together!" I exclaim.
"Yeah!" They all reply in unison.
"Oh no you don't Choji." Shikamaru says.
"Why?" He whines.
"Because you need to stay here. You don't want to upset that stomach of yours." Shikamaru answers. Choji grumbles and sinks down in his sitting position, folding his arms in annoyance.
"Well, see ya Choji." Naruto says, then we wave and leave.
Once we get to Lee's room, Naruto stops outside the door. "What now?" I ask.
Naruto gets that mischievous grin. "We should scare Bushy Brows too." Naruto says in a hushed voice. I frown.
"Naruto, that's not nice." I say, going to hit him over the back of the head, but he saw a coin on the ground and picked it up making me miss.
By now Shikamaru was already slowly opening the door, and when he gasped I began to freak out. Shikamaru rushes in there, crouches down on one knee and does a hand sign. I peep my head through the door seeing that red head from Sunagakure.
Sand covered Lee's bed, and Gaara was holding his hand above Lee's face, ready to kill.
"Hey, you..!" Naruto shouts, then jumps at him, punching his face with fury.
Just then Shikamaru cried out in pain, and his head looked like it was forced backwards.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Naruto shouts.
"Hey, Naruto." Shikamaru growls. "When I'm using the Shadow Imitation Technique, I move along with him. Got it?"
"Oh. Sorry, Shikamaru." Naruto says. I look at Gaara, a crack forms on his cheek, and sand drops from it. Naruto walks back over to Shikamaru and me, then glares at Gaara. "What are you trying to do?" Silence filled the room as we stare each other down. "Hey! What did you try to do to Bushy Brows?" Naruto snaps.
We stare at Gaara, waiting for him to answer. Calmly, he finally answered, ".. I tried to kill him."
"What?" Naruto gasps along with Shikamaru and me.
"Why do you need to do that?" Shikamaru asks, getting a really annoyed expression. "You won the match. Do you have some sort of personal grudge against him?"
"No.." Gaara replies, his voice still calm and monotoned. "I'm going to kill him, because I want him dead.."
I suddenly felt a chill attack my body. Was I scared of this guy? I remain standing there beside Shikamaru, not able to take my eyes off Gaara thinking he will do something. Naruto points to him.
"THAT'S THE MOST SELFISH THING I'VE HEARD!" Naruto shouts.
"You grew up in a bad environment didn't you?" Shikamaru asks. "You're really egocentric."
"... If you bother me, I will kill you, too.." Gaara says. The chill got worse, I am scared of this guy. Naruto clenches a fist, pointing it at Gaara, apparently not scared a bit.
"What? Just try it, then!" Naruto gushes.
"Hey, cut it out, Naruto!" Shikamaru hisses. "We know that you're strong, since we saw your match with him. But.. These two here and I are pretty strong as well." He says with a smirk.
"Shikamaru..! Don't bring me into this." I hiss quietly at him.
"Shush, I'm bluffing to see how he reacts." Shikamaru whispers to me, then faces Gaara again. Bluff or not, I could feel my legs shaking slightly. "We didn't show our strongest move in the preliminaries. And it's two verses one here. You're at a disadvantage. If you listen to us, we can let you go."
Gaara's expression became even more cold. "I'm only going to say this once more.. if you bother me, I will kill you."
"Gaargh! You can't kill me!" Naruto exclaims, yet again, pointing at Gaara. I jump at Naruto and cover his mouth with my hand.
"Shut up you idiot!" I mutter in his ear. Shikamaru was giving a very annoyed look towards Naruto.
"Stop doing that Naruto, this guy is as strong as a monster. You know that, right?" Shikamaru hisses.
I felt the corner of Naruto's mouth move up like he was smirking, and he grabs my wrist and pulls my hand down from his face. "I have a real monster inside me." Naruto says, getting that cocky attitude. "I won't lose to him."
Shikamaru elbows Naruto. "Don't piss him off, you idiot!" Shikamaru growls. I stand on the left of Naruto, seeing him getting angry himself.
"... A monster, eh?" Gaara inquires, closing his eyes. Naruto's growling became slightly louder, showing he was getting more pissed off. ".. Then I am the same."
The three of us gasp slightly, Naruto's expression suddenly changed, he was utterly stunned.
"As you said, I did not grow up in a nice environment." Gaara says. "I took the life of a woman who was called my mother when I was born. To become the ultimate ninja, my father used a ninja technique to bind an incarnate of sand to me. I was a monster at birth."
Naruto's eyes just snap wide open, his eyes began to shake like he was trembling. Both mine and Shikamaru's eyes were wide as well, and this chill grew even more. I glimpse at Shikamaru, seeing him tremble slightly.
"It is called Shukaku, and it was sealed in a teakettle." Gaara explains. "It is a living soul of an elder priest from Sunagakure."
Both me and Naruto notice Shikamaru sweating and trembling out of fear. "Must be one of the binding techniques to bind a soul before birth." Shikamaru says, trying not to lose himself to fear. "To think that you guys would resort to such a thing... you guys are crazy.. heh.. that's not what a parent should do. What a twisted way to show love."
"Love?" Gaara asks. "Don't measure me by your values. Family? Let me tell you what kind of link I have with them. They are just lumps of meat linked by hatred and murderous intent. I stole my mother's life and was created to become the village's masterpiece. As as Kazekage's son... my father taught me the secrets of ninja techniques... I grew up after being overprotected, spoiled, and left alone. I thought that was love..." Gaara finally opens in eyes, giving us cold glares, making me quiver. "Until that incident happened."
"That incident?" Shikamaru asks. Gaara's glare became more fierce and my body moved on it's own, stepping slightly behind Naruto.
"What happened?" Naruto asks with a slightly shaky voice. Gaara's eyes turn to the ground. "So what happened?"
A slight smirk appears on Gaara's face and he looks up at us with scary eyes, veins spread across his sclera reaching for his pupil-less green irises. I found myself standing behind Naruto now, but I am taller than him, so I could still see over the top of his head. "These past six years, starting from when I was six... my father tried to assassinate me numerous times."
My eyes widen more in shock, and Shikamaru gasps loudly, leaning his head back and trembling more. I was shaking myself, I was seriously scared and horrified by what Gaara had just said.
Shikamaru swallows and speaks up, "But you said that he spoiled you. So what do you mean?"
Gaara lifts his arm slightly. "A being that is too strong eventually becomes an embodiment of fear. Since I was born from the usage of a technique, my mind was unstable. The idiots in my village finally noticed that my emotions were unpredictable. To Kazekage, my father, I was the village's trump card... but at the same time, I was a threat. After I turned six, it seems that they classified me as a dangerous being. I was the village's dangerous tool, but still handled with care. I am only a relic of the past they want to get rid of. So why do I exist and live? .. I asked myself that question, but I could not find an answer." There was a slight pause, and Gaara glares straight at Naruto. "But I need those reasons while I am still alive. Or it would be the same as me being dead."
"What is he talking about?" Shikamaru asks.
"And this is what I concluded..." Gaara says, closing his eyes again. "I exist to kill everyone other than me. I finally found relief inside the fear of being assassinated at any time. By killing the assassins, I was able to recognize my reason to live.." Gaara opens his eyes and looks at us. "I fight for only myself, and love only myself. As long as I think that other people exist to make me feel that, the world is wonderful. As long as there are people to kill in this world... to make me experience the joy of living... my existence will remain."
There was a very long silence, and the tension in the air was unbelievable. The three of us stood there shivering in fear. Naruto suddenly took a step back, his heel stepping on my toe making me jump, however Naruto was in his own world quivering.
"What's wrong, Naruto?" Shikamaru asks, looking at him with the same fear in his eyes. Suddenly sand shot up from the ground making us all jump.
A pillar of it came up over us.
"Naruto!" Shikamaru shouts. Naruto didn't move, he just stood there staring in fear from this sand above him. "Naruto! Hey, wake up!"
"Let me feel..!" Gaara says maniacally. I stare wide eyed as the sand came rushing towards us. I quickly clap my hands together.
"Suiton: SuishÅha!" I call, summoning a vortex of water to spiral around the three of us, dampening the sand, making it heavy and fall to the ground. Gaara gets an even bigger smirk and suddenly more sand comes out of no where. I squint my eyes and use my chakra to bring the water back up, ready to go again.
"Stop right there." We hear. Immediately, our heads turn to someone standing at the door. Gai-sensei. "The main matches are tomorrow. There is no need to get hasty." He says in a firm voice, then walks into the room. "Or do you want to get hospitalised today?" He stops and faces Gaara.
Gaara was holding his head like he was suffering. The sand began to retreat from Lee's bed and the floor and return to his gourd. He then began walking to the door, hunched over and breathing heavily. He puts a hand on the door and stops, looking back at us.
"I will kill you guys for sure. Just you wait." He spoke before walking out completely. Gai-sensei turns to us finally with that questioning look, and I began to explain what had happened.
"I see.. well keep away from him until tomorrow. The last thing any of you need is to be injured for your final matches." Gai-sensei tells us. We nod. Naruto still seems tormented by Gaara's words.
Lee began groaning, which immediately captured all our attention, and we walk over to his bed.
His eyes open slowly and he blinks a few times and looks up at us.
"Naruto-kun?" Lee weakly asks, and then looks between the rest of us. "Shikamaru, Setsuki-san, Gai-sensei..!" After seeing his sensei, Lee began trying to sit up, but winces doing so.
"Lee, what did I tell you about taking it easy?" Gai inquires, folding his arms.
".. Sorry Gai-sensei." Lee replies.