Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

I was trying to remember when Hinata had seen Gaara during the chunin exams...and then I remembered, which makes the previous chapter somewhat bad, so I'll have to mess with it later.

I know I took a long time to update this, but summer just started and thus I was very busy doing nothing. ;; Its a really short chapter, but mostly I'm trying to build towards scene called dance.

Chapter 6: Dancing is for Awesome

Gaara

As Gaara and Neji jumped from roof to roof, Rock Lee behind them, and Kiba and Shino behind him, Shikamaru was staring lazily at the clouds floating peacefully above Konoha. He wondered if Ino and Chouji would be back from their mission soon… and if his dad would be up for a game of Shogi later… maybe he would get a mission to Suna and Temari…damn, why did his thoughts always turn to her? He sighed.

Neji couldn't help but notice that every step his cousin took left a dent on someone's roof, though he didn't feel particularly guilty about that. Hearing a coughing noise from behind him, he looked over his shoulder to see that his team mate desperately trying to catch his attention.

"What?" Neji asked sourly. Gaara also looked back, rather annoyed.

"You promised to fill me in!" Lee reminded him (enthusiastically, as always)

"Shut up." Gaara told him passively. Lee, still confused over Hinata's sudden change from nervous and sweet to, well, evil, could simple not do this.

"But Hinata-chan! I am worried about your lack of YOUTH and LOVE!" He cried, sprinting to catch up with her.

Neji, with his simply terrific eyesight and insight, knew death was hovering over the green spandex boy like sand had hovered over him during the Chunin exams, and decided to distract Gaara and Lee quickly.

"That is not Hinata." He said.

Lee stared at him with shocked eyes and raised eyebrows.

"I am Sabaku no Gaara," Hinata snarled, "And if you don't shut up I'm going to kill you godamn it."

At that an uneasy silence fell over the three.

Kiba and Shino were equally confused. Well, Kiba was. Shino had just about figured out what was going on after Neji's cry of 'Gaara!' by his house, and was really just worried about Hinata in Gaara's body. Kiba, numbskull that he was, was barking angrily at the shinobi ahead of them, and was being duly ignored.

Shikamaru spotted them before they spotted him – mostly because Hinata and Neji were looking backwards and Lee was oblivious as always.

"What the hell?" He murmured.

Hinata
what happens between morning and night for the konoha ninjas will be in next chapter.

As the shinobi of the sand moved closer towards Konoha, night began to fall and and the team stopped to rest.

Temari had given Hinata many, nervous glances before falling asleep herself, but since earlier that day, the conversations had been short.

Hinata was distressed. She was tired and still confused and the man who was Gaara's sensei kept giving her fearful glances. She wanted to be back in her own body, sleeping in her soft bed. Instead, she was being deprived of sleep on the rough sand of the desert, far away from home.

Oh, stop being so gloomy. A voice grumbled in her head. She flinched, but remained calm. It had been harassing her all day. Why don't you sleep? It asked.

She remained silent. She didn't know just who this voice was, but it gave her the chills.

The silence remained for several more hours, until Shukaku spoke up again.

You are much more stable than him. More silence.

I'm bored. God, this voice was whiny! Hinata was seriously tired now, but she refused to sleep. It was like a mission. Want to dance?

Hinata jumped up from where she had been sitting, shocked.

"Who are you? I will not dance!" If she had not been fuzzy because of lack of sleep, she might've realized how strange it sounded.

I'm bored and you're not gonna kill anyone. So lets dance. Shukaku growled, with a hint of mischief. Hinata thought it over, as she was a logical girl. Temari had been bruised and beaten when she had slept before… and dancing was a way to stay awake. It also might abate that whiny voice, and at the moment she would try anything.

"Okay."