Gaara fully expected Xin to come out of the bathroom and demand that he take her home. He expected her to come storming out, with some of her thoughts gathered and renounce their friendship. But when she stepped out, hair messy and pajamas rumpled, she only smiled. "…Breakfast?"

He couldn't snatch his phone up fast enough, shooting a text to Temari to have breakfast ready. Never mind that it was going on three in the afternoon and breakfast was hours ago. Xin could have whatever the fuck she wanted and she would. Breakfast was all too simple.

She took a staggering step forward and his stomach tightened. The muscles in her legs still hadn't loosened up. He was up before she could take another step, crossing the room to catch her despite her protests. She went easily enough though, plopping down on the edge of his bed with a dramatic huff.

"Xin, before that…" he trailed off, taking a moment for a few stolen looks. "I'm sorry..about last night." This should be it, the nail in the coffin. Last night should show her that it was foolish to continue any sort of relationship, platonic or otherwise. It would hurt, he realized, because he genuinely liked Xin's company but he wouldn't force her friendship.

Xin blinked up at him, brows drawn in clear confusion. "What do you have to be sorry about? You didn't drug me."

"That shit happened in the club I own."

"It could've happened in any club, one that you don't own." Xin smiled up at him. "I wasn't looking for an apology from you but I accept it. Now, breakfast?"

He wasn't exactly sure what to do with her, finding her nonchalant attitude a little strange. But then again, she was a strange woman. Regardless, he helped up to her feet and though she protested, helped her all the way downstairs. By the time they made it to the kitchen, breakfast was already set out and Xin was looking excited to eat. He deposited her at the island and took a seat next to her, glad that for once he didn't have to insist that she eat.

Temari and Kankuro joined them seconds later, looking both wary and a little confused. Confused, probably because they were serving breakfast so late in the afternoon. Wary, because Temari was waiting for the inevitable blow up.

Xin glanced up at them, her expression unreadable. Then, she grinned. "I didn't hit anyone."

It was Kankuro that reacted first, letting out a strangled laugh that sounded like a quack. "What, you want a cookie?" He took the seat across from Gaara, Temari taking the seat next to him.

"Not a cookie but a 'good job, Xin' would be nice."

Kankuro laughed again. "Fair enough. Good job, Xin. You didn't assault anyone."

Temari cleared her throat. "How are you feeling?"

Xin didn't even miss a beat. "I can't feel my legs. Does that mean I've overdosed or something? I've never taken drugs."

"You're the doctor here, you tell us."

She made a face at him. "I'd be a shit doctor if that were true."

Temari shook her head. "If you overdosed, I think you'd be at the hospital. Rohypnol can treat severe insomnia and assist with anesthesia, it's a sedation drug."

Xin pursed her lips and nodded, well that explained why she still couldn't feel her legs. She paled suddenly and glanced at Gaara, something akin to fear sparking in her eyes. He noticed immediately and he felt his heart sinking to his stomach.

"Um—I sort of…vomited into…I don't know, a bucket? A vase? This morning, when I woke up. I couldn't—my legs were too heavy. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" she was speaking a mile per minute, spitting the apology out like rapid fire.

That sinking feeling was gone and he would have laughed had it not been for Xin's genuine sorrow. She really believed that he would be angry with her for vomiting into a bucket.

"It wasn't a vase, it was a bucket. I put it there specifically for you to vomit in. It's fine, you're fine."

Instantly her shoulders loosened up, as if she'd been holding onto her fear and anxiety this entire time, like she'd been gearing up for his inevitable anger. Why was she always ready for a fight, for a confrontation?

Xin blew out a long breath. "Oh. Okay, great. Thank you."

Temari smiled. "Eat, Xin. You need the nutrients." She punctuated her point by nudging a plate of scrambled eggs towards her. She made it a point to have an American breakfast served instead of their usual breakfast, hoping it would help Xin better with her recovery. Just like Gaara, it was obvious that she was waiting for the inevitable, her shoulders tight and rigid.

The only one who didn't seem ready for a blowup was Kankuro. He'd been reassuring Temari all day that she was overeating, that Xin wasn't going to blame her for this mishap. 'Doesn't seem like the type', he'd said when Temari questioned his nonchalance. He couldn't see Xin placing any of the blame on either of his siblings, she just seemed too…dippy. Well, maybe not dippy, maybe kindhearted was a better word. He highly doubted she'd still be here, eating their goddamn food if she planned out severing any ties with them.

And maybe she could just be using their guilt against them, using their guilt and kindness to recover before blaming them for her drug induced coma. Some people were like that but not Xin. It wasn't even her kindness, she was just too straight forward. He guessed that in a way, he was seeing her for who she truly was, who his siblings saw her as. A genuine person. Genuine, even to a fault.

When Xin had eaten her fair share of breakfast, Gaara promptly scooped her up to whisk her away to rest a little while longer. She protested vehemently but to Kankuro, it hardly looked like she put up much of a fight. In fact, she might have enjoyed being manhandled by his brother but it was none of his business. Temari quickly followed after them, she was never one to let things lie for too long. Angry or not, a conversation needed to be had between the two women and she wasn't about to wait any longer.

Kankuro wasn't alone for too long, Jura appearing mere minutes after his siblings vanished. "Hey, man." He slumped down across from Kankuro and promptly helped himself to the leftovers. "What's with the breakfast food? It's three in the afternoon."

"And yet, you're eating it," Kankuro pointed out sardonically. "It's what Xin wanted."

Jura perked up. "She's awake? Is she okay?"

He was halfway out of his seat when Kankuro waved him down. "She's fine, her legs ain't working right but she's up and coherent. Temari and Gaara are with her right now." Jura deflated but Kankuro ignored it. "Did you find the fucker?"

He sat back, making it a point to slowly chew on a piece of bacon. "I'm insulted you'd even ask. Course I found him, it wasn't like it was hard."

"Did he put up a fight?"

Jura grinned and shrugged, "he tried."

Temari was hovering. Gaara was too, in his own way. For one, he refused to let her walk on her own, going so far as to pick her up to carry her up the stairs. It was a little overwhelming and just a tad bit embarrassing but Temari thought nothing of it, in fact, she seemed to be in complete agreement with her brother's actions.

"My legs aren't broken," Xin said once she realized he wasn't going to put her down, even after coming up the stairs. "You don't have to carry my heavy ass around like this."

Gaara scoffed, not the least bit affected by her weight. He hadn't even balked last night, when she was nothing but dead weight. "I've carried heavier things than you."

"Oh, like a dead body or something?"

Temari sighed loudly. "Better leave that unanswered." She moved around them to get to Gaara's door first, opening it to let them in. She was still a little iffy about letting Xin stay in his bedroom versus hers but decided not to question it. At least not now, anyway. When things died down a little more and Gaara wasn't so irritated, she was going to grill the shit out of him.

Xin huffed loudly but didn't protest when they got her into bed and under the soft and not to mention plush blankets. She thought they were being a tad ridiculous but every time she brought up the idea of just taking her home, they vehemently declined. They were still worried her legs were dead weight, leaving her vulnerable at home.

"I could easily get some rest in my own bed," she did point out, just so Kankuro couldn't accuse her of using his siblings and their guilt later on. It was a lost battle but hell if she wouldn't put up somewhat of a fight.

"Mine's more comfortable," Gaara replied.

"How the hell do you even know that for sure?"

"It cost more."

Xin gaped at him, offended but all too aware that it was true. "Fuckin' rich people," she mumbled as Gaara's phone chirped. Temari moved towards him, her eyes darting over the screen. Her expression was strange but she ignored Xin's look of curiosity.

Temari sat on the edge of the bed closest to Xin. "You should probably handle that. I'll stick around with Xin for a little while, she's safe."

Xin blinked. "Safe from what?"

But neither sibling answered, not that she was surprised. They shared a look, something she couldn't understand. But it passed quickly and Gaara was turning his attention back to her. He cupped her face, surprising her and swiped his thumb against her jaw. "I'll be gone for the day, Temari will take you home after you rest."

"The whole day?"

His mouth pulled into a smile. "What's the matter, Angel, you gonna miss me?" He was smiling but his gaze was intense.

She blushed under that gaze and from the heat of his hand curled around her face. He was being affectionate and flirtatious and it…it didn't make her skin crawl. It didn't make her want to hide away, it didn't make her want to run.

Ah, fuck.

"I think you might be the one missing me. I was told by my neighbor that I'm delightful." Yeah, a delightful idiot maybe.

He snorted but didn't deny it, something that was not lost on his sister. He could practically feel her gaze piercing through him. "You're going to behave, aren't you?" Delight filled him at the sight of a blush tipping Xin's ears.

"…I'll behave."

He squeezed her jaw, watching as her mouth popped. She breathed in sharply through those pink lips. "Good girl."

He was gone then, the door closing gently behind him. Xin stared at the door, the blush crawling up and down her neck and across her face. She couldn't bear to look at Temari, to witness the knowing look the blonde was no doubt wearing. She couldn't answer any of the questions Temari probably had for her because she didn't have the damn answers herself.

But…she was a good girl, she knew that much. She tried not to physically preen.

Temari cleared her throat and slowly scooted closer until she was tucked underneath the blankets with Xin. Neither of them spoke for several moments, waiting for the other to talk first. Again, Temari cleared her throat.

"Are you going to keep doing that until I ask…?" Xin asked, finally turning to look at her.

Temari's lips thinned and she closed her eyes, trying to navigate how the conversation should go in her head. "I'm sorry, this…I don't do this, usually."

"Do what?"

"Apologize to anyone but my family. I usually don't…" she trailed off, squinting. She couldn't recall any moment where she felt remorse towards anyone enough to apologize. Jesus, did that make her a terrible friend? Did she even have friends at this point? She wracked her brain but couldn't come up with a single friend that she cared enough about to ever apologize over anything.

Well, hell.

Xin pursed her lips and then patted Temari's thigh. "You're doing an awful job, just to let you know. I don't even get why you're apologizing, you didn't drug my drink. You dragged my ass out of that bathroom and put me somewhere safe."

Temari shook her head, Xin and her simplicity. "Xin, you aren't from the city, you wouldn't even expect someone to drug your drink. But me? Happens all the time, this isn't the first time I've caught a girl being drugged. I took my eye off you, left you alone and that asshole took advantage of the fact that you weren't paying attention because you were looking for me. I have some responsibility in this whether you see it or not."

Xin's expression was casual but it was obvious that she was thinking her words over. "If you're looking for me to say that this is your fault, I can but I probably won't mean it."

Temari laughed. "You're too truthful for your own good, Xin. It's a blessing and curse."

The last time she tried to deceive Kazuya, it resulted in her ultimately leaving her little town and escaping to Tokyo. She still wasn't so sure if it had been the right choice or not. Well, she wasn't dead and had she stayed, that's clearly where they'd been heading so her choice had to count for something, didn't it?

"I'll tell you the same thing I told your brother. I wasn't looking for an apology but I'll accept it. Don't beat yourself up over the actions of someone else. At the end of the day, I should have been keeping a closer eye on my own drink."

Temari sat back into the pillows, both relieved and disappointed. There was still a part of her that felt she deserved Xin's wrath, that she deserved to be cursed out at the very least. She couldn't make her though and she would have to settle for Xin's odd nonchalance. "Kankuro was right about you."

"Unn? What, that I'm a gold digging heathen? Cuz' I told you, the heathen part, I agree with but not the gold digging part."

This time when Temari laughed, it was more genuine and hearty. "No one thinks that of you, for shit's sake. I mean, he was right that you wouldn't be angry with us. I was worried that this would be the end of friendship and he just kept saying, 'she isn't the type'. I guess he was right."

"It's a little concerning that he seems to know me better than you or Gaara given the fact that he hates me."

"He doesn't hate you…he just…"

"Hates me. Yes, I know."

She clucked her tongue and shook her head. "Look, I know he rubbed the wrong way that time he threatened you, not that I blame you but he…he's just used to people not being genuine with us. We've all been hurt before or betrayed because of who we are and we…we only have each other. He's just trying to protect that. Protect us. Gaara..he's the leader, but he's still our baby brother."

Xin was smiling but it was somehow glassy, like one of those smiles painted onto a doll's face. "I'm not holding it against him or anything, I get it. I have sisters." Sisters that she barely spoke to, not that it was really their fault. They were good women, she was the one who carried too much shame. But sometimes she wondered what could've been had she the guts to tell either of them about what was going on with her. To reach out a hand and have one of them reach back. It was too late now but it was nice to dream.

"You're all that you guys have, that's important when you live the kind of life you guys live. My sisters and I, we're–we were close like that. Once upon a time." She took a moment to reminisce about what was once was. Her sisters had been her best friends, closer to her more than anything. But of course, like everything else in her life, she ruined that the moment Kazuya walked into her life.

Temari must have sensed this because she gently nudged her arm. "He..drove a wedge between you and your sisters, didn't he?" She didn't have to specify, they both knew exactly what she was asking.

"I let him," Xin answered. "I didn't notice at first. He'd always make comments like 'your sisters would never understand' or 'they're only going to think bad things about us, about me.'" Xin paused and rolled her lips apprehensively. "I..I didn't want them to think lowly of me, to know I didn't have control over my life."

Temari made a face at that, her expression tight. "That wasn't your fault. Your sisters know that."

"You don't know that."

"I know," Temari's reply was quick. "They're your sisters and you were close, they knew. They knew but they..just didn't know how to help you."

Not only that, she didn't want their help. Couldn't face the embarrassment of having to ask her sisters for help. So much so that she ran away from everything entirely.

"Can we talk about something else?"

Of course, Temari obliged.

Ieda was a mess of blood and tears when Gaara finally decided to show up. The man was tied to a chair in the middle of the room, blood and spit and mucus distorting his once handsome face. He perked up though, at the sight of Gaara and smiled a queasy smile full of blood.

"Boss Sabaku!" He blinked away the tears. "Listen, I think there's been some sort of mistake or something. I tried explainin' that to your boys but—"

"No mistake," Gaara said simply, blowing out a steady stream of cigarette smoke. "You're right where you're supposed to be."

His nervous smile fell. "I ain't did shit to offend you."

"No? Were you at a club last night? The Green Light?"

Ieda blinked up at him, a look of guilt crossing his face. "I…yeah but I still ain't do shit to deserve this," he grunted against his bindings.

"You got a history of drugging women and raping them? Cuz' you sure as hell looked comfortable doing it last night."

The room was silent for too long but Gaara seemed to be willing to wait for an answer. He could lie but he had the distinct feeling that it would only make things worse. And things could absolutely get worse. "It wasn't like it was your sister…" he muttered. "I…I made sure to avoid her."

Gaara was clearly unimpressed. "Because it wasn't my sister, that makes it okay for you to drug and rape women?"

Ieda floundered. "So, I like my women a little helpless, so what?!"

He thought of Xin last night, of how boneless she was when he picked her up. She hadn't reacted and when her eyes briefly opened for a mere moment, they'd seen nothing. Throughout the entire journey back to the estate, Xin hadn't reacted to anything. She wasn't just helpless, she was completely vulnerable.

Hell, even hours after the fact, she still hadn't feeling in her legs.

Kankuro let out a laugh, a harsh and ugly thing. "Is that how you're gonna flip this shit? You're a fuckin' asshole who gets his rocks off by date raping women."

"It wasn't even your sister!" Ieda remined them. "It was just a random bitch in the club." A cute thing too, with the nicest tits he'd seen and the roundest ass to boot. A shame someone had interrupted before he could get that bathroom door opened. He bet she looked just as pretty with her clothes off.

Too bad she got away.

"So, I've got fuckin' kink! Y-You sell women for sex and drugs, what makes you so fuckin' different?" He was growing hysterical, throwing all common sense out the window. What right did he have to judge him anyway? They were both criminals.

Gaara moved so casually, no one was ready when he plucked his cigarette from his mouth and shoved the burning end into Ieda's eye. The screech that came from the bound man was something inhuman but Gaara didn't seem at all affected by it. "You don't get to question what I do, legal or not. We're not here to talk about my shit, we're talking about your shit."

"A fuckin' kink, he says," Jura snorted, folding his arms across his chest.

Gaara never claimed to be a good man. He knew that while some of his operations were legal, some were not. Of course he ran a drug ring and he admitted to Xin that he did own several brothels, it wasn't like it was a secret. Nonetheless, he wasn't a fuckin' rapist and he never touched the drugs that circulated.

Gaara passively eyed the cigarette stub that was still lodged into Ieda's eye. "I try to be fair," he said in a tone one might use when speaking about the weather. "Either your hands go or your balls but you've pissed me off enough so both goes."

Ieda sputtered, somehow hearing him over the pain of his eyeball sizzling. "O-Over some random bitch?! I didn't even touch her, come the fuck on!"

This time when Gaara punched Ieda in the face, more specifically in his damaged eye, neither Kankuro or Jura were much surprised. When something crunched under Gaara's fist, most likely Ieda's eye socket, no one reacted to that either. "Happens to be a friend of ours," Gaara casually rotated his wrist. "The girl. She called me last night and I heard you trying to get into the bathroom with her. What stopped you, my sister showing up?"

"Well, shit," Kankuro chuckled and stood up from the chair he'd been lounging in. "Losing your balls is kind of harsh. Think he'll even survive?"

"Maybe," Gaara shrugged.

"If we're careful but who cares enough about him?"

"Maybe we'll even take you to a hospital after we're done, if I'm in a generous mood. I'll even let you pick which hand goes first." He turned away, rifling through something before turning back, now armed with a meat cleaver that looked rusted. Like with Tanaka, he leaned forward with a feral grin, his blood pumping in his veins.

It wasn't often he carried out this sort of work anymore but he was a violent man to his core. He never quite shook the bloodlust that came with the job. It was how he knew that Xin was wrong about him, about his kindness. He wasn't kind. He was a fuckin' monster and he enjoyed it.

And he wasn't sorry about it.

They ended up taking Ieda to the hospital, though whether or not they could do anything for him was yet to be seen. He might just bleed out from the stumps where his hands used to be or maybe it'd be from the blood gushing from his crotch. If he did survive that, he'd lost vision in the eye from the cigarette and his other eye had been violently gouged out.

Besides, maybe the hospital staff weren't even aware of the bloody mess laid out in the parking lot. He'd been breathing when they initially left him, so there was that. One of his ribs might've even been broken and punctured something important but he wasn't a doctor, he couldn't tell.

"We don't say shit about this to Xin," Gaara said as they stepped back into the manor. It wasn't terribly late but he still had some things to do.

"Don't think she'd approve?" Kankuro asked in a certain tone. He couldn't quite place it but there was just something about the way his brother spoke that rubbed Gaara the wrong way.

He turned to him, eyeing him thoughtfully. "You got something to say?"

"We waste all our time and effort hunting that fucker down, beating the shit out of him for Xin and she wouldn't approve? Why would we even need her approval?"

Jura glanced in between the brothers, feeling stuck.

"It has nothing to do with her approval," Gaara replied. Xin wasn't even angry that she'd been targeted in the first place. She let the whole thing roll off her back for the simple fact that it didn't happen. He wasn't sure if that was the country in her or if she really wasn't the type to hold grudges.

"No? What, you don't want her knowing she's chummy with a bunch of criminals?"

"Kankuro, what's your fuckin' problem with this girl?" Gaara asked. "You think I fuckin' care if she knows we're criminals or not?" Weren't they past that anyway? It should bother her but it just fuckin' didn't. What was he supposed to do, force her to fear them? Him?

He could picture it, easily enough. Her big eyes filled with fear, mouth trembling and tears rushing down her cheeks. His stomach turned unpleasantly. Is that what Kankuro wanted?

"We can't waste our time on someone who won't even appreciate the effort."

How would Xin even react if she knew about their murderous escapades? If she knew about what he'd done to that Tanaka fucker and that it had been for her. Honestly, she'd probably be confused. Maybe a little disturbed but definitely confused. Because all that effort, it was a waste for someone like her.

For whatever reason, Xin didn't believe in anything, in anyone. It wasn't him, specifically but everyone around her. No one was nice—kind to her for no reason.

"I didn't do this to buy into her favor," Gaara said. "If something like this happened to Temari or Asuna, Sei or Haruka, I'd do the same for them."

Jura's shoulders tensed at the mention of his sister and cousin but he remained quiet, a simple spectator to the brothers and their dispute.

"Temari's our sister," Kankuro said. "And you aren't attracted to Asuna, Sei or Haruka."

Ah, there it was. That's what this was about. It wasn't about Xin and her devious plans to snatch all that they had. It was about the one thing Rasa explicitly warned his two sons against.

An attraction.

Attraction turned into love and love was the worst thing that could happen to men like Rasa, men like them. Gaara remembered the day Rasa turned to him and looked him in the eye. "I love your mother more than I love myself. More than I love you or your siblings."

He remembered wondering why the fuck Rasa would tell him something like that, that he loved Karura more than life itself, more than their children. It seemed like an odd thing to admit out loud, let alone to his son.

"Love is a chaotic thing, it'll drive the best of us insane. If you know what's good for you, you'll never fall for a woman, Gaara."

He didn't understand then, too incensed to really understand what Rasa was trying to tell him. But years later, when his mother was caught in the crossfire of an assassination attempt on Rasa—or maybe she was specifically targeted—he began to understand.

Because Rasa literally was on the verge of burning their entire world down in his attempts to hunt down Karura's would-be murderers. He began turning on any and everyone, burning bridges with allies and potential allies and making the bad blood with enemies even worse. The intensity began to turn him against his own children and when Gaara caught on to all the looks, he finally understood.

The love Rasa had for Karura was literally driving him insane and he was determined to take them all down with him.

Gaara blinked out of his thoughts. He hadn't thought about Rasa in a long time, hadn't thought about those deranged words of wisdom. "It's not like that," he said, realizing Kankuro was scrutinizing him. Nonetheless, he'd already handicapped that idiot Tanaka and if Ieda wasn't discovered in time, he was as good as dead. He could still argue that he would do the same for Temari or Asuna but he doubted that would convince Kankuro.

Kankuro's expression went tight. "I'm not saying you're like Rasa."

But wasn't he? What made him so different from Rasa? After all, the reason the three of them were still alive was because of Gaara. He was just as bad as Rasa, maybe even worse. At least Karura loved Rasa.

Gaara stared back at his brother, his eyes blank. "I know." He clapped his brother on the shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze before ending the conversation before it could really lead into something neither of them truly wanted to say.

The next day, Kankuro was kind enough to leave Gaara alone, something he was grateful for. Of course, Temari wasn't so kind but she wasn't currently pissing him off so when she came strolling into the office, he wasn't as annoyed as he'd have been had it been Kankuro. She was casual with her entrance, sitting down opposite of him. She didn't say anything but crossed her legs and rested folded hands on her knees. She was waiting for something but hell if he knew what.

After several minutes of Gaara's silence and Temari's perpetual staring, he gave in. "Yes, Temari?"

"Have you talked to Xin today?"

His sister was always so straightforward.

"I haven't."

That didn't please her. "You haven't even bothered to check on her?"

"You said she was okay last night."

She folded her arms, her expression becoming sour. "Yes but that doesn't mean don't check on her." She was looking for something. "She's an odd girl. You know she apologized for ruining the night?"

Gaara stared at her blankly. "She apologized…for being drugged."

Temari chuckled and shrugged one shoulder. "More or less. I said she was an odd girl. Pretty thing but very odd."

He leveled her with a flat look, decidedly not giving into her comment about Xin's prettiness. Yes, she was pretty. No, he didn't have to say it out loud or agree. Besides, Xin would probably peel herself out of her goddamn skin if someone told her that she was pretty.

Odd girl indeed.

Gaara sighed after a moment. "Whatever you want to say, just say it already." Though she could be straightforward for the most part, his sister found amusement in reading between the lines.

"Do you like Xin?"

He didn't react, "Sure."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's not what I mean and you know it."

He squinted at her. "Did Kankuro say something to you?"

"No?" She squinted back at him. "Why, what'd he say to you?"

Gaara paused and looked away, avoiding having to look at her. Usually, it was easy to talk to his sister, hell to both his siblings but now he felt his stomach turning. What if Temari thought he was like Rasa too? Out of the three of them, she was the most level-headed one, maybe she was the most perceptive too. If she thought he was as bad as Rasa..

"You think I'm like Rasa?"

He wasn't sure why he even bothered to ask, he was just like Rasa. He followed in his footsteps, built back what Rasa nearly destroyed, and made it even better in some ways. Still, the fact remained that he was a ruthless, murderous crime boss and he was his father's son.

"You know, we could leave this all behind if you wanted."

He was not expecting that from her. "…What?"

Temari leaned back in her seat. "If you wanted to leave this behind, Kankuro and I would go anywhere with you. We could shut all this down, take the funds—we have millions made legally—and just leave. Sendai's nice."

"Temari—"

"I don't think you're just like Rasa. I think maybe you force yourself to be like him, when it comes to the…family business but you've always been good. Can't have the good without some bad. You're my brother and that's all that matters."

There was a pause, not an uncomfortable pause. Gaara stared at his older sister, completely caught off guard. He loved his siblings and they loved him but the thought of asking them to leave everything behind and start over new somewhere never even crossed his mind. It was selfish, wasn't it?

And besides…

"Maybe Xin might come along with us," Temari grinned. "Can't imagine leaving a girl like that in Tokyo to fend for herself. Far too…gullible."

Gaara snorted. "She's far too kind for city living. Maybe she ought to go back to her town in Osaka."

Temari's grin instantly fell. "No, she shouldn't. Not now, at least."

"…Why?"

"I can't say, it's not my place. But she's better here."

"She was drugged just last night."

Temari thought of the long scar hidden by Xin's hair and the strange scar on the back of her neck. She wondered just how far that ex of hers took things, how bad he hurt her before she finally decided it was enough. She wondered if it was more than physical abuse. Was there mental and emotional abuse? Sexual abuse?

If she had to guess, there was definitely mental and emotional abuse. Xin didn't trust others and she didn't even trust herself. It must be exhausting, in that head of hers.

Gaara had a strange look in his eye and she thought he might be imagining a different life for them. Maybe a life where they did leave it all behind and he didn't have to wonder if he was Rasa incarnate.

She stood up suddenly. "Think about what I said, hm? Sendai really is nice, you know. And about Xin…check on her, yeah?"

"Sure, Temari," Gaara promised but his eyes said otherwise.

Gaara didn't check on Xin, despite his promise to his sister. It's not that he didn't want to check on her, to talk to her but he just felt…guilty. She insisted that the fiasco at the club wasn't anyone's fault but he still felt like he had to take some responsibility for it.

And there were also Kankuro's words that ate at him. Because honestly, yes, he was very much attracted to Xin. Sure, she was a bit of an oddball but it added to her charm, he liked to think and she was pretty. Very pretty.

And he had this innate urge to wrap her up and protect her from the world.

He had to back off and give her space, give himself time to get his shit together. Besides, wasn't that what she wanted? Xin wanted to be left alone.

That's what he told himself, anyway.

Unfortunately, her presence was missed. It just seemed…strange not to talk to her after they'd gone through the trouble of establishing a friendship. She didn't seem to take offense or even notice, not at first, sending him a barrage of unhinged text messages documenting her day.

She never questioned why he suddenly stopped offering to pick her up from work or why he skipped out on bringing her food every now and then. Not that he thought she would even question him about it in the first place. He knew she was doing it out of respect, because she didn't expect those things out of him but a small part of him wished she wouldn actually demand answers.

Gaara glanced at his phone, almost willing it to light up with a text. Knowing his luck, it would light up with a text but it would be no doubt from Kankuro or Asuna or the thousand others that he had to deal with on a daily basis. When it didn't light up, he idly tapped the phone screen.

He never noticed how much time he spent talking to Xin until he was making an effort not to talk to her.

He wondered what Xin would think of his supposed attraction to her. It would probably freak her the fuck out, to be honest. She clearly had something—trauma—that she needed to work through but every so often, she seemed receptive to his flirting.

Again, Gaara tapped his phone screen. What would he even say to her at this point? Love drove my father crazy and my brother suggested I might do the same? She'd definitely keep her distance then because shit like that sounded insane.

He wasn't even in love with Xin.

At least, not yet. And wasn't that just a scary thought?