Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Rot, Another One Bites the Dust	By : LucklessMallory Category: Naruto AU/AR > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1219 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I make no profit from the distribution of this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Winter was gone, but it was like the cold still lingered inside the hotel and among the surviving residents living together. Resources were strained as Temari had predicted with the new arrivals forcing them to open another wing of the hotel. And there were sightings of raiders within the city now, not just out on the desert. And the few who could vent their tension through sparring spent the days testing each other in the function room.
Hinata wiped the sweat from her brow and schooled her features as best as she could as she held up her arms the way Gaara had shown her before. Makeshift weapons aside, the real challenge was in honing her reflexes against an opponent like Lee. Her light colored eyes narrowed and she spun to the side to launch a spinning back fist.
Lee had to admit, Hinata didn’t miss anything, though she sometimes didn’t have time to react. It was like she had eyes in the back of her head. Lee back-stepped to avoid her fist, since it was no use trying to duck when he was already so much taller than her. He launched forward, spinning his leg low to try and knock her off her feet. He kept his eyes on her midsection, trying to get a feel for how she moved before each attack.
Jumping over Lee’s leg, Hinata kept her arm over her face and followed her defense with a side swipe. Unlike Gaara’s straightforward attacks and occasional sneaky moves, Hinata had adopted Kiba’s synchronized defense and attack movements while her eyes were trained for catching subtle movement after Neji’s instructions with a rifle.
Lee grunted as Hinata’s swipe glanced off the side of his head, barely as he tried dodging. He brought his leg up again, aiming a wide arch toward her midsection. An advantage he had over Hinata was his long reach, and he intended to use it to the fullest.
His leg hit against Hinata’s midsection with the missed swipe causing the girl to move with its momentum. She stumbled to the side, and grasped her abdomen with a pinched look on her face, but she took up an open stance again, running and pulling back her shoulder for a punch.
Lee hesitated when he saw the look on Hinata’s face, costing him precious instants of reaction time when she advanced toward him. He threw his arms up too late and reeled backward as her fist struck his jaw with surprising force for a girl with a loud thunk on impact. He clutched his jaw with one hand, his wide eyes intent, and threw out an arm, trying to catch her around the shoulders for a headlock while she was close.
Hinata’s knuckles hurt from the impact but she caught sight of Lee’s arm as it shot out, and she pulled back to avoid it, holding an arm across her midsection again. “T-Time out.” She panted, holding up a hand in front of her as she caught her breath.
“Are you okay? Did I kick too hard?” Lee asked, dropping his stance immediately and holding his hands up in concern. His brows pulled together.
“She’s still learning, you shouldn’t go all out,” a voice called from the open door to the recreation room. Kiba was leaning against the frame as if he’d been standing there for a while, but his arms were loose and his expression was concerned like he was ready to jump in and help the girl out.
The sound of Kiba’s voice had Hinata straightening up slightly, her eyes seeking out where Kiba was. “I-I asked him n-not to hold back.” She said, her shoulders tensing as she brought her hands up again. “P-Please don’t interfere, Kiba.”
The concerned expression on Kiba’s face fell, and the man almost resembled Akamaru when he was trying to beg for something. The two of them hadn’t been close to each other since the start of winter. Even after Kiba had long stopped fighting with Gaara, and had eased up on his unspoken tension with Neji, they hadn’t resolved their friendship. Hinata spent more and more time with Neji and Gaara, while Kiba had taken to joining Naruto’s close circle of friends.
“Hinata.” Kiba tried to catch her attention again, taking a step closer to the two.
“I j-just needed to c-catch my breath. Are you ready, Lee?” Hinata said, spreading her legs and taking a defensive pose, though she was still hunched forward like her chest was hurting her.
Lee cleared his throat awkwardly. He was glad that Kiba and Gaara seemed to have resolved whatever issues they’d had before, but it seemed to have come at a cost. Lee really didn’t want to get in the middle of it. He rolled his shoulder, and touched the bruise forming on his jaw. “Actually Miss Hinata, I could use a quick break. I should put something on my jaw to stop the swelling, and, um, my arm is bothering me.”
The last statement held an obvious false note to Lee’s voice. He’d never been a very good liar. Nonetheless, he started backing toward the door.
Kiba took Lee’s cue to try and approach Hinata. For all the brusqueness of his attitude and speech, he looked like he was prepared to grovel if needed.
“B-But Lee-” Hinata protested weakly with Lee’s departure. Left with Kiba in the room, she held her arms stiffly against her sides for a long-overdue talk with her friend.

Gaara’s leg felt like it was on fire as Sakura poured antiseptic over it. His eyes were narrowed in pain as he silently bore the sting of the leg wound. It was almost funny how he landed in an almost similar predicament as Lee-- getting shot at by raiders while he joined a foraging party in the city. Except, the bullet had only grazed his leg instead of piercing skin and his wound wouldn’t need stitches.
“How soon will this heal?” He asked stiffly, hissing between his teeth as he shifted on the chair. “I need to let Temari know about the raiders.”
“It’s not going to go away overnight,” Sakura said as she swabbed the excess antiseptic around the wound. She pulled out the medical history she’d been keeping for Gaara since they’d been at the mall together and flipped through a couple pages, before setting it aside and reaching for the bandages. “I’m sure the rest of the people in your party will talk to Temari. Shouldn’t you be going to Lee first to make sure he knows you’re okay?” She kept her eyes on her work, but there was a sense that she was paying attention to Gaara’s expression from the corner of her eye.
“The rest of my party were too busy making sure we brought back everything.” Gaara dismissed Sakura’s reasoning, but his hackles rose when she brought up Lee. He didn’t like the easy way she referred to him, or the fact that since she’d arrived at the hotel, Lee would drop by her clinic often. He crossed his arms, restless as she patched up his leg. “I’ll find Lee after I talk to her.”
“He’s gonna be worried about you.” Sakura commented as she taped the gauze onto Gaara’s wound. She set down the bandages and took another look at his medical history, jotting something down. “How are things with Lee, by the way? He talks about you when he visits me.”
Gaara’s lips pressed together firmly with the line of questioning, trying to decipher if Sakura was patronizing him or actually stating a fact. It was unsettling to know that Lee talked about him to someone he used to like. “He’s my boyfriend.” He deadpanned, pressing his tongue against the inside of his upper teeth in thought before saying, “Why does he still visit you? Lee isn’t attracted to you anymore and you led him on when he still was. He shouldn’t discuss our relationship with you.”
Sakura stiffened and her jaw clenched at Gaara’s blunt words. She set down her pen with an irritable click on the desk. “Lee and I are friends. We’ve always been friends, even when he wanted more than that. You wouldn’t understand.”
Sakura was trying to be nice, she really was, but Gaara was getting on her nerves. He’d never been able to act civil toward her, and he was always rude. Something in his words struck a vulnerable chord in her. A vein on her forehead twitched sharply as she applied the last piece of tape around the wound. “Is that why you’ve always disliked me? Because you’re jealous that Lee was attracted to me? It didn’t sound like Lee was attracted in men before.”
A scowl formed on Gaara’s face and once she’d patched up his leg, he pushed his chair back. “I dislike you for accepting Lee’s attention when you didn’t feel anything for him. He wouldn’t stop talking about you even when all he got was a smile.” His voice was even, deliberate but his eyes were narrowed. “I don’t like you for treating him like he had a chance, always taking, always stopping short when he just wanted acknowledgment. ”
He picked up his straps and began fastening them around his body again, the golf clubs thudding against each other in their holster as the redhead fixed the buckles with quick, abrupt movements. “When I shot Tenten, it was because she was in pain, and so was Lee. Lee remained my friend even after that, something you won’t understand.”
His voice grew deeper, almost menacing, “You said I was a monster for killing her.” His eyes snapped up, looking at Sakura with a piercing gaze. “If you attempt to hurt him in any way, I won’t hesitate to do what needs to be done.”
Sakura’s eyes widened at the sudden ferocity in Gaara, and she felt a thrill of fear at the look in his eyes, and the reminder of death in the golf clubs on his back. She stood from her seat and took a step back. “You need to leave my clinic. Right now. You’re done here,” she said slowly, pointing toward the door with a clenched jaw. Her nostrils flared as she tried to remain calm and collected, though Gaara’s words made her want to yell and throw things.
Satisfaction, raw and dangerous, flared in Gaara's chest at the fear he saw in Sakura. He trusted Lee more than he knew he should, but Sakura would think twice before attempting anything past that friendship they insisted on continuing. And maybe one day Lee would stop bringing her soda and instead give Gaara the same dedication and attention she'd gotten from him. Sakura didn't need to repeat her words with Gaara heading for the door with a hobbled step.
Sakura’s hands were shaking in anger before Gaara was out the door. Naruto was right when he said that she could have a temper, and many of Gaara’s words held a hurtful ring of truth. Not only that, but he had just threatened her, and she wasn’t about to underestimate a killer like Gaara. Sakura had come to an understanding with Lee about his new relationship, but it seemed that she couldn’t accept his change of heart after all. Gaara was a cruel person.

“Don’t you see? This is exactly why we need to get the fuck out of here and head to Konoha already! We’re being attacked on routine foraging missions!”
“It’s still too soon! We don’t have any supplies, and we don’t even know what we’re going to find there! It could be worse in Konoha, you don’t know!”
Naruto and several other people in the hotel had gathered in one of the recreation rooms and were talking about finally leaving Suna with a truck or two. Others in the room however had the opposite opinion. After everyone had been cooped up in the hotel for so long without much outlet, and especially during the cold and desolate winter, tensions were running high and it seemed an outburst had finally erupted. Naruto’s face was red from yelling and frustration, and Sai had to hold him back from breaking out into a fist fight.
“Gaara!” Lee suddenly dashed into the room, his eyes wide as he ran toward his boyfriend. “I just heard that you were shot! Are you okay? What happened? How bad are you hurt?”
Gaara unfolded his arms when Lee rushed to him. His brows were heavily knotted with the heated debate going around the room, but he met Lee’s concern with a hand pressed to the man’s forearm. “Raiders.” He said, glancing at the growing division between the others in the room over the issue. He lowered his voice as Temari argued for those who wanted to stay. “Our party was attacked in the city. A bullet grazed my leg, but the wound’s only skin-deep.” His troubled gaze shifted up to Lee. “...They’re getting bolder. And one of the raiders was wearing a strange cloak around him, black with red clouds. I don’t think anyone else in my party saw that.”
“I am so glad you are okay,” Lee said, wrapping his arms around Gaara in a tight hug. If they had been in private he would have held on for much longer, but in the recreation room surrounded by so many loud voices he let go and just kept a hand on Gaara’s shoulder, as if he needed to hold onto him. He took a couple deep breaths, calming down from his scare. “I ran to the clinic as soon as I heard, but you were already gone and Sakura would not hardly talk to me! She seemed really upset about and I thought that was because you were hurt so badly, so I ran here to see.”
“Who says we’d be willing to just give you one of our only trucks anyway? We only have a few vehicles, and we can’t afford to lose any.” Temari’s voice was cold and sharp, but her livid expression made it seem like she was snarling.
“Half of your people want to come with us! What’s left for us in the city? If it’s not raiders, it’s zombies and fucking starvation!” Naruto argued back, the whisker like marks on his face making him look like an animal for the color of his face. “We’ve been trapped in this city for almost a year now!”
Gaara was warm from Lee’s hug and he moved his hand over Lee’s on his shoulder. He pulled his attention away from the argument to focus on the other man, unused to so much concern over him but glad that Lee had looked for him. “I’m not hurt.” He assured, “I would have looked for you after speaking with Temari.” The silent ‘but’ hung in the air as Ino added her voice to the debate, saying that it was too risky to just leave when they had electricity in the hotel.

He sighed quietly, unconsciously leaning towards Lee. The fact that Sakura might have said something to Lee didn’t even bother him when something as big as this was going on. “They’ve been arguing about leaving or staying since I got here.”
“Naruto wants to leave? Already? He has not been here long,” Lee said doubtfully, looking to everyone else in the room speculatively. It looked like the room was divided in half, with Naruto leading one side and Temari on the other. He squeezed Gaara’s shoulder.
“You can yell at me all you want, Uzumaki, the fact is that I am in charge here, and you are a guest. If you want to waste precious resources, get out of this hotel and find your own truck!” Temari snapped her handheld fan shut decisively, as though that was her final decision. “We are safe here, and you have no idea what is waiting for you in Konoha.”
“How many people are you going to sacrifice before you change your mind?! Look even Gaara got shot-!” Naruto was still pushing the matter but Temari had already turned her back to him and was heading towards Gaara and Lee. “Temari!”
The Sabaku woman took in the sight of Lee and Gaara, recognizing something in her brother’s eyes before she said curtly. “Both of you come with me. This matter is closed for now.” She strode past them with her back ramrod straight.
Gaara squeezed Lee’s hand slightly and began to follow after his sister, limping on his wounded leg but stubbornly keeping his mouth shut about the pain.
Lee followed close, watching the way Gaara walked with concern. He kept a hand on Gaara’s shoulder, just in case he needed help, but he recognized the look of pinched stubbornness on the redhead’s face. Naruto was still glaring murderously after them as they left the room, and everyone else dispersed to their own business, whispering amongst each other.
Temari lead them to another room down a hallway. It was a meeting room for conventions hosted by the hotel, with a long table and chairs. It was dusty, since it was hardly used.
“How did that argument get started?” Lee asked, his brows pulled together.
Sitting down on a chair with a sigh, Temari pulled her elbows up on the table and rested her chin on her fingers. She’d seen the bandages around Gaara’s leg, but recognized Sakura’s work, assuring her that it had already been treated. “Naruto’s people make up almost a third of our scouting parties. They’re the ones risking their lives when they look for more food or supplies. It’s natural for him to want a change.”
As Gaara took a seat next to her, she scrutinized his leg with tightly pressed lips. “What happened Gaara?”
“It’s just as Naruto said. There are raiders in the city.” The redhead replied, letting his wounded leg straighten out with a silent huff. “But there’s something new. One of them was wearing the Akatsuki cloak.”
Lee took a seat next to Gaara and looked over his leg with furrowed brows. He looked okay, and his bandages were clean like he wasn’t bleeding a lot. When it was time to change the bandages, Lee would be there to help, and see the wound for himself. He leaned close to Gaara as he addressed both the Sabaku siblings. “What is Akatsuki? Was that the cloak with red clouds?”
“Are you sure about that? How many did you see?” Temari asked, glancing at Lee but speaking to her brother.
“Just one. It was just a glimpse before we had to take off.” Gaara said, frowning at this new development. He turned to Lee, adding, “Remember when I told you about Sasori and Zetsu being part of the Akatsuki? That was their symbol. If they’re helping the raiders, it won’t be long before they’ll try to take over what little resources we have left.”
Temari was looked between Lee and Gaara as her brother talked. Their relationship was well-established now, no matter what her thoughts were on the matter. She still thought Gaara had been too quick to accept the other man, but for the moment, she had someone else watching out for him when she couldn’t. “I can understand why Naruto wants to leave. Konoha is your home too, isn’t it Lee? Most of the people here originally came from there. Home always sounds safer.”
“Well, I do want to go to Konoha eventually,” Lee said. “But I did not think it would be possible until later, after winter was completely over and we had a plan.”
Lee’s mind was running in circles with the implications behind an organized group of people who were plotting against the hotel. If there were people calling themselves the ‘Akatsuki’ and trying to steal or hoard all the city’s resources for themselves- and shooting at people who got in their way- ‘safe’ was a long lost idea in Suna. “What do you think we should do? Is there anyway to stop the raiders, maybe communicating with them? Or should we leave like Naruto says?”
“This isn’t the best time to leave. Right now, my first priority is to keep the peace and convince Naruto to wait.” Temari decided, glancing up sharply when the conference room door opened. Shikamaru poked his head in and gave a lazy wave to everyone inside.
“Thought you’d like to know that everyone’s heading back to their rooms already.” The man said, nodding at Lee and Gaara before looking back at Temari. He didn’t seem affected by her sharp gaze as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
Gaara’s eyes narrowed at Shikamaru, highly aware that while he and Lee had grown closer over the last month, so had Temari come to tolerate Shikamaru’s presence. Sometimes.
If Shikamaru noticed Gaara’s suspicious glare, he didn’t mention it as he plopped down into another chair. He shifted, and grumbled something about uncomfortable convention chairs, but seemed to be watching the others and waiting for the conversation to continue.
“So, if we cannot leave yet, how are we supposed to protect each other from the raiders?” Lee asked, his brows furrowed. He was bouncing his knee restlessly under the table, his mind turning in circles as he tried to reason where to go from here. People were in more danger everyday, and now even Gaara had gotten hurt! “We are incredibly lucky that no one has died yet.”
“I know, I know,” Temari said, sounding frustrated. She pulled out her fan and opened it with a loud crack, and fanned herself out of habit. “We’re going to have to tighten security, and start taking different routes every time we go out, so they can’t predict where we’re going or coming from.”
“We should keep Sasori and Zetsu apart.” Gaara suggested, “I’ve seen them talking to Deidara too. If they hear about this, that will make them a threat to everyone.” His hand slipped under the table and pressed against Lee’s bouncing knee. “As for Naruto, he means well but he’s also stubborn. Have someone you trust guard the trucks at all times. He won’t hurt anyone, but he has a lot of influence.”
Temari shut her eyes briefly, taking a breath. She wished Kankuro were here. The three of them were always better at situations when they were together, pooling their skills and knowledge together. She opened her eyes with a grim smile. “I’d put you to that task if I didn’t know you were close friends with Naruto.” She told Gaara with a hint of affection on her face. “Shikamaru is already keeping an eye on Sasori’s movements. In the meantime, be careful what you say and who you talk to.”
“I already report everything Sasori does or says to you,” Shikamaru said to Temari, his eyes glazed as if sleepy or bored. “I might be able to find someone to look at Zetsu.”
“I will talk to Neji and make sure everyone knows about the security changes. He might have some ideas, too.” Lee took a deep breath and tried to relax, sliding a hand over Gaara’s on his knee. They would try to reason with Naruto and the people who agreed with him until they were ready to leave, but in the meantime they needed to focus on the more pressing issues.
- 13
- 14
- 15
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Rot, Another One Bites the Dust