Disclaimer: My masterplan to steal Naruto failed so I still don't own anything.

Warnings: Un beta'd, it's still just me and word spellchecker checking for errors in this. Alternative Universe so some OOC-ness, hmm let's see... some violence, a little bit obsessive behaviour, some pairings (Sakura/Kiba and Shika/Neji) mentioned and I think that's it for now.

-:- The Hidden Sides -:-

Part one: Sympathy For The Dead

Chapter II: Captivated

Gaara raced through the streets of Konoha and glanced up at the now dark sky. There was just barely a trace of color left on the horizon and he frowned as he forced his body to run even faster. No matter what he just couldn't afford to be late. 'I'll take care of you. Just don't go back there.' The image of pleading blue eyes flashed through Gaara's mind and he shook his head furiously to get rid of it.

What had he been thinking agreeing to follow Naruto to his home like that? It had got to be the most stupid thing he had ever done. What if the apartment hadn't been as close as Naruto said it was? Gaara glanced up at the sky again and suppressed a shiver, he was really lucky the blond had told the truth.

Soon the old construction site he was heading for came into view and he carefully checked the area before climbing the fence surrounding it. He landed with a soft thud on the dirt ground below and looked around once more to see that no one was watching him before running over to the half finished concrete building dominating the area. 'You don't have to go back there' again the words from earlier echoed in his head and Gaara frowned as he stepped into the dark building. Wishful thinking like that would get him no closer to achieving his goal.

A loud hissing came rushing towards him and he barely had time to brace himself before he was forcefully slammed into one of the walls by a huge wave of sand. He winced a bit as he felt the abrasive mass crawl underneath his clothes, scraping his skin as it moved to hold him in place, encasing his entire body from the neck down.

"well, well, well decided to finally come home have we?" the voice sounded amused but Gaara knew that it was far from the truth. He turned his head to the side to see the black and yellow eyes of his master glare at him from the shadows.

"You know…" soundlessly the man stepped closer until they were almost face to face. "I do not respond well to disobedience."

The grip around Gaara's body tightened and he gasped as it became harder to breathe.

"I ordered you to do one thing. One small and simple task, I even found her for you, but you couldn't even manage to kill something that weak, it's pathetic!" the eyes narrowed and immediately the coarse material carved deep lines into Gaara's skin. The pained scream echoed in the empty building and Gaara tried his hardest to calm down. He had been through worse than this before, besides it would heal soon enough.

"But that's not all of it, is it Gaara?" his master slowly licked his lips as he stared at the rapidly darkening sand. "Then there was that boy. I can understand wanting to have him for yourself, but don't you dare interrupt me like that ever again. You see, I won't hesitate to take my anger out on certain people."

Gaara felt his eyes widen as fear flooded his mind and a chuckling laughter reached his ears. "Don't worry kid. They're still alive… for now." His master paused to make sure Gaara listened before his face cracked into a sick smile.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Gaara. I let you have your way with that boy and you didn't even try did you? I can tell that you still haven't eaten so don't deny it."

The sand carved deeper into his skin and he bit down hard on his lower lip, drawing blood as he struggled to keep from screaming. His mind was dazed by the throbbing pain in his body and he didn't even reflect upon the words that tumbled out of him. But when he saw the wrath spreading over his master's face and realized what he had just said, he froze. "He didn't deserve to die" the words seemed to hang in the air in front of him, mocking him with his own stupidity. But even as the full force of his master's wrath hit him and he could feel his own body breaking he knew that it had been the truth. Out of all the bloodless corpses left in his wake he knew that Naruto was different, he didn't deserve to die because he had returned something to Gaara he thought he had lost forever. He coughed and warm blood trickled down his jaw as he smiled defiantly at his tormentor. Even as the darkness started to claim his mind he smiled because today for the first time in ages he felt alive again. Like he was still human.

The building was old and worn down, there were small cracks in the walls and Gaara could clearly feel the damp, earthy smell of water damage. Even though he had been here before he couldn't help but to be surprised by the state of the building. This house just didn't seem like somewhere he'd thought the blonde would live, so far Naruto had been nothing but cheerful and lively and houses like this were not meant for happy people. Every town had a neighborhood like it, far from the center of the town with old, broken houses filled with people meant to stay invisible, alcoholics, drug-addicts, criminals, all those who were worth less than dirt in the eyes of society were shipped to places like this. Gaara knew these sorts of neighborhoods very well and had spent more time than he wished to remember prowling their streets driven by that overwhelming need.

A memory flashed through his mind and he had to fight the urge to flinch from his master's voice. 'It's all about power Gaara, about control. If you want to be the one in control you have to be able to give in to it. Sure, you can try to fight it and it will work –for a while but then when it finally takes over you'll lose every shred of control you thought you had. And we both knows what happened the last time don't we kid?'

'All these bodies are nothing but a means of achieving power, useless unless consumed. Every death is a confirmation of that fact as it feeds us and makes us stronger. I can teach you how to reach your power Gaara, how to take control and never risk losing it again. But you have to do as I say.'

He shook his head; he had tried, really tried, to do what his master told him to but even so he just kept losing himself to that monster, kept losing control. But no more, he wouldn't lose control over it ever again because he was different now. Yesterday Naruto had made him different.

From the rooftop across the road Gaara stared intensely at the window he knew belonged to the blond and frowned as he noticed another large crack in the concrete of the house. It seemed so unfair to place someone like Naruto here, he deserved better.

Gaara frowned deeper as he tried to figure out just exactly what he was doing. The moment his body had healed he found himself trying to find Naruto again and he wasn't really sure why. Ok, to be honest he knew exactly why. It was because Naruto had seen his moment out of control, had seen him just mere seconds away from killing and didn't seem to care. Naruto had seen what the monster inside him was like but even so he wasn't afraid. In Narutos eyes he became a person again, and when he saw himself reflected in those blue eyes he saw a person much stronger than the monster. When Naruto was around he had for the first time actually been in control. Not the mimicked calm he usually had just barely covering the darkness beneath but actual peace, like he was one with himself again.

What confused him was why Naruto would have that effect on him and he needed to find out. Why had Narutos presence made him able to sit calmly inside that small room despite the smell of his blood laying thick in the air? Naruto made him human again and he would do anything to keep that feeling. He wanted to be close again, to have someone look at him, talk with him the way Naruto had done. That was why, when he first felt that strange pull from inside his chest, he just couldn't resist going back to the apartment.

Gaara checked his surroundings once more to make sure that his hiding place wouldn't be discovered and nodded slowly, it was perfectly safe. The sun had set a couple of hour earlier and since it had been a cloudy day there was no moonlight to brighten the night. Inside the hotel the lights were off on all floors except the fifth and the streetlight which he was standing under was broken. There was no way they would be able to see him here.

He knew there was something wrong with what he was doing but he couldn't care less about that right now. In the past years he had done so many wrongs that one more simply didn't matter, besides this was nothing compared to some his earlier actions. For little over three weeks now, 23 days to be exact, he found himself seeking out Naruto every time he was able to. He had spent hours upon hours outside Naruto's window, watching him as he slept. He still hadn't been able to figure out why but he just knew that he had to be close to the blond, the calmness spreading in his body and mind as he gazed upon Naruto was frighteningly addictive.

He had learned Narutos routines quickly and was now hiding behind the corner of the old hotel where Naruto's band used to practice twice a week. The first time he saw the blond sing he was dumbstruck and the curiosity was overwhelming. Just watching wasn't enough; he needed to hear what Naruto would sound like when singing. He knew it was stupid but once the idea had appeared in his head he just couldn't get rid of it. It wasn't like he was going to just walk in to where the band was, no, all he needed to do was to sneak into the corridor outside and then sneak out again before they finished playing. No one would ever know that he had been there.

He had gone through the whole thing in his mind hundreds of times, just go in, listen and the go out. It was so simple there shouldn't be any problems. He just had to wait until they were all inside and then he could finally satisfy his curiosity. Gaara smiled at the thought and went through the list of people in his head again. Usually the first to arrive was those two girls, one blond and then that girl with pink hair he remembered seeing on a photograph in Narutos apartment. Most times they also had that boy with the huge dog with them. Gaara frowned, that thought made him feel uneasy, what if the dog would catch his scent and alert them that he was there? He shook his head slightly and took a deep breath to calm himself down, considering that he wouldn't be close to the room it would be a highly unlikely situation. Naruto and the one Gaara had identified as Narutos brother Sasuke would be the ones arriving next and then last of all that lazy kid with the weird hair would drive up to the door with his car, bringing all the needed equipment.

A loud barking snapped Gaara out of his thoughts just in time to see the two girls and the dog-boy walking into the building. The blood raced warm inside of him at the sight, finally things were starting to fall in place. Gaara sighed through his nose and leaned back against the concrete wall, only three more left before he could go inside.

Five minutes later he heard the sound of a car approaching and watched as the lazy boy climbed out the front seat. It was weird seeing him there so early and Gaara didn't like it. It wasn't part of the routine and that meant that for some reason tonight was different form all the other nights, and if that change was significant it meant that his plan could be rendered useless. He frowned, he did not like it at all, but the change wasn't the thing that bothered him. The thing that bothered him was that Naruto wasn't there; Naruto wasn't there and Gaara had no idea where he might be.

He knew he should just stay where he was and wait, most likely the blond would show up soon and if he didn't he could always go back to Narutos apartment and check for him there. Judging from what he had learned about the blond's person he had probably just got delayed by another argument with his brother, or eating ramen or something like that. But then again, there was also the possibility that something had happened to him.

Gaara's pulse quickened as uninvited images started to pass through his mind. Dark, dangerous hands twisted into golden locks as they scraped the head into the ground to keep him from making any noise, crimson leftover of what used to be a body crushed between two mangled cars. Every image was more gruesome than the previous and something akin to panic crawled under his skin, telling him that he needed to stop. They were too similar, to close to that place in his mind he had to stay away from, it wasn't safe.

His breath came in short gasps as he fought to keep control but he could feel how more and more of it was wrenched out of his hands by the images that were still there. "It'll be ok, at least we still have each other, right Gaara?". A pair of blue eyes staring frightened at him from beneath golden hair darkened by blood just before he-

"Sasuke, you jerk!" Gaara's head snapped up at the sound of the familiar voice just in time to see his blond coming out from around a corner. The effect was immediate, no more broken blondes, no more pain, just him watching as Naruto and Sasuke walked closer to the hotel entrance.

But there was someone with them. Gaara glared at the newcomer as if he could erase him by doing so. He did not like when things changed and he definitely didn't like that this someone was walking so close to his Naruto. He was somewhat similar to Sasuke with his pale skin and dark hair but at the same time not. He was definitely taller than both Naruto and Sasuke and seemed to be at least a couple of years older. And while Sasukes hair was obviously black his seemed to be more of a really dark brown colour.

For some reason this new person made Gaara feel insecure, something seemed to tell him that he should stay as far away from him as possible but Gaara promptly pushed those thoughts aside. Despite everything he was going to go into that hotel and listen to Naruto as he sang. Nothing was going to change that.

"Don't listen to him, Sasuke is just being an ass as usual. Anyway as I was going to say- oi, are you listening?" Naruto yanked at the jacket of the third person who seemed to have been deep in thought.

"Yes, sorry about that Naruto. Look why don't you guys go ahead inside, I'll be right there I promise." Sasuke just shrugged and Gaara watched how Narutos face changed into a pout as Sasuke dragged him into the building.

Then it happened. The stranger raised his head and turned to stare straight at him and Gaara couldn't help but to back away slightly. There was no way he could be seen from where the stranger stood but that didn't change the fact that goose bumps rose on his arms and that he felt a desperate need to run away and hide somewhere else. As Gaara's eyes met with the dark brown of the other he just knew that the newcomer was watching him. Then as if they had made some kind of agreement he gave a curt nod in Gaara's direction and for a brief moment he caught a glimpse of silver on the strangers face before he turned away and entered the hotel.

It was all his imagination, he was sure; it was nothing more than his nervousness about the plan causing his imagination to freak out a bit. But even so, after ten minutes Gaara still couldn't bring himself to go through those doors.

"Gaahh! Kiba, stop trying to eat Sakura's face and get your ass over to the drums already!" Naruto stomped his foot and glared at the couple. Sakura giggled a bit as she gently pushed Kiba away from her. "What's the matter Naruto, jealous?"

"Of course he is, I thought you had figured that out by now." Sasuke smirked and Naruto just couldn't resist sticking his tongue out at him.

"Maybe you're the jealous one, besides we all know that even if she wanted to she could never land someone as awesome as me."

Sakura laughed a bit at that and they both smiled with her. It was an old joke between them dating back to the very beginning of their friendship. They had first met when they were around eight years old at one of the numerous orphanages Naruto and Sasuke had been to but after only four months she was adopted and then they didn't see her again until they were fifteen. Naruto didn't really mind the long pause in their friendship though because it was largely thanks to the man that had adopted Sakura all those years ago that he and Sasuke finally had found some stability in their lives.

"Oi, that's not true. I'm awesome." Kiba interrupted faking a hurt face.

"Yes, how could anyone ever overlook the awesomeness of Kiba – the band's one and only non-drumming drummer?" the amused voice was followed by an annoyed huff from Kiba as he saw who had just entered the room.

"Great, the zombie arrives."

"It's nice to see you too Kiba."

"Whatever, let's just do this so I can get out of here."

"You're not fooling anyone Kiba, we all know you two don't hate each other for real." Naruto just smiled at the grimace on Kiba's face. For some reason Kiba and Neji never seemed to fully get along, Naruto honestly couldn't remember a time when they weren't arguing or teasing one another but he knew that it was just for fun. After all, he and Sasuke did pretty much the same thing.

"Right, Neji?" He turned around for confirmation but his smile faltered when he caught the worried look on the other's face.

"Neji, what's wrong?"

"I think I saw someone from my family earlier"

"Are you sure?" Shikamaru walked up to him and gently squeezed Neji's hand. Neji just nodded slowly and pulled Shikamaru to him in a backwards hug. Naruto could see the worry on Shikamaru's face as Neji closed his eyes and rested his head on top of Shikamaru's ponytail.

"I'm sure it was just your imagination, Neji. Besides if they were stupid enough to show up we would all gladly beat the crap out of them for you." Naruto was relieved as Neji nodded and smiled back at him, he hated when one of his friends weren't happy. Neji seemed to be alright for now though as he took his usual place next to Sakura and Ino who weren't playing either.

Tonight was just a regular practice and Naruto almost automatically went through the familiar songs as his mind kept getting sidetracked. He had meant what he said to Neji before, he would do anything for his friends and getting the chance to get back at Neji's family for him was somewhat tempting. Neji had been one of Naruto's first friends, and it was indirectly because of Neji that he and Sasuke had managed to get in touch with Sakura again. He smiled at that thought, he had a lot to be grateful to his friends for whether they knew it or not.

Neji was older than all of them but it was hard to tell going by appearances alone. He was reluctant to talk about anything to do with his past but Naruto had heard and seen enough to be sure he was right in thinking Neji probably had gone through more than most of them. He had grown up in an abusive family but sometime he had had enough and ran away. For several years he had then lived on the streets, surviving god knows how and that was where Naruto had first met him. Back then Neji had saved him and Sasuke from some really bad trouble and Naruto never forgot that so when his own life had stabilized the first thing he had done was to more or less force Neji of the streets and come live with them. It had been hard on all three of them at first, battling malnourishment, drug abuse and insomnia but gradually Neji became better and right now he was sharing an apartment with his boyfriend.

There was always this calm and secure feeling radiating from Neji, as if nothing could ever go wrong with him close by. Naruto enjoyed spending time with Neji, preferably talking since Neji always had the patience to listen to the entire length of whatever the new and exciting idea that had entered his mind was. Sasuke always interrupted and called him stupid or annoying and even if she listened Sakura always stared at him as if she was thinking what Sasuke said out loud.

'But none of them listen as well as Gaara though' the thought flashed through his mind accompanied by a guilty feeling as he thought of the clothes he still had at home. These past weeks thoughts of Gaara had been occupying his mind frequently, he looked over at the sofa where Neji was seated and silently wondered if maybe Gaara had a past similar to Neji's. There was something that made him feel they were somehow alike and if he could only find Gaara again maybe he could do the same for him as he had done for Neji. He smiled; yes that was a nice thought.

"Ok seriously, let's just pack up and go home." Kiba called out frustrated from behind the drums. "I mean we could stay another hour but that's just wasting time, this clearly isn't working today."

Naruto spun around and gave him a surprised look. "I think we're doing great, what's the problem?"

"Of course you do. The problem is that he" Kiba jerked his head toward Shikamaru "is completely distracted by his boyfriend over there, you're acting like you had your mind kidnapped by aliens or something and you "he pointed a finger at Sasuke, was quiet for a moment and then sighed. "Ok I got nothing, you're great as always"

"Thanks Kiba." Sasuke smirked and removed his guitar. "and he does have a point Naruto, you two are clearly not into doing this right now so it's sort of pointless staying since we won't get anything done anyway."

Naruto sighed, he knew it wasn't fair on them to not pay attention to what he was doing but he just couldn't get the thoughts of Gaara out of his head. "You're the smart one, what do you say?" he looked over at their bassist even though he knew what the answer would be.

Shikamaru shrugged slightly, yawned and glanced over to where Neji was sitting. "I wouldn't mind leaving early."

"Thought so" Naruto smiled and started to help the rest of the gang pack all their stuff back into Shikamaru's car.

Ten minutes later as Naruto threw the last cable into the passenger seat Neji grabbed his arm and pulled him aside, he didn't say anything but Naruto could sense that there was still something bothering him and waited for Neji to speak. They were well out of hearing distance from the other but Neji still kept his voice low.

"Naruto… you wouldn't happen to know a guy your age, thin body, red hair, green eyes, would you?"

The image of Gaara standing looking lost inside his room immediately flashed through Narutos mind but there was something that made him reluctant to tell Neji about him. He shook his head and Neji frowned slightly.

"Are you sure?"

Another memory of Gaara surfaced in his mind, a scared tired boy sitting hunched in the dark corner of Naruto's room, and again Naruto felt that he just had to protect him. Even if it wasn't like him to lie to his friends he had to keep Gaara a secret.

"Yep, I think I would remember someone like that."

Neji's dark brown eyes searched his for a moment which almost made him feel nervous before finally he nodded and closed his eyes. "ok"

"Why do you ask?"

Neji just shook his head "No particular reason, just someone I met once." He caught Narutos eyes again and Naruto could feel the seriousness in them. "Just, be careful on your way home, ok? Don't leave Sasuke's side, it's a bad neighborhood." He paused and turned his head to look down the road. "You never know what's out there."

Naruto just stood still and watched as Neji walked back to the car and drove off with Shikamaru.

"So what was that all about" Sasuke came up to him, looking curious.

"I honestly have no idea, but I think Neji's getting paranoid."

"Hn, I'm not surprised. Let's go."

Naruto shrugged and walked silently by Sasuke's side. What Sasuke said was true, it wouldn't be surprising if Neji was a bit paranoid after thinking he saw his family since he spent most of his life constantly running away from them. It still made no sense for him to start asking about someone like Gaara though, unless Gaara was part of Neji's family… Naruto shook his head, that wasn't possible. A shiver traveled up his spine as he suddenly remembered the man Gaara had called his master. Maybe Neji had been working for him too and met Gaara there… he sighed, that didn't really make any sense either.

"Don't think too hard or you'll hurt your tiny mind" Sasuke nudged his shoulder gently with his trademark smirk which made Naruto grin back at him. Whatever it was between Neji and Gaara it could wait until after he had finished beaten Sasuke for saying he was stupid.

Author's notes: This chapter was harder to write than I thought it would be and although I have rewritten it four (!!!) times I'm still not completely happy with it but I want to move on so it will just have to stay the way it is for now x]

The basic idea for this story has been in my mind for ages so during the holiday I decided to actually sit down and write my story. But just as I had started the evil plotbunnies launched a massive attack on me and what began as an oneshot quickly grew into a chapter story. If everything goes as planned this will probably be something like 25 – 30 chapters long and I'm really excited about it since it's my first story on that scale. Wish me luck ^^