Three Demons, One Pain

Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari walked at a steady pace, fast enough for them to get back to Suna in three days but not slow enough for them to take any longer. About two days ago, they had aided Konoha in trying to bring back a shinobi who was leaving the village for the wrong reasons. Unfortunately, they had failed, almost costing their lives. Well, Gaara was the only one who was seconds away from death. Though the mission was a failure, at least they had offered help to Konoha. That seemed to compensate for everything...A little.

They suddenly came to a stop when the forest around them had changed into a scorched wasteland.

"What a change of scenery," commented Kankuro. "It looks like a wildfire did this."

Temari walked away from her brothers, examining every little detail the burnt forest had to offer. It wasn't long before she came across a charred carcass with a hole in its neck. And she wasn't the only one who found seared corpses...Gaara and Kankuro had found the remaining. Two of them had impressive apertures in their chests, one of which was missing an arm that wasn't too far away, and another looked just fine, except for the obvious reason of death. Temari crouched down near the corpse she found and carefully turned it over. The mask the corpse wore was a dead giveaway that they were ANBU.

Lucky for her, the mask wasn't completely singed, the symbol of Kiri easily identifiable. She got up and walked back to her younger brothers.

"They're ANBU from Kiri," she said, looking at the other corpses. "Why are they here?"

"It doesn't matter now. They're dead, aren't they?" said Kankuro, already walking away.

"No, there's one more," said Gaara, looking at a certain path. On the ground nearby, where the grass was still lush, was a trail of blood. Whoever left it behind must have been bleeding a great deal.

"Hm, either they were trying to escape," Temari speculated. "Or survived whatever happened here and were seeking help."

All three continued on, following the somewhat fresh blood. As they walked, they noticed that the trees that were near the bloody trail had dried palm prints of blood on their trunks. They eventually reached the desert, the sun still high in the sky. In the distance, there was a collapsed figure on the ground. They rushed over, wondering if it was already too late to even save whoever it was. When they approached, they saw that it was a girl collapsed on the ground. The kimono she wore was torn in numerous places and saturated with her own blood.

Temari bent down and put her forefingers on a specific area of the girl's neck. She looked up at her brothers with some surprise.

"She's still alive," she told them.

Tsukiko slowly began to come to, wondering why she had not seen the proverbial bright light at the end of a dark tunnel. Upon seeing her surroundings, she instantly knew why. She was laying on a bed in a room...A hospital room, and it was dark. She carefully sat up, feeling every ounce of pain that the slightest movement caused. She looked at her arms, which were bandaged with white wraps. She lifted the sheet that was covering her, taking a look at the rest of her body. She was wearing her tank top and shorts; the top had a gash in the midsection, where she was stabbed, and the shorts had slices here and there, nowhere revealing.

Under all the cuts and tears of her clothes, she was bandaged up, along with her legs. She looked around for her kimono and saw it folded up on a chair. She swung her legs over the bed, growling from the pain, and took a deep breath. She slowly lowered her feet to the ground until her feet were lightly touching the ground. She gradually began to put her weight on her legs, and then suddenly pushed away from the bed, forcing herself on her feet. She gasped at the pain, realizing that it was from both her injuries and soreness from all of the fighting.

She forced herself to take a step, earning a jolt of pain that ran up her leg and into her stomach. The chair seemed so far away now. She forced another step and continued, each step as excruciating as the last. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally made it to the chair. She picked up her kimono, only to be disappointed. In the darkness, she couldn't see the blood on it, and that it was in no condition to be worn. She also found her headband on the chair, hiding under the kimono. She sighed as she threw the shredded kimono in a nearby trash can. She then looked to a nearby window, and painfully walked toward it.

Outside, she could see buildings that were very different from the ones in Kiri. It was very evident that she was in Suna, and that it was night; the full moon was in the center of the dark starlit sky, shining its pale light to the world under it.

"How the hell did I get to Suna?" she thought with bewilderment.

'By some miracle,' or so that ANBU had said, replied Ryuu.

"Don't remind me."

It seems like its midnight or so, which might mean that you've been unconscious for hours.

"What do you mean 'might'?"

I'm not your personal clock. But, it definitely feels like you've been sleeping for a long time. Hm, a normal person probably wouldn't wake until a couple days later, if they went through the same thing you did.

"I'm not, exactly, normal."

Of course you're not.

Tsukiko looked out the window again, taking in the view of Suna. It was completely different from Kiri, but it was beautiful in its own unique way. A sigh escaped her mouth as she thought about the previous events. Those ANBU wanted to kill her because they personally thought the village would be better off without her. Her father was constantly stressing out about her actions and yet still made it seem like everything was fine. And her own brother didn't want anything to do with her.

"It's all so clear now," she thought, opening the window. "Everyone's lives would be easier if I just disappeared."

Tsukiko, what are you doing!?

"Getting rid of my existence," she answered back as she looked down over the windowsill. It was a suitable drop down, the possibility of death seemed very likely if she didn't do anything to hinder the imminent fall. She looked up, which confirmed her suspicions that she was on the top floor.

Stop, Tsukiko! You don't know what you're doing!

"I've never been surer of anything," she thought, climbing up on the windowsill with difficulty. She took a look down, gathering her courage before she had any second-thoughts. She could feel her heart pound with adrenaline as a cool breeze blew by. She took a step forward, straining as she did so.

"What are you doing?" said a calm voice. The voice came up so unexpectedly that it scared Tsukiko, causing her to lose her balance. Luckily, she grabbed on to the side of the building and the window. Why she had done that, she did not know, but she was quite irritated that she had been scared.

"You idiot! What the hell do you think you're doing sneaking up on me like that!?" she yelled to the source of the voice, which was above her. A red-haired boy with turquoise eyes, who looked like he was wearing what looked like a maroon coat, was staring down at her. The source turned out to be Gaara, who was sitting on the ledge above her and looked slightly displeased by the insult. Nevertheless, he still answered her.

"For someone who was on the verge of death, I didn't think it was wise for you to be up."

"Oh? And why do you care?"

"My older siblings and I found you, and I don't want it to be in vain."

"Don't I feel lucky," she said with sarcasm.

"You're ungrateful about it. Why is that?"

"It's...Nothing," she said, then realized how needlessly rude she was. She used what little energy she had left to jump up on the ledge above her, struggling greatly to get up.

"You're exhausted," said Gaara, watching her breathe heavily from the effort.

"Don't worry about it," she said, trying to regain her breath. "I'll feel better by tomorrow."

"What exactly happened to you and the ANBU in the forest?"

"That was just a misfortunate event," she said, looking down at the village below. She was waiting for him to ask any more questions but he remained silent.

He's not very social, is he? Oh, and you didn't even give your name. That's rather impolite of you.

"I'm Tsukiko," she said, looking back at Gaara. "You?"

"Gaara," he replied.

"So...Um, thanks for saving me. I should have been more thankful and I'm sorry for being so rude earlier."

He didn't say anything, but stared at the village. Tsukiko waited for him to say that he accepted her apology, getting frustrated from the quietness.

"Do you accept my apology or what?" she asked, doing her best to keep her voice even.

"Yes," he said, not looking at her. "What were you doing out on the window ledge?"

Tsukiko kept quiet, not sure how to answer such a question besides lying.

"Never mind," he added. "If you don't want to tell me, I won't make you."

"And what are you doing at this time of night?"

"It's none of your business."

Ugh, is there anything that you two can talk about without keeping to yourselves!? said Ryuu with frustration.

After that comment, Tsukiko probed around her mind to think of something to...Wait, why in the world was she being social all of a sudden? Why did she even care to have a conversation with someone?

You should know the answer to that, Tsukiko.

Tsukiko ignored Ryuu by distracting herself, looking at Gaara for that distraction. She had to admit, if she looked unusual, he was equally unusual. For one, he was carrying a huge gourd on his back. Secondly, he had the ai kanji tattooed on his forehead. The third was that he had dark rings around his eyes.

"Do you get enough sleep," she asked. "Because you look like a raccoon."

"It's obvious, isn't it?"

"So, why don't you sleep?"

"It's nothing you need to know about."

"Well, that's informative," she said sarcastically.

"Why do you have those crescent moons near your eyes," he suddenly asked. "As far as I know, those are far too perfect to be birthmarks."

"I don't have to explain anything to you."

"Then explain this: Why aren't you dead?"

That question felt like a punch to the stomach for her. She looked at him in the eye, her own eyes filled with surprise. Did he know what she was about to do?

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, hiding the anxiety she was currently feeling.

"I don't see life in your eyes. It's almost as if you've slept through your whole life, wasting every day of it. You may be alive physically, but spiritually, you're dead. Do you even have a reason to live?"

"Shut the hell up!" yelled Tsukiko. "You don't know anything about me! No one does! And I'll have you know that I do have a purpose!"

"Is that so," said Gaara, completely unaffected by her sudden temper. "Whatever it is, it's either insignificant or is the cause of why you're like this."

"Be quiet!" she yelled again. "Stop trying to understand me because you can't! Only one person does, and that person is the reason why I live!"

"And who would that person be?"

"It's Ryuu," she said, half-hoping that the answer would scare him away. "My demon."

"You have a demon?"

"Yes," she replied tetchily, looking down at her feet. "It's not a bijuu, but a 'lesser' demon, or so almost everyone in my village says."

"Yet they still see it as a monster."

"Yeah." She looked up at him, giving him a stern look. "So? Aren't you going to run for the hills or something? Kill me?"

"Doing that would make me a hypocrite."

"Are you saying that you...?"

"I also have a demon. What, exactly, is it that you do for Ryuu?"

"Whatever she says. If I don't, she won't talk to me. That probably sounds pathetic to you, but when it's all that you have, you'd do anything to keep it."

Gaara didn't say anything to that. He didn't even know what to say. She was just like him, yet so different. It reminded him of someone else who was also like that. He saw her bring up her knees and hug them, looking toward the horizon. By the look of it, it was painful for her to do such a simple action.

"You're unbelievable," she said, small astonishment in her voice. "No one has ever taken one look at me and know who I really am. And I'm not talking about Ryuu. My own father has never said anything like that to me, even though he sees me almost everyday."

"You've never seen how empty you really were?"

"No, and it makes me wonder why my dad didn't. He's pretty much the only one in the village who loves me, but I can tell that having someone like me as a daughter is making his life difficult."

There was a look of realization on her face, and she let go of her legs, letting them hang over the ledge.

"Why am I even telling you this," she asked. "You probably have enough problems as it is; you don't need to hear someone else's sob story."

"I may have my own problems, but that doesn't mean I can't help anyone else."

"Why do you even want to help someone else? Don't you think you should solve your own problems before taking on another's?"

"Sometimes, you're the only one that can help them. There are thousands of people in the world, and not all of them are willing to help another."

"I'm not a charity case, you know, so don't even try."

"I never said you were."

"Well, I don't need your help. I can do things myself without anyone."

There was a silence between them, another breeze blowing by. "This sure has been fun," said Tsukiko, looking down at her window ledge. "But unlike you, I love to sleep so I'll see you later or something." She jumped down onto the ledge, earning a jolt of pain, and went through her open window. She shut it and walked agonizingly back to her bed. She sat down on it, stiffly brought up her legs, and lied down. A bed had never felt so good until this moment. She let herself relax, and began to think about everything she and Gaara had talked about.

She understood that when you can't save yourself, you either drown or let someone else save you. And she never noticed that she was drowning herself. So many years ago, she was dying from her own pain, until Ryuu offered a hand to save her. She took it, but little did she know that Ryuu had pulled her down into a dark hole, which killed her. Now, someone else is offering their hand, and it's her decision whether to die or be saved. She may be unhappy with her life, but she could change it, not end it. Although, she was disappointed that she had been wasting her life for all these years. Why she had never seen this before was beyond her, but she was glad that someone had opened her eyes.

Tsukiko tried on the yakuta, hoping it would fit her nicely. She was at a clothing store in search of a new kimono, but she didn't have enough money on her to buy one. She could, however, afford a yakuta. The one she was trying on was all black...And the cheapest. It wasn't normally her style but now wasn't the time to be picky. She needed something to cover up all of the bandages she had on. On her way here, she was being stared at by everyone who was in her presence. She wasn't sure if it was the bandages, her hair, or the lunar markings; it could have been everything above.

"I'll take this one," she said, walking out of the changing room and up to the vendor.

"It looks quite lovely on you," he said with a smile.

Tsukiko reached into the yakuta and pulled out a black velvet pouch. The look on the vendor's face was saying "Where were you keeping that?" Tsukiko ignored his expression and took out the required payment. She handed him the money, put the pouch back in her yakuta, and walked out. She felt better today but was incredibly sore from everything that happened. Though, she wasn't supposed to be out here anyway. The hospital wouldn't let her leave, saying that she was in no condition to even be up. So, she escaped through her window. Easy as that.

You're not going to look for him, are you? asked Ryuu.

"Who do you mean?" Tsukiko thought back.

You know very well who I mean. And I don't think you should.

"Why?"

He could have been lying to you from the start, trying to earn your trust. Then when he has it, he's going to demolish you.

"Are you sure you're not being paranoid? What does he have to gain from doing all that?"

I just don't want you to see him.

"Well, it's not up to you now, is it?"

Ryuu didn't respond to that, making Tsukiko wonder if she had shocked or angered the demon. Either way, she didn't care anymore. For her, it felt nice to not worry about Ryuu for once. And it was enjoyable to finally do the things that she wanted to do, not what Ryuu wanted to do. Finally, she could think and speak for herself.

"Hey, you!" yelled someone from behind. Tsukiko doubted they were talking to her so she kept walking. That is until they yelled "Blue!" at her. She stopped and turned around, wondering who would want to talk to her. A blond-haired girl ran up to her, stopping two or so feet away from her. She was taller than Tsukiko, wearing a purple outfit and carrying a large fan on her back.

"I never guessed that you would be released from the hospital so soon," she said. "I thought you would be in there for a week, at least."

"Who are you?" asked Tsukiko with curiosity.

"I'm Temari," she replied calmly.

"And I'm Tsukiko."

"Nice to meet you. Well, technically, I met you before when my younger brothers and I found you in the desert."

"Younger brothers? Does one of them carry around a gourd? And has dark bags around his eyes?"

"You mean Gaara? You've met him already?"

"Yeah, he almost made me fall of a building."

Temari looked both shocked and speechless, which made Tsukiko rethink what she just said.

"Let me rephrase that," said Tsukiko. "He snuck up on me, which surprised me and almost made me fall off."

"What were you doing at the top of the building in the first place?"

"Getting some fresh air."

"I suppose that's understandable."

"Anyway, do you know where he is?"

"Not really," replied Temari. "But if you come with me, I'm sure he'll show up somewhere."

Temari walked away, Tsukiko hesitantly following her. They walked down a couple streets, making a few turns every once in a while. Eventually, Tsukiko noticed they were near a mansion. And by the look of it, it wasn't an ordinary mansion. It was the Kazekage's.

"Nice place," said Tsukiko, looking up at the large building. "Looks just as big as the Mizukage's."

"Thanks, my brothers and I live here."

"You guys actually live here?"

"My father was the Kazekage."

"Was?" It was then that Tsukiko remembered something about both the Hokage and Kazekage dying in an attack by the Land of Sound. Although, the Kazekage had died some time before the attack, but was killed by the same person who also killed the Hokage. The name, however, had slipped her mind.

"So, who's the current Kazekage?" asked Tsukiko.

"No one at the moment," replied Temari as they walked up to the front door. "But I hope someone will be soon because we need a kage."

They went inside, greeted by a nicely furnished living room. There was a small wooden table in the center of the room, three sets of burgundy couches surrounding the table, an exquisite rug under the furniture that was on cream-colored tile, a large bookcase filled with books that looked more for decoration than reading, scrolls with watercolor paintings of sceneries hanging on the walls, and antique-looking lamps on smaller square tables.

"Wow, you guys have nice taste," complimented Tsukiko.

"Not really. That's been around for as long as I can remember," said Temari, leading Tsukiko to another room. "This room is where we can actually be in. The living room is for looks, if you know what I mean."

This room was not as nice as the living room but decent. The two couches in the room looked a little worn, but still in good condition. Ordinary lamps on aged tables that looked someone had taken them from an alley somewhere. The rug in this room would have looked nice if it weren't for the many stains set in it, some of which Tsukiko could not identify. Now that Tsukiko thought about it, this room was a little below decent. The only thing that looked appealing was a mahogany table set against the farthest wall. The table had a couple of framed pictures on it; most of them were of Kankuro and Temari, and one was of a brown-haired woman.

Tsukiko sat down on one of the couches, Temari sitting across from her. Tsukiko looked down at the coffee table between them, a wooden table with many scratches on it. Temari crossed her legs and sat up straight, making Tsukiko a little self-conscious of her own posture. She ignored the feeling and looked at Temari with confidence.

"So, does your mom tell you to stay away from the living room or what?" asked Tsukiko.

"She would if she were still alive," replied Temari, looking at the pictures.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Tsukiko looked to where Temari was looking at. "Is that her?"

"Yeah," she said, looking back at Tsukiko. "Lately, it's been me and my brothers on our own. And, well, we're not exactly decorating experts."

"I can tell," said Tsukiko without thinking. "But, um, this is way better than my house. My dad has no color coordination whatsoever. Our living room has the most awful color patterns ever. Gray and yellow don't go together."

"That sounds horrible," said Temari with a small chuckle. There was a sound of a door opening and closing, and the sound of footsteps heading towards the room. A boy with spiky brown hair, who was wearing all black, walked into the room.

"What is she doing here?" he asked as he walked to the couch his sister was sitting in and sat down.

"I invited her. Is that a problem?" replied Temari with intimidation.

"No, I was just wondering," he said, putting his feet on the scratched table. "Anyway, shouldn't you be in the hospital?"

"I'm 'supposed' to be, but I don't want to be cooped up in a room for who knows how many days," replied Tsukiko.

"That's pretty gutsy of you, considering that you were almost dead when we found you."

"She does have a name, you know," added Temari.

"Yeah, I know, it's Tsukiko."

"How do you know my name?" asked Tsukiko with amazement.

"Gaara told me. He said we don't have to worry about you because you're not much of a threat."

"Oh, he told you that?" said Tsukiko, half-relieved and half-insulted at the same time.

"That's nice of him to tell you and not me," said Temari.

"Don't be jealous, Temari," said Kankuro with a smile.

"What is your name," asked Tsukiko. "Since you know mine and all."

"It's Kankuro. Now, go tell your village so they know."

"Don't mind him," said Temari, a sigh escaping her mouth. "He's the idiot of the family."

"Like you're so perfect?"

"I never said I was."

"You guys are funny," said Tsukiko with a small smile. "I've never had this much fun back at Kiri."

"No offense, but do you have fun at all back in your village?" asked Kankuro, earning a small punch from Temari.

"Well, it's hard to have fun when everyone keeps a safe distance from you."

"It's your hair, isn't it? It freaks them out?"

"Kankuro, shut up," said Temari, glaring at him. Tsukiko looked at a piece of her hair, wondering if the azure color could freak out some people.

"No, it's not my hair," replied Tsukiko. "It's-"

"The moon marks, right? I mean, those things just scream weird," said Kankuro.

"Kankuro, if you interrupt again, you're going to regret it!" said Temari, obviously aggravated.

"It's more the reason why I have these marks," continued Tsukiko. "See, I have...A demon."

There was surprise in their eyes but it quickly faded away.

"You're okay with that?" asked Tsukiko, taken aback by their reaction.

"Well, our brother does have a demon of his own," said Temari. "We're pretty much used to it. But you don't go around killing people, do you?"

"Um..." Tsukiko began to think back on all the things she did for Ryuu. The worst thing was that she killed those ANBU the day before. "Would it make you feel better if I told you the last person I killed was yesterday?"

"Actually, no," replied Kankuro.

"Then forget I said that," said Tsukiko as innocently as she could. "Nice of you to join us." Temari and Kankuro were a little confused by the last statement until they looked at the doorway and saw Gaara standing there.

"How did you know he was standing there?" asked Kankuro.

"I was ready for him this time. You're a stealthy one, aren't you?" said Tsukiko with a smirk, looking over at Gaara.

"Why is she here?" asked Gaara to Kankuro and Temari.

"Temari invited her," replied Kankuro.

"Since when is it a crime to invite people over?" said Temari.

"You should go back to the hospital soon," said Gaara, looking at Tsukiko. "I'm quite sure that you weren't allowed to leave in the first place."

"True," said Tsukiko. "But I hate hospitals and it's incredibly boring over there."

"It's for your own good."

"I don't have to listen to you now, do I?"

The both of them glared at each other; Temari and Kankuro looking a little uneasy from all the intense energy in the room. Tsukiko then looked away, closing her eyes as she did so, and smiled lightly.

"Okay," she said, getting up from the couch and walking to the door. "I know when I'm not wanted. I'll be going then." She looked over her shoulder back at the three of them. "But I won't be going back to the hospital. Tonight, I'm sleeping under the stars." She gave a small smile as she let herself out. Once she was outside, her smile disappeared. She walked away from the mansion, wondering where, exactly, will she be sleeping under the stars.

She was a little disappointed that her first attempt in trying to be friendly had resulted like this. She supposed that it just wasn't meant to be. Well, Kankuro and Temari seemed to like having her around. Gaara, on the other hand, was more difficult. Or was she the one being difficult? Not that it mattered now since she won't be staying in Suna for long. By tomorrow, her wounds will be completely healed and she could leave. Better yet, she won't have to come back to this village.

She looked up at the dark night sky, taking in the view of the stars and full moon. Tsukiko was lying down at the moment on the top of a cliff, her head resting against her hands to keep it from the rocky surface. From the way she was laying, she was facing the desert with her back against Suna. Actually, that would make better sense if she were standing up, which she obviously wasn't doing.

A cold breeze blew by, reminding her of Kiri. The air there was normally cool, and the temperature dropped significantly during winter. Sometimes, if the village was lucky, it would snow, a light blanket of ice covering the ground. For as long as she could remember, she had always loved the snow.

"Dad! Wake up! It's snowing outside!" said a five-year old Tsukiko to her father, who was sleeping on a bed big enough for two but slept by himself.

"Tsukiko, let me sleep," he said tiredly, his voice slightly muffled by the pillow he was lying on.

"But I want you to play with me in the snow," she said with disappointment.

"Tell your brother to take you outside to play. I'm really exhausted today."

"Okay," she said, walking out of her father's room. She wore a white kimono with violet floral designs. She quietly walked to her brother's room, peering in hesitantly. He wasn't inside. She began to wonder where he was until she heard the wooden floor creak not too far away from her. She looked at where the sound came from, seeing her brother walk towards his room.

"Can you take me outside to play?" she asked timidly. "Dad told me to ask you."

Noboru looked to be considering this, until he shrugged. "Fine," he said, walking into his room. Tsukiko smiled as she walked to the front door, waiting for Noboru there. He finally came, opening the door for her to go outside. Tsukiko rushed out, feeling quite happy that somebody will play with her. The snow fell down gently, leaving only enough snow to last for a day until it melted. The cold clean air filled Tsukiko's lungs, enjoying the chill. She looked at her brother, who was standing quietly.

"What do you want to do?" she asked him, wondering what kind of ideas he might have.

"Dad only told me to take you out to play. That doesn't mean I have to play with you," he said coldly, just like the air. He turned and walked away, not back to the house but somewhere else, somewhere far away from her. Tsukiko quietly watched him walk away, his footprints in the snow slowly disappearing. When he was gone from her sight, she sighed, seeing the cloudy mist escape her mouth. She crouched down, picking up a small handful of snow and watching it melt to water in her hand. She then heard the sound of footsteps on the snow, hoping that her brother had changed his mind.

Unfortunately, it was a couple who were enjoying a stroll through the snowfall. They seemed very happy to be with one another, but not with her. As soon as they noticed her, the joyful look in their eyes quickly changed into hatred, a burning hatred that could probably melt the snow. Tsukiko immediately backed away from them, fearing that their hatred might drive them to harm her. When they were finally far enough away from her, she looked up at the falling snow. She began to wonder if, like the snow, she could melt away and become something else, something entirely different and more likable.

Tsukiko mentally pulled away from that far-off memory. It only reminded her of how numb she was not too long ago compared to the vivacity of her younger self. Gaara suddenly appeared, looking down at her with faint curiosity.

"Aren't you cold?" he finally asked.

"Oh, please, I live in the cold," she replied, getting up. "And I was just starting to get comfortable too."

"That sarcasm of yours is getting rather tiring."

"Your inability to express the simplest of emotions is getting tiring," she hit back at him.

He glared at her, which she took as a small victory for herself.

"Anyway, why are you here?" she asked him, ignoring his glare.

"My siblings want you to stay at the mansion for the night."

"They want me to, but what about you? I would like to know your opinion."

"It's fine with me."

"I figured since I'm not a threat. Well, I'll accept the offer because it's not like I'll kill anyone in their sleep, not that you sleep."

"There is a question I would like for you to answer."

"And what would that be?"

"Why is it that you hate hospitals?"

"That's an easy one. Hospitals make me feel sick and being sick means someone has to take care of you. I personally hate being sick and dependent on people."

"That explains why you refuse to accept someone else's help."

"Yeah," she said, looking away. She then looked back up at him, a small smile on her face. "But a good push in the right direction is something I can accept."

"Bring Me to Life" and "Haunted" by Evanescence helped provide inspiration for this chapter. Some of you probably didn't notice that I started a rewrite until now. But that's okay, as long as someone is reading this, I'm fine. It will make me happy, though, if you could leave a review for me. Everyone has an opinion and I'm open to hear them all, even flames.