Crazy Daze

IV

I never understood why Shizune had to take my clothes away. It wasn’t like I was running about naked, wearing the same clothes as all the other patients here. Typical grey pants and a flannel shirt and sandals. Would’ve rather run around barefoot, but Shizune wouldn’t give me my pants until I put on the damned sandals. I settled for glowering at the dark haired woman until she let me run back to the safety of Iruka.

- What a witch, - Kyuubi complained. – She has to be friends with the devil woman with the giant tits. –

Kyuubi…

- What? -

I heaved a sigh and yawned, feeling Iruka put an arm around my shoulders. He was steering me to my new room, and I didn’t have the energy to dig in my heels to be stubborn like I usually was. Exhausted, I guess.

- Yeah. Being pawed by a pretty lady is always exhausting. –

Shut up. It wasn’t your blood she was taking or your reflexes she was testing or your head she was examining.

- Doesn’t matter. It was still your ass on that table. -

Screw you, dude.

- You wish. -

“Here, Naruto.” Iruka said as he led me to my bed. “Take a nap. I’ll get you for dinner if you don’t find me before then.”

I stared sleepily after Iruka after he tucked me in on my chosen bed, nuzzling my pillow as I settled to sleep. It was a nice sleep, and I had a wonderful dream of bunnies chasing snakes up trees and a yellow brick road. Oh, and sugar plum faeries, too. In other words, I was pulled off the bed about an hour into my nap and dumped unceremoniously to the floor. I pulled the blanket off my head and glared up a the redhead I’d seen earlier, the one with his eyes surrounded by black.

“What’s the fuckin’ idea!?” I shouted at him. He only blinked and grabbed the blanket from me, crawling upon the bed he’d forced me to vacate. I glowered at him, rightly pissed as I got to my new bed, pulling the blanket over my body.

“God, if you wanted that one, you could’ve just shook me awake.”

The boy just stared at me, and I stared back before I stuck out my tongue at him and curled up to try and sleep. The redhead seemed to have perfected the art of waking me up just as I’d dropped off to a dream. This time, he’d chucked his shoe at me.

- Let me take care of him. – Kyuubi growled. I shook my head and echoed the growl, grabbing up the shoe and chucking it back. Those raccoony eyes grew wide, clearly not expecting the move. The sandal struck the redhead on the forehead, bouncing off to his lap. He stared at me for a moment longer before the hurt bouncing registered and his hands went to the bruise, glaring at me hard enough that his eyes were chips of green. I glared back, Kyuubi gave the kid their finger and we gave him our back as we went back to sleep. He left us alone after that.

It was a nice nap as far as I was concerned, and when I woke, the redhead was standing over me, staring at me. I blinked sleepily and then he descended, hands around my throat. I kicked at him, clawing at his hands, fighting not to breathe out as he squeezed, snarling. My foot hit his chest and I shoved, forcing him away from me. His grip loosened and Kyuubi leaped on him, the redhead’s face smashing into the linoleum. They were fighting, and I was just a silent observer, watching the other boy take blow after lighting fast blow that Kyuubi delivered. He managed to get in a few blows himself, but he finally gave up and Kyuubi got off him, glaring down at him.

“All right, fucker,” Kyuubi growled, hauling the redhead to his feet and shoving him onto the bed, standing over him, hands on our hips. “What the hell do you want?”

-Kyuubi… -

Be quiet, Naruto. I’m working here.

- He’s gonna kick you. -

Kyuubi shifted out of the way and grabbed that leg, grinning widely as he shoved the redhead’s leg out wide, stalking between the limbs and leaning down to pin his wrists.

“You gonna talk, little boy?” Kyuubi hissed. The redhead spat in his face and I watched Kyuubi cheerfully punch our roommate in the mouth.

- We’re gonna get in trouble. -

He started it. I’m only finishing it, Naru – don’t worry. I won’t kill him.

“You gonna talk?”

The redhead glared and Kyuubi grinned. At the threat of a punch, the other finally nodded and Kyuubi backed off, wiping blood off our face. The other sat up, rubbing his forming bruises and split lip, eyes turned away from us. Kyuubi sat on our bed, waiting.

“Well?”

“Well what?” the other snapped.

“Don’t be a bitch,” Kyuubi said, inspecting out nails. “You lost. Suck it up.”

“Fucker.”

“Takes one to know one, bastard.”

- Kyuubi, get his name. -

Why? Who cares?

- Because Iruka’s gonna see we’ve been fighting. -

Tch. Whatever.

- Kyuubi! -

All right, all right. “Brat. What’s your name?”

The redhead’s eyes flicked toward us, narrowing in a glare. “Sabaku Gaara.”

There. You happy now?

- Shut the hell up Kyuubi. -

“Who are you talking to?” Gaara asked. We looked over at him, blue meeting green.

“Who wants to know?” Kyuubi replied.

“Shukaku.”

Kyuubi blinked, then grinned. “You’re like me and the brat then, huh?”

Gaara’s eyes narrowed a bit more, head tilting to the side, lips curling into a distorted smile. “Depends on what you mean by like.”

- I like this kid. -

Why, because he’s violent like you are, you dumb fox?

- Of course. -

“Like, you have someone else in your head too, like I have Kyuubi.”

Gaara blinked. His expression didn’t change. “You’re…?”

“Uzumaki Naruto.”

“The one before.”

- Before the other guy kicked my ass, - Kyuubi said, high and girlish, teasing.

Shut up.

“Yeah,” I gave a smile, much softer than Gaara’s manic one. Eventually, the redhead’s face dropped to a stoic mask, and he looked away from me, staring into a corner.

“Shukaku doesn’t like you.”

“Well, Kyuubi doesn’t like you, so I guess we’re even.”

- I do too like him! -

What? Oh. Didn’t hear you.

- Little bitch. -

Gaara twitched. “So we hate each other.”

“No, I don’t hate you. I’m pissed at you. There’s a difference.”

“No there’s not.”

God. “Hey, emo, I don’t fucking hate you so just listen for a minute. You walked in and evicted me from that bed. Then you tried to strangle me as a way of saying hello. I’m angry with you. It’ll go away.”

Gaara stared at me, blinked, looking almost stupefied at my words. After a while, I heaved a sigh and lay down again, my back to my roommate. Gaara shifted and I listened, waiting for an approached. Except he didn’t, instead he had lain down with his back to me, curled in a tight ball. I closed my eyes, happy to finally get some sleep.

“Naruto?”

“Gaara?”

“…Does this mean we’re friends?”

“Do you wanna be friends?”

There was silence and it stretched on for what seemed to be hours. Finally, there was a slight shift, and Gaara rolled to face my back. I twisted around to stare at him, blinking at the serious expression on the other boy’s face.

“Do you?” he asked.

“As long as you promise not to strangle me again.”

I think Gaara’s lips twitched. “All right.”

“Then we’re friends.”

Gaara sighed and rolled away from me, stilling a moment later. I shook my head and sucked in a breath. If this was how our relationship was going to be, I think I would need to make nice with Shizune and fast.