Psychoticbunny: You probably all hate me now, but I just don't get as much time to type now! I'll try as hard as I can to get the chapters out there though. Review replies! Oh wait. There are none. Never mind then. Still, I'd just like to tell you all that because someone mentioned it was hard to tell what p.o.v. it is, I'll put the name underneath. You'll see.

Disclaimer: I own the plot and I'm proud, god damn it, proud! Of course, I wouldn't mind owning Naruto…

Warnings: A distressed Hinata, a perverted Gaara, and a sad Sasuke. Go ahead. You know you want to read and find out just how perverted I'm willing to make Gaara look.

---

(Hinata)

I pick up my pace and a walk turns to a jog, which in turn transforms into running at top speed. Perhaps I'm being paranoid. Why on Earth would someone be stalking me of all people? It isn't like I'm the daughter of an extremely rich family or something.

…

"Ahhh!" I yell as I push myself to run faster. This only causes me to trip over my kimono and slam my face onto the floor right in front of a door to a room I don't recognize after narrowly avoiding smashing into a corner.

I can see a shadow in the hallway. The person doesn't look to be much older than me. Still, height wouldn't stop my mysterious follower from kidnapping or… or killing me. I jump onto my feet and jiggle the doorknob with all of my power once I realize that I've trapped myself in a dead end. It's no use; the door is locked.

"Help me!" I scream. "Someone help! Help! I don't want to die!"

I start crying again. Was my performance at Sasuke and my meeting so terrible, they had instantly hired thugs to kill me? Maybe Ge ge is right about all of that "fate and destiny" stuff he always talks about endlessly. Is it my destiny to never succeed, and now fate has for me so I can repent for all of my errors? I knew I should have prayed to my ancestors longer, but I wanted to get to school really early.

The figure draws closer and closer; it's almost about to round the corner.

"No! Don't come near me!"

"Hinata?"

Oh no! Oh god! This is where it all ends! I'm about to die! I hope that Ge ge- wait. Hinata?

"Gaara!" I cry out in relief. "I thought you were some creepy, insane mass murderer sent to kill me and you would chop off each of my limbs one at a time with some kind of giant ax or something! No offense or anything," I add at the end hastily.

"Thanks. That did wonders for my motivation and self-confidence. I can now proudly say that I've been mistaken for an ax murderer," he says, as sarcastic as ever.

"At least ax murderers know how to be assertive," I point out helpfully. He doesn't seem to appreciate the comment. "Well, anyway. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm standing, I'm breathing, I'm-"

"No, not that! How did you get in? Why are you here?"

"I came with Kankuro and I'm here because I want to be."

Typical Gaara.

"Fine, I guess, but I have to take a bath," I tell him, holding up some of the soggy fabric of my kimono for proof.

"'Kay. I'll wait outside."

"Why don't you just go home?"

"'Cause I don't want to."

His face is completely blank. Man, he's persistent. I feel a bit uncomfortable bathing with a friend over, especially a male, but it doesn't seem like Gaara can be convinced to leave.

"Um… well… okay. Just don't peek!"

I hurry past him and find that he, unfortunately, has tagged along. I busy myself with a search for some clothes to wear, but I can feel gaze on my back and it's making me unnerved. I hide my panties inside my other clothing; it's the only pink thing I own. The worse part is that it has little hearts all over it. I'm just happy, for once, that my parents won't allow me to wear a bra.

"Hinata," Gaara says. The noise added to all of my tension is enough.

I shriek and drop all of my clothes in surprise. Guess what lands on top!

I look up in horror to see Gaara blushing madly and covering his eyes with his hands. Jumping out that window looks pretty inviting right now. Or maybe I should climb into my bed and huddle underneath the covers for the rest of my life. Maybe I'd suffocate.

"W-why don't you j-just take your bath?" Gaara stutters.

"Um, okay."

I gathered up my clothes as quickly as I can without tripping over my kimono or my feet, which I do anyway on my rush to the bathroom connected to my room. I clumsily push myself up and stumble the rest of the way. I lock the door and turn the doorknob a couple of times to make sure there's no chance of it opening.

I twist the faucet in the bathtub until it's a warm temperature and then hold my hand under the running water to check that it isn't to hot or cold. It's so perfect I leave my hand there for a couple of seconds.

With a last glance at the door, I remove the stupid kimono (I'm never wearing one of those again.) and slip into the water. I relax as soon as my body is submerged, only then noticing how tense I had been. Really, there's nothing to worry about. Gaara isn't the type to peek, is he? I shrink further into the bath and reach for the shampoo. The sooner this is over, the better.

---

(Gaara)

I can't believe I saw her underwear. It was so… so… pink. It was almost creepy how pink and girly it was. I thought her parents made her cross dress! Still, it's not as bad as some of the stuff my sister wears… ew. No, don't go there.

I think back to what Hinata said about peeking. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not the type to peek at all. I am the type to defy anything and everything anyone tells me. And she happened to mention not to peek. So is it really my fault? It's not that I choose to be evil; I was born that way.

I snicker at my own joke. It doesn't matter if I see anything anyway. I used to have to share baths with Kankuro and Temari to save on the water bill. We stopped once they entered puberty and were less comfortable showing their bodies. Temari's jobs are able to allow us to take separate baths. We take more showers though, to save water. Sometimes I wish we were Amish. Amish people don't have electricity bills, now do they?

Well, Amish or not, I'm peeking.

I walk up to the door and search for any holes. I scan the walls for openings also. There are none besides the crack in the door and I can't get a good view from there. Damn it. I'll just have to find another way. I'm going to see part of her body, even if I have to rip her clothes off her the second she steps outside the door!

…

Well, no. I wouldn't actually do that.

I absent-mindedly skim over the room as I rack my brain for a way to get a better sight. My eyes catch on a certain item lying on the floor. How I didn't notice it previously is beyond me, but I sure as hell do notice it now.

I smirk and pick it up. Score.

---

(Hinata)

I finish speed bathing in a couple of minutes. After today, I'd love more than anything to soak in the tub for hours on end. However, I wouldn't want to keep Gaara waiting.

I grab my towel and begin drying off my hair. It sticks out in every direction now. I run my hands through it, straitening it out and making myself look more presentable. I have a strange urge to look my very best in front of Gaara.

I finish grooming my hair and dry off the rest of my body. Then I hang the towel back up neatly next to the one I dry my hands with.

I pause before dressing to examine myself in the mirror. I'm not the best looking girl around. In fact, I'm pretty plain when I think about it. My personality isn't anything special either. I think about Pink Girl and Blond Girl from my class. They're both so beautiful, while I'm so boring. I wonder if I would look prettier if I had silky, long, flowing hair like they did.

I close my eyes and try to imagine it, but all I can see is the two other girls looking glamorous and myself standing off in the background, plain as ever. I sigh and open my eyes. I suppose I just wasn't supposed to be attractive.

I look away from the mirror; I wouldn't want to walk out all depressed. Instead, I focus on my clothing. I squat down and search through the pile for my underwear.

Hm. That's odd. I can usually spot that thing a mile away, the obnoxious color it is, but I'm having a hard time finding it. I shake my shirt and my pants to see if it's hidden inside one of them.

Wait. I must have dropped it when I tripped. Which would mean it's outside. With Gaara.

I try not to panic now. It was embarrassing enough the first time he viewed the article of clothing. Oh, why couldn't there have been a package of white left in the store! Why had Ge ge (1) resorted to buying that specific one! There was a purple version too, but I just had to go for the more "interesting" of the two! And the worst part is; now I don't have underwear!

…

I could always ask Gaara…

No. You do not ask your male friends to rummage around through your underwear drawer, no matter how drastic the situation is. There's a line, and that option crosses it, runs an extra mile to a bus stop, takes a bus to an airport, rides halfway across the world, and finally takes off into outer space, landing on Jupiter and- yeah. I think my point has been made.

I'll just put on my pants on without panties and slip the pair I dropped after I get out of the bathroom. Then again, do I really want to walk around missing underwear for the remainder of the time Gaara decides to stay over? I want to tell him to leave and that it's my house so he should obey my rules, but Gaara doesn't obey anyone's rules except his own.

Well, I suppose there's no other option. I'll just go the whole… however long Gaara decides he's going to stay with me, without underwear.

---

(Gaara)

Hinata finally walks out of the freaking bathroom, a sheepish grin spread across her face and a pink tint on her cheeks. Well, I say walk, but it's actually more of a waddle, like she put pebbles in her pants or something.

"So Gaara…" she begins uncomfortably. "When do you think you're going to be leaving? No rush or anything, but…" If words could be mush, these would be the… well… the mushiest of them all, I guess. I'll assume she's muttering something about me being handsome and heroic to regain some lost confidence and take my mind off the ax murderer comment.

"I'm leaving when I want to."

I'm aware that I'm acting like a stuck-up prick, but the truth is I can't leave when I want to. It's not safe for me to go home and I have nowhere else to go. In reality, I'm stuck here, whether I like it or not. It would probably be a great deal easier to simply inform Hinata that before I left, my father aimed a knife at me, but I don't want to get her worried. It's better for her to think that I'm being my usual, rude self. He'll cool down eventually anyway, but for the time being, I'm too afraid to go back and Temari ordered me to stay here until she deemed our apartment safe.

Suddenly, I loose interest in the prank I'm planning with Hinata's panties. The fact that I'm unable to even see my sister is pretty depressing.

"Hey Hinata." She lifts her head up from the low place it had sunk during her inaudible rant. "Here." I toss the piece of pink fabric to her. She fails to make the catch and dives onto the ground to retrieve it. She's blushing extremely hard, but I don't get any of the pleasure I normally get out of seeing her flustered.

"Um… Gaara? Do you mind if I go back into the bathroom to change?"

"Hn."

I don't attempt to peek, despite the fact that she's forgotten to lock the door this time.

---

(Sasuke)

I awake with a start. I have a brief moment where I have no idea what happened, but then the memories come back, along with pain in my stomach and face, proving that last night was real. (2)

"Mom!" I shout, sitting up. Did Ita-nii kill her too? Please no. Please, oh please, oh please.

"Good morning Mr. Uchiha!" a friendly-looking nurse greets cheerfully. "You're up sooner than expected."

I glare at the woman, however I have to stop when I feel my body growing weak in a sudden surge of dizziness. I fall backwards onto the pillow, breathing heavily. I hear the nurse moving around me and adjusting some things, judging by the rustling sound.

"Please just stay still for a second, Mr. Uchiha. This will only hurt for a second," she reassures me.

I feel a needle inject something into my arm. I scream in pain. Couldn't she have warned me I was about to get stabbed? But no, that's much too sensible, now isn't it?

"I'm happy to notify you that your mother has survived. However…"

I'm snapped out of my thoughts as I'm reminded of my objective.

"Where is she? Can I see her? What about the rest of them? What about my dad, my cousins, my aunts, my uncles, my… my brother…"

I let go of the nurse's shoulders. I hadn't realized that I sprung up and clutched onto them in my sudden spurge of passion.

"You're m-mother is in another room and you'll be able to see her shortly. First you need to rest, sweetie. As for the rest of your family, I'm sorry to say that we weren't able to do anything about them. I'm very sorry. We tried our best." She gives me a sympathetic look. I don't need sympathy or pity. Sympathy and pity doesn't bring them back!

I feel ashamed, but I end up crying anyway, completely disregarding my location and that the nurse is looking slightly uncomfortable next to me. I'm so stupid. I should've known Nii-san was up to something. I shouldn't have let him leave so easily. I should've stopped him. It's all my fault! He was acting shifty from the beginning.

The nurse wraps her arms around me and kisses me lightly on the forehead. She whispers kind and consoling things to me, but I wish she would disappear. I want to be alone. Or at least see my mom. I feel so pathetic, wanting nothing more than to be with my mommy. It sounds like something that would come out of a small child in distress's mind.

"My mom," I choke out. I wipe all of my tears off of my face with my arm and sniffle a bit before continuing. "I want to see my mom. Can I see her? Please?"

"Well…" The woman looks hesitant, but nods her head nonetheless. "I just want to tell you that we did all we could, but it was a very… very hard experience for her. Oh, and as for your brother, the police are tracking him as we speak."

"What do you mean, you did all you could?" I ask. I won't allow her to change the subject.

"Well, it's not very easy to take in your son killing your entire family and she had taken a particularly hard blow on the head and… well… she isn't quite, well, you'll see when we get there," she says, choosing her words carefully.

I reject her extended hand and get up on my own, although I do loose my balance and have to lean on the nurse for support. Once she makes sure I'm all right, we exit my room and head across the hospital to my mother's.

Doctors buzz about and every so often a few run by with an unfortunate person on a stretcher. The nurse waves to certain ones and even stops to chat with another woman her age for a minute or two. I rock back and forth on my feet through the entire conversation.

Though the journey seemed to take hours, we at last come to a stop outside a door with a creepy man with skin too white to be natural. His eyes have a snake-like appearance to them. I can't help but feel uneasy around the man and have an overwhelming urge to run the nearest bathroom and vomit when he leans close to me and introduces himself.

I have cold sweat running down the back of my neck by the time he leaves. The unnerved feeling I got fades away along with his presence. I breathe heavily, sucking in air like it's the last time I'll encounter oxygen. I couldn't even listen to what he was saying, his pure existence so terrifying.

"Mr. Uchiha? Are you alright?" the nurse questions with concern.

"Y-yeah. I'm f-fine."

"Do you want to see her now?"

I discontinue panting and wipe the sweat on my neck away.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure you're ready?"

I pause before answering.

"I hope so."

---

(Hinata)

This is so frustrating! No matter how hard I try, Gaara will not leave me alone! He decided to stay over last night, and now he's coming to my house again! Doesn't he know when to stop? I don't have the time or patience to be baby-sitting him, but it's not like I can lock him up in my room and force him to stay there all by himself. He's been wearing this really out of place serious expression ever since he gave my underwear back. In fact, when I tried to yell at him, he didn't comeback with any snide remark or anything. He just stood there, looking guilty. (3)

He's sitting on my bed currently, gazing out the window I had escaped from on Monday. I've tried asking him what's wrong, but all he replies with is a, "Nothing," before going back to ignoring me.

I'm really irritated. I'm not the type to get irritated at all. I tend to be quite patient and caring, if I do say so myself, but this is just outrageous. I've reached the point where I'm seconds from ripping out every strand of my hair and screaming at the top of my lungs, preferably in Gaara's ear.

"Why won't you tell me?" I demand.

He turns his head slowly to face me. "Tell you what?"

"You know what I want to be told! I want to know what's wrong! Don't lie to me! I'm not the gullible idiot you think I am!" I shout.

He turns his head back towards the window.

I can't take it anymore. I scream so loudly I start to get a headache so I have to stop. I curl up next to Gaara's feet, biting my lip and puffing my cheeks out, my eyebrows narrowed. I know I probably resemble a disgruntled chipmunk, but I'm just so angry. I can't remember any other time in my life where I was ever this mad. Why won't he tell me what's wrong?!

---

(Gaara)

Hinata probably hates me by now. I don't know what's worse: seeing her aggravated or worried.

I'm being stupid. Hinata is getting more upset being kept in the dark. I slide off the bed and gently pet my friend's head.

"Hinata…"

"I'm not talking to you," she says.

"You just did," I point out.

"That time didn't count. Neither does this one."

"Roses are red, violets are blue. Sugar is sweet and so are you."

There's a silence where I'm sure that curiosity is eating away at Hinata's very soul.

"What does it mean?"

"The truth."

She sighs. "Whatever. If you're not gonna tell me, then I guess there's no use in pestering you."

"Sugar is sweet and so are you…" I repeat.

---

One- Hinata always shops with Neji. Even for underwear. Poor Neji. He just wants to stare at Gaara's ass all day. Sucks for him.

Two- Hurray for time skips!

Three- Yay! Another time skip!

Psychoticbunny: I got out my old book of nursery rhymes. Oh the memories. Ahem. Anyway, Gaara got a bit ooc in that last scene. I hope I'll be able to fix that up next chappy…