Roommates

Chapter 15: Faint

Chapter 15: Faint
By the time they arrived at the hospital, they saw the red-haired young man sitting on the floor with blood on his shirt. His arms were resting on his knees with one of his hands placed on his forehead.
"Gaara!"
He raised his head as Temari got on her knees in front of him, her eyes widened in shock.
"Are you OK!? There's blood on your shirt-"
"I'm fine..."
"Is that...Ino's blood?"
"...Yeah..."
Shikamaru sat across from them in shock. The sound of gunshots had been very loud, and to now know that one of his closest friends had been shot was something he couldn't wrap his mind around. The rest of their friends arrived immediately right after, and they quickly sat around as the news of Ino's injury spread more.
"She was shot in close range on the chest," Gaara added, his eyes fixed on the floor, "I...took off my sweater and tried my best to get the bleeding under control,"
"How long has it been since they've admitted her?" Sakura asked, knowing all too well that each second counted.
"...I've lost track of time," he replied.
"I'll go ask the receptionist to see if she has any news," the pink-haired girl said before walking away.
"I'm going to call Ino's dad and tell him what happened," Shikamaru said.
A few more of the injured were brought in, their loved ones waiting in the lobby as well while trying to understand what had happened.
The fundraising event was immediately closed as state and federal police became involved, looking for clues in terms of wondering if there was more than one shooter. So far, they had only found one, and the man had shot himself in the head after the shootout.
"She's still in surgery," Sakura said while coming back. "It can take another couple of more hours before we get some news-"
"Gaara! Oh my god, you're alive!"
The group turned their heads as they saw Fu jogging inside the lobby. She looked at him worryingly as her eyes caught the sight of blood on his shirt. She called him again and frowned as he didn't even look at her, his gaze on the floor instead. It was Temari who walked over to her.
"Fu, let's go talk,"
"B-But I need to talk to Gaara-"
"No, you don't," Temari said before grabbing the girl gently by her arm, "Let's go for a quick walk,"
Fu didn't say anything, allowing herself to be dragged away while staring back at him. Why wasn't he responding to her?
The two girls reached outside the hospital, stepping away from the entrance as more people walked inside.
"Temari, why is there blood on him? Is he injured?" Fu asked, her tone serious.
"He's not. That is not his blood.... That is Ino's blood..."
"Ino? Wait! Did she get shot?"
"Yes, she did."
"But how come Gaara has her blood on his....?"
"He was with her when it happened,"
Fu held a confused look as she stared at the ground. "Wh-Why was he with her? And why won't he respond to me? I've been texting and calling him for the last fifteen minutes! And just now, he won't even look at me-"
"Fu," Temari said sternly, grabbing the girl's attention, "Ino was shot right in front of him. If you want to know why he was with her, then that's something you need to ask Gaara. But not right now."
"Why? I'm his girlfriend-"
"And I've known him longer. I'm his sister. I know how he is, and right now he needs space."
Fu looked insulted, her eyebrows furrowing in anger. "That's not fair for me! I deserve to know what's going on."
"And I'm sure he will tell you. But right now, he is hurting and in shock."
Fu crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking around. Temari saw the wetness near her eyes, and she felt bad for speaking to the girl in such a way. But it had to be done.
"I thought they were just roommates," Fu said, the last word coming out bitterly from her tongue.
Temari shrugged, not bothering to let the girl know that no matter what happened, Gaara and Ino have a special connection that was more than just sharing an apartment.
"Go home," she said instead, "Kankuro and I will watch over Gaara. And he will be fine. Gaara just needs space right now, and he's anxious about knowing what's going to happen to Ino. We all are."
"But...what about me?"
"He'll reach out to you when he's ready. But right now, I suggest you give him some space."
Fu stared at her with disbelief as Temari walked back inside the building. She stared at her phone, rereading her frantic un-read text messages to Gaara and wondering why he wasn't even acknowledging her. Unsure of what to do or what it all meant, Fu turned around and headed home, avoiding the sudden arrival of reporters and journalists.

It had taken Ino's parents an hour to reach the hospital, primarily due to the fact that police were present throughout the city, interviewing and searching everybody who wanted to go to the hospital. The general public were still unsure if there was only one shooter, therefore precautions were set everywhere.
"How long has it been!?" Ino's mother exclaimed.
"Almost two hours," Shikamaru replied.
"Well, what have they said so far? How bad are her injuries? Will she survive?" Inoichi asked, his eyes looking at all of them.
"...She was shot in the chest," Sakura replied sadly, "She's still in surgery..."
"Sakura, you're a nurse. Tell us... what do you think her chance of survival is?"
The pink-haired girl looked uncomfortable as Ino's parents waited for an answer.
"I...can't say... every case is different... and it depends on the projection of the bullet.... It's not easy to say," she replied quickly, squirming in her seat uncomfortably.
"Who...shot her?"
"An ill man who had been harassing the hospital for months," came in Dr. Tsunade's response as she walked into the lobby.
"Why? And why would he target our daughter?"
Dr. Tsunade began to explain about the airplane crash from a couple of months ago, and how one of the patients treated was a young girl. As she continued with her explanation, talking about the court case and how the man lost the lawsuit, Gaara's barely visible eyebrows furrowed as he recalled Ino crying about the little girl's death. He also remembered how she had told him that the man had pushed her that day.
"Where is he!?" Inoichi asked furiously, standing up. "He thinks he can shoot my daughter just because his daughter passed away?! I don't fucking thing so-"
"He shot himself in the head shortly after," Tsunade interrupted, "He used his own gun on himself. Police are investigating to make sure that there was only one shooter."
"Was she alone when it happened?" Ino's mom asked. "Was she...alone? Did she suffer alone?"
Tsunade looked at the group, and Sakura shook her head. "No, she wasn't alone. Gaara was with her, and he did a good job at making sure she didn't bleed out more, considering her injuries."
They looked at the red-head, watching as he stared at the floor with a neutral facial expression, not bothering with saying anything. He was leaning against the wall with his hands inside his pocket, wearing another t-shirt which Kankuro had given him. Temari had urged Kankuro to get Gaara another shirt upon knowing that Ino's parents would be coming to the hospital. The last thing she wanted was for them to see their daughter's blood on Gaara.
Ino's mother walked over to him with a sad smile. She had seen him once, back when she had to drop something off for her daughter and he had been there. The woman loved Gaara's mannerism, and deep down hoped that her daughter would see this young man as more than just a roommate.
"Thank you," the woman said, hugging Gaara as she began to cry. "Th-Thank you so much for being there for her and doing everything you could have to keep her safe!"
Gaara opened his mouth to say something, but found no words as his own chest ached. The memory of Ino getting shot kept repeating itself in his mind, causing him to think of nothing else.
The door leading to the emergency room opened, revealing a tired Shizune. Everyone's attention was quickly on to her, and she gulped as she chose her next words carefully.
"We were able to stop the bleeding... and we were also able to take the bullet out... But... she slipped into a coma..."
There was a long silence as everyone registered the news. Gaara's eyes widened as the news seemed impossible to him. However, before finally registering it all and reacting, he felt Ino's mother, who had still been standing near him, collapse. He caught the older woman before she hit the floor as Inoichi rushed by his ex-wife's side. The woman let out a scream in agony at the news, something Gaara himself wanted to do as well.