Okay, here's chapter nine!! I'm excited because I just went to AnimeBoston yesterday, and even though I'm dog-tired, it was so awesome that I can't help but be all bouncy. It was my first convention!

But I hope people like it, and I'm warning, updates will be longer in between from now on...

Piano

Morning came, and Neji woke up ten minutes before his alarm. He made sure to shut it off, so that it wouldn't wake his sleeping roommate. Five twenty was very early to be up on a Sunday. Neji looked around the room, and walked over to the window. The shades were drawn, so he lifted up the bottom of the white plastic a few inches and looked outside. It was sunny, but frigid. He could tell from how the glass burned cold against his warm palm. There was a thin layer of snow from last night resting on top of everything, giving the world a winter wonderland kind of look.

Neji decided he would go out for a jog.

He grabbed one of his notebooks and removed a piece of paper, ripping it out carefully, making sure to tear along the perforated edge. He clicked the button on the end of a black ballpoint pen, and wrote a note to his roommate in his neat cursive hand writing.

Sabaku-san,

I am going out for a jog. I should return around the time of breakfast.

Hyuuga Neji

Satisfied with his note, he left it on Gaara's desk and went to go change.

Out of his chest of drawers, he pulled black jogging pants and (for lack of a better word) a white men's tank top. He changed in the bathroom, put on white ankle socks, his black sweater and a pair of black sneakers.

He looked one last time at Gaara's sleeping form before heading out.

It was cold outside, but it didn't bother him too much. The snow was already melting, and streams of dirty water ran down into the drains on the sides of the streets. Neji jogged on, watching as the lights in the houses of the neighborhood turned on one by one. He ran past men and women leaving to work, dressed in smart suits, and driving expensive cars.

His parents had been very much like these people.

Or at least, that was what he had been told by his uncle Hyuuga Hiashi on the few occasions that he would speak of his twin brother and sister-in-law.

Neji jogged on in the direction of the residential district, the opposite side of town from the shopping district. He looked at some of the houses, and was struck for the first time by how big they were.

They were just unnecessarily large. These four or five story mansions with acres of land and tennis courts, in-ground pools, and Jacuzzis were too big for the four or five people that lived in them. Of course, that was being hypocritical.

Neji had lived in a mansion at least three times the size of most of these. It was a traditional Japanese house, fenced in by a huge stone wall, and divided into many smaller houses. During the time he had lived with his uncle, Neji had lived in the biggest house. His uncle was the leader of the clan.

He stopped running at the base of a long, twisting driveway. At the top of the hill was a huge pale yellow mansion with flawless emerald grass and neatly trimmed hedges. He leaned over and rested his hands on his knees, panting.

He didn't like running, even though he played forward on his school soccer team.

His long ponytail slipped over his right shoulder, hanging limply by his side. He shook his head violently, tossing it into place on his back.

Gaara woke up and rubbed his eyes sleepily. He groaned a bit and looked around the room, wandering eyes landing on the clock.

It was already six fifteen. The redhead's aquamarine eyes widened in amazement. He had slept for so long! He looked around the room again.

The bathroom door was open, the light was of, and Neji was nowhere to be seen. There was a piece of paper resting on his desk that he didn't remember putting there too.

Gaara pulled himself out of bed and dragged himself over to the table. He looked at the piece of paper, but it took a moment for its message to register.

He suddenly remembered something that his older sister Temari had once told him. The more you slept, the more tired you were when you woke up. He inwardly sighed.

He racked his brain to remember what he had been told about breakfast on weekends. The cafeteria should be open until eight today.

Gaara trudged over to the bathroom and took an abnormally long shower, lasting a bit over half an hour. He changed, slipping into a tight red T-shirt and black jeans, with his new sweater over it, and ran a hand through his hair a few times en lieu of combing it before putting on his shoes. He took a brief look in the mirror, and left.

Gaara was eating cereal in the cafeteria when Neji showed up. His opalescent eyes were scanning the large room when they landed on his roommate, and a look of recognition flashed across his pale face. He walked over to the younger boy with a small salad and a bottle of water. Gaara checked the black digital watch on the bottom of his left wrist. It was seven fifteen.

"Good morning Sabaku-san. Do you mind if I sit here?" He asked politely as usual. Gaara shook his head.

"Nope." He tried to discreetly use his napkin to wipe away the drop of milk next to his glass. He was sure that Neji's eyes darted over to his moving hand, but because of the boy's strange lack of pupils, he couldn't be positive. If he did notice, he was courteous and said nothing.

After an irritable silence, Gaara spoke.

"So, how was your run?" He asked off-handedly.

"I don't much enjoy jogging, but the snow outside was wonderful. Impossible to resist going out." His formal speech was beginning to get really old, really fast. Gaara mentally smirked as he came up with his "Evil Master Plan". He wasn't sure if he could pull it of, and either way he'd look like a fool, but it was worth a try.

"Ah, I see." He said, mustering the most polite tone he was able. He sat up straighter, looking Neji directly in the eye, and put one of those small fake smiles on his face that the rich so often wore.

Neji noticed the sudden change in Gaara's behavior immediately. The formal response instead of his usual, curt answers, and the way he sat up straighter, staring him directly in the eye. It was a bit unnerving really.

But what bothered him the most was that cheesy smile. It made him look exactly like every other rich clone at the school, himself included, and for some reason that angered the Hyuuga boy. He didn't want to see Gaara's individuality die out. The boy was like a welcome breath of fresh air in the dull, daily routine of high-society life.

Neji's worry escalated when Gaara didn't revert back to normal right away, but luckily there was something in his eyes that betrayed him. His eyes were still mischievous and calculating as ever. He was messing with the Hyuuga boy.

But two could play at that game. It was a stretch, but for Gaara, it was worth it.

"So, didja sleep well?" He said, slouching his shoulders some. He was sure that he sounded ridiculous, but one thing that he had learned was never to show anyone your fear. He put on his emotionless mask and waited for Gaara's response.

The redhead was caught a bit off-guard by the sudden drastic change in his roommate's attitude, but fought to keep his cool.

"Very well, thank you for asking. And yourself? I couldn't help but notice that you woke up very early this morning." It was all he could do to keep from cracking up just listening to himself talk. He sounded like a complete moron.

Both boys were very adept at changing their personalities quickly and unexpectedly, but Neji had the benefit of years of teaching himself to betray no emotion in any situation. Gaara on the other hand was used to just feeling cold. He didn't play games like this, and the emotions he was used to were indifference and anger. This was all very new to him.

That didn't mean, however, that he wasn't playing very well.

"Couldn't sleep." Neji said, brushing off the other boy's question as if he had something to hide. His plan worked to perfection, and Gaara leaned forward just a tiny bit.

"And my I ask why you weren't able to fall back asleep?" He said coyly, a small smirk in place on his face now instead of that characterless smile.

Not wanting to be outdone, Neji decided to take the game a step further.

"I was dreaming." He said. When the younger boy's eyebrows (I know they're not really there, but I needed them to be!) raised just a fraction of an inch, he further elaborated on his excuse.

"I was dreaming…" he said slowly, "Of you." He leaned back in his seat and watched Gaara's reaction.

The smirk was no longer on his face, and he looked very surprised to say the least. His eyes were wide, and he was leaning his forearms on the table. But best of all, there was a light blush rising to his pale cheeks. Neji risked a brief show of emotion, and smirked before getting up and putting his plate on the conveyor belt.

He walked away silently, back to their room, not even looking back at the shocked redhead.

Gaara watched, awed, as Neji left him. He stared as the boy's ponytail swayed ever so slightly with each step he took, and wondered dazedly how even in jogging pants and a sweater, he still managed to look amazing.

He sat there for a moment longer before getting up and putting his own glass and bowl on the conveyor belt. He followed his roommate's model and went up to their room.

By the time he got there, Neji was already in the shower. The door was closed, but there was a bit of yellow light seeping out through the crack at the bottom of the doorframe. (The rest of this paragraph is courtesy of Hotaru-ai, edited a bit by myself) Gaara could hear the hot water rushing down out of the showerhead, and his mind started to wander. The image of Neji in the shower, dark hair wet against pale skin, a beautiful contrast in colors. The water running down his face over the pale pink lips, down his strong chest, over his toned abdomen…

He dragged his unwilling, dirty mind back into reality, and sat on his bed. He pulled his knees up to his chest and smacked his forehead against them painfully a few times before stretching them out again and putting his hands behind his head.

This was going to be a long year.

Neji rinsed the conditioner out of his long hair and breathed in the steam from the hot water.

He thought about breakfast with Gaara. Maybe he had taken it too far?

Of course, he hadn't been lying. Gaara had been in his dream, and he hadn't been able to sleep well. He just didn't think they were related. Or maybe he didn't want to think that they were related…

Neji's dream had been about the day that Gaara arrived. But, looking back on it in a dream, he had to admit that he looked foolish. Gaping at the redhead like he was another species, berating him, and acting like he was so superior. He truly was foolish.

He sighed to no one in particular. Oh well, there was nothing he could do about it now. First impressions were first impressions, and all he could do was be a better person from now on.

Neji decided that he wanted to get to know a bit more about the boy, because he realized that he knew almost nothing about him except maybe his name and that he had never seen snow before.

He turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, toweling himself dry before carefully blow-drying his hair back into place. When he was done, he changed into black pants and a long sleeved white shirt. He came out of the bathroom and put his jogging clothes into the hamper he kept under his bed. He would have to do his laundry soon.

He looked to Gaara who was sitting on his bed with his eyes closed, deep in thought about something. He decided that he wouldn't disturb the boy just yet. He took the silver cell phone off his desk and turned it on, looking at the time on the small LCD screen on the front.

He shoved the phone in his right pocket. He sat at the desk and turned on his laptop. He decided to send another e-mail to his uncle. Even though he hated sending more than the required one a week, he decided he should tell him about the project he and Gaara had taken on. He would surely hear about it anyway, and Neji would be in trouble if it wasn't from him.

Uncle Hiashi-sama,

I wish to tell you about a development involving the plans for out school performance at the Fire Country Music festival next month. The new student, and my roommate that I told you about in my previous letter, Sabaku no Gaara, has proven himself to be an exceptional pianist. The two of us have been asked by Yuuhi-sensei to rewrite the lead part of our piece into a duet for the two of us to play. Both of us have agreed.

Greetings to the Hyuuga clan,

Your nephew Hyuuga Neji

He sent the letter, and looked again at Gaara. The redhead boy was now staring intently at Neji.

"Do you have any siblings, Sabaku-san?" He asked, staring right back at the younger boy. He looked a bit surprised by the random question, but got up off his bed and pulled a small black wallet out of his backpack.

Out of the wallet he extracted a photo.

"Two." He said simply, showing the older boy the picture.

From his place at his desk, he couldn't see the paper very well. Neji got up and went over to Gaara's bed, snatching the picture gracefully out of his small, pale hand.

It was a photo of a blonde girl with her hair in four odd, short ponytails and a boy with messy brown hair and a lot of odd purple eyeliner. And if he wasn't mistaken, purple lipstick also.

"Kankuro and Temari." The redhead said, answering Neji's unspoken question. He nodded silently, still staring at the photograph. It looked like one of those photos that come in sets of four on a small strip out of a photobooth in a mall. There were three small red hearts in the upped left-hand corner, and the people looked happy. Almost like they could be a couple, except for the fact that there was a third person. This third person, however, didn't look happy at all. He had red hair, and was staring straight ahead while the girl gave him "bunny ears" with her fingers and the boy was poking the side of his head with two fingers, imitating a playful gun.

"You gonna drool over my ugly sister and crazy brother much longer?" Gaara asked impatiently. Neji pulled his eyes away from the cute picture and saw Gaara, resting on his bed, legs crossed at the ankles.

Instead of giving the photo back, Neji continued to sit, looking at Gaara.

"You're lucky." He said. "I have no siblings, only my cousin Hinata-sama, but we're not very close." He sighed dejectedly, putting the paper down on his desk.

"She's very friendly though, very kind." He looked a bit dreamy, and Gaara couldn't place it, but he was almost sure that the pang he felt in his chest was jealousy. He wanted Neji to look happy like that when he thought about him.

"In fact," He added on an afterthought "She attends Konoha Girl's Preparatory Academy, and will be at the dance next month." He smiled, and looked back at the younger boy. He noticed the almost hurt expression the boy wore, and quickly changed the subject.

"I apologize. I must be boring you with these foolish stories. Would you like to tell me about our siblings?" Gaara heaved a heavy sigh and heaved himself up from the bed. Walking over to his roommate's desk, he leaned over the other boy's shoulder, who courteously moved out of the way, and took the picture off the table. He pointed towards the girl.

"Temrai." He said. "She listens to bad music and she listens to it too loud. She can't cook anything, but she's dating the guy at the Chinese take-out place down the street, so the food mysteriously arrives at our house ten minutes faster than it does to our neighbor's." A tiny smile graced his face for the briefest of moments as he reminisced.

"And that one's Kankuro." He said as he motioned towards the boy with the odd makeup. "He's got a weird thing for purple makeup and he designs puppets. Yeah, he's kind of odd. He can't cook either, but his music is better and his stereo is louder." Neji looked a bit confused, so Gaara explained it to him as if he wee spelling it out step by step. The brunette could tell that he was enjoying every moment of this superiority.

"When he and Temari have a 'whose stereo can go louder' contest, he usually wins." Neji thought it was a bit of an odd concept, because no one would ever dare to do anything like that in the Hyuuga household. The redhead smirked.

"No, I guess it's not something you do very often…" He said cautiously. "You… rich people." The way he said it, it wasn't intended to sound mean or spiteful, just like he wasn't really sure if what he was saying was correct.

"No, I suppose it isn't. I don't listen to much music." He looked down at his feet, then stood up. He realized again how much shorter than him his roommate was. "Sabaku-san, what kind of music do you listen to?" He looked genuinely interested in Gaara's answer, so the shorter boy decided not to ignore the question.

"Eh, mostly stuff like Papa Roach, Marilyn Manson, Switchfoot, Three days grace, some of the Bloodhound Gang music is funny, but also some older stuff like Prince, Fleetwood Mac, or the Police. Sometimes even the Beatles. Of course, you can't forget J music. Like L'arcenciel, Porno Graffitti, and Dir En Grey."(Basically what I listen to…) The pale boy sat cross-legged on the carpeted floor by the base of the desk chair, so Neji sat back down in it. He was surprised by the length of the answer, and the variety of music. Gaara held the picture of himself and his siblings tightly in his small, pale hand.

"So, your cousin… Hinata, right? What kind of music thing does she do? Violin or something?" Neji looked down at the redhead fondly.

"She's a singer. She's performing with the choir at the dance." Gaara nodded. Neji looked happy, daydreaming about his cousin.

"Do you have a picture of her?" Neji blinked at the sudden intrusion into his thoughts and nodded. He took a glossy photo out of the top drawer of his desk and handed it to Gaara. The photo was of a beautiful girl with pale skin and black hair with an almost blue tint wearing jeans and a plain yellow T-shirt. Her eyes were the same beautiful pearl as her cousin.

"She's pretty." The redhead mumbled absentmindedly.

Neji's heart sank a bit when he heard that. It saddened him to think that Gaara was probably more interested in Hinata than him. He sighed in his mind. He should have expected as much.

"Yes, she is…" Gaara noticed that his roommate sounded odd, dare he say it… disappointed? "I'll introduce you to her if you'd like." Not knowing how to respond, or even what to say, Gaara answered that he would love to meet her.

Photos were exchanged back to their proper owners, goodnights were said, and both boys fell into a disturbed sleep, plagued with dreams.

For one, birds soared across the sky, free and wild and happy, while below them the wonderful snowy landscape stretched on for miles.

The other dreamt of home, and his favorite burnt chocolate chip pancakes.

Tonight was going to be a good night, with only peaceful dreams.

Voila. Hope it's not too bad... Personaly I didn't like it much, but I guess that's not really encouraging people to read more... Bad authoress!!! But whatever... It didn't seem like it when I read it, but this is my longest chapter yet!!! -happy dance-

So please R&R... and tell me what you like, don't like, questions, what you think I should change, or what needs to go burn. Everything is appreciated!