Disclaimer: …what I've said before…

Destinies Changed, Hearts Changed: Part VII

Hinata stared at the wall. She was back here again…in her confinement. To the contrary though, she preferred staying locked up in her room than face any of them. Explaining to them her incentive for leaving abruptly like that was the last thing on her list to do.

The Hokage hadn't pushed her for answers, but rather had her sit there until she felt like saying something. Secretly, she was thankful that Sasuke hadn't said anything about Gaara. Her heart dropped at the thought of him. Without him, there wasn't anyone that she would confine her thoughts in; she missed his presence and had literally dragged herself to places now.

People treated her differently now; like glass, as if she would break if pressure were to be exerted on her. Neji had came to talk to her immediately the night she was brought back, which was strange, since they had never been on good terms. His news for her had just added to her displeasure of being back and she had since locked herself in her room then, only coming out when really needed to.

But today was different. Her father had wanted to speak to her. She knew what he wanted from these 'meetings' of his. They had grouped together at least three times since her return, each time not getting any further than the one before. Neji accompanied her and sat next to her, facing her father and Hanabi. They were fools if they thought they could get anything out of her. They had always pushed her until she gave up to their will. She wasn't going to give in this time, she wasn't the weak-willed girl anymore.

"Hinata."

She glared up at him.

Hyuuga-sama saw the look his eldest daughter shot him, and he knew instantly as he moved his gaze to her companion. Neji sat there beside her, composed with aggressiveness as ever.

"Why did you do it?"

Hinata had averted her gaze by now and seemed more interested in the paper door behind him. She shrugged nonchalantly.

It wasn't like she was part of the Hyuuga anymore. They had planned on disowning her before she did, and now all she was doing was carrying out their original plan. Why didn't they just all leave her alone? She had been doing just fine with Gaara…and now, she hasn't seen or heard of him—or from him—ever since.

Everyday, she'd get false hope that a Sand ninja—or even an unknown shinobi coming to Konoha, but there were none of that since she got back. There was no point for her to hope for something that wasn't likely to happen. With that in mind, Hinata gazed intently at the paper door, wondering when she would be free to mope by herself.

~~~

He bounded past the gates with ease as he blended in with the darkness easily. To his advantage, the securities for Konoha were low that night too, because of some kind of festival. Many of the chuunins and jounins had taken that time slot off, and the others were careless.

His shoulder ached, but he stiffly shrugged it off. Temari had made the bandages too tight and he felt awfully light without his gourd strapped behind him. It would affect his healing, Temari had stated, and to her amazement, he obliged to her warning.

Concealed by the darkness and trees, from his perch, he scanned the area for a familiar dark-haired girl. It wasn't exactly easy since she never really stood out in a crowd—except for her eyes. He had always liked her eyes. They radiated a soft glow of reassurance to him.

He looked down at the crowd nearest to him and spotted some people he recognized.

"Sakura-chan! Look what I got for you!"

The pink-haired girl smiled at her boyfriend. Lee was ecstatic as he struck his triumph pose, flashing a thumbs up sign at their companions, that was to Gaara's opinion the most girliest thing in the world. He would never do a thing like that in public, even if he let the demon kill them all afterwards. As for Shukaku…

It wouldn't be so bad to try that pose…ne, Gaara?

He had found other ways to torment Gaara, making him very cautious of his guard and when the demon might feel like taking over.

They weren't exactly on good terms, but the demon seemed to be momentarily satisfied with his outburst a few weeks ago. Gaara had a pretty long talk with him subconsciously after that…and to his surprise, the demon agreed to the conditions…willingly. They now had quite a few one-sided chats with each other, and Shukaku seemed to understand that Gaara would rather kill them both now, then to let him take over forcibly like that again.

Gaara frowned and ignored the comment.

A blond girl next to them, then, turned to the boy next to her.

"Why don't you ever get me anything like that?!"

She pointed an accusing finger at him, "Lazy bum!"

The boy—he recognized as one from the search squad—sighed and muttered under his breath, which only made the girl angrier. The other girl was smiling happily and hugged a pink bear close to her as she watched the scene unfold.

"You'll only chuck it at me later in the evening."

The girl stomped her foot and pouted, "But…Shika-kun!!!"

The boy sighed as he gave in and started to a stand where there were stuffed animals like the one the one pink bear were hung up.

After they had left, Gaara jumped down and landed in front of the stand and pointed to a white bunny at the corner. He had startled a few of the people around.

"I want that."

He stated plainly in a monotonous voice. Maybe Hinata would like it. The white bunny reminded him of her.

A stout balding middle-aged man behind the stand stared at him for a moment before answering in a meek voice.

"Y-You'll have to…uh…play the game…and win it…"

Gaara shot him an incredulous look.

"Play?"

He frowned. Play what? All he saw in front of him were some stupid empty bottles stacked up. What was fun about this? He had seen the other boy throw something at it and knocked it down and then received the bear. Was that it? He never played games like this. This was pointless.

//How stupid// He scoffed, but reached for his money and paid the man like he had seen the other boy done.

You're stupid…We're wasting time here…Let's just kill him and take the crap

Three small beanbags were placed in front of him and he picked one up. Ignoring things was his best talent.

~~~

Hinata, accompanied by Neji had run into Kiba, Shino, Naruto, and Sasuke while she was making her way to the festival. They had invited—more of Kiba and Naruto, the other three just stood there looking bored to death—her to go to dinner with them; with much persistence from Akamaru who had clamped his jaw onto the hem of her pale blue kimono, she gave in.

The table was unusually quiet as all four sets of eyes settled on her while they ate. Naruto was too busy eating.

"Uh…Hinata?"

She snapped her head up from the blank spot on the table she had concentrated on.

"Yes?"

Kiba shot a look at Shino, who nodded for him to proceed.

"I-uh-we were just wondering…if you're gonna join us again soon…"

She contemplated on that idea. It seemed better than sitting in her room all day and that she would have to get over it sooner or later.

"Yea…maybe…tomorrow?"

"Eh?"

Five pairs of eyes widened at her abrupt decision.

Naruto grinned, "Really?" Noodles flew in every direction, and splattered onto the table. Sasuke and Neji, the unfortunate ones seated next to him shared the same fate.

She smiled tentatively at them, "Yea."

Out of the corner of her eye, Hinata could see Sasuke give her a questioning stare as he picked a strand of ramen off his shirt. She gave him a thankful smile. If he hadn't kept the run-in with Gaara a secret, they probably would still be questioning her. Thanks to him, she was able to rest and pull herself somewhat together.

~~~

He couldn't locate her anywhere in the festival and decided to stop by where she lived. It wasn't hard to find her home, now it was to somehow get in. He knew the Hyuuga's ability, and it would be a great risk to sneak in there now, that he was still recovering and without his gourd.

But he gazed down at the object in his hand. He had gotten the stuffed bunny after much confusion. It would be a waste if he left now. Still, he had something else he had to return to her. She had left with the three abruptly that day and forgotten to take it with her, and left it back at their room.

~~~

Hinata slid the door to her room open and walked directly to her bed, and dropped onto the soft mattress.

Thunk

She groaned and rolled over. Her face had landed right onto a piece of metal.

"Wha?"

She reached for the light switch and flipped it up, which revealed her a Leaf forehead protector. Next to the forehead protector was a stuffed bunny.

How'd they know she'd lost her forehead protector? She flipped it over to the other side, in attempt to put it on when she saw her name printed neatly on the back. It was written in her handwriting.

It was her old one. The one she had left back in the Lightening Country.

//How…?//

Who had gotten it for her? She reached for the bunny too and held it up, examining it. More as, who had known where she left it? The only one was…

//Gaara?//

She whirled around at a sound she heard from the corner. It was a silhouette of someone stepped towards her.

~End Part VII~

DUN DUN DUUUN! Who is the other person? = No, it's not Gaara…*rolls eyes* I not going to make it that obvious.

Bleh…I'm actually currently saving up for my very own GAARA plushie! Whoo! I saw it awhile ago…and it was just the most adorable thing in the world! So were the Sasuke and the Naruto ones…^^ I couldn't find a Kakashi one online though…do they sell those outside or anywhere else online? If you know a place…PLEASE TELL ME!

Here's an excerpt of a line from Gai during Gaara's match with Sasuke that I very much disagree with:

"…the abominable Gaara and the adorable Lee…"

I don't hate Lee…but I very much hold Gaara way above him in my 'Hottest Anime Guys' Chart…and I happen to find it very sweet of Gaara to be talking to his dead mom… O_o …don't ask how my mind works…watching Gaara get smacked around by both Lee and Sasuke made me want to cry for him

GoodGirl-Shukaku is the demon that possesses Gaara…^^ at first I didn't like Gaara that much either…but a look at his past made me change my mind…and he can be very cuddly too! Chuunin Exam finals against Sasuke…he walked out with the cutest smile ^___^ the happy kind too! Not the maniac ones that he has while killing.

Irrel-Yaoi's not that bad, but it was my thoughts exactly to pair Gaara up with a girl ^^ and Sakura irks me, so she was off the list…haha…I'm glad you like this pairing.

Wormkaizer-Hehe…this story was off the top of my head ^^ and I'm still making it up as I go.

Lin/Akiko-Thanks for the encouragement! I found your story too!

Rune-Rune-Sorry I couldn't make this a triangle ^^ but it would've been mainly Gaara/Hinata anyways.

Eowyn-sama-Hehe, I'm glad there's some people out there that actually pay attention to my grammar and help me correct it ^^ Shukaku is going to be a teensy bit different now.

Machi*Gai-Hmm…I didn't notice that…I used 'profoundly' in my English essay while typing that up also. Should stop multi-tasking and pay more attention ^^…Yea…my Japanese is kinda bad too…I decided to TA for a Japanese I class instead of taking it…haha ^^…I'm planning to take it though…next year! Haha.

Mrs. Kakashi-Wow, I can't believe I've actually inspired someone ^___^ Your story is really good too! UPDATE IT!

Thanks to all my other reviewers too!

Well that's all for now…Please tell me how this chapter is! I love feedback on my work ^^ I think I'm moving them a little too slow…ne? And about the Shukaku thing…it'll all be explained later why he obliged to Gaara's terms. ^^ I can make him lovable too! *cackles* Like Naruto's Kyuubi = a stuffed fox! Shukaku can be a little cute raccoon! Although I'll regard Gaara as a panda cuz of his rings…pandas are cuter…

Ame