Hinata woke a short time later. Gaara had obviously tried to make her comfortable, but his nursing efforts were clumsy at best, and her neck was terribly stiff.
"What's going on?" she asked sleepily, opening her eyes slowly. "What happened?"
"As a Shinobi, you should be alert faster than that," a voice observed. Hinata rolled over; Gaara was watching her. From the set of his stance, he had obviously been standing there for some time. Hinata's skin prickled. How long had those cold eyes been locked onto her as she slept?
"You fell unconscious for a little more than an hour," Gaara informed her. He looked at her oddly. "What did you see?"
"S-see?" Silently, she cursed herself for stuttering every time he asked her a question, but she was genuinely confused.
"In this," Gaara reminded her, pointing over her. Hinata glanced at the gourd and shrugged, shaking her head.
"Nothing. I don't remember."
Gaara looked at her steadily. "You looked into a cursed gourd with the Byakugan, screamed, fell unconscious, and expect me to believe that?" Sand leaked from the gourd, running into a circle around the vulnerable girl.
"It's true," she told him, this time looking him in the eye. The sand stopped moving, and Gaara nodded.
"You must have been too shocked to remember. I didn't expect you to wake up after that kind of surprise." No apology for telling her to do it. Not the slightest hint of remorse. But Hinata didn't mind.
"Gaara-kun... will you tell me your story now?" she asked after a moment. Her shyness hadn't disappeared entirely, but she was growing more and more comfortable around him. She didn't understand it herself, but it was probably his very inhumanity that numbed the shock of his kills. After all, non-humans couldn't murder, could they?
He looked at her for a long time, and Hinata became uncomfortable again. She reminded herself mentally that she had come to see him, that she wouldn't just let this lie like she let everything else go past her.
That she had to know.
She didn't relent. Eventually, Gaara nodded, and indicated that she should stay seated.
It was the first time Gaara had ever told his story in full, and the words brought back vivid memories. Hinata listened in growing horror and fascination; if the story was true, Gaara was one of the greatest serial killers in history! Hundreds of deaths, hundreds of meaningless wastes of life were described in clinical, distant words, many of them not even in battle. It seemed he had no happy memories to share. He spared her no detail about Shukaku either, describing the constant battle he fought with the terrifying demon and the necessity of his self-induced insomnia.
The only thing he didn't tell her about was his mother. Privately, even Gaara had not come to terms with the unnatural melding of his mother's hate, Shukaku's power and a tiny desert baby that had produced him.
"No-one has ever shown me the care that Temari does," he finished softly, staring at the lone candle that lit the room. "And even she is afraid of me. Are you scared of me, Hinata-chan?" he asked suddenly, his gaze locking onto her.
"Hai," she answered truthfully, returning his disappointed gaze. "Terrified. But it doesn't matter. I still like you."
"Your eyes," Gaara breathed, noticing something else and ignoring her words. "It can't be just the Byakugan. Neji looked at me with cold eyes, the same fear and contempt that everyone shares. You're so gentle... Don't... don't look at me with those eyes!" He raised his arms to his face suddenly, turning away and trying to escape her amazed gaze. Obediently, the sand leapt into the air, hanging like a curtain to hide him from her view.
"Gaara-kun?" Hinata asked, telling herself firmly not to flinch back at the sight of the sand that had killed her friends. "It's okay. I won't hurt you." It was a ridiculous thing to say, and Hinata realised it as soon as the words left her lips.
"Go," Gaara's muffled voice ordered, from the other side of the barrier. "Go! I'll kill you!" It was an empty threat, and they both knew it.
""I'll tell you my story," the Hyuuga girl decided. She shifted around, trying to decide where to begin. "My cousin Neji is..." She shook her head. "I am... My father..." She stopped and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. What would he listen to? "I am just as alone as you are."
A tiny waterfall of sand appeared at the top of the wall, gradually nipping away at the barrier. Gaara was interested.
"The Hyuuga family is split into two parts. My father, the firstborn of the head family, had a twin brother."
"Neji's father," Gaara interjected. She nodded, although he couldn't see.
"That's right. But because Hiashi-san was the eldest, even if only by a few minutes, it dictated their positions. Any Hyuuga child not the firstborn is relegated to the branch family, even away from their parents." She paused. "And anyone who doesn't show sufficient control over her Byakugan to become the head family's heir is also housed there."
Her storytelling went on for many minutes, detailing the gulf that had arose between the two houses, but had always been kept in check by the pain seals members of the branch family bore on their forehead. That gulf had culminated in Neji, a true genius ninja who would never be independent, never be free of the arrogant head family, despite the ability enabling him to master his Byakugan to astonishing levels. He was already nearly the equal of Hiashi, and he was yet only a Genin. By the time he became a Jounin, he would be invincible, she told him sincerely.
Hinata fervently believed in her cousin and adored him dearly. But the mutual love between the two had been sundered irreparably on Hinata's birthday. She told that story mechanically, trying not to remember that terrifying night.
The harsh grip of the Cloud-country Shinobi... the threats he whispered in her ear if she dared scream... the easy grace of Hiashi as he killed the man and rescued her...
Gaara was silent as she recounted the events leading to the death of Neji's father, Hizashi, and Neji's declaration that he would never again trust or help the head family of the Hyuuga clan. His pain seal, however, demanded his fealty towards Hinata. Had she been given a choice, she would have released him, but that was far beyond her abilities.
Then further insult was added to Neji's already substantial injury. Hinata's weakness, and failure to meet the demands of her father, became too much for him to overlook. She was taken from the head family and given to her sensei to raise from her tenth birthday. She could still hear the words Hiashi told the Jounin woman...
"Do what you wish with her. She is no concern of mine. I have a new child, now. Hanabi will be the Hyuuga heir."
Neji didn't care to be permanently indebted to the failed former scion of the family who had killed his father, seeing it as something deliberately arranged to shame and hurt him further. Their budding relationship had ended there, and they now met only on formal occasions.
Gaara didn't speak when she finished the story, and Hinata sat in silence. This was the longest she had ever spoken, and now she felt more than a little self-conscious and silly. She stood up to leave, but turned as one final thought struck her.
"Gaara-kun..." she whispered, moving close to the wall of sand. "Sleep tonight. Please. I believe you can control your spirit. Trust me one time, and sleep tonight. Come and see me if you... need anything." With that, she turned and padded from the room.
The sand wall remained standing for a long time after she left. Gaara had much to think about, but within an hour of Hinata's leaving, tiny snores echoed through the room.
Hinata didn't go back to bed after that. All Hyuuga had a tea set in their room, and she brewed herself a cup to calm her nerves. A tap on her door caught her attention. "H-hai! Come in!"
The door cracked open. Gaara stood there, his hair tousled and shadowed eyes half-shut.
"Hinata-chan..." he murmured, looking sincerely astounded about something. She stood up hastily and moved to him.
"What is it, Gaara-kun?" she asked, worried.
"I had... a bad dream." He sounded amazed at that fact. "Can I... sleep with you tonight?"
Hinata glanced down, an immediate blush dying her pale cheeks stark red. Of course, he wouldn't know about propriety, he's been alone all his life... "H... hai, Gaara-kun. Come in."
He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He still had his gourd strapped to his back, Hinata noticed.
"You're wearing the same clothes," she observed a moment later. "You still carry that?" she asked, pointing. Gaara glanced over his shoulder self-consciously.
"I would be punished if I left it," was the only explanation he offered. He moved a little further into the room, and stood silently, not knowing what to do. Hinata was looking at him with an expression he didn't understand.
"Gaara-kun... you came to me because you couldn't sleep?"
He nodded slowly, easing the gourd from his back to the floor. It didn't matter how distant it was, the sand would come to his call. The last thing he needed was for it to come tearing through the walls to protect him.
"A-ano? Would you... like some tea?" she asked hesitantly. "I was making some, and it won't take much for two cups..."
He nodded again, not speaking. She turned away from him for a moment to bring more water to the boil, and when she turned back she flinched, reminding herself that he didn't need mortal weapons to kill her. For Gaara held a kunai, its blade shining in the bright moonlight.
"Hinata-chan... I want you to..." He drove the kunai down towards his own arm, but it was predictably caught by the sand. "Kuso!" he swore. "I forgot!"
Shukaku's laughter echoed quietly in his mind. I have not forgotten you, little one.
"Gaara-kun? Daijobou?" Hinata asked, watching him nervously.
"I was going to share my blood with you, Hinata-chan... so that I could never harm you, even if I wanted to. But I'm not allowed." He stabbed repeatedly at his hand, accomplishing nothing above blunting the kunai.
"Gaara-kun, please relax. Drink this." She pressed a cup into his hands. He sighed, but took it from her. "Tea helps you sleep well," she went on. "And it's good for you to drink with friends."
Gaara glanced at her, his face unreadable as always. "And are we friends?"
Hinata's smile was nervous, but nonetheless radiant. "Are we?" she asked in return.
Gaara had to stop and think about that. The next instant, Hinata jumped—there was a deep, dry rustling sound, and it took her a moment to work out what it was.
Gaara of the Sand was chuckling. After a moment, she joined in his laughter.
A/N: He he. Sorry, couldn't resist that little barb at the end there at all those fics that have Gaara cutting his hand to seal a promise with someone else. Have they read Naruto at all? Then again, I had Gaara sleep. Go figure.
On a lighter note, my partner-in-crime S!th has dedicated himself to learning the seals for Water Dragon no Jutsu, having mastered Grand Fireball no Jutsu. That's the one Zabuza and Kakashi perform in tandem, with about thirty seals. Wish him luck... I'll stick with my Byakugan, personally, and my Shukaku in my Gaara cosplay... Gaara with Byakugan??
Next chapter 10- Tenshi. Watch this space... next chapter will take a little longer, probably be up on Sunday because of my exam timetable. So much for a five-chapter buffer... I've only written up to 12! The rest is planned out, but I'm at a point where lots of Gaara/Shukaku angst is needed. I'm headed home from university on Tuesday, so there will be a small hiatus there while I catch up with friends and family. I'll do my level best to finish this before I hit the clubs.
As always, please give me feedback. Charm