Hi everyone, I know its been a while. Know that I am still here and I am still working on/going to post my story. This time of year is very busy for me both professionally and personally so thank you for bearing with me. That being said, I had a lot of fun working on this chapter and I hope you enjoy it. I appreciate hearing from you all and the reviews are very encouraging (and/or extremely funny). I love hearing your knee-jerk reactions and in a sick way I like reading your predictions/questions about the story. I get to cackle and say "If only they knew...". Then I go bother Tallman to write. So TLDR; sending me PMs and Reviews makes Tallman write more. True facts. That's enough of that, and look forward to hearing from me hopefully again this weekend. If not, I'll have something out by next week. Till then!

If the training location were any more remote, Beki would have been convinced her father planned on burying her there. The woods were so dense the light and warmth of sunlight barely broke through the canopy. Beki was sure that if it got any cooler she would be able to see her breath. The more concerning aspect of the location Seiichiro had chosen was the steep drop off that looked over a wide valley of trees below. When they had first arrived, she bad kicked a rock over the side. It took what seemed like a full minute for it to clack against the rocky bottom below.

"Do you remember how hard the fire jutsu training was for you?" Seiichiro asked as he set down his things over the hump of a fallen tree.

"Yeah," Beki sighed. Arguably she had been studying fire jutsu unsuccessfully all her life up until right before the chunin exams. It had taken all of her discipline and perseverance to create the tiniest spark in her hands.

"This is going to make that look like a pop quiz at the academy," Seiichiro folded his arms. "This is equal parts body, brain, and spirit."

Uh oh, Beki thought. Her father wasn't a big talker but he had gone into full lecture mode. That could only mean one thing: this was going to suck.

"You've managed to break the water seal, the yang seal, and the fire seal," Seiichiro said. "Now not only will you have to figure out how to break the wind seal, but you'll have to run it with the water and fire simultaneously."

Beki shook her head in disbelief. "You're kidding, right? Running three chakra types all at once?! How am I supposed to do that?!"

"First," Seiichiro held up a finger for patience. "You will work on breaking the wind seal. Then, you will try to run while in Drowned Maiden form."

"Why?" Beki tossed her gauntlets over the log and her father visibly winced. It was only right he gave her all they had left of Yukihana but Beki was young and lacked the reverence for the gauntlets Seiichiro thought she should have. Don't be a grouchy old man, Seiichiro, he thought.

"Water has always been easy for you," Seiichiro explained. "Even before you unlocked the Drowned Maiden you were a gifted water ninjutsu user. My thought process is that being in Maiden form will allow you to 'cheat' running two seals at once. You'll learn how to do it, how to feel for it, and establish the necessary endurance to sustain it. Then we'll try two jutsu at once."

Well, Beki thought as her skin paled and her hair dampened. This is going to be a long day.

…

"Easy…easy," Seiichiro's voice was barely discernible through the roar of the air rushing around Beki's head. "Now just cast the fire jutsu."

Beki kept her eyes closed as she carefully raised her hands to her stomach and began to form the first hand sign. Maintaining Drowned Maiden form and casting the wind jutsu had taken her almost a month to figure out and was incredibly difficult for her to maintain. This was the first time in a week that it hadn't immediately dissipated after casting.

Easy, Beki repeated her father's words in her head. Easy now.

As she began to form the second hand sign Beki felt her hold weakening. It was like a thread being pulled at the back of her head so tightly it began to fray. Beki tried to strengthen her focus but as she formed the final hand sign for the fire jutsu, the wind jutsu dissipated.

"Dammit!" Beki socked a nearby tree, splitting open her knuckles. She was so frustrated she didn't feel the throb of the split flesh and bruised bone.

Seiichiro sighed and crossed his arms. "Calm down, cupcake. It's not uncommon for people to hit a plateau in their training."

"It's so easy for you to say," Beki grumbled. "When's the last time you learned something new? Huh?"

"I don't have to learn new things," Seiichiro grinned. "I just think of ways to do old things better."

Beki noticed her knuckles and began picking at the scabbing skin. "Oh really? Like what?"

"Like learning the Raijin technique," Seiichiro explained. "I already learned it, so I can teach you a faster way to go. Unfortunately, I think you've hit a point where all you can do is grind." The sour expressing Beki shot Seiichiro made him chuckle. "Sorry kiddo. Until you can run all three at once I can't help you any further."

"So, what, you're just going to leave now?" Beki stared in disbelief as her father began packing up his belongings. "You can't, Dad! We're in the middle of this!"

"Look, Beki," Seiichiro sighed. "I have to head back to Getsu tonight. Keep at it and I'm sure by the next time I visit you'll have this down."

Beki watched her father pack silently while she bit at the skin on her knuckles. Her father had nothing but confidence in her but Beki had a sinking feeling about her training. The fire jutsu had been a miraculous breakthrough for her. What Seiichiro was asking her to do was a whole other level from breaking a single seal. She had nothing better to do in Konoha than grind at a technique, but there was a hopelessness she couldn't shake.

"Alright dad, if you say so."

…

The acorn that popped Beki on the head had been tossed in a flawless arc over the wind jutsu she had cast. She groaned in frustration and looked up at her assailant with a face that could melt glass.

"This came in the mail for you," Hanabi held up a crate the size of her head. "It looks fancy. What is it?"

"I don't know," Beki's anger was immediately replaced with curiosity as she walked over. "Let's see. Who dropped it off?"

"Some terrified genin punk," Hanabi looked at the label. "It says its from Suna."

Beki took the package with a shrug. "Well, there's a fifty/fifty chance this is a gift or a bomb."

Hanabi squinted her eyes at the Byakugan activated. "Not a bomb."

"What is it, then?" Beki bonked her on the head. Hanabi rubbed the spot on her scalp and stuck out her tongue.

"I bomb scanned it for you. I'm not going to ruin the surprise."

Beki sighed and pried open the crate with a kunai. A smaller box had been packed inside and snuggled safely in a nest of crinkly brown paper. She reached inside and extracted it. The box was made of darkly lacquered wood and featured brightly painted scenes on each side. It would have been beautiful, but all of the scenes looked off.

"No, you're kidding," Beki's expression darkened upon closer inspection. "It's a damned puzzle box."

"Haha, have fun," Hanabi socked Beki in the middle of the top of her thigh, sending waves of pain all the way to her knees.

"Dammit, Hanabi," Beki winced. "Don't think I won't toss you in a river for this!"

Her aggressor was long gone, however. Beki looked down at the box again. Each face had a puzzle, and each puzzle involved correcting the picture. One was a sliding picture, one featured concentric circles, and one had some parts sticking up off the box and the rest were pressed into it. A few of the faces Beki couldn't even figure out what the puzzle portion was. She sat down on the ground and started to work at it. The hours slowly slipped away as Beki was absorbed in unlocking the box's mysteries. It wasn't until the sun had almost completely set that Beki noticed how her day had run from her. She sighed in frustration. The fruits of her labor had amounted to a single solved puzzle. That one face of the box was now a lovely map of constellations. How appropriate, Beki thought, that the heavens are in order and everything else is in chaos.

Beki rose and began walking home. Maybe Hinata could help her figure it out.

…

"The plumbers say it was age," Neji shuffled awkwardly on the kitchen tile. "They'll fix it tomorrow."

Hinata shook her head. "Don't concern yourself, Neji. I've got more than enough house to go around."

"If I didn't have to report in for a mission tomorrow morning I wouldn't bother you," Neji apologized.

"You won't be bothering anyone," Hinata said as she picked her bag up off of the counter. "I'm going to dinner with Kurenai sensei, and Beki stays out training late these days. You'll have the whole place to yourself."

"Thank you again, Lady Hinata," Neji gave her a polite bow. Before she left the house, Hinata handed Neji a set of freshly laundered towels that smelled faintly of lemons. He headed up the stairs towards the bedrooms and heard the click of the door behind Hinata as she left.

Thank goodness they'll both be out, Neji thought and sighed with relief. If Lady Hinata had been home the whole time, it would have been awkward but bearable. The thing that had terrified him the most when he realized he needed to come over to shower was the possibility of Beki's presence. Neji had worked hard to ignore his feelings for her and focus on just being Beki's friend. Knowing he would be naked in the same house as her, however, and knowing that at one point he had seen her naked would fluster him. He did his absolute best to pretend that event had never happened but the memory still creeped into his thoughts. Since Neji had realized his feelings for Beki, he found it more difficult to ignore.

The bathroom besides Hinata's and Beki's bedrooms had been winterized. Neji thought it would be foolish to waste time waiting for the pipes to warm up in the unused restrooms so he turned on the water in Hinata's shower. Hinata knew what he was doing, after all, and it wasn't worth the risk to use Beki's. As he climbed in and ducked into the stream of hot water Neji focused his thoughts on the days ahead.

…

The house was quiet as Beki walked through the kitchen door. Beki listened for any signs of life and heard the soft rattle of water pipes in the walls. As she took off her shoes with one hand Beki held the puzzle box in the other and stared down the next puzzle. Normally Beki would let Hinata have her space but the puzzle box was driving her crazy.

First of all, who would send her a damn puzzle box? Second, how did she solve some of these puzzles? These were insights that could only be gained by cheating with the aid of a Byakugan.

Beki walked up the stairs, her kunoichi training in silent movement active even though she was absent-mindedly prodding at the box. She figured after Hinata finished up she could work on the box while Beki made them something to eat. That or Beki would hop in the shower after her if Hinata wanted to cook. She kicked off her pants and threw them in the hamper on the way into Hinata's room. Beki had spent too many hours sitting in the grass in those pants and they were wrinkled and uncomfortable.

As Beki stepped through the door to the bathroom she saw Hinata was washing her hair. Even though her own hair was nice in its way, Beki couldn't help but feel jealous of Hinata's long flowing locks. It was even pretty wet. Beki's dry hair was platinum but when it was wet it was the color of rotting wheat.

"Hey, Hinata," Beki held up the box and smiled. "Look what I got in the mail today."

A cold chill of pure terror ran down Neji's spine. He felt like he had been cornered by a bear. Praying that he had imagined that voice, Neji slowly turned his head to face the speaker. It took a moment for the friendly smile to slide off her face and turn into one of shock. Worst of all, he noticed, Beki wasn't wearing pants.

"N-Neji?!" Beki stood frozen to the spot. "What are you doing in here?!"

"I'm showering here because mine is broken," Neji said uncertainly. As he spoke, Beki's eyes fell to his nethers and he suddenly became aware of his nakedness. Instantly his hands shot to his crotch and he felt a flush creep up his neck to his face. "Can you leave?"

"My God, Neji, what was that?!" Beki held the box up to her face protectively.

"What?!" Neji looked around and readied himself. "Was it a spider?!"

"NO!" Beki pointed at him. "That!"

Neji followed the path of her finger and then covered himself again. "We are not having this conversation."

"I'm sorry, I'm just going to-" Beki closed her eyes tight and began trying to feel her way out of the bathroom. "I'm gonna go. Sorry."

"No, I'm done," Neji turned off the stream of water and took his towel off the door. "I'll leave."

Beki was obviously disoriented by the whole experience and was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. Neji wrapped himself in the towel and grabbed his change of clothes. Beki heard him moving around and went for the door to the bedroom with her eyes closed, relying on her memory of the house to guide her. In her blind fumble for the door Beki slipped on one of the puddles Neji left behind.

Beki's feet went out from under her and Neji instantly reacted by reaching out to catch her. He intercepted her as she fell and pulled her back to her feet, the momentum carrying her into him. In her panic, Beki clutched onto him to try to steady herself. As she regained her composure Beki realized it was Neji's bare shoulders she was clutching.

Neji's heart was pounding in his ears from both the sudden intrusion in the shower and Beki's near spill. Through the haze he realized he was feeling her hands against his bare flesh and holding her in his arms, albeit by the elbows. Neji knew he should let go but his body had locked up in terror. Beki opened her eyes in surprise at almost the exact moment as the towel slipped off his hips to the floor.

Beki's eyes grew wider and immediately dropped down to where the towel used to be. Neji instantly released her, almost forcefully enough to knock her over again. Beki ran out of the bathroom completely flustered and Neji heard her footsteps as they thundered down the stairs. He buried his face in his hands and breathed deeply for a moment to try to recover his composure. Neji could never look Beki in the face again. He grabbed his clothes off of the counter and put them on as quickly as possible with the intent of heading back to his room immediately. Whether he ran away from home after that depended on how he felt once he was safely away from Beki.

…

"I'm back-" Hinata called out as she came through the door and almost collided with Beki. "Oh, I'm sorry Beki," Hinata gave her a friendly smile and then immediately grew concerned. Beki looked disturbed like she had seen a ghost. Her face was red, her eyes were wide, and she was acting like a panicked animal. "Beki, what's wrong."

"ALL YOU HYUGAS LOOK THE SAME, YOU KNOW THAT?!" Beki practically screamed as her eyes welled up. "HOW THE HELL IS A PERSON SUPPOSED TO TELL YOU PEOPLE APART FROM BEHIND?!"

Without another word, Beki grabbed her coat off the rung by the door and pushed past Hinata. She ran out into the night, leaving the box on the kitchen table as she passed it. Hinata turned to call after her but her attention was drawn back to the stairs. Neji was descending them with the urgency of a person evading a house fire. At the sight of Hinata, Neji nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Oh, Lady Hinata," Neji's hair was still damp and his clothes clung to him like he had put them on before he had fully dried off. "I was just on my way out."

Hinata gestured after Beki. "What happened? She was so upset and she wasn't wearing pants."

"Well, um," Neji's eyes darted around the room as his face slowly turned pink. "Beki came home early from training and was surprised to find me alone in the house. It startled her, I suppose."

Hinata looked over Neji's disheveled appearance and then gazed out the window after Beki. The two of them had been dancing around each other for quite some time and incidents like this would make even the most trusting person suspicious. Hinata was certain nothing truly indecent had happened yet but if the two of them kept up like this it was sure to spell disaster.

"Neji, if something is going on between you two-" Hinata began slowly, her face flushing at the uncomfortable conversation she knew was to come.

"It isn't like that Hinata," Neji said frantically. "It isn't what it looks like-"

"It doesn't bother me," Hinata looked at her hands. "If you two get married, I'll always have two of my best friends nearby."

Hinata's words caught Neji off guard. This whole time he had been fixated on how complicated things would become if he struck up a relationship with Beki. Hearing how happy it would make Hinata made him realize that there could be some benefits to it as well.

"Naruto has been gone a long time," Hinata continued slowly, still fixated on watching her fingers move. "I…I don't know when he's coming back. Beki is my best friend, and if she leaves too I'll be all alone again."

Neji saw the tears welling up in her eyes and felt helpless to do anything to comfort her. "Hinata, Naruto is coming back. He'll be home in no time. You'll see."

"Will he, Neji?" Hinata's eyes welled up. "Or will he stay away forever? I don't know when he's coming home. It's been a year and a half already."

He was forced to watch as her tears spilled over. "I'M GOING TO DIE A SPINSTER!" She sobbed into her hands.

"I-I'm going to go find Beki for you," Neji gave her shoulders a comforting squeeze and ran for the door. "I'll go get Beki and she'll help you!"

He ran outside and closed the door on Hinata's pathetic cries. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, he thought as he set out after the only person in town he would pay money not to run into again. Lady Hinata needed help, however, and it was his duty to see that she was taken care of.

Beki was hovering awkwardly by the koi pond and was staring blankly into its depths. Neji cleared his throat. She didn't turn to face him but he saw her head dip in his direction in a gesture of acknowledgement.

"Hinata is," Neji sighed. "She's having a bad night."

"Aren't we all," Beki raised her hands in a gesture of resignation. She took stock of his embarrassed expression and sighed. "I'll go in and help her in a minute."

They stood there in an uneasy silence. This is foolish, Neji thought. Beki is my friend. The smartest thing for me to do right now is to act as I normally would. "Weren't you raised by a single father?"

"Yeah," Beki shot him a suspicious look. "What about it?"

"Didn't you two ever go to a bath together or anything?" Neji asked. "You acted like you'd never seen one of…those before."

Beki rolled her eyes. "Of course I have, Neji. I've seen enough by accident to know that what I saw today wasn't normal."

"What does that mean?" Neji asked defensively.

"Is there some kind of secret Hyuga supplement or something you're all taking to have giant boobs and…that?" Beki gestured in exasperation. "I can't imagine what it's like for you when you're around other guys. They must treat you like a freak. I mean, being around Hinata makes me feel as flat as a board, so I can't imagine how insecure you must make everyone else."

"You're pretty just how you are, Beki," Neji folded his arms. He watched as her eyes widened in realization and he instantly prepared to negate the compliment he had given her. Neji guessed it would be awkward to be called pretty by a man who had basically hugged you naked a short time before.

"That's why my ass is getting so big!" Beki cried in realization. "It's that secret Hyuga frigging ointment Hinata is always pawning off on me. I knew I shouldn't have let her rub that on me after I fell into that briar patch!"

Neji sighed. I give up. He thought. He was never going to figure Beki out.

"Wait, if my ass is getting big because the ointment got rubbed on it, that means…" Beki narrowed her eyes at him. "Ew."

"NO!" Neji cried a little too loudly for the hour it was. "Absolutely not!"

"EW," Beki cried behind her as she ran back to Hinata's.

Neji felt his face growing red again, this time from both embarrassment and frustration. No, Neji thought. I'm not dealing with this anymore tonight. I'll deal with this tomorrow. He stalked back to his bedroom and climbed into his bed knowing full well he wouldn't fall asleep. He had too much embarrassment and self-loathing to dwell on for that. Worse yet, he had a whole new set of reasons why he couldn't get over his feelings for his cousin's roommate.

…

"Are you okay?" Hinata and Beki said in unison as Beki walked through the door. Beki watched Hinata with concern. Hinata had made herself a cup of tea and sighed. It was clear from the pink swelling in her face that she had cried recently. Beki took up the seat next to her friend and tapped the wood with her fingernails.

"So…" Beki looked around for a change of subject and her eyes fell on the lacquered box. She leaned across the table and dragged it over to them. "I got this in the mail today."

"I was looking at it," Hinata commented as she dried her eyes. "It's very pretty."

"It didn't come with a note but the packaging said it was sent from Suna," Beki absent mindedly poked at the nearest puzzle face. "I'm hoping it's from Gaara and not that crazy blonde chick who knocked my shoes into oblivion."

Hinata activated her Byakugan and peered into the box. A small smile pulled across her lips and she shyly deactivated her kekke.

"What?" Beki gave her a confused look.

"Whoever they are, they know you're with Hyuga," Hinata smiled as she sipped her tea. "There's a note in there that says to let you figure it out on your own."

"Trolls," Beki grumbled into the box.

Hinata took the box and looked over the faces. "You know who is really good at this sort of thing?"

"Who?" Beki asked suspiciously.

"Shikamaru," Hinata handed the box back to her. "He might be able to give you some advice on how to proceed, at least."

Beki glared at the table. "Shikamaru thinks I'm annoying."

"He thinks that about all girls," Hinata shook her head. "Chouji likes you, though. If you approach him when Chouji is there he'll have to play nice."

Beki gave Hinata a surprised look. "Hinata, I'm surprised at you. That was almost manipulative."

"Only for you," Hinata patted Beki's hand and rose to put her cup in the sink. "You and Naruto-kun." Afterwards, Hinata started for the stairs.

"Going to bed already?" Beki asked and Hinata nodded. "Goodnight, then. I have some baking to do."

…

Chouji and Shikamaru were on their way to meet Ino for training with Asuma sensei. It was a bright, beautiful winter morning that had a foggy look to it, as if at any moment it would start to snow. The silvery sky was so close it felt like they could just reach out and touch it.

"I didn't have a big enough breakfast," Chouji grumbled.

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru gave him the side eye. "You had two breakfasts."

Chouji shrugged. "In cold weather like this it's more work for my body to stay warm. I need more wood for the fire."

Shikamaru sighed. "We'll probably get food after we train. You can hold out till then."

They approached their turn down Canal Street when a familiar face popped out in front of them bearing a suspicious grin.

"Hey guys," Beki beamed. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Run," Shikamaru said instantly, his eyes narrowing in suspicion as he turned to dart in the other direction. Chouji grabbed Shikamaru's sleeve and spun him back around.

"Hey Beki," Chouji grinned. "What's up?"

Beki held out a pie tin wrapped in cellophane. It was stacked with perfect rows of chocolate chip cookies that were a sunny golden brown even in the cold light of day. "I might have baked too many cookies last night and thought I would share."

"Don't take them," Shikamaru gave Chouji a warning look. "Beware women bearing gifts. She either needs a favor or they're poisoned."

"Come on," Chouji gave him a gentle shove as he took the pie tin. "It's Beki, dude. She's cool."

"So I got this in the mail," Beki reached into her bag and held up the box. "And I am just having the damndest time with it."

Shikamaru eyed the puzzle box, instantly recognizing what it was. He looked at her with disgust. "You bribe my friend to get my help. Classy."

"Look, I've figured two of them out on my own," Beki held it out to him forcefully. "I know you're the smartest guy in town, so it'll take the least time for you to help me solve them. The sooner you do that, the sooner we all go on our way."

"We have to get to training," Shikamaru shoved the box back towards her and grabbed Chouji's sleeve, dragging him around the corner. Resting against the wall that ran the length of the canal, Asuma and Ino were picking through an almost identical pie tin of what looked like white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.

"Hey Shikamaru, hey Chouji," Asuma said through a bite of cookie. "These are good, huh?"

"Hey, I want to trade some!" Chouji pushed past Shikamaru with the tray of chocolate chips and started switching some out.

"I'm so pissed because I'm on a strict diet right now," Ino grumbled. "I never find good white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, though. I'll just run harder today."

Shikamaru watched his entire team get distracted by such a cheap tactic and his expression soured. "What a drag," He grumbled as he turned around and snatched the box. Shikamaru felt Beki's eyes on him the whole time and he did his best to ignore her expectant aura. "Look, two of these you're just going to have to grind through," He said, pointing to the slider puzzle and the puzzle where some were popped out and some were pressed in. "This one and this one are about perspective, it'll make sense if you just look at it differently," He rotated the box again and looked at the last two. "This one has secret pictures on it. You probably just have to find them all. This last one isn't a puzzle at all. It's the box lid."

"Sweet," Beki grinned as she took the box. "So how do I-"

"No," Shikamaru glared at her.

"But you just-" Beki gave him a confused look.

"I told you what the puzzles were so you have a place to start," Shikmaru said as he turned back to his teammates. "Figure the rest out yourself."

"God, you're almost as bad as that Suna kunoichi who jumped me in the woods," Beki grumbled as she walked away.

Shikamaru stopped at that and winced. He had a bad feeling he knew exactly who Beki was talking about.

…

"FINALLY!" Beki cried out as she heard the lid of the puzzle box click. She had spent the entire afternoon and the better part of the evening laying on her bed in the fading light trying to figure out the different faces. Shikamaru's advice had been helpful, but the damn slider and popper puzzles had taken a lot of time to push through. She rolled back over onto her stomach and propped up the box on the bed. The well trained kunoichi part of her was leery of opening it so callously, but the rest of Beki could not wait to crack that sucker open.

Inside was a smaller box with a paper wrapped around it. Beki removed that first and examined it. On the outside was the note Hinata had mentioned the night before. In neat, measured letters it read "Please let her figure this out on her own." She bit her lip. Other than a couple helpful hints, Beki had worked through the box on her own. At least she could feel proud of that. Her attention then turned to the simple box. Upon closer inspection it was light and made of thin cardboard covered in decorative red paper. Beki had boxes like this one that she kept her earrings in, however this one was much prettier.

Feeling confident that it wouldn't explode in her face based on its size and its weight, Beki opened the box. Inside was a tiny bottle made of seafoam green glass. It was shaped like a teardrop, the tiny neck of which held a cork that was attached to a simple leather cord. As carefully as she could, Beki uncorked the bottle and emptied a small bit of its contents into her hand. The sand that spilled forth was so fine it almost felt like powder in her palm. The box that had held this necklace had been inside all day but the sand felt as warm as if it had been out in the sun. A small smile formed on her lips as she put the sand back in the bottle. Beki looked for a note even though she already knew who it was from.

After a few moments, she picked up the note requesting she solve the puzzles herself. When Beki turned it over she found the message she had been searching for:

"Now I can be with you wherever you are- Gaara."

Beki put the leather cord around her neck and let the bottle rest against her skin under her shirt. I wasn't imagining it, Beki thought as she felt the warmth of the sand radiate through the glass. She looked out the window and saw the first flakes of what she hoped would be the last snow of the winter. Beki was ready for things to warm up after such a long cold season.