Two Oblivious Guys In A Tree

Gaara sat up, breathing heavily, his black-rimmed eyes wide, his hair hanging in his face.

He was in Suna, in his room actually. Though how he got there he didn't know. Why he woke up like that he didn't immediately know, either.

Then he did.

He remembered some blond guy, Deidara, and the fight, and the bird, and he forgot his gourd, and he was exploded in a sand shield, and Deku was with him, and then he fell unconscious, and Deku's not here. . .

Kankuro came downstairs, the gourd casually slung over his shoulder.

"Dumbass," he said. "You bombed the mission, you know." He set the gourd in the corner of the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

Gaara looked at him. No, stared.

"Deku. W-where's Deku."

Kankuro suddenly looked very, very strange, and Gaara suddenly felt very, very cold.

"He wasn't there when we found you. We assumed he'd left."

Gaara gripped the blankets.

"He wouldn't leave. Where is he."

"Gaara, I don't know."

He scratched at the bandages that he was apparently wearing instead of a shirt. Kankuro tried to swat his hand away. Gaara grabbed his wrist, but let go and allowed his hand to fall on the blankets.

"Gone," Gaara whispered. "He's. . . gone."

"You know," Kankuro began, "he was never going to stay around forever. You realize that, right?"

"Shut the fuck up."

Kankuro froze.

"What did you say?"

Gaara glared up at him, hair in his eyes. He wouldn't have looked scary if it weren't for the fact that he could easily kill everyone.

"I said SHUT the FUCK UP."

Kankuro sighed.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find him," he said.

And he left.

He could sleep. He didn't know why, but he could sleep.

He still felt the presence of Shukaku. But it seemed dulled.

"What the heck, Shukaku."

He didn't speak in words, but feelings. And he let out such a sad aura that Gaara almost sobbed.

Damn. Guess he missed Deku.

Or not. He tried to kill him.

Either way, Deku was gone.

And Temari, for some reason, was coming downstairs.

She smiled at him, and leaned on the wall.

"Hey."

"Hn."

Temari sighed.

"Izuku's gone, right?"

"Tch."

"You know, I'm going to look for him as soon as possible."

"Neh."

"Are you just making noises?"

"Fffth."

"Gaara. I know you're upset, but as of now there's nothing anyone can do-"

"And why not." It was more of a demand than a question.

"He's not a ninja, nobody here has even met him before, and from what we know, nobody anywhere else has either. He can barely use chakra, he's-"

"Temari."

She sighed. Sat next to him on the bed, then put her arm around his scrawny shoulders.

Gaara sniffed. Tilted his head into her shoulder.

The siblings just sat.

And then, miraculously, Gaara fell asleep.

Izuku was tied up, and he couldn't see. Not because he was blindfolded, but because it was dark.

"Hello," a voice said.

"What?"

"Hello. You've gotten into a big mess, haven't you."

"Guess I did."

"Not even I can help you."

"Who are you, anyways?"

The voice laughed. It was feminine and masculine at the same time, and monotonous yet subtly expressive.

"You know me, correct? I've spoken to you before."

"Yeah, when Kacchan killed me."

Izuku sighed.

"Who are you. I'm serious."

The voice laughed, again. She sounded feminine.

"Address me as King." And with that, he disappeared, leaving Izuku utterly without company.

"I miss Gaara."

A light was turned on. Izuku was blinded for a moment.

He was in a room. A white room, with white walls and no windows and a single door and a light switch. The door didn't even have a handle. The person who opened it had to prop it with a rock.

An eighteen years old, maybe, with black hair and black eyes and a headband like Naruto's and Sasuke's, but with a line cut through the metal. He actually resembled Sasuke, but more tired. He had the same jacket as Deidara did. He was holding a clipboard and pen.

"Hello," he said. "You're known as 'Deku,' correct?"

Izuku shook his head.

"Yes or no."

"Oh. No, that's not my name."

"What is it, then?"

"No."

The person sighed, writing on the clipboard.

"Answer with words, then."

"My name is Izuku."

"Last name?"

Izuku tried to make up something. He couldn't.

"Bakugou."

"Izuku Bakugou."

"Yes."

"Not Deku?"

"It's a nickname."

The man made a clicking sound and wrote on the clipboard.

"Do you have any relations to Gaara of the Kazekage clan, residing in Sunakagure?"

Izuku blinked.

"No. . ." He was obviously lying, and he was doing that on purpose.

"You and him were fighting Deidara together, and talking to each other during."

Izuku huffed.

"If you already knew the answer, why'd you ask?"

"Because."

"I told you my name," he began. "What's yours?"

The man sighed. He did that a lot.

"I suppose it'll only be a hassle for you to not know." He glanced at Izuku, then the clipboard. "Itachi. Itachi Uchiha."

"Like Sasuke?" They'd become pleasant acquaintances, even friends, over the course of the exams.

Itachi's eyes darted up from the clipboard, and his cold face was replaced by a sort of hidden softness.

"You know Sasuke?" Darn guess he hit a nerve. Izuku grinned.

"Yeah, he and I are friends-" acquaintances- "and he told me he had a brother. That's you, right?"

Itachi sighed yet again. "I'm supposed to be the one interrogating you."

"Sorry. But I'm not wrong."

"You are wrong."

"No. Why does he want you dead?"

"Enough." He grit his teeth and rubbed his forehead. "I'm done with this. Deidara can do it. I don't want to deal with you."

And Itachi left.

Deidara walked in with a clipboard.

"How the hell'd you piss off Itachi? I've been trying to do that for years." Deidara laughed. "Anyways, you did it relatively quickly, so you're stuck with me again. Surprise."

Izuku frowned.

"Why am I here."

"Bait. For Gaara. So we can capture him. And use his power."

"Why?"

"Dunno. Never told me anything."

"Huh."

"Yeah." He laughed again. He was a very positive person. "So. Do you know how to use chakra?"

Izuku shook his head. "I only know a few jutsu, and I'm not very good."

Deidara tapped his pen on the clipboard. "God Itachi's handwriting sucks. What the hell was the power you were using, then?"

"I don't know. I think it's some sort of inherited power." He was just describing quirks in the most general way possible.

"Like a Kekkei Genkai? Noted."

Izuku had no idea what that was, but he was too tired to correct him.

"Are you sexually active?"

Izuku blushed.

"Wha- No! Why would you- I'm fifteen!"

Deidara laughed again.

"Just joking. Seriously though, are you in a romantic relationship of any sort?"

Izuku shook his head, face still pink.

"I- no."

"Mkay, next. . ."

Gaara didn't know what to do for the first few days. He tried to train, but it felt superficial, he tried to sleep but he was too emotional, he tried to talk but he couldn't without sounding pathetic.

Kankuro tried to talk to him, but was too awkward and after a while sounded condescending, even though he was trying to be helpful. He was not.

Temari tried to talk to him as well, but was incredibly blunt and Gaara always either ended up sadder then before, angry, or asleep, and to be fair Gaara just wanted to be sad for a bit before listening to reason.

He was too sad to listen to reason. Reason only made him angry, which made him sad. It was an endless cycle.

God, he just wanted to be back in the forest with Izuku, happy.

Izuku. He should have called him Izuku. His real name.

When Gaara sees him again, he will. Not if. No, never if. If is for people who don't know. Gaara doesn't know but he doesn't know that. It's a double negative, which means he knows.

Probably.

"Do you have history of constipation, diarrhea-"

"Deidara, is this necessary?"

"I want to know what we're dealing with. Are you on your period?"

"I'm a cisgender male. Also that feels sexist."

"Just checking."

A tree. Gaara was sitting in a tree. How did he get there? Well, he walked there. There was no point to that question. Other than the fact that it was one of the only trees in Suna, and it was a palm tree.

He leaned back on the tree. Felt something in his eye. He rubbed at it. It came back wet.

He was crying.

How very odd. Monsters aren't supposed to cry. They don't care. They hate everyone and everything and everyone and everything hates them.

In the tree, Gaara came to a conclusion.

If the Monster and Everyone and Everything hate each other, then there must be someone to love the Monster, or else he would not be considered a Monster, and that's not true.

So.

Either both Gaara and Izuku are Monsters, neither of them are, or there's something wrong with the equation.

But Gaara didn't know what.

"Do you or your family have a history of thyroid issues, heart problems, or cancer?"

"Not that I know of."

"Do you find yourself to be kinky?"

"DEIDARA I'M FIFTEEN."

"So that's a yes. . ."

"N-NO!"

"Sure. Do you say you have any mental illnesses, issues, or disabilities?"

"I'M NOT KINKY DEIDARA."

"God now I know why Itachi hated you. Answer the question."

"I'm pretty sure my dad had something but I don't know what. He's dead."

"That's rough buddy."

Someone stood below the tree Gaara was on.

A girl, actually a little kid. She looked about six.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Gaara."

She grinned. She was missing her front tooth.

"I'm Koriyo!"

"Hello."

"Why are you in a tree?"

Gaara frowned. Why was he in a tree?

"Because my friend left," he decided. "So I'm sad."

"Does the tree help?" She looked like the kid from Spirited Away, which is a fine representation because the main character looked eight years old.

"I guess so."

Koriyo hugged the tree.

"Hey, that does work! You're smart."

"Why are you so sad you need to hug a tree?" Gaara did not know how to deal with kids. They're usually annoying.

"Well, I don't see my brother that much, cause he's a ninja!"

"So you miss him?"

"No. He got me a stuffed bear for my birthday."

"Did you lose it?"

"No. My friend wanted to borrow it, and I said no, and so she's mad at me."

Kids are no good at telling stories.

"Did you guys fight?" Gaara asked.

"No. But she won't talk to me."

Koriyo slammed her forehead into the tree.

"Ow. Why did your friend leave?"

Gaara took in a shaky breath.

"Well, we ran away, you see."

"Why?"

"That's not important. Then, him and I ran into someone who wanted to fight us, and then we fought."

Gaara refused to cry in front of a little kid.

"He beat us, and I was unconscious."

"What does that mean?"

"It's like. . . when you hit your head so hard you fall asleep."

"Oh."

"While I was unconscious, he disappeared."

"Woah!" Koriyo's eyes were wide and bright. If it were animated they would have been stars. "Like magic!"

Gaara chuckled sadly.

"No, because it wasn't magic that took him. I think someone else did."

Koriyo frowned.

"So he was kidnapped?"

"Maybe. But my siblings say I'm being dramatic."

"What does dramatic mean?"

Izuku was left alone for a bit, before Itachi came back.

"Well, you're fine."

Izuku blinked.

"I'm tied to a chair."

"You misunderstand." Itachi smirked slightly. "We need you to join us. We need your power, and we need you to get to your friend, Gaara's, power."

Izuku growled. "What if I refuse?"

"Well, we'll send word where you are. We'll get Gaara here, as planned, and we are going to torture and kill him, with you watching. Then, we are going to use his power to torture and kill you."

This felt familiar. Like it happened, in another world. Lifetime.

"Because it did." Oh look, that androgynous voice again. "Ever thought of the fact that you could be a villain? One wrong move and you could have been the one to kill Kacchan."

Itachi showed no sign of hearing the voice.

"Your answer?"

"Say yes, Izuku," said King.

Reluctantly, Izuku agreed.

"F-fine. I'll join you."

And he did.