Chapter 21

-Matsuri's POV-

I winced as Ino dabbed the graze on my side with rubbing alcohol, and she glanced up to offer me an apologetic look before returning to her work. Both that one and the one on my neck needed stitches. Unfortunately, we hadn't encountered a suture kit amidst our travels, so my wounds were being prepped to be sewn closed by a household needle and thread.

I glanced at the stove in the kitchen, manned by Tenten.

All the tools they were about to use were being boiled to sterilize them and minimize my chances of getting an infection. My fingers trembled in my lap, and my knee bounced anxiously. I was sitting in a dining chair, and Ino was seated in one facing mine so she could easily lean forward and reach me.

My blood-drenched shirt lay lifelessly on the floor near my feet, and I stared at it with furrowed brows. The blond girl had cut it off with scissors without warning and refused to let me cover up, so I sat in jeans, fuzzy socks, and a bra. Luckily, at my request, Temari was actively trying to keep everyone out of the area.

My eyes watered at the stinging pain the disinfectant caused, and they hadn't even shown me the needle yet.

"Sorry. I know it hurts, but Sakura's still recovering, so I'm all you've got."

I looked at her and tried to smile despite my frantic nerves, "It's okay."

It wasn't actually okay, but she was trying so hard to be gentle, and I couldn't bring myself to admit that I was terrified of what was about to happen. My neck's graze had already been cleaned, and it was the one we agreed needed to be closed first due to its location.

"Alright, stand up for me." I wordlessly obliged and stared at the wall with wide eyes as Ino wrapped a thick piece of gauze around my waist to keep the blood from my side from dripping everywhere while my other injury was being tended to.

"Okay, Tenten, bring all of it over and hold her hair out of the way while I work," Ino motioned for me to sit back down and guided me to rest my head on my folded left arm atop the table, "Keep your right arm relaxed. You can't raise your shoulder until I'm at least halfway through, or it might tear the thread." My breathing picked up as I followed her instructions, letting my right arm fall to my side and wincing when it accidentally brushed the gauze against my other wound.

We couldn't even find any numbing cream to dull the area, so this would almost definitely be more painful than the bullet wounds themselves. Tenten sat all the freshly sterilized tools on the table in front of where my head was resting, atop a glass plate because no one could find a metal tray. I squeezed my eyes shut and whimpered when I saw the needle, my entire body trembling in fear.

"Temari, come hold her hand or something. She's terrified."

Cold hands gently pulled my hair back, but I didn't open my eyes to verify if it was Tenten. They could've pinned my hair or put it up, but they wanted someone still holding my head, so I didn't unintentionally pull away. A warm hand grasped mine, the one on my free arm, and I opened my eyes to see Temari giving me as encouraging a look as she could muster. I squeezed her hand slightly before reclosing my eyes.

If I kept them open and watched Ino approach, I was more likely to try and flee. Ino adjusted my positioning, and I was slightly relieved that I could rest my forehead against my folded arm so no one could stare at my face.

"Okay, Matsuri, I'm about to start. Be strong."

Even if the only thing I could see was the table beneath my arm, my eyes were wide as I waited, but Ino spoke again, making me glance over, "Shit…I need someone to hold either side of the skin."

My hand was released, and I saw the Subaku woman hurry to the kitchen to wash her hands so she could help. Once she returned and both blond women figured out their strategy of not getting in one another's way, they told me they were about to start again.

My free hand clenched into a trembling fist, released it, and clenched it again. Just as I felt someone touch the skin on my neck, I panicked with a terrified voice, "Can't one of you knock me out or something?"

Ino's voice was empathetic as she replied, "We'd run the possibility of seriously hurting you if we do that, and we don't have time to wait for any medicines to knock you out. I'm sorry, Matsuri. I know this really sucks, but we have to start, or you'll lose too much blood."

Of course, I could tell I was close to that point already, but it was hard to care when I was so focused on my crippling anxiety. I nodded, scared tears dripping onto the dining table, "Okay, go ahead."

Tenten's hold on my hair got a bit firmer, and I felt Temari gently press against the skin below the graze before the needle finally pierced my skin. A gasp escaped my lips before I gritted my teeth and tried to breathe through it. The jolt of pain came every minute or so as Ino worked steadily while trying to be precise.

A cold sweat quickly dusted my skin, and my entire body shivered. A brilliant heat rose to my face when the fifth wave of pain came, and it was almost twice as bad as the others. My shoulder automatically twitched, and a sharp cry tore through my grit teeth.

"Don't move your arm, Matsuri; you'll make us have to start over."

My voice was hoarse as I flexed the fingers on the arm I was supposed to keep completely relaxed, "I'm scared! It hurts! I'm sorry!" A sob wracked my chest, and I tried to choke it back as I waited for them to continue, and soon the pain restarted.

Only one wave came before I felt Ino and Temari pull back, and my chest heaved as I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Have they finished already? It felt like they weren't even halfway done.

"You can't come in here right now!" Tenten barked at someone, but they didn't respond. I tried to raise my head to see what was happening, but she held it down like she'd been instructed.

Someone suddenly held onto my free hand, and I glanced over to see Gaara glaring at the two girls trying to shoo him. My hand trembled and shook in his, but I felt a little better that I had something to grasp. I interrupted Ino's complaining, "Let him stay, please. I need him to stay."

The room got silent, and I'm sure everyone turned to stare at me, but I had my eyes closed as I once again tried to handle my fear. Wordlessly, the girls relented and went back to work. Sniffles and small sounds of pain still managed to come from me as the process carried on, terrified shivers still plaguing my entire body, but I tried to focus on Gaara's warm hand in mine.

My grip tightened with each stitch, and it would've hurt if he could comprehend pain, but he didn't let go or complain even once. Finally, after nearly fifteen minutes, the wound was pulled closed, and I was allowed to sit up.

My chin quivered as I wiped my tears with shaky hands before looking down at Gaara, who was sitting on the floor where he'd been holding my hand to stay out of the girls' way while they worked. He met my eye, and while his glare didn't go away, it did soften as he got to his feet.

My body felt light and jittery as I stood up, but my relief that we were halfway done was so great that I couldn't stop myself from pressing my forehead against his chest, "T-Thank you." The three girls seemed beside themselves in surprise, but I ignored them.

Strong arms hesitantly embraced me, and Gaara spoke in a deep, quiet voice, "You said you were scared." My eyes squeezed shut, and I nodded against his shirt.

To my absolute delight, getting the stitches on my side wasn't even half as painful as my neck, and then I was free to go upstairs and freshen up. Apparently, Neji and Kiba somehow managed to subdue the teenage boy who tased me, and he was tied to a chair in the study, which doubled as Kiba's bedroom. The blond girl hadn't been so lucky.

The Inuzuka boy said he walked in on Shikamaru and Temari while they were indisposed and refused to share a bed with them afterward. My face warmed at the thought. Everyone was sort of pairing off, I noticed. Sai was with Ino, Shikamaru was with Temari, and Tenten loves Neji; this morning, Ino told us that Sasuke and Sakura were paired up. It was clear to literally everyone that Naruto was in love with Hinata. Even if it was just as evident that she felt the same, she would likely deny it for the sake of everyone's safety and comfort. That left me, Kankuro, Kiba, and Gaara.

I wasn't a stupid little girl who believed that just because everyone else was doing it, I had to, too. However, as I thought about the three boys in question, I felt very differently about one in particular.

It was a bittersweet realization, having to acknowledge that I'd fallen entirely for Gaara Subaku because he was the one person who was off-limits in that regard.

No matter how I pictured it, I couldn't see him romantically interested in anyone, much less me. Sure, I'd consider us friends at this point, but that was likely the extent our relationship would ever go. I spent twelve weeks learning how he thinks and feels, so I know better than anyone else that the chances of him ever coming to feel the same were slim to none.

Frowning, I shut the bathroom door behind me and wiped at the tears I thought I'd managed to stop.