Chapter 7: Voices, Hugs, and Progress

It looked like it would rain again.

Naruto gazed at the dark, foreboding clouds and frowned. They reminded him a little of Gaara, the way they seemed to hold so much but release so little. He hadn't dreamed it, had he? Naruto was sure he had seen a tear roll down the red-haired student's cheek. He was positive, and yet, they had both looked at it as if it were some kind of mistake. Was it his fault? Maybe it was. Gaara had made it quite clear that Naruto's presence annoyed him, but he stuck by his side anyway. Was that really the best way to go about things? Maybe it was Naruto's fault that Gaara was so stressed out. Maybe he would never know.

"Take this time to fix things with your friends…and please leave me alone."

The words and cold air meshed together, causing Naruto to shiver a bit. He knew what he had to do—Naruto knew that he couldn't give up. Still, it was one thing to know the right thing to do. It was an entirely different thing to actually do it. And who was to say that Gaara would even yield? Naruto might put in all the effort, only to have Gaara still shun him in the end, and then it would all be for nothing. But would it really be for nothing?

"Whoa," Naruto was jolted out of his thoughts as he nearly ran into someone. Abruptly stopping, he was surprised to see that he was met with a cool, emerald gaze, eliciting a brief image of blue-green eyes and red hair. She was still in her uniform, the blue-plaid skirt off-setting the white button-up and complimenting her navy knee-highs. "Watch where you're going, Naruto," Sakura laughed, clicking the heels of her penny-loafers together.

Strangely enough, the first thing Naruto considered when she spoke was that Gaara had told him that at one time. Pushing that aside, he rubbed the back of his neck, an apologetic grin already on his face. "Sakura-chan…sorry about that." Looking around, he realized he was right in front of her house. Any other day, he would have noticed it, but he supposed his thoughts were in a bit of a jumble to pay his surroundings much mind.

"Are you okay?" she asked, worry gracing her features. A small wind blew, ruffling her pink strands, and she idly tucked a lock behind her ear.

"I'm fine," Naruto said, feeling one of those pathetic smiles tugging at his lip. "It's one of those days, you know?"

She stared at him for a moment, a small smile on her face, as if she could sympathize with his feelings. "It is…" Glancing at her house for a moment, she faced the blond with a more genuine expression. "Why don't you come in for a bit? I'll make us some tea."

Naruto stared at her in utter disbelief, before resuming his composure, or at least doing his best to fake it. "Yes—sure—," scratching his head, his embarrassed smile still had a kind of charm to it. "Thank you."

He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had last been in her house. When he thought about it, it had to have been at least seven or eight years, which seemed like a long span of time, but seeing as the house hadn't changed very much, Naruto felt that it didn't feel as long as it really had been. It was strange, because they had been great friends as children, but they slowly drifted apart as the years rolled by.

"Is green tea okay?" Sakura called from the kitchen, upper body immersed in a cabinet.

"Yeah," Naruto replied. At first, he rested his hands on the table, before deciding that they were better in his lap. Five seconds later, they were on the table again.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Naruto?" Sakura said, emerging from the kitchen with a tray full of provisions. Kneeling by the futon in the front room, she began setting the table almost in a ritual manner, but there was a certain beauty to it. When she was younger, she had been taught the art of tea ceremony, so perhaps that was where her natural grace stemmed from.

"It has," Naruto finally agreed, gratefully accepting a small, porcelain cup of tea. "Have you been well?" Something in his mind was going off. There was a part of him that was trying to alert him of something, but for some reason, Naruto didn't want to know what it was.

"I've been great," the pink-haired girl explained. "It's you I'm worried about. I've been hearing some interesting things about you, Naruto…"

"You have?" Naruto asked, though he was not surprised. That wasn't to say he wasn't bothered, however.

Sakura looked at him with a kind of sympathy. "Yes. In fact, Ino just called and told me you got into a fight with Kiba today. I'm not too big on rumors and gossip, but…" Her green eyes landed on his bandaged hand for a second. "Has everything been all right, Naruto?" she asked suddenly, her tone reverting to a more worried one.

"Me?" Naruto said in surprise, even pointing at himself. "I'm fine," he tried to say encouragingly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Sometimes I feel really bad," Sakura said dejectedly, looking down as if she felt she couldn't look him in the eyes. Like Gaara, there was a certain attractive quality about her that could not be explained. "Sometimes I feel like I abandoned you."

Naruto felt a strange pang in his chest, one he hadn't felt for a long time. "You didn't abandon me, Sakura," he said as comfortingly as he could. "We just…grew up." Hesitantly, Sakura looked up at him, her emerald eyes sincerely sad. Naruto found it even more difficult to smile, but with a little more prompting, he was finally able to do so. "We just grew up. And look at me now," he swung his arms a little at his sides. "I've grown into a rather handsome young man, if I don't say so myself."

Sakura looked at him with a skeptical smirk. "Some people never change. Honestly though," she balanced her cup in her palm, "how have you been lately?"

Naruto traced the rim of his own cup, before glancing in at his wavering, liquid reflection. "I've been…well."

"You were never very good at lying, Naruto," Sakura mused nostalgically.

Naruto sighed, rippling the delicate surface of his tea. "It just…so many things have been happening lately—the least of which I'd care to admit is my failing English."

Sakura arched a fine brow. "Ouch."

"Yeah, and then there's this recent stuff with Kiba," he rested his cheek in his palm. "And, of course, the less recent stuff with him." He waved it off, "But that's a long story—"

"I have all afternoon," offered the female student kindly, "and plenty of tea."

Looking at her quickly, it was clear that that was not what Naruto had expected to hear. He looked away again, contemplating her offer to listen, and Naruto had to agree that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to talk to someone who was on the "outside". For some reason, he felt like he could tell her, but oddly, and a little unsettling was the fact that it had nothing to do with the fact that he had a crush on her. Again, the small voice in his mind seemed to try and tell him something, but Naruto pushed it aside, ruffling his blond locks, before telling Sakura the story. Of course, there were certain things he had to leave out, like the mouth infatuation, the compulsory touching, and certainly the kissing impulse, but he told her the greater bit of the tale, from the poem, to Gaara walking out on him that same afternoon. Sakura listened attentively, a smile slowly deepening as Naruto progressed throughout his story, and the blond wasn't sure he liked the expression.

When he was finished, she was grinning almost widely, looking even like she wanted to laugh. "Gaara seems like a very interesting boy," she said, taking a sip of her tea.

"He's something," Naruto agreed.

"I've seen him around a few times, but he keeps a rather low profile." She hesitated with whatever she was going to say next. "Isn't he…?"

Naruto was staring into his tea again. "He is…but it doesn't matter," he added quickly, looking up at her with a strange conviction.

Even Sakura looked a little surprised, before smiling a bit again. "You're right; it doesn't matter. You like him a lot, don't you?" she asked, looking somewhat amused.

"Like him?" Naruto said quickly, both cautious and confused.

"Yeah, as a friend," she clarified, nails tapping out a kind of tune on her glass.

"Well, yeah," said the blond, even nodding a little. "Yeah, I like him…as a friend." Even though it had already been established and clarified, Naruto felt safer somehow by adding that last bit on his sentence…like somehow, he was risking something by not adding it on. The more he dwelled on it, the more uncomfortable he was starting to feel, and so finally, he pulled out his phone and glanced at the time. "Well, it's late, and I've kept you too long already."

"Not at all," Sakura bowed slightly, pink spilling over her shoulders.

Naruto bowed back, standing and pulling his bag over his arm. "Thank you for the tea."

Sakura stood as well, hands clasped before her and a congenial smile on her face. "Thank you for the company."

Naruto smiled back, but he felt guilty, like he should have been more enthusiastic about what had just transpired. That voice nagged lightly in his thoughts, but Naruto was sure to ignore it. He nearly jumped when Sakura hugged him, her thin arms circling behind him for the briefest of moments, before she had pulled back with another sympathetic smile.

"You looked like you needed it," she said, answering his unvoiced question. "You've always been good at deferring other people's pain…but don't forget about your own, okay?"

Naruto looked at her, momentarily too stunned to speak. "Yeah," he finally said after a moment. "Okay." The voice was more persistent than ever.

Sakura chuckled to herself and walked him to the door. "Take care, Naruto."

Smiling, Naruto walked out into the chilly evening air, already regretting the walk home though his house but a block away. "You, too," he said, stepping out onto the lawn. With a departing wave, he started off again toward his house. There should have been a bounce in his step, and where was the smile that used to take forever to fade following conversations with her? Where were the feelings? It was a bit distressful, because Naruto had always felt that he would always like her. Sure, it was a childish belief, but he figured it would have been more of a gradual fade, not this abrupt wrenching from what he had previously believed would last forever. Perhaps it was only a phase.

A few minutes later, he saw his house come into view, and he was glad for the warmth it provided when he was finally within its walls. It was eerie how dark and spooky it became when the afternoon rolled around, but that was due, in part, to Naruto being the only occupant. He had long since grown used to it, though; it had always been like that.

"I'm home," said Naruto quietly, taking off his shoes at the door and stepping into a pair of light blue slippers. Stretching a bit, he flipped on a light and headed toward the kitchen to make dinner. When he was used to the same, mundane routine, why on this particular day did he feel so very miserable?

Seeing her…It used to be a cure-all, his secret panacea, but she was starting to seem like everyone else. And Gaara was starting to seem like no one, so what exactly was going on? Naruto kind of wanted to call him, and he even took out his phone, staring at as if it held the answer to some penetrating riddle. With a plaintive release of breath, he pushed it into his back-pocket and turned on the stove.

ooo

Kankurou had barely pulled his motorbike into the driveway when Gaara slid off and disappeared into the house. Something was up. Leaning his bike against the brick of the building, the dull-blond draped his helmet on a handlebar and headed into the house. To his surprise, Gaara was seated in the living room, his eyes staring into the wispy flames of the fire as they emanated a comfortable heat. If it had been a truly bad day, Gaara probably would have locked himself in his room, but Kankurou took this as a good sign and a chance for some possible progress.

Clearing his throat to announce his presence, he stepped into the room. "What would you like for dinner?" he asked casually, looking at the fireplace as well. "I'll make whatever you like tonight."

Gaara draped an arm over the side of the couch, running the other through his hair momentarily. "I'm not hungry; make whatever you want."

Kankurou swayed a bit in place. "If Sis was here, she would make you eat."

"Aneki isn't here," was Gaara's level reply. And then, finally turning toward his brother, he asked, "Do you propose to make me eat?" His expression, while dull, seemed to say, I dare you.

Kankurou simply smiled at his stubbornness, shaking his head as well. I forfeit.

That should have been the end of the conversation. Any other day it would have been the conclusion, but Kankurou walked over and took a seat next to his younger brother, seemingly throwing off some unstated balance that had been instituted long ago. Gaara even glanced over at him, irritation edging his face. "What are you doing?" he questioned, glad that the blond had had the decency to leave a space between them.

With a look of obviously-feigned surprise, Kankurou turned toward him. "Aren't I free to sit wheresoever I choose?"

Trying not to grimace too openly, Gaara turned away. Being obvious with his emotions would only feed into Kankurou's ego. He always seemed to know what Gaara was thinking, and took a strange delight in making sure Gaara was aware that he knew. "Do what you like," he mumbled vaguely.

"Thank you for your compliance," Kankurou replied, sarcasm artfully curbed. "So, how did the day progress?"

"Horrifically, thank you for reminding me."

"Sorry about that. I forgot you led such a terribly-inclined life."

Gaara continued looking forward for a short span, before he turned toward Kankurou with a glare. "I don't lead a terribly-inclined life."

Kankurou turned and stared at him.

"And you didn't forget," the redhead added, turning gratefully back toward the fire.

"How can I forget something that doesn't exist? It would be a complete anomaly. The world would cease to exist, and it just might explode altogether."

Gaara rubbed his temple, wishing the world would explode. "Nevermind." With a tired sigh, he leaned back into the soft cushion of the upholstery, a headache brimming at the edges of his thoughts. He was thinking too much; if only he could stop the whole mechanism altogether, maybe he wouldn't feel so exhausted. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kankurou pull out a cigarette and set it between his lips. It hung there awkwardly, as if some great work were left unfinished. "Sis would kill you if she saw that."

The blond grinned, cigarette balanced between his teeth. "Aneki isn't here," he said slyly, a strange glitter in his eyes. This is just between us, they seemed to say. Gaara crossed his arms loosely, staring into the fire, not wanting anything between them at all. "Besides," continued the senior, taking the unlit object between his fingers and juggling it between his digits, "it's an old habit. Give a man a break," he said lightly, tucking it behind his ear. "Or at least some support—Well, I suppose lack of support is what led to this in the first place."

Gaara felt his mouth twitch and found himself wondering if there was an implied insult somewhere within his words.

"—But I don't blame you," Kankurou was quick to add, a sad smile coming to his face. "I never once blamed you." Planting his hands on his knees, he stood, taking in a satisfactory breath. "Well, I'd better go—"

"Aniki?" Gaara said suddenly, expression troubled as he watched the firey display before him.

The older boy faced him, one hand in his pocket. "Yes?"

"When was the last time…I cried."

Kankurou blinked, obviously a little confused by the question, but he considered it nonetheless. "I suppose it was…hm, maybe ten—eleven years ago now. You were so cute," he said fondly, but the reminiscent smile only lasted as long as it took for him to remember the bad memories as well.

"Why?"

"Why?" repeated Kankurou, brows lifted a little. "I think you had tripped and fell, probably scraped your knee. It was something like that."

"Why do people cry?" Gaara seemed to be contemplating some deeper dilemma, his eyes directed toward the fireplace but not really seeing anything.

"I mean…" Even though the question was so simple, Kankurou found he had trouble answering it. "It's usually because outside or inside…they're in pain."

"What if you've forgotten what pain is," stated Gaara, eyes narrowing slightly, "but you still cry?"

Kankurou faced him for a moment, before settling simply with, "Then you haven't forgotten." When Gaara remained quiet for the better part of two-or-so minutes, Kankurou assumed he was finished and started to leave.

"Tell me when dinner is ready," Gaara said before he had left, eyes still gazing into the fire.

Kankurou felt himself smile, a warm feeling permeating his body. "Anything in particular you'd like?"

"Anything will do."

With an unseen nod, the older boy left, returning sooner than Gaara had expected. On the coffee table that sat adjacent to the couch he occupied, Kankurou placed a bowl, a pair of chopsticks, and a cup of tea. The substance in the bowl looked oddly familiar.

"It's the food from Naruto," Kankurou said, answering his brother's silent inquiry.

Gaara's face twisted to one of obvious complaint. "I don't want it."

"You said anything would do," the blond explained, pulling on his jacket and zipping it up. "So this is going to have to do, because I have to go to cram-school now." He looked around for his keys, finally grabbing them up from one of the couch cushions. "Sorry we can't eat together tonight," he said at the door, pausing and twirling his keys around his index finger. "But, you probably wouldn't have wanted to, anyway." Gaara almost asked him how he would know, but he didn't want his words to be misconstrued. "Don't stay mad at him for too long," Kankurou added. "Whatever he did this time can't be that bad."

Gaara turned to tell him to mind his own business, but his brother had left, the door slamming somewhere in the background. Slowly turning toward the coffee table, he looked at the bowl of soup warily. After reproaching himself for being suspicious of soup, he took the bowl into his hands and started eating. It wasn't bad, and this upset the redhead a little, because he really wanted to hate him. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. He could dislike many people, he could even hate a few—what Gaara was pleased with, if anything, was the fact that he could disconnect himself from anyone. But why in the world did Naruto not stay away? Why didn't he take the hint? Why didn't he take the obvious rejections that were not hints? If people made fun of him, that was Gaara's concern, so when did Naruto start taking such matters into his own hands? And why? He didn't know what it was like to live in Gaara's world, so why did he keep on pretending to care? If anything annoyed Gaara, then this was what did it the most.

"I'm being sincere, Gaara. Why can't you see that?"

With a tired sigh, he sat his empty bowl back on the nearby table, laying the chopsticks crosswise over it. Why did he know it was going to be another restless night?

ooo

The following day progressed in an almost painfully-sluggish manner. Naruto had arrived late due to a faulty alarm, and to add to his morning's fun-filled beginning, everyone stopped and stared as he walked into the classroom and took his seat. And then the whispers began. The whispers actually progressed throughout the better portion of the day, and by the time English rolled around, Naruto decided to skip it entirely. Gaara didn't seem to be there anyway, so he couldn't really find the point. By lunch, he was merely glad to escape the gossiping herds, but the new form of opposition found itself within Sasuke and his bitter glare.

"Do you really think that if you skip class, all your problems will disappear?" he asked, irritation fully displayed. Naruto looked downward shamefacedly, and Sasuke decided that he wouldn't press it this time. "What happened when I left yesterday?" he settled with, irritation blunted but not quite suppressed.

With slight hesitation, Naruto finally conceded, explaining everything that had occurred. He couldn't bring himself to add in the confrontation with Sakura, however. Sasuke just stared at him when he was finished.

"Gaara cried?" he repeated, clearly in disbelief.

Naruto rubbed one of his temples, eyes focused on his desk, but thoughts focused on his memories. "No…it wasn't crying. It was like…" He looked up, frustration clearly playing across his facial features. "It was like a tear fell out on accident."

"On accident, you say…" It was clear that the black-haired boy seemed to doubt him. "Just one?"

"Did I measure it, Sasuke?" asked Naruto incredulously, looking at his friend with obvious skepticism. "I'm just saying what I saw, and what I saw was a drop of water come out of his eye."

Sasuke's eyelids lowered a tad. "Maybe the ceiling was dripping—," Naruto immediately threw his hands up in surrender and slumped down in his chair—"I'm just saying that I cannot picture him crying—," Naruto looked at him angrily, "—tearing...on accident. It'd just be…"

"Sad," Naruto finished, nodding as well. "It was sad."

Sasuke raised a brow. "Or unbelievable, odd, or even uncanny. But, I suppose if it was just one tear, it could've been a fluke."

"A fluke?"

"Yeah, sometimes when a person's going through stress, their body can do things it might not naturally do."

Naruto sat up a little. "Stress?"

"Yeah."

Tapping his fingers on the table for a moment, Naruto's expression turned to a more critical gaze. "What about kissing someone?"

Sasuke paused in his movement. "You said that was an accident."

"Not then," Naruto waved it off, "but can stress make a person…" His fingers threaded into his hair, grasping small handfuls of golden strands. "Can stress make a person want to kiss someone?"

Again, Sasuke looked at him intently, sitting silently for a while as his black eyes bored into Naruto's own blue ones. "Usually…it's feelings that do that."

"I know," his fists in his hair tightened, "but if it's unnatural, then could it be stress?"

Sasuke's head titled in confusion, but whether it was sincere or false, Naruto couldn't be sure. "Unnatural?" he said after a moment. "Unnatural how?"

"Unnatural in that it's not natural!" Naruto finally said heatedly, letting his hands drop rather loudly onto the tabletop. Sasuke looked from his hands to his disconcerted features before smirking just a bit.

"Point taken. I won't question it further." His hands met and folded, and he seemed to look off distantly for a moment, releasing a small sigh. "I suppose the urge to kiss someone could be stress-induced."

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping up and pulling a fist to his chest.

Focusing once again on his friend, Sasuke could only stare. "If you knew the answer you wanted to hear, why did you even bother to ask?"

"Why not?" Naruto inquired, obviously seeing no harm in it. "It's good to be reassured every once in a while," he explained, taking his seat.

"Reassured?" A black brow rose. "What are you unsure about, Naruto?"

Naruto's confidence faltered as Sasuke's intense stare maintained its hold. He seemed to be asking the question as if he knew the answer, too. "Nothing," the blond said after a moment, realizing he had neglected to respond. It didn't come out sounding as confident as he had hoped.

"Nothing? But you wanted to kiss someone right?"

"Who said it was me?" asked Naruto, tapping his index fingers together.

"Would you be so excited for someone else?"

"I might."

"Oh really?"

Naruto met his gaze. "Really."

After looking at him for a few seconds longer, Sasuke finally broke the eye-contact, folding the trash from his lunch into a strange, cube-like contraption. "I suppose you're right…You've certainly been rather excited for a particular redhead I know."

Naruto was immediately defensive. "What are you insinuating?"

Sasuke looked at him in innocence. "What do you think I'm insinuating?"

The blond crossed his arms. "I think you know what I think you're insinuating."

"Would I really ask if I knew?"

"You might."

Sasuke settled with a smirk and let it drop, clearly pleased with how much he had stirred up his friend. "That aside, I really am proud of you, Naruto," he said, face taking on more of a genuine appearance. "I didn't get to tell you that yesterday."

Naruto blinked before rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't really do anything—"

"You did," stated Sasuke. "Gaara will come to appreciate it in his own time…You just have to give him that time. You'll see…And don't you dare give up," the boy warned.

Naruto felt himself smile, a familiar wave of determination flowing through him. "I won't."

ooo

Walking into the appointed detention-room was the scariest thing Naruto had done in ages. As soon as he had arrived that afternoon and seen that it was to be held in Iruka's classroom, he began hoping for some drastic miracle. A meteor shower would have definitely been nice, or at least a false fire alarm. When that thought entered his head, it was with great willpower that he didn't approach one of the small, red boxes and "accidentally" pull the lever.

Iruka's glare was probably the most intense he had ever seen as Naruto slinked in. In silence, the teacher pointed directly in front of him to a chair in the front row. It would have been fine, except it was situated two seats over from Kiba. The brown-haired boy had his face buried in his arms prior to Naruto's arrival, but when the blond approached his assigned seat, that head of brown hair raised slightly, an irritated glare slowly revealed. Naruto was careful not to break the gaze, a duel of sorts issued between them. Taking his seat, he leaned on an arm and turned toward Iruka.

"Let me guess," Iruka said, when Kiba finally sat up straight. He looked from the large, white bandage that covered Kiba's nose, and the pair of white bandages on Naruto's face and hand. "You two got into a fight; am I right?"

Naruto looked at the wood of his desk as if it provided some escape from his guardian's eyes. "Yes, sensei."

"Honestly," Iruka sighed, his arms crossing after a moment of silence. "Aren't you two friends? You shouldn't be doing this to one another."

Both Kiba and Naruto looked in opposite directions, away from each other, as if both felt it difficult to face the other in that moment. Naruto could remember when he had first met Kiba. It was his freshman year, and he had hung around after school one day, because he had missed the bus. As he strolled through the halls and came to the Art room, Kiba had jumped out, nearly scaring Naruto half to death. And to make everything much more awkward, the brunet had red-orange paint on both his cheeks, causing Naruto to ask if he was going for some kind of tribal look. After Kiba strictly defended that he was planning on one day majoring in art, and this was simply a form of outward expression, they had become instant friends. It was strange, but they just clicked. Naruto easily formed friendships, but he wondered why Gaara seemed so very much out of his grasp.

"Can I see you for a moment, Iruka?" Kakashi poked his head into the classroom, crooking a finger as well. Iruka looked carefully from Kiba to Naruto before rising from his seat and leaving the room. An uncomfortable silence seemed to stifle the air, and Naruto would've said something had not Kiba beat him to it.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, cheek in palm, staring toward the opposite wall.

Fiddling with his hands, Naruto's eyes remained fixed to his own wall as well. "I'm sorry, too…I shouldn't have punched you."

"You shouldn't have," Kiba agreed, obviously still a little sensitive about the situation. The huge bandage on his nose was a bit funny, though. "But…I shouldn't have said what I said, either. Fair?"

Naruto finally looked toward Kiba with an elevated brow. "Fair." Kiba looked at him with a contrite smile, red-orange paint again on his cheeks. "You know," said the blond, "the bandage looks good with the paint. You're like a living work of art…Abstract art."

Kiba was clearly at a slight loss for words. "I'm going to take that as both an insult and a compliment, Naruto."

"Good," Naruto nodded. "That's how it was intended."

Kiba rolled his eyes and Naruto laughed right around the point when Iruka and Kakashi came back into the room. Both teachers stopped and stared at them for a moment, making sure they were the same students who had inflicted wounds on one another, before surrendering to the ever-changing minds of youth. In the end, Iruka let them go a little early with another advisement to stay out of trouble. The two said their farewells, and Kiba was picked up by one of his sisters, while Naruto was left to wait for the next bus. He pilfered around in the hallways for a little while, knowing the next bus wouldn't come for another hour, but that soon lost its merit, and he finally slumped down by a random locker.

"Can you block my locker after I get my stuff out?" a slightly cynical voice asked.

Naruto looked up, and both he and his addresser were thrown into obvious confusion. Naruto would know that spiky-haired killer-build anywhere. In seconds he was on his feet. "Kankurou."

Kankurou frowned, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Kankurou-sempai," he clarified. "Sempai," he said again, his hand clasping onto Naruto's shoulder. The blond felt the bones of his arm tremble. Kankurou wasn't even that big, but he somehow possessed an abnormal amount of strength. Naruto would be sure to be nice.

"What's a person gotta do to get respect around here, anyway?" Kankurou rambled on, releasing Naruto's arm and waving his hand in the air as if to swat a fly. "First Gaara, now you—"

"Gaara?" Naruto cut him off, perking up instantly. "How is he?"

Resting his hand on his hip, Kankurou looked at the blond across from him in a skeptical manner. "Why should I tell you, kouhai? All you do is annoy him."

Naruto wanted to speak, but couldn't find the words. What was said was true. That did seem to be all Naruto did, but he couldn't give up. "I just want to know how he's doing…as a friend. I may annoy him, but—I—it's not my intention. He's just so…"

"Hard to understand?" Kankurou offered.

"Yeah, and…"

"Impossibly impatient?"

"Exactly…" Naruto looked at Kankurou with slight awe, clearly impressed. "You know him well."

A strange form of sadness seemed to flash across the older blond's face. "I know him well enough." And then he seemed back to normal—whatever that implied. "Once you get to know him better, you'll learn that there's a big difference between what he simply says, and what he really means. It's like having two conversations."

Naruto looked at him for a moment, watching the way his demeanor totally changed when he spoke about Gaara. He seemed completely harmless and rather enjoyable to be around—gentle even. "You're really happy when you talk about him," he said. "You must care about him a lot."

"Of course," Kankurou shrugged slightly, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks as he smiled. "He's my little brother. I care about him more than anything." He started walking, forgetting about his locker, and Naruto felt compelled to follow. "How would you like to have dinner with us this evening?" he asked, stopping without warning when they had walked for some time.

"Dinner?" Naruto repeated, unsure if he had heard right.

"Yeah—in exchange for the one you brought Gaara."

Naruto wanted to ask how he knew, before remembering he had left the bowl on the front step of the house. "I don't know that Gaara would be glad to see me…"

"Probably not," the senior said bluntly, "but he'll have to deal with it." And then he rubbed his hands together impishly, "When Gaara gets annoyed, it can be quite entertaining. That alone is worth you coming over."

"But it's a school night," Naruto rubbed his arm, "I'd hate to intrude."

Kankurou bopped Naruto on the head. "We don't have school tomorrow. It's some staff-conference-day-thing-or-other." Again, he proceeded down the hall, nearing the exit. "You obviously want to see him, so stop making excuses."

Naruto stood there momentarily, before hurrying to Kankurou's side. "Is it really obvious?"

Kankurou glanced at him in amusement. "Extremely."

Naruto's hand fidgeted at his side, and he could feel embarrassment setting in. "I just want him to understand that I'm here for him, that I'm his friend."

"Good luck," was all Kankurou said.

ooo

Naruto didn't know they would be taking a motorbike to Gaara's house. It just so happened that he had a horrendous fear of the things, and even the sight of one could send him into self-induced, paralytic shock. He had once seen a movie (at far too young an age) where one of the characters had been in an accident while on a motorcycle. The entire film was rather gruesome, but nothing stuck in the blond's mind like the mangled body of the character (minus a few limbs), which the camera was sure to zoom in on. After that, he swore he would never ride one.

He could feel his body break out into a cold sweat as he walked closer and closer to the death-trap. He could almost hear the bike speak, its scary voice saying, "Sit here and die!"

"Can we walk?" Naruto spoke up, voice a little squeaky.

"Walk?" Kankurou said in confusion. "But why?"

And so Naruto explained his phobia born of ignorant youth, and while he had expected compassion, all he got were Kankurou's fits of laughter. Everyone laughed at him when he told that story. Why did everyone have to laugh? It wasn't funny. And when Kankurou obviously wasn't going to divert his path, Naruto tried to divert his own, but the taller blond grabbed him by the upper arm and dragged him all the way to the bike. Naruto thrashed and kicked the whole way, trying to grasp onto anything (trees, fire hydrants, people) for leverage, but the senior's strength triumphed every time.

"Face your fears," Kankurou suggested, wrestling Naruto into the back seat. It was a whole new adventure to get Naruto to stay there, and, in the end, he was basically tied in place with a seatbelt. With a small smirk, Kankurou gave him his helmet. That didn't stop Naruto from repeating "We're all gonna die" the entire way home. By the time the large house finally came into view, Naruto had resigned himself to death, hanging to one side of the motorcycle.

"I hate you," Naruto muttered lifelessly, once he was finally free of the vehicle. When Kankurou unknotted the seatbelt, the younger blond toppled onto the cement in a bizarre pool, and with a weary release of breath, Kankurou righted him.

"You'd better love me, Uzumaki," he said with a shake of his head. "I've brought you to Gaara. That's the extent of my abilities…now the rest—," he flashed a thumbs-up and seemed to sparkle in the afternoon light, "—is up to you."

Naruto deadpanned as the other boy pulled the helmet from his head and placed it on his own. "Where are you going? What about dinner?"

Kankurou just grinned, and Naruto decided he didn't like his smiles. They were sneaky. "Whoever said I was going to join you? I'm a college-bound student, kouhai." Stepping over his motorbike, he slid down the screen and started up the sputtering engine. "The door's unlocked; food's in the kitchen; Gaara's in there somewhere."

"But—"

"College-bound, kouhai," the other blond emphasized, revving his engine. "I have to go." Pulling on a pair of gloves, he wiggled a finger in the air. "Be nice or else."

Naruto glared, feeling insulted and confused. "Or else what?"

A chuckle echoed inside the black helmet. "Or else I'll take you for another ride. See ya later, Uzumaki-kun." In a flourish of dust and smoke, he sped away, leaving Naruto to choke on the fumes. When he had successfully cleared his airways, he turned cautiously toward the house. Its size intimidated him, but what intimidated him more was the fact that somewhere within its walls was Gaara. This house saw and dealt with Gaara daily, so how was it still standing? Shaking away his absurd thoughts, he crossed the grass and stood quietly at the front door, but once his hand touched the doorknob, he found he could not move.

Did Gaara know he was coming? Probably not, as Kankurou had seemed to suggest the idea arbitrarily. And what if the redhead flipped out on him—went psycho? He imagined himself walking in and setting off booby traps, possibly being decapitated. If not that, then Kankurou would probably strap him to motorcycle and purposefully crash it. If not that, then maybe the house might spontaneously kill him. Were houses alive? Could anyone really be sure that they weren't? Somewhere in the middle of the madness, his reasoning set in, telling him (as always) how stupid and utterly impractical his thoughts were. Quickly turning the knob, he jumped in, ducking into a tumbling roll just in case there were motion lasers.

In the end, he ended up feeling ridiculous as he lay in the fetal position right inside Gaara's house. Outside, someone drove by and backed up slowly, peering out there window to see what exactly Naruto was doing before driving off quickly. Clearing his throat and standing, a flash of movement caused him to pull out a finger-gun. As luck would have it, Gaara stood only a few feet away.

"You break enterings now?" the red-haired student asked, crossing his arms and leaning to one side.

Naruto was still in slight shock, dropping his fake weapon and swinging his arms by his side. "I—the lasers," he said, kind of shrugging and laughing at the same time. Gaara just stared at him.

"…The lasers." It was a cross between a question and a restatement to be sure he had heard correctly. "How did you get in?"

Naruto clinked his teeth together oddly, finding words difficult to form in an understandable manner. Where was his resolute speech? Why did seeing Gaara make thoughts so troublesome to manifest?

"Kankurou let me in…kind of," he settled with, pointing behind him as well.

Gaara looked beyond him for a moment before again matching his gaze. It was captivating, and Naruto really couldn't bring himself to break it or look away or even close his eyes. Somewhere he was sure that he liked this mini battle of wills. In an odd way, it helped to connect them.

"Kankurou?" the red-haired teen stated, looking more suspicious by the moment, and increasingly more annoyed. "Well, the door is behind you, Uzumaki. If you leave now, I'll try and forget that little acrobatic display you just put on."

"Leave? And you actually saw that? But—"

"I don't want to talk to you," Gaara said bluntly. "I don't want to see you. Was there something about what I said yesterday that was unclear?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Then good evening," he quickly cut him off. "I trust that you have at least enough sense to be able to find your way out." Uncrossing his arms, Gaara turned and proceeded up the grand staircase behind him, disappearing into one of the rooms that were out of Naruto's sight.

Naruto was close to kicking a wall or overturning a rug in a strange demonstration of immaturity when his cell-phone started buzzing. In a child-like huff, he pulled it out and saw that he had a new text message from an unlisted number, but downloaded it anyway. At this point, a virus might do him some good. It would only reinforce the fact that Naruto's life was bound to always be horrendous.

/I'm guessing that he's already told you to leave and stomped off. Don't let him get away. Search everywhere if you have to. Peace, Kankurou./

How in the world did Kankurou have his number? Was it posted publicly somewhere? Putting away his cell, he threw caution to the wind and advanced up the stairs. With each step, he could feel himself walking closer and closer into some unknown danger. Maybe all the booby traps were on the second floor. Coming to the top of the steps, Naruto was met with an eerie darkness. It was quiet, and all of the doors were closed, shutting out all light, shutting out everything. Taking a deep breath, he tried to guesstimate which room Gaara had gone into, but it was impossible to tell; there were simply too many. One door was locked, another empty, and yet another was merely a storage closet. He was beginning to wonder if anyone even lived there, fifteen minutes already gone by, when he saw the crack of light at the end of the hall. The door was open slightly, spilling a fine sliver of golden light into the hall, like an arrow telling him he was going the wrong way. There was also a strange humming sound that was oddly familiar but difficult to place. Flattening his hand against the door, Naruto swallowed hard and swung it open.

The room was a stark white, blindingly so, as warm vapors poured into the hall. A bathroom. Gaara stared in dulled shock, obviously too caught off-guard to even care about masking his emotions. Naruto stared in full-blown shock, jaw slack and eyes wide, travelling down the other's body. Gaara had obviously just stepped out of the shower. And he was naked. Somewhere along the line, Gaara turned off the shower. Somewhere else along the line, Naruto bolted across the hall and down the steps, slapping his cheeks and cursing himself the whole way.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot," he repeated, seating himself on the front step of the house. Why couldn't he be blind? His cell-phone went off again, and Naruto jumped, pulling it to his ear.

"Naruto?" Sasuke's voice said on the other line.

"I saw his thing!" Naruto declared helplessly, shuffling into a strange, compacted mass.

"What?"

"Gaara," Naruto laughed out nervously, closing his phone and standing. Said redhead stood in the doorway, towel around his waist and mouth set in a firm line. What was a towel between them, anyway? Naruto had already seen everything.

"Grow up, Uzumaki," Gaara said angrily, still trying to cover up his displeasure. With a particularly nasty glare, he withdrew into the house and slammed the door.

It took Naruto a few moments to realize that he had left his book-bag inside. Of course. And what was he doing? He was acting like a fool. Gaara was right. Gaara was always right. He was an idiot. He was immature. He had seen naked, male bodies before. It was bound to happen one way or another. Still, it was Gaara's naked body. Why did that somehow complicate the situation?

Knocking on the door, it was several minutes later when Gaara finally opened it, glare still settled neatly across his features. He was fully clothed, Naruto's bag hanging from his outstretched hand.

Naruto regarded him carefully. "Thank you…" He knew the moment he took his book-bag, Gaara would close the door, so he stood there for a moment, trying to buy himself some time.

"I'll drop it in five seconds," Gaara said none-too-nicely, defensive nature not letting up.

Naruto took a step toward him. "But can't we talk—"

Before he could even finish his question, Gaara let the bag drop to the ground with a heavy thud—the kind that killed mechanical-pencil lead—and was gone behind another slamming door. Naruto stood there for a few seconds, staring at the furnished oak, before testing his luck once more. He didn't care anymore, and he realized that it was a wonderfully liberating feeling. Who needed reason anyway? Turning the handle, he was happy to find it still unlocked and walked right back inside the house. Gaara had made it only a few feet away, but his look of perturbed amazement was priceless when their eyes met again. The air seemed to crackle with a delightful electricity.

You've got some nerve, the red-haired boy's eyes seemed to say, and Naruto wondered if it was what Kankurou had mentioned briefly earlier. He spoke without speaking. It was extraordinary.

"We have to talk, Gaara," Naruto declared, voice taking on an element of fortitude.

"No, we don't," Gaara replied, clearly indicating that he wanted to close the conversation. "It hasn't been a week. It's barely been a day. You're trying my patience."

"Good. It needs to be tried," Naruto challenged back. "You told me to fix things with my friends." He sighed and shrugged his shoulders limply. "You're my friend, Gaara. What do I have to do to fix this?"

"We're not friends," the redhead said flatly. "Friendship is consensual, and I do not consent."

"Why not?"

"You're an idiot."

Naruto was getting frustrated again. "That can't be your reasoning for everything."

Gaara's eyes seemed to smirk somewhat. Oh yes it can, they said. "Do you honestly think I can believe anything you say? I just want to be your tutor." He seemed to regret his words, adding, "And not even that was my choice." He was angry again. "Why do you insist on making things difficult? Have you ever heard of boundaries? Other people have them, believe it or not."

Those were the most words Naruto had ever heard him consecutively say. The mask was fading away, Gaara no longer able to carefully regulate his emotions as he always did. His true nature was beginning to peek through. It was about time.

"You have too many boundaries, Gaara," the blond said somewhat sadly. "No one will be able to get through if you keep this up."

"Good."

Naruto watched as he turned to leave, heading again for the staircase. "Where are you going to run? This is your own home."

Gaara actually stopped, body jerking in anger as he turned to face him. "Run?" After studying him for a moment, he took a few steps toward Naruto, leaving two-or-so feet between them. His bearing was suddenly alive with a mix of anger, frustration, and puzzlement, and Naruto wasn't sure that he didn't rather like him like this. "Why am I the one running? I'm doing you a favor. Stop assuming you need to help me. I get so tired of your counterfeit concern—like I'm some kind of charity-work. It's infuriating." In a whirl of conflicting emotions, he turned to stomp off, but Naruto caught him by the wrist. Again, he was jolted to a stop, but he refused to turn toward Naruto this time, eyes locking instead to the floor.

Naruto felt insulted, but at the same time, he felt that he understood Gaara's feelings. The world was full of cruel people, and Gaara had probably faced his fair share. The small arm in his grasp suddenly seemed very delicate, and Naruto was afraid to hold onto it too tightly or for too long.

He was tiny. He had a tiny wrist. He was frail. But he was strong.

"Stop it," Naruto found himself saying, though his voice was not at all threatening. "…We both need to just stop this." He took a step forward, coming up behind him, and Gaara tried to pull his hand free.

"Let me go," he said monotonously, slowly reconstructing his composure.

"No."

"No?" Gaara repeated crossly, eyes flashing a dangerous turquoise as he turned to face the blond, but any other rebuttal was lost when Naruto pulled him into his arms.

Neither of them said anything. Both couldn't really think of anything to say. Gaara looked like he wanted to struggle but didn't. Perhaps he thought it was above him or beneath him or however the saying went. All Naruto knew were that his arms were around him, pulling the red-haired boy tightly into his embrace. His flushed cheek pressed tightly to the side of Naruto's neck, hiding whatever emotions might have been readable on his face. He smelled clean and fresh, hair still damp from his shower that suddenly seemed to have taken place ages ago. They were so close that Naruto could've sworn he felt Gaara's heartbeat. Most of all, he felt his own beating at an increased pace, and he was afraid that Gaara would feel it, too. His body lacked the soft curves of a female. But still, he fit. It was exhilarating, and it was calming, and it was scary all at the same time.

"I want us to be friends," Naruto said at last, voice penetrating the silence. Gaara finally seemed to try and fight whatever was happening, but Naruto only pulled him closer. "What will it take for you to believe me?"

There was another span of silence, until Gaara seemed to give in, arms hanging limply at his sides and a tired exhalation of breath playing across Naruto's throat.

"You're a bag hugger," Naruto laughed, not wanting to let him go. He wanted to say that it was because he liked to see Gaara annoyed, but his thoughts seemed to say that it was because of something else entirely. What was that something else, exactly? Naruto wanted to know, but he felt that he would be taking a big risk in trying to find out. Still, he really wanted to know.

"We're losing study time, Uzumaki," Gaara finally said, annoyance and irritation substantially lessened.

Naruto pulled back, holding Gaara by his shoulders. "Call me 'Naruto'," he said with an endearing smile, even tilting his head slightly.

Gaara stared at him for a moment, face extremely difficult to read, before he stepped out of Naruto's arms. "No," he replied, though not as staunchly as he was apt to, picking up his own bag and leaving it up for the blond to follow him. Naruto felt slightly disappointed, but he couldn't seem to stop himself from smiling. Something in his mind was going off again. What was it trying to tell him? Disregarding these conflicting feelings, Naruto pulled his bag over his shoulder and proceeded after him. There was a slight bounce in his step.

At least, for now, he had made some progress.

oooTBCooo

"aneki": respectable term for an older sister
cram-school: places where students go (usually in the later portion of the evenings) to study for college entrance exams. College can be extremely competitive and difficult to get into in Japan.

I'm done saying anything, because obviously I'm full of shameless lies. This chapter was supposed to come out next week, but I chose to fail at life and finish it instead. Additionally, this isn't my favorite chapter, though I love it a lot. Favorite so far, shall we say. And it's long, to be sure. Better chapters are definitely in the making though (particularly the next one, which you should enjoy), as things are finally starting to happen. Yey :D I want to say the next chapter won't be out for at least two weeks, but don't believe anything I say. I can't believe how fast this story is being written. I seriously have to buckle down and do some papers, though (like...five T.T). All I ask for is compassion.

EDIT (6/2/08): I have serious issues with the next chapter. It's not the content, nor is it mistakes or errors, but it's simply the awkwardness of progression. Knowing this, you can either still read it, or stop here and wait for probably a long time for me to fix it (I'm being honest here, or maybe I'll fix it this weekend). But if you read it, you may not want to continue reading the story. There's just something wrong with the chapter's placement. It's out of place? It's weird. But you may like it. I'm just saying... Now you know. Chapter 8 does attempt to make up for it, and Chapter 9 is definitely back on track, but I'm done saying the same thing in fifty different ways. So thank you :D