"Damn," Gaara heard Shikamaru swear next to him. "Soccer." Gaara sighed and shook his head. He hated P.E. a lot. He was fairly good when it came to sports, but he never put too much effort in as he used to. Perhaps he'd been hanging out with Shikamaru too much.

Gaara quickly changed into his gym clothes, long blue shorts that extended to his knees and a white plain t-shirt. He disliked wearing the under armor shirt and tight sometimes spandex shorts that people like Rock Lee wore. They made him feel weird.

Gaara left the locker room with Shikamaru and followed the rest of the boys out onto the field. Thankfully, their class today wasn't going to be co-ed, so Gaara didn't have to worry about being placed on Ino's team, and thus, didn't have to worry about the blonde's high pitched yell at him to actually kick the ball. She was his friend, but she got on his nerves a lot, second only to Naruto.

"So, hey, I heard about your little spat with the Hyuuga kid," Shikamaru said airily, interrupting the redhead's thoughts. Gaara shrugged.

"So," he replied with a sigh. Shikamaru shook his head.

"He seems to be really good at getting you pissed off," the Nara quipped. "Does that mean you like him?" Gaara turned to see Shikamaru smirking at him and snickered.

"I like him about as much as I like you right now," he said, slightly annoyed. Shikamaru chuckled and turned forward.

"Point taken," he laughed.

"Good."

They arrived at the soccer field where the boys were separated into two teams. Without too much delay caused by Naruto, their soccer game began. Gaara was no help as usual. But when Naruto kicked the ball into his head out of frustration, the red haired boy seemed to get much more aggressive, and he vented this aggression at the soccer players on the other team, actually scoring a point for his team, though he was, in reality trying to kick the ball back at Naruto.

Gaara was thankful when P.E. was over and quickly changed out of his hated gym clothes and bolted from the locker room, Shikamaru still grinning about his previous uncontrolled behavior.

Thankfully, there was only one more period to sit through that day; math. Gaara had math with a certain perverted teacher with white hair and a very unusual sense of fashion. Hatake Kakashi. And always, every time Gaara saw him, Kakashi had his little orange book with him. Every single time Gaara passed him in the hall or went to ask him a question, the young teacher would be blushing slightly and chuckling at something in that book. It freaked Gaara out sufficiently, but the redhead had never seen the need to gossip about it, as some others who shall rename nameless did (little blonde and little pinkette). Aside from that Kakashi was an alright guy. He had a good sense of discipline and was one of the few who didn't completely lose it when Naruto acted in a stupid five-year-old kind of way that always irritated everyone.

This particular math class, Gaara discovered that he shared it with none other than Hyuuga Neji. At seeing the rather bossy brunette boy enter the classroom, Gaara sighed out of irritation. He became even more irritated when the Hyuuga sat next to him. He hoped vehemently that no interaction between them would take place. Fortunately for him, Neji had decided to give him the cold shoulder and left Gaara alone.

Unfortunately, though, Neji's house was in the same direction as Gaara's. The redhead was very irritated when he saw the young Hyuuga head in the same direction as he once school had ended. He managed, though to ignore the brunette's presence. He took his ipod out and placed the ear buds snuggly in his ear, ignoring Neji doing the same. They walked a fair distance apart, Neji, listening silently to his music, Gaara, listening silently to his. All in all, it wasn't as bad as Gaara had anticipated, though Neji was acutely aware of the redhead's presence.

They reached a busy crosswalk and waited for the signal to walk. Gaara stopped and waited, bored. Neji stopped beside him and looked ahead stiffly. Gaara's eyes were drawn to his stiff and rigid posture and he wondered how anyone could stand to stand like that. He looked away shaking his head just as the signal to walk was given. He and the Hyuuga quickly crossed and then Gaara proceeded forward. Neji followed. Gaara rolled his eyes. Next thing you know, he'll turn out to be my goddamn neighbor. He thought irritably to himself. His eyes moved once again to the brunette Neji, now walking stiffly beside him. The sidewalk at that section of the city was too narrow for them to have the space between them that both boys would've liked. So they had to content themselves with walking a mere two feet apart.

Slowly, clouds began to fill the sky and Gaara's gaze flickered up to the foreboding gray color the sky now was. Shit. He thought. It'd better not rain again. The rain from that morning had not lasted long and Gaara had hoped to keep it that way. He hated rain. It made him feel…iffy.

Neji walked silently beside the redhead, trying to ignore the feeling of irritation that being with him provided. There was something intriguing about this Sabaku no Gaara that made him interesting. But at the same time, it made him the worst person to be interested in. Neji found that he was very confused about the redhead beside him. Mixed in with confusion was the anger he still felt towards Gaara for putting no effort in hiding his rude comment about Neji. So to sum it all up, Neji just didn't like being around him. He knew that the feeling was mutual.

Softly, rain drops began to fall and Gaara swore. Neji didn't hear him and ignored him. He noticed the rain too, but he didn't mind it. On the contrary, he felt more at ease when he was out in the rain. It just seemed to encourage him to let go of some of the stresses in his life. And he had many.

"Damn rain," Gaara swore, picking up speed. Neji, suspecting Gaara's reason for annoyance, and acting on instinct, reached into his bag and extracted a white umbrella. He increased the length of his strides and sped up to Gaara. When he was beside the frustrated redhead, he reached out and handed him the umbrella. Gaara took it, puzzled. He turned to face Neji and saw that the brunette was slowing his pace to that of before, giving off a quite indifferent air. His eyes, Gaara now noticed, were hazy and distant and seemed to be glazed over with something of a passiveness. And at the same time they were intense; burning with a hidden fire that the Hyuuga tried to keep out of sight, as though afraid that people might try to take it were he to reveal it.

Gaara blinked as the rain increased. Grumbling and doing probably the first kind thing he had ever done, the redhead slowed down to match Neji's pace and opened the umbrella over the both of them. Neji only glanced at Gaara before looking away. Gaara sighed and the two of them walked a good distance out of the central city area and into a more suburban place. The roads here were smaller and the grassy areas increased. Neji liked this part of the town and so did Gaara. Though the latter would never admit it.

Small side roads branched off from the main one occasionally and every now and then a house directly on the side of the main road would appear and the two would pass slowly by it.

Slowly and gradually, the houses that they passed began to get bigger and more extravagant. This was the section of the town that everyone considered to be where the preppy kids lived.

Though Sabaku no Gaara was by no means preppy. Neji might've been, though.

Soon the two boys reached a rather long driveway that stretched into a slightly woodsy area. Gaara shoved the umbrella back at Neji, who almost dropped it, baffled. Without another word, the redhead turned onto the long driveway, growling at and running in the rain. Neji watched him go and shrugged, before he turned and continued on his way. As he walked the rain softened and soon it was so soft and light that Neji put away the umbrella and walked in the light drizzle. He loved the rain. It made him feel…comfortable.

Neji walked on down the slightly secluded road until he reached the small hill that his uncle's home was perched atop. He scowled slightly as he ascended up the driveway. His uncle, his rich uncle, was taking care of him now that his father was dead. There was only one problem. He hated Neji.

Neji knew that there had been some serious animosity between his father, Hyuuga Hizashi, and his uncle, Hyuuga Hiashi. He didn't know the details and he preferred it that way, but he did know that his father and uncle were never on very good terms.

As Neji entered the house he passed by Hiashi. The man didn't do or say anything, only walked pointedly by the young Hyuuga. Neji sighed. No acknowledgement was given at all. Only a radiating hatred that Neji could feel miles away. He always seemed to know when Hiashi was around.

"Where's Hinata?" Hiashi asked Neji, his tone disgusted and his eyes narrowed, as though it was Neji's fault that Hinata was not home.

"She's at a friend's house," Neji said. Truth be told, Hinata was at Tenten's house. She seemed to like going there as her relationship with the girl deepened. She had asked Neji to keep it a secret for her from Hiashi and Neji had loyally agreed. He had always liked Hinata anyway, and somehow knew that she would do the same for him.

Hiashi narrowed his eyes further.

"Which friend?" he asked coldly. Neji narrowed his eyes right back.

"She didn't say," he said stubbornly, his tone lowering, almost matching Hiashi's. The elder Hyuuga took a step towards Neji.

"Don't test me," he warned. "Tell me the truth. Where is Hinata?" Neji broke the staring contest with his uncle and started to walk to his room.

"I am telling the truth," he said. "She said she'll be home by dinner though." He felt a hand clench on his shoulder and his head snapped to Hiashi. The man had his hand grasping Neji's shoulder painfully, though the brunette boy didn't feel the pain. Only the disdain. Very slowly, he turned to face his uncle.

"You know, we can do this all night," Neji pointed out icily. His uncle glowered at him.

"I have no reasons to be lying to my uncle," the young Hyuuga continued.

"Then why are you?" Hiashi challenged. His grip on Neji's shoulder tightened and Neji shied away from it only slightly.

"I have no qualms about hitting you," Hiashi threatened. Neji glared.

"Nor have I any qualms about being hit," he returned. "Though the authorities will, when I tell them." He held Hiashi's ice cold gaze before the elder Hyuuga roughly released his hold on Neji and the boy stepped away, hiding his relief.

"Get the hell out of my sight," he growled. Gladly. Neji thought gratefully. He quickly went to his room, aloof and indifferent air in place until he reached his room, where he completely let go. He flopped down onto his bed and lay there, breathing softly into the pillows, his hair strewn about his head as though windswept. There his thoughts strayed to his friends at school. Or his acquaintances at school. He didn't want to call them friends right now. They weren't close enough to him. Didn't know enough about him. But still, he wondered if they had problems like his with their families.

He didn't know that a certain student was hated by his guardian just as fervently as Neji was hated by Hiashi.

Sabaku no Gaara rushed up the driveway to his home. His scowl was in place and his eyes were enough to repel anyone. He burst through the door and absentmindedly stomped on the mat at the entrance, trying to get most of the water off so he wouldn't anger his oh-so-loving father.

He walked into the large kitchen and wrenched the cupboard open in search of something to eat. After a rather long moment of indecision, Gaara selected a cookie and a small glass of milk. He sat down in a chair at the table centered in the room and ate. Moodily. He was still irritated thanks to that Hyuuga Neji. And Naruto when the stupid Uzumaki kicked that soccer ball at his head. Who knew he had such good aim, anyway?

Gaara sighed as his mind returned to Neji. When the hell did that annoying little brat move to Konoha? How soon after he was hospitalized? The redhead scowled, remembering that he had most of his classes with the Hyuuga and that all of his friends seemed to be taking a liking to the brunette young boy. How pathetically ironic. In the worst of ways. Now, if he wanted to keep any of his friends he would have to put up with that stupid Hyuuga.

As one may have already deduced, Gaara was terribly hung up on first impressions, having been judged so many times on his, and Hyuuga Neji was no exception. His opinion and impression of the boy was set. Neji was a superior, arrogant, androgynous, and unusual boy whom Gaara disliked very much. Never once in his description, though, did he use the word 'misunderstood,' a word that, he did not know described Hyuuga Neji better than any other. Gaara never considered that Neji might be in as undesirable a situation as he. Gaara never considered that Neji might be feeling and experiencing the same things as he. Gaara never once considered the possibility that he and Neji could be friends.

Gaara closed his eyes as he finished the last of his cookie and drank the last of his milk. He pushed the irritating Hyuuga's image out of his mind, standing up. He ultimately decided that he would give Neji a fresh start the next day, as it was the redhead's first day back, and he was bound to overreact at certain things. And staying angry at an insignificant new kid was not something Gaara had the patience for.

"When the hell did you get in?" an angry voice snarled at him. Gaara stopped moving and just stood at the table, milk glass in hand, posture admirably lax, and weight shifted to one foot. He sighed and his head fell forward, messy red bangs falling in front of the kanji symbol on his forehead. He knew his drunk father was going to beat him no matter what he said.

"Tomorrow," he said back, without emotion. His father growled at him.

"Don't be a smartass with me, Gaara," he hissed dangerously. Gaara scoffed and walked over to the sink, carefully placing his glass down beside it.

"Why the hell not?" he asked, his tone subtly defiant. "You sure as hell aren't smart, but you're an ass to me. Doesn't that make us even?" His father made an angry and somewhat feral noise as he moved towards him. The older man reached out and grabbed Gaara's low-cut shirt, bringing him closer. However, the younger redhead didn't feel threatened. The shirt wasn't made to reach his neck so it wasn't restricting at all and Gaara's father's message wasn't sent across to the boy as effectively as he would've hoped. The man made a frustrated noise and Gaara flinched at the strong smell of alcohol on his father's breath.

"You know, your drinking's going to kill you someday," Gaara said, his voice quiet, his tone low. "And when it does, don't look to me for grief." Gaara's father had had enough. Removing one of his hands from his son's shirt, he clenched it into a fist, pulled it back and then swung it forward. It hit Gaara's face and the boy's head snapped sideways. He controlled a grunt of pain and forced his head back to his father.

"Violence never solves problems, daddy," he said, his voice mocking. Gaara's father snarled and hit the boy again. Gaara mocked him again. Gaara was hit again. And so the process repeated until Gaara heard someone approach his father from behind. He heard the smashing of glass and looked quickly away, shutting his eyes instinctively to prevent stray shards from entering them. His father's hold on him loosened and the man sagged. Gaara quickly stepped to the side and watched his father hit the floor hard. He turned to smirk at the tall boy who wore the unusual hoodie that sported what looked like cat ears. The boy grinned back at him.

"You know, Gaara you shouldn't provoke him like that," Kankuro said, carefully placing the broken beer bottle on the counter. "One of these days, you'll end up in the hospital with more than just a broken arm." Gaara shrugged.

"So be it," he said. "I couldn't care less. Thanks, though. His punches were starting to hurt." With that, the bruised boy turned and walked away, heading for his room. His older brother watched him go.

"But, Gaara," he said, as though the other could hear him. "You do care."

Gaara walked quickly to his room, ignoring his sister's rather loud music and blocking out the irritating shrieks of the singers. He liked the songs she listened to, but right now they were just plain obnoxious. He walked to his room and shut and locked the door. Walking over to his bed he let himself fall down onto it, careful not to let any of the sheets touch his slowly swelling bruises. He shut his eyes, the pain of his father's tyranny making his body throb, though it had been only his face that was struck.

Gaara would never admit it to anyone, but he was hurt. Physically and emotionally. He knew he was to blame for his mother's death. And he knew that that was why he had been named Gaara. He knew that his father had always hated him for that simple reason. And he knew that his hold on sanity was slowly slipping. Shukaku was living proof of that.

However, the redhead never felt the need to do anything seriously drastic to deal with the pain. He had tried cutting himself once, but his initial and permanent reaction to the blade slicing a long crimson line in his skin was, "Ouch! That hurt! I'm never doing that again." And from then on, the knife never again tainted his skin.

Poor, sweet boy. Do you need a hug? The sickening voice rang through his head. Gaara scowled.

Fuck off, Shukaku. His mind growled. The demon's voice rippled through his mind as the inhuman figment of Gaara's imagination laughed mockingly.

Now I'm hurt, Gaara! Must you be so cruel to me? Shukaku's voice was now disgustingly sweet. Gaara had a feeling that were the demon real, it would be curling itself softly around the redhead, watching amusedly for any reaction he might give.

I don't need this right now. Gaara thought angrily at the beast. Shukaku snickered, his voice becoming mocking once more.

Oh, that's right. He laughed. You need some alone time so you can curse your father and hate yourself. You need your special 'Gaara Time' so you can drown in self hatred and remorse. Why don't you just do what your father does; drink your problems away? Gaara snickered aloud.

I'm not old enough to drink. He thought bitterly. The demon sneered.

Alright then. He shot. There are other ways to deal with your emotional problems. Why not have sex? Gaara jerked up as though expecting to see Shukaku sitting in front of him, the smirk he always pictured him with fixed on his disgusting face.

"What the hell is your problem!?" he yelled angrily, forgetting to keep his mouth shut and yell at the demon in thought, rather than aloud. Shukaku laughed wholeheartedly.

Well, you reacted very differently than I expected! He teased. Do you actually want to have sex with someone? Gaara's eyes narrowed.

No, I don't you damn raccoon. He thought angrily. Were he speaking, it would be through gritted teeth. Shukaku chuckled and then heaved a large fake sigh.

I suppose you're right. He said in a voice of mock resignation. No one would want you anyway. Maybe you could convince your father to, though, if he's drunk enough. The demon was thoroughly pleased with Gaara's reaction. The redhead's face was soon red from anger and he was positively seething.

That's never going to be funny! Gaara's mind hissed at the demon. Shukaku grinned in his mind's eye.

Perhaps, but your reaction is. He protested. Resuming his rant and attempts at winding Gaara up, Shukaku continued, undaunted.

Hmm…What about Uchiha? He mocked. Gaara visibly twitched and chose not to reply. You're right. Too Seme. You'd be Uke-d in an instant. Well, if he won't work, then who will? Hmmm, you're not interested in any girls, so we'll just have to find a sufficiently girl guy for you. Let's see…Oh! I know! That Hyuuga boy you seemed to warm up to so much! What about him? Gaara turned over on his bed, scowling at the thought of any kind of sexual activity with Neji.

You wish. Gaara thought coldly. Shukaku chuckled.

No, you wish. He retorted. I've seen the way you ogle his ass when you think he isn't looking. Gaara shot up in his bed once again and growled.

No, I don't you bastard! He thought angrily, his mind's voice yelling loudly. Shukaku laughed harder.

You're right, you don't, but it's funny to imagine, don't you think? Shukaku said sadistically. Gaara snarled and lay back down on his bed, turning away from his door. Shukaku took on a tone of mock concern.

Oh, I'm sorry, did I hurt your feelings? He simpered in a tone of feigned pity. Gaara simply sighed in response.

You know, I could easily shut you up if I wanted to. He threatened. Shukaku was silent, realizing the redhead was right. If Gaara so wished it, he could silence himself and Shukaku by destroying himself. The demon sighed dejectedly.

Fine, I'll leave you alone. He breathed. Just don't do anything interesting while I'm asleep. There was silence and Gaara listened, but all he heard was nothing echoing through the caverns of his mind.

"Finally," he mumbled. He put his hands behind his head and let his eyes fall closed. He tried to put that annoying episode out of his mind, but once again, Shukaku had pointed out certain things that would not leave his thought. Embarrassing things. Things that Gaara would've like to avoid. Like the sex comment. Like suggesting that he go to his father for comfort sex. Like suggesting that he go to Sasuke for comfort sex. Like suggesting that he go to Neji for comfort sex. Like suggesting the fact that the Hyuuga did indeed have a nice ass. And that Gaara did indeed notice it.

That last part, very unfortunately for Gaara, was true.

I'm so sorry this took so long! I got wound up in another of my stories and then put this one down for a while. But then I was struck with inspiration and had to conitnue!

So, please review and tell me if I need to change anything!