A/N: Before you start reading this make sure to read the previous chapter as I replaced the author's note with the actual chapter. Sorry for the shortness and mistakes, my word program finally rejected me... I really have to look for a beta reader. *Sigh* Well, let us get on with the show! I DON'T OWN NARUTO!


Chapter IX: An Angel's Beauty

Gaara didn't pack anything, everything he needed was already in his gourd, so he was ready to head out, but because the other two were busy packing necessary gear and supplies he was forced to wait for them. He leaned his body against the door frame and watched both gennin shift about the room with slight fascination in their movements and gestures as they went about deciding whether a certain object would be handy or useless. The sun was bright and beating down on the inhabitants of Konoha as they went about their usual business that ranged from picking up their children to just taking a stroll down the dirt rode, unawares of the hiding demon or the unawakened Angel.

"Okay, we're good to go!" Naruto shouted with as much enthusiasm as he would during one of his missions. "Hey Gaara, what are you planning on getting Hinata?" Naruto asked as Sasuke walked past him with a relaxed stance, his face serious, and his hands tucked into the pockets of his white shorts. "I say we get her some type of jewelry, you know, since she's never had any." Sasuke agreed aloud and Gaara agreed, but how would they be able to get something like that?

"I know how you can get it." Shukaku answered. "You just need to find a lump of coal and the rest is easy."

"Were can we find coal?" Gaara asked Sasuke, surprising him with his question. He stared at the jinchuriki; it was so surprising since Gaara rarely ever spoke to him, and when he did nothing the guy ever said was pleasant or kind. "Speak." Gaara growled in annoyance when Sasuke remained unresponsive.

"I'm not a dog! We can find coal where we can find a chimney, but it's usually those born into nobility that have these houses built with chimneys. We would have to sneak into their home and take some." Sasuke sighed at that idiotic idea. Someone would have to be pretty idiotic to sneak into the well guarded homes of the nobility to get a stupid piece of coal.

"Where is the nearest noble home in the vicinity?" Gaara asked Sasuke with an awkward silence following. Sasuke hid his face with his hand as he thought about his previous comment, an unbelieving smirk on his face. He pointed south-west to head up the street and to the much larger compounds that occupied that particular region of Konoha; the first home belonging to the famed Hyuuga clan.

All three shinobi watched the Hyuuga guards stand like statues near every possible entrance, switching shifts every half hour with some other Hyuuga that appeared ridiculously similar to the previous guard. Each one stood straight with their stern faces focused forward, seemingly unaffected by anything, but with further inspection Gaara could see that their eyes shifted in all directions. These Hyuuga irritated him, they gave the same air as the Suna council that hated him with all their being. It would have pleased him if he could kill them, but he didn't want to cause a scene that could alert the whole village and give an opportunity for his captives to escape. Sasuke lurched forward the second the guard was relieved of his duty, giving them a few seconds before the next Hyuuga could appear and discover them. Gaara followed behind Naruto and Sasuke as they jumped through the window and into the extravagant home. Sniffing the air Naruto could pick up the smell of burning and cooking, he waved his hand at both Gaara and Sasuke to follow him and the trio swerved and ducked past servants and other working Hyuuga to reach a large dinning hall. The table was fairly large with mats ready for when someone wished for a meal, and the cream colored walls were decorated with beautiful poems that were framed and hung upon them. There were three doors, one that they had entered from and two others that led to unknown locations. As the smell of food clogged the air it was difficult to tell from which of the two the smell came from.

Not wanting Naruto and Sasuke out of his sight, Gaara led them to the first door on the left. Opening up the heavy wooden door they found themselves inside a dark hall with a small light at the end of the seemingly endless hall. Heading towards that faint light they found the actual room, it wasn't the kitchen as they had hoped, it was a shrine.

"Woah, this place is so amazing!" Naruto exclaimed with his cheery voice. Sasuke stood by Naruto and eyed every object that was presented to him while Gaara stood by the large window that took up most of the North wall, giving off the light that led them to the room. A shrine was placed west of the window, the sunlight hitting it and casting it in a brilliant light that gave it a mystic feel that if you looked at it in an angle it almost seemed to shine in a holy glow. A beautifully carved shelter with a multitude of flowers surrounding its exterior, bangles of all different hues clung to the edge of the roof and draped down lick colorful vines trying to reach down toward the photo that occupied the shrine's core. Nothing of the shrine caught Gaara's attention more than that photo, compared to the brilliant image the bright decorations seemed plain and dull. The person in the photo was a statuesque beauty that exuded a sense of determination but wielded a certain softness to her eyes, giving a look of motherly tenderness that only enhanced her beauty. She looked so familiar. One thing was for sure, he surely never seen her in person because on the bottom right hand corner, in very small print, it read that the women had died seven years prior. The sensation of familiarity persisted, he couldn't put his finger on it. Leaning closer to the image he examined it more thoroughly. One second his thoughts tried to recollect on where he had seen her, but that shifted to the similarities of her features. She looked so much like-

"Hey, that looks like Hinata-chan!" Naruto announced to Sasuke. So that was why she seemed so familiar. Odd how he didn't realize it sooner, she was almost an exact copy, or rather Hinata was the copy. They both had the lustrous midnight black hair, the complexion of a full moon, and expressed a gentleness that would soften the hardest hearts and calmed the most tremulous of nerves. The only difference was that, even though she was a Hyuuga, the woman's eyes were a brilliant shade of dark lavender. Now it made sense why Hinata's eyes were the hue that they were.

"She must be her mother, they both look so much alike that it wouldn't surprise me if Hinata grew up to look just like her." Sasuke input, eyeing the many flowers and the lit incense in respect to her memory. Gaara looked at the Uchiha and then let his eyes drop back to the image, now his mind was screaming that there was something more to that. His focus sharpened on the image, he didn't know what he was missing, unaware that what he looked for was plainly obvious.

"Fool." Shukaku let out. He was also listening, thinking on the image and its connection to Hinata. Unlike Gaara he got the hint pretty easily, but due to Gaara's lack of experience in the field of females he didn't really blame his vessel. One would think he should tell his vessel that when Hinata grows up and becomes a full blown woman she would be quite the temptress, but he certainly won't explain that to Gaara. That's something he will learn on his own. Plus, he just really wanted to see what kind of ridiculous faces Gaara would make when he experienced an Angel's beauty. Shukaku laughed low at the image that manifested in his mind.

Gaara let out a sigh, feeling that they had wasted enough time in investigating the room, and so without a single word he led the other gennin out the office and through the passage and into the last door.

A/N: Sorry that this chapter is so short! Will be continued in the next chapter. Oh, just keep in mind that there is still one Angel left to find! Who is this unknown character, and when will he/she appear? Well they won't appear soon due to the lack of time I have, but bear with me! Until the next my dear readers! Hope you enjoyed!

-Baron