Vision of Truth I: Cat and Fox (Naruto)

Unraveling

"'Cause all of this is all that I can take
And you could never understand the demons that I face
So go ahead and bat your eyes and lie right to the world
For what everything you are
You're just a little girl

So go ahead and cry
Go ahead, believe that you were right
Keep away the dark to help you sleep tonight"

- "Just a Little Girl" by Trading Yesterday

***

Chapter 23: Unraveling

I knew the chunin exams would eventually end and my routine would be disrupted. Perhaps because of this knowledge, I focused on the present while training with Gaara. The ending of our time together crept up on me. Still, I did not expect the change to start two days before the finals.

We started off training as normal. Something seemed to be bothering Gaara, but as his control was as good as ever, I did not press him to speak about it. Usually we talked and decompressed at lunch, so there was no need to do so now. I should have listened to my instincts. Halfway through the morning, Gaara abruptly recalled his sand and turned away from me. "Enough," he said. "I am done with this."

My eyes widened in surprise. "What are you talking about, Gaara? We've hardly begun."

"The finals are close. It is not good for us to be together."

"That's not what you were saying the other day."

Gaara clenched his right hand, still not looking for me. "That was then. It is dangerous now. You need to stay away from me."

And just like that, we were back to square one. I could see his defenses reforming as if the past month had never happen. A wave of resolve overtook me. No. I would not allow this. "I'm not staying away from you, Gaara. You're my friend." I stepped towards him. "I-"

Gaara rounded on me suddenly, his sand flaring to life. "I said stay away!" I was standing so close to him and he was so fast that I had no time to react as his sand flew at my fast in an uppercut.

The force of the blow sent my falling on my back, but the pain of impact was nothing compared to the stinging of the right side of my face. I brought my hand to my cheek, gasping when my palm came back covered in blood. "Gaara?" I said, stunned.

"No," Gaara whispered a look of horror on his face. Then he clenched his jaw and grabbed onto his head as Shukaku threatened to take control. "Too dangerous. Stay away!" He appeared to struggle to resist something. Finally, he turned full around and fled the area.

I wanted to go after him, but I knew it was foolish as long as I was wounded. I administered first aid to the cut, which did not seem too deep, and wrapped it in a bandage. By the time was finished, I had lost all traces of Gaara. I assumed he went back to his hotel, but a quick check told me he was absent. I tried not to panic as I searched the rest of the village. I could not find his chakra signature anywhere in the village, and I tried to find consolation in the idea that he probably wasn't off killing someone.

After searching the edge of the forest, I had one place left to look: the mountains. I had not gotten far when I caught a faint trace of Gaara's chakra. What was he doing out here? As I continued, I found the answer in the form of two additional recognizable chakra signatures. I made it past the trees to a desolate, rocky area. And that was where I found Gaara confronting Sasuke, Kakashi by his side. It did not look like a sight was about to break out, but I did not want to take any chances.

"Gaara!" I exclaimed, running to him and bringing all the attention to myself. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing that concerns you," Gaara said flatly.