I have never gotten so many reviews and alerts so fast. You guys rock!

I'm glad people like reading my story because it a friendship fic. It's hard competing with the romance fics out there-I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes variety!

Side Note: I feel like this story may get to Tenten/Team Gai oriented at times, for which I apologize, but I have trouble fighting the urge to put them all in the limelight, having a deep, unnatural love for them all. (I even cosplay as Tenten) However, I love Hinata too (it's hard not to. She's so cool!) and will try to write more for her in the future.

(Look-I updated in less than 2 months! Score! )

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The next morning Hinata woke up slowly. Though she had slept well, she still felt drained, both physically and emotionally from the day before. She pulled the covers more tightly around her, knowing that she had to get up and head out to train.

Of all the days to have to go out and train.

After she had broken down in front of Kurenai the night before, she was afraid to face her team. She knew that Shino would probably respect her privacy, and not interrogate her about what had happened the day before. Kiba, though, was not as conscientious as his friend. Hinata knew that as soon as she stepped onto the training grounds, he would confront her, demanding to know who had upset her so he could beat the daylights out of them.

Hinata curled further under the covers, trying to sink into the mattress, or at least, enjoy the protection it offered for a few more minutes. She snuggled down, breathing in the clean smell of her sheets, willing it to break the dark force that seemed to continue following her from the day before. She shuddered.

Finally, Hinata pushed off her covers and got silently out of bed, sliding her feet into a pair of fluffy blue slippers as her feet reached towards the floor. She stood and left her room, heading towards the bathroom to find a clean towel.

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Half an hour later Hinata reached the training grounds. Her steps, which were none to fast to begin with (Hinata was, and always had been, a very timid girl) got even slower as she approached the site. She almost stopped cold when she reached the field's edge, but then she thought of Kurenai-sensei. Hinata's normally soft face grew determined, and she trudged on ahead, determined.

She would not allow herself to become weak like the day before.

She would show her sensei that she was strong.

Thoughts like these began running through her head at high speed, so engulfing her brain that she did not realize she had entered the clearing where her team was until she had bumped right into Kiba.

"Ah!" Hinata gasped, stumbling back slightly in surprise. She regained her footing and looked up as Kiba turned around to face her.

"K-Kiba!" She exclaimed still startled. "I-I'm sorry for walking into you like that, I was not paying attention to where I was going!"

"There you are!" Kiba exclaimed, turning completely around to face her. "Where have you been?!?" he demanded, glaring at her angrily. "We were worried sick about you, you know! After yester-OW! HEY!"

Kiba let out a small yelp as Shino's jabbed him in the shoulder blade with his index finger.

Now annoyed, the Inuzuka turned hi head to glare at his friend. "Shino! What the hell was that for?!?"

Shino gave him a look and Kiba responded by making a face. "Oh. Right." He swerved back in Hinata's direction, and huffed. "Shino didn't what me to say anything about yesterday unless you came to talk to us, but I don't care what he says we should do. Hinata, did somebody do something to hurt you???"

Hinata looked at Kiba a moment before smiling softly. She knew this would happen, knew that after she had cried the day before, both her teammates would what to know what had happened so they could protect her from whoever had caused her pain.

"Thank you, Kiba-kun and Shino-kun," she smiled, gazing at them warmly. "But I'm ok."

"You sure?" Hinata looked over at Shino, surprised to her him speak. They really must be worried about her…

She turned the same soft small onto Shino and nodded. "Yes. I'm sure."

Kiba looked like he what to press the issue further, but said nothing. Shino merely nodded his head. Hinata knew he was trusting her judgment to handle whatever was bothering her on her own.

A few minutes later, Kurenai arrived, and the started their training for the day.

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Back in the forests, Gai and Gaara were preparing to head back to where the rest of their teams were waiting. As Gaara crouched over the stream, filing up his water bottle for the final time, Gai stood a few feet behind him, keeping watch. He glanced down towards the water, his gaze falling on the sand nin, and shuddered internally. Though he was one of Konoha's most elite Jonin, being in the sand nin's presence still sent the slightest shivers down his spine.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Gai stared slightly Gaara as the red head spoke him. There was silence for a moment, so ominious that Gai's skin prickled. Even though the sand nin was facing the woods away from him, he could feel his dead eyes upon him, lifeless and unblinking, boring into his skull. He stood there in silence or a moment, trying to think of an appropriate, politically correct response to keep the mission diplomatic.

"I said…..why are you staring at me?"

Gaara's voice, which had been low and emotionless before, now held a slight edge to it. Gai also noticed a certain empathsis on the word said, when the Gaara spoke, as if the sand nin was growing annoyed. As usual, however, the politically correct response to the question eluded Konoha's Green Beast and he did what him always did when someone spoke to him. Answered honestly.

"I was watching you," he stated, looking at Gaara impassively, causing Gaara's head to turn. Gai looked straight into Gaara's eyes as he spoke and held them there.

"Why?" Gaara breathed. Gai sensei studied him, unsure of whether Gaara was asking him because the staring angered him or he was just curious. Again, he opted to answer with his usual frankness.

"Because I don't trust you."

The sand nin stared at him, and Gai met his gaze. There was silence for a moment.

"Why?"

Once more Gai wasn't sure why Gaara was asking him what he was. He knew the sand nin was not fond of conversation, and could not think of why he would be speaking to him unless he was angry. But-

But for some reason, Gai couldn't feel any anger.

Gai was always bursting full of emotions. And because of this, he was unusually sensitive. He could almost always sense with the people around him were feeling (usually because he had felt the same feeling at three times to the strength of what the person who's emotion's he was sensing was usually feeling. (Often having gone through the same emotional state only mere hours before. Gai's emotions had a bit of a tendency to……fluctuate).

But for some reason, as hard as a tried, he couldn't sense one ounce of anger from Gaara. And it bothered him.

But, in a strange way, it also calmed him.

Gai knew he shouldn't be feeling this relaxed around a trained killer. He knew it and it irritated him. It really irritated, for the same reason Gaara irritated him, the same reason he wanted to hate Gaara.

"Because you hurt someone dear to me."

The words were out before Gai realized he had said them. Gai still couldn't feel him, still couldn't read his emotions, and it was making his own flair up more. He glared down at the blank eyes staring at him.

"You crippled him, almost broke his spirit," Gai's emotion were surging up, all the repressed anger finally able to be directed at it's source. "He had to go through things, things nobody, no flesh person with a beating heart and soul should ever go through,- because of you!" Gai plowed onward, unable to stop himself. "He almost died because of YOU!"

Gaara stared.

Gai stood tall, blazing in fire. "And the other-your sister-tried to humiliate the flower of our team. She could not be content with a fight-she had to crush her soul-and then tried to murder her after she was defeated!" Gai exploded. He could feel the panic in him again, feel the terror washing over him as he saw his beloved students get beaten and maimed. "Do you have any idea how it feels to watch someone you love suffer!?!"

Gai screamed these final words at the sand nin and then stood there, shaking with rage. There was silence on broken by the Gai's heavy, ragged breathing. He felt as though he had just been through a heavy battle, wiped out, and drained of energy. Yet he could still feel the anger coursing through him.

Gaara stared at him a moment, watching as Gai's body racked itself with his fury. He gazed at the sensei, almost as if deciding something. A slight move of the head caught Gai's attention.

Was he?

The green nin stared at Gaara as he continued to bob his head up and down slightly, nodding affirmative.

"Yes." he said finally.

Gai looked at him, unsure of what he meant. If it were anyone else, he would think-

"Yes."

Gaara repeated the word again, shaking Gai-sensei from his thoughts. He studied the sand nin carefully, once again trying to read him. He wasn't sure, exactly what the Gaara was responding to. "Yes what?!?" Gai asked, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

There was a slight pause. The hesitation was there again in the sand nin, causing Gai to wonder what it could mean. All at once, Gaara looked up at him and spoke.

"I know," he said.

Gai stared at Gaara, taken aback. He knew? How on earth could he know what Gai had gone through? The anguish, the physical, almost debilitating pain that Gai had experienced when Lee was hurt. When Tenten fell. The pain he still felt pierce his heart when he watched them go on particularly dangerous missions without him, the terror that those goodbyes might really be farewells. Gaara,-Gaara could not, and did not know that kind of pain. Gai knew that because he had seen the attack on Lee. He had watched Gaara in action.

And he had seen what a monster he was.

"Don't you dare say that," Gai whispered softly, eyeing Gaara with hard eyes. "Don't you ever, ever say that. Not ever. Not to me."

"You don't believe me," Gaara stated flatly, still studying Gai with unblinking eyes. "You think I am lying."

There was silence between them as Gaara stared at Gai, questioning the older man before him. Gai looked him in the face, staring at those blank, almost lifeless eyes, as they gazed at him. Searched him.

Dead, lifeless eyes…..

One last look at those eyes was all Gai need before giving his answer.

"Yes," Gai whispered softly, his eyes and voice full of ice. "Yes I do."

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Not very Tenten and Hinata related, but necessary to set up future chapters. (Plus, who doesn't love Gai-sensei? Can never have enough Gai-sensei. )

runs off to snuggle her Rock Lee plushie

Snuggle snuggle snuggle...

More to come!