Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ From Here to Eternity ❯ Gaara-angst! (Sort of.) Hurray! ( Chapter 3 )

Kat: Okay. I'm kind of on an updating spree at the moment, because on Friday I have to GO TO FAMILY REUNION. T___T I'm gonna be STUCK IN A CAR for FIVE HOURS, then I'm gonna be STUCK IN A HOTEL ROOM for four DAYS. ERGH. At least it'll give me some time to write a new chapter, right? I'll be gone from Friday to Monday, so I won't be able to update. Dammit. Oh well. Leave me some nice happy reviews to read when I come back! Then I'll be happy, and I'll update.

 

THANKIES:

 

Junsui Kegasu: YES! YOU ARE A CRAZY FAN! AND SO AM I! And so is… a lot of people! Hurray for Crazy Fans! -punches air-

 

igivebugshugs: Dude, your name rules. -cough- Yay for angst!

 

spork ai: No WAY! I was just listening to that song, too! That's kind of why I… put it in. -sweat- Heh. I'm such a loser. You're writing is awesome. I love it. I think you should update `The World is Black'. Like, soon. Itachi's suspicious? Well… Um… YOU ROCK!

 

spork ai (again): Um… To answer your question, uh… Y… Y… Ye… Maybe. -shifty eyes-

 

BHS: Fanfiction.net, dude! That's where all the nice reviewers are. I don't know where everyone is at MM.org. The Naruto fans just aren't as plentiful, I guess. -shrugs- You don't have to read this, if you don't know the anime. -grins and sweatdrops- Really! It's cool. You just have to read everything else! -evil laugh- I'm upping the rating now, anyway, so… yeah.

 

Everyone rules. Totally.

 

Kat: I think that's it. I love my reviewers. They rule SO much more than the non-reviews. FIGHT THE POWER!

 

Everyone wants to know the pairings, huh? Well… Uh… Heh… OH MY GOD! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? -scampers off-

 

Oh, and just as a note, I'm messing with everyone's ages. Gaara's a freshie, Temari's a sophomore, and Kanky's a junior. So I'm making Kankuro the oldest sibling. - - Sorry. The plot bunny made me do it. -points- KILL IT! See, the way I've got the pairings set up, it'd be kind of weird for Temari to be a junior and… uh… Look! I'm a monkey!

 

OOC-ness ahoy!

 

- - - - - % % % % @ @ @ @ # # # # # ! ! ! ! ! ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ & & & & & ( ( ( ( * * * * ) ) ) ) $ $ $ $ $

 

Sept. 3

 

11:37 p.m.

 

Dear Diary,

 

Naruto just called me and asked me if I was nervous about high school. I said I was. Dad got mad because someone called for me so late. He said he has to get up early tomorrow for that business meeting. He hit me and told me to tell them to not call again. Which I won't. I won't ever tell Naruto not to call me. I'm glad Naruto called, even if there's an even darker shade around one of my eyes than usual. Yashamaru is going to be staying with us for a few weeks. Until Dad gets back. Then Yashamaru will leave. I'm going to be up all night, worrying. I don't know why I'm worried about high school. I guess I just am.

 

Gaara

 

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Gaara was tired. No, tired was not the word. Gaara was exhausted, fatigued, debilitated. Call it what you like, but that was what Gaara was.

 

It wasn't like it was HIS fault. Oh, no, it was that NARUTO'S fault. Calling him like that in the middle of the night! … It wasn't like Gaara was sleeping, or anything, but, dammit, he had gotten CLOSE that time!

 

Gaara sighed, and rubbed his eyes. Then he stood from his spot on his bedroom floor, and turned off the alarm clock. He had gotten about three hours of sleep that night, from one a.m. to four a.m.. When he woke up, he couldn't get back to sleep, so he sat in the middle of the floor until the clock went off. It was six o'clock. Gaara changed from his pajamas to a black and red long sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants, then crawled back under the blankets. He stayed there until he heard heavy footsteps come from his father's room, walk down the hall, down the stairs, and out the front door. He listened as the car started, and pulled away from the driveway.

 

He was breathing easier, now.

 

Gaara slid out from under the covers, and into the bathroom, where he dug around in the medicine cabinet until he found the darkest eyeliner he owned. He applied it quickly and sloppily around his left eye, then slower and darker around his right eye, wincing at the sore bruise. He brushed his teeth, then went downstairs.

 

“Temari?” he said, seeing his scruffy-haired older sister in the kitchen. “What are you doing?”

 

“Making pancakes,” Temari replied, casting a glance over her shoulder. “Thought I'd do something special. You know; since it's your first day of high school.”

 

Gaara frowned. This was highly unlike his slightly preppy and distant sister. She was smiling like a carefree schoolgirl, which, in reality, she could easily have pulled off. But Gaara knew that it wouldn't last. By the time they were at school, Gaara would be no more than a Gothic face in her crowd of jocks and large breasted girls.

 

It made Gaara sad to think of his sister like that. When he had seen his sister at the high school the year before, when the eighth graders were taking a tour, she was standing in a crowd, and she wasn't smiling. She seemed sad, and it made him sad. But, at least he could enjoy the moment. Temari caught sight of her younger brother's face, grinned at him, and said, “You wanna wake up Kankuro for me?”

 

Gaara nodded in reply, and turned around to go back up the stairs.

 

“Pour cold water on him, if it helps!” Temari added, as Gaara disappeared up the stairs. He allowed himself a small smile, and walked over to Kankuro's room. He stared at the door for a moment, wondering if he should knock or barge right in.

 

He reached up, and knocked on the hard wood door, while he was pushing it open.

 

“Kankuro, are you up? Kankuro?” The small redhead glanced around the dark room for any signs of life.

 

“Wha…?” a groggy voice from somewhere underneath a pile of clothes and bedsheets mumbled.

 

“Temari says it's time to get up,” Gaara informed the voice.

 

There was a yawn.

 

“Whatever,” Kankuro said. Gaara frowned, and turned on the lights.

 

“BAH!” Kankuro cried in disgusted, putting his hands in front of his eyes. He was lying in bed, half covered by blankets. His dark hair was a mess, as usual, and so was his room.

 

“Your room's a pigsty, Kankuro. It's time to get up.” Then Gaara left his now surely irritable older brother, and went back downstairs.

 

“Pancakes!” Temari said, setting three pancakes-laden plates on the table. “I wanted to make waffles, but the waffle iron's still busted.”

 

Gaara just nodded, and picked up a fork. He didn't usually eat breakfast before school. It was a nice change of pace. Temari ate quickly, and was finished before Kankuro entered the room. He was dressed in all black, including a black hat with long flaps on the sides.

 

“What the hell are you wearing, you freak?!” Temari spat, gaping in horror at the atrocity that was her older brother's outfit.

 

“Bite me, `Ri,” Kankuro snarled, plopping down in his chair, and digging into the pancakes. Gaara quietly sipped his milk, and stared at his siblings. Suddenly, there was a loud `HONK!' from outside.

 

“Ooh, that's Summer! I'm getting a ride to school. See you suckers later!” she laughed, waving as she ran out of the room, then out of the house.

 

“Jesus Christ,” Kankuro rolled his eyes, and sighed. He and Gaara ate in silence, until Kankuro finished. “Come on, Squirt, I'll give ya a ride,” he said, standing.

 

“Okay.” Gaara stood from the table, and dropped his dishes in the sink. “Is… Yashamaru coming today?”

 

“Yeah. That's my understanding.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Kankuro paused on his way out the door. “You coming or what?”

 

“Yes. Just a minute.” Gaara picked up his bag, and followed his older brother out the door.

 

The Kazes' house was big, but not gigantic. It was too big for a four-person family like their own, but it was small enough the they had to put up with the sight of each other. At least, that was what Temari said. Gaara thought it was too big. He hated the empty space, but he loved the sheer vastness of it. Gaara would never admit it, but he hated small places. Even the bathroom stalls made him uneasy.

 

Kankuro's car wasn't trashed, but it sure as hell wasn't new, either. It was pretty small, with dents on all sides, and a scratch here or there. It was dark blue, and it smelled like tobacco, but it was Kankuro's pride and joy.

 

“The first thing of MINE that I actually bought with my own money,” he said proudly on the day that he brought it home.

 

Gaara knew that Kankuro wanted to get out of the Kaze household, to see the world. It made Gaara wonder why he didn't just DO it.

 

“That car is disgusting,” Temari had scoffed, wrinkling her nose the way she always did when she saw things that were dirty or black. “Why don't you just ask Daddy to buy you one?!”

 

`Daddy' had bought Temari a bright pink, brand new Volkswagen Beetle for her fifteenth birthday, back in August. `Daddy' said that she couldn't drive it until she got a license, though.

 

“This is my only link to independence.” That was what Kankuro had said. And Gaara believed him. And so, probably, did Temari.

 

They were driving, now. Down the street, past the neat row of well-to-do families' houses. Gaara wondered if the fathers in those houses stayed home, or went to work early in the morning. He wondered if there were brothers and sisters in those houses. He wondered if they fought as much as his brother and sister did.

 

He wondered if the mothers in those houses were still alive.

 

“Fuck, we're early!” Kankuro's voice broke Gaara's thoughts.

 

“Huh?”

 

“It's only seven forty-five!” Kankuro sighed darkly. “School doesn't start until eight thirty! What the hell was Temari doing, leaving so early?!”

 

He slowed the car down to stop for a red light.

 

Kankuro always worries about us, Gaara thought. Strange.

 

Then he realized something.

 

“Oh, damn,” he cursed, bringing a hand to his forehead.

 

“What's up?”

 

“I forgot my lunch.”

 

“Again?”

 

“I'm sorry, Kankuro.” And he was. Gaara was a very forgetful person. He always forgot his lunch last year. And the year before that, and the year before that.

 

“Gaara…”

 

“Y…Yes?”

 

“You've got a new bruise.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“On your eye.” Kankuro reached out one hand, and gently brushed the side of Gaara's face. “What happened?”

 

“N… Nothing happened.”

 

“We're early,” Kankuro said again. “Let's go get your lunch.”

 

Gaara nodded, grateful for a subject change.

 

“Okay.”

 

Kankuro pulled the car into the parking lot for the grocery store.

 

“We gotta be in and out in, like, half an hour, so take your time,” he said as they left the car, locked, in a parking spot, and headed toward the store.

 

“Okay.”

 

“And stop saying `Okay', for God's sake! It's driving me nuts…”

 

“O… I mean, all right.”

 

Kankuro shot him an amused look, and they were hit with a rush of hot air as they stepped over the vents, past the sliding doors.

 

Despite it being the first day of school, and seven forty-five in the morning, the super market was relatively full. Kankuro unzipped his sweatshirt, and adjusted his hat.

 

“Okay. What do you need for lunch? Olives? Fish fillets?”

 

“Um… A sandwich… would be fine.”

 

“To the deli, then. Oh, man, I forgot my lunch, too!” Kankuro laughed, rubbing his eyes. “You got me up too early, Shorty.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

“I'm joking, you nerd.”

 

“S… Let's just get the sandwiches.”

 

“Lead on, little brother!”

 

Gaara permitted a small smile to trace his lips as they walked to the deli. Kankuro was the kind of person who always spoke to him in the halls. He didn't care what people thought of him. He just… was. Kankuro DID like drama, though, which was weird, in Gaara's opinion. But then, what WAS `weird', anyway?

 

Kankuro had led the drama troupe for an entire year. He said that he was “returning strong” to lead them again this year, as he was a junior. Gaara just nodded and rolled his eyes when his brother started talking about the small drama club, which consisted of about ten members, maybe.

 

Temari also said that it was weird. Actually, her words were “…freakish, annoying, and stupid.” But Kankuro just told her to “…fuck off, Temari!” every time she said it.

 

After they found the sandwiches of their choosing, plus two sodas, and a box of Twinkies, they paid for the food, and left the store. Once they were in the car, Kankuro tore open the Twinkies, and gave half to Gaara.

 

“Here. Share them with that blond kid you're always hanging out with, What's-his-name… Nina?”

 

“Naruto.”

 

“Yeah. Or maybe it isn't a good idea to give him THAT much sugar.”

“You're probably right.”

 

“Whatever. Just take `em.” He shoved the Twinkies into Gaara's hands, keeping several for himself, and started the car. “I just CAN'T WIN!” he cried suddenly, catching site of the clock. It was only 8:04. “Dammit.” He sighed angry, and spun out of the parking lot, yelling obscenities at the cars that almost hit them as he illegally pulled into oncoming traffic, then into the correct lane. Gaara was gripping one of the Twinkies so hard, it had burst from the wrapper, and was oozing all over his hand.

 

“You're going to KILL US.”

 

“That's the plan!” Kankuro laughed, as they sped towards the school.

 

Gaara shook his head. His brother was crazy.

 

 

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Yeah, no waffles in this chapter. -sigh- Too bad. I love waffles. In the almighty, immortal words of spork ai: “Waffles kick pancake's ASS!” Hope you don't mind me quoting you, sporky. You rule beyond all comprehension. I don't know Gaara's last name. I thought having his last name be “Of the Sand” kind of… you know… stupid. So, his last name's Kaze. I don't know… I like it. That's right. Kankuro's a drama student. He likes puppets. See? CONNECTIONS! -insane laughter-

 

Kat: Hey! Maybe next time, I'll actually have PLOT DEVEOPMENT!! -dramatic music-

 

Naruto: Uh huh. Yeah. Hey, look, a flying pig!

 

Kat: …Gimme some REALLY SUCK-UPPY reviews, you know, tell me how AMAZING my fic is, and I'll tell you the pairings next chapter. I'm such a bitch, I know.

 

All: -pull out rotted vegetables-

 

Kat: Ack! Okay! Okay! Constructive criticism, then! MAN… By the way, there's gonna be some… DUN DUN DUN! Some stuff's gonna happen in the next chapter. Really. Good stuff, Man, good stuff. I'm just dragging this out as long as possible. Forgive the poor spelling. I can't bear to read what I write until I post it. The sheer BAD-ness of it hurts my poor eyes. I upped the rating, because it's not safe anymore. Or, it won't be. Very, VERY soon. Please review…?