Sound and Meaning

This is an introductory chapter, mainly the past of the characters.

I do not own Naruto. Be thankful.

He stood there, at the bathroom door, just staring at his own arm… as shallow cuts in the form of five small x's adorned now his pale skin… he looked at them, mesmerized by them… it's not that he was a cutter, well he was, but not in the popular sense of the concept… he didn't cut his pain away to relieve his inner sorrow or whatever, actually the wounds were so shallow they barely even bled, they didn't even hurt… they were just there for him to contemplate… he liked the contrast of their figures in his skin, they looked unreal, he'd touch them, and still they will feel unreal, like they weren't there, but they were.

That was the part that bothered him really… the fact that even when they where in his possession, even if he had given them himself, they still felt foreign… everything, for that matter, always seemed so foreign, so far away he could never touch it, let alone get a hold of it… not a single feeling that belonged to him... nothing.

In the past, there have been deeper cuts, there have been fights with bigger bruises… they had disappear, little by little; there were only a few reminders, nothing worth remembering, nothing that held a meaning.

He walked back to his room, pushing the thoughts away; he had things to do, places to go, and a very bad habit of never being where he should be in the time that he should. So, at the glance of his watch, 6:30 pm on a cold autumn afternoon, he was home when he should be somewhere else…

He took a glance at himself in the mirror, pale skin, so pale it almost looked unhealthy, notion that was supported when you noticed how thin he was, even though he had lean muscles, he still looked skinny… and weak, even when he wasn't. He always had the thought that he looked completely different from what he really was, but didn't ponder much on it.

His clear green eyes kept roaming through his reflection, while he got dressed… black pants held tight (but not uncomfortably tight)around his hips, that went a little loose on the bottom, a black shirt just above the pant line, with some random band logo on it, a lot of buckles, chains, zippers and what not scattered through the outfit; fiery red hair, that fell a little over his eyes, his big, green, mesmerizing eyes, that were surrounded by dark rings from sleep deprivation, that he would cover with thick layers of black eyeliner that only seem to complement them, making them stand out more, adding if possible more beauty to his delicate features, in which he always wore a stoic mask.

And then, the red kanji tattooed on his forehead to complete 'the look'…it had been nothing like that, nothing out of fashion or anything of the matter… getting it have had a strong meaning, it still did, even if it was not exactly the same to him anymore.

Ai, love... such a tricky concept.

Taking a final glance, he sighed at the sight of himself, thinking about what most people said about him: that he looked weird, that he acted weird, that he was plain strange and that he was scary… and he was. When he thought about it he really seemed to be all that stuff. He wasn't one to look forward to be around people, to do anything, glaring at anyone who passed by, let alone anyone that randomly approached him… he was easily aggravated and often looked for fights and conflicts, just for kicks, to have something to do, since he never really felt like he had something that he HAD to do.

Until he met him…

Such a weird person he was… they had met a few years ago, when they were around 15 years old, at a park. At that time Gaara had been even more hostile than what he was now, and that's a lot to say; so when he saw some stupid blond dressed in orange in the swings, his swings, he just snapped… he had never been accused of being stable or reasonable, so he just approached said blonde and threw a blow to the face… he never thought the blonde would stand up or fight back… but he did. And not only that, but he had given him the taste of his first defeat. As a person that got into a lot of physical fights and that always came back from it all almost unscathed, this was something new. This guy was only a little taller than himself, whisker like marks on his cheeks, didn't look that strong either, but boy he hit hard…

After that day things happened like a blur; they kept seeing each other in the park, soon they realized they went to the same school and that they even lived nearby… they started to talk, because even when they seemed completely different, they had a lot in common.

The blond was, in Gaara's eyes, obnoxious, hyperactive, loud, a tad annoying, way too cheerful for a normal person… but one good look in his azure eyes and you'd see that there was hidden pain… the kind that can only mean years of suffering… Gaara could see his own eyes reflected on those eyes… the solitude… and still he was so caring, so innocent, so trust founded… there was nothing the redhead could really do but let himself get swept around by the one who will become his first true friend (not like he had fake ones to begin with)… Uzumaki Naruto, was the name… the only thought that Gaara recollected back then was that things were going to change, whether he liked it or not.

After that they became inseparable, mainly because Naruto was a stubborn bastard and will never leave Gaara the fuck alone, at least that's what the red haired teen kept saying…

Family wise, Gaara had no strings attached… he lived with his father and siblings (a bother, Kankurou, a weird, even weirder that himself, guy with a thing for kabuki make-up and puppets; and the elder of them, Temari, blonde, temperamental and scary, according to youngest), his mother had died giving birth to him. He never really cared much for his relatives and the feeling was returned, at least until his father died; after that, the elder of the three, Temari, had taken the housing in her hands and tried to mend what was left of their so called family.

The redhead had thought it was all a hypocritical stunt, but he couldn't deny that he had wished something like that would've happen in the past, so he kind of agreed to the whole 'family bonding' thing. At the time he was around 17 years old, his sister was in college and so was his brother, thus the whole bonding thing was merely a title for something that went like "I'll say I'm related to you, I'll call you, I'll keep an eye of you, maybe I'll even care for you" kind of relationship.

Their father had been an important person in the business world, so he had left a small fortune for his kids… probably not out of concern, but just because it had turned out that way. Temari was to follow her father's steps and take over the companies; this bothered none of her siblings. This way, they were able to pay for college and Gaara was able to stay in his school, with his friend.

On the other side, Naruto was an orphan. He had been taken care of by one of his parent's friends, Umino Iruka, who he saw like a father figure. Naruto had wondered around for a while after his parent's death, since at the time Iruka was too young and had no possibilities of taking care of him. At the time he graduated from college and got a job as a school teacher, he also adopted Naruto, and they lived together ever since. They didn't have a lot of money, so once Naruto was old enough, he started to take part time jobs, basically trying to help out the one who had helped him so much… to him family was important, friends were important, loved ones, hell, even acquaintances were important to him! He was one to trust fast, he moved fast, especially around those who he cared about, like not wanting to miss any gesture, any minute any nothing of what gave him happiness… and he was happy. And he wanted Gaara to feel that way… maybe not the moving fast part, but yes the caring and being cared about.

Soon enough, Gaara had met Naruto's friends, and they became his… acquaintances?? Sure, that'll do, which consisted on Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Rock Lee. Deep down, the redhead knew they were somewhat scared of him, he didn't hold a reputation for nothing… so it had been funny to him, the way they acted around him, the way they addressed to him as in a different manner, not like comrades… how they'd be so protective of Naruto, like he would hurt him, he'd kill anyone who even dared to look at his friend the wrong way… and that bring us to Uchiha Sasuke, Naruto's life time rival.

Sasuke was a raven haired guy, pale skin, good looks and an attitude, that have had half the school eating from his hand, all the girls lusting over him, smart… he was tall too. If you were to ask, anyone would've told you he was perfect.

Gaara hadn't liked this guy at the beginning, he was stuck up, coincided and a bastard, as Naruto would put it, plus he was always pushing Naruto's buttons, calling him names and picking fights. Enough for the over protective best friend…

Sasuke was the youngest of the Uchiha family, one of the wealthier and more acknowledged families in the country. Sometime before Gaara met him, his parents were murdered, so his brother took the place as the head of the Uchiha Corporation.

Gaara had heard about it, some from his father, some from the news, some from random sources of information, that the guy, Itachi, didn't have a cordial relationship with his parents, to say the least. He had left his home at the age of 16 (Sasuke was 11), tired of his over-controlling parents and his supposed to be perfect life. He was a genius apparently, a prodigy or something, so by the time he left he actually was already in college… they didn't knew about his whereabouts until the news of his deceased parents, when he came back to take care of everything, this translating in taking care of Sasuke.

Of course, Sasuke didn't take this 'act of love' from his brother very well, thinking that he only came back to claim the money, but it seems that Itachi was a member of some organization, called Akatsuki, that ran nightclubs and other entertainment places (A/N: that's right!), namely casinos and places of the sort, in various cities, so they were quite rich as well. He had also finished college (who the fuck runs away from his house to finish college?) so he had the skill and the poise to take care of business… still, Sasuke hated him and had lived the rest of his high school education with some late uncle's friend or something, named Hatake Kakashi who, by the way, was a perverted college teacher. Things got better between Sasuke and Itachi eventually; they at least can see each other now without Sasuke trying to break Itachi's neck.

But as said before, Gaara didn't originally like Sasuke. This guy just got on his nerves, mainly for Naruto but also because he would always glare at him, with some sort of superiority look that made Gaara want to put his insides out… and there was the thing that Sasuke wasn't scared of him, nor was he impressed or anything… nothing… Gaara would've felt ignored and hated him for that, since he was so sick of being pushed aside, but that was not the case. Sasuke acknowledge him as a rival. Not a rival in a stupid race to see who was more stupid, like he had with Naruto, but a rivalry about Naruto.

It took sometime for Gaara to decipher this (aka, Sasuke yelling at his face to stay away from his Naruto), and he could see the reason for such misunderstanding, since he himself had thought of having feelings other than care and friendship towards the kitsune, deeper feelings.

Seeing that he had never cared about anyone and no one had cared about him, it was easy for him to crave the love of family, the love a friend, the love of a desired lover. And Naruto had offered something of the likes (of the second one anyways) so easily, it was impossible not to fall for him.

They had their battle, Gaara and Sasuke, to gain Naruto over; it wasn't until a few months later that Sasuke had been front forward towards the blonde about his feelings, and fortunately and unfortunately at the same time for both parties, Naruto did nothing about it... until he practically jumped the raven at a party some time later.

Gaara never even commented his feelings to Naruto, afraid that he might ruin their current relationship, the way it seemed to have happened to Sasuke at the beginning, soon he would regret it, as he saw the two together.

For a while he had waited, even hoped for the Uchiha to fuck up, to do something wrong, so he could step in, like in those romantic stories, and be the hero, the knight in shining armor that would shield Naruto from the hurt and the bastard… in all honestly, he had been selfish, hadn't consider the blonde's feelings at all, but there was no need for it, since the raven seemed to do everything right. Damn it, was he really perfect?

No. He wasn't. He was far from it. But he wasn't stupid, he wasn't about to let go the only thing that had comforted him through the rough times, the only thing that brought laughter to his saddened world. He wasn't about to fuck up the only good thing he had. He was determined to make Naruto as happy as he made him, and he was succeeding.

That's where Gaara had drawn the line. For as much as he wanted it, Naruto's happiness was more important than his own. After a while he just got used to it, as he tried to convince himself that he was over it. He distanced himself from them and it was around that time that his father died. He went trough a tough time, because of everything that had happened he felt more alone than ever before. Not because of his father's death per se, but because he found himself unable to even shed a single truthful tear for the man. He felt like he had nothing, and he probably didn't. His family was a wreck and so was he as an individual.

There's when he had started to get in more trouble. Picking fights that seemed more like suicide attempts. Then the cutting got pretty bad, ending in a trip to the hospital. Naruto had found him laying his room, passed out from blood loss. The redhead probably would've died if he hadn't arrived. Once he was ok, the blonde had gone ballistic, and threatened to kill him if he ever pulled another stunt like that.

After that things started to go back to the way they were before. In time, he even became friends with Sasuke, seeing that they actually had a lot in common. They grew close, pretty close, the three of them, close enough to become partners and open a small coffee house near campus once they went to college.

It was Naruto's idea, to make money of their own to pay for their studies or rent or whatever. Sasuke and Gaara didn't really need the money, but they liked the idea of making a project together, so they agreed.

Getting a good location was easy, since Itachi had connections, and money was not an obstacle, because Gaara had offered his college money to do it. He never had a plan, never thought of going to school or doing anything, so he had offered to take care of business too. Of course they didn't let him.

Gaara was an art student. He had fallen a year behind Naruto and Sasuke (the first was up to be a psychologist and the second studied management and political science), but it was ok, since he had been occupied with the opening of the coffee house. The place was really simple; somewhere quiet where you can go drink coffee and relax, read or admire the art that hung in the walls, that was mostly Gaara's work at the beginning, and then it held minor art expositions for art students. Some days there were readings and music displays, nothing too big. It was pretty much open for whatever students wanted to pull out. It held two stories, which were the first floor and the basement. In the first, it was set as a regular coffee house; where they also serve simple meals. Downstairs it was a more relaxed place, where most readings and stuff take place. It was nearly empty, aside from some bench like thingies and some sculptures.

This takes us back for the reasons why Gaara had to get his ass up and get dressed, at 6:30 pm, on an autumn afternoon, and why was he not where he supposed to. The obnoxious ring of his cell phone took him back from his reverie. He lazily approach the damned thing and answer it without even bothering to look at the caller ID.

"…" was all he did to answer (A/N: my brother does that, answers the phone and doesn't say anything).

"GAARA!!" said the very irritated voice in the other line.

"Who is this?" he asked nonchalantly

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN 'WHO IS THIS'?!?! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU???" At this point he had recognized the voice of certain blonde boy, a boy he liked to torture.

"Jeez, you don't have to yell at me. I'm at my house" he said with a monotone voice, in an obvious attempt to irritate the other, which worked.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN AT YOUR HOUSE?? DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS??!!" said the other, getting more and more frustrated.

"I mean it as in the place that I live and no, your point?" he said, wishing to end the conversation soon, he did not like to talk on the phone.

"Its 6:30, you were supposed to be here an hour ago" said the kitsune.

"Oh, really? Yeah, I know, I'm on my way" He lied

"But you just said you were at your house?" confusion damped in every word.

"Well I obviously lied" was the dry response

"In which statement?"

"You pick"

"Whatever, we're waiting for you, we have that meeting with the guys from the other day, we told you about it, are you gonna make it???"

"I guess so"

"So, should we wait for you?"

"Probably not"

"Gaara…"

"I'm going" and with this he hung up the phone, tugging in his jacket, and searching for his keys as he moved to leave the apartment.

Far away, a startled, mad and confused blonde muttered "bastard"… and proceed to start the said meeting, knowing for sure the other would not appear. He approach the three guys that were chatting on a table, being one of those his hot boyfriend, the other two, people that he had met at school.

The first was a guy who looked really bored, like he was about to fall asleep in any second. Was dressed in simple jeans, black and white tennis shoes, a black t-shirt and an olive green hoodie; had long dark hair, pulled in a gravity defying ponytail, his name was Nara Shikamaru. The other one was a really beautiful guy, long black hair that reached his waist, tied loosely in the back, pale skin, eyes that seemed white, but that had a hint of violet to them, graceful features, was dressed on black dress pants, grey shirt and a black blazer. He seemed to carry the conversation with the other raven, his name was Hyuuga Neji, Sasuke had met them through some of his classmates, when they approached him to discuss some business. Naruto got back to reality as he reached the table and addressed the others as he sat down.

"Sorry, I was on the phone with our other partner, seems like he's running a little late, so it's best if we start without him". Sasuke gave him a look, knowing very well that running a little late for Gaara meant that he probably didn't even remembered at all.

The others just nodded in agreement, and they proceeded to talk about their business. Around an hour later they had come to an agreement to the usage of the coffee house for some meetings (their nature is not important at this point). Having agreed and after some coffee they decided to leave.

Neji had though that being stood up by one of the owners had been impolite and unprofessional, but shrugged it off. The Nara didn't give a damn.

20 minutes after they had already left, Gaara made it to the coffee house, to be greeted by the always annoying waitresses. They were two of them, a blond, kind of pretty girl by the name of Yamanaka Ino, who was an aspiring model and actress, and Haruno Sakura, pink haired girl that went to the same college as them, wanted to be a reporter or something.

They were great friends, Ino and Sakura, the latter had met Naruto at school, he had invited her to the coffee house and they ended up with a job. Same thing happened to Akimichi Chouji, who made the part of chef. After eating his food, Gaara, Naruto and even Sasuke had thought of abducting him and keep him to themselves, but they decided against it.

Gaara was then greeted by the yelling and screaming of a very upset Naruto, that he chose to ignore and then nodded at Sasuke as a salute.

"You can't keep doing this. This is business not a game" Said the raven boy to the redhead, who only glared at him and then answered.

"Anything important?"

"Not really, but you should've shown up" said the other. Gaara just shrugged. Doing business wasn't his thing, not that he had a thing, but still, he didn't like to talk to strangers and do agreements, that's what Sasuke and Naruto were for.

He just went to the counter and sat there as he enjoyed some coffee and tried to ignore and keep himself from killing their waitresses. Previous thoughts, coming back and empty feeling on his stomach told him that there was something he had missed.

Yeah. Those were the side effects of the "never being in the right place and the right time" stuff showing.