To diamondninja: thanks again for reviewing XD.
To MysteryLady-Tx: thanks for the review XD
To Tamara2187: mystic voiceAll your questions shall be answered sooooonnnn... X3
btw all you peopls in case your wondering, i plan on this fanfic being about 15 chps long including an epoluge.
And now for the gaara chp. i fgured i wasn't focusing on him enough so he now has his own chp XD.
Chapter Seven: Friends and family
It was well past eight when Hinata
snuck her way back into her house, only to be confronted by her
cousin, Neji. He looked at her sternly.
"Your late."
"I..
i know..." she looked down at her feet. Neji continued his act
then smiled.
"Did you have fun?" Hinata looked up at him
and smiled, holding her stuffed fox and tow other stuffed animals
closer. Neji looked down at it.
"Where did you get those?"
She giggeled and smiled at him. Neji sighed. "how troublesome ."
hinata giggeled.
"You've been around Shikamaru to much."
She smiled at him. "well, Good night!" She walked past him
and headed to her room. Neji just shook his head and headed to his
own
room.
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gaara
was the first to arrive at the training fields. When he got there he
wondered,
'why am i here? They're just idiots. I shouldn't even
bother myself with them.'
"go... Good morning, Gaara-kun..."
Gaara looked behind him and say Hinata with more food. "it looks
like Naruto-kun slept over again." She said with a small smile.
"I.. brought some ramen... I'm sorry... I didn't know what kind
you liked... so... i..."
"I don't have a favorite kind.
I don't like ramen." he looked over to she her with a defeated
look on her face.
"Go.. gomen... I didn't know..." She
then looked up and said "I... i can go and get you something
else..."
"No th..."
"RAMEN!"
Yelled naruto as he ran over to Hinata. "Wow! thanks
hinata-chan!" he said as he grabbed some ramen. Yondaime
walked over and got some for himself.
"Come on Gaara-kun!
Have some!"
"no tha..." but once again gaara was
interupted by Naruto, this time, it was because he had stuffed some
ramen in his mouth and shoved a cup in his hand. Gaara took this as a
note that he should eat... whether he supposedly liked or not. he
swallowed the ramen and sighed. Sitting down next to the others he
kept wondering what he was doing there.
"ne, ne! Yon...
Arashi! When are you going to teach me that cool technique!"
Naruto asked, his mouth full of ramen. Yondaime just smiled.
"Sometime." naruto frowned and crossed his arms.
"Your
as bad as the ero-sannin." gaara couldn't believe that THIS was
the one who beat him. He was so childish it was nausiating. no.. not
nausiating... comforting in a way. It made you relax. As if, acting
childish, gave you a feeling of not having a care. What made it more
interesting was that fact the Gaara knew that, Naruto had once almost
been like him. Shunned, hated... and yet... he had some how gotten
through it all with a smile, it almost seemed. he didn't let his past
affect him and he was now making close friends and living happily.
Gaara almost wished that he could be like that. Not letting the past
affect him... pretend as if his uncle and others have never tried to
kill him. naruto hadn't had that. it was almost unfair. That he could
have such friends, while he was still in the dark... or was
he.
"NANI! What are you talking about! Of course we're friends!"
Gaara
smiled as he remembered. Was this what it was like to have a friend?
Is it supposed to feel like everything will be alright, no matter how
dark it gets?
"ne, ne! gaara! You better hurry up and finish
your ramen before it gets cold!"
"Or before Naruto eats
it for you." Yondaime laughed, while naruto just look upset at
him and Hinata giggeled. Gaara ate some more ramen and reminised
about yesterday at the amuzement
park.
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"Now,"
Yondaime started, "Let's split up into two groups. We'll be able
to cover more of the park that way." He smiled and continued.
"hinata, you go with Naruto and I'll go with Gaara. We'll meet
back here in an hour and cover the rest of the park together."
Hinata blushed at the suggestion of her and naruto but went along
with it any way.
'didn't think she'd debate about that to much."
Arashi Whispered to gaara winking as the two groups went their
seperate ways. "and besides, gives you and i a chance to
talk."
"Why would you want to talk to me?" Yondaime
looked suprised at the question.
"Well, why wouldn't i? Your
from a different village and you have a demon inside you. We should
be able to talk about some very interesting subjects."
"I
would think that becuase i have a demon would be a reason NOT to talk
to me." he looked at Yondaime and Yondaime looked offened.
"You
shouldn't use a demon as a cruch as to not to talk to people."
he said winking. "now, naruto has told me that you have and
older sister and brother? Wht don't you tell me about them."
Some how by the end of the hour, Arashi had gotten gaara to tell him everything about him and he didn't seem bored or anything. In fact, it looked as if he had paid attention to everything he had said. gaara even felt better after talking to him.
When they met up
with Naruto and Hinata, hinata had a little stuffed fox in her arms.
Yondaime smiled and began teasing Hinata about it whcih ended up with
naruto yelling at him for teasing Hinata.
"Come on gaara-kun,
back me up on this!" Said Yondaime. gaara sighed and the other
swore the say him smile for a second before he used his sand to tip
naruto upside down by the ankle, making all his money spill out.
Gaara appraoched naruto (who was still in the air) and took his
money. he then went to the nearest game and some how got a stuffed
animal with out even playing the game and came back with a stuffed
badger. He then shoved it toward Hinata, who, with a surprised look
on her face, accepted.
"hey thats no fair! I want to win
hinata-chan something to!" yondaime yelled, so he took the rest
of naruto's money (naruto: STOP STEALING FROM ME), who was still
hanging upside down. He then went to a different game stand, actaully
played the game and came back with a stuffed frog.
"ha ha!
here you go Hinata-chan!" hinata took the third stuffed animal,
rather surprised by her armful. yondaime laughed, naruto smiled, and
gaara smirked.
"Well," Arashi said, looking to the
falling sun, "looks like we should head home. if it wasnt for
that fight, we could have stayed longer. Oh well, what will be will
be." He smiled and they started walking home. Until, that is.
they realized they forgot something.
"GET ME DOWN FROM
HERE!" Naruto yelled, waving his arms around. gaara, with
out turning around, let go of Naruto who fell on his head. When he
caught up with them, he yelled at Gaara.
"What did you do
that for! Give me back my money! You didn't have to drop me and my
head!" his rants went on and on to the point that gaara actaully
smiled and laughed, whcih made everyone stop and look at him. After a
few seconds silence they all smiled at him and continued their
journey. 'Laughing,' Gaara thought, 'it's a strange and...
comforting...
thing...'
They
had finished their ramen and were now relaxing under the sky,
watching the clouds.
"That on looks like... a bunny!"
naruto said, pointing up.
"really?" Asked Arashi. "Looks
to me more like... a turtle."
"A turtle?" naruto
yelled. "how can that.. aw never mind." Everyone knew that
it was one of those days were you should just relax. not even
fighting seemed worth it. Even to Gaara.
"what do you see
Gaara-kun?" hinata asked. gaara looked at the sky and
thought.
"That one," he pointed, "Looks like... a
cloud." he said finally. he smiled to himself as everyone
laughed. It felt different to have people laugh with you.
"I...
I think it looks like a... a... bird." said hinata, pointing to
the cloud that gaara had just pointed at.
"Do you like birds,
hinata-chan?" Arashi asked.
"H... hai..." she said,
and continued, "I like how their so... so..."
"Free."
said all of them at once.
"and how they can..." began
Hinata.
"fly way..." naruto continued.
"at a
moments whim?" gaara finished. The three of them sat in silence
and Arashi smiled.
'These three,' he thought, 'have had it rough
in the beginning, but are pulling through.' gaara rememered last
night when he was walking to the Inn and hinata was walking home.
it
had began as an awkuward silence until gaara asked, "What is it
like in your clan?" he didn't know why he had asked, it was...
awfully random of him.
"well... it was... rough... that is...
until recently." gaara snorted. He highyl doubted she had had it
rough. Not when one had a family that loved you.
"It's
true..." she said. "It wasn't easy living in that house...
not with the high expectations and always failing everybody."
Gaara looked over at her and was surprised to see her on the verge of
tears. She held the stuffed animals closer and smiled.
"But...
its okay now... its okay, thanks to naruto-kun. He helped with Neji
and my father... with out... even realizing it. Well, this is were
we part." The got the to fork in the street. One way to the
Hyuuga house and the other to the Inn. "See you tomorrow
Gaara-kun." She smiled at him and went her own way. Gaara stood
there for a while, looking after her. She had it more rough then she
would admit. maybe because... she knew that they had it worse and
didn't want to seem to be complaining about what she had, no matter
what had happened to
her.
It
was near dusk before Gaara and hinata headed off. hinata had gotten
in trouble for being so late yesterday and was expected to be home
earlier. They waved good-bye and left. At the parting way, Hinata
turned to Gaara.
"Gaara-kun, we're.. friends... right?"
gaara turned and looked at her. He didn't say anything. He just
looked her in the face, and smirked, non-verbully saying 'yes', and
left.
He now knew why he bothered himself with them. they were his friends. His first friends that he had ever had.
"Those with demons in them are more like family then anything because they understand each other better then any one."
Gaara smirked. He had friends and family.