Hi again, everyone! First of all, please don't kill me! I didn't plan for it to go this way at firs, but it just happened and since it worked with my plot and all, I decided to keep it. Once again, please don't kill me! I already planned some very important Sasuke/Shinju action later on which will not be changed despite the fluctuations in the votes. I know that some of you might think that I trolled you, but I just write as it comes, that's all.

the Naruto series and everything pertaining to it does not belong to me.

Chapter Twenty Eight

Flashback

"Alright, Tsukiko, I know that you can do better than this! Remember, you have to concentrate your chakra in your stomach, force it to rise up your chest before spitting out a fireball out of your mouth." Sasuke instructed again, for the 13th time that day.

Shinju listened and really tried, but instead of spitting out a big fireball, only a small flame came out of her mouth. They had been training really hard since that confrontation with Hyuuga Arisu and Sasuke had been drilling all of the jutsu's seals and other information in her head, but she just can't do the ones with Katon. Sure, she mastered the level E and level D jutsu perfectly fine, but Her greatest obstcles lay in the level C and higher Katon jutsu. Of course, Sasuke being Sasuke could not tolerate failure so easily so they've been going over the same jutsu over and over again.

"Come on, Tsukiko, again! You have to make a big fireball, hence the name, not use the Hotsuba no Jutsu!" Sasuke's patience, or whatever nonexistent patience he had, was fading at a fast rate.

Shinju proceeded to repeat the Goukyaku no Jutsu several times, but the result barely got any better. It almost got to the point that Shinju was certain that Sasuke will chase her away or torture her for having wasted so much of his time. Sure, her taijutsu needed no major improvement and she couldn't do genjutsu anyway and all other jutsu that are not elemental she could master, but Shinju could've almost swear that Sasuke wanted her to be a master of Katon, like he was.

"Look, Tsukiko, I don't know what's your problem, but-"

"No, Sasuke, I don't know what's YOUR problem! I'm obviously trying, working from way before dawn to now without taking a break to get this right, but I just can't, okay?! So stop pushing me so hard!"

"Trying? Do you think that's enough for you to defeat that pretentious cousin of yours? Kami, you're just like that weakling heiress of yours! Always trying, but never doing anything actually worth all that time! I wouldn't be surprised if-" SLAP!

"Don't you dare insult Hinata-sama! I could understand you scolding me at first, but enough is enough! This isn't even about the fight with Arisu-san or the main matches anymore! I don't know what you're trying to do, but I'm not going to just listen to you like this anymore!"

"So what? You'll look for someone else to help you? Fatr chance of that happening."

"Well, I'm no longer training with you! What you're doing right now isn't helping either of us!"

"Fine! Leave! But don't come crying back to me!"

"Good, because I never will!"

Shinju left with speed, soaring through the trees. What was his problem anyway? Acting like he was so superior! She preferred him when they didn't even know each other! He was so much more bearable back then! She no longer cared about him giving her a name or his generous (more like not-so-generous) offer to help her. Now, she'll just train herself like before. Shinju didn't even care about fighting him in the main matches anymore. If anything, she just wanted to forget he ever existed.

End Flashback

That was two days ago, Day 5 of training with Sasuke. They haven't seen each other ever since and Kakashi-sensei had apparently disappeared around the same time. He was probably dragged away by Sasuke or something. Not that she cared. Shinju mostly trained herself in ninjutsu, minus the Katon techniques. It was much more monotone than before and the Sand Siblings haven't done anything that had to do with the invasion yet. They probably noticed that she hadn't been in the best of moods. Even Kankuro gave her some space.

Now, Shinju (she won't be calling herself Tsukiko again, at least not for a long time) was hitting on a log repeatedly, directly where she had before. Blood slowly seeped from her hands as she hit in frustration. Moments later, she hit one last time, effectively destroying the poor log. Just then, she felt a familiar chakra signature. "What are you doing here, Kasumi-sensei?"

"I came to check on your training since it's your first time." She answered casually. "Your ninjutsu wasn't that bad, but don't you know about your chakra element?"

Shinju shook her head. If anything, she was quite certain that her element was definitely not fire. It didn't help much though, not by a long shot. She really hoped that Kasumi-sensei won't act like Sasuke did two days ago… She really didn't need to relive that experience. Seriously.

Kasumi-sensei probably noticed her glum expression when "chakra element" was mentioned and proceeded to explain. "You probably what chakra manipulation is so I won't go into detail. This paper in my hand can help you determine your chakra nature. If it's soaked, you're water like me. If it cuts in half, you're wind. If you're earth, it will crumble into pieces. If you're lightning, then it will wrinkle. And lastly, if it ignites then crumbles to ashes, you're fire. Are you with me so far?"

Shinju nodded in relief, glad that she could find out about her affinity in such an easy way. The Hyuuga held out her hand, waiting for the sheet of paper. Kasumi-sensei instructed her to concentrate a bit of chakra into the paper so that it will be effective. Closing her eyes, not that it changed anything, Shinju did so and heard a cut before feeling damp paper.

"So you have two elemental affinities, water and wind. Since we have the same element, I'll be training you until the main matches." Kasumi-sensei decided. "I'll also talk to the Head of your Clan about this. But first, I'd like to see how good you are. So we'll spar. On the count of three, begin. One… Two… THREE!"

Kasumi-sensei went easy on her, but Shinju still managed to make her feel cornered at times. It didn't last long though. After finding out about Shinju's impossibility to perform genjutsu, Kasumi-sensei announced that she will be training her in medical ninjutsu since Shinju was able to manipulate chakra effortlessly and precisely. They were to begin the next day.

(In the village)

Shinju had done her work-out and was heading back home when a tentacle of sand grabbed her and pulled her aside. She recognized it immediately and didn't struggle. What did Gaara want with her now? She was heading back too… Turning towards Gaara, she noted the lack of aggressiveness in his aura, or at least, how diminished it became, making his aura… well, she didn't know what name the color had anyway. "Follow me, Hyuuga."

"Why? Where are we going?" Shinju asked as the tentacle retreated back into the gourd.

"To the place you showed the other day. I need to talk with you." Gaara didn't say anything else and they walked away in silence. It felt oddly comfortable, relieving the stress Shinju felt earlier that day. Minutes later, they were at the cliff again. Shinju sat down eagerly, soon followed by her companion. "This place always manages to calm me down. It's so serene…" Shinju took a deep breath. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"What did the Uchiha do to make you this… unhappy?" Gaara asked, his voice quivering slightly.

"How did you know it was him? Did you watch over me again?" Shinju asked, feeling that the word "spy" wasn't exactly appropriate for this situation. Surprisingly though, it wasn't the case. Well, not exactly. "There was an annoying Hyuuga saying something about a bitch who stole her sibling's name and threw it away. She also mentioned something about a duel to the death, I believe, not to mention that she cursed the Uchiha quite a few times."

"That must have been Arisu-san. She's kind of mad at me so I thought that issuing a challenge of that caliber would help her somewhat." Shinju sheepishly replied. Gaara obviously didn't believe her. At least, he was really, and I mean really, skeptical about it.

"So you really don't have a first name…" Unless you count Tsukiko, but I don't think it really does count…

"Well, Sasuke does call me Tsukiko now…" Memories of that day resurfaced again, making her fall in a slightly depressed state. It really wasn't fun.

"Tsukiko… It doesn't fit you," Gaara declared. "You're not a monster…"

Shinju listened on, curious to what he had to say. What did the moon have to do with monsters anyway? "So… If you were to give me a name, what would it be?" There was a long silence.

"Shinju."

"Huh?" Shinju was startled. How did he-?

"You are a pearl that goes unnoticed among various other gems of all kinds. But by yourself, you shine brighter than any other. Even though you are strong and show happy emotions on the outside, you hide all of your insecurities and fears deep inside, like the impurity inside a pearl that can break it easily. You are also a rarity, being a blind Hyuuga, yet as strong as any of your clan. The pearl's color… is also the same as your eyes'."

Shinju's mind processed his words really carefully, as if dissecting every single word. Then, she lifted her head and turned towards Gaara. "Arigatou, Gaara. Hontou ni, arigatou."

I loved writing the second half of the chapter though. I was planning on either having Shinju tell Gaara her first name or something else, but I think that this worked best. At first, I thought that he should be the one to name Shinju, but since I chose the name Tsukiko... Well, Gaara is not a fan of the moon... so you get the idea. Anyway, I'm glad that everyone's been supporting me so far and I'm very happy about it. So hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu, minna-san!

Pairings

Sasuke/Shinju 9

Gaara/Shinju 6

Ino/Sai 1

Please continue voting people!

Warning though, if the story ends up a certain way, despite your votes, I may choose the losing pairing. But that's like, extreme situation. I'll try to be as faithful to you all as I can