so...talk about return of the dead right? i'm back, and i've got a new trick. olly-baa-baa-chan is ten times as slick as the last time, the last time you saw her...

anyways, i just wanted y'all to know that no, i have not abandoned the story. i have only recently gotten some questionably slow, but at least accesable internet. it's really only for work though, so i won't be using it for FFnet quite as often i used to.

but, hey! it's actual net, right? woohoo! -happy dance-

i really am sorry for not being able to update sooner, and so i hope you enjoy this chapter, however boring and un-climactic it might be.

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Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto...Or Magical Trevor.

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Gaara sulked from his perch as he watched Sakura, Hinata, and Neji disappear into the parking lot. He glared down at anything and everything. Half of him was ashamed for scaring Sakura; the other half still wanted to slice Sasuke's throat for what he did. What if Sakura didn't want him anymore? He wouldn't know what to do if she suddenly left him… after all the things he'd done for her. He'd shared his biggest secret and helped paint her room and given her rides on his bike and even given up his first kiss with her. Gaara stared at his own hands in anger. Dammit! Why'd I have to go and lose it? He could never just pass up a moment to make himself look like the blood-thirsty maniac everyone thought he was. He knew Principal Tsunade had talked to Sakura, no doubt about 'that' day. But what Sasuke had done made his blood boil. I should have never gotten caught up in all this! It's all so stupid! Argh! Everything was fine before she came! Gaara found himself mentally cursing Sakura for all the things she had done since her arrival only a few months ago. None of those things had really been bad things. In fact, most of them were friendly, caring things; but Gaara had been lured by her beautiful soul, and now he was paying the price. He got so tangled in the thoughts of his first crush that he went berserk and almost killed another person.

But Sasuke deserved it. His inner self reminded him.

But if she hadn't come none of this would've happened at all.

But if she hadn't come you'd be in the same place you were before: Lonely, with no real friends and a black-marked record.

I still have a bad record, which coincidentally is even worse now than it was before. And I had friends before she came…all eight of them. It was just the nine of us.

You were only protecting her, and did you really have friends? They were friends, and you were the leader, but other than that it wasn't as tight a group when you were around. They were afraid of you, even Naruto and your siblings.

Gaara thought about his inner self's argument on that one. It was true: they had been friends and invited him to they're little parties and formed a band and were brave enough to make an occasional joke with him, but before Sakura came he wasn't much more than just a team leader. They all admired him, but in a fearful sort of way. Naruto was his "best" friend, but they were far from being particularly close. It pained Gaara to realize all that he had been missing out on. It was like he missed a whole chapter of his life before Sakura came. And…was it really her fault? Wasn't it his fault for falling for her first? Or was it no one's fault? Was she really the one to blame for his outburst? No, of course not. Sakura hadn't done anything except come into his life and make it a million times better than it was before. He could talk to her and not feel annoyed. He could kiss her and not feel embarrassed. He could hold her and not feel cold and empty. He had shown her his art, smiled around her, and even opened up to his friends more than he had realized.

Gaara's eyebrows furrowed again. But I couldn't protect her. She ended up saving me and I had nothing to offer in return. He ran his pale hands through his hair in frustration. With a quick glance below him Gaara noticed that most everyone else was already gone. Kankuro and Temari were a little ways away, talking amongst themselves. Probably about me, Gaara thought. Goosebumps started emerging from his arms as the first autumn chill tickled its way through the tree branches. He wished he could ride his bike home. He missed it, though once Gaara thought about it, it would be too lonely riding it now. His second helmet would look so forlorn and empty without Sakura. Come to think of it, why did he even have a second helmet? He heaved a heavy, stress-filled sigh and climbed to down to join his brother and sister. Life had become so much more complicated. What am I going to do?

--(Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Divider line!!)-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Sakura's car pulled into the Hyuuga's driveway. Hinata went to join her as she stepped out of her car, and Neji led them to the front door. Sakura knew of the Hyuuga's extraordinary reputation. They had more family success stories than anyone in town. Practically all of the people in their family grew up to be famous doctors and lawyers or scientists of some kind. Sakura could tell Neji was already following in those well treaded footsteps. He was the school prodigy after all. Hinata also had plenty of hidden potential, but often didn't show it.

Well, their house was no exception. It was a large mansion-like home with beautifully painted Japanese doors and clean silver windows. It seemed to match the cousin's combined personalities perfectly: Strong and well built and yet clean and modest. It made Sakura present a small grin.

Neji unlocked the door and they stepped inside, each being careful to remove their shoes and place them in the appropriate place. "Father?" Hinata called softly. A tall man appeared from around a corner. He was tall, with strong white eyes and the look of a man who never took crap from anyone, be it family or not. Sakura was amazed at how his facade more favored his nephew Neji rather than his own daughter. Perhaps Hinata took more after her mom? Hinata went and stood next to him and said, "Father, this is our friend Haruno Sakura. Sakura this is my father Hyuuga Hiashi."

Sakura bowed politely to the man called Hiashi. "Arigato Hyuuga-san. My family and I are in your debt." The words tasted funny in her mouth, because she hadn't spoken so formally since she had moved. Hiashi looked her over carefully, as if inspecting every aspect of her person. Sakura wondered if he would be displeased by her odd hair, but then again Hinata had colored hair as well and had dyed it before. She didn't guess he would be disgruntled by her clothing, because Hinata and Neji wore similar clothes. The man nodded, but it didn't seem to show approval or displeasure.

Sakura stood straight again and offered a small smile. He only looked at her with his pearl eyes and said, "Yes, I spoke with your father. He is to call when he leaves work and then again once he is home." Sakura nodded in understanding that she was to leave once her father called and said he was at the house waiting for her. As much as she appreciated her dad's concern she knew that it was going to greatly annoy her in a little while. So many restrictions! Everyone was glad that she had more protection now, incase she was attacked again. But now she couldn't go anywhere without constant supervision; her friends and she couldn't go anywhere alone (despite the whole strength in numbers concept—There was ten of them after all), and now, even though she loved being with Hinata and Neji, she wasn't even allowed to leave the perimeter of their home without a call from her dad. Oh yeah, this was going to suck after the first three days or so.

Hiashi gave them all a stern eye. "Remember, this is not play time for you three. You are still expected to do your school work." The three teens bowed to the older Hyuuga once again and grabbed their bags. Hinata led Sakura down a long hall. After passing about four doors on either side, Hinata stopped in front of one on the left.

"This is my room," she said and slid the door open. Sakura stepped inside. It was a moderate sized room with pale green walls and pictures of calligraphy. The trim and doors were white, and her bed was a shade darker then the walls with simple floral stitching. "It's not quite as extravagant as your room, but it works." Hinata shyly stated.

Actually Sakura admired the plainness of it. Her room was the envy of all her friends, but she appreciated simple rooms as well. However, somehow she had imagined Hinata's room to be purple for some reason. There was the sound of the door sliding closed. When they turned around Neji was gone. Soft footsteps were heard moving over the wood floors in the hallway. Hinata mentioned that he was probably heading for his own room. Sakura guessed the closing of the door was Neji's own way of saying, "well, I have a shit-load of homework so I'm heading for my room to do it while you girls do…whatever it is you girls do."

Hinata headed over to the left side of the room, in the direction of her bed. She planted herself on it and beckoned for Sakura to join her. Sakura did so, with silent communication:

Sakura sighed--'God, I hate homework.'

Hinata nodded--'I know. Me too.'

Sakura pulled out her math book--'you want to do math first?'

Hinata shrugged--'sure.'

Sakura started digging through her bag--'I can't find my pencil.'

Hinata handed her a pencil--'here you go.'

Sakura smiled--'thanks.'

Hinata smiled back--'no problem.'

The Hyuuga's are a very soft-spoken family.

The silence continued for a good hour or so, with only the interruption of shuffling positions and questioning glances. Sakura was very smart, but couldn't help but notice that Hinata sped through her homework faster than herself. And when they checked their answers, Hinata's were correct most of the time. Sakura heaved a triumphant sigh as she closed her notebook. Finally! It was over…at least until tomorrow. A soft knock at the door at last coaxed some words from Hinata's mouth. "Come in," she invited.

The head of a young girl emerged from the hallway. She looked about twelve, with the trademark Hyuuga eyes and dark hair. "Where's Neji-niisan?" she demanded, completely ignoring that Sakura was even there.

"You know he's probably in his room," Hinata offered. "You should also know he's probably still working on his homework."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Neji works faster than you. Don't think that because you've just finished doesn't mean he's not already done, even if he did have more work than you."

Hinata looked hurt. She shared most of her classes with Neji anyway, with the exception of history and foreign language. But they were close to the same level at least… Hinata shook of the hurt look and asked, "Well what do you need him for anyway?"

The girl smirked. "I want to spar with him."

"So you can get beat again? You know you can't win against him." Hinata argued.

The girl's pale skin reddened in anger. "Well it's better than you can do against him!" With that she practically slammed the fragile door leaving an embarrassed Hinata behind. Sakura stared at her friend as Hinata bit her lips and put her book away.

"Who was that?" Sakura asked. How could that girl act like that? Sakura was surprised that such a disrespectful girl could live in such an orderly home.

"My little sister, Hanabi." Hinata answered.

Sakura stared at the closed door. Her own little sister, and not even a little respect! "Well are you going to just let her talk to you like that?" she asked in anger. Hinata started poking her pointer fingers together. Sakura looked at her. "Well? Are you?"

Hinata didn't look at her, but said, "Father favors Hanabi over me. He allows her to act like that around me, because he sees her as the stronger between the two of us. I'm not strong-willed, but she is…and that's one of the few things my father admires."

Sakura scowled. "Well I don't admire it. It's completely wrong! Your younger sister shouldn't treat you like that just because she thinks she's better than you." Sakura stood up in huff and started out the door. Hinata gasped and followed after her.

"No Sakura! You can't say anything to her! We'll get in trouble if you say anything! P-please!" she pleaded. However, Sakura ignored her and kept walking, leaving her friend behind near her room. She could hear voices from around the corner. She followed them.

Down another hallway she found Hanabi, knocking on the door of what Sakura guessed was Neji's room. "Niisan! Come spar with me! Father said its good training for me!"

Neji slid the door open and leaned in the doorway. Hanabi held a triumphant smirk and his emergence. He crossed his arms. "I said no, Hanabi."

She made a noise of anger. "Niisan! I know you're done with your work! Now come and spar with me!"

Neji glanced at Sakura (who was waiting for the perfect moment to go up and slap Hanabi) and then glared at the youngest girl. "How dare you act so disrespectful to me, and when we have a guest?"

His glare made her lower her defenses. "I'll tell father!" she warned.

Neji leaned down to her level. "Tell him what? That you were screaming and acting like a rude spoiled brat when there's a guest? Not to mention you're not supposed to act like that anyway?"

Hanabi breathed a deep, anger filled breath. She spun on the balls of her feet and walked off in a huff. Sakura started to advance after her, but Neji stopped her. "Sakura," he said grabbing her arm. He sensed her anger. "What did Hanabi do?" he asked, already guessing the answer.

"She was horrible to Hinata. That girl needs to be taught a lesson. I don't care if her father—"

Neji cut her off, arguing "no, Sakura. You will care. Hanabi has always been like that." he pulled her into his room to continue the conversation, so hopefully no one would listen in. "Hinata is the Hyuuga heir, but she doesn't necessarily pose the expected Hyuuga nature. Hanabi does, and even though it's wrong Hiashi-san favors her, despite the fact that Hinata is older. He has seen the way Hanabi treats her sister, but he never says anything."

"But that's cruel!" Sakura protested. "Hinata is just as good as her and a nicer person all around and she deserves—"

Again he cut her off. "Yes Sakura. I'm already aware that Hinata deserves more than she receives, but there's nothing I can do except deny Hanabi's demands whenever I can. Her father wants me to train her, but I don't want to. She constantly wants me to spar, but I always lie and claim to still do my homework…speaking of which…" he walked over to a desk on the right side of his room. Sakura took in her surroundings. The room was similar to Hinata's, but the walls were dark blue, and there were no pictures. His bed matched his walls. Ok…so Sakura liked plain rooms, but this was just too plain. He came back with a sheet of notes. "This is Hinata's." he said. "Somehow it ended up in my notebook." Sakura nodded and took the paper from him.

"Sorry," she muttered dejectedly. "But I still don't think Hinata deserves that."

Neji shrugged. "I agree with you," he shrugged. "But since when do any of us get what we deserve?"

Sakura twisted her mouth at his mocking tone. "Except for punishments you mean?" she asked him. He chuckled in response.

"Maybe for you." He argued pointedly. Sakura pretended to be utterly offended.

"Oh as if you've never gotten in trouble before, Mr. Perfect!" she pouted. Like the people on TV, Sakura spun dramatically on the balls of her feet and proceeded to stomp quite defiantly out the door. However, her theatrical exit was interrupted by an exasperated Hinata stepping through the door. Sobered by her friend's worried expression, Sakura dropped her smile and stood aside to allow Hinata room to enter.

Hinata whimpered, "What did she say? Wh-what did Hanabi do?" Neji walked over to pet his cousin on the back. "It's alright," he assured her. "Nothing bad happened. Hanabi didn't do anything."

Comforted by her older cousin, Hinata turned to Sakura with a look of sheer annoyance. Sakura (surprised by this sudden change of expression) crumpled in fear like a puppy who'd been caught chewing on its master's shoes. "You!" Hinata squeaked. "You had me scared to death!"

"Sorry," mumbled gloomily the one girl whom was currently being glared at. "I was just trying to help. You're little sister really has no right to treat you so disrespectfully."

Hinata closed her eyes and sighed. "It's fine, Sakura. I appreciate your help but it's my problem not yours."

"But you're my friend! What's your problem is my problem too." Sakura pointed out. Hinata looked touched, but when she tried to reply she was cut off by Neji.

"That's all fine and good, but Hinata's right. Besides, it's not her troubles you should be worrying about, Sakura." The young man told her as he sat on his bed and picked up a book. Sakura looked at him questioningly but it was clear that Neji was going to offer no explanation to his reasoning. Lifestyles of Platypuses Around the World was apparently too enticing for him to continue the conversation.

Instead Hinata rolled her eyes and answered Sakura's question for him. "What Neji means is you should focus more what's happening right now with you and even Gaara. That's much more important than my bratty little sister."

Multicolored locks fell to cover the face of a heavily burdened girl. "Honestly," she said, "I'd rather not think about it. It's all too confusing."

"Well, it'll only get worse unless you think about it. No good comes from being confused." Hinata lectured. She pulled Sakura over closer to Neji's bed and sat her down to talk. The white-eyed girl seemed to completely ignore the fact that she was intruding into her cousin's privacy. Who knew those platypuses could be so intriguing? But Neji made no notion that he was either annoyed or wanted them to leave, so Sakura settled into her spot and waited for Hinata to continue.

"What do you want to talk about then?" inquired Hinata as she pulled herself into a crisscross-applesauce position.

"What do you want me to talk about?" Sakura asked.

"Well, for example, what happened when you went to Tsunade-shishou's office?" Hinata asked. Sakura grimaced, knowing that question would have come up eventually. Suddenly she wished she wasn't the most popular girl in school, because then people wouldn't be watching her every moment of the day. If she went to the principal's office no one would give a shit.

"ahh…well…she brought me in and started talking about how I remind her of herself and what not and then she said something about another attack that Gaara was in. do you guys no anything about that?" Sakura asked while looking up into the white eyes of her friends. Hinata heaved a sigh and Neji finally put down his book.

"Sakura," Neji began in a pained voice. "Hinata and I aren't the best people to explain to you what happened…"

Well now Sakura was curious. "What? Tell me! What happened?" Her head flipped back and forth to look at each of the cousins.

"It's not our place to tell you, but maybe you should go to Naruto." Hinata said. And that was that. Neither of the cousins offered any more information. Hinata took Sakura back to her room and Neji picked back up on his book. Soon enough Sakura's dad called and Sakura had to leave for home with brand new questions swirling through her mind.

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well, on the brighter side: it is longer than the previous chapter. i appreciate constructive criticism... quite especially in "Review" form. thanks!

Until Next Time,

-Olly-BaaBaa-Chan