Title Displacement
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Drama/Romance
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Hell was full and so was Heaven, there was no place to put him. By default, he would go to Hell, but due to last minute soul transformations, he could score a place in Heaven if he proved himself in the mortal world. SPOILERS. Gaara/Hinata.
Chapter One

Displacement
Chapter One

It ripped through him, a violent shudder with no sound. He was reverting, time passing so fast that it hitched his last breaths. He felt his knees buckle and he tried hard not to scream; only receiving tears as recompense for his emotions. Falling to his smaller knees, he felt tiny hands wipe desperately at his cheeks, the gourd on his back considerably lighter than it had been beforehand. Then he stretched out on the ground and found himself wailing. There were strange people around him, and by the tones of their voices he was sure one was his father.

"… save the village," his father finished.

"But, Kazekage-sama - " a hesitant voice protested.

"Do it." It was an order from the highest man of power in Suna up until only a few years ago.

"He's - " the voice protested weakly, shaking with the word.

"Do you want this opportunity to pass?!" the baby's father roared. "Gaara is - "

Yet, before anyone could say anything more, the redhead slammed into the ground on all fours, back to what he knew he was. His greenish eyes surveyed his surroundings before he cautiously stood. Brushing off his Kazekage robes, Gaara noted the odd landscape before him and tried to judge where he was. There was a road that seemed to be stretching through the clouds. Looking off to his left, he noted a line that led up to an impressive ancient Chinese-style palace. He watched as another person slammed to the road before joining the line of people headed towards the building.

Seeing a lack of options, Gaara soon joined the line. Sometimes the line moved quickly and other times it seemed to drag on forever. There was a man sitting on a trunk, a woman with a baby on her back, and other people from all over the world. They stretched up to the building that seemed to gain another religious symbol as they moved. Never needing religion before, Gaara recognized symbols that meant things to his people but meant nothing to him.

Finally the man with the trunk disappeared to Heaven and it was the Kazekage's turn. A large giant squinted his eyes down at Gaara, hair covering his massive arms and face. Finally the giant said as though he was going to tack something onto it, "Gaara of the Desert," but then he paused and then opened a large book at his side, flipping through the pages. He had trouble locating a page, his meaty fingers not made for separating two statically charged papers, but finally he ran a finger down a list of names and looked down at the fifteen-year-old. "You have nowhere to go," he finished the sentence.

"Every so millennia or so, we run into this problem," the giant Enma-sama explained. "This book contains the death dates of everyone living in the world. When they arrive, their name glows so that they're easier to find and place." He met Gaara's eyes as he continued, "However, some people die too late or too early, so the place we fixed in Heaven or Hell for them isn't open.

"You, Gaara of the Desert, were to die almost a decade ago," Enma-sama stated, "but you survived, something that isn't uncommon amongst some carriers of the Jinchûriki I might add." He sighed. "So your place was taken by someone who died too early. However, this isn't a problem. We could easily put you in Limbo while you wait, but there are circumstances that come to light that might change where we were to place you years ago."

Gaara's gaze didn't wavier and his eternal reaction to the words didn't show on his features. He chose to remain silent for the time being since it seemed to be the best way to gain information at the moment.

"I will turn you over to my assistant Hamaru-san," Enma-sama motioned to a creature standing near his podium. "He'll explain everything to you." Then the large god declared, "Next!"

Gaara walked over to the creature. It was about his height with hunched shoulders and a lizard's face. Down its back and tail, it had spikes that were shaped like spades that went from small to big and then back to small. Its small clawed hands gripped a clipboard and it's scaly kangaroo-like legs bounced slightly as he hopped up to the shinobi. "Good evening, Gaara of the Desert," Hamaru-san stated. "Let's step over here and I'll explain what is going on to you."

Gaara followed him cautiously, looking over his shoulder at Enma-sama before turning his attention to the odd looking talking lizard.

"According to these files, you were to die on the night that your uncle Yashamaru attacked you," the lizard stated without much consideration as he looked through the papers on the clipboard. "However, Shukaku helped protect you from him and he died instead." The lizard sighed. "I remember that somewhat. It would have been a better trade off if you were both going to the same place since he died early." Finally the lizard looked over at Gaara. "Your place is Hell, but we filled that with someone who died early. Right now, Hell is backed up several hundred people and we need to begin negotiations to get you a spot down there." The lizard paused and then raised a scaly eyebrow. "You seem rather calm for someone who's assigned to Hell."

Gaara regarded him and then responded, "I know where I'm going. There's no point in worrying or causing a scene. I have known this since before I was supposed to die."

Hamaru-san didn't blink or shudder as some people Gaara knew might have. The instant faces began appearing in front of him, Gaara chased them away. He was dead now and there was no point in dwelling on what was now merely a past life.

"Anyway, due to recent events, you can get a place in Heaven that will come up before the place in Hell," Hamaru-san announced. "That is, if you want to take it."

"Either works," Gaara answered. He knew he would be stuck in Limbo no matter what he chose.

"Pick one," Hamaru sighed. "It's important."

"Heaven," Gaara replied. Since that was the earlier opening, he knew that meant less time in Limbo. From what he remembered hearing, Limbo sounded extremely boring.

"Alright, good choice," Hamaru-san stated. "Now, we need to get you ready to go to Earth."

Gaara decided now was the time to ask questions, otherwise he would get no information. "Why Earth?"

The lizard gave him a 'don't you know anything?' look. "If you want to get to Heaven, you have to finish what you were doing on Earth." He motioned his head towards a door. "Follow me, I'll explain as we go to the preparation room."

Gaara debated his options and then followed Hamaru-san with his eyes on his guide at all times.

"Towards the end of your life, you began to change," Hamaru-san explained. "All the demonic and sadistic nature was greatly diminished until it was purely Shukaku that was keeping it within you. Of course that was close to when you died so we haven't seen all that your soul is capable of. That last act to save your village can go either way since you were captured in the middle of it all." He paused as though talking and walking took extra thinking. "Anyway, if you want to go to Heaven, you have to go back to Earth and prove yourself. If you are deemed unworthy by the time the position opens up, you'll be sent straight to Limbo to await the opening in Hell."

When Hamaru-san looked at Gaara, the teenager purposefully nodded to show he was listening.

Satisfied, the lizard kept his bounds subdued and then he stopped outside of a door. Checking the words that Gaara didn't recognize against the paper in his hands, Hamaru-san nodded. "Here we are." He knocked on the door and soon it opened. Hamaru-san spoke in a foreign tongue to a different kind of creature inside the room. Finally the creature looked over at Gaara. "Gaara of the Desert," the snow hare with gloved hands and webbed feet spoke with a thick accent on his Japanese, "please come in."

Gaara followed the rabbit creature into the room, noticing that it duck-walked. Hamaru-san shut the door, leaving the pair in the room alone. The room was lavish and carpeted with futons, cushion chairs, and other fluffy fuchsia colored furniture everywhere. "I am James," the creature told him, "but everyone calls me James-san." James-san waddled over to a stool far into the room in front of a large mirror with spotlights around it. "Come have a seat, we have to take care of some things before you can move on to the next part."

Gaara regarded him for a moment and then followed. James-san instructed him to sit on the stool in front of the mirror and then James-san scrutinized Gaara's face. "You have the worst bags I've ever seen…" he cocked his head, "or you don't have a clue about mascara."

Gaara gave him a dangerous and well-practiced death glare. James-san was unfazed. "Oh well, we'll have to get rid of them of course. Otherwise, those humans will recognize you." He rummaged through the top left drawer as Gaara looked at himself in the mirror. Like religion, Gaara never bothered with mirrors. He trusted that running a comb through his hair would straighten it out without him having to look at it. The marks of the badger demon, two tailed Shukaku made him look away in thought. Closing his eyes, he frowned as he searched within himself. Shukaku wasn't there, unless she was planning some elaborate payback for the Atatsuki capture.

"You had a Jinchûriki inside of you, right?" James-san asked as he mixed some things together. He glanced at Gaara and nodded. "I thought as much. Don't worry about the demon, when you died, he was sent back to his true form." James-san inspected his concoction and then said, "Now, I'm going to put this on your marks. It's going to sting, but we have to remove them."

Gaara looked in the mirror and tried not to look away at the Badger markings. He wanted to remember them even if it meant pain. Shukaku had been a part of him for all his life after all. He closed his eyes at James-san's instruction but kept his guard up. The concoction stung, but he weathered it. James-san spoke constant reassurances, but Gaara rarely heard them. This was pain. He had always wondered and this had to be pain. It hurt - if that was the word for it - worse than when Lee and Naruto fought him.

"Alright, keep your eyes closed, I'm going to wash it out now," James-san cautioned before tilting Gaara's head under the sink. When the water hit his eyes, Gaara went to pull back but a burning sensation permeated through his body. His mind began racing for a solution as he went to call his sand to himself, but the gourd wasn't on his back any longer.


Finally, James-san pulled him back and turned off the water as the burning sensation continued and James-san gave Gaara a towel, the sensation ebbing away. "Sorry about that, Gaara of the Desert, but I couldn't have you attacking me."

"Where's my gourd?" Gaara growled, towel over his eyes.

"It will be returned to you when we leave the room," James-san explained. "After treating many a warrior, we learned to leave their weapons outside. Don't worry though, only you can see them and touch them." There was a pause and James-san added, "Wipe off the water and then we'll see if that worked."

Gaara dried his face and then blinked a few times before looking over at James-san. At first his vision was extremely blurry but after a bit it cleared back into its normal range.

"Good, good!" James-san clasped his hands. "It worked!" He made a motion with his hand. "Look in the mirror. What do you think?"

Gaara surveyed himself for the longest while. He still had his red hair, his greenish eyes, his nose, his mouth, but it all looked so different. Without thinking, he touched the area under his eyes as though he expected his skin to feel different without his markings. It didn't.

"I got rid of the inevitable dark circles," James-san smiled pleasantly. "I couldn't fix your eyebrows though."

"I don't need them," Gaara stated.

"I should change your hair and eyes, but I really don't want to. Rarely do I see them, you're so unique…" the creature murmured and then he said, "I can tweak them though since I'm supposed to change them after all. We can have people saying 'you look like someone I know' but not 'is that you, Gaara of the Desert?' and besides, I get paid for changing appearances."

James-san appraised his charge a moment and then said, "If I change the colors ever so slightly, they will still be unique but less so…" He nodded. "Alright, I know what to do to you now."

He rummaged through a drawer and then produced a stocking cap and swim goggles. "Put these on. This won't hurt this time, but the goggles might be a bit tight."

Gaara did so and then asked, "How long do I have to keep them on?"

"When the egg timer goes off - oh and close your eyes, please." He noted that the boy had done so and then James-san set the egg timer and began looking for something in another drawer. When the egg timer dinged, he told Gaara to take off the cap and goggles. After that, James-san said, "Look in the mirror. What do you think? I think it might be a bit too bright, but it can't be helped, unless you want orangey-red hair."

Gaara touched the strands of his longish hair that was now a bright flame red. He then studied his eyes that were now a dark green with a bit of gray around the edges. It reminded him of Temari's dark gray eyes. His mind chased the thought away before he could dwell on it.

"Well?" James-san prompted him. He didn't like the lack of speaking from his charge.

"It's okay," Gaara stated, taking the hint.

"Okay?" James-san stared. "Well, that doesn't matter because we have to cut your hair anyway."

After almost an hour of tweaking, James-san finally stepped back from his creation. "Stand up, let me take a look at you."

Gaara stood up, his hair now shorter much like it had been when he was younger but ever-so-slightly longer. His flame-red hair caught the light and his dark green-gray eyes seemed to avoid it. His hair was still pointed and spiky, and he still had no eyebrows.

"I guess that's the best I can do with you," James-san sighed regretfully. "Maybe Hilda-san can work with it." He led Gaara to the door and then said, "I can't leave this room, but if you go down the hall and turn left, you should find Hild-san. She always has her door open and her room smells like incense. You really can't miss it unless you can't smell or see."

Gaara nodded and strapped his gourd back on. Starting down the hall, he kept his eyes to the left especially when the smell of strong incense greeted him. After a few minutes more of walking with the scent growing even stronger, he finally came to a room decorated tastefully. A woman stood in front of him wearing clothes he had never seen before. She looked up when he entered without his gourd that was waiting for him outside now.

"Welcome!" She smiled brightly. "You must be Gaara of the Desert - we were talking about you in the coffee room." She gave him the once over and then she said, "Never ever wear that color ever again. It's hideous!" She grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him towards a set of curtains at the far end of the room. "In there now! Oh and don't go into the first three I have people already in those."

As soon as Gaara closed the curtain, clothes flew at him over the top of the cubicle. "Put these on. I suggest you do not mix the blue with the black, which only works for some people, but not everyone. Oh and this," she threw a necklace at him. "You look like the type to like Gothic clothing. Ever considered piercing something? Oh! I need to check on someone. Try on those things and I'll come back to you in a bit."

Gaara looked down at the clothes everywhere. There were some on his head, in his arms and most were on the floor or the seat built into the corner of the cubicle. He picked up the clothes and set them on the hooks in the room and then surveyed them. He picked out black pants and a long sleeved black jacket that was long and flared. On the hanger with the jacket he found a red scarf-like decoration. He eyed it a moment and then looked down at the necklace on the floor. It clipped so that there was a black string around his upper neck and another loop that ended down past his collarbone. On the bottom loop there was a silver pendant about half the size of a sand dollar with the Kanji for Kage on it. Gaara eyed it and then clipped it in the back. It hung comfortably enough and didn't look too bad.

"How are you doing?" Hilda-san's voice asked from behind the curtain.

Gaara pulled the curtain back. He watched her blue eyes appraise him and then she frowned. "Where's the band?" She looked in the cubicle and then pulled out the red scarf-like article. "This will help you carry around that gourd of yours." She looped it over his head and across his chest. Fastening the clasps, she stepped back and appraised the clothing. "That looks good, very good. Too bad you can't wear it in your child form."

Gaara looked at her. "Child form?"

"Oh didn't you know? Whenever you go down to Earth for whatever reason outside of reincarnation, you have two forms. That is because you need to conserve battle strength so depending on which side is stronger in you, you're a child during the day or night and what you are right now the other half of the time." She smiled. "So do you like this?"

Gaara shrugged. He didn't like the sound of going back and forth between a child and an adult, but whatever kept him out of Limbo.

"Alright then, it's time for you to get the full story from Len-san." She pointed him towards the door. "I think you can figure out how to hook up your gourd. Len-san will explain everything to you and activate the change."

Gaara left the clothing stop and continued down the hallway.

"Young man," a gentle voice called out to him. An old man with white hair smiled pleasantly. "I am Len-san. I take it that Hilda-san didn't tell you how to find me, right?" At Gaara's nod, the man motioned to the interior of his room. "You maybe keep your gourd when you come in here, it will be needed in what must be done next."

Gaara followed him deeper into the wood floor with rugs on the walls and floor. They finally stopped in the center of the room and Len-san began to speak again. "Gaara of the Desert, there are many things I'm sure that no one has explained to you. Hamaru-san never was one to tell someone all the implications before sending them on their way to James-san and Hilda-san." The elderly man met Gaara's eyes. "What you must understand is that by agreeing to go back down to Earth, you must give up things that go beyond your appearance."

He let that information hang in the air and then Len-san continued, "If you chose to continue, you will be given two forms. Since your power is most closely associated with Hell, during the day you will be a small boy of about four or five. You will not have your gourd and your shinobi skill will be depleted so that it is at the level you were when you were that age." He let that information sink in and then continued, "At night, you will have the power to turn into the form you are right now where you will be at your most powerful."

He noted Gaara's look and laughed to himself. "Ah youth. I know that look," Len-san declared as he turned away from the teenager. "You realize the disadvantages, don't you?"

Gaara waited a moment to see if he had to verbally answer. After a silence he finally shrugged.

Len-san tutted. "You realize that if you develop friendships or even a romantic relationship, if that person or people get into trouble when you can't transform into your true self - "

"I don't think that's going to be a problem," Gaara stated.

Len-san wagged a finger reprimanding and then he sighed. "You aren't the first to say such things." Len-san finally turned back to his charge. "But if you insist that you haven't a problem, step forward."

Without hesitation Gaara stepped forward. Len-san eyed him and then nodded. "Remember that this was fully your choice." Then he tapped his forehead.

Gaara felt white searing pain erupt all around him. He reflexively closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as tendrils of white flame encased his body. It twisted and constricted him, forcing the breath out of his lungs and pushed against his eyes and mouth as he felt himself begin to hover off the ground. He began to spin, his teeth clenching harder to resist throwing up with the fast motion. Finally he felt himself falling but the instant he seemed to register it, he landed with his feet.

"Feeling different?"

Gaara didn't give an answer but simply looked down at his hands and body. He was small. He was wearing that old sand colored outfit from when he was only five-years-old before he had to live with his siblings. His small mind chased thoughts of Temari and Kankuro away before they could progress back to memories of Yashamaru.

"Now to return to Earth, you must go through Ku-sama. He has the power to teleport people to the mortal world," Len-san instructed and then he smiled. "You can't transform back to your true form since it's the day time where you come from. Now, Ku-sama is down the hall and around the corner. Good luck to you."

Gaara began down the hallway and shifted his shoulders. He didn't have his gourd. In all the other places, he retrieved it once he left the room, but he didn't have that option right now. His pace quickened. He knew that he had some shinobi skills, but his major weapons and major jutsus came from the gourd. Vulnerable, Gaara finally made it around the corner and soon found Ku-sama's room.

Ku-sama was smaller, just a bit shorter than Gaara in his child form. He also had odd body proportions that Gaara had never seen on anyone before now. Ku-sama smiled at him. "You must be Gaara of the Desert," Ku-sama said gently. "I won't waste your time. Are you ready to return to Earth?"

"Yes."

"Good. When you get there, you will be received by Zuma Arashi. She's promised to take you in for now so you can adjust to this new situation," Ku-sama explained. "You have a few hours more before you can change back into your true form. You won't automatically change back, it will be a conscious decision on your part. The only time that you have no control over changing is during the day when you will change back into this form at sunrise.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good." Ku-sama raised a large staff above his head and began to chant. Gaara tensed for a moment, expecting the painful light to attack him again, but instead there was a flash and he found himself falling in a white vacuum of nothingness.

To be continued…

Title Displacement
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Drama/Romance
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Hell was full and so was Heaven, there was no place to put him. By default, he would go to Hell, but due to last minute soul transformations, he could score a place in Heaven if he proved himself in the mortal world. SPOILERS. Gaara/Hinata.
Chapter Two

Displacement
Chapter Two

Thin arms caught him. The woman was young with a thin face and ethereal eyes. “Ku-sama said you were coming. I didn’t think it would take so fast,” she told the boy.

Gaara blinked and looked up at the young woman. She had to be near thirty and wore a long work dress and apron over the skirt of her dress. Her long hair was covered in a handkerchief. “I’m Arashi. Tai-chan will be happy to see you too,” she told him. “We must get you in soon. I suspect you would like to transform out of this form.”

She stood up and set Gaara down. “James-san always keeps people so long. We thought you might show up after sundown, not before,” she told him as she led him towards a small hut nearby. “Welcome to Kuraudo, the Village of the Cloud.” She waved a hand through the air at the small village. “We are a group of villages interconnected; our houses are hidden because we tend to go into wars easily.” She opened the door and said, “Tai-chan should be home soon. He had to carry a message to the north village.”

Gaara looked around the three room hut. Arashi and he were in a large room with a fireplace, table, chairs, and other living and family room objects. “Your room is on the right,” she told him, extending a pale finger towards the door. “It’s small but you’ll survive I’m sure.” She stepped over to the window and peered through her curtains before closing them tightly. “The village knows you as the child that we’ve adopted. Since you’ll be here for a time before the position in Heaven comes up, you should be very careful during the night. No one can know your true form that knows this form and vice-versa.”

Gaara nodded. He didn’t know when he would need to be in his true form, but he knew that most likely he would need it sometimes.

“We will give you a new name just in case you ever come across someone who knew you or of you before your death,” Arashi continued. “I never asked Ku-sama your name so that Tai-chan and I could give you what we thought was best when you came.” She studied Gaara for a bit and then she smiled slightly. “I’ll call you Seishin. It fits you well.”

Again Gaara nodded. He wanted to keep his name, but at the same time realized he couldn’t. Then there came a knock at the door.

“Stand back,” Arashi instructed firmly. She reached into the pocket of her skirt and produced a kunai, her other hand ready to pull away from the doorknob if necessary and bring out whatever other weapons were in the pockets of her dress. Pushing the door open a crack, she stepped back and a man entered. He wore a wide-brimmed hat and simple brown clothes.

“I didn’t mean to be so late,” Tai said as he removed his hat. “I ran into a…problem.” He looked past Arashi at their guest. “You must be our guest.” He studied Gaara’s hair and eyes. “James-san did your physical appearance didn’t he?”

Gaara nodded, remaining quiet. He wasn’t sure what to make of Arashi or Tai yet.

“Shy…interesting,” Tai murmured before turning to his wife. “We’ve got a problem out to the north.” He glanced at Gaara and then asked, “Could you go to your room a bit? This is between us.”

Gaara held Tai’s gaze and then looked at Arashi. “That one’s my room, right?”

“Yes, dear. This won’t take too long. I’ll fix supper while you get familiar with the room.” She smiled and once Gaara closed the door, she turned her eyes on her husband. “What’s so wrong that you have to be so rude?”

“I’m not being rude, I’m being cautious.” Tai sat down in a chair and frowned. “Yasha sensed something when we were out today.”

“Like what?” Arashi glanced at him as she walked over to the dinner preparations still on the table.

“I’m not sure. He went into one of those moods where he doesn’t say anything because he’s afraid that if he does, it will happen.” Tai leaned back in his seat. “He didn’t give us a hint, but he did go off to Rokudaime-sama.”

“What do you think is?” Arashi carefully stirred the contents in the pot before walking over to the fireplace.

“I don’t know,” Tai sighed. “I can’t dwell on it. You know I’m not good at such things.” He eyed her a moment and then asked, “What do you think it is?”

Silently Arashi slipped the pot onto a rod so it could sit over the fire. She stood up carefully and kept her eyes on the pot before shaking her head. “I don’t know. Our guest was once a demon, it’s throwing my senses off…” She hooked hair behind her ear and turned to face her husband. “Even if I knew, do you think we could do anything about it? The last time people tried to avert something, it made it worse. Remember?”

Tai looked away. “Yeah, I remember, but Nidame-sama took care of that.” Tai paused and then asked in a low voice, “You don’t think it’s – “

“No, I don’t,” Arashi turned away and began to set the table. “Enma-sama knows what he’s doing. He wouldn’t send doom down on us all. We’ve done nothing wrong regardless.” She set the plate down heavily in front of her husband. “Besides, Yasha is right one-percent of the time. You know that.”

“Yes, but what if this is that one percent?”

Arashi said nothing and then set the last fork down. Finally she answered, “Then prepare for death.”

~*~

“You don’t think it’s – “

Gaara stepped away from the door. He knew how that question was going to end. Walking deeper into the small room, he picked up the rolled futon in the far corner. The futon was nearly as big as he was and twice as wide. Wrestling the awkward mass, Gaara frowned and closed his eyes. Opening them, he smirked slightly. No one had explained to him how to go back and forth between forms, but his guess had been correct. He inspected his hands. They were the same shape but tan much like Kankuro and Temari’s skin was. He frowned as he inspected his right hand and the decorative ring on his middle finger. The ring marked him as the Kazekage. He pulled at the ring, but it didn’t budge. He should have noticed that before he left.

Deciding that there was nothing to do about it at the moment, Gaara lifted up the futon and rolled it out before pausing. He wasn’t going to sleep; he had never slept normally before. Examining the half-unrolled futon, he resumed rolling it out. He didn’t want to worry his hosts.

“Seishin,” a knock came at his bedroom door, “supper’s ready.”

“Alright,” Gaara replied and then nudged the corner of the futon flat with the toe of his boot. Exiting the room, he took the place set out for him next to Tai and across from Arashi.

“Hilda-san did your clothes didn’t she?” Tai cast a weary eye at the redhead. He had graying hair and an almost disapproving look. “She said something about how this is ‘all the rage’ in some universe or something.” He shrugged. “I don’t think it’s practical, but if you like it…what do you say? More power to you?”

Gaara didn’t respond. He didn’t feel any malice or ill will from the old man, but the commentary on his clothing unnerved him slightly.

“I’ve seen some in our universe with those clothes,” Arashi stated with a smile. “Not everyone dresses like they did forty years ago, Tai-chan.” Arashi then cast a sly glance at him. “When I was young, what you’re wearing would have been scandalous.”

“Luckily I was born a century later,” Tai murmured and then he looked over at Gaara. “Sorry about that, I’m just an old man who is behind the times.”

“It’s okay,” Gaara murmured and then helped himself to bread so he could avoid talking.

Arashi smiled to herself and then she said, “Seishin, for now it’s dangerous for anyone to go outside during the night. I know that you have things to prove, but for now, you must stay indoors during this time.” At his expression, she added, “Don’t worry, it’ll be over soon.”

Tai gave her a cryptic glance but remained silent as he ate another bite of stew.

~*~

Gaara shot up into a sitting position, looking wildly around. He was small and in an unfamiliar place and he knew that he had just been sleeping. He could hear distant screaming as his body tensed. He must have caused it. He had been sleeping. When he slept, Shukaku took over and…His thoughts stopped there. He couldn’t feel Shukaku. Panicking slightly, he stood up and then closed his eyes, but nothing happened.

Frowning, he shook his head inwardly. He was a Jônin – a Kage even. He couldn’t panic, not even in this form.

That’s when someone opened the door to the main room. Stiffening, Gaara looked around for a solution. He doubted that it was Arashi or Tai.

~*~

“What do you see?” Kiba asked the petite girl to his right.

Hinata activated the Byakugen and then stared intently ahead. She had been conserving her gift on their trip up to the Cloud. Finally, she said, “Some houses are burnt down; there are people alive and dead in the streets. We’re too late.”

“Can you send something ahead, Shino?” Kiba looked over Hinata’s head as the Jônin nodded.

“I did a bit ago. They should return soon,” he replied. As if on cue, he reached a hand out as a fly landed on it. The group slowed and some others behind them followed their movements. Shino surveyed the fly perched on his finger and then he nodded. “Hinata’s right. There are some still alive, but most are dead or dying.”

“Are their any signs of the Stone?” one of the men behind them asked.

Shino stared at the bug again. One of the men behind them shifted his weight. The Aburame always made him nervous.

“No, there aren’t, but keep your guard up,” Shino instructed the group of a few Chûnin and Jônin. “We need a body count and assessment of survivors. We also need to see if the Rokudaime is still alive.”

“Should we split up?” one of the Chûnin asked.

Their leader frowned for a second and then he nodded. “But if you have trouble, give the signal. We don’t need to add us to the body count.”

“We were damage control from the beginning,” Kiba remarked after everyone had split up. Gritting his teeth, he watched Akumaru just ahead of them. “Where do we even start?” He breathed through his mouth as they passed by several corpses.

“Probably the houses,” Shino replied. “Hinata can see into them just in case there is a threat.”

Hinata nodded, her Byakugen still activated. “There’s someone in that house,” she pointed to one on the border of the village nearest the forest. “It looks like a child.”

The three approached cautiously, Kiba opening the door quietly, all three ready for anything. There was a well-known rumor of a boy killing every member of a graduating class before he had completed his ninja training. Also, Kabuto had taught Konoha lessons as well. Leading Hinata and Shino into the main room, Kiba frowned. He was good with children, but he wasn’t sure how to approach this. He didn’t want to scare the child, but he didn’t want to walk into a trap either.

~*~

Gaara eyed the door. He didn’t feel anything dangerous, but he knew that in his small body he didn’t have the senses that he did in his true form. That and without Shukaku, he wasn’t sure of anything.

“Hello?” a voice came from in the other room near the door. “We’re from the Fire country,” the voice continued. “We aren’t going to hurt you.”

Gaara stared at the door. Konoha was in the Fire Country. That would explain why he seemed to know the voice, but the face and name of its owner escaped him. Dogs came to mind, but Gaara pushed that away.

He heard mumbles exchanged between a voice he couldn’t place and a girl he should remember. Finally, she asked, “Are you all right?”

He debated answering them. Remembering the screaming earlier, he wondered what might have happened to Kurado. “Y – Yeah,” he stated as meek as he could. He had to play the part of a small and scared child.

“Good. We came to get you and the rest of your village,” the young woman’s voice continued. “Can we open the door?”

“I can,” Gaara stated. He rose up on his toes and twisted the door handle, watching it swing open. He knew them, all three. The girl was a Hyûga, the tallest had something to do with dogs, and the other boy with bugs. He had seen more of the Hyûga than the others over the years. “I’m Seishin,” he told them keeping up his six-year-old façade.

“Hello, Seishin-kun.” The Hyûga smiled reassuringly. “We have to check other houses, but you’ll have to come with us.”

Gaara shrank away slightly. “Where’s Mama and Papa?”

“We don’t know,” the dog user told him, “but we might find them.” He left it at that, not giving details.

The three were good ninja. Obviously a Chûnin and two Jônin. Gaara debated what to do next. He wished he had his old bear with him. He felt as though he should be clutching it with one of its ears in his mouth. That was what he always did when he was younger. “Okay,” he said after watching them a moment. “I’ll come.”

The group started off, Hinata searching the other houses. Gaara stuck closest to Shino who was the quietest and less likely to try to talk to him. As the walked, he looked around them. The village was in ruins, smoldering remains of some huts scattered about huts that were still standing like his. Bodies littered the area with the symbol of the Cloud on their headbands. Then he stopped.

The three continued on a couple steps, and then Kiba looked at their young charge. “What’s wrong, Seishin-kun?”

Gaara walked over to a cluster of bodies. Standing over them, he lowered his eyes. Arashi was there, her face pale, eyes closed. It hurt, not enough to cry, but it hurt. He looked at the other bodies in the area, but Tai’s wasn’t anywhere he could see.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. “Your mother?” one of the three asked.

Gaara nodded quietly. None of them said anything for a long time. Then he said, “I want to find Papa.” He was tired of staring at her glassy eyes.

The group went into two more houses retrieving an elderly man and woman. After doing rounds, the group returned to their checkpoint, a few of the other groups there with two other villagers, a child and his grandmother.

Gaara sat with the others, but a distance away. It was subconscious, but done on part of the villagers and Gaara. The Konoha group consulted each other quietly where he couldn’t hear them. Finally after another group came with no survivors, there was more talk before the party leader approached the refugees.


“We are to take you back to Konoha,” he explained. “Unless, of course, you wish to stay here.”

The elderly man spoke. “I want to go to Hakka. I have family there.” He held the leader’s gaze. “It is on our way to Konoha.”

The leader held his gaze and then shook his head. “We have to take all of you to Konoha and then you will be allowed to go once you’ve spoken to Hokage-sama.”

“But you said – “ someone began.

“Let’s get going. We need a safe place to stay tonight.” With that, everyone began to march in the direction of Konoha.

To be continued...

Title Displacement
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Drama/Romance
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Hell was full and so was Heaven, there was no place to put him. By default, he would go to Hell, but due to last minute soul transformations, he could score a place in Heaven if he proved himself in the mortal world. SPOILERS. Gaara/Hinata.
Chapter Three
Note You might be wondering about ages (I don’t remember if I addressed this in here or You and I or not, so I’ll just bring it up in case it wasn’t this fic). Hinata is almost seventeen because I decided that from the moment the series started, that was the age of the character. The city started around Naruto’s birthday, so I make that as a marker and that’s how I know who’s age is what. Just to explain before people get snippy.

Displacement
Chapter Three

Gaara stared up at the sky and forced his eyes to stay open. He was still in his child form and his body protested, wanting to take advantage of the night and revert into its true form. Gaara concentrated on this to keep himself from falling asleep. From what he had overheard, he knew that the Stone had attacked the Cloud, but he had been asleep. Even if he didn’t have Shukaku any longer, he feared that he had also been a part of the reason. Whenever he slept when he was alive, bad things always happened.

“Can’t sleep?”

Gaara looked over at the ninja keeping watch. It was the Hyûga girl. Sitting up, he nodded quietly. He knew he should say something to her, so he offered in a small voice, “I’m scared.” It was partially true. His body was screaming for sleep, which terrified him. He didn’t want bad things to happen to this group of people.

The Hyûga nodded and then asked, “Do you want to sit with me? When I was little and scared, I’d sit up with my mother and it helped me.”

Gaara debated this. He wasn’t sure if it was the best idea, but he was playing the part of a small child who had just lost his family. Nodding, he stood up and walked over to her quietly, noting that Kiba was feigning sleep as he passed by the Jônin.

The pair said nothing. The waxing half moon lit the area around them enough to see without a fire. Gaara looked up at the stars and noted the humidity in the air. Normally, back in Suna, the air was dry and the nights were much colder. He could tell the Hyûga was waiting for him to speak first. She was patient and wasn’t pushy in her mannerism or aura. He considered remaining silent, but he decided to use this to his advantage. “What’s your name?”

The Hyûga looked down at him and replied, “Hinata. You’re Seishin, right?”

Reflexively, he nodded shyly. Sitting with her on the rock accentuated how small he was. Gaara had never been a tall person, but now he felt extremely small. Kicking his short legs back and forth, he asked, “What’s going to happen to me?”

“I don’t know,” Hinata replied in a gentle timbre. “That is for the Hokage to decide when we get to Konoha.”

Gaara looked down at his feet. He didn’t know what to say, but was comfortable in not saying anything. Lately, when he would try to talk to people, he sometimes couldn’t think of anything to say in reply. He just wasn’t used to carrying conversations and most of the non-business conversations died in awkward silences.

Hinata adjusted her position on the rock and looked over at the small boy. He seemed to be fighting sleep. She didn’t blame him, but it would hinder their progress to Konoha if he was sleepy the next day. “Want me to tell you a story?”

Gaara blinked and looked over at her. Yashamaru was the only person who ever had told him stories. They were mostly legends about Suna and Gaara had purposefully forgotten them. He looked back down at his shoes. He didn’t like remembering Yashamaru. “Yeah,” he said quietly. He was a six-year-old right now after all.

Hinata pondered this for a moment. Gaara could tell that even though her mind seemed to be searching for a story to tell, her senses were keen. No one could sneak up on her even though she was occupied with trying to help him go to sleep. “Alright, I have one. Have you ever heard the story of the Fox Boy?”

Gaara shook his head. His mind didn’t recall the phrase.

Hinata nodded and smiled gently. “Once upon a time, there was a young boy just your age. He was a very special boy because he was part fox.” She paused as though thinking of how to word the story. “However, the elders of his village didn’t like him. ‘Foxes were crafty,’ they reasoned, ‘and they hunt things.’

“This didn’t deter the Fox Boy. He went through each day smiling and proclaiming how he was the greatest. He also had some of the best friends in the world, even though sometimes Fox Boy couldn’t see that.” She paused again, and then took a deep breath. “Anyway, one day, the Fox Boy encountered a Badger Boy. Both of them were feared in their villages but were very different. The Fox Boy was like Day, loud and bright, while the Badger Boy was like night, quiet and cold. Soon after meeting, the Fox Boy and Badger Boy became the best of friends and their group of friends grew as well.

“One day, the evil Snake King came to their village,” Hinata said in a slightly subdued dramatic whisper. She had Gaara’s full attention and hoped to keep it. “He began to split up the group of friends and tried to steal some of them away. Of course, Fox Boy and Badger Boy would have none of it. They banded together and went to stop him.

“But they found their power wasn’t enough. To them, they only had each other, but soon Bird Boy arrived and then Pig Girl did and many others. Their group of friends came to stand with them one by one. The pair looked at the large group and then looked at the evil Snake King. With everyone fighting together, they all overthrew the Snake King and he was never heard from again,” she finished noting that the boy was nearly asleep. “Now, you should go to sleep.”

“But…I can’t,” Gaara said without thinking. He summoned as much of his strength as he could to keep from falling asleep. Sleep was skewing his judgment and threatening to win.

“I know, but you should,” Hinata replied. “If you don’t sleep, it will make the journey to Konoha harder for you. You’re too big for anyone to carry you, and out here you should be ready for anything.”

“But bad things happen when I fall asleep.”

There was a pause and then Hinata said, “I’ll make sure nothing bad happens while you sleep. Don’t worry, when you wake up, nothing bad will have happened.”

Gaara wasn’t so sure, but he could barely keep his eyes open. His body tensed, waiting for Shukaku to start whispering, but he felt and heard nothing. He allowed himself to walk back over to where he had been sleeping and lie back down. Soon he was fast asleep.

~*~

Gaara stuck to Hinata as best he could. He knew that her other friends Kiba and Shino were easy ways of meeting back up with everyone he had met, but it was most comfortable for him to stick to her. None of the villagers of Kurado were keen on keeping track of him and none of the Konoha ninja had qualms of him staying nearby or at least that he knew.

At their pace, it took them five more days until they finally were camping on their last night before entering Konoha. Gaara lay awake, trying to fake sleep but keep from sleeping. Even though, his fear was clearly never going to come true, sleeping still put him on edge.

“Time for us to change,” he heard Kiba say from a few yards away. Gaara knew that Hinata took first shift and Kiba second shift that evening.

“I’m not ready to go to sleep yet,” Hinata said quietly. “I think I’ll stay up a bit more.”

Gaara resisted rolling over to watch them. He simply continued with his relaxed breathing and kept his body frozen in position.

“He’s not sleeping again,” Kiba stated simply as Gaara strained his ears. Having lost Shukaku, he found that his senses were very dull, at least in child form.

“I know,” Hinata replied very quietly. To Gaara, it was merely a mumble, but he could make out enough to get the general idea of what she was saying. “It worries me.”

“He’s pretty attached to you,” Kiba stated. “You look like his mother.”

Hinata said something Gaara couldn’t make out in a slightly surprised voice.

“Only with longer hair. He was staring at the body of a dark haired woman with pale skin. I could tell that had to have been his mother as young as she was,” he stated. “That’s probably why he doesn’t sleep.”

Again, Gaara couldn’t make out Hinata’s reply and Kiba’s was similarly muffled. Gaara’s eyes were closing and as much as he struggled against it, he fell to sleep again.

~*~

“He finally fell asleep,” Kiba noted quietly from where he sat with Hinata on the rock, Akamaru curled up at their feet. “You know, he seems familiar. Even Akamaru thinks so too.”

“How so?” Hinata asked.

“I don’t know. He smells familiar and there’s just something about him.” Kiba sighed.

Hinata observed the boy for a moment and then shook her head. “I can’t sense anything.”

Kiba was used to such a reaction. He knew that he had met the boy before even though he couldn’t remember the hair or eyes. He saw the world in shades of grays, all the Inuzuka being colorblind like the dogs they bonded with, but he knew he would have remembered the shades of grays that he saw. The boys hair was probably what people called red or maybe even orange. No, it wasn’t orange because it wasn’t like Naruto’s stupid suits. It had to be a red and the eyes were definitely green. He would have remembered this if he had seen it before he was sure. “Never mind,” Kiba said, closing his eyes in resignation. Shino might agree more with him, the boy’s bugs always knew such things. “You should get some rest. I know we’re almost home, but you don’t know what might happen tomorrow.”

Hinata nodded. “Good night, Kiba.”

He watched her stretch out with the other Leaf shinobi and then he looked back over at the boy. He would have to ask Shino about him later.

~*~

Tsunade observed the group before her. She wasn’t exactly what to do with them. One of the old men had asked to be taken to Hakka in a respectful bow, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to put anywhere outside of the village just yet, especially in a town so close to a border. There were only five survivors, an elderly man, an elderly woman, two girls of mostly likely twelve and fourteen, and then a very small boy who seemed to distance himself from the other villagers and them from him.

“You will be sent to a refugee camp on the west side of the village,” she told them her decision. “It’s for your safety as much as ours. As you know, there is a war going on and we need to decide what is best for you and us before we can allow you to get out of our village’s walls.” She looked at the elderly man. “I’m sure you understand.”

“Do I have to?” a small voice asked.

Everyone looked to the red haired boy as he gave Tsunade a shy and slightly shocked look. He shifted his weight and said, “I mean…I don’t know them. Kaachan and Tôchan adopted me and they really don’t know me.”

“You don’t really know anyone here either,” Tsunade noted in return. “You’re going to have to stay with them.”

“But – ” the boy paused and then looked over at the villagers. They wouldn’t look at him. In Kurado, people with red hair were considered evil and unlucky. No one wanted to take the boy in, let alone live in the same complex with him. He was in danger and the boy was acutely aware of it. “But I have red hair!” he looked back at Tsunade, clearly in a panic.

Tsunade wasn’t sure what red hair would have to do with anything. In Konoha, no one seemed to care what color eyes or hair someone had. To them, the boy’s bright red hair and bright green eyes were fascinating and nothing more. “Why should that matter?”

“He’s a devil child,” the elderly woman spoke up. “Those with red hair cause evil and horrible things to happen. The night he came was the night of the attack. The last time a red haired person was allowed to stay in Kurado, we were invaded by Suna and our village lay in ruins. We finally rebuilt the villages through years of hard work and now because he appeared, we are beyond repair.” She spoke with disgust and didn’t even look at the boy.

Tsunade quelled the anger inside of her. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to reprimand this woman or not. She knew that such legends existed but she wasn’t sure if she could afford to send them away or alienate them. They were in a war and if these people were to leave Konoha, there wasn’t any telling where they would go and what that could mean to her village.

“Then what should we do with the boy if none of you will look after him?” she proposed. She didn’t want to send him with these people, but perhaps someone might have the common sense to realize that it was simply an old wives’ tale and nothing more.

“We don’t care,” the fourteen-year-old spoke up, not looking at the six-year-old. “Put him on the streets, hang him, he’s lucky that he’s still alive actually.”

Tsunade held her tongue. These people were horrendous, but again, it would be bad to send them away or anger them. At least they would go to a place she wouldn’t have to see them and they could be monitored constantly. She made a note to make restrictions on them since she couldn’t shout at them or turn them away.

She bowed her head. “All of you report to the relocation office – two doors to your right. You,” she looked at the boy, “stay here.”

After the villagers left, she looked at him and smiled. “I’m sorry about that.” She pointed at the chair as she continued, “Have a seat.” Before he could sit, an orange blur burst into the room.

“Obaasan, how are you today?” The orange blur stopped at her desk. “Do you have a mission? I’m bored,” it whined.

~*~

Gaara resisted saying anything. It was Naruto! Right beside him! He looked up at the blonde as the boy watched Tsunade impatiently.

“I want to get out,” Naruto told her without even noticing Gaara. He didn’t say anything more, but Tsunade knew that he was trying to prove to himself that he wasn’t a failure. The botched rescue of Gaara had shaken his spirits and this wasn’t the first time he had stormed in after something to do.

“Naruto, you just got back from a mission,” she stated. “I’m not sending you on another for three more days. That’s standard procedure and you know that.” She then added, “That and I can’t give you any of the missions we have.”

“Why not?”

“You’re a Genin! You can’t accept a mission above a C-rank! You can’t forget that!” she growled slightly. It was how they normally handled each other during similar circumstances. “Besides,” she indicated the boy in the chair, “I’m busy at the moment.”

Naruto blinked and then looked down at Gaara who’s eyes quickly averted. He could sense the intensity flow out of Naruto instantly. He didn’t need to look up to know the blonde’s reaction.

The boy reminded him of Gaara, especially the way he averted his eyes. Gaara had always been kind of shy and had red hair. Naruto had never seen red hair before meeting Gaara, and even though this boy’s hair was a different red and brighter, Naruto felt pain. He hid it as best he could though behind an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, Obaasan,” he put a hand behind his head and laughed slightly, “I’ll come back later.” Then he disappeared as fast as he had entered. The boy made him uncomfortable and made his doubts flair.

Gaara looked down at his hands. He felt guilty. He didn’t want to hurt Naruto, but it was nice to see him again.

“Sorry about him,” Tsunade stated quietly. “He meant nothing by it.” She sat down at her desk and surveyed the boy. She wasn’t sure exactly what she should do with him. She could put him with a family, but that could be dangerous. There was the mistake of Kabuto to keep in mind at all times. “What is your name?”

“Seishin,” he said. He then added quickly, remembering that only in Suna did people not have surnames. “Okuda Seishin.” It was the first surname that would come to him that he was sure didn’t come from Konoha.

Tsunade observed him and then said, “I have to send out a few scrolls, but I’m sure that I can find you a home.”

Gaara bowed his head and gave her a quiet “Thank you.”

~*~

“This is our home,” the man told Gaara. The boy had seen it only once before when he was in Konoha two years ago and had to go and retrieve something with Neiji before they left on a joint mission. “There are several rules you will have to follow to stay here, but I don’t think we will have a problem.”

Gaara nodded respectfully and followed the man through the gates and followed him up the path to the Hyûga main house. The Hyûga were a strong family who could keep the boy in check just in case he did prove to be another Kabuto and they always had someone at home. After speaking with the elders of his clan, Hiashi received permission to take the boy in.

“This is my youngest daughter,” Hiashi said indicating a thin girl waiting for them. Everything about her was straight and rather plain looking. Hinata was thin but she had a rounded effect to her, but Hanabi was angular and there was nothing round about her.

She had a thin smile but it was genuine nonetheless. Her aura was much like that of her father’s, very stoic and a bit distant. “Hello,” Hanabi greeted the boy. “I’m going to show you around. Oneesama and Otôsama have business.” After he had left, she looked at her charge. “In our family, everyone is very formal,” she explained. “So we put the suffix sama onto the ends of our names.”

Gaara nodded, taking it in. That was common amongst many clans. However, some were less formal like the Uchiha or even less formal than that like the Nara or Inuzuka clans.

“I’m Hanabi,” the girl told him. “I’m eleven. I think you’ve met Oneesama, she’s almost seventeen.”

“I’m Seishin,” Gaara replied in his quiet manner. He had never met this Hyûga but he had seen Hiashi once after the botched mission to rescue Sasuke. “I’m six.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Seishin-sama,” Hanabi replied. Her voice was louder and more assertive than Hinata’s, but both of their voices carried the undercurrent of power and notoriety just like their father. “I’ll show you your room and then the rest of the house.” As they walked through the large complex, she began explaining her family. “It’s just Oneesama, Otôsama, and me,” she said. “We have a few servants who work here but they live in the back of the complex. We rarely run into them, except for at meals or if we’re in the garden.

“Oneesama is going to take over as clan head soon, so that’s where she and Otôsama went. She attends meetings with him. I don’t know what goes on in there, but they happen more frequently now. Oneesama won’t have any more missions now to prepare since she’ll take over on her birthday next month,” Hanabi finished. Finally she stopped at a door. “This will be your room. It’s one of our guest rooms, but it’s been fixed up for you. There’s new clothes in there, so change before I take you around the rest of the house. You can put the dirty ones in the hamper by the door.”

Gaara disappeared into the room and locked the door behind him. It was a simple room with wood flooring. There was an off-white rug in the center and a bed by the window. Gaara walked over to the closet on the left of the room by the foot of the bed and reached out choosing a long-sleeved light brown shirt. He put a warmer cream-colored short sleeve shirt over it and tucked the long sleeved shirt into tan high water pants. He exchanged his sandals for the customary blue sandals of Konoha and then placed the clothes he received from Hilda-san in the hamper before exiting his room.

Hanabi showed him the complex. There was the family wing with their rooms and the guest rooms. In the center of the complex was the main room where important guests came. Towards the back was the kitchen and dining room. The front rooms were reserved for guests that were less important and mostly for show or friends. She led through the kitchens and into the gardens nicking two sweet buns as they passed the rack cooling on a counter.

Handing Gaara one of them, she broke off a piece of her own and put it in her mouth. “Don’t worry about it,” she said looking down at him. “I do this a lot. They always make a few extra.”

Gaara took a small bite of the bun tentatively. It was sticky and smelled of honey and butter. In Suna, most food was made from sharp spices and bitter roots. Sweet things were rare and he hadn’t had anything too sweet until his second trip to Konoha. He wasn’t a fan of things sweet and the bun was amazingly so. “Thanks,” he said after swallowing down two bites.

“This is the koi pond,” Hanabi said as they stopped in the center of a bridge. There were several long and skinny fishes of yellows, oranges, reds, or combinations swimming under them. “In the winter, we cast a simple warming jutsu to keep the pond from freezing over or getting too cold.”

Gaara looked down at the fish. He had never seen live fish before. The first time he had ever seen a fish was at the dinner in the Mist country when he was there to negotiate a treaty, but the fish were cooked and on serving plates. His green eyes watched as many fish as he could dart everywhere. It was as though his mind remembered what it was like to be as small as he was right now. The fish in the koi pond were fascinating and part of him wanted to reach out and touch them.

“Otôsama and Oneesama should be coming back soon,” Hanabi stated after a while. “We should go back inside. When they come back, we’ll have supper.”

Gaara nodded and pulled himself away from the koi pond, following the girl into the mansion.

~*~

He was fighting sleep again. He was a guest again and didn’t want to repeat what happened back in Kurado. Eying the shut door, he closed his eyes, soon returning to his true form. Blinking, he found that he wasn’t tired in the slightest any longer. Sitting on his bed, Gaara put the ankle of his right foot on his left knee and leaned forward, assessing his situation. He couldn’t prove himself if he was stuck in his child form and cooped up in the Hyûga complex he was sure. He had to be able to do things; otherwise he would be wasting his time.

He studied the window. It would be easy to leave and go without alerting the household he was sure. Standing up, he made up his mind and disappeared into the night.

~*~

“The academy isn’t too far from home,” Hanabi said as she and Gaara walked down the street the next morning. “You need to wait for me to get out before leaving though,” she warned. “You get out early because you’re a first-year, but I won’t get out until a few hours later. We don’t want you to get lost, Seishin-sama.”

Gaara nodded. “What room do I go to?”

“The first one when you get in the door.” Hanabi paused and then said, “Ebisu-sensei has sunglasses, he’ll be easy to find.”

They reached the school yard quickly, Hanabi turning to look down at Gaara. “Do you think you can find your room okay?”

“Yeah.”

“All right,” she said, “remember to meet up with me after classes. I’ll see you later.” Then she disappeared into a crowd of sixth-years.

~*~

“Seishin-sama, are you ready?” a muffled voice came from behind the door.

“Almost,” Gaara mumbled as he made sure his winter kimono was adjusted properly. Today was December twenty-seventh and in the early morning hours the Hyûga were preparing for the ceremony in which Hinata would become the clan leader and Hiashi one of the elders. He exited his room and saw Hanabi waiting for him.

“Otôsama and Oneesama can’t speak to anyone until after the ceremony,” Hanabi explained. “So if you see them, don’t try to get them to talk.” They walked out and into the front yard where the ceremony would take place. Almost all of Konoha had come to see it by invitation or curiosity.

Gaara took long strides to keep up with Hanabi when he felt someone tap his shoulder. Quickly turning around, he reflexively got into a stance and then relaxed. It was only Kiba.

“Sorry about that,” Kiba said, putting a hand behind his head. “Hinata-chan asked me to keep an eye on you.” He looked out at the crowd. “Which is good since Hanabi-san is nowhere.” Having been on Hinata’s team, Kiba was allowed to address her so informally, but he was a bit more formal with Hanabi despite the fact she was five years younger than him due to her status in the community.

“So what exactly happens today?” Gaara asked. He had given up trying to keep his sentence structure simple and endured his classmates pokes at his advanced vocabulary and form of speaking.

“Well, I’m not sure about the details but in my clan when the head changes, there’s a big ceremony – well, small compared to this – and there is a lot of speech making from the elders and affirmation from them to recognize the changes…It’s really boring, but there’s usually a feast or party after it.”

Gaara nodded as he took the information in. It didn’t sound too different from the ceremony he went through to become Kazekage, however, his had lasted many days rather than one day.

“Right now, the elders are confirming that Hinata-chan and Hyûga-sama are capable of taking the positions I think,” Kiba said as he looked at the doors to the main house. “After that, they’ll come out here and the elders will tell everyone that they’ve recognized them as head and elder and then we cele – ”

Kiba instantly got in front of Gaara as screams irrupted from the crowd. Something seemed to permeate the mass, invisible tentacles encircling his body. Shivering, Gaara noted Kiba calling for Akamaru, but the Jônin’s voice was distant in his ears and sounded in a way Gaara couldn’t describe it.

Without thinking, Gaara closed his eyes, but his stomach felt empty and hurt slightly. He was still a child. He couldn’t do anything. Several shouts of “Genjutsu” rang through the crowd. After what seemed like a long time, people began to calm and the odd sensations stopped.

“Is anyone hurt?” a voice called from nearby.

“No, Hyûga-sama,” several cries rang out through the crowd.

“Are you guys okay?” Hinata hurried over to Kiba and Gaara, looking both of them over.

Kiba looked down at Gaara and then nodded. “We’re fine. Any idea of who did that?”

“I’ve got my bugs on it,” a voice said from behind Hinata. Shino pushed his sunglasses up his nose and then surveyed the three before him, seemingly satisfied that they were all okay. “Other people are working on it as well,” he added.

Gaara stopped listening and looked down at his hands. He had tried to transform around people. He knew that in a way he should be glad that he hadn’t transformed, but he hated it. He could have done something in his larger form. Drawing himself out of his thoughts, Gaara noticed that the others were watching him oddly.

“Don’t worry, Seishin-sama,” Hinata said as she smiled. “Everyone is okay.” She looked reassuring, but Gaara knew better. He needed to know who was the target. Was it simply a way to wipe out several of the top ninja of Konoha or was there a specific target?

He simply acknowledged and returned her smile in a shy manner. That seemed to satisfy everyone.

To be continued…

Title Displacement
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Drama/Romance
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Hell was full and so was Heaven, there was no place to put him. By default, he would go to Hell, but due to last minute soul transformations, he could score a place in Heaven if he proved himself in the mortal world. SPOILERS. Gaara/Hinata.
Chapter Four

Displacement
Chapter Four

A figure stood over him, a strong glare digging into his consciousness even though the man’s face was in shadow. A woman watched from not too far away, frozen, her shirt ripped so her shoulder was exposed.

“Scum,” the dark figure stated. Before the man or woman could perceive it, the figure had his fingers around the man’s neck and had hauled him up so he could look him in the eyes. The moon caught the figure’s uniquely green eyes as he watched the man writhe and heard him make choking noises.

Abruptly the figure dropped the man to the ground. “If I ever see you again, let alone like this, I will kill you.”

The man coughed, his hands around his neck as he began breathing again, but he heard the threat well. As soon as he could, he scrambled to his feet and got away from the scene as fast as he could. The figure watched him leave and then looked over at the woman.

“Are you all right?” his voice dropped in intensity as he spoke. He didn’t approach her due to the fear in her eyes.

“I – I – I’m fine,” the woman managed. “T – Thank you.” She went to stand but couldn’t move her body. The figure before her was very intimidating and she had just watched him treat a man much bigger than the figure as though he was half the woman’s size.

“Do you need help?”

“Uh – no. I think I can manage it from here,” she said as she gave him her best smile. She wanted him to leave before she would. After watching his movements, her body refused to do what she wanted it to in his presence. “Thank you anyway.”

The figure nodded and then shot straight up onto the roof of a nearby building and disappeared into the night.

~*~

“Did you hear? That guy showed up again,” one of Gaara’s classmates said as they waited for Hanabi to get out of class. The boy had taken to waiting with Gaara during the three hours before the older children were dismissed for no reason Gaara could figure out.

“What guy?” Gaara asked as he looked over at the door. They were sitting up in the tree out of sight of most people.

“He’s some guy in a trench coat,” his classmate stated. “He saved my mom last night.”

Gaara made sure to keep his feelings off his face. That woman he had pulled the man off of was this boy’s mother. He looked away from the boy. “Did he?”

“Yeah. She said he was pretty scary,” the boy continued. “Do you think we’ll ever see him?”

Gaara grew quiet. Then he said carefully, “I hope we never do.”

The other boy was taken aback. “Why? He’s so cool and he’s always saving people.”

“Because,” Gaara paused, “if we ever saw him, that would mean we were in a lot of danger.”

The boy grew quiet and then he smiled. “You know what I like about you, Okuda?”

Gaara looked over at him curiously.

“You’re constantly acting like a grown up. It’s fun to watch. But,” he put his hands on the tree limb to steady himself, “you need to lighten up. I want to be your friend but if you keep sounding like Tôsan, I don’t know…” He jumped down from the tree and called up to Gaara. “Think about it. I have to go home early, so I’ll see you tomorrow!” Then he was gone.

Gaara watched the spot the boy had stood not sure what to make of it. Hardly any of the students talked to him except for this one. Blinking, he looked down and saw Hanabi looking up at him.

“Are you ready to go home now, Seishin-sama?”

“Yeah,” he replied and jumped down to the ground and followed her home to the Hyûga mansion.

~*~

Gaara wandered into the main room of the Hyûga mansion the next day. He hadn’t seen anyone except for the cook. Frowning, he thought about wandering down the residence hallway again when he heard someone call his name from behind. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Hinata dressed in a simple kimono.

“Are you looking for someone?” she asked.

Gaara had been looking for Hiashi but he figured that Hinata would work just as well. “May I go with a friend to the New Year’s festival tonight?”

He watched a smile appear on her face. “Of course. Who is your friend?”

“Mitarashi Koichiro,” Gaara answered. “He sent a letter.” Gaara took his out of a pocket and held it out to Hinata. “He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to ask since I live here and all.”

Hinata took the letter and read it over. She had already given the boy permission but decided to read the note since Koichiro had gone to the trouble of writing it. “You should go and get ready quickly. He asked you to meet him in half an hour.” She handed the note back to him. “I will be out at the festival too so maybe we will see each other. I have to do some things first before I can get ready though.”

Gaara was about to leave for his room but he paused and said, “Thank you, Hinata-sama.”

“You’re welcome.”

~*~

“I’m glad you’re my friend, Seishin-kun,” Koichiro said. They had met at the tree in the school yard since it was half way between their houses and on the road that led to the festival.

Gaara wasn’t sure what to say to that one. Koichiro was a very strange boy. He was always acting out in class but at the same time was the smartest one and got all the questions right when called on even when he wasn’t paying attention. The pair sat together at the same two person desk in class and Koichiro had started talking to him the instant Gaara asked to sit by him.

“I wonder if that guy will appear,” Koichiro said. From the first night Gaara had started going outside and started to try to do good deeds, Koichiro had talked to him about it. Gaara forced himself to remember to stay in this form no matter what. He couldn’t have Koichiro figuring him out and he didn’t want to share his secret with anyone.

“I doubt it,” Gaara replied. “The streets are too crowded.”

“You’re right. Less crime happens when lots of people are around,” Koichiro agreed. “Here we are!” He grinned. “Where should we go first?”

“I don’t care, you lead the way.”

Koichiro nodded and soon dragged Gaara over to the cork gun booth.

~*~

Hinata’s smile was gentle and didn’t look the least bit overused. Many people greeted her and congratulated her as she walked through the crowd with Kiba who remained silent. He had left Akumaru at home because his dog was far too big to take everywhere anymore. Finally after a break in the well wishing, Kiba whispered, “You can stop smiling for a bit you know.”

“I don’t mind,” Hinata replied. “I can wait until I get home.”

Kiba gave her a dubious look as Shino spoke. “Just don’t over do it, Hinata-chan. It’s starting to look unnatural.”

Hinata’s lips instantly relaxed and soon a genuine one lit up her face. “Naruto-kun!”

The blonde jumped slightly and then looked over his shoulder at the three people coming over to him. It was the first time any of them had seen him at the festival. “Hey, guys.” He observed them and then answered the unasked question, “Sakura-chan and Ino-chan dragged me here.”

“That’s right,” Sakura said as she appeared from the crowd behind them with goldfish in a bag, Lee soon appearing beside her. “Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Neiji, and Ten-Ten are around here somewhere. Maybe a booth down.”

“No, we were just finishing,” Ino said as she and the others soon appeared. “Congratulations…uh…” Ino debated what she was supposed to call her friend now. She wasn’t sure if addressing Hinata in familiar terms would be inappropriate now that the girl was the head of her clan.

“You can still call me Hinata,” the clan leader said smiling. “We’re friends you know.”

“What are you guys doing? Want to join us?” Naruto asked.

Team Eight looked at each other and then Kiba grinned. “Sure.”

~*~

“Are you okay, Seishin-kun?”

Gaara blinked and looked over at Koichiro. They had just finished catching balloons one yellow and one green respectively. “Yeah.”

“Don’t look so serious,” Koichiro commented, his typical complaint. “We’re supposed to be having fun.”

“I am,” Gaara assured his friend.

“Are you sure?” Koichiro probed.

“Yes,” Gaara made sure his voice was especially convincing. He wanted to transform into his true form. The sun had set long ago and his body was complaining. He was also getting sleepy, especially at the fast pace Koichiro had set them at the beginning of the evening. He followed his friend off to one of the food booths and looked over his shoulder. The last time he felt this paranoid was the night Yashamaru had died.

~*~

“So which one of you is dating Hinata?” Naruto asked a mischievous grin on his face. “Or are you both dating her?”

Kiba snorted. “We just hang out together, really.”

“He’s right,” Shino added. In his festival kimono, he wore a mask much like Kakashi-sensei’s rather than his many layers of coats.

“Why?” Kiba’s voice was slightly defensive.

Naruto’s eyes widened slightly at the tone. “No reason. Just asking.”

“Speaking of Hinata,” Ten-Ten said as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes, “where is she?”

“She had to take care of something,” Sakura replied. “She’ll be back soon I’m sure.”

~*~

Hinata shook her head slightly, long hair swishing with the motion. She had to get out of there for just a little bit. Closing her eyes, she kept her guard up. Now that she was the head of the Hyûga, her guard always had to be up and more than it ever had been before. Looking ahead, she saw a very small girl crying a few meters away. Part of her wanted to pass the girl by, but Hinata had once been a little girl crying at the New Year’s festival so she approached regardless.

“Hello,” she said softly and stopped where she was hoping not to frighten the child. “Are you lost?”

The girl stopped crying and then looked up at Hinata before giving her a very dangerous smirk.

~*~

Gaara froze. The little fish he had been chasing easily broke through the paper of his net as he stood up abruptly.

“Seishin-kun?” Koichiro looked up worriedly at the shorter boy.

“Stay here, I have to look for someone,” Gaara instructed and then took off through the crowd.

~*~

Hinata dodged the attack and tried to find a way to get close to her attacker. Her Byakugen was activated and one of the sleeves of her dress kimono was torn completely off. She crouched down low and sprung back as another attack came her way. The man was average height no headband to indicate who he affiliated with. His moves were swift and his attacks long range. The girl had merely been an illusion to lure Hinata as far away from everyone as he could. Whoever her enemy was, they knew her well.

Neither ninja said anything. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking with the Anbu mask covering his face, but she could tell that he wasn’t of her village. Quickly she began to charge and rolled away when another attack was shot out at her. Back on her feet in seconds, she was about to close the distance and hit him in a lethal spot when someone grabbed her from behind, bending her arm behind her so that she couldn’t use the gentle fist technique. She struggled but the man was much bigger than she was. Even if she was more powerful, the fact he was a man and was physically stronger than she was which was working against her.

The Anbu with the long range attacks said nothing and merely raised his arm, signaling another attack. The grip on Hinata’s arms tightened significantly as the burlier Anbu held her in place. Her mind raced for a solution but everything she tried wasn’t working. She forced herself to stay calm just in case he released her to get out of the way of the attack. She wasn’t sure if the man was willing to die with her and if he wasn’t, she would use that to her advantage.

The smaller Anbu readied his attack and as he launched it, Hinata felt herself being pushed to the ground, the attack whistling over her head as she landed, the burly Anbu landing several yards away clearly dead. Looking up, she saw a shadowed figure in a trenchcoat. He reached into his pocket and produced something, maybe dust, and it shot towards the Anbu. The substance instantly latched around the Anbu’s neck and the figure made a fist, squeezing it tightly and twisting it slightly. Hinata watched as the Anbu writhed, his hands coming up to his throat before he collapsed, convulsing until he lay still.

Without a word, the figure called his weapon back and then shot it out at the man far away, repeating the same jutsu to make sure both were quite dead. Then he retrieved the substance and bent his knees as though to leave when Hinata stood up, catching his sleeve.

“Wait.”

She watched his knees straighten. Her Byakugen was gone but she was prepared to activate it again within seconds. “Wait,” she repeated, still feeling as though if she let go he would simply leave.

“You can let go now, I’m not going to leave,” the figure said quietly, not looking at her.

Hinata obeyed and observed him. He was just about her height, maybe just slightly shorter and had the reddest hair she had ever seen asides from Gaara and Seishin. “You don’t have to tell me who you are, but I want to know if you know who these people are.”

The figure didn’t look at her and remained quiet. Finally he spoke quietly. “I do not know who those Anbu were or what country they are from, but they were obviously after you.”

Hinata went to put her hands in the opposite sleeves of her kimono, but realized she was missing one of her sleeves and let her arms hang at her sides. “Thank you.”

“It’s not a problem,” the figure returned, still not looking at her. “You should go back to your home and change. People will notice and worry about you if you show up with a sleeve torn off.”

“No, I’ll be fine,” Hinata replied. “I need to talk with people about it and I don’t think they will come after me a second time.”

“Alright,” the figure stated. “I’ll dispose of the bodies – “

“No, I will,” Hinata interrupted.

The figure nodded again and then asked, “May I go now? I promised to be gone only a few minutes.”

“Of course. Sorry about keeping you and thank you for your help.” She watched as he quickly alighted to a nearby building and then disappeared. Looking down at the bodies, she weighed her options thinking about all the possibilities she had at the moment.

~*~

“Seishin-kun!”

Gaara looked over his shoulder and saw Koichiro running up to him, clearly worried. “You never came back,” the younger boy stated. “I went looking for you.” He paused and then turned to look at a teenager behind him. “Thank you for helping me, Naruto-san.”

Gaara shrank back slightly. He had seen Naruto a few other times since he started to live with the Hyûga and every time he saw the blonde, he felt very guilty. Naruto looked at him and seemed to look through him for a moment before walking over. “Koichiro-kun had me hang on to your things.” He hanged Gaara his yellow balloon and other prizes he had won.

Gaara nodded and didn’t speak, simply taking his things and shyly nodding his thanks.

“Where were you, Seishin-kun?” Koichiro asked as he watched the transaction. “Everyone is looking for you.”

“I was looking for Hinata-sama,” Gaara told him, “but I can’t find her.”

“Don’t worry,” Naruto said. “We’re looking for her too.” He paused as though about to ask something and then clearly changed his mind. “I’m going to tell the others I found you and continue looking for Hinata. We’ll find her so you two enjoy yourselves.”

“Okay,” Gaara replied nervously.

“I’ll see you two around.” He waved and then took off quickly through the crowd.

~*~

“…and then he left that way,” Hinata finished as she pointed to the roof the figure had jumped up on before disappearing.

“Shit,” Kiba murmured under his breath as he nudged the hand of the bigger attacker with the toe of his sandal.

“There you are!” Naruto ran up and then looked at the two bodies on the ground. “So they attacked again?”

“It appears so,” Shino replied.

“That guy saved her,” Kiba murmured.

“What guy?” Naruto glanced at him.

“You know, the one with the trenchcoat that everyone’s talking about.” Kiba looked up and watched Neiji walk over to one of the bodies without saying anything to anyone or acknowledging anyone’s presence. The ground watched the older Hyûga kneel by the body and begin to inspect it silently, his aura dangerous.

“Stone ninja,” he finally stated standing. “Whoever killed them strangled them,” he examined something in his fingers, “with sand.”

“Sand?” Naruto blinked. “But only Gaara – “

“Others could use sand as a weapon I’m sure,” Neiji interrupted. Then he turned to Hinata. “What did this person look like?”

“He was short,” she held up her hand to just under her own height, “about this tall I think. He might have had heels on his boots though.” She paused and continued, recalling as much as she could, “He had reddish hair but he kept his face turned away so I couldn’t see it. He wore a long black trenchcoat and he had a silver chain. I couldn’t see if anything was on it though because I only saw him from the back.”

“Anything else?” Neiji watched her carefully. He could always tell when she was lying.

“No.”

He held her gaze and then nodded. “Alright. Let’s dispose of the bodies after seeing what we can salvage from them.”

~*~

It was the first meal of the new year and the Hyûga of the main and branch houses sat a very large table in the main estate. The people at the table were arranged in a hierarchy. Gaara sat after Hanabi and before Neiji. He remained quiet throughout the meal while others discussed business. Finally, one of the elders looked out at the rest of the clan and said, “Does anyone else have grievances? This is a new year and we must start it afresh.”

Neiji cleared his throat and once they gave him permission to speak, he began. “Last night Hinata-sama was attacked during the festival by two Stone ninja. I wasn’t able to find out if there were others but upon close examination I found that they had been strangled by someone who used sand as a weapon.”

Gaara resisted shifting in his seat and instead chased his food around his plate. He thought he had gotten all of the sand before he left.

“Also, the person she described who came to her rescue coincides with the description of the man who has been seen several times around Konoha in the past few months,” Neiji continued. “My concern is the safety of our head and the safety of our village.”

“That’s right. We know nothing of this person who suddenly appeared,” one of the elders noted. “I’m not sure what course we should take, but I shall speak with Hokage-sama on behalf of Hinata-sama tomorrow.”

Hinata looked over at the elder and considered saying something but held her tongue. She knew that this man didn’t like her and was strongly opposed to giving her the position of head and wanted to wait for Hanabi to turn seventeen before changing leaders. Instead, she sighed inwardly and then said, “Everyone must be careful. Just because they went after me, doesn’t mean that they won’t come after you either. We must all be on guard always for the Sound ninja and that man.”

To be continued…

Title Displacement
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Drama/Romance
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Hell was full and so was Heaven, there was no place to put him. By default, he would go to Hell, but due to last minute soul transformations, he could score a place in Heaven if he proved himself in the mortal world. SPOILERS. Gaara/Hinata.
Chapter Five
Note Hey, dudes, wazzup? It’s Chirstmas break! XD So expect more out of me. Sorry for the wait, I had finals ;_; Also, sorry Fanfictiondotnetters for not having breaks. I found out how to do it shortly after Chapter Four and being the lazy bastard that I am, I’m too lazy to go and edit them into previous chapters, but don’t worry, they’ll be in this one finally! XD

Displacement
Chapter Five

Gaara sat on his bed and considered his next move. The main house had guards posted everywhere keeping him from escaping into the night to find more ways to prove he was worthy of Heaven. He hadn’t changed into his true form for many weeks because of it and couldn’t adjust to sleeping to regain energy.

He had never been sick before but he had a slight fever. He rarely saw Hinata now and it worried him. She was always in meetings or doing something that dealt with being the clan leader. It made him worry as the most appropriate term he could deem the feeling. Before he died, Kankuro and Temari were helping him adjust and name such things but now that he was Seishin, he had no one to ask. Resting his chin on his hand, he frowned. He was restless but tired. His body wanted to return to its true form, but he couldn’t allow that. Running the back of his hand across his forehead, he frowned at the warmth. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he doubted that it was all right.

“Gaara-san,” a voice intoned as a small green light appeared before Gaara, “or should I say Seishin-san?” an almost holographic image of Hamaru asked as he materialized just above the bed.

“Hamaru-san?” Gaara looked down at the image. He had a bad feeling.

“Your expression is unfounded,” Hamaru stated in his business-like tone. “What I have come for is a report on how you have been doing. There still are no open spaces for you in Heaven or Hell, so you can relax.” He surveyed Gaara a moment and then he said, “Change back into your true form.”

“I can’t. I don’t want to alert the guards,” Gaara replied. “If my power rises abruptly, it would be bad.”

“I have taken care of the guards,” Hamaru said as though Gaara should have figured as much. “I can’t check your progress if you’re in this form.”

Gaara nodded and stood up. Closing his eyes he returned to his taller and older form. “How do you check?”

“I need to see your pendant,” Hamaru stated. “It will tell me how you are doing.”

Gaara eyed him and then asked, “How?”

“Just give it over. I only have a bit more,” Hamaru huffed slightly. He instructed Gaara to lie it down on the bed near his image. Studying it, the lizard creature pursed his mouth into a line and then he scribbled things quickly on his clipboard. “Alright. I have recorded your progress, Seishin-san.”

Gaara looked at the lizard, waiting to see if the creature would tell him exactly what his progress was but Hamaru quickly disappeared only milliseconds before a knock came at Gaara’s door. Instantly, Gaara was back in his smaller form and quickly pulled the bedcovers a bit off the bed and messed his hair and tried to look more tired than he was.

“Who is it?” he asked cautiously, ear to the door. He wanted to be sure he wasn’t walking into a trap.

“It’s Hanabi,” a voice replied.

Gaara paused and then slid the door back. Instantly two of the guards entered the room and began to search it. Gaara watched in silence as they inspected his bed, furniture, and other things in the room. Finally one of them picked up the pendant he had forgotten to put on when he was in true form. He masked his face as the guard turned towards him.

“Who’s is this?”

“M – Mine,” Gaara stuttered, playing a very startled child. The guard was three times his size and his aura was quite foreboding.

“Who was in the room with you?” the other guard interrupted. At Gaara’s expression, he added, “Don’t lie, boy. We saw someone in this room who was twice your height.”

Gaara inwardly cursed Hamaru. Pushing it aside, he said, “I – He – you know,” he kept up the façade of an intimidated little boy.

“No, I don’t,” the first guard stated. “We shall take you to Hyûga-sama and see what he will do with you.”

~*~

Gaara looked down at his hands, his mind thinking fast as his countenance stayed scared and worried. He was now sitting in front of Hiashi and could feel the man’s eyes watching him. Finally, Gaara spoke. “That guy…The one that saves people, he came into my room.” He didn’t look up and willed himself to make it sound like the truth. It was in a warped way after all. The man who was saving people had been in his room. “I woke up and he was in there and I didn’t know what to do – I – I froze up,” he confessed quietly. “I’m sorry.”

Hiashi’s sharp gaze never left the boy. Gaara feigned interest in his hands, so used to playing a six-year-old that he wasn’t making too much of a conscious effort. Not only that, but he needed to think and think fast. This was bad, very bad. Especially due to the kanji on his necklace that was in Hiashi’s hands right now.

Silence reigned in the room. Gaara continued to stare at his hands. He knew to be quiet now.

“I will put you under surveillance. We do not know what this man is after.” He paused as though to add more but didn’t. Gaara remained silent, knowing better than to say anything still. He was very lucky at the moment and already knew he was under some semblance of surveillance, which he didn’t blame anyone in the least for putting on him. He was an outsider after all.

“You may return to your room now,” Hiashi told the boy. Gaara stood up, bowed, and left his caregiver.

~*~

“We haven’t seen that guy for a while now,” Koichiro noted as their classmates buzzed before class began. He tapped his pen against his desk as he pondered it. “Crime isn’t big here, but I kind of miss him. He saved my mom.”

Gaara tried to banish the memories of that rescue. It was so weird how he could remember everything about each thing he took care of. His body ached to go back to his true form, but he couldn’t chance it. He could feel eyes watching him even now, but he tried to push that feeling away as well. He didn’t want to worry Koichiro. “Maybe he was only a visitor,” Gaara offered, “and went home.”

It was a good answer, and nothing too odd. Various ninja visited other villages on missions, so the fact that someone might appear and then disappear wasn’t a stretch.

“Maybe,” was all Koichiro said before the teacher called for the students’ attentions.

~*~

Whenever he ran into Naruto, Gaara was sure the boy was watching him very closely. Today was no exception. Gaara had offered to help one of the servants with gathering groceries just for a chance to get out of the house and explore Konoha more without being too suspicious. He liked this servant as well. She was about forty-five and had a very motherly smile. She appreciated his help, but was strict enough not to give him some of the food as they were walking home. She also was the only servant to tisk over Hanabi’s way of nicking food every so often.

He was in charge of getting the milk, butter, and cream today and the proprietor of the dairy store smiled down at him as he came to pay for his purchases. As he went to leave, he felt different eyes than his surveillance on him and looked over his shoulder watching as Naruto followed him out of the door, most likely having been out to get milk. Gaara didn’t miss that Naruto’s milk’s expiration date was today and not a week from now like the bottles Gaara obtained. It didn’t surprise him, especially since the man in the store was about sixty-years-old, old enough to carry a nasty grudge over the Kyûbi.

“What?” Gaara asked without thinking. Naruto’s eyes were unnerving as though he knew everything.

“Nothing,” Naruto answered, narrowing his eyes slightly. He then opened his mouth and then closed it. This boy smelled familiar and it was eating at the blonde like none other.

“I have to go,” Gaara shifted the weight of the bags in his hands. They weren’t too heavy, they just were rather big for his very small frame.

Naruto nodded and the pair parted ways. Looking over his shoulder at Naruto’s retreating form, Gaara frowned inwardly. Naruto always put him ill at ease lately. Sighing, he picked up his pace so he could meet back up with the servant before his packages spoiled.

~*~

He had to get out. He couldn’t just sit around. He had done small things as Seishin, but as Gaara he needed to do bigger things. He wanted to be in his true form and was tired of sleeping in a bed, tired of pretending.

“Seishin-sama, what are you doing out here so late?”

The boy looked over his shoulder as Hinata walked towards him on the bridge. He had decided to accept that he was being watched and didn’t let it stop him from sitting outside and watch the koi pond.

“I can’t sleep,” he said. It was true. He didn’t want to sleep, even if he was sleepy. It was just too unnatural even if he had been trying for months. He didn’t ask her why she was out there. She was his superior. She was second to the Hokage even, and that kept him quiet.

Hinata nodded as she leaned on the bridge railing, Gaara content to continue to sit so his feet dangled over the edge. They were quiet for some time and then something heavy gently slipped into his lap carefully. He quickly grasped the object, realizing that it was his kage necklace.

“Otôsama gave this to me,” she explained. “I thought you might want it back.” She didn’t elaborate as she met his curious eyes. She smiled warmly and then she said, “You should really get your sleep. If you don’t, you’ll be too sleepy to pay attention in class.” She offered him her hand. Helping him up, she smiled her soft smile at him up and they headed back into the mansion.

~*~

“You can’t be serious,” one of the council members gave their head a dubious look. Hinata’s gaze held theirs, her actions becoming bolder as she grew into her new role in the clan.

“He is six-years-old. I admit that we had a similar situation with a boy years ago, but I think that this level of security is ridiculous,” the teenager said, addressing all around her.

“He has had contact with the man who was roaming our streets,” another council member noted. “Then, soon after, the man disappeared. It’s too suspicious for us to ease up on security. Besides, Hinata-sama, you must realize that you are still in danger despite the whereabouts of the mystery man.”

Hinata sighed inwardly. This seemed all ridiculous to her. She understood their apprehensions, but she just thought that they were overreacting. That and everything was just too coincidental from the red hair to the silver chain necklace to the disappearance of the man…It just didn’t sit right. She knew better than to bring this up with anyone, especially the council. Opening her mouth, she considered her words carefully when a loud rapping came at the entrance.

The council eyed the door and then Hiashi before looking to Hinata. Only few people outside those present knew the location of this meeting place. Hiashi, being the youngest on council, stood up and parted the door back slightly, on guard for possible attacks. Just because only few knew of their location didn’t mean someone else had secured the information. He soon stepped out of the room, leaving the door open ever so slightly that voices drifted into the room but the visitor couldn’t see.

“…I see,” his voice was quiet, some words clearer than others.

“I’m sorry, Hyûga-sama, but,” the voice got very quiet and Hinata thought she heard her name but she wasn’t sure.

Soon, she heard her father thank the messenger in a somber voice and then he returned to the room, sliding the door silently behind him. No one asked him what had just transpired and waited for the man to sit down and tell them without prodding. He then began to explain that Neiji had been attacked outside the branch family’s compound. There was no word on details and Neiji was in the hospital at the moment, conscious but in bad condition.

“Someone will need to check on him and retrieve details,” one of the council members stated.

“I will go,” Hiashi said before Hinata could open her mouth. He left it at that and no one had any objections so Hiashi it was.

~*~

His first visitors were his team naturally. When he was younger, he would have simply feigned unconsciousness or sleep around them, but after five years, he simply gave in to the fact they would be there the instant they heard. Ten-Ten arrived first and soon Gai and Lee followed suit. Neiji answered their questions as they tried to get a description of what happened. It mirrored a situation that Ten-Ten was in two years ago in which they pumped her for information and tried to find the assailant. Only Neiji was in much worse shape and was on enough drugs that his words were rather slow, but as accurate as he could make them.

He began to describe the men who ambushed him. They were two Anbu, from which country, he didn’t know. They were male, one tall and the other a bit shorter, most likely a master and a student. Before he could describe the battle, a knock came at the door. When his teammates saw Hiashi, they all began to clear out.

“We’ll come visit you again,” Ten-Ten told him before the group left Neiji alone with his uncle.

“Word got to the council,” Neiji stated more than asked.

Hiashi didn’t respond to the statement. Instead, he began with what he came for. The pair rarely knew what to say to each other even with their steadily improving terms. “I came to ask what happened, if it might be connected to the attempts on Hinata-sama’s life,” he told Neiji what the young man had already figured out.

Neiji collected his thoughts, trying to speak as clearly as he could through the painkillers. “I don’t know if they are the same that went after Hinata-sama, but they were similar.” He paused there and then continued, “The red haired man didn’t appear.”

Hiashi filed all the information away. “I will come back when you are more lucid.”

Neiji nodded, closing his eyes once his uncle left.

~*~

There had to be a way to get out at night, Gaara reasoned. Neiji had been attacked and anyone could be next. Although, since he had been in school and it had been during the day, Gaara knew that as Seishin, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything regardless. Setting his eyes on the practice target in the Hyûga training area, Gaara tried to think of a solution. He had done nice things during all this time, but helping fellow classmates with studying, picking up after himself, and doing other simple nice things weren’t enough. He had to return to haunting the night, but as he felt the eyes on him, he threw his shuriken with more force. It frustrated him to no end.

“Impressive.”

Looking over his shoulder, Gaara relaxed slightly. It was only Hanabi.

“You’re hitting the vital areas each time,” she inspected the target, “and never miss.”

Gaara frowned inwardly. He had tried to be on par with most seven-year-old students, but sometimes he would slip up and his skills would show themselves. One time he had almost used sand as a defense in class. That had been too close. “Thanks,” he said quietly.

Hanabi began pulling shuriken out of the target as she continued speaking in a very low tone, “Oneesama is trying to get your security lessened.” She collected the shuriken cautiously in her left hand so as not to hurt herself. She didn’t look at him, but kept with her tasks. “What was he like?”

Gaara pretended not to know what she meant. “Who?”

“That red haired guy, the one who saved Oneesama.”

Gaara grew quiet and hoped he wasn’t taking too long with his answer. What was he supposed to say? It was known that the man had indeed been in Gaara’s room. “He was…nice,” Gaara offered after a time.

Hanabi walked back over to Gaara with the shuriken. She was quiet for a bit and then said, “I doubt he told you why he left, but do you know?”

Gaara shook his head while Hanabi split the shuriken between them.

“I want to thank him,” she said. “I kind of wish he would come back.”

Gaara watched her throw a shuriken. It was close to his accuracy, but not as much. He didn’t say anything.

“I’m going to see Neiji-niisan today,” she continued. “Do you want to come?”

He blinked. Why would he come to see Neiji? They rarely spoke even before he died! He looked over at her and nodded. She most likely just didn’t want to go to the hospital alone.

~*~

Gaara waited outside of the room as Hanabi checked on her cousin. He didn’t feel right going into the room even if in a way he was part of the family. Putting his hands in his pockets, he stared off at nothing, still playing with how he could advance. He had to start taking chances now. Even if he was under constant guard, he could evade them. He had to use everything he had learned and try to outwit them. He had become Kazekage for more than just the fact he was in the line of succession.

“Are you lost, Seishin-kun?”

Looking over to his left, he saw Sakura smiling down at him. They interacted during the three years before he died simply because he was Kazekage and she was the Hokage’s apprentice. “No, Hanabi-sama is visiting Neiji-san,” he replied.

Sakura looked over towards Neiji’s room, a hidden worry on her face. She looked concerned but kept it concealed enough that a normal first-year student might not have picked up on it. “He will be okay,” she told Gaara and then smiled reassuringly down at him. Then he resisted raising an eyebrow. Sakura was giving him a really weird look, but he held his tongue unlike he had with Naruto a while ago.

Sakura shook her head mentally. Naruto was just thinking weird thoughts. He had been telling her that this boy was familiar, but he had never met him before. It made no sense. This boy was clearly someone she had never met before. Most likely the only thing that was throwing Naruto was the red hair. “Well, I have to go check on someone,” she told him, “so I will see you around.”

“Goodbye, Sakura-san,” Gaara said.

“Goodbye, Seishin-kun.”

~*~

He was just going to have to take the chance. It would diminish his power and there was the strong possibility that the clone could disappear altogether if he was across the village. Also, he wasn’t sure that if he transformed, the clone would stay the same. He closed his eyes and figured that it was time to attempt it and whatever happened would happen.

Still in the form of Seishin, Gaara closed his eyes and made a simple clone. He frowned at how much power had gone into that and wondered how much his power would diminish in his true form. He inspected the clone. It would suffice and he would try not to be gone too long, otherwise it would disappear and things would get complicated.

Carefully, he navigated the halls and slipped through the door. He didn’t sense many eyes on him as he stuck to the shadows, pausing every so often. He had used this technique when he was younger to outwit his guards in Suna. It used to make his father furious that he would take off for who knew where. Gaara was too dangerous to be loosed on the village when he was young.

He navigated his ways out of the gate, small enough to slip through the bars. He didn’t break into a run after leaving, but merely stuck to the same method until he was a block from the main house before ducking into one of the handful of Konoha forests. Closing his eyes, he soon found power seaping into his veins and he was now in his true form. Setting his features, Gaara took off into the night wondering if he would find something or find nothing as most of the nights held.

~*~

Naruto felt something. It was too familiar, but at the same time he couldn’t place it at all. Frowning, the blonde observed the area from where he sat atop the tree in the academy with the swing tied to it. When he wanted to think and clear his mind after missions, he could always be found up there at night. No one had figured that one out yet thankfully. His heightened eyesight peered into the darkness as he began to make out shapes.

There! His eyes latched onto a figure who was beginning to leap from rooftop to rooftop with great speed. Within seconds, Naruto was gone from the tree and racing after the suspicious man in a trenchcoat.

~*~

Someone was following him. Gaara frowned inwardly and resisted checking over his shoulder. He wouldn’t let them know he knew they were there. Descending into the streets, Gaara ducked into a back area and felt the presence stop overhead. The person was looking for him. They had to be of Jônin class due to their speed. At first he might have thought it was Lee, but if it had been, the Chûnin would have easily have overtaken him in speed.

Then Naruto’s head was inches from his. The Genin was standing upside down from the gutter. His eyes were narrowed and he quickly spiraled off the gutter and then stood in front of Gaara, a frown on his face. Gaara turned so that he was more in the shadows. He had to get out of there, but he didn’t want to fight Naruto. Under the doorway, he couldn’t effectively jump up to the roof nor could he get too far away from Naruto. The Genin was skilled in close combat and wouldn’t just let Gaara slip away.

Naruto’s blue eyes narrowed. Even if this teenager was in the darkest shadows, he could still make out his features clearly. It was disturbing, the similarities. Naruto watched as the figure backed himself purposefully into the darkest area. “I know it’s you, Gaara.”

Gaara didn’t let the surprise register on his face. He kept his expression neutral as he fought for a way to get out of this. There weren’t many options, but he wasn’t going to acknowledge this. If he did, that would be it. He would go to Hell after a long stay in limbo. He couldn’t leave yet, he had things to accomplish and the hunting of Hyûga was disturbing.

“You died,” Naruto continued. “I was there for everything – even the burning,” he added, his voice steady but there was a small hint of confusion.

Gaara didn’t reply. He would get out of this; he had to get out of this. He couldn’t acknowledge Naruto’s accusations. He considered his actions and tried to find one that might satisfy Naruto and let him continue on his way. “I have never heard of this Gaara.”

Naruto gave him a very dangerous look. “You use sand as a weapon,” he stated. “You wear ‘Kage’ around your neck…you even used one of his attacks on the ninja after Hinata-chan.” He kept Gaara’s gaze, waiting for the redhead to flinch.

“Many ninja use similar techniques,” Gaara noted. “You are not the only to use Kage Bushin, you are not the only to use the Rasegen,” he didn’t let his eyes leave Naruto, “but you are not the other ninja who use these techniques.”

Naruto wasn’t about to give up. He was convinced that this ninja was connected to Gaara in some way. There were too many similarities, especially after seeing him run. The gait was too similar, the smell was too, and the sand… “Where do you come from?”

That was a decent question. Gaara simply gave him a smirk. “That I cannot tell you.” He took that moment to quickly leave the doorway and jump up onto the roof. “I have to do things, Uzumaki. I promise not to hurt your precious village.” Then he disappeared.

Naruto jumped up to the place Gaara once was and looked out into the night, trying to pick up the other ninja’s trail, but there was nothing there.

~*~

The Chûnin Exams were fast approaching. Gaara was going with the Hyûga to watch the newest competitors. Hinata had asked that Hiashi again help chose the next Chûnin because Naruto was going to participate and because of that, she was sure that her recommendation would be biased. She knew, however, that others that were helping choose the next Chûnin might be biased in the other way, but she wanted Naruto to have a fair chance. He would want it as well.

Hanabi sat up in the stands between her sister and Gaara. It was her last year in the academy so she was intent on learning from the battles she witnessed. Gaara watched the people around them. There were guards placed throughout their area of the stands. Having the head of the Hyûga out in the open like this was dangerous. Neiji sat on the other side of Gaara, fully recovered. Like Gaara, his eyes were more on the crowd than on the matches.

Gaara looked over at Hinata. Even if he could not transform, he would try his best if they were attacked. Inwardly, he had his doubts that there would be an attempt in an open area, but none could be too sure. He had been in the middle of a coup during his first Chûnin Exam after all. The exams went well and were relatively uneventful except for some cool moves shown in various battles, especially the last fight with Naruto and a fourteen-year-old genius.

People began filing out of the stadium as the sun began to set. Gaara contemplated making his rounds that night, but because of the heightened security in Konoha, that could get complicated. He had almost gotten caught three nights ago by a patrol after all. He could feel that his time was growing short. Soon he would have been on Earth for a full year. Once the year was up, he was sure he would have to go back to Hell, Limbo, or Heaven.

“Hanabi-chan!”

The group looked over their shoulders to see Konohamaru running up to them. He gave a quick bow to Hinata and then looked to the younger sister. “The results are out,” he said. “Do you want to go see?”

Hanabi looked to her sister who only smiled. Normally, there would be discussions of what happened at the exams in order to help prep Hanabi for when she took them, but Hinata gave the signal that it could wait. “Okay,” Hanabi told the Genin. Then she and Konohamaru met up with Moegi and Udon along with a few students from Hanabi’s year and took off for the charts.

“let’s go find Naruto,” Neiji suggested. He met Hinata’s eyes and then Hinata looked down at Gaara. “Do you want to come, Seishin-san?”

Gaara considered this. The last time he had seen Naruto, he had been in his true form so it could be okay. However, he knew that Naruto might figure it out, he was sure that this form smelled exactly like his true form. Deciding not to worry Hinata or Neiji, he nodded. He had nothing better to do and the Hyûga main house would be empty for several hours.

The three started out into the crowd trying to find someone who could tell them where Naruto went. Soon they came up to Ino who waved them over. “Hinata-chan! Neiji-san! Over here!” she called out, but the warm smile on her features seemed strained. The blonde Chûnin hurried over to the group and spoke quietly, “Naruto-kun went to his apartment. Sakura-chan went after him…” her voice trailed. The taller ninja exchanged looks as Gaara watched.

“Seishin-kun,” Ino noticed him and then smiled, reaching into her pocket, “it’s hot, isn’t it?” Hot was an understatement. In August, temperatures in Konoha were quite high and the humidity intensified the heat. “Hinata-chan, Neiji-san, and I have to go see Naruto-kun,” she explained and pressed a few don into his hand. “Go get some ice-cream.” At Gaara’s expression, she winked. “My treat.”

Gaara frowned inwardly. What had happened? Why were they getting rid of him? He took the money and looked to Hinata. She wore a guarded look but smiled down at him as though nothing was wrong. “Go on, Seishin-kun, it is quite hot.”

He kept from getting them a dubious look and then gave Ino a small bow. “Thank you, Yamazaka.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiled, “and call me Ino-san.”

He nodded and then walked away.

Once Gaara was gone, Neiji looked to Ino and the façades disappeared. “What happened?”

“Just come on,” Ino motioned towards the market district where Naruto lived, “I’m not really sure what happened.”

~*~

Gaara frowned as he walked down the street, ice-cream melting down his cone and onto his hand. He wasn’t a fan of ice-cream, but that was what Ino said the money was for, so he planned to honor her. Hearing his name, Gaara looked over his shoulder and watched Koichiro wave at him. “Did you watch the fights?” Koichiro asked.

“Yeah,” Gaara replied.

“Those were really cool,” Koichiro gave his assessment and then he frowned, “but did you hear who made Chûnin?”

“No,” Gaara answered, shaking his head. He hadn’t really cared and the only figure that he wondered about had given the best display.

“Ryûzaki and Fuji made it,” Koichiro told him.

“And Naruto-san?” Gaara looked over at Koichiro studying his friend.

“He didn’t,” Koichiro shook his head, “he’s still a Genin.”

Gaara tried to hide how stunned he was. He kept it at a non-personal level. That was why Naruto was in his apartment with Sakura and why Ino chased him off. Gaara sighed inwardly and then said, “Wh – “ Dropping his ice-cream, he looked off in the direction of the area between the market district and the main house.

“Seishin…?” Koichiro watched the shorter boy go rigid as the sun finished setting. “Sei – “ he called out but Gaara was already heading out of sight. “Wait up!” he called after his friend and began to head off in the direction Gaara disappeared in.

To be continued…

Title Displacement
Author Uozumi
Genre AU/Drama/Romance
Rating PG-13
Disclaimer I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.
Summary Hell was full and so was Heaven, there was no place to put him. By default, he would go to Hell, but due to last minute soul transformations, he could score a place in Heaven if he proved himself in the mortal world. SPOILERS. Gaara/Hinata.
Chapter Six
Note Thanks for the awesome ride, but this is the last chapter of this fic.

Displacement
Chapter Six

“Seishin, wait up!" Koichiro ran quickly. He thought he had seen Seishin run in this direction. He couldn’t remember a time his friend was this fast in footraces at the Academy. If anything, Seishin has a rather average speed. It didn’t make any sense.

Frowning, the seven-year-old pushed himself harder. His friend had sensed something and gone charging off. Even if Gaara was the best in their class, there was only so much that a seven-year-old could do in a critical situation. Koichiro knew that Gaara would definitely need his help wherever he had gone.

~*~

Gaara was blocks ahead of Koichiro cursing under his breath. The sun was setting, but he still had at least forty minutes until he could transform. It wasn’t enough time. Positioning himself on a roof, he surveyed the area bellow him. ‘There!’ The boy spotted his target and gritted his teeth. He needed a plan, he couldn’t just go charging in.

~*~

Hinata brought her hand up to her attacker’s chest and was about to inject her chakra when she was sent flying back by a water blast from his assistant. Reflexively letting out a cry, Hinata rolled out of the way of a second blast as she scrambled to her feet, her ceremonial kimono ripped up to her thigh. She was in her bare feet, her dress sandals laying on the ground yards away. Gritting her teeth, she jumped out of the way as one of the Anbu charged at her. She waited for him to fly past her when he halted mid-air. Distracted, she watched as sand began to gather around him and that’s when the second Anbu got her in the gut.

Tackling her to the ground, the larger man held her put and took out a kunai. He readied it and then rolled off her as someone came out of the shadows and kicked him square in the temple. Hinata was on her feet and watched as Gaara in his small form kept the sand and dirt around them carefully around the first attacker and was trying to figure out how to use his limited resources to subdue the second.

Getting her hair out of her face, Hinata launched herself at her attacker and went to immobilize him by hitting a specific point on his body when a larger hand got there first. Looking over to her right, she saw Neiji looking down at the attacker intently. With the man immobilized, he removed the Anbu mask to help get answers out of the ninja.

Meanwhile, Gaara was slowly forming the cocoon, carefully suffocating the ninja but not bad enough to kill him. He knew that they needed information from the Anbu. He watched as the others began to come. They must have sensed what he did. Neiji was already handling the situation over by Hinata. Releasing his fist, Gaara watched the Anbu’s body fall to the ground unconscious.

“I’ll take it from here,” he heard Naruto say from behind him. The blonde walked past him and then looked over his shoulder. “You should get out of here before others come.”

Gaara shook his head. “It’s too late for that now.” Closing his eyes, he transformed and joined Naruto over by the Anbu. Kneeling, he took of the ninja’s mask and parted the ninja’s lips with his finger, feeling around and digging sand out of the mouth. Carefully Gaara put his pointer finger and middle finger together and placed them on the ninja’s forehead. The Anbu’s eyes popped open.

Gaara regarded the Anbu as Naruto watched. Gaara’s hand was now positioned around the man’s throat, applying pressure in various places. He knew that he couldn’t simply order the man to speak, he had to judge the person before continuing.

Yards away, Neiji was standing up. The Anbu he had been interrogating had bitten through his tongue and choked on his own blood. Neiji looked down at the body with a dark look. Looking down a ways, he narrowed his eyes.

“Neiji-niisan,” Hinata began.

“Don’t worry,” the older shinobi replied. He took strides towards Gaara and Naruto, Hinata following behind him. “Have you gotten anything out of him?”

“Nothing,” Gaara was still prodding. “He is from Misuto though.” He could feel Neiji watching his every move. Gaara didn’t squirm under the harsh gaze. In a quick movement, he pressed down on an area of the man’s neck. “Speak.”

The man held Gaara’s gaze and went to commit suicide in much the same way as his partner, but with the position Gaara had him at, it was impossible. There was a long moment of silence and Gaara narrowed his eyes. Opening his mouth, he was about to try another direction when he felt several presences coming their way. “Hyûga,” he glanced towards Neiji to let him know which one he was talking to. “Put your hand like I have it now. It will keep him from biting down on his tongue or spitting,” Gaara instructed. Neiji gauged him and then carefully knelt down, watching Gaara carefully. As soon as Gaara’s hand left the man’s neck, Neiji’s was there.

“We have to get Hyûga-sama somewhere safe,” Gaara continued. “I don’t know if the ninja coming are from Konoha or Misuto or somewhere else,” he continued.

Hinata was ripping off her longer sleeve so that her kimono was balanced and easier to run in. “You lead me,” she said to Gaara. “The ninja coming are not from Konoha.”

Neiji glanced over at them. “Naruto should – “

“No,” Naruto interrupted, holding Gaara’s gaze. “Just trust me on this,” he looked to Neiji, “it’ll work out.”

Neiji frowned.

“Besides, you’re going to need me when the others get here,” Naruto reasoned.

Neiji frowned deeper. He didn’t like this. He looked at the younger ninja and then sighed. “Go, quickly. We don’t have time to argue.” Before he could finish his sentence, Gaara and Hinata were gone.

~*~

Gaara had a firm grip on Hinata’s hand as they races from roof top to roof top. His eyes surveyed the area in front of them looking for a place to take her. The main house was out of the question since the enemy might think they would head their next. They needed a place no one would look, a place no one could find.

Hinata said nothing and let him drag her. He could move faster than she could and they couldn’t afford to be accidentally separated. They moved easily together and Gaara didn’t have to check her to see if she was ready to jump when they leapt, he just jumped, and she easily moved with him. He kept them in the shadows, stopping every so often, checking to see if they were being followed. Finally, he looked over at her and asked, “How many people are at the mountain right now?”

Hinata blinked and then answered, “I’m not sure.”

Gaara stared hard at the Hokage mountain and then adjusted his grip on her hand. “Let’s go.”

~*~

They were soon behind the rushes around the pond near the mountain. Lying down on their chests, they were completely hidden by the tall outgrowth and they were attuned to the area around them. Both were in position so that they could easily move if necessary and could see the areas around them if they rose up ever so slightly. Hinata refrained from activating the Byakugen because the power jump could alert someone to their presence.

After several hours, Hinata looked over at him and whispered, “Who are you?”

Gaara glanced over at her and then returned his eyes to watching their surroundings. “Seishin.” That was true and she should know that. She had seen him in his smaller form after all.

Hinata shook her head. “No, that’s just another alias,” she said quietly. “You don’t have to tell me, I was just curious.”

Gaara looked back over at her. Hinata watched the area in front of them, the breeze blowing her long hair into her eyes. Pushing it out of them, she frowned. “I’m going to use the Byakugen. It’s been hours.”

Gaara nodded and readied himself for a possible attack. The older ninja closed her eyes and activated her bloodline limit, gazing out into the night in all directions.

“No one is out there,” Hinata reported. “I think guards are looking for me though.” She sat up cautiously and deactivated the Byakugen. Looking over at him, she then averted her eyes. She wanted to say, “I don’t think you should come back with me,” but she refrained. It would be dangerous to let him out of Konoha. At least, that’s what everyone seemed to think. She knew that things couldn’t return to how they were, and being the leader of the Hyûga, she did have a duty to the people of Konoha. Watching her fingers, she pursed her lips. She wanted him to stay, but if he did, he would be put away somewhere, which she didn’t want, but she didn’t want him to go either.

Gaara sat up as well, his senses still alert. He frowned inwardly and considered his options. He wasn’t sure if it would be smart returning with Hinata. Whether he was in small or big form, it wouldn’t matter. He couldn’t afford to be locked up somewhere. He would have to move to another town. Gauging Hinata, Gaara considered his options. He had to leave, but he couldn’t simply knock her out without alerting others to her presence, and it was too dangerous to do so. He wouldn’t know who would answer, Konoha or someone else.

Hinata shifted slightly as he eyed her. “I think we should go back now,” she said quietly. “It will be easier if we do that, than if they find us out here.” After a moment in which neither of them moved, she asked, “Why are you here?”

Gaara shook his head. “I can’t tell you that.”

“If you tell me,” Hinata began, “I might let you g – “

“I can tell you why he is here,” a voice intoned and Hamaru appeared between them in his small messenger form.

Hinata stared at the lizard-like creature that was barely as tall as her hand was long. Gaara’s eyes were narrowed dangerously at Hamaru. Why was he here in front of someone else?

“Your time is up, Gaara-san,” Hamaru stated, ignoring Hinata. “I need to see your necklace.”

Gaara glanced at Hinata who simply watched. Silently, he handed the necklace over, watching as Hamaru inspected the Kage symbol. Finally he waved two fingers in the air and the necklace disappeared. “You have improved greatly, Gaara-san,” he informed Gaara, “however, this will have to be under further review by Enma-sama. You might not have enough.”

Gaara stared. His first reaction was to ask for more time, but he kept his mouth closed. Finally opening it, he said, “But, I’m not done here yet.”

Hamaru snorted. “That doesn’t matter. There’s an opening in Heaven and that means you come back now.”

Gaara glanced at Hinata. He couldn’t just leave her out here. Hinata met his eyes before looking away, and then she said quietly, “I am a ninja, I can return just fine.” She looked away.

Gaara watched her for a few moments and then looked down at Hamaru. “Can you make sure she gets back safe?”

Hamaru looked over to Hinata for the first time. He nodded. “We can do something about that, but you have to hurry now before the spot is taken, Gaara-san.”

Gaara stood up and Hinata soon followed. He watched her a moment and then said, “Goodbye.”

Hinata nodded and then held out her hand, shaking his. “Good luck, Kazekage-sama.” After a moment, she let go and then began making her way back towards the village lights cautiously. Looking over her shoulder at him, she gave him a small wave and then she disappeared.

Gaara looked down at Hamaru who was now his full height. Looking over at Gaara, he asked, “Did you get attached?”

Gaara shook his head. “Of course not.” He turned to follow Hamaru, but then looked back to where Hinata had been standing. He couldn’t help but worry if she would be all right.

The End

Thank you for all the support I received on this fic! It made me very happy! There will be no sequels/prequels, ect…I hope to see you all again!

~ Uozumi