Temari stared down at her phone screen, reading the message several times over, confused.

"Do you want to see a movie?"

The invitation wasn't so strange, she supposed. It was the sender. Out of all the people who could possibly want to hang out with her, she least expected it to be Xin. She hadn't expected the other woman to actually initiate spending time with her without someone having to practically force her into doing it.

And when was the last time she'd even been to the movies?

That wasn't to say it was beneath her or anything but Temari had the type of friends that liked to go clubbing and gallivanting all throughout the night. Not once did she recall anyone suggesting they catch a movie over hitting up clubs and hotel parties.

Temari couldn't even recall what movies were actually playing. She didn't really care to go but something told her this was a big step for Xin. To actually invite someone to hang out with instead of being dragged off by Temari or one of her brothers was almost monumental.

'I don't..I don't know what I like to do.'

She knew Xin was embarrassed to admit such a thing. She was twenty-three years old and lived as a hermit. She didn't know what she liked because she liked whatever that shitty ex told her to like. If she ever got Xin to open up about that asshole and give her his name….

She replied to Xin's text, accepting the invite. She didn't really care what movie it was, only smug that it was her Xin wanted to hang out with.

"What are you smiling about?" Kankuro asked.

Temari slumped, worried her brother would ruin her good mood once he knew it had something to do with Xin. "I'm going to the movies with Xin," she said carefully, regarding him with a suspicious look.

"Yeah? To see what?"

Xin replied at that exact moment with a bunch of emojis and the name of the movie she wanted to see. "She wants to see that new horror movie coming out," she blinked. "I wouldn't have pegged her for the horror movie type."

Kankuro shrugged. "She's probably seen worse shit, being a doctor in training. I don't know what the woman calls herself but she's probably put organs back and dug bullets out of bodies."

Temari cringed. "Christ, Kankuro, that's horrible." She paused and thought something over. "I'm surprised you're not frothing at the mouth right now."

He made a face, maybe a little embarrassed. Perhaps he'd gone a little overboard with his suspicions about Xin. He could freely admit that she probably wasn't clever enough to outsmart any of them, save for Jura, of course. She was too blunt, Gaara said. Their wealth was damn there a turnoff to her, Temari reminded him.

It wasn't often that people—women specifically—came into their lives with good intentions. Sure, Gaara was no Prince Charming when it came to women in the past, neither was he or Jura but some of those women had ulterior motives. They never got far with them but that didn't change the fact that they had them in the first place.

Xin was just fuckin' weird. Yes, he could admit—to himself—that he'd been wrong about her. Xin deadass did not want anything materialistic from them, she barely wanted them in her life up until recently. Some people really were that simple, he guessed.

Deep down, he knew it was something else entirely. He could still remember her flinching violently away from his brother when she'd been washing the dishes. That reaction wasn't normal. The situation hadn't been tense, there was no reason for her to believe she was in danger and yet, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

Unfortunately, Kankuro had seen shit like that before. It was usually a victim's reaction after spending hours getting the shit beat out of them. They were twitchy, they didn't trust anyone in their immediate space and they were unwilling to let anyone get close to them emotionally.

It was all signs of abuse.

He wondered if his siblings had figured out their new favorite doll was a victim of abuse. Temari probably figured it out, women's intuition and all that. It explained why she latched onto Xin the way she did, why she was suddenly so protective of a girl they met only months ago.

It didn't explain Gaara's affection for her though. He wasn't known to have a bleeding heart, neither was Temari but they were both women. Gaara was…well, Kankuro wasn't sure. He said Xin wasn't his type and that much was true but she was still a pretty woman.

"She's just a girl," Kankuro said after a moment of thinking it over. That's all she was, really. Xin was a girl just trying to live. He'd been an asshole to her longer than she actually deserved. Did he trust her fully? No, not really. He didn't trust anyone new to them fully but she hadn't done anything to earn his ire.

Temari smiled slowly and leaned over to elbow him in the side. "She grows on ya."

He shrugged again, ignoring her smug smile. "She used to get her ass beat, didn't she?"

Temari's smile dropped all together and she paled. She turned fully to face her brother, narrowing her eyes at him. She looked a lot like their mother and he instantly knew he was overstepping. "She didn't tell you that." It wasn't a question, it sounded like an accusation.

"No," he answered truthfully. "She's squirrelly though. Doesn't trust anyone, most of all men and.." he told her about how she reacted when Gaara caught her off guard, how she scrambled away. "People who get hit enough, they begin to expect it at all times. Xin's always waiting for someone to hit her."

Temari pressed her lips together. "I don't think it's my place to confirm or deny that." She wasn't sure how Xin would take it that Kankuro figured out her past. "Why give her such a hard time if you know she's already had a hard time?"

Kankuro shifted uncomfortably. "I just figured it out. I was only giving her such a hard time because I didn't want her fuckin' up Gaara's life. He's got enough shit on his plate."

Temari nodded slowly, because that was true. Gaara had a lot going on in his life and he really didn't need more shit to deal with. But it was his choice to get involved with Xin and besides, it wasn't like she was looking for him to fix all of her problems. Their friendship was genuinely harmless.

"I'm not apologizing to her, if that's what you're gonna say next," Kankuro said. Yes, he felt a little bad for the treatment but it wasn't done from a malicious heart. Just because she'd gone through something traumatic didn't mean she wouldn't rip the next guy off, punishing him for something someone else did.

Temari sighed. "Fine, she'd probably get all squirrelly anyway. She doesn't like apologies." She still couldn't wrap her brain around the fact that Xin wasn't angry with her the night of the club. She held no ill-will towards Gaara either, accepting their apologies more for them than for herself.

"People like that usually don't," Kankuro said. "They think they deserve all the bad things that happen to them." He felt like a piece of shit saying that but it was true. Xin might not even realize she was doing it to herself but he had no doubt she thought she was deserving of his treatment.

"You could stand to treat her a little better, Kankuro," Temari gently chided.

"What? You want me to catch a movie with her like you? Take her out on a couple of dates like Gaara's so fond of?"

His nasty attitude didn't affect her, so she just shrugged. "Maybe, if you quit being such a dick, you'd see that you actually like her. Not everyone's out to get us, you know."

She got up before he could protest, leaving him with his thoughts of the enigma known as Hyuga Xin.

Xin wasn't as surprised these days when she had someone waiting outside for her. It wasn't every day but it happened often enough that she'd grown used to it. She was, however, rightfully surprised to see Kankuro. She eyed him suspiciously as she approached, wondering if he'd run her over with his car.

"What's with that look?" Kankuro said in a way of greeting.

Xin frowned suspiciously. "What are you doing here?"

He rolled his eyes and jerked his thumb at the car. "You gonna get in or you gonna make me make you?"

Xin made a face and sucked her teeth. He was all too willing in making her, she knew good and well. She didn't quite feel like being manhandled into his car, not like last time so with a great big sigh, she obediently slid into the passenger's side. She didn't bother with asking where he intended to take her, instead slumping into the buttery seat.

Least she'd get a ride home later, if he didn't leave her stranded.

They ended up at a barbeque restaurant, seated in a corner of the restaurant. Kankuro let her get comfortable, munching away at her onigiri. She was pleasant when she wasn't asking him a billion questions and accusing him of wanting to kill her. He didn't want to kill her. He would if he had to and according to his siblings—he didn't have a good enough reason to do so. Though his actions towards Xin often said otherwise, which is why she was so wary around him.

Maybe she wasn't such a country bumpkin.

"So," she said after her third onigiri—the girl could eat. "What'd I do this time?"

"What makes you think you did something?"

She leveled him with a flat look. "You don't like me," she said. "There's no reason for us to hang out if you're not doing it to threaten me. What'd I do this time?"

He might feel a little guilt over her statement. He wasn't ashamed of his protective nature when it came to his siblings but Xin truly didn't deserve his ire. She'd been trying to shake them ever since they came into her life and all he'd done was give her a hard time about it.

"I just want to protect my people, Xin."

She blinked and frowned. "But I haven't done anything."

Kankuro felt something tighten in his gut at the sight of her expression. Her hands free of the onigiri, she began to wriggle her fingers nervously. "I didn't…it's just a movie." He had the right intentions of wanting to keep everyone safe but he realized he'd been wrong about Xin.

He wanted to believe he'd been right, that she was some cunning gold digger but the truth was obvious. Xin was no gold digger, she was just a woman, barely, who could use a little kindness in her life. He'd been anything but that. His mother would be truly disappointed in him if she knew.

"I think I was a little overzealous with you, Xin." He thought about all her unease and untrust around them. How she flinched or moved out of striking range. He usually enjoyed getting that sort of reaction out of people but when they deserved it.

Xin didn't deserve it.

"That's a big word," she quipped, rolling her shoulders. Her squirrely tics were setting in. She knew something was happening but she wasn't sure what.

"Shut up," he sniffed. "I'm trying to be genuine here."

She opened her mouth, no doubt ready with another sarcastic jab but wisely held off. Instead, she helped herself to more onigiri. "I have no beef with you," Kankuro said quickly. "I thought you might be a danger to my brother but you aren't and you never were. I was wrong." She wasn't a danger to any of them, she was more of a distraction, if that. Distractions were dangerous, true enough but he didn't think she was a big enough distraction.

It made sense in his head.

Xin paused and blinked again, her brows knitting together. "Is this…is this your version of an apology?"

"I'm not sorry," he snapped quickly but she was grinning almost manically. Their entrees arrived, saving him as Xin was distracted with her food. They didn't speak for a long time but it wasn't awkward as they ate, exchanging words every so often.

"No wine for you, Xin. I'm not carrying your drunk ass home."

"Afraid I'll deck you?"

"Yeah, actually, fucker."

They continued on like that for some time but he could tell his words from earlier were making her restless. She twitched every so often, rolling her shoulders and shifting almost obsessively in her seat. She didn't trust his sudden kindness.

"Spit it out."

She flushed terribly. "Why? Why are you being like this, all of a sudden? I didn't do anything."

"Temari said quit being a dick to you."

She raised her eyebrows. "You're doing this because Temari told you to?"

If he said yes, he felt like that would be the wrong answer.

"Not exactly. I was already considering talking to you, she just decided to let me know that being a dick to you was getting old," Kankuro replied. It was more so Temari's confirmation about Xin's past that solidified his plan to talk to Xin. No, she hadn't straight up said yes to his questioning but she didn't have to. It was almost strange that Temari would even know about Xin's past. He didn't think they were that close but maybe that was because he was solely focused on his vendetta against Xin.

Xin poked at her food, struggling to keep eye contact. "So, what, we're cool now? You're not gonna chew my ass out every time your sister drags me to your house or something?"

He shifted, uncomfortable. "Not unless you piss me off."

She pouted. "You're easy to piss off."

He leaned back in his chair, somewhat uncomfortable. He should've just called her from Temari's phone to have this conversation. "Not true, I'm an easy going guy once you get to know me."

Xin didn't look convinced. "Could've fooled me."

"I wasn't the one who almost pistol-whipped you."

"You also weren't going to stop Jura from pistol-whipping me."

Kankuro laughed at that, a genuine laugh that surprised him. It was true, if Jura had smacked her upside the head, he hadn't planned to stop him. "That didn't scare you? You giggled."

"I was nervous!" Xin insisted, her voice rising shrilly. "I don't know how much it hurts to be pistol whipped but I can take a hit." She said it so casually, she didn't even realize what it might imply. She wouldn't have said it if she knew Kankuro figured out her past.

"It hurts like a bitch, Xin. Wouldn't recommend it."

"Well, you, Jura and Gaara are the only men I know who carry guns around so let's hope none of you feel like smacking me."

Kankuro grimaced, understanding what she was insinuating. Jura adored Xin too much at this point to get violent with her and Gaara…well, he didn't see her as a sister like Temari but he wouldn't raise a hand to Xin. But Kankuro…well Kankuro certainly didn't adore Xin.

"You're a tough woman but you don't need to worry about being pistol-whipped."

Xin stared at him for a long moment before smiling. She understood what he was putting down, that he was no longer an impending threat to her. There was no reason to be ready to kill this woman, she was no threat to any of them.

They had, somehow, reached a shaky truce.

In a hindsight, he'd been careless. No matter how infamous he and his brother were, there would always be an enemy waiting in the shadows, waiting to take one of them out.

Loaded with their leftovers—because Xin was still very much poor, Kankuro opened the restaurant door and led them outside.

There was the strange sound of tires screeching as a black van barreled down the street in front of them, as if they'd been waiting for Kankuro's appearance. There were several loud popping noises and the sound of shattering glass as the restaurant's windows exploded behind them.

Xin let out a short shout that turned into a squawk when Kankuro wrapped his arm around her neck. She fumbled, wondering why he was trying to choke her out when he jerked and they both went tumbling backwards into the restaurant. Patrons around them screeched in terror and scrambled away, trying to avoid being shot.

Someone was shooting at them.

No. They were shooting at Kankuro, Xin just had the unfortunate luck of being with him.

Kankuro let out a strange grunt and rolled over on top of her, tucking her head into his chest as several gunshots continued to pop off. There was a shrill ringing in Xin's ears and she hardly felt Kankuro's overbearing weight on top of her.

Everything went quiet around them as she waited for the assailant to finish the job. Kankuro was the first one to move, rolling off of her with a painful groan. Several minutes went by before she realized that the assailant wasn't coming, that they either believed they'd accomplished their attempt or this whole debacle was a warning.

Xin slowly sat up, glancing around. There was glass everywhere and the restaurant had emptied out—probably fleeing through the back door. She wasn't injured, she could just get up and walk out of there.

But Kankuro was bleeding.

She stared at him for a long time, her expression unreadable. The air was tense before Xin suddenly sprang to her feet just as Kankuro sat up with a groan. He squinted at her in pain, watching as she pulled her phone out. "Xin, don't you fuckin' call for an ambulance!"

She blanched at him. "Then who the hell should I call? You're bleeding!"

"Call Gaara or Jura you fuckin' moron!"

She shot him with an acidic look but did as he demanded, circling around him as the phone rang. "Sit up, asshole," she snapped, helping him sit fully up. She studied the bullet hole in his shoulder but gently grabbed him to pull him towards her. She leaned over and let out a string of curses.

The bullet hadn't fully exited.

"Son of a bitch!"

The phone went to voicemail but she quickly hung up. She didn't say anything to Kankuro, turning sharply on her heel to march away. He watched her go, confused but mostly in pain. "'I'll just..sit here and bleed."

Xin's phone began to ring as she rooted around in the back kitchens. The staff had cleared out as well and she was trying to get shit done before someone returned. She was reaching for a bottle of alcohol when she realized her phone was ringing.

"Kankuro was shot," she said immediately just as she found the first aid kit.

"What."

She took a deep breath. "He told me not to call for an ambulance."

"Shot where?"

"Upper arm, the bullet's still in there but I can get it out. He'll need actual medical attention."

She could hear the frustration in Gaara's voice. "Where the fuck are you?"

She didn't know the exact address but she remembered the restaurant's name, rattling it off to him as she marched back to Kankuro. He was still sitting up but blood was gushing from the wound, running down his arm alarmingly fast.

Kankuro eyed her warily as she placed the kit on a table further away from the busted windows. "I think Gaara's on his way," she said absentmindedly, coming to stand before him. "Can you stand?"

"Why?"

She made a face, of course he'd be difficult. "That bullet needs to come out to stop the bleeding."

"Just plug it up, Gaara'll get Chiyo to figure out the rest."

"You're bleeding," she pointed to the wound. "The bullet didn't come out but I can get it out and stop the bleeding." She reached towards his uninjured side and practically forced him to his feet, ignoring his grunt of pain. She dragged him towards the back of the restaurant, finding a table to drop him at.

"Leave it alone, Xin. I don't need you digging around my shoulder," Kankuro said through gritted teeth, watching as she turned for the first aid kit.

"You can die from blood loss," she said, popping open the kit. "Or your wound can get infected. Quit being stubborn and let me do this, it's not a big deal."

"Xin," he glared at her. "I don't need your help."

She held his steely gaze, for once not faltering. Her need to help outweighed her trauma, for the moment. "I don't care." She cleaned her hands as best she could with the alcohol before circling him. "It's gonna hurt."

"Xin, I just got shot, it already hurts."

She rolled her eyes and set about cleaning up the wound as best she could. She could see the bullet, the flesh torn to accommodate its short-lived path, but it would still hurt like hell to dig it out. At least she wouldn't have to gouge it out with a knife.

Xin rolled her shoulders, took a deep breath and got to work.

Jura broke at least two laws speeding through Tokyo, not that they were really concerned about it. It was a simple observation, something Gaara forced himself to focus on in a bid to keep his temper in check.

How the fuck did Kankuro let himself get shot? And with Xin, no less. She sounded strangely calm on the phone, as if they were discussing the goddamn weather and not the fact that his brother had been shot.

The front windows of the restaurant were shot out, shards of glass everywhere. It was eerily quiet, Gaara had to remind himself that Xin said that he'd been shot in the upper arm. His brother wasn't dead.

"Xin, I swear to God if I get an infection, I'll fuckin' kill you."

He felt an immediate sense of relief wash over him at the sound of Kankuro's voice. That wasn't the sound of a man dying, that was the sound of someone inconvenienced and annoyed.

"How? If it's infected, the whole arm has to come off. How are you going to strangle me with one hand?"

"I could always shoot you."

"I feel like you'd prefer to strangle me compared to shooting me."

Kankuro laughed. He was laughing and he had a fuckin' bullet in his arm. Gaara wasn't sure how to feel. Relief, sure, because his brother wasn't dead. Agitation, obviously, because his brother managed to get himself shot. But there was something else there, he needled, something that had to do with Xin.

She was standing over Kankuro, hands on her hips. It was clear Kankuro had gotten her straight from work, still dressed in her uniform. Though to avoid ruining her nice blouse, she'd taken it off, clearly not caring that the camisole she wore underneath was stained with blood.

"Oi," Jura hurried towards them. "How the fuck did you let this happen?" he demanded. He leaned over Kankuro, observing Xin's handiwork. Jura didn't know much about medical attention besides the basics but Xin had seemingly done a good job.

"I stood there and let them shoot me," Kankuro snapped sarcastically. "It was a drive-by, the fuck do you want me to say?"

"He'll live," Xin said airily. "Though you should get him to your doctor that you keep. The bandages won't hold for long."

Gaara reached for her then, spinning her to face him. She blinked up at him, surprised. He was well aware that she hadn't been shot, she hadn't said anything about being hurt and spoke surprisingly calmly for someone who was involved in a surprise drive-by.

"Are you alright?" Gaara asked, hands gently circling her arms.

Xin's face twisted in both amusement and confusion. "Sure, I'm not the one who got shot. I mean, Kankuro kind of choked me—"

"What?"

"Well, not to kill me. He wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled us backwards. That's probably how he got hit, now that I think about it."

"That means they were aiming for your fuckin' throat, Xin."

She shrugged. "Maybe."

He sighed, a little annoyed with her lack of concern for her own self. "Are you sure you're okay, Xin? You're not…shaken up or upset? Nothing like that?" It was almost like he wanted her to be upset with him, like he needed a reason for the guilt in his chest. Her lack of awareness was concerning, the fact that she just didn't seem to care about her own well-being sent him into a spiral.

She glanced down in thought, poking her lips out. "No, I guess not. I mean, at least I didn't get blood on my blouse this time."

Gaara stared down at her, incredulous. He tightened his grip on her arms, not to the point of pain but tight enough, and pulled her closer. She blanched and involuntarily arched into him. "Xin, you could have been hurt or killed, do you not get that?" In some part of his mind, he was well aware that he was doing too much when it came to this girl. She was not his wife or hell, even his girlfriend. She was…she was just a girl he met on the street.

She stared up at him with wide eyes, mouth falling open as she struggled with something to say. He could see it in her face, in the knit of her brows and the squint of her eyes. Why did he care so much what happened to her? What difference would it make if she lived or died or was hurt?

"I…get it," Xin said slowly, her mouth pulling almost into a pout. "But I wasn't killed or hurt…so why obsess over it? Who cares that much?"

If he could twist his face up any more than it already was, he would. "I—"

"Gaara." Kankuro was standing up, staring at him. Jura stood next to him, a strange expression on his face. "We should get the hell out of here. Police'll probably show up any minute. Did you call Chiyo and tell her about my shoulder?"

Gaara unhitched his jaw and twisted his neck, almost as if to roll whatever emotion he was struggling with off. "Chiyo knows, she's waiting for you." He loosened his grip on Xin's arms but didn't let go, much to their shared surprise. Instead, he soothingly rubbed circles into her arms with his thumbs, as if trying to reassure her that she was still safe despite his growing impatience.

"Um," Xin stuttered, a blush crawling up the back of her neck. "I can just head home now that I know Kankuro's okay…"

"How?" Gaara asked, still holding onto her.

"Unn?"

"How are you getting home, Xin?"

"Oh," Xin blinked. "I'm going to walk…?"

"We're in the middle of downtown, do you know how far you live from downtown?"

She struggled to hold his gaze, rolling her lips into her mouth. "No but I'm used to walking."

He shook his head and finally let her go. "I'll give you a ride."

She let out a strangled squawk. "But Kankuro—"

"Jura can handle it from here, can't you, Jura?" It wasn't a request and they all knew as much. Jura would handle it, no questions asked. And shit did he have a lot of questions.

Jura blanched from the sudden attention, floundering the most under Xin's eyes. "Sure thing, I'll get him there."

Gaara nodded but he was already moving towards them. "Kankuro, give me your keys."

He gaped, "What?"

"Keys. Give them. Jura will take you in his car, I'll take Xin in yours. I won't scratch the damn paint, now give them up."

Kankuro didn't like it and he'd never say as much, but he pouted a little as he dropped the keys into Gaara's hand. Gaara gave a pointed look and he cleared his throat, peering around his brother to look at Xin. "Oi, Xin."

Her shoulders tightened defensively but she slowly met his gaze. "Yes?" she asked reluctantly in a soft voice.

"Thanks for this," he motioned to his patched up shoulder. "I know I gave you a hard time but you came through for me anyway. I respect that and appreciate it."

Instantly her mood changed, her eyes brightened, her shoulders perked up and she smiled widely. "You're welcome!" she nearly shouted.

Kankuro snorted and shook his head. "Yeah, okay. See ya 'round." He and Jura left after that, knowing Chiyo would be in one of her moods when they met up. Temari would also have a fit, not that anyone even told her what happened yet. But they would and she would be pissed they left her out of the loop.

Gaara sighed, hands shoved into his pockets. He had a feeling he'd find a reason to wrap them around Xin again if he pulled them out of his pockets. "Get your blouse, Xin and let's go." She did as prompted, whipping it around her but not bothering to button it up back up. He wasn't sure if he liked that but he said nothing else, glancing over his shoulder to make sure she was following behind them.

The car ride, for once, was noticeably silent.

They sat idle in front of her apartment for what felt like hours. She could tell that he had something he wanted to say, something that was bothering him, something about her. She knew those silences well and knew not to start yapping nervously, lest she piss him off. She'd had too many experiences in a car with a pissed off man. Idly, she rubbed at the back of her neck.

Kankuro's car didn't have those old car-lighters, she noted.

"Why don't you care about yourself?" Gaara asked abruptly, looking straight ahead.

Taken aback, she gaped, at a loss for words. "I…I care about myself." But it sounded hollow even to her ears.

"Do you?" Gaara pressed.

She faltered for only a split second. "Of course I do."

He didn't look so convinced. "You walk home late at night, you take all the overtime without complaining, you barely eat enough for a grown woman, you send practically your entire check to your parents, and the fact that you could've been shot instead of Kankuro today barely even crossed your mind. You barely care about yourself, sweetheart."

She blushed at the new term of endearment, having grown used to being called Angel. She floundered for a moment, wondering why his nicknames affected her so much.

"It's just…I don't know, why would I?"

He turned to her, looking every bit as confused as he felt.

"I'm not…I'm not a good person like you guys think I am," she whispered. "I make a ton of bad decisions and I'm irresponsible as shit and I'm really a selfish person. I can't do anything right…" she rattled off mindlessly, unaware that it was Kazuya speaking through her mouth.

Gaara continued to stare at her, wondering where the hell that came from. "You think you're not a good person."

"No."

"And somehow you think I am?" Gaara snorted sarcastically. "Give me a fuckin' break." He rubbed harshly at his face. "Kankuro was right, I should have left you the fuck alone."

She blinked at him, thrown off. "Unn?"

"The life I live, what I'm used to, it's not meant for you. You get involved with us and you've been roofied and shot at and you barely even care. I can't have that on my conscience."

"You…you don't want to be my friend anymore?" Just like that, she ruined it. She ruined it like she ruined everything.

"It's better that I don't come around you as often, Xin." Not Angel. Not sweetheart.

"Oh," she breathed, feeling her heart breaking for the umpteenth time. What was it about her that made it so easy to break her heart? She was doomed, she realized long ago and it was foolish to think any different. "I get it," she said after a moment, turning to the door. She needed out. She needed to get out before he could see the tears gathering at her eyes.

"Xin—" Gaara tried but she already threw the door open to scramble out of the car.

"Thank you for the ride!" Xin called over her shoulder, hoping and praying and pleading that he didn't hear the shakiness of her voice.

She would fall to pieces again and in the morning, she'd piece herself together.

Again.

Her life resumed. It was quiet again but somehow the quietness of her life was more noticable. Xin thought—hoped even—that despite what Gaara said, Temari would still pursue the friendship with her. But the blonde had quietly disappeared just as her brothers did.

Sometimes she felt like Temari's distance hurt the most. They never got to watch that movie, she realized at some point. It was for the best though, she told herself. It was a stupid thing for her to do, getting involved with Gaara and his lifestyle, he'd been right. She had no business with them.

Still, the loneliness was different this time.

When she first came to Tokyo, all she wanted was to be left the hell alone. She was back at square one and she hated it. She didn't want to be alone, she was never made to be alone.

"I can't have that on my conscience."

Because she couldn't do shit right, she couldn't even keep herself out of trouble. Of course Gaara wouldn't want her carelessness on his conscience. Who the hell goes to a club and takes their eyes off their drink? Why hadn't she reacted quicker when the first bullets hit the windows?

"Ya can't do shit right, Xin, you're a fuckin' burden."

Kazuya was right, she agreed somberly. She couldn't even keep a friendship with a criminal afloat. How sad was that? Pathetic, even.

Briefly she considered returning home. She shouldn't have left in the first place, her place was back there. Sure, Kazuya would go back to beating the shit out of her but…who cared? He was the only one who knew her for her. The only one who knew of the rot in her chest and accepted it for what it was.

Why'd she go and do a stupid thing like leaving?

"….Xin?"

She blinked, having realized she'd zoned out at her desk. Next to her, Seiko worriedly stared at her, her red brows drawn in concern. "Are you okay? You've been staring at the screen."

Kazuya would eventually kill her, she knew but then again, who cared?

"Ah," Xin forced herself to smile. "I'm fine," she said and it felt like acid against her teeth.

HelpHelpHelpHelp.

She was spiraling, she realized in the back of her mind, spiraling back into the black pit Kazuya threw her into. She didn't know how to get out again, if she could get out.

But…who cared?