People who are Important: Book One

 

Chapter 3

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"Baka…mnmhmm….boys…bakas, all bakas," he heard a sleepy feminine voice mumbling next to him. He tried to lift his heavy eyelids, but failed. His body felt heavy, like his limbs were made of lead. Gaara didn't like this feeling of being weak. He willed his eyes to open, slamming them shut again when the piercing light of Suna's blaring sun hit his pupil. He tried again, slowly this time, making sure to avoid the direction of the window. The blurry surroundings slowly came into focus as Gaara stared around the room.

It was morning, or more likely closer to afternoon. The hospital was alive with activity. Though no one was in his room of course. His door remained closed and locked, as if he would go into a rage and kill everyone there. He heard a muffled grumble come from beside him. Turning his face towards the window again, this time shielding his eyes, he spotted a young woman sleeping in the chair. Her dark hair hung over her face. It seemed to have released most of itself from the bun in the night. Her eyes were closed, dark lashes clashing against her pale skin. She was breathing in slow even breaths, her mouth hanging open just a little. Peaceful is how she looked, a state of mind that Gaara was unfamiliar with. She grumbled again.

"No, I don't want salad….put the movie away," she said randomly. Sleep talking, another thing he was unfamiliar with, since he never slept of course. The light from the window moved over her face, a ray shining on her eye. Her lids tightened quickly, and then rose slowly. The thick lashes rose to reveal tired navy eyes, which stared back at him curiously until they shot open wide. The girl jumped vigorously out of her chair, her robe falling open to reveal the short nightdress underneath.

"Oh, my! What time is it? How long have you been awake? Oh geez! I overslept!" she said, her hands on either side of her head, which was shaking back and forth nervously.

She rushed across the room, filling a glass with water, and rushing back over to him. She laid the glass on the nightstand, looking at the monitors that showed his vitals. The young nurse scribbled something down on the clipboard. She seemed really rushed and anxiety ridden. She suddenly seemed aware of her state of dress, glancing down at her small, silk nightgown. Her face turned red, her eyes looking around in embarrassment. It was a few moments before she closed the robe tightly around herself and cleared her throat. She moved towards him.

Her hand went to his forehead, only to be stopped by sand. It was the first time she looked at him since she'd woken up. It was a fierce glare, angry and frustrated. He just smirked up at her. She was funny like this. It entertained him greatly.

"Look, if you won't let me help you, I can't help you," she said in an even tone. He quirked a hairless brow at her.

"I don't need your help girl," he said flatly. She just glared at him, and walked over to open the door.

"One of you useless twits get your ass in here for orders!" she yelled into the hall, turning around and slamming the door shut once more. When dark eyes fell on him again, he was eying the glass of water suspiciously. She walked over once more. A nurse rushed into the room only to squeak at seeing him awake. The younger girl shoved something into her hand, and shooed her away. (A note to Temari and Kankurou on Gaara's condition, and the name of the man who tried to kill him.)

"What happened to me last night?" he asked. She didn't answer, but instead rose her hand to his forehead again. The sand stopped her again. She glared again.

"Listen you! I'm tired and cranky! I'm drained from staying up all night saving your life! So if you would just cooperate with me, it would be greatly appreciated," she said, without any hesitation. No fear in her eyes, she glared him down confidently, almost impudently. No one had ever talked to him that way. Shukaku roared in his mind at her insolence. The demon was prepared to teach her a lesson.

Gaara smirked as he saw the young girl's eyes widen at the touch of his sand against her leg. He allowed it to crawl up her leg, squeezing tightly enough to make anyone nervous, but not enough to kill her. He lifted her off the ground, squeezing the sand until he heard her yelp in pain. (Kill her) Shukaku growled in his mind. The redhead let the sand squeeze her tighter.

"(gasp!) please stop," he heard her say.

He smiled manically. Her navy eyes were the size of dinner plates, and shiny with the film of tears yet to come. He felt his blood rush through his body. This feeling of being completely in control. To have a person at his mercy, someone who's fate was decided by him. Shukaku filled him with demonic blood lust. He attempted to gain control, but the fear in her eyes had him drunk with power. Then the tears fell. They slid gracefully down her pale cheeks. Shukaku registered more control over him. The demon purred at the sight of her tears.

"please.." her voice rasped, "I just wanted..(gasp)…to…(gurgle)..help"

His eyes widened, the boy finally winning control over his body. The sand dropped her roughly on the floor and retreated into gourd leaning against the wall. He heard her gasping for breath on the floor. He didn't look at her; he knew he'd done wrong. 'I don't want to be feared anymore!' he mentally screamed at Shukaku. The demon just cackled in his mind before fading into the darkness again. Gaara didn't want to look at her. He didn't want to see those eyes full of hatred. He laid back down, and stared up at the ceiling, cursing himself for being a monster. The only sound in the room were the nurse's labored gasps.

Shia sat on the hospital floor. Her robe laying sprawled around her, and her legs to the side. She held her self up on her shaking arms, gasping for air. Her whole body trembled in fear. Now, she saw why people refused to be in this room. Before she could think on it any further she heard the door open behind her.

Temari and Kankurou walked into the room to find Shia trembling on the floor. Her fear filled eyes were frozen on their younger brother, who was currently staring blankly up at the ceiling. Temari walked over to Gaara as Kankurou went to help the young nurse off the ground. She flinched away from his hand, pulling her robe tightly around her as if to protect herself, which confirmed his suspicions.

"Gaara, what did you do?" Temari asked in a worried whisper. He just continued to look up at the ceiling. She turned to the frightened girl on the floor who had finally allowed Kankurou to help her stand. She was trembling horribly. Her fear crazed eyes still trained on the redhead in the bed.

"Kankurou, take her outside for a minute," Temari said. He nodded and coaxed the girl out of the room. The young blond watched with worry. 'What just happened?' she thought. The two older siblings had just received her letter, and come to visit after taking the suspected doctor into custody. What could have happened? Temari imagined the worst.

"Does she hate me too?" she heard her brother's emotionless voice ask, breaking her out of her imaginings. A little surprised she turned to find him staring blankly at her. She frowned slightly.

"Gaara, I know you're uneasy around strangers, but she's just trying to help. She was up all night in this room, doing everything she could to make sure you lived," his older sister explained to him gently. His eyes remained hard.

"That's not what I asked you," he said bluntly. She sighed.

"I don't know Gaara. You definitely shook her up. She was shaking pretty bad…"

"But does she hate me?" he asked more pointedly.

"I don't know. That's something you'll have to ask her yourself, if she ever decides to show her face in this hospital room again," Temari answered. Her redheaded brother nodded and turned his eyes back to the ceiling. Falling back into silence, Temari excused herself and walked out to check on Shia. She found Kankurou alone.

"Where'd she go?" Temari asked. He looked up at her.

"I sent her home for a little while. She was trembling so badly she could barely stand up straight. I told her to take a shower and relax for a while. Though she insisted on coming back here after she was done," he said, smiling. Temari walked to stand next to her brother.

"I'm glad he didn't scare her away," she said. He nodded.

"She said that she made an oath when she became a medical-nin that she would heal all who suffered. That's how she's always lived her life, and that she wouldn't give up just because of an uncooperative patient," he said. Temari sighed in relief.

"I'm going to go convince her to stay home. I'm glad she wants to come back, but I know she's not ready to face him yet. Neither is Gaara, he needs some time alone," Temari explained. Kankurou nodded.

"I'll just go in and calm him down. She said his medicine was in the cabinet, and to make sure he took it," the brunette boy said. The two siblings said a quick goodbye and went their separate ways.

Shia's Hotel Room

Shia let the hot water caress her trembling muscles. It relaxed her fear filled body as she let herself sink in. She could still feel the rough sand against her sensitive skin. She could still feel the pressure crushing her petite form painfully. A shudder coursed through her body. The look in his eyes was so frightening. Fire, aqua fire, that's what his eyes reminded her of. It was a look of pure malice, and pleasure. He was reveling in the desperate cries for her life. He liked hearing her groan in pain under the pressure of his sand, and that scared her to no end. KNOCK…KNOCK… 'Not now…' Shia thought.

"Shia, it's Temari. Are you okay?" she heard the blonde's voice ask. Shia rose out of the bath and tied her rob on, heading towards the door. It opened to reveal Temari's worried face, something Shia was getting used to. 'Is she always worried?' she thought.

"I'm sorry about today. He's just….not used to," Temari began, but Shia held a hand up to silence her. She smiled.

"Don't worry about it. All is already forgiven. Everybody flips out sometimes..he..just flips out more…violently than others," trying to comfort her friend. Temari regarded her skeptically for a moment, then smiled.

"How is it you can forgive people so quickly?" she asked. The younger girl decided on the words to use. Not wanting to reveal she hadn't completely forgiven him yet. She didn't want to worry the older girl any more.

"Holding grudges only hurts the one holding it. If I allow vengeance to control me, I will never be happy," Shia answered matter-of-factly. 'But he is soo getting the cold shoulder!' her twelve year old mind thought.

"Yea, that sounds about right," the blond answered, she paused, "Listen, I think you should take the rest of the day off." Shia threw her a confused look.

"Why? I still have to get back and do a check up," she said. Temari just smiled.

"I think you both need to cool down before you see each other again. Perhaps he'll be a little more cooperative," she answered.

"But he's my patient. I can't just ignore him. Besides I'm leaving for Konoha tonight. This will be the last chance for another couple of days for me to look at him," Shia protested, even though she was slightly relieved to hear she had a choice. Temari just shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. He's fine now, thanks to you. When you return, you can do your check up. By then he will have decided on whether he will cooperate with you or not. Kankurou and I will do our best to see to it that he does," she explained. Shia seemed reluctant. She wanted to make sure everything was okay, but she was still scared of him. She knew he liked seeing her afraid. Perhaps it was for the best that she took the rest of the day off. This way, she could build her mask of confidence to hide her fear.

"Alright…but what am I going to do with myself until it's time to leave?" she asked, feeling some weight lifted from her shoulders. The older teen thought for a moment.

"Get dressed. I'll show you around Suna," she answered. With that said, Temari left the younger girl to get dressed and waited outside the door.

Gaara's Hospital Room

"Here, take this," Kankurou said, holding out a cup full of some greenish liquid. Gaara took a whiff and gagged.

"I don't think so Kankurou. That smells disgusting," he said. His older brother laughed nonchalantly at his comment.

"It's medicine Gaara. It's supposed to be disgusting," he explained. Gaara took the cup and drank the bitter, quite disgusting concoction. Kankurou laughed uncontrollably at the face he made. Gaara glared.

"Look, I promised Shia I'd make you take it. So just deal with the taste, it'll make you feel better," he said. 'The nurse,' Gaara thought.

"What happened last night?" the redhead asked his brother. He let his mask slide, feeling a little closer to his brother. He wanted to be close. He wanted to have that older brother he could always go to when he wanted to talk. So he let the mask go a little, just to show Kankurou he trusted him. His brother's goofy smile disappeared.

"You were poisoned," he stated.

"Poisoned?" Gaara asked as if he'd never heard the word.

"Yea, somebody put arsenic into your water last night. I came in, and you'd stopped breathing. I was so scared in that moment, I didn't know what to do. Thank Kami Temari got Shia here in time. She worked all night to keep you alive," he explained. 'So she wasn't lying,' Gaara thought.

"Does she hate me?" Gaara asked. It couldn't hurt to ask Kankurou. He had been in the hall with her after the incident. His older brother shrugged.

"I don't know. I don't think she does," Kankuro answered honestly. Gaara looked at him in surprise.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, curious about his brother's stupid thoughts. Of course she hated him. He'd almost killed her for trying to help him. He let Shukaku get the best of him, and she paid the price.

"She told me, no..ordered me to make sure you took that medicine today," Kankurou said, falling silent to allow his brother to mull over his statement. A few moments passed, and Kankurou got up to leave.

"Well, I'll see you later little brother. I've got a mission washing someone's dog or something stupid like that," said Kankurou flashing his smile. Gaara waved, lost in his thoughts as his brother left the room.

(Some hours later)

Knock..knock, he heard a soft knocking on the door. He looked at the closed door.

"Gaara it's Temari. I just came by to say goodbye," his sister's voice said.

"Enter," he answered. The door opened and his sister's blond, pigtailed head popped in. She smiled as she walked to him.

"I just wanted to say goodbye. I'm leaving on an escort mission to Konoha in a few minutes," she said, placing a hand on his forehead. He allowed it, knowing he could trust her. After all, she'd gone all the way to Konoha to get him a doctor hadn't she?

"Your fever is gone. I'm glad you're feeling better," she added with sincerity. He nodded to her in acknowledgment. She smiled again. 'What is she so happy about?' he thought.

"When will you be back?" he asked, suddenly feeling like he would miss his sister if she stayed away too long. The feeling confused him, seeing as it was alien to him. She was one of the only people who'd stopped treating him like a monster, and started to show in bits and pieces that she cared. She was one of the only ones who came to see him in the hospital. On top of that, he couldn't remember an extended period in his life where she wasn't around.

"Well, I'm to accompany Shia back for the Hokage's funeral. We're actually taking a carriage this time, so it should only take us a day in a half at most. You know how fast our desert horses are. I'll be accompanying her back here after the service is over," she explained.

"Where is she now?" he asked. She thought for a moment.

"I told her I'd meet her at the border to relieve the jounin she's with now of his duties," she said. He nodded and turned towards the window.

It was silent for a few minutes. He didn't know why, but he didn't want the nurse to never return. He wanted her to be different than everyone else. Not because he had a particular attachment her, if she were a man he'd hope the same thing. No, he wanted her to come back, if only to prove to himself that he could change people's outlook on him. She'd be the first experiment.

Suddenly he felt two slim, warm arms wrap themselves around him and pull him close. His eyes shot open in shock. Temari was hugging him. He'd never received a hug in his life. It was different, but the sisterly love radiating off of her was so comforting that he let himself lean into it. She squeezed him tight and said,

"I'm going to miss you too little brother. You and Kankurou be good while I'm gone. Don't forget to change your underwear, and tell Kankurou not to burn the house down."

Then she unwrapped herself from him and headed to the door. Gaara felt the wind lick coolly where Temari's arms were. Maybe, he could change. Maybe Naruto was right, and all he had to do was just let somebody in… 'I'll try. I want to have precious friends too Uzumaki,' he thought, laying back down on the bed.