Chapter 329: Debar

v. exclude or prohibit (someone) officially from doing something.

Disclaimer: I do not own that which belongs to another.

Sasuke raised a dark eyebrow as he turned to see another genin. He knew they had been in the same academy class, but the genin's name escaped him.

"Ugh, this guy?" griped the face painted suna nin as he glanced in the distance where his sister and brother had disappeared.

"Saskue," repeated the leaf genin, "I can take care of this one."

"Shino?" questioned Sasuke as his name slotted into place. Sasuke felt a little remorseful for forgetting the boy, after all they had only been out of the academy for a few months, not enough time for Sasuke to be forgetting. "Why are you here?"

"I can hold him off for at least 10 minutes," declared Shino, his body humming with a noise akin to cicadas. Sasuke turned to observe Shino, his head tilting to see his serious stance. While Sasuke was sure that he could have defeated the suna nin himself, he appreciated the assistance in this case.

"By that time, I'll have finished up with the others," smirked Sasuke with a nod towards Shino, "I'll leave this in your care."

Sasuke had already turned around and sped through the trees towards Gaara without observing Shino's answering nod.

"Temari," groaned Gaara weakly. Temari turned wide concerned eyes towards her baby brother, she hadn't realized he was still present enough to be coherent. "Put me down, please."

Temari gulped but carefully began to slow down so as not to jar him any more than necessary.

"Gaara?" Temari questioned, the rest of her concern twisting up her thoughts leaving her speechless. Gaara groaned in pain, one hand had buried into his hair again.

"What can I do?" she finally pleaded as she fell to her knees beside him. Gaara's eyes squeezed shut in pain and Temari had never seen her baby brother so distraught before. A latent sense of protection settled in her heart as she carefully placed a comforting hand on Gaara.

If Kagome was here, she would know what to do! She would know what to say to help Gaara calm down. Temari tried her best to channel Kagome's empathy but just as the words formed Gaara snapped open his eyes.

"Get out of here Temari!" he suddenly roared, one eye squeezing shut as sand began to collect around him once again.

"But…!" Temari's cry was cut off as Gaara struck out and pushed her off the tree.

Pain sunk into Gaara's aching body, leaving fire and heat blazing through his flesh and across his nerves. His world felt narrowed and small as he squeezed his eyes shut and panted through the pain.

You're weak, mocked Mother, her deep hoarse tone scrapped gratingly across his agitated mind.

You let a little boy hurt you? She continued scornfully and Gaara growled low in his mind.

The only reason that boy had hurt him was because Mother hadn't let Gaara have control.

You're weak, she crowed, I am your only strength, without me you would be dead.

Mother's verbal blow hit him deeper than the pain thrashing across his nerves. Insecurity swept through Gaara as he felt himself sink inside himself. His world felt like it was shattering around him, and it left him winded. He had always been alone, but he had thought that at least Mother had cared enough to protect him, but that was a lie. Mother had only ever cared for her own continuance.

No one had cared for him. No one was there to keep him safe.

Despair split fissures through his mind, a fractured mirror that reflected a shattered version of his whole life.

Sasuke took a moment to observe his opponent. Gaara seemed shut off from the world, his fingers knotted into his wounded shoulder and his eyes screwed shut. His sister was nowhere to be seen, and Sasuke wondered briefly where she must have gone off too and if that would be a problem.

"Fight me," declared Sasuke once he had gathered enough pertinent information. Gaara's eyes snapped open. One eye gold and black while the other remained a piercing teal, giving the appearance of two separate entities looking back at him. A shiver of adrenaline worked its way down his spine. "I don't know why your village is attacking, but I'll stop you."

"Those eyes," grumbled Gaara, his voice a mixture of two tones, one sounding mocking while the other sounded in pain. Gaara's lips spread painfully across his teeth in a mocking grin, "those eyes are ones of one that will do anything to survive, just like me. But…"

Sasuke scoffed as he dropped into a ready stance, already tired of the boy's rambling soliloquy.

"Your connections make you weak," snarled a single hoarse tone that echoed through the trees and sent a flicker of uncertainty deep into Sasuke's heart.

Words: 800