"There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights." - Bram Stoker, Dracula

...

Chapter One: Brand New Eyes

Smoke. Blood. The brief exchange of kunai. A thud, probably a body hitting the pavement. A louder thud heard from afar. Hinata could hear the commotion but her body was lead. Much as she desired to sit upright and see what was going on, she could not will her body to move. Helpless, as always. A hand, cold as ice, touched her chest. She could not even muster the reflex to flinch. She was so weak. That hand then radiated, pulsed, with warmth - chakra - nursing her veins, focusing on the point against where her onii-san had slammed his palms a month ago during their skirmish at the Chuunin Exams.

The damage he incurred onto her would have been avoided had she forfeited a fight she would never win. But she had the need, the burning desire to prove herself, because of Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun noticed her and supported her. Unlike her teachers, the clan or her father, she needed not demonstrate her strength in order to win Naruto-kun's support. Naruto-kun just...believed without proof. Naruto-kun had faith in her. To him, Neji nii-san was not formidable. He was nothing an iron will could not beat. Because of Naruto-kun, her heart raced with adrenaline enough to overcome years of helplesness, shame and torment. Naruto-kun's resolve could compel anyone to make them think the impossible could, would, happen.
She had thought of that, her Byakugan laser-focused on Neji's chest, thinking of nothing else but to graze her palm on it.

Perhaps Naruto-kun had overestimated her, she thought as her nii-san's hand shoved concentrated chakra onto her chest. Her heart quaked and she coughed, sputtering blood. It was brutal. Even with the intervention of the jounin and her eyes waning shut, she could still feel his searing ferocity, his sheer hatred ingrained in every throbbing pain her wound had caused. No matter, her heart had been aching for years anyway, since she disappointed her father at every turn, since Hanabi showed more promise as the future clan leader, since they've entrusted her to Kurenai-sensei to hopefully die during a mission within a few years, just so Hanabi can evade the cursed seal fate and legally succeed as the rightful clan leader.

Because of Naruto-kun she thought she could bend fate with will, as if the winds would change course once they have detected a reinforced tree. But if even the sturdiest trees succumb to be uprooted by such force of nature, then how much more a flower as tender as her?

If fate were wind, then what is Naruto-kun? What object could withstand such torrent without crumbling into a lesser heap? In the arena, Neji nii-san was pitted against Naruto-kun. Everyone had thought he would win, with his x-ray omniscience, seamless defense and unforgiving offense, only to be proven wrong. Although he'd struck Naruto-kun's tenketsu with surgical precision he managed to do the impossible, unseal them to make shadow clones. Despite being deadlast in his class, Naruto-kun had the intellect to spare to deceive Neji nii-san one last time before he scraped his way out of the earth - just to punch his jaw. The match was over and the unimaginable occurred. Naruto-kun had won, much to her heart's delight - and its ache as she collapsed not long after due to the same pain, reminder of the weaknesses and regrets that were hers.

...

Somewhere in the thickness of the forest, was a beasts-made clearing. A puff of smoke caused the nine-tailed kitsune to recede to its original amphibious form. Atop it perched a stubborn blond fool which, though his limbs were restrained by the sand, managed to smash his forehead onto his other crimson-headed peer. The boy, pupil-less and in shock, was effectively disarmed as his tanuki and armor collapsed into powedery-fine sand.
The shinobi in the vicinity could only gape in awe as the two landed on the trees. The humungous tanto separated them, its polished blade halved their reflections. They lunged at each other before the guy in the orange jumpsuit landed a punch to the other's cheek, both plummeted groundward.
Somehow both alive, the kohl-rimmed jinchuuriki, Sabaku no Gaara, would ask, part-terrified and part-disbelieved "How? How is it that you can fight even though you're alone?". To that, the blue-eyed boy would fervently reply "My friends...they saved me from the hell of being alone! That's why they are important to me!"

They were one and the same. And despite that, this boy was loved. He had also loved. Loved had made this guy strong. Love, the symbol seared on his head, how was that different from fear? When was the last time he had ever felt anything this pure and warm? All he had felt, was made to feel, was tension, if not outright spite or condemnation. He was not a vessel of the beast. He was the beast. He was the channel for the creature's utter abhorrence for humanity. Shukaku mocked him, disturbed him, twisted him to its fancy. Neither could it escape, nor would it die. Love? His uncle Yashamaru merely pretended. His father, the Third Kazekage, only saw him as a weapon. His siblings Kankuro and Temari sweat and fumble at the sight of him, much more could they touch him.

For years he only had the sand's embrace. It was his shroud against the frigid night, the gag against his sadistic racoon, the sword and shield against his enemies...but this boy before him had no such sand. He was weak, supposedly so. Gaara should have bathed in his blood and pulverized corpse by now. Instead there they lay, mutually sapped of power. No, the fool moved using his chin to crawl towards him. What was he doing? Gaara yelled him to stop, to back away, but to no avail. It was then when the leaves cascaded from their respective trees he realized that he too bore a monster. He too, had suffered through the hatred of a village, none of which he deserved yet, instead of swallowing their loathing, he aimed for their respect. The reckless dunce dreamed to be Hokage, a protector of the very country that more than once blamed him for their loved ones' deaths and begged for his inexistence! What kind of bullshit is that?

"Stop. I've had enough." Gaara meekly spoke. His siblings were at a standstill with an Uchiha when they turned to him, nonplussed. How could a kid of aged twelve be able to not only match their frightening little brother, but also reduce him to near-paralyzation? Not wishing to mull it over in front of the enemy Kankuro picked up his brother's weakened self. The two immediately fled and tasked themselves to return with him to Suna. Was it out of duty, the bearer of Shukaku had wondered. Did Baki order them to do this? He was nowhere to be found. Would they, with their sane minds, willingly carry him home without taking the advantage of killing him at his most vulnerable? Would they, despite all the threats they received from him, among other cold words? They might be compelled to, he was their nation's bargaining chip after all. It'd be a three day's journey so he'll see. He, too, surrendered to the exhaustion and fell into the first peaceful slumber of his life, again hearing the utterance of his Uzumaki comrade "But I've met people who are very important to me now. I won't allow these people...to get hurt!"

...

The Heiress and the Demon slept with their nightmares in tow. And, unbeknownst to the two, both shall awaken with brand new eyes.