Our Dark Waltz Chapter 3: How You Turned My World Upside Down, a naruto fanfic

Chapter 2: How You Turned My World Upside Down

The same night…

Gaara lay on the hospital bed, arms crossed. The retrieval of the Uchiha had not gone well for all teams. Rock Lee had been persistent in fighting Kimimaro, despite his wounds from the Chunin Exams awhile back. Gaara had created those wounds but Lee and Gaara had come to an understanding afterwards. Kimimaro had been difficult and Gaara had felt anger from Shukaku nearly rise up after performing the Sand Waterfall Imperial Waterfall. Anger he buried deep after Kimimaro met his own demise from his own lethal disease.

Blood! Punish him! Suck the flesh from his bones! KILL!

Gaara opened his eyes and clenched his fists. His control had improved greatly with Shukaku, but when weakened or close to sleep the monster still rose. He rose angry at being denied and controlled. Gaara let out a sigh and sat up. Even closing his eyes became pointless right now. He needed out, somewhere, anywhere but in this bed in this confining room.

He closed his eyes and raised two fingers to his nose. Sand swirled from his gourd by the wall and created the Third Eye, which scouted the hallway. No one. Gaara swung from the bed with relative ease and strapped his gourd on his back. He casually strode from the room and came upon the large window at the end. With a blink of an eye and a hand signal, his body shifted into sand and swirled out of the window into the dark night.

XXXXXX

The grass was soft and the small flowers beside it were lovely at night. Hinata crouched down by her favorite spot she went to after training and on days off when she wasn't helping Sakura-san with anything in the hospital. She had grown to like the medical jutsu style and helping the injured and sick, especially children. Young genin and students appealed to her the most at the hospital. Sakura had shown her some medical arts the Hokage had taught her and she had soared from there.

With her Byakugan, she could see the chakra flowing and even the tenketsu that had been damaged or disrupted in some way. Hinata would help Sakura find the points and send chakra to heal the disrupted flows. Even though she proved useful, Father did not approve of it. The Hokage had even put in a word for her, impressed with her skill and her joy in helping the young ones. Father still shot it down, wanting Hinata to be a true fighting shinobi. Father still believed her to be weak, but he would approve of her improvement in taijutsu or with the Gentle Fist with a nod before stopping training.

So it was a surprise that Father let her go out at night to her special spot to meditate and eat small snacks she prepared, sometimes for Ko when he came which happened to be a lot since her near kidnapping not long ago. She knew Neji and Ko did not approve by their faces, but they did not say anything. Her face dropped into a frown and her eyes watered at the sight of their expressions. She did not like lying, even though she knew she hadn't said anything.

But it feels like lying. I wish honesty from others as I try to be. Neji-nii-san thinks I am too nice, but I-I try to be honest. I wish I could tell them both, Hinata muttered in her mind.

Great, now she was stuttering in her own brain. She shook her head and readied herself for what she really came her for. Something she had been coming there to do for many weeks. She tentatively took off her heavy jacket and let it lay off to the side in the grass by the tall oak tree. After a few breaths, she stood in the middle of the clearing of trees and closed her eyes. Hinata steadied her breathing and calmed her body, feeling the live creatures moving in the forest and their life force.

"Byakugan!"

Hinata opened her eyes, the chakra filled veins pulsing along her temples. Everything around her become clear and sharp. She could see the chakra flow of each creature, large and small. Placing her palms together, she summoned the chakra slowly into her palms and focused intently. The soft blue aura emerged along her palms, casting its eerie glow in the darkness. It grew brighter and brighter as she pressed her hands closer together.

Focus, focus, focus Hinata. You can do this. You are not weak, you are strong. You can change. Think of Naruto and his determination.

With that thought, she felt the stream of chakra flow through her body much more quickly and into her palms. A ripping pain suddenly went through her head and she let out a sharp cry, going down on her knees. She had tried too hard, gone too far, and stretched the limits of her vision out too far. Again. She curled up into a ball and felt tears sting her eyes. The veins retracted and the glow in her palms disappeared.

"I-I try so hard. I want to change..." Hinata sobbed softly.

Rubbing her eyes hard, she took a shaky breath and the memory came back. One she didn't want to return. One she hid from all her friends and family. Even Naruto. It had happened not long ago and left a strange eerie feeling in her body when she thought of it.

Two days earlier…

Hinata had been practicing her chakra control, as Neji- nii- san and Father had been teaching her. She had stood on the surface of the water, letting the chakra from the rushing water of the waterfall flow into her body. She hadn't told them about her secret training by the waterfall near the outskirts of Konoha, close to the carved faces of the late honored Hokages in the mountain. She had been so close to feeling the chakra build in her hands and her focus on even the smallest bug had been pinpoint.

Then she sensed a strong chakra nearby, something dark and angry. She had quickly activated her Byakugan and stretched her vision to a small figure running through the woods soon after she stopped practicing. She had quickly placed her jacket back on and strapped her pouch of kunai back on then followed quietly. The chakra felt familiar, something she sensed at the Chunin Exams. She had kept at a distance quietly, bounding from tree limb to tree limb until reaching the edge of the village. She had silently gasped upon seeing the person, her Byakugan retracting.

Uchiha Sasuke, Naruto's teammate.

She had recognized him by his familiar Uchiha crest on his back and his dark wild hair flaring in the back like a flame. He was talking to Sound nin and the conversation looking serious and tense. Though she couldn't hear, she knew by Sasuke's face, it looked like he was considering their words deeply by how his brows narrowed and his thin tight mouth. Hinata knew she should not be there. She needed to leave but her legs felt like jelly and her breathing had escalated.

Run now!

Run Hinata!

Once Sasuke had turned around, Hinata found the ability to silently run and swiftly return to the village. She ran until she reached the Hyuga compound and only then could she slow down and bend to rest her hands on her knees. She took deep breaths and stood shakily to rest her sweaty hand on her heart. She felt her breathing become erratic, her vision becoming blurry. Her head felt weak, the Byakugan retracted long ago.

I must tell Naruto were her last thoughts before her vision blackened and she fainted on the steps of the compound.

She had awoken in her bed surrounded by Neji, Hanabi, and Ko. She felt weak, her eyes barely open. Her clothes had been changed to a simple white yukata and her arm bandaged. How had she hurt myself? Tree branch. She barely heard Neji tell her Kurenai was waiting in the foyer with that 'annoying' Inuzuka boy and the silent one, meaning Shino. She didn't remember getting up but she did remember seeing Kurenai's concerned red eyes. Kiba had given her a hug, Akamura whining, and Shino beside her silent. Kiba had been loudly shouting asking what had happened and who did that and who did he need to pound down. Kurenai had silenced him then asked the same questions.

She could only whisper she had pushed herself too hard while training and fainted on the steps of the compound. Kiba had crossed his arms and scolded her for pushing herself too much, that it was hurting her. Shino had only said she must be careful and Kurenai had told her she had improved so much but she must know when to stop.

They had left after Kurenai placed a hand in her own and then left. It took much persuading but Father eventually let her train with her team later that day after much scolding, frowning and then hard silence. She had trained hard that day, even blocking a few chakra points on Kiba before unblocking them. Naruto had come by to slap her on the back and say hi. He had not looked his normal self but kept his normal loud cheery self up and Sakura looked worried. Eventually training ended late with the team eating at the local ramen shop. Byes had been exchanged and Hinata had left late after breaking up a small argument between Kiba and Shino. Kiba didn't let Shino's normal one-word responses, as usual.

Hinata wandered down the empty street, her mind foggy and scattered. She had found herself suddenly near the Uchiha district and squinted to see a figure along the walls. Before she could recognize the person, she found herself pulled and pressed against a wall with a kunai against her throat. It was the Uchiha. His red and black eyes were spinning, the Sharingan activated. His face was drawn into the most hateful expression she had seen since she fought Neji in the Chunin Exams. She felt her lips tremble and her eyes looking away.

"Look at me, Hyuga. I know you saw me. I am not stupid."

His voice had been so dark and laced with rage that her eyes snapped to him.

"I-I"

"That stutter is annoying, did you know that?"Sasuke snorted sarcastically, pressing the kunai closer. "You tremble. Do I scare you, Hyuga Hinata?"

Hinata had gulped and tried to control her shaking hands, keeping eye contact with his spinning eyes. She had suddenly heard the sound of birds chirping and seen a growing flash of white and blue. Was this…the Chidori?

"N-no."

" Tch. "

Before he could move a hand, Hinata had activated her Byakugan and moved her hands quickly and pressed them against tenketsu points in his arm and one along his shoulder.

"I-I am not a-afraid. "

Sasuke's eyes had shown a glimpse of surprise, at least so she had thought before he smirked at her. A dark chuckle had left him then.

"I see."

"Y-you hurt Naruto. I-I h-heard about your f-fight. Teammates d-do not hurt o-other teammates."Hinata had whispered firmly.

Sasuke had snarled then and the Chidori grew even brighter. "You are wasting your time so shut up."

Hinata had taken a breath then closed her eyes before barely whispering to him the words she knew had etched something into him.

"Will your anger fade after you make this choice? After you complete your mission?"

He had paused then, his mouth opened before he yelled at her that he did not choose his path, how he was meant to be what he was and she was too stupid to understand.

" We c-choose our p-path." Hinata had retorted, regretting the words as his Chidori flashed brighter. While she waited for the deathblow, she felt her hands wobble and her Byakugan begin to retract in fear that had started to escape. What she did not expect was the chirping fading to nothing and silence follow after. His breathing had evened out.

"Tch. Taking out a weakling isn't even worth it."

The kunai had left her throat and as he turned to leave, he tilted his head with only the side of his face showing.

"You will not follow. You will not tell anyone, got it Hyuga?

Her eyes had watered and her hands had gone to her chest then. The Byakugan had retracted. After her eyes followed his Uchiha crest on his back until he disappeared into the night, she left out a sob and fell to her knees trembling. She had not been there long until a desperate and terrified Sakura had come upon her. Sakura quickly checked out Hinata for any wounds while Hinata stuttered out what had happened. Sasuke had run off to join Orochimaru and those Sound nin.

Hinata could not bear to hear Sakura's breath hitch before she ran off to follow Sasuke and leave a sobbing Hinata on the street. Hinata had made it home then and gone to her bedroom to pass out on her bed, wanting to forget the night.

Hinata shook her head and got off the grass. She would come back later, tomorrow night. She swept her shoulder length hair off her face and grabbed her jacket then looked up at the glowing moon. She let out a soft sad smile then trekked her way back home, but not before cutting off a flower with her kunai. She would press it later and maybe use it for tea or her collection. Yes, thinking about that made her clutch her jacket tighter to her chest.

XXXXXX

Gaara dropped his hand, the grains of sand swirling back into his gourd. He had been sitting atop a building close to the outskirts of the village, his mind blank until he had sensed a being walking through the forest. His Third Eye had detected a female, definitely shinobi by the headband around her neck, and watched her casually as she went into a clearing. It was then that Gaara had edged closer and narrowed his eyes to watch this kunoichi begin what was clearly some sort of training. That's when he noticed the white eyes and pale skin. One of the Hyuga clan members, he thought then and had decided to casually watch. A weak Hyuga member as well until he felt all the chakra energy flowing around him and in her clearing.

He watched with a raised brow as she collapsed on the ground for what seemed like hours. He had wondered if she had fallen asleep from wearing herself out. If so, then she was very weak. He had tsked to himself and crossed his arms to close his eyes and meditate until she stood and turned around to glance up at the moon.

Those eyes, they are eyes of loneliness and deep sadness.

Gaara stood then and pressed his hand to his kanji tattoo on his temple. A headache had ripped through and rushed down his spine, tackling him unsuspectingly. This was familiar…now he waited for the beast inside to speak to him. Gaara's pulse raced and he gritted his teeth in pain.

It quickly left, leaving him shocked and he was hardly one to be shocked. Gaara then ran his hand over his tattoo once more and dropped it to his side, letting the night breeze caress his hair and sweep his flaring coat out beside him. The sand had returned to his gourd, the Third Eye long gone. Gaara watched her cut a flower, his face blank, before he became a swirl of sand and disappeared.