Unfaithful

Authors note: Right there's a few things I should clear up quickly while I still have the chance. First, when the letters are bolded it is Shukaku speaking. When the letters are in italics, it is Gaara thinking. I don't think I made this clear…sorry XD. Oh and I think you can understand that when there's italics but in the front and they end say flashback that it isn't necessarily Gaara XP. Well other then that, enjoy!

Oh also, I am officially vacationing this week! Hence the early update XD. But still, I wont be back until Thursday of next week, Friday at the latest. At that time I shall post the sixth chapter . Oh boy, already that close to the sixth chapter! It really makes me feel like this stories really afloat! So while I'm gone, please R&R because it would be hilarious fun to come home to lots of reviews! Love to all who review!! -and cookies XD-

Chapter 5: A Caged Bird

"It seems that everything was changing around me, my life never really going to be the same," I murmured pressing my knees to my chest, my chin resting against my knee caps. "But I knew little about how much more change was soon to come."

"If you don't wish to continue I understand," Kira bowed his head. "But I would really like to hear more."

"It's alright, I can deal," I smiled lightly. "It's kind of nice to finally let this all out."

"Fate seems to be on my side wouldn't you think?" The Shukaku chuckled loudly. "Living in Suna for three months. I bet you wont even last the first day before sneaking into her room. I can already see her terrified face as you pin her hands above her head, no mercy in your eyes…"

"I'm not a sick pervert."

"My will is your will," the Shukaku's voice became sultry. "What I want and what you want are much the same thing."

"I will not hurt her," Gaara stated plainly. "She is a young girl, and you cant make me go that far."

"But you're lusting her." he yawned lightly. "I can see it. As soon as I made my will known, your body has been reacting. I can feel you're on edge and tense. You were turned on when you saw her in that hospital bed, her breathing ragged from the site of you. I bet you could have taken her right then and there, being the Kazekage. The nurses wouldn't say anything, and you were all alone…"

"You mine as well just stop now while you're behind," Gaara found himself growling lightly. "You're a sick, masochistic, son of a bitch and I wont submit to you know matter what you have to say."

"If you say so," the Shukaku chuckled even louder. "But it seems I have gotten under you skin. You will take her, even if not in the ways that I would prefer. You cant resist those urges for long."

And with that, the Shukaku disappeared back into the depths of his mind. He grimaced biting down on his lip, no pain being felt though. Unfortunately for him, the Shukaku wouldn't let any pain arise no matter how hard he tried to hurt himself.

He slammed his fist down on the table angrily. He knew, even though he hated it, that there was truth in the Shukaku's words. He had to stay away from the young Hyuuga as much as possible or else the urge to take her would become too great for even him and he would lose himself to his instincts.

"Who knew," he murmured walking into the washroom of the room he had been staying in. "That some girl I don't even know had this much affect on me." (A/n: I think you can catch my drift of what he's doing in the washroom XD).

(break)

"I can walk perfectly fine on my own Neji-kun," Hinata rolled her eyes as she pulled her arm away from the older male Hyuuga. She had a large rucksack on her back that she had argue for at least an hour with Neji about before he would let her even carry it.

"Are you sure?" He asked worriedly, wrapping his arm around her waist protectively.

She blinked and felt her cheeks go bright at the sudden closeness.

"Neji-kun, it's alright," she looked down at her feet surprised she hadn't started her stuttering. "I…I can walk j-just fine…" Speak of the devil.

This just seemed to worry him more.

"No, I swore I would protect you Hinata," he said strongly. "I swore and I never go back on my word."

"Believe me Neji-kun, there is nothing wrong," she smiled sweetly towards him, but his words sunk deeply into her. His arm slowly slipped away from around her waist but he still walked beside her obediently, his face placid and most would think him somewhat monotonous but she knew otherwise. He just knew how to hide things well, unlike her who couldn't hide anything.

After a whole day of walking, Hinata was at the point where she was ready to collapse, but of course her pride wouldn't let her stop. When she thought she could bare it no more she found that they had already stopped at the edge of the land of fire and the land of wind. The desert was so close that the temperature had changed drastically and the forest was starting to thin out somewhat.

She looked up at Neji confused.

"It seems we are to make camp for the night before crossing the desert," Neji yawned lightly slipping his pack from off his back. "It's not really our decision when we get to stop or not, it's the Kazekage's."

"The Kazekage's…" Hinata murmured under her breath. She hadn't seen him at all in fact, and it wasn't like the group was very large or anything. The nin's contained of Neji, herself, Sakura, and Shikamaru. It was a lot for Konoha to spare but Tsunade had no objection in sending Hinata after what happened in the Hyuuga clan and Sakura and Shikamaru were naturally a good set with Neji. Sakura was the medical nin, and Shikamaru was the most logical thinker, his attacks far ranged. Neji on the other hand was the eyes of the group and his attacks were all frontal. The three of them together were a perfect squad in the Konohagakure Sunagakure exchange. Hinata wasn't meant to be apart of it… she was just there because of Neji.

There was also the three Anbu who were at the front of the little brigade. They walked beside each other casually but did not speak to one another like they couldn't let their guard down no matter what. That's when it became apparent to Hinata that Gaara wasn't there at all.

Neji then began setting up a tent which he brought for the both of them since he didn't want her walking all that way with a tent when it wasn't necessary. Hinata wanted to help but every time she got near she was just told to go sit and relax. She didn't like it when Neji became this possessive. It made her a little angry that she couldn't be trusted enough to help with a tent… then again, it was sweet knowing that he cared this much for her that he would make himself even more tired by taking on tasks alone. She bit down on her lower lip fighting the instinct to just push him away so she could finish the tent on her own.

"There," Neji said yawning lightly. "You can put the blankets in now if you like."

Hinata nodded grabbing her bag and his off the ground then walked in the tent, which she could tell Neji didn't much like for he chased after her.

"Are you really worrying over me carrying two bags for 5 meters?" she asked raising an eyebrow sarcastically. "I'm surely not going to keel over right now because I carried a little bit of extra weight for like two seconds."

"I know…" Neji murmured under his breath. Hinata looked up at him and so him looking away from her, his eyes showing sudden agony. She was confused. Neji never showed any emotion… but this… this was so strange…

"Neji-kun?" she stood up looking at him confused.

"I-I cant forgive myself for what I did…" he shook his head angrily, his hands balling into fists at his sides. "You don't see it do you? You hardly even remember it… so it seems… or at least you never blamed me… when I should have been the first person to blame. I was out to hurt you Hinata. I was out to make you suffer for the years of my life that I suffered and you still didn't blame me…"

"Neji-kun…" she whispered lightly, her eyes wide in shock but a smile crossed her lips. She hadn't thought of the fight that she had had with him in the chunin exams for years and suddenly she knew. Every piece of the puzzle seemed to fit easily into place. Every time he became over possessive, every time he just stood to look at her never saying a word, every time he worried over her making sure she wasn't being hassled, every time he pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear… They were signs. Neji wanted to be forgiven. "The minute you spoke to me… the minute you became my best friend, was the minute that you were forgiven."

She wrapped her arms around him gently resting her cheek against his chest. His eyes widened in his own surprise, his hands unclenching from the fists they were in. Her words ran through his head on replay in a never ending loop. He wasn't to sure if he was supposed to smile or cry… until he broke down.

She had never even seen her cousin cry before… at least not until this moment. His tears splattered against her shoulder as he shook gently in her arms which just caused her to hug him even tighter. She would let him cry, because know matter what, she would protect him with both her arms.

Suddenly he pulled away, his eyes bright now, the agony that once filled them was gone. Another emotion that she wasn't used to from him passed through them before she could comprehend what it was and then he leaned in unsurely.

She blinked. His lips were only inches away and she knew that he wanted her to come the last couple of inches. She bit down on her lower lip unsurely and then, reluctantly, she covered the last little bit of distance to meet his lips, her breath raspy. The moment they had before was intimate… but not this intimate as he wrapped his arms around her gently, almost like he were too scared of her possible reactions to the sudden touch. She wrapped her arms around his neck unsurely. His lips tasted salty with a hint of something that she couldn't quite put her finger on it… even still she found herself liking the taste more then she should.

The kiss became a little more intimate as she felt him suckle lightly against her bottom lip, but as soon as it started it ended and he pulled away not wanting to test his waters any further. She nuzzled his collarbone with her nose gently, and then rested her cheek against his chest.

"Hinata, we can do this," he murmured softly and she suddenly felt tensed. She knew she shouldn't because Neji was always thinking of her behalf, and by saying those words he knew that she still had a chance to be happy back in Konoha. She knew he would never listen to his own feelings and that he was more likely to go on impulse then anything else. He would rather have the world crash down on him then on both of them… and that was going to be the hard part of this whole thing.

She bit down on her lower lip then pulled away from him, her heart still beating erratically in her chest.

"Hinata?" he whispered lightly confused.

"We can live in Suna Neji," she looked down at the ground, her nose scrunching. "We wont have to sleep together as long as we live in Suna… and we can travel. We can go to different places, see different sites. We don't have to be together… because I would never want you to be hurt over this… and I'd never want you to think that you can put everything on your shoulders an bare it alone. Neji, if you want to go through pain, then I will be right beside you taking equal the share. Right now, you are the most important person in my life and I cant deal with it if you think you have to fight alone!"

Hinata hadn't realised that her voice had been rising, her new found confidence shocking even herself. She looked down at the ground embarrassed, her cheeks lightly colouring.

"I don't want to give up though…" he dug fists balled tightly, finger nails penetrating the thick skin, his face suddenly agonized. "Because I don't want this to be our destiny… I don't want you to have to be taken away from the people you love… and the places that you have grown up. I don't want you to have to give up your life because I was to stubborn to listen to the main branch."

"But don't you get it?" Hinata asked smiling lightly. "You weren't the only one who said no."

"I can see the truth in your eyes Hinata… and you want to go home…"

The words struck her hard. Neji always knew how to find the truth in everything, even before she did. After everything, she hadn't given herself the chance to let everything sink in… and although she put on a brave face she was about to give up everything and everyone she ever cared about. Everyone except him…

"Please… don't tell me that…" she murmured all the confidence that once ran through her slowly slipping away. "I don't want to believe it…"

"Three months will be agony to you… but it will give us both a clear vision of what we must do…" Neji bowed his head lightly to her. "Will we run or meet the challenge that has been put in front of us?"

"Three months," she bowed her head lightly and suddenly her stomach gave a hungry lurch betraying her immense hunger. Neji chuckled lightly and smiled.

"There's sure to be something cooking over the fire by now," he entwined his fingers with hers gently taking her by surprise as he lead her out of the tent, just to see everyone staring wide-eyed at them, even the Anbu looking in their direction. Neji let his hand slip away, his eyes tight and his face blank. His normal face really… but something was off.

"I guess that explains why Hinata was asked to come along," Shikamaru shrugged lightly as if he had been pondering something.

"So you were listening in," Neji eyed Shikamaru and then his eyes flicked directly towards everyone else lingering on each for a few seconds. "It couldn't be helped."

"So you all know then," Hinata murmured softly, looking down at her feet.

"A few details are iffy but other then that I think we got the just of it," Sakura smiled weakly probably ashamed of the fact that she had been eavesdropping on a very private conversation.

"I would ask you all to keep this a secret," Neji was still very calm and very serious. The Neji Hinata always knew, but never really liked. "Until a final decision is made, this getting out could be an embarrassment to the Hyuuga clan and so forth Hinata and I shall be punished further for our rebellion."

"Punished further?" Hinata asked confused looking up at Neji again. "You don't mean to say that after everything they would really be willing to punish us further… they already disowned us, kicked us out, and they wont even let us go back to Konoha! How much more can they do to us?"

"Truth be told, knowing Hiashi, more then you could possibly imagine," Neji shock his head angrily. "Maybe a curse seal of your very own. If this was to get around, then people will mock the Hyuuga clan. I believe you all understand what I mean when I say that?"

"What exactly does the main branch wish of you?" Shikamaru asked gently resting his chin against his open palm, his elbow resting against his knee so he was hunched over lazily.

"The Hyuuga clan is becoming weak," Neji grumbled, his voice betraying his anger. "Our bloodline is growing thinner and thinner each year, the Byakugan also becoming thinner and weaker, more blind spots I guess you could say. Hinata and are of two of the very few purebred Hyuuga's left even though I, as you know, am apart of the lower branch. If there is a large quantity of purebreds born then the Hyuuga clan will be strengthened for a vast number of years until it thins out again, but at least it gives it some time."

"Neji and I have been told… have been told that we are to…"

"We're to be wed in three months and have a child by the time Hinata turns 19," Neji said calmly. "If we don't comply then we will be disowned and not apart of the Hyuuga clan any longer and we will not be able to come home to Konoha. Basically we have a choice between running or standing up to meet the occasion… and so far it seems that we are running."

"That's so sick," Sakura grumbled, her fist clenching. "How can anyone do that to another human being? Do they even have the right to do that? I can talk to Tsunade, maybe she can fix this…"

"Hiashi's word is law to us," Neji said sadly. "And although Lady Tsunade is the Hokage the Hyuuga clan is one of the largest and most powerful clans in the entire of Konoha. I don't think she would want to go up against such a power as Hiashi… at least it would take a lot of time and the fact that Hinata and I are both Hyuuga clan members shows that we are under the jurisdiction of the Hyuuga clan laws. It will be easier said then done going up against such a power no matter who you are."

"But you're powerful," Sakura turned her eyes to Neji. "Stand up and fight him! He wont stand a chance!"

"I thought you knew about this," Neji said his face becoming stoic almost. He undid his hitai-ate from around his forehead smoothly revealing the curse seal etched in a pale green. "All he needs to do is activate it and I'm useless."

"More then that," Hinata grinded her teeth. "I've seen it… it's like melting your brain… the pain so unbearable that you would rather just be killed… and then as soon as the fingers are removed you are back in your right state… except if the curse is forced on too long at a time… isn't that right… Neji?"

Neji's breath hitched as he stared down at the ground hard. His resolve was weakening and he knew it as the memories flashed through his mind… he had been only 7.

"What happens when the curse mark is forced on to long?" Sakura asked curiously, her eyes now turned expectantly to Neji. She didn't mean to but her curiosity as a metical nin had seemed to take over.

"Your chakra depletes completely and your body begins to fail on you," Neji spoke calmly, surprising for the state of mind he was now in. "You are completely sapped of all energy… and you die. Sometimes you live… but without the ability to use chakra which to a shinobi takes away their entire purpose in life. I was the only exception."

Hinata bowed her own head shamefully, the memory passing through her own head. It was a lesson that neither would ever forget. The day Hiashi taught her to use the Caged Bird seal.

(Flashback)

"Today, Hinata, it is time that you learned a how to activate the seal that was placed on the lower branch to keep them in line," Hiashi spoke calmly, his face stoic and his arms crossed heavily over his chest. Neji was kneeling by the door, his head bowed in fear. He knew what was to happen next for he had seen it once before when his father had activated the Byakugan accidentally when Hiashi-sama had been sparring with Hinata-chan for training. He could still remember it like it were yesterday, the feeling of being helpless, no way to stop the torture that was inflicted on his father.

Now it was his turn, to feel the wrath of the Hyuuga main branch…

"Yes, otosan," Hinata looked over at the young boy kneeling on the floor. He looked just like her. She smiled at him unsurely hoping that he would look up maybe and smile back, but his face was still, his eyes blank as if nothing she did could reach him through the walls of his mind.

"Now Hinata-chan place your fingers against Neji-sama's forehead where the seal is and apply a very little amount of chakra to it and that shall activate the seal," Hiashi beckoned her foreword with a wave of his head. She blinked and then walked foreword unsurely. He didn't look like he wanted anything to do with her… he just looked blank… and empty…

"Are you sure otosan?" Hinata turned her eyes towards her father lightly pressing her two index fingers together embarrassedly.

"Hinata-chan, do as I say," Hiashi grumbled deeply and Hinata jumped lightly. She hated it when he grumbled like that. It scared her. She then turned back towards Neji and walked foreword once again until she reached him.

Neji didn't even look up when she kneeled in front of him. Why should he? He bit down on his lower lip hesitantly, his heart racing wildly in his chest. Now he would know what his father had felt. Now he would finally understand what true fear felt like. He braced himself, the fear seeping through every inch of his small body. He knew much more then a child of only 7 should understand… far to much in fact.

She pressed two small fingers against his forehead lightly still unsurely and then it happened… the world had become blank as the pain… the most pain he had ever felt in his entire life ran through his veins like liquid fire, scorching everything in it's path. His heart started to beat erratically, so much so that he could hardly breath as the blood was pumped excessively through his veins. Any hope he had once felt… any shred of kindness… any prospect of release gone replaced with want of only death… the only thing that could possibly put an end to this suffering. Death was mere inches away. He reached for it his body aching for the release that only death could give him and as his mind came so close to the end everything suddenly became clear again, his body drenched in a thick sheen of sweat. He blinked unsurely as if he couldn't believe he was still there, and he began to cough dryly, the taste of bile evident in his mouth. He looked at the girl in front of him whose eyes were wide with shock and fear… and possibly shame. His eyes then turned to Hiashi who was just standing a smirk evident across his chiselled face. Anger suddenly flared deep inside of him. Such anger he had never felt before. He was weak and his chakra levels were depleted but the thought of that man who had never felt such pain just standing there smirking as he did was enough to push him foreword.

"You bastard!" Neji yelled, clenching his fist as he launched himself foreword, leaving everything behind. He knew his efforts would be futile but the thought that he didn't sit back and take it… that he fought back was enough to send him flying towards Hiashi in his blank rage.

And he never saw it coming… the moment that Hiashi's fingers pressed against the seal on his head before he even had the chance to lay one punch on the head of the clan. Then again… he was only a 7 year old boy, and the pain that once seared through his body erupted through his veins once more, claiming him.

(End flashback)

No one dared to ask what had happened for the tension that ran through the group became almost unbearable.

Neji, breaking the sudden tension, walked over towards the fire and sat down next to Shikamaru quietly and Hinata quickly followed unsurely sitting down beside Hinata. She wanted to go sit by Neji but she wasn't to sure the moment really called for it since everyone knew already about basically everything. Sakura knew Hinata wasn't in the greatest of moods and she quickly began to chatter about some random things that brightened her up somewhat. She was never close friends with Sakura… but this, well this was something she could get used to.

(Back to Hinata and Kira)

"I had never been more thankful that Neji was there for me," I sighed lightly looking down at my hands. "He always knew how to make me smile… which was surprising with everything that happened. I still cant believe that after everything we were still very close, and he could still manage to kiss me like that and I'd never really feel awkward." I couldn't help but smile and giggle at that comment.

"And Sakura," Kira cut in gently. "She seemed to become somewhat of a friend to you in that time?"

"More then you would know," I sighed again. "But that's another story."

"It seems that things have become quite calm again even just a little bit," Kira rested his head against his palm gently, a smile crossing his glorious face.

"That little while was kind of a break after all that trauma," I groaned lightly. "But more trauma was about to come, and fast, as my fiery haired boy made his presence known once again."

(End chapter)

Me: I must say that was a particularly well lengthened chapter.

Gaara: except the fact that it's supposed to be a hinagaara fic and the only times I'm in it are when I'm having random arguments with Shukaku who is a huge perv!

Me: Is someone a little jealous of Neji-kun?

Gaara: …

Me: OMG you're jealous!

Kiba: heh, I always knew Gaara was a pussy.

Gaara: What the fuck is that supposed to me!!

Neji: well this is extremely awkward…

Hinata: It's alright… Neji-kun

Gaara: Oh… Hinata… hi…

Sai: Gaara doesn't have a penis!

Me: Hey, stop picking on Gaara. He's the sweetest one here!

Gaara: thank you Besu-sama

Me: Hey that names for my sisters around the computer screen thingy!

Gaara: aw… but I like that name

Kiba: heh, Gaara's an even bigger pussy

Hinata: Gomen-ne for everyone… and please R&R