A/N: I have never had a crush so I'm just portraying Hanara's feelings the way I assume a crush is like and combining it with how books describe them. If anyone has advice, I'm begging you, please help me. I am so lost!

Other than that, here's an extra-long chapter just for you!

Hanara had been training like nobody's business for the past month and had finally mastered the art of using chakra threads and making them invisible. In the process of doing that, she mastered Rotation, finally used to the amount of chakra control needed. She had also been going out of her way to avoid Shikamaru whenever possible. She had finally accepted her feelings and luckily, was not fainting and turning as red as a tomato whenever Shikamaru was around, unlike her twin. Still, she was not going to let Shikamaru have any sort of hint that she might have a crush on him. She would tell him only if it seemed like he liked her that way. There's no point in embarrassing herself and ruining their friendship.

Right now, Hanara was grocery shopping. Even if Neji was acting like an ass, she didn't want him to starve. And well, she didn't want to starve either. Sadly, she must have jinxed her fate because when she entered the fruit aisle, she saw Shikamaru.

'Why is he here? He never shops for groceries!'

As she walked past him, she internally prayed, 'Don't notice me, don't notice me, don't not-'

"Hi, Hana," Shikamaru said as he dropped three apples inside his basket.

'Dammit. Okay then, act normal.'

"Hey 'Maru! I've never seen you buying groceries yourself before. Did your mom somehow convince you to finally do it?" Hanara teased.

"Heh. Surprisingly, no. Choji's in the hospital. Indigestion. He ate one short rib too many I guess. So is Naruto, actually," Shikamaru said, "Thought I'd get Choji something nice to eat when I visited. Want to come?"

'I'll sound mean if I say no.'

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Hanara sighed, "Sure, why not. Neji can buy groceries and cook for himself if he wants food. God knows he needs to learn somehow."

"Okay, just let me pay first," Shikamaru said, walking to the cash register.

Hanara nodded and made her way to the exit.

'All right Hanara, you can do it. Shinobi hide their feelings and act on missions all the time! Just think of it like that!'

A few minutes later, Shikamaru finished paying and they both walked out of the store and to the hospital.

They were walking in tense silence before Shikamaru sighed and stopped walking.

"What's wrong with you?" Shikamaru questioned.

"W-What do you mean?" Hanara asked, startled.

'I am so not acting normal.'

He sighed again, "I mean, why have you been avoiding me and Choji?"

"I haven't!" Hanara protested.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, "Whatever's wrong, just remember that you can talk to us, okay?"

'Why does he have to act so sweet?'

"Huh? Okay, then?" Hanara said, acting like she was confused.

Shikamaru shook his head, "Don't bother, I can tell when you're lying. Let's just go and visit the hospital now."

"Y-Yeah, let's."

'Way to go, Hanara. Now he thinks you don't trust him.'

At the hospital:

Shikamaru and Hanara made their way to the receptionist and asked for Choji's room.

"It's number 329. You might not want to bring those fruits, though. He isn't allowed anything but fluids for a few days." the lady said.

"What a drag," Shikamaru sighed, "What about Naruto Uzumaki? Is he?"

"He should be fine eating them, but he isn't awake yet. He is supposed to be waking up any second now. He was out for three days because of chakra exhaustion." the lady responded.

"What's his room number?" Hanara asked.

"322," said the lady.

"Thank you for your help," Shikamaru said as he and Hanara walked to the stairs.

"You're giving these to Naruto then?" Hanara asked when they exited the third floor's stairwell.

"Yeah," Shikamaru nodded, "It would be troublesome to bring it home. My mom would make me shop for groceries all the time."

'You're just being nice, don't deny it.'

They entered Naruto's hospital room to find the boy sound asleep. There wasn't much in the room, just a bed, two chairs, a small closet, and a bedside table that had a shogi set on it.

"Want to play?" Shikamaru asked, gesturing towards the shogi set.

"You know how much I suck," she groaned, "You always beat me!"

"Eh, you'll only get better with practice," he shrugged.

Hanara sighed, "I have nothing better to do anyway."

They had played three rounds of shogi (all of which Shikamaru won) before Naruto woke up. And since Hanara's mind was elsewhere, Shikamaru noticed Naruto first.

"So you finally decided to wake up, huh?" Shikamaru drawled.

Naruto shot up from his bed, "Where am I? What is this?"

"Hospital," Hanara said, "They said that you were out for three days because of chakra exhaustion. I told you that training for the entire day is a bad idea."

"Three days? Three days straight?" Naruto exclaimed.

Shikamaru looked startled, "Uh yeah, more or less."

"Oh man, I'm supposed to be training with Pervy Sage!" Naruto panicked, "This isn't good, I'm supposed to be learning new jutsu! That stupid toad! Ahhhh!"

'I take it he finally managed to summon something and it went bad.'

"When does the final competition begin?" Naruto asked urgently.

"Tomorrow," Hanara responded, "Now you-"

"What?" he yelled, grabbing the front of Hanara's shirt, "Are you crazy? Why didn't you wake me up sooner? I can't be lying around at a time like this! I have to go and get ready! And Pervy Sage! Where's Pervy Sage? That old coot is supposed to be helping me!"

"Hey, calm down! I don't know what you're talking about!" Shikamaru exclaimed, looking scared.

Naruto let go of Hanara and started pacing, completely ignoring Shikamaru, "Where are my clothes? I have to get ready! Oh come on, where did they put them?"

That's when Hanara lost it and used invisible chakra strings to immobilize Naruto, not caring that she may have given away her trump card to Shikamaru.

'He would've found out before our match anyway.'

"AHH! I CAN'T MOVE! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME!" Naruto yelled.

"WOULD YOU CALM DOWN!" Hanara screamed.

Naruto stopped freaking out.

"Good," she said, relaxing her fingers and releasing her chakra threads, "Now you can move. But listen. You don't want to be freaking out the day before a competition. Right now, it's better if you rest."

Naruto nodded. Then, he made a face.

"Huh? Are you okay? Is something wrong?" Hanara questioned, worried.

"I'm starving," Naruto said. As if on cue, his stomach growled.

"That's all?" she exclaimed.

"Man, you had us worried," Shikamaru sighed before reaching for the fruit basket and placing it on Naruto's bed, "Here. I went through all the trouble of buying this for Choji and then the doctors told me that he can't have it. At least we can eat it."

"Choji? He's in here, too?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing to worry about, it's just a small case of indigestion. He ate one short rib too many," Shikamaru said.

"I should've figured," Naruto laughed, "That's just like him."

"Yeah," Hanara agreed, "Well, you're just lucky that we're here. Otherwise, you wouldn't have any visitors. I didn't even know you were here until 'Maru told me."

"You're being oddly quiet since you became a ninja. No pranks or anything," Shikamaru added as he tossed Naruto an apple.

Naruto moved to take a bite and then stopped.

"What is it now?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto smirked, "Let's eat it in front of Choji, it'll drive him crazy."

Hanara laughed, "That's so mean."

"I like it," Shikamaru grinned.

They were walking down the hallway when Hanara noticed a bit of sand out of room 325.

"Stop," she told the boys urgently, holding out her right hand. They listened.

'Byakugan,' she thought scanning the room. Her eyes widened.

"Shit," she swore, running to the room, "Shikamaru, get your shadow ready."

Hanara flung the door open and rushed inside, attempting to catch Gaara with her chakra threads and stop him from murdering Lee. Gaara used some hardened sand and blocked her strings and Shikamaru used that as a distraction, letting him catch the jinchuriki with his shadow.

"What the heck do you think you're doing here, you rat?" Naruto asked angrily, "Bushy Brows is just sleeping! Don't you think you've done enough to him?"

Naruto tried to punch Gaara but his sand blocked him.

"Go easy, Naruto. I'm using my Shadow Possession so when you bash him, you're bashing me, too," Shikamaru

"Oh, sorry," Naruto said, backing off.

"Out with it. What were you trying to pull?" Hanara demanded, putting a hand on her hip.

Gaara stayed silent.

"Well? Are you going to tell us or do we have to force it out of you?" Naruto questioned.

'As if we could,' Hanara internally scoffed.

"I was going to kill him," Gaara said in a toneless voice.

"You already beat him in the competition, wasn't that enough? Do you have a grudge against him or something?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief.

"You know, I think he does," Hanara said, "I bet where he's from, they allow him to kill whomever he wants and no one intervenes because they're scared of him. He has a grudge against Lee because someone stopped him from killing Lee."

"I do not," Gaara denied, "I have nothing against him, I simply want to kill him. Is that so hard to believe?"

"You know what, you're sick in the head! You're crazy!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yeah, you think we're just going to stand here and let you do whatever you want?" Shikamaru questioned angrily.

'He gets better, doesn't he? Either way, I feel bad. The life of a jinchuriki isn't a happy one, no matter where you're from.'

"If you don't stay out of my way, I'll have to kill you three as well," Gaara said.

"Oh really? Let's just see you try it!" Naruto yelled, pointing at Gaara.

"Hey! Woah, Naruto! Take it easy!" Hanara exclaimed.

Naruto sighed and put his arms down.

"Yeah, we watched your match and we know you're tough, but we were holding back, too. Naruto, Hanara, and I have a few tricks up our sleeves. We've seen what you've got but there are things about us that you don't know yet. On top of that, it's three against one. It's in your best interest to leave." Shikamaru bluffed.

'That's smart and all but there's just one huge problem. By telling him all this, you're implying that you see him as a threat. There's no way he's going to back down now.'

"I'll say it once more," Gaara drawled, "If you don't get out of my way I'll kill all of you."

"And I'll say it again, let's see you try it!" Naruto dared Gaara.

"Back off, will you? We don't want to go there! This guy fights like he's possessed! Like he's a demon or something!" Shikamaru said, pulling Naruto back to them.

"Yeah? Well, he can act like a demon all he wants, I'm still the only one that's got the real thing inside me!" Naruto growled.

"Thing is," Hanara told Naruto, "You aren't. Gaara's got a demon inside him, too. And it's as real as yours." she turned to Gaara, "It's the One-Tails, isn't it? Shukaku, the Sand Spirit. Or as you call it, Mother. It doesn't matter though, because Naruto's is no doubt, stronger. I bet Shukaku can feel it. That's why it must be telling you to kill Naruto now. It doesn't want a threat to its power."

Shikamaru and Naruto stared at Hanara with wide eyes that were demanding answers.

'I'll tell them later,' Hanara decided, 'Now's not the time.'

"She is correct," Gaara rasped, "My demon is as true as yours, Uzumaki. As she said, it is the One-Tails, Shukaku. Even from birth, my upbringing was not what one would consider a happy one. To ensure that I would become a strong shinobi, my father performed his ninjutsu on me before I even left the womb, infusing a sand spirit inside of me. When I was born, I destroyed the life of my mother. I was born a monster. It is said that Shukaku, is the living incarnation of an old Sand Village monk who'd been sealed up in a jar of tea."

"That must have been some kind of demonic jutsu. Man, what a swell guy your dad must have been. He must have loved you a lot to have sealed such a thing inside of you," Shikamaru said sarcastically.

'Is that what he thinks of Hiashi, then?' Hanara thought curiously.

"You speak of love," Gaara scoffed, "Don't measure me by your standards. Love. Family. The only emotional ties I have towards my family members are the ones I'd like to wrap around their necks. They're only ties of hate. Despite being given life by the death of my mother, I was brought up being nurtured as the salvation of the village. I was Kazekage's child, my father taught me the innermost secrets of shinobi. He pampered me and protected me, yet left me to myself. For a time, I thought that was love. But then, it started."

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, what started?" Naruto questioned.

'Why are you explaining your life story to strangers?'

A crazy grin spread across Gaara's face, "Ever since my sixth birthday, my father tried to have me murdered more times than I care to count."

"You just said your father pampered and protected you. So which is it?" Shikamaru asked.

"Those who become too strong are apt to become hated. The jutsu that my father used on me unbalanced something in my mind. Even the fools in my village realized that I had emotional issues. My father, the Kazekage, created me as the ultimate weapon, but I soon became a threat to the very village I was meant to save. By the time I was 6, I became a figure of terror to the villagers. To them, I was a relic of the past that they wanted to forget. So, you see, I failed at the one purpose that had given me life. Why go on living? For a long time, I couldn't find an answer to that, because, to live, one needs a purpose. To exist for no reason is the same as being dead," Gaara said.

'I get that. In my old world, I think I wanted to be a police officer. That was what gave me a reason to get up and go to school. Then, here, I wanted to make a difference, at least save one life before I left. When I got too scared, I wanted to keep things the same. And now, I think if I survive everything that happens, doing whatever I can to save people, I think I'd want to be a Jonin-Sensei.'

Shikamaru didn't seem to understand, "What is this guy talking about?"

Naruto's eyes glazed over like he was having a flashback, and he took a step back.

Shikamaru, noticing that asked, "Hey, Naruto, what's wrong? Wake up!"

Gaara shot some sand at Naruto, "Now, let me feel alive!"

Panicked, Hanara body-flickered in front of Naruto.

'Dammit, I don't know what I should do. I really should learn Wind Barrier or Water Wall. So many things to learn! I don't know if Rotation would work but, best to give it a shot and hope it defends Naruto.' Hanara thought as she got into the Gentle Fist stance.

"Incoming," Shikamaru yelled as his shadow lost its hold.

"Okay! That's enough!" Guy-Sensei yelled from the door, "Save it 'til tomorrow, that's when the final competition begins. You'll just get disqualified, is that what you want?"

Gaara glared at Guy-Sensei as his sand went into its gourd and he walked to the door.

Just before he left, he said, "All the same, I will kill you. I'll kill you all, just you wait."