Author's note: I'm very sorry for the long wait and I hope you have stuck with me. My father-in-law was in the hospital for about five months, finally passing on in early October. We were very close. Then, we had to deal with getting through the first holidays without him along with trying to get on with our lives and school and having to move because our boss got evicted and we were her live in nannies. It's been a rough year and I'm afraid it left me with little drive to work on my fanfiction and less time to watch anime for inspiration. However, things are going better now and I have not given up on this story! I've put too much work into it to abandon it. I also really appreciate all the reviews and encouragement to continue. This isn't betaed so please point out any glaring errors I may have missed in my proofreading (because it's three AM and my brain is mush).

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything related to it except for some dvds and a Shikamaru patch on one of my purses. I sewed it on myself. ^_^ I'm poor and suing me isn't worth the time and energy it would take. I make no money. Period. I seriously need a job.

Without further ado, I present chapter three.

Sandstorms and Falling Leaves

Chapter 3: Discovery Part Two

The Hyuuga compound was not difficult to find. Gaara asked directions from a shopkeeper but she could have spotted the imposing wall surrounding the place from any rooftop in town.

She pulled the rope next to the gate and listened to it ring a bell just inside the wall, before crossing her arms and stepping back to wait.

She wasn't kept waiting long before a young man with distinctive Hyuuga eyes opened the gate. He bowed hastily when he realized who she was.

"Kazekage-sama, how can I help you?" He asked politely.

"Hinata Hyuuga, is she in?"

"Of course." The man gestured and a second guard detached himself from behind the wall, flitting off into the complex to retrieve the young leaf chunin.

Gaara remained perfectly still as she waited. Her lack of fidgeting seemed to be disconcerting to the guard, which she found strangely amusing. 'One would think he'd be more concerned if I moved.' She thought to herself curiously.

Five minutes later, the second guard returned with Hinata trailing after him.

"K-kazekage-sama," She stammered nervously as she bowed. "You w-wanted to see m-me?"

"I have something to discuss with you, privately." Gaara said calmly, her eyes flicking to the waiting guards.

"Oh...um...okay." The blue haired ninja nodded slowly before stepping out into the dusty street. "I know a p-place we can t-talk."

The large gate swung silently closed behind them as Gaara folowed the Hyuuga girl away. They came to a stop about ten minutes later at a small field just outside the village walls.

"No one but my team uses this training area." Hinata announced quietly.

Gaara nodded, trying to decide how best to approach the subject she needed to discuss.

"So...um...w-what did you need to t-talk to m-me about?"

The redhead frowned as she realized she was going to have to be perfectly honest if Hinata was going to be able to try and help her at all.

"Tsunade-san said you would be the best choice to help me with my training." She said bluntly.

"M-me?" Hinata squeaked as pale, pupiless eyes widened in confusion and shock. "Why?"

"Because you can see chakra networks." Gaara took a deep breath. "Look at me and tell me what you see."

Hinata frowned in confusion, but activated her byakugan and studied the redhead intently. She blinked, trying to clear her vision and gasped when the image didn't change.

"Gaara-sama." She breathed. "You...you've got two completely separate chakra networks. I've never seen anything like it."

She released her jutsu and looked into uncomfortable aqua colored eyes.

"You see why I came to you." The petite redhead stared at a point just to the left of Hinata's head, unable to meet her eyes. 'She has no reason to help you. You nearly destroyed her village once.' She berated herself silently.

Hinata smiled shyly, "What can I do to help?" She asked sweetly.

Gaara blinked, her self-deprecating thoughts interrupted by the question. She gave a one shouldered shrug. "Perhaps if you watch me perform some jutsus and tell me what my chakra is doing?" She suggested. "Hopefully something will present itself."

Hinata nodded and they got straight to work, spending the rest of the day with the redhead performing minor jutsus and the Hyuuga girl watching with her byakugan and making suggestions and comments.

They stopped only a couple of times: once when the blue-haired girl's teammates came by to check on her and she politely sent them away, which the young Suna ninja was grateful for. The second time they stopped was to eat a quick lunch.

By sunset they had discovered that one of the chakra networks was much weaker than the other, almost like that of a normal person rather than a ninja. That was the source of chakra that Gaara was currently using and it wasn't enough for any of her larger jutsus.

"I think..." Hinata stopped, too shy to voice her opinion.

"Go on."

"Maybe the d-demon made that second chakra system and you've never used your natural chakra pathways at all. It would explain why they're so weak." The leaf ninja finished softly, afraid she might have offended the other girl with her idea.

Gaara only nodded, it made sense. "With the loss of Shukaku I automatically began drawing from my own chakra system which isn't strong enough."

"Right." The blue haired girl smiled shyly.

"Now..." Gaara considered the problem for a minute. "How do I switch back? Or maybe find a way to connect the two networks?" She scowled, frustrated. 'Why can't anything in my life ever be simple?'

"I'm sorry." Hinata averted her eyes, upset by her failure. "I don't know."

Gaara noted the purple clad ninja's expression and smoothed the scowl from her own. "It's fine." She said with a shrug. "I didn't expect to fix it in a day. Can you meet me here tomorrow?"

"Sure." the leaf girl rewarded her efforts with a small smile.

"See you then."

Over the next several days, the Hyuuga heiress and the young Kazekage developed a tenuous friendship. At first, Gaara was terrified of scaring the girl away so she made an extra effort to be polite. Hinata responded to the kindness by opening up a little, allowing the redhead to realize there was a great deal going on inside the painfully shy girl. As the days passed, Hinata stammered less and they talked more. Gaara didn't even have to work at being nice to her, it started to come naturally. It was inevitable that the conversation would eventually turn to a certain hyperactive leaf ninja who was highly important to both of them.

They were sitting beneath a tree, taking a break after Gaara had attempted one of her more taxing jutsus, when Hinata brought the subject up.

"Um, Gaara-san." The pale lavender eyes were locked on her nervously fidgeting fingers. "You and Naruto-kun are friends, ne?"

Gaara hesitated. 'Are we more than that? He did kiss me...but we haven't been on a date since that first one in Suna...maybe he changed his mind...'

"Gaara-san?" Hinata prompted, unaware that she had asked such a difficult question.

"Hn. Yes, we're friends."

"He...um...how-how is he? I've hardly s-seen him since he got b-back." The blue haired girl blurted, blushing fiercely.

"He's training for the chunin exam." Gaara said slowly, trying to understand her new friend's odd behavior. "I haven't seen him in a couple of days but he was fine then."

"Th-that's good. I...um...everyone really missed him while he was away." Hinata's face matched Gaara's hair almost perfectly. "Has...has Naruto-kun...you seem to have talked to him more than I have...has...does he have a girlfriend?"

Gaara's eyes went wide. 'Oh. She likes him.' That explained a lot. 'No wonder he hasn't bothered with me since he's been home. She's everything a guy could want: pretty, nice, rich, never been a psychotic murderer, she sleeps, and she's a leaf. Of course he'll choose her.'

"He used to be really hung up on Sakura, but I overheard her telling Ino that he might be interested in someone else." The pale eyes seemed to cut right through Gaara's thoughts as the Hyuuga girl met her eyes nervously. "Do you know who it could be?"

The redhead's features slipped into a controlled mask, blank of all emotion. "Hinata, you should ask Naruto about that." Gaara could feel her own heart breaking but she knew it was for the best. She was already so messed up, a broken heart would make little difference. Hinata deserved better. Naruto deserved better. "I...I can't say how he feels, but..." She stood and turned away so the overly perceptive girl wouldn't catch the conflicted emotions in her eyes about what she was suggesting. "Even if he does like someone else, you should tell him how you feel. He might decide you're the better option. I...I'll see you tomorrow."

The redhead fled the clearing, feeling utterly sick about what she had just done. 'Idiot, she can have anyone she wants and you just gave her your only chance at happiness. Stupid! Of course he'll choose her over me. I couldn't be more screwed up if I worked at it.' She snarled and punched a nearby tree, sending a shockwave up it that rained leaves down all around her. 'I'm not feminine or pretty or sweet or domestic.' She snorted, 'Okay, I'm more domestic than he is but that's not saying much. I'm not even powerful anymore.' Her punches struck the tree with every point her mind dredged up. 'I can't sleep for more than an hour or two without waking up screaming. I'm from a different village. If I manage to keep my position as Kazekage, he would have to give up everything to stay with me. He wouldn't be able to realize his dream of becoming Hokage. I have absolutely nothing to offer him as a wife.'

She froze in her tracks, poised to strike the tree again. "When did I start planning to marry Naruto?" She mumbled to herself before shaking her head to clear it. "Forget it. He'll choose her and it will be better for him. No one deserves to be shackled to me. I'll only hurt him." Saying the words out loud seemed to help her convince herself and the redhead left for her apartment, too caught up in her own emotions to notice the wide eyed Hyuuga heiress in a tree not too far away.

Hinata clamped her hands over her mouth and tears rolled out of lavender eyes as she listened to the redhead talk. She had followed to find out what had upset her new friend, and now she knew.

'She's the one Sakura was talking about. Why didn't I see it before?' the leaf ninja thought, feeling stupid. 'And she's willing to give him up to make him happy.' Hinata sighed, she knew Naruto better than most people, including the young sand ninja. "He won't choose me over you. I've lost him."

Hinata sat on that branch for a long time before she resigned herself to what needed to be done.

The next morning, Hinata found Naruto at Ichiraku. She took a deep breath, feeling more calm than she had ever felt in his presence.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Oh, hey Hinata-chan." The blonde boy smiled cheerfully at her. "I hear you've been helping Gaara with her training. Is it going well?"

"Sure." Hinata's heart crumbled a bit as his question confirmed her own conclusions. He was definitely more interested in the redhead than in her. "Naruto-kun, w-would you please come with me? I need to tell you something."

"Okay sure." The orange clad boy inhaled the last of his breakfast and paid his bill before leaving the small shop and following the blue haired ninja.

Hinata led him to the small training area she and Gaara had been using. Naruto was chattering on excitedly about his own recent training but for once she wasn't really listening to him. She knew the other girl would be arriving any minute and that was exactly the way she wanted it. Hinata wanted Gaara to see Naruto's reaction to her confession first hand. The shy ninja had faith in Naruto's innate loyalty. She kept her back turned to the yellow haired boy so he wouldn't see that she had activated her byakugan. She didn't have to wait long. Less than thirty seconds had passed when she spotted the Suna ninja approaching from the direction they had come.

'Perfect.' Hinata decided that the redhead was close enough to hear them and released her jutsu before turning to face the boy she had pined for half her life. "Naruto-kun." She interrupted him gently.

"Yeah Hinata-chan?" He asked, stopping in mid sentence when she spoke.

"I love you." She blurted, feeling lightheaded and weak from finally saying the words.

"Oh..." His smile fell.

The Hyuuga heiress spotted Gaara watching quietly from a tree nearby. The redhead looked stricken.

"Hinata...I'm really sorry." Naruto shook his head sadly. "I have somebody else."

"Who?" The tears rolling from her eyes were real, despite hours of planning the night before. Some tiny part of her had still hoped she'd be wrong.

"I shouldn't say." Naruto scratched his neck. "I'm not sure she wants anyone to know. It could really hurt her position..." He trailed off sadly, unable to say more without giving Gaara's identity away.

"Please, I need to know." Hinata pleaded. "I won't tell anyone."

Gaara suddenly moved to stand beside Naruto. Disbelief and gratitude for what the leaf girl had shown her crossed her face before she covered them. "You can tell her." She said quietly.

Naruto blinked in surprise at the Suna ninja's sudden appearance, but he smile softly at her and took her hand before turning back to face Hinata.

"I see." The Hyuuga girl preempted his words, not needing anything more to make her point. "I hope you make each other happy. You both deserve it." She told them sincerely, despite the tears that continued to roll silently down her cheeks.

"Hinata..." Gaara tried but found no words to express what she wanted to say.

"I'll be okay, Gaara-san. If we can just skip training today, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" The girl wiped her lavender eyes and fled into the trees.

"Come on, Gaara." Naruto gave the sand ninja's hand a gentle tug. "You can train with Matsuri and me for today." He was worried about Hinata but he knew that going after her would only make things worse. She needed time.

Gaara nodded and the worried couple left the clearing.

Hinata made it about a hundred yards before her tears made her unable to see where she was going and she sank to the ground, rather than risk running headfirst into a tree. She wasn't certain how long she had been sitting there sobbing when she felt someone crouch down in front of her.

She lifted her head from her hands and rubbed her eyes until she could see...and found herself staring into shiny black lenses. "Shino-kun."

"Hinata." The insect ninja slowly pulled his hands from his pockets and hesitantly held open his arms.

"Oh, Shino." Hinata practically dove into the confort he was offering, knocking him off his feet as she threw herself against his chest.

Shino embraced his sobbing teammate silently, knowing nothing he could say would help. The broken hearted girl cried herself to sleep in his arms and he just sat there for hours, watching over her.

When the shy girl woke up, mid afternoon, she found herself still snuggled against her taciturn teammate. She blushed and pulled away from him. "Sorry Shino-kun."

"Don't mention it."

She couldn't decide whether he was just being polite or if he actually didn't want her to ever mention the event again, so she erred on the side of caution and changed the subject. "H-how did you find me?"

Though it was hard to tell with so much of his face covered, she almost thought he looked embarrassed. "I had some of my insects watching the clearing...in case someone attacked you or the Kazekage." It was a perfectly reasonable, logical precaution.

"Oh." The Hyuuga girl blushed. "So you know everything that happened?"

He nodded.

"I'm an idiot, aren't I?"

Shino shook his head. "No...but you're better off without him." He held up his hand to forestall the explosion he saw swelling in her at his perceived slight to the yellow haired ninja. "He's like a lantern and you're like a moth." He said carefully.

"What?" Pupiless eyes blinked at him in confusion.

He hastened to explain. "Moths are quiet and soft. A moth is drawn to a lantern because the lantern is bright and warm but a moth can never touch that fire. The lantern cannot see the moth to return it's attention because it's too caught up in trying to make itself shine. The lantern is even so bright that, even though the moth may be beautiful and unique, all anyone looking can see is a lantern and a shadow as long as she stays close to it."

The shy girl frowned.

"But when the moth moves away from the bright light, everyone notices it's beautiful colors." The young Aburame finished quietly. "You deserve better than to be someone's shadow, Hinata."

The blue haired ninja nodded slowly. 'Leave it to Shino to compare me to a bug and make it sound so nice.' She managed a watery smile for his effort. It really was a beautiful analogy. "Thank you, Shino-kun."

He nodded and stood, offering a hand to help her up. "Of course, I can still put fleas in his bed for you if you want." He offered seriously.

"Shino!" Hinata gasped. "Don't you dare!" But she giggled a little at the thought.

Shino smiled behind his high collar at the sound. She'd be alright. 'Mission accomplished.'

When Gaara headed for the clearing the next morning she wasn't totally sure the blue haired ninja was going to show up, so she was surprised to find the young Hyuuga heiress already waiting for her.

"Good morning, Gaara-san." Hinata greeted her with a smile that looked only slightly forced.

"Hinata." The young Kazekage hesitated. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." The leaf ninja smiled again as Shino's story drifted through her mind. "It probably wouldn't have worked out anyway. It was just a childhood crush and it's time for me to grow up." She wasn't sure who she was convincing but it was pretty good logic. "So, I was thinking maybe if we tried exhausting your regular chakra first, it might make it easier for you to access the rest of it."

Gaara nodded, acknowledging both the change of subject and the idea. 'That shouldn't be too hard.' She thought wryly. 'I'm already exhausted.'

To be continued...

Another author's note: I hope you all aren't too disappointed with this chapter. I really like parts of it and can't think of anything better to do in others so there it is. Let me know what you think, please! The next chapter will shift the focus solidly back to Gaara but Hinata's crush needed to be addressed and her reaction dealt with (and Shino volunteered for that job, isn't he a sweetie?). ^_^ I hope at least some of my lovely reviewers are still reading this. I'm sorry again for the long wait. Please leave a review so I know you're still there or even if you're just joining the fun. Thank you very much for sticking with me. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon.

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