Chapter 15

On day ten of living with Gaara and not at the hospital, I began to worry because not one medical bill had arrived in the mail yet. So when my follow-up appointment with Tsunade was complete, I stopped her before she could leave the room.

"Um, do you guys have my address on file?"

The blond woman looked down at her clipboard but seemed to know the answer before verifying, "You're staying at the compound with everyone else, right?"

Heat rose to my face as I nodded and awkwardly averted my gaze, "It's just that I…I haven't gotten any bills yet, and I don't want to cause any trouble by missing them."

I don't doubt that Dr. Tsunade knew how anxious the topic made me because a softness came to her expression, and she gestured for me to sit on the examination chair again. I obeyed with a slight frown. This is a little embarrassing, talking about finances when I'm as broke as can be.

The woman smiled prettily, "Sweetheart, you don't need to worry about that type of thing right now. Focus on regaining the rest of your strength."

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I tried to blink them back as I lowered my voice, "But they're-"

"Matsuri, honey, you aren't going to see a single bill."

My mouth fell slack for a moment in surprise, but I eventually regained my senses, "What? Why? How?"

She hesitated again, averting her gaze to the clipboard, "An anonymous party has already taken care of it. You don't owe the hospital anything except your continued recovery."

It felt like the heart in my chest stopped pumping for a few moments because I was so taken off guard, but I eventually managed to breathe out, "W-Who?"

The woman patted my head a few times before gesturing toward the door, "Anonymous, like I said. Whoever it was, you shouldn't repay their kindness by letting yourself get worked up like this."

My legs felt like jelly as I did as she wanted and followed her out of the room. She walked me to the waiting room, where Gaara and Kankuro sat with bored expressions. When they noticed us approaching, the younger brother stood up with a furrowed brow because my face was undoubtedly either bright red or sickly pale, I'm not sure which.

"Make sure she relaxes for the rest of the day. In her condition, she's susceptible to getting sick if she remains this stressed."

"What're you stressed about, Matsu?" Kankuro mused as he stood and stretched his arms above his head. Temari was working a long shift today, and it was his day off, so he decided to tag along.

Tsunade gave me one more knowing look before returning to the hall we'd come from so she could return to work. My senses seemed more prickly than usual in my state of disbelief. Just like that, in a snap of the fingers, thousands upon thousands of dollars in debt disappeared, and I don't know who did it.

I shook my head, feeling a bit shaky and light-headed, "I'm alright."

The older Subaku brother led us to his car, "You should consider canceling on the girls today if Tsunade says you should relax. I'm sure shopping with Ino alone is stressful enough, not to mention the rest of them."

I slid into the backseat, glad that Gaara wasn't making me sit up front with his brother so neither of them could see the look on my face, "No, I can't do that. Hinata requested to be off work today."

As he drove, Kankuro glanced in the rearview mirror at me, "Well, don't be afraid to bitch 'em out if they get annoying." I nodded, resting my head against the window and closing my eyes.

Who paid all that money? A few of my friends are financially well off, but no one said a thing to me about something so important. I can't imagine someone spending so much without taking credit for such a massive charity. I'll pay them back every penny when I find out who did it, whether a friend or a stranger. It'll take years to do it, but I can't just accept a gift that great.

When we got back to the compound, Ino and Sakura were waiting and immediately stole me away from the boys when the car was parked. "We'll bring her back in one piece, no worries!" Ino yelled over her shoulder when both Subaku men tried to protest.

The blond drove us out of the compound toward the town's business district, where the mall was located. Her driving technique is terrifying and crazy, not to mention her stunning road rage. Tenten and Temari couldn't make it today, but this weekend we're supposed to have a sleepover at either Sakura or Ino's house, so they aren't too hurt that they're missing this. Hinata and Hanabi are meeting us there, though.

Sakura, immune to her best friend's driving habits, applied some lip gloss in the passenger seat's visor mirror as she spoke calmly, "How was your checkup?"

I shrugged, a hand on either side of me against the seat to try and keep myself steady as our driver zigged and zagged her way through traffic, yelling out her window at the other cars like a crazy person, "Tsunade just said to take it easy for a while longer."

The pink-haired girl rubbed her lips together to even out the thin layer of makeup as she closed the mirror and turned slightly in her seat to offer me a smile, "She's right. I know it's boring, but it'll probably be another week or two before it's safe for you to get back to strenuous physical activities."

Ino snickered, "You know damn well she's been getting plenty of strenuous physical activity with Gaara."

A wild blush erupted onto my cheeks as I tried to argue, "D-Don't-!"

Sakura laughed, wagging a finger at me, "Nuh-uh, don't try to lie to us."

Her blond friend added, "Everyone can see how he's looked at you lately. That's a hungry man right there."

My mouth fell open, but she kept going without letting me respond. "Trust me. I know the quiet ones are the wildest. Right, Saku?" The pink-haired girl's face turned a light shade of red, but she surprised me.

I covered my face with my hands, groaning loudly, "Will you two shut up? Y-You're embarrassing me."

Ino cackled loudly, flipping off a nearby car as she passed them on the freeway, "Alright, fine, we'll drop it for now, but we're getting details from you at the sleepover one way or another."

After arriving at the mall, we quickly found the Hyuuga girls, baby Sinzo with them in his little stroller. I grinned at him when he looked at me with a big smile. He looks so much like his sisters that it was hard to believe he's only Hanabi's half-brother and not even blood-related to Hinata.

"Alright, ladies. The goal today is to update Matsuri's wardrobe. Sakura, you focus on beauty products. Hinata, you're on clothes since you have a similar style. Hanabi, you're on shoes, and I'm on undergarments."

Ino wiggled her eyebrows when I opened my mouth to protest, "I don't want to hear a word out of you. Consider this a welcome home gift from us all."

Hanabi grabbed my hand and smiled widely at me when I looked at her in surprise, "Come on, let's go! This is exciting!"

Then I was dragged along for the next four hours into store after store. They made me try on dozens of items to see how they looked or fit.

By the time we took a break at the food court, I was utterly exhausted and overwhelmed and feeling incredibly guilty. They're all spending too much money on me. Any money is too much, but they're going overboard. The girls had already bought enough that two seats and a portion of our table were covered in shopping bags.

"Excuse me. I hope this isn't rude, but are you Matsuri Ohara?" I was pulled from my anxious thoughts by a woman, appearing to be somewhere around fifty years old, with graying dark hair and green eyes. A young boy, maybe seven or eight, held her hand.

The others at my table quieted as I nodded, "Yes, um…Do I know you?"

She shook her head but suddenly had tears in her eyes, "I thought I recognized you from the news. I heard you finally woke up but didn't think I'd run into you like this. Thank you so much for what you did for all of us! So many people owe you their lives, me included!"

My hand was suddenly pulled into hers, and she kissed it before pressing it to her forehead. I blushed and got to my feet, "W-Wait, no, don't do that! It's okay. Please stand back up."

Being approached like this was uncomfortable, that's for sure, but I'm more confused than anything else. This woman saw me on the news? How come this is the first time I'm being made aware that all that happened was made public?

"My grandson and I were there, in Suna, when everything happened. If you hadn't sacrificed yourself like you did, we might not be here today. I want to do something to show my appreciation. Is there anything you need? Anything you want? I don't have much money, but I'll make it happen, whatever it is."

Tears rose in my eyes, and I frantically raised my hands in front of me, pulling it from her grasp and lowering my voice as other pedestrians began staring at us, "That's not necessary, really. I-I'm, um... Please, just stay healthy, I guess. Just live your life, okay? I don't want anything."

Whispers and excited chatter began to fill the room, and soon a crowd was starting to circle the table, especially when Sakura and Hinata were also recognized. Then all of us were fleeing the mall with dozens of people loosely chasing us, cheering words of appreciation and asking for autographs.

All the bags were thrown in the backseat after I dove into it. Ino shouted goodbye to Hinata and Hanabi as she climbed into the front seat, and Sakura joined us in the passenger seat, and then we were jetting out of the parking lot before the crowd could surround the car.

"Holy shit! That's never happened before!" Ino laughed as she sped back onto the freeway.

As my panic began to subside, I felt exhausted, my limbs and eyelids getting a bit heavy, "How did that woman know me?"

Sakura turned in her seat with a guilty expression, "Naruto was interviewed after he got his job back, and his dumbass told them too much." Her brow furrowed understandingly when I frowned, "He didn't know this kinda thing would happen, or he wouldn't have said anything. I bet he didn't think anyone would watch the interview at all."

Ino gushed again, "Are you guys, like, celebrities now? This is awesome!"

Sakura slapped her friend's arm with a glare but sighed in defeat, "I've had a couple people recognize me at work, but never that many at once, and definitely not in public like that." She looked at me again, "You don't look so good… Let's get her home, Ino."

The exhaustion mixed with my continued anxiety about so many strangers knowing my face and the anonymous person paying my hospital bills. By the time we were pulling into Ino and Sai's driveway, I was all but dead on my feet and feeling dizzy.

"Can you walk? I'll carry your bags."

I nodded softly and climbed out of the car after grabbing a couple bags to ease Sakura's load. Ino's phone rang, and she answered it, mouthing an apology as she headed to her house. By how it sounded as she walked away, something had happened at her parents' flower shop in town.

"Let's go."

The sun was low in the sky, so it was almost sunset, but the air was still humid and hot. I followed Sakura weakly, blinking more often than average to keep my vision from blurring over as I tried not to faint. The pink-haired woman rang the doorbell with her elbow, and Gaara answered a moment later.

He seemed confused until she gestured back toward me with her head, "You'd better get her before she passes out." Then she walked past the redhead to find a place to sit all the bags.

Gaara took the few out of my hands and wrapped an arm around my waist as he guided me into the cool air of the house. After firmly instructing him not to let me lift a finger for the rest of the day, Sakura left. I walked over and got a glass of water before sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen island and leaning heavily forward to rest my face on the cool granite countertop.

"Are you alright?"

I swallowed nervously, remembering that Gaara was here and probably worried about my appearance. Sitting up, I nodded and drank the cold water as he gathered all the shopping bags and took them upstairs to our bedroom. When he came back down, I felt much less overheated but still completely worn out.

After rinsing out my glass, I gently pulled my boyfriend down to kiss him quickly before mumbling tiredly, "I'm gonna go shower."

He nodded wordlessly and followed me upstairs but went into the second bedroom, likely to do some schoolwork.

Before going into the bathroom to bathe, I emptied all the shopping bags onto the bed and stared at the comically large pile of new items. There were clothes, shoes, makeup, lotions, perfumes, and more. Sighing, I began sorting what would go into the dresser, closet, and bathroom.

When I did that, I realized Ino had sneakily bought some relatively mature undergarments without my noticing. Humiliated, I glanced back at the cracked bedroom door to ensure Gaara wasn't there before swiftly burying the lacy red lingerie in the bottom of my underwear drawer where he'd never see it. Somehow, I'll get the Yamanaka woman back for this.

After putting everything away, I cleaned up the tags and empty bags before going to the dresser again, this time for some pajamas to change into once I was done showering. When I grasped the handle of the necessary drawer, I paused and glanced at the closet door.

I want…

Feeling bashful, I quickly showered before drying off and putting on one of my new pairs of underwear before nervously knocking lightly on the other bedroom's door with my arms across my chest to hide my bare breasts. After a moment, the door opened, and Gaara's eyes widened when they took in my appearance.

Face bright red, I averted my gaze and stuttered, "C-Can I have your shirt?"

Gaara opened the door the rest of the way and stared down at me, pink dusting his cheeks as he began pulling his shirt off. Rather than hand it over, though, he gave me a look that said he wanted some elaboration on why I was suddenly requesting the clothes off his back.

My arms tightened around my chest, and I squeezed my eyes closed, "It's been a rough day, and I just… I like the way you smell."

Suddenly, my head was through the neck hole of his shirt, and he was gently tugging my arms away from my chest so I could wear it properly. I slid my arms through the arm-holes and mumbled a thank you out before turning to leave, but he stopped me by grabbing one of my wrists. My eyes darted up to meet his, and my heart fluttered at the warm emotion he offered.

"Get some rest."

I nodded, accepting his soft kisses before following his request and returning to our room to climb into bed. I bashfully grabbed the stuffed bunny he bought me at the hospital off the dresser to curl my body around.

After so much excitement and surprise, I struggled to keep my eyes open over the past hour, but I couldn't seem to fall asleep the moment I lay down. I did so much to make myself comfortable, getting Gaara's shirt and this stuffed animal, but it didn't work. My mind was too busy running a mile a minute.

Out of everything, I want to know the identity of who paid my hospital bills. The fact that they chose to remain anonymous makes me think I know them, something I hadn't thought of earlier in the day, but who would do it?

Initially, my mind jumps to Hinata because of all the friends that'd do something like that, she makes the most sense, but it can't be true. She has her little sister and a baby to care for, not to mention their schooling and her own. Right now isn't the time for her to worry about me and my financial situation, so it has to be someone else.

The Uchihas? Don't get me wrong, they're my friends, and I appreciate them very much, but I can't see either of them doing something like that. Their fiance's maybe, but not them.

Sakura, to my understanding, feels guilty when Sasuke even buys her flowers, so I know she didn't ask him to spend that much money. Ino, despite what one might assume, also wouldn't make such a request. Sure, she happily lets Sai spoil her, and he happily does so, but that's the extent of it. Everything else she buys is with the money she earns from working at her parents' flower shop.

Kiba's family is pretty well off since they own both a restaurant and a pet store, but not so much so that such an act of charity wouldn't put them into a pickle, so it's not him.

A throbbing began to erupt across the back of my head, a headache. Groaning, I curled more tightly around the bunny in my arms and buried my face in its faux fur. This is going to drive me crazy until I know the truth.