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
- 5
- 6
- 7
"I don't see anyone inside." Udon cupped his hands tighter around his eyes as he peered in through the glass double doors. Moegi huddled close and tried to look inside as well while the rest of the group kept watch.
Surprisingly, they encountered only a few zombies once they'd fought their way through the sidestreets. Kiba and Gaara had led them on a path of broken bodies, and moans from every angle that it had felt like they'd never get out. They were all tense, shaken up by the smell of rotting death and blood around them. But no one was bitten.
Gaara leaned on his bloody club and panted, taking stock of any possible entrance to the hotel. It was too cold to stay out here for long and the doors were even thicker than the mall's. The hotel's pristine white driveway was littered with cars and bodies, some of them mangled and beaten. The fountain up front was a sickly dark red color with patches of skin and hair floating up from the bottom. There was also a slope leading down into the basement. His survey was cut short by a movement above the door.
"Did you see that camera move?" Shikamaru looked up as well. "There's definitely someone alive in there."
"T-The generators must s-still work inside." Hinata shivered violently, the sweat on her face cooling rapidly in the cold.
"If they won't open the doors for us, we'll head down to the basement." Gaara said, already taking out a flashlight.
“Good thinking,” Lee was stationed at the back of the group, watching the surrounding area while the others looked for a way into the building. He had his bat at the ready and a sharp eye vigilant for zombie approach. The teenagers were near him, also playing lookout while at the same time edging towards the safety of the building with an obvious yearning to be off the streets.
“If there are people alive inside, why would they not let us in?” Lee wondered out loud, brow furrowed in thought. He couldn’t understand it.
“They’ll think we’re infected, or attracting trouble,” Kiba replied, standing close to Hinata and scowling at the door. “It’s why we couldn’t let anyone into the hardware store when we were holed up there. It’s too big a risk. If one person gets in and turns, everyone else could end up dead, too.”
Lee still frowned, but only shook his head instead of replying. He still couldn’t imagine refusing to help someone in that situation. It wasn’t in his nature.
Just when the group was moving in formation toward the basement entrance, there was a loud, decisive click from the front door. The electronic system unlocked the door, and the camera Shikamaru had indicated moved again, seeming to zoom in.
“Someone inside seems to think we’re worth the risk,” Kiba moved forward quickly and grabbed the door, tugging it open and ushering Hinata through first.
Gaara stayed by the doors until the last of the group made it in. He stared up at the camera, brows knotted and a frown tugging on his lips. Whoever was on the other end seemed to watch him back. The doors locked behind him as he followed everyone inside.
The hotel lobby had a barricade surrounding the front doors, but aside from that, it almost seemed like the place was still in operation. Lounge music blared from hidden speakers and the temperature was comfortably warm, creating a surreal environment that was both familiar and strange to the survivors. Shikamaru held an arm out in front of Udon and Moegi, both of whom looked ready to explore the hotel. "Careful. We don't know who's running this show yet." He warned.
"No show tonight. Just the dead rising again." A bored voice intoned as a door behind the front desk opened. Gaara stiffened at the shock of red hair so much like his own on the sleepy-eyed man, who now leaned over the front desk and languidly rang the silver bell on it. "The boss lady says you're clear. She'll be down any minute now. We've got enough rooms for all of you but we don't use the upper floors anymore."
"More people means less food. Should all of them be let in? Some look sick."
Hinata gave a little shriek when a strange man suddenly emerged from behind some plant decor, sniffing around her. Kiba immediately pulled her close and frowned at the two men. "Who the fuck are you two?"
The first man shrugged. "Don't mind Zetsu. He's been like that since we finally unjammed his room and pulled him out from a pile of corpses. My name's Sasori."
Lee was staring at the two with wide, disbelieving eyes. While the others in the group were wary of the two men and huddling together defensively, Lee was still standing in shock to discover that there were other survivors here. And they made it sound like they weren’t the only two! There was also the ‘boss lady’ as well! This was amazing, more than they had hoped for!
“We did not think we would find anyone else alive here!” Lee exclaimed, stepping forward and looking quickly between the two men. “How many of you are there? How long have you been here? Did you know we were coming? Are you alright? Is anyone hurt? Have you seen any other survivors in the city?”
Shikamaru sidled closer to Gaara, noticing the tenseness in his frame. He raised a brow, and gestured to Sasori with a quick nod. “Is he a relative of yours?” he asked quietly. The two looked a lot alike, and even the teenagers were looking back and forth between the two redheads with some confusion.
"No." Was Gaara's curt answer as his eyes narrowed and he reached up to take out his crossbow.
"Wouldn't do that if I were you. We've added interesting bits to the hotel's security and let's just say sprayed guts won't match the decor." Sasori glanced at Lee with disinterest just as the stair doors burst open. "She'll answer all your questions, kid."
Gaara just had enough time to recognize the tall blonde woman before she strode over and he was pulled tight against his sister's form, his hands automatically coming up to grip her forearms as she said in that clear, self-assured tone so much like his father's, "You are going to head straight up with me and wash that blood off you." She pulled back just as quickly as she hugged him, looked him up and down then declared, "I am going to cut your hair."
"Why is he here?" Gaara's eyes were fixed on his sister with the closest thing to adoration that his narrowed eyes could muster even when his body remained rigid.
The woman frowned briefly and its resemblance to Gaara's was uncanny, before she shook her head and lowered her voice. "I'll explain later." With the same businesslike attitude of setting aside personal matters, she turned to face everyone else with sweeping appraisal. "My name is Temari Sabaku. You're welcome to stay here as long as you don't cause trouble. Sasori will give you your room assignments once you've given your names and what skills you can put to use. Once you're all settled in, we'll sit down for a meal together and I'll answer any questions you have."
"That's a damn better deal than we have out there. We'll take it." Kiba had taken off his jacket and was currently using it as a blanket to warm up Hinata. The girl was still shivering but looked much better than she did outside.
Lee was looking back and forth between Gaara and Temari, but for once he was silent. He understood the connection between the two when the woman had given her name. He nodded and smiled in appreciation to Gaara’s sister, though he was reeling at the soft look of familial love in Gaara’s expression.
Well, as soft and loving as Gaara seemed capable, anyway. The redhead was still standing ridged, and his eyes were narrowed and calculating as usual. Genuine joy or excitement would have seemed weird and out of place in Gaara’s expression anyway.
The group slowly assembled and gave their names to Sasori, though Moegi and Udon were on edge because Zetsu was hovering uncomfortably close behind them, breathing oddly thick the entire time. Sasori stepped out from behind the counter and lead them up stairs and down a hall, assigning them rooms on the second floor down the same wing. Temari followed and stayed close to Gaara, though she said nothing for a while. She would touch him on the shoulder every few minutes, or his hair with a disapproving tsk, but never in an obviously affectionate way. Looking closely however, one could tell from the glances and her body language that she was happy he was here.
“Room 204 for the children,” Sasori said, opening the door and handing them a room key with a sleepy-eyed glance. “Two beds.”
“We’re not children,” Moegi protested, crossing her arms and frowning at the man. Udon echoed the sentiment with a ‘yeah!’ and pushed his glasses higher. He took the room key and held open the door for Moegi.
“You look like children to me,” Sasori replied simply, not even bothering with a shrug as he moved onto the next door. He glanced back as Udon wiped his nose on a rag from his pocket, eyes watery from allergies. “You snivel like children, too.”
“Hey, lay off them. They’ve had a pretty rough day.” Shikamaru said, patting Udon on the shoulder as he passed by. He made sure they’d closed the door behind them before moving on, keeping an eye on the trailing Zetsu.
Sasori ignored Shikamaru and opened the next room, a smaller one that was close to a working vending machine and ice storage. “Since you’re so worried about them, you can have this room.” He flipped the keys towards the other man, who caught it deftly with a muttered, “So troublesome.” and headed inside his room.
The last two rooms were a corner room and one that was directly across Shikamaru’s. Opening the corner room, Sasori stepped aside and waved a hand languidly in presentation. “The corner’s always the biggest. This one only has one king-sized bed, but it’s got more room to move in. The other room has two queen sized beds.”
“You can stay with me if you’re not comfortable sharing a room with men.” Temari addressed Hinata, to the latter’s surprise. The girl pulled Kiba’s jacket closer around her shoulders as she shook her head.
“N-No thank you. I don’t mind staying with Kiba.” She sought out her friend’s eyes for support, causing said man’s expression to falter. It was the first in a long time that Hinata actively asked for his help in anything, even if he only saw it in her eyes. He nodded gruffly.
Temari pursed her lips slightly but didn’t push the matter, cocking her hand on her hip. “Sasori, give them the second room and the corner to this young man. Gaara can stay with me.”
Gaara’s brows were knotted as he shot one last glare at Sasori before crossing his arms and shifting his attention to his sister. The room assignments were of little consequence right now. “We need to talk. Lee, I’ll meet up with you later.” He said, sparing a glance at his companion. Some things had to come before his personal feelings.
“Of course.” Lee nodded in understanding, though he felt a dash of regret. Looks like he and Gaara wouldn’t be sharing a room after all. It was good that he would be with family however, which was something no one else could boast to. Lee stepped into his assigned room and let his pack swing down from his shoulder. “We should all get some rest. It was a difficult trek here. We will talk later.”
Sasori turned and walked back down the hall without a word. He ignored Zetsu as he passed, but the man followed him down the hall after a short pause.
Gaara nodded at Lee, wordlessly watching him step into the room. With Temari standing next to him, the two made a sobering picture of what their family must be like on a normal basis.

The rest of the day was a blur for many of the survivors. They’d met nearly everyone who was staying at the hotel during the dinner at the lounge. Many were hotel staff or guests before the outbreak began and had simply huddled in their rooms or the hotel’s locked areas while the carnage carried on outside. Sasori and Zetsu had been staying at the hotel but both men were silent on what business they had in Suna. One thing was clear, Temari had come to the hotel with a small group just as Gaara did, and had proceeded to assume authority over the survivors within.
It was night time now, and Gaara was silently making his way down the second floor hallway. The grandfather clock next to the storage room showed that it was close to 2:40 in the morning, and the redhead felt his skin crawl slightly at knowing the exact time after so long.
He reached the corner room after a few more steps, and paused to take a breath before rapping twice on the door. The doorbell still worked, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be enough to wake up the other man.
Inside the hotel room, Lee was shifting and jerking in the queen sized bed by himself. It was the first night he’d slept completely alone since the outbreak. He couldn’t seem to fall asleep, and couldn’t get comfortable either. The bed was too soft, even if it was just a hotel mattress, since he’d grown so used to sleeping on something thin, or even just the floor. When he’d finally fallen asleep less than an hour ago, he’d woken within minutes because of a nightmare.
In his dream he’d been back at the mall with Tenten, trying to bring her fever down with bags of ice while she cried. Before he could even tell if it was making a difference, he’d heard a gunshot and realized she was dead. Only this time Gaara was behind him, and had shot through him to get to Tenten. It was horrifying, and it had taken a few seconds after waking before he could realize that there wasn’t a bullet hole gaping in his chest, and Gaara hadn’t shot him. Only Tenten.
When he heard the rapping at the door, Lee sat up straight in bed with wide eyes. He blinked, his eyes watery with sleepiness as he stumbled to his feet. He leaned against the door as he pulled it open thoughtlessly, but then was surprised when he found Gaara on the other side. He immediately became a bit more alert, lifting his head higher and standing straighter while he still blinked. “Gaara? Are you alright? What are you doing here?”
Gaara just stood there silently for a moment, lifting his eyes from the floor to Lee’s face. The marks around his eyes looked slightly puffy and darker despite the emergency lights along the hall, his hair dishevelled like he’d just gotten out of bed himself. The blood-soaked clothes he’d sported earlier was replaced with a wool-lined sweater and pants. “I can’t sleep.” He said quietly, shifting his weight to his other foot uneasily. “Can I stay with you?”
Despite the collected tone of his voice, he was visibly restless as he glanced past Lee towards the inside of the room then tilted his head up in search of any cameras along the hall. Gaara, being Gaara, still had a golf club strapped on his back even when he looked ready to curl up somewhere to sleep.
“Oh,” Lee replied in surprise. His thick brows were raised as he stepped aside and held open the door. “Of course you can. To be honest, I am not sleeping very well either. Oh, uh-”
Lee paused as he closed the door behind his friend. He looked a little sheepish as he glanced around his room, dark except for the beams of soft moonlight through the window curtains. “Sorry, I only have one bed. It is really big though. I am sure you will not mind sharing.” Lee dragged his hand down his face, trying to ward away his exhaustion.
The single bed had Gaara’s eyes landing on it with sudden attentiveness, but he ignored the quickening of his pulse and pulled loose the straps that held the club to his back. Setting it on the foot of the bed, he glanced over his shoulder at Lee, green eyes glinting almost dangerously from the soft light. “Be careful what you say or do here. We’re not safe in this place.”
He rubbed at his arms to warm himself up while slipping his feet out of the hotel slippers he had on. “I was wrong.” He murmured, looking towards the windows of the room. It felt strange to sleep in a bedroom again after taking refuge wherever they could. “I should have gone back for them. Temari made it out alive. If we’d worked together, Kankuro might have survived too.”
“Your brother is not alive?” Lee frowned and followed Gaara to the bed, moving around to his side and slipped back under the covers. The sheets were still warm from where he’d been laying earlier. “I had hoped that he would be here, too. Are you sure he did not make it?”
Lee looked at the golf club laid across the foot of the bed. A thought occurred to him, and he lowered his voice unconsciously. “And why do you say it is not safe here? Are there openings where zombies could break into the hotel?”
Gaara slipped under the covers as well, huddling close to Lee with a sinking realization that this felt safer and more familiar than sleeping next to Temari. He laid his head against the soft pile of pillows and frowned at the ceiling. He and Temari had had a long talk, but it left his mind reeling and it felt like he’d lost his footing in so many ways and there was an ache in his chest because she was the only sibling he had left while his brother- “...Temari saw him get bitten. He threw himself at them so the elevator doors could close. She managed to make it here with Baki, our father’s executive assistant and our advisor. I could have done something if I’d been there.” His breath hitched faintly and a tremble ran through his frame, but his expression didn’t change as he turned his head towards Lee.
“Sasori and most likely Zetsu are both criminals. Sasori is a confirmed murderer.” His expression broke when his lips tightened and he lowered his eyes. This was the part of him that he hadn’t wanted Lee or anyone in their group to know about, but there was a lot at stake here and Lee needed to understand. “They’re part of an organization called Akatsuki, the one that’s been known to instigate kidnappings and political killings in Suna and neighboring cities. My team and I suspect their involvement in the disappearance of our third chairman, my grandfather.”
Lee’s eyes widened and his breath hitched at Gaara’s news. He rolled onto his side and propped his head up, looking at Gaara with concerned eyes. His friend’s expression didn’t change, but he could feel the tremors in Gaara’s body through the mattress. He put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, squeezing gently and then letting it rest there in comfort. He knew first hand that Gaara would need time to think about his brother before he would be comfortable talking about it, so instead Lee focused on the news concerning Sasori and Zetsu.
“That is why you reacted so hostile to them when we entered the hotel, right? I was wondering what made you act like that.” Lee glanced over Gaara and just noticed how much room the redhead had ignored on the other side of the bed, choosing to sleep closer instead. He dismissed it without another thought, however. “Do you think they would still be a danger, in these conditions? Political killings are not very relevant right now, since the outbreak.”
“They’re still criminals.” Gaara licked his dry lips, brows knotting at the hand on his shoulder. It stopped most of the tremors running through him as he found a point to focus on. “Sasori’s grandmother Chiyo was on the Suna Council. Even she was subject to threats and blackmail by the Akatsuki. She refused to follow their whims and was eventually killed a few months ago, though her death was reported as a car accident. If he can do that to his family, he won’t hesitate despite the outbreak. The same goes for any member of the group.”
Something important nagged at him, like a loose string dangling in the air that he couldn’t reach. But his thoughts were too jumbled at the moment for him to pinpoint what it was. His feet brushed against Lee’s as he settled in, the contact barely grabbing his attention as he continued in a deadpan tone, “Temari says she has him under her watch, and she knows how dangerous he can be. He’s good at coordinating everyone’s responsibilities and knowing what job is best for each person, but that only gives him an advantage over everyone.”
“Wow...” Lee murmured, baffled. He twitched when he felt Gaara’s feet brushing against his, but didn’t mind. In fact, Gaara’s feet were much warmer than his, so he pulled closer and even went so far as to tangle their ankles, curling his cold toes.
“You are right. He is dangerous, and we need to be careful around him,” Lee frowned and sighed, shaking his head. He slumped a little against his pillow. “Things were bad enough when the only dangerous thing we needed to worry about was the zombies, but now it seems we are back to fearing each other as well. This is not youthful at all.”
Whatever he was feeling, Gaara’s lips twitched up involuntarily at that. There were so many words to describe their situation, and Lee still thought of it in ‘youthful’ terms. If the other man had been in his position at the company, he’d soon run out of ways to describe what the human mind could cook up with the right motives. He craned his head to the side, eyes losing their cold edge and lidding in silent humor instead.
“You trust people too much, Lee, but because of it, you have people on your side ready to fight for and protect you. You know what he is now. He won’t be able to catch you off-guard as long as you’re careful.” Gaara stopped and held in a breath, suddenly aware of the light tangle of their ankles and the truth of what he’d just said. It was too much, too close to saying he’d be that person standing next to him. And that it wouldn’t be just because they were friends. His hooded eyes seemed to lower further, hiding away the gleam of his eyes in the dark.
Lee’s expression became wise and serious for a few seconds as he thought about Gaara’s words. Then he smirked and shook his head. “Everyone I know seems to believe that I am incredibly naive. I like to trust people first, until I am proven wrong, but I guess most people would rather do it the other way around.” Lee glanced down at Gaara, but the redhead wasn’t looking at him. Lee blinked, then cocked his head to the side.
“Did Miss Temari cut your hair already?” he asked, letting go of Gaara’s shoulder to touch his bangs. He brushed the red strands out of Gaara’s face and held them up, trying to remember how long they’d been before. “I only just noticed. Did she just do a trim?”
Gaara’s expression was caught between disconcertment and surprise at the sudden handling of his hair. Eyes blinking wide, he stared at the fingers holding his bangs up, almost causing him to go cross-eyed as his thoughts were effectively interrupted. “...She cut off a lot more than she said she would.” He replied, tensing under Lee’s careful scrutiny. Where did this interest in his appearance come from? Lee had asked similarly personal questions last night.
That brief look of contemplation and the smirk Gaara barely caught on Lee’s face, held the same confidence the man carried himself with, but was far from his usual outspokenness and eagerness. What he’d said conveyed a lot about him beyond the morally upright and gullible cameraman he seemed to be.
It was too late in the night to mull about darker things, and it was painful to think about the rest. The redhead sank into the welcome distraction of sizing up this new side of his friend. He slowly relaxed against the other man and asked, in a subdued but cautious tone, “How old are you?”
“I am twenty-four. I think my birthday is soon, though. How old are you?” Lee played with Gaara’s bangs for another moment, then ruffled his hair and let it fall back into place. Lee thought the new cut looked good on him. Maybe he would ask Temari to do a trim for him, too. Lee lowered his propped arm onto his pillow and cushioned his head on his elbow. At this lower angle, he could only see the side of Gaara’s face, and the dark rings around his eyes were more prominent and close in his vision. He rested his hand back on Gaara’s shoulder and yawned.
“I lost track of time... do you know what month it is now?”
"Close to December." Gaara frowned from Lee ruffling his hair, but it melted away at the realization that Kankuro had constantly done that even when they'd started working for their father. He shut his eyes and pulled the blankets up to his shoulders where he gripped the bunched up fabric. His breath came fast at an overwhelming sense of loss.
Lee's eyes were on him though and he answered him with a heavy exhale. "I thought you were younger than me, but you're the same age as Temari. I'm twenty four by January."
“You are younger than me?” Lee noticed the unhappy way Gaara closed his eyes tight from his close angle, but didn’t say anything about it. He rubbed the redhead’s shoulder with his thumb, snuggling further under the covers next to his friend. “I had not thought about how old you might be. You are very mature, but you also look very young, when you are not scowling. If it is close to December now... my birthday has probably already passed. It was mid November.”
Gaara’s eyes opened into mere slivers, sliding to look at Lee. “...Did you want to celebrate?” He asked, his voice grown tight. His shoulder felt sensitive from the constant movement of Lee’s hand on it, but he let it go on without brushing it off like he would have before. “The date doesn’t matter.” He wasn’t the type to party or celebrate birthdays, but...Tenten would have wanted it. In the short while that he’d known her, she had been both like a sister and a more expressive version of Temari- who took important dates to heart.
“Oh, no thank you. We have enough going on without having to worry about things like that.” Lee smirked and closed his eyes as he breathed into his pillow. “Instead of a birthday party, it would probably be a celebration that I survived another year, you know?” Lee chuckled ironically.
“What about you? Do you usually do anything special for your birthdays?”
Shutting his eyes again, Gaara felt the day’s exhaustion catch up with him. It wasn’t like him to care so much about what someone else wanted, and the polite refusal reminded him of that. “We used to eat out when there was a birthday. Before my father began to travel.” His words were drifting off already as the comfort of the bed and Lee’s warmth lulled him to sleep. “They were...nothing special.”
With his brows still faintly knotted, Gaara fell into silence as his breath deepened and unaware that he hadn’t even rolled onto his side this time around.
Lee lapsed into silence with Gaara for a few minutes, feeling himself drifting off slowly. He blinked open his eyes after a while and examined Gaara’s expression as it relaxed, though it wasn’t completely peaceful. His brows were unhappy and the dark rings around his eyes twitched occasionally. Lee could understand how he felt, now that he knew his sister was alive, but that his brother was not. Heavy relief, devastation and loss, and the contrast would make it all the more difficult to bear.
The only thing Lee could do was support his friend and keep him company. Lee relaxed and slowly fell asleep, hoping that neither he or Gaara would have anymore nightmares tonight.

Morning peered through a part in the curtains and shone on the bed. Gaara jerked awake with the faint red glow behind his eyelids, his heart pounding fast in his chest as he sank into soft covers and felt stiff arms wrapped around him. Acting on instinct, the redhead twisted around and promptly knocked his head against whoever or whatever had him in its hold. His head hummed painfully as he tugged on the limbs across his chest, eyes trying to blink past the haze of sleep and adjust to the filtered light.
“Ah-! Oww...” Lee grumbled, waking abruptly with a flinch as Gaara’s head butted against his. He blinked rapidly and pulled back, groaning. He pulled his arms away as Gaara tugged them, and only just realized he’d wrapped around Gaara after falling asleep.
Lee rolled over, still dazed and half asleep. Disoriented from the sharp jolt when Gaara head butted him, Lee promptly found the edge of the bed and fell over it with a heavy thump. He dragged most of the covers with him, until only his feet were uncovered as the blankets fell on top of him. He stayed there, still dazed, but trying to understand where he was and how he’d gotten there.
The sudden coldness seeping onto his uncovered feet brought him to full awareness, and Gaara squinted against the light to make out the rich colors of the hotel room. Remembering where he was and who he was with, the redhead pulled himself to the side of the bed and found a pile of blankets with a Lee-shaped bump. His golf club was thankfully resting on the carpeted floor below the bed.
Gathering the blankets off of his friend and throwing them on the bed, he stared down at Lee once he was uncovered. “You were hugging me.” The rasped statement was partly an apology, coming from Gaara, and partly implying that it was Lee’s fault for hugging him in the first place. His body still held lingering traces of warmth and there was a twinge in his stomach when he couldn’t remember falling asleep last night.
Gaara’s lips were pressed in a firm line as he got down on the floor next to the other man and drew closer to see if he’d broken skin. “Where does it hurt?” His own forehead was starting to redden and swell.
“Oh,” Lee sat up slowly and rubbed his forehead, wincing. Ow. That was a very abrupt way to wake up. “Just my head, above my eye.” Lee shifted, and winced again. “I think I landed on my shoulder.”
Lee shivered, cold without the blankets wrapped around him. His lips pulled up ruefully at Gaara, though his forehead was starting to pound insistently. “Sorry. I guess I got too comfortable after we fell asleep.”
"I thought we were still on the streets." Gaara said, reaching out and brushing Lee's bangs aside. They were both going to sport lumps in their foreheads. He shivered when he started to feel the cold higher up on his body. He wasn't a medic, but he had picked up a few things from Sakura and Moegi when they'd treated him, and Lee's shoulder probably caught most of his weight.
"I'll get some ice for that later." He held out a hand. "Come back to the bed. Let me check your shoulder."
“Thanks.” Lee took Gaara’s hand and tugged himself up until he was standing. The last edges of the blankets slid off his legs. He sat on the edge of the bed, his brain slow and groggy this morning. “Do you always forget where you are when you first wake up?”
Gaara's eyes narrowed briefly, unable to tell if Lee was just teasing him. "No. Tell me if it hurts." He sat behind the other man and began to press along his shoulders. A glance out the window confirmed that it was late in the morning already. Had they really slept that long? "Temari said one of the scouting parties arrived after everyone went to bed last night. Find out what they know about the area and if there are any usable vehicles. I need to discuss our stay with her and the likelihood of bringing people from the mall here.”
His fingers dug against the cord of muscle running between Lee’s shoulders where it probably built up from having to lug a heavy camera around.
“I can do that. I will see if anyone is still in the dining area for breakfast and ask around.” Lee tilted his head to the side to stretch out his shoulder for Gaara. He thought about just shrugging it off and telling his friend he’d had worse than a bruise or two, but he was still partially waking up and didn’t feel like putting up a fight. He winced when Gaara’s fingers dragged along his outer shoulder, which had hit the ground first. “Right there.”
Lee looked up at his friend and smirked as a thought came to him. “Have you always had those reactions in the morning when you wake up next to someone? I can imagine you kicking a significant other out of bed because you cannot remember him in the morning.” Lee grinned and chuckled, then winced again at Gaara’s fingers on his shoulder.
The look on Gaara’s face could only be described as withering as he felt around the area Lee had winced at. It didn’t feel like anything was out of place. Just swollen. “Lee, the few times I’ve dated anyone and had sex with them, I never slept over.” He said, irritation creeping into his voice as he let go of Lee’s shoulders. Getting off the bed, he picked up his golf club and the straps he’d dropped last night, slipping them around his body again and buckling them in place. They were actually meant for archers, but the redhead preferred his sturdier weapon of choice in close range. He sheathed the club head-first into the holder. “Have Moegi check it later. She should have a balm to help it de-swell.”
“Alright, alright,” Lee rolled his shoulder and quit his teasing. Gaara was always too serious! Shaking his head, Lee stood and made his way to the bathroom to brush his hair and wash up. A few minutes later, both boys left the room and headed downstairs to begin their day.

In the hotel’s restaurant, several of the resident survivors had laid out a table with breakfast. It had been sparse to begin with, so by the time Lee arrived there was only enough for him to eat a few bites, but he wasn’t complaining. As he grabbed a small paper plate, he looked around the room for unfamiliar faces, searching for the scouts that Gaara had spoken about. If they had been out last night, he wouldn’t have met them at dinner. It wasn’t until Lee set his plate of crackers on a table and started to sit down that he noticed someone all too familiar on the far side of the room. He could only see the back of the man’s head, but Lee recognized him instantly and his heart thumped in response.
“NEJI!!!!” Lee exclaimed, appearing across the room at lightning speed and embracing his old friend. The other man grunted in shock, and stiffened inside Lee’s impressively strong hold. Lee was almost vibrating with excitement, and powerful manly tears were already streaming down his face in a torrent. Everyone at the table Neji had been about to sit down at was staring openly.
“I cannot believe it, you are alive! I am so happy to see you! After all the struggles and horror that life has thrown at us, you and I both managed to persevere and continue to walk the path of youth and living! I am so happy!”
“Lee, I can’t breathe,” Neji gasped in a hiss, squirming in his friend’s tight grip. When Lee’s arms finally loosened the man gasped loudly and his face became less red. He turned to his friend and looked him up and down slowly, eyes wide. “It really is you... I am relieved. I thought you had died.”
“Oh! You two know each other?” Hinata piped up from the next seat over, lacking her tell-tale stutter and the paleness she’d had on her face while on the run. Smiling at the two men, she said with gentle teasing, “Neji is my cousin. We must have been destined to meet in this hotel.”
Placing a hand on Hinata’s shoulder, Neji echoed the smile with a small, fond one. “Perhaps. I heard all of you came from the mall in the other district.” He turned to Lee and gestured to the seat next to him. “Come and sit down with us. With everything going on, it’s good to see an old friend. It’s been too long since we last saw each other. ”
“No kidding!” Lee sat down next to Neji, his crackers at the other table forgotten. He was grinning broadly, almost blinding a couple people as the light flashed off his teeth. “I have not seen you in person in... almost two years now. How have things been?”
“Things have been great for me, except for the zombie apocalypse,” Neji almost rolled his eyes at his friend as he sat down as well, his back straight and proper. He’d always had proud posture. “I was staying in the hotel on business when everyone began dying. I was working as a representative for the Hyuuga clan.”
“Wow, really?” Lee replied, impressed. Neji and Hinata’s clan was very prestigious, and it was rare for anyone outside of the main branch to hold a position such as that. Most worked harder jobs, often menial around the property, or serving the main branch. “You must have been working hard for them to finally recognize you! I suppose it is a shame that the outbreak hit while you were on business like that.”
“A virus outbreak at this scale isn’t going to be convenient for anyone,” Neji remarked, taking a sip from his water glass. “We’re lucky to be alive.”
“Of course, of course,” Lee rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, though he was still beaming with excitement.

“In any case, I’m glad to have found Hinata alive and well. If Uncle Hiashi is alive in Konoha, he’d want news of her survival.” Neji said, looking gravely at Lee. That fact alone would clue his friend about Hinata’s connections to the main branch in his family. As well as why he never mentioned her. He could still remember those years he’d spent angry at the old-fashioned traditions held between main and branch family members, and the times he’d been cruel to his childhood friends and even his cousins because of it. He and Lee had duked it out a lot of times when they were young.
“He’d want to know that you’re okay too, Neji.” Hinata touched her cousin’s arm just as Kiba came to the table with his own plate of light snacks. The man seated himself next to Hinata, locking eyes with Neji, and for a moment, there seemed to be sparks of tension between the two. Something must have gone on before Lee arrived at the table.
Taking his eyes off of Kiba, Neji addressed his friend again. “I’m surprised you’re in Suna. Weren’t you part of a station in Konoha with Tenten? Have you heard any news about her?”
Lee was just reeling at the hint that Hinata was from the main branch, but his thoughts were derailed when Tenten was mentioned. For a brief second he sat up and smiled, ready to tell his friend all about his work adventures with Tenten, before his expression sobered and reality hit him cruelly. He looked down and clasped his hands. “Tenten and I were staying at the mall together, but there was an accident. She went on a scouting mission without me, and when she came back she had a bite wound on her leg. She did not make it.”
The cool collected look on Neji’s face gave way to a myriad of emotions from shock, horror, and nausea, until it settled into one of pained resignation. He’d seen much of the same while he was here and knew it would be pointless to hope for a better outlook back home. “She was always strong no matter what happened. While you and I constantly fought and had our hang-ups, she never let life bring her down.” He took a larger drink of water and brushed a hand over his face.
“She didn’t die from the bite, ya know.” Kiba said quietly as he bit into a piece of jerky. Hinata stared at her friend in disbelief, hurt that he would bring that up now. “Kiba.” She shook her head.
“What does that mean?” Neji asked, glancing at Kiba with a distrustful glare. He looked at Lee for explanation.
Lee lowered his thick brows at Kiba, but shook his head and frowned unhappily. “She was still alive when she arrived at the mall with the bite mark. She was sick, and I held her while she was dying, but...” Lee’s voice broke. He cleared it uncomfortably, looking down from his friend’s intense eyes. Neji always had the most piercing stare, and this still wasn’t easy to talk about. Neji handed his water glass to Lee, who took it and drank gratefully before he continued.
“She had all the symptoms. There was nothing we could do that would save her. I wanted to bring her inside and use ice to bring down her fever, but it would not have made a difference. Gaara shot her before she could turn.” Lee flinched, hearing the words out loud like the gunshot itself.
Neji had long gotten past blowing up in anger, but his blood ran cold at this revelation. “Who’s Gaara?” His voice was as tight as his clenched fists.
“Heh. You’ll know him soon enough.” Kiba looked away from Hinata and popped a couple of chips in his mouth.
“I see. I’ll have a word with him when I finally meet him.” Neji promised, letting go of his anger for now as he looked at Lee. “I’m sorry you had to go through that alone. Tenten is my best friend too.” Was. He clasped Lee’s arm in shared mourning before there was a loud clang of silverware from the simple buffet laid out
“Hahhh! Stop trying to peer down my friend’s shirt, pervert!” A girl with long brown hair was holding another girl close and pointing accusingly at a man in shades. Said man was holding out his hands in placation even when he had a dark flush on his face.
“How dare you accuse me of such a thing! I would never sully this prestigious hotel’s name-” The man went on.
Letting out a long sigh, Neji pointedly ignored the scene on the other end of the room. “Hinata, don’t ever go near Ebisu alright?”
“I-I won’t.” His cousin glanced behind them in bewilderment. Their group had spent so long fighting for their lives and surviving together at the mall that such outbursts had her on edge.
Lee was still nodding, Neji’s hand on his arm comforting and familiar in a way that made his chest ache. He liked Gaara, and he enjoyed being a team with him against the outbreak, but he really missed being around friends he’d known for years, who he’d had a long and drawn out history with that could never be overlooked or forgotten. He tried to twitch his lips up in an appreciative smile, but could only frown unhappily. With the pervy old man as a distraction, Lee moved onto a new topic.
“So Neji,” he said, turning and giving his friend his full attention. “Can you tell me about the scouting trips you’ve had?”
Neji nodded. “They’re not necessarily scouting trips. This hotel runs on its own resources, and has a separate water system from the city’s. I’ve been taking repair and maintenance teams out to make sure our water supply remains untainted, and check in on the solar power plant outside the city’s borders. Ebisu was the concierge for the Crimson Sand, so he knows where everything is located.”
He leaned forward on the table, propping his chin on folded fingers. “We’re fortunate to stay in this hotel, but people are getting too comfortable. Temari needs to have a tighter grip on rations.”
Lee looked around at a couple other tables. There were a few couples laughing and chatting, some even dressed fashionably or with make up on. “I suppose from the safety inside the hotel, it is hard for some people to let go of luxury.” Lee said thoughtfully. “It would be easy to forget that food and clean water have to be fought for right now.”
“So, does this mean that Miss Temari is in charge here?” It wouldn’t surprise Lee that Gaara’s skills and leadership tenancies were a family trait.
“She keeps everyone in line.” Neji replied with a small frown. “Everyone was panicking and divided when she arrived with Baki, and a few others. I’ll introduce them to you later. Remember that this hotel is expensive, and those who can afford staying here don’t take kindly to those ordering them around. Temari has the benefit of a well-known family name in Suna though, and I’ve seen what she does to those who try to cause trouble.”
“I understand,” Lee said, nodding and glancing at the other tables again. He’d probably end up spending most of his time with people he already knew anyway, and he could leave leadership to the Sabakus. They were powerful people, and they knew best how to keep everyone alive.

In a lounge just a couple rooms away from the service desk, Temari was having a discussion with one of the guests with a first floor room. The guest was having trouble sleeping at night because of the moaning outside, and was demanding a room on a higher floor, or that the zombies be taken care of. Temari had just finished explaining that- while the number of zombies in the local blocks had been seriously lowered thanks to the incline and sharpshooters- it was impossible to get them all. Moving to another room was an option, but it wasn’t a good idea since the only free rooms left now were far away from everyone else in the hotel.
Just when Temari had diverted the guest’s whines and complaining, she turned and nearly bumped into Lee, who had been waiting patiently for a break in conversation to speak with her.
“Hello, Miss Temari!” Lee smiled and waved in greeting friendily. “I was just looking for Gaara. Have you seen him around?”
Temari blinked at Lee, momentarily stumped when he waved at her this close. She smoothed down the lilac dress she had on and perched a hand on her hip. “I haven’t seen him since this morning. I thought he’d be with you.” She said calmly, even when her eyes- a darker green compared to Gaara’s -were watching Lee closely.
“Oh, we went different places after we got up this morning,” Lee smiled and shrugged. There was something unnerving in Temari’s look that reminded him of the way Gaara sometimes looked at him. With Gaara it usually meant that he was trying to decipher something incredibly optimistic or youthful that Lee had said, but he didn’t know what Temari was thinking. “He asked me to do something and get back to him. Do you know where he might have gone?”
“Gaara would want to know everything about this place. He’s probably exploring.” Temari replied with a quick smile- a sharp one that made her look like she was plotting something. “You seem very close to him. I’m curious to know what he hasn’t told me of the months he’s spent with you.”
“Come this way, Lee Rock.” With a look of intent on her face, she tapped Lee’s shoulder and headed to the far side of the lounge where there were fewer guests lingering about.
Lee hesitated, feeling uneasy for some reason he couldn’t quite place. Temari had smiled at him though, and she wasn’t saying anything that should have made him uncomfortable, so Lee brushed it off as his imagination and followed behind the blond woman as she instructed. He tugged at the collar of his thick green sweater as he walked, and brushed down his hair. “I was just speaking to Neji, and he told me about what you do here. I was very impressed that you have been managing so many people at a time like this.”
“Thank you. It’s a hard task to carry out in these times, but someone has to do it.” Temari took one of the separate sofa pieces without a backrest, crossing her legs as she sat down and gesturing to the long, soft sofa chair across from her. She knew for a fact that it was the type that had you sinking down into it. "Please take a seat.”
Once Lee reached the sofa, she placed one hand on her knee and the other resting on top of it. Temari ran the internal affairs of Kazekage Industries, and right now, she gave Lee the same attention she would employ on important matters. “I read from Sasori’s notes that you were a cameraman covering the virus. Gaara mentioned that the footage you took was significant in covering what happened at the start of the outbreak. How did you come across him exactly?”
Lee sat down and shifted in the sofa, blinking at how fluffy it was. He sank deep into the cushions as if there weren’t even any springs. It was difficult to sit up. “Um, my friend Tenten and I were running for our lives when we bumped into Gaara in an alley. We asked if we could stay with him, and he took us to the apartment.”
Lee wondered where Temari’s line of questioning was going to lead. Was she curious about Tenten? Or maybe that they may have inconvenienced her brother? It was difficult to tell. “He saved our lives.”
Temari nodded, the faint smile on her face softening for a second. “Not many people would be willing to do that.” She said, before moving on. “I recognized the shirt worn by Kiba Inuzuka as my brother Kankuro’s. From Gaara’s account, he allowed another three people to stay at our apartment. I also understand that one of those people was killed on the way to the mall. Do you think Gaara was partly to blame for his death?”
“Of course not!” Lee’s eyes widened and he shook his head. What kind of a question was that?! Lee defended his friend, “Gaara did everything he could to make sure we got to the mall safely, there was nothing he could do! No one is to blame for what happened to Shino.”
“Maybe not in that instance. But I’ve noticed Kiba holds some animosity towards him.” Temari replied, her eyes gleaming much like her brother’s would. It wasn’t the right time to lay the hard questions yet, so she diffused the situation with an easy one. “Tell me about your stay at the mall. You spent a long time there, didn’t you?”
“Yes, a couple months,” Lee settled back down into the sofa, realizing he’d jumped to the edge of his seat. His feathers de-ruffled as he shifted and clasped his hands on his lap. “It was hard to keep track of time after the outbreak, though. Gaara, Tenten, and I all stayed together in a wing of the mall.”
“I see. You must have become quite close then. Otherwise, Gaara wouldn’t have agreed to that arrangement.” Temari brushed back her hair, which was tied in an unusual four-piece ponytail style. “I’m sure you’ve seen how he’s more of a loner and introvert unless required otherwise. And with the mall’s generators reserved for the winter, the nights must have been cold.”
Temari allowed the smirk she'd been keeping in to show on her face. “Was that when you and your friend began sleeping in the same bed with him?”
“Oh, that,” Lee immediately realized how that would seem odd and blushed. It hadn’t ever seemed weird at the time, since he and Gaara were so comfortable with each other, but to anyone else it would have other implications for them to sleep in the same bed. “Yes, we each had our own mattress at first, but we pushed them together when the nights got too cold. We slept with Tenten between us, until we lost her.” Lee’s eyes saddened at the memory and he glanced away, but he continued speaking. “We still needed to keep warm after that. We are just friends.”
“I’m sorry for the loss of your friend. Gaara said she was a strong woman.” Temari said gently, the sadness echoed in her eyes as it reminded her of Kankuro. She’d had more time to reconcile with his death, and knew that he had at least gone down fighting, but it didn’t hurt any less. “Was Gaara close to anyone else at the mall besides the two of you? He mentioned drinking sessions but only said they were also planning sessions with this Naruto Uzumaki.”
“Yes, he and Naruto got along well. He was also friends with Hinata. He did not go out of his way to make friends a lot, but he became very close to me and Tenten.” Lee thought as he looked down at the sofa’s armrest. He plucked at a loose thread. “That was about it. He got along with some of the others, but we were the only ones I think you could count as close friends.”
Temari hummed quietly, mulling over that. "Gaara doesn't make friends easily. Our family prefers to stick together, since trust is hard to gain from all of us.” Her lips pulled up into a rueful smile. “So I wondered why he chose to stay with you last night when he had been staying with me. He must have felt safer sleeping next to you, besides both of you getting hit on the head during the night somehow." Her eyes flicked up at the slightly red bump on Lee’s head, which looked much better after being treated by Moegi.
Was Temari jealous? Or possibly being protective of her little brother? Lee struggled to sit straighter against the fluffy cushions, trying to look trustworthy. His characteristically wide eyes shone. “We have just grown used to being near each other is all. To be honest, we were both having trouble sleeping before. Tenten would have wanted us to stick together, too. And as for the head bump,” Lee rubbed the spot over his eye self consciously. It wasn’t nearly so bad after Moegi had looked at him, but he was still going to have a small bruise for a little while. “That happened when we woke up. I was accidentally wrapped around him in the night, and he forgot who I was when he woke up, so he head butted me.”
“You sleep right next to each other to the point where you can wrap your arms around him in the night.” Temari’s brows raised faintly as she emphasized each word. “And he doesn’t mind?”
She began to tap her pointer finger against her knee as her overprotective sister senses kicked in. Gaara wasn’t shy about letting people know his orientation, even if he didn’t volunteer that information to just anyone. And this was starting to sound like one of those things Kankuro sometimes had to drink himself unconscious whenever Gaara brought them up. “He’s never had friends as close as you two seem to be. Most of the time, he’d rather confide in Kankuro...” Her brows drew tight. “But I've never heard of anyone he's been this comfortable with. Are you in a relationship with him?”
“A relationship?” Lee’s brows furrowed in confusion, before Temari’s meaning clicked into place and he understood. “Oh! I know that Gaara is gay, but we are not- not like that, together. We are just friends. We are just really comfortable with each other. I have never been with men that way, so...” Lee let his voice trail off, shrugging. He felt embarrassed, discussing things like this openly. Temari was less blunt than Gaara, but she still knew how to reach the core of a discussion fast.
Temari stared at Lee without speaking, letting the last of Lee’s words trail off in the air between them. The man sounded sincere and probably was telling the truth, but she knew her brother. He wouldn’t voluntarily subject himself to intimate contact or even let people into his personal space without good reason. And it was in her nature to doubt Lee’s sincerity, especially after what had happened. She nodded curtly and leaned back, letting her body relax before she set off a bomb, “So you remained friends with him even after he shot Tenten in the back.”
Lee’s jaw dropped and he blinked widely. A short, strangled sound came out of his throat as if he’d been trying to say something and the words wouldn’t come. He shook his head once, shortly. “It... that- he cared about Tenten,, too. It was not like-” Lee shifted, uncomfortable under Temari’s intent and unwavering stare. He tore his eyes away and looked down at his hands, forcing himself to take a deep breath. Then he took another. “We did not agree about what happened, but- Tenten would have wanted us to stay together. It was important. Especially because he needed someone to support him as the leader when the group traveled here, since he wasn’t close to anyone else. Tenten... she would have wanted me to be his friend.”
“I don’t care what Tenten wanted you to do.” Temari said evenly, her face grown neutral and emotionless until her resemblance with Gaara was uncanny. “You say you two are close friends, but the only reason you have for it is because Tenten wanted you to stay together. You don’t even have the excuse of being in a relationship with him. What if she hadn’t? What if she really felt betrayed by his actions? If it weren’t for Gaara, she might have had a chance. You could have tried to cure her. He didn’t even give you that.”
“There is no cure,” Lee said, though it seemed like he was speaking more to himself than Temari. “There- there was nothing I could have done. He... I do not like what he did, and I would have stopped him if I could, but he did it for the right reasons.” Lee had practically been rehearsing this argument ever since he’d made the decision to stay friends with Gaara. It was clear in the automatic tone of his voice that it was hard for him to believe his own words this time. He knew it was true, that Gaara had done it out of mercy, there was very little other choice, but... Lee dragged a hand down his face, wincing. “Tenten was bitten. There was nothing we could have done, and she was terrified of turning. Gaara told me that Kankuro was bitten, but did you see him die? How do you know for a fact that he is not alive?” Lee looked up and frowned at Temari. “It is because there is no cure, and we know that.”
Temari took a deep breath and stared impassively at Lee. “Yes, there is no cure that we know of at the moment. Even if there is, those who are bitten die and turn too quickly for us to find it.” She met the man’s eyes continued, “I only have one brother left, Lee. I know how he puts the end above the means and sometimes hurts people for their own good. He can be callous, calculating and tactless. But I see how he’s come to value you besides being a warm body to sleep next to at night.”
Her gaze hardened suddenly and her relaxed posture straightened up. “Don’t make him regret letting you grow close to him. If you can’t forgive him for what he’s done, the least you can do is to keep him from knowing how his friend really thinks of him.”
Lee’s expression changed very quickly, shifting from more shock, outrage at her insinuation, hurt, regret, and finally resignation. There was nothing more he could say to her that would convince her of his good intentions toward her brother. Lee nodded, then slowly stood up from the sofa, his lips twisted unhappily. “Excuse me, Miss Temari. I need to continue searching for Gaara. Thank you for being so concerned about your brother.”
Temari stood up as well, watching the unhappy look on Lee’s face. Her methods were cruel, but it revealed a lot of things she now tucked away for examination later on. Her instincts and the result of her questioning told her that Lee hadn’t completely let go of Tenten’s death or Gaara’s involvement in it, but there was still genuine friendship there. “Wait.” She said, walking the short distance between them. Her face still set in that hard expression, she pulled the tall man into a brief hug and let go of him with a quick nod.
“Thank you for being his friend. You’ll find Gaara in the control room.” She didn’t wait for a response as she turned heel and headed for the lounge exit.
Lee blinked after the woman, a mumbled thanks on his lips as he shook off his shock. Just when he’d begun to think that Temari was only cruel and fierce about getting what she wanted, she’d already changed his mind by reminding him what she was protecting so strongly. Temari was just being a good sister, in the best way she knew how, bystanders be damned. Lee paused, watching her leave through the exit doorway before moving his feet and heading toward the control room.
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