I had so many issues with this chapter… That's why it took so long. I had the first part (Gaara's school daze) written before I posted the previous chapter, but the rest of it was in fragments and I barely managed to piece them together. There's some strongly implied ShinoKiba, vaguely implied ChouIno, and the rest you've all seen before. The sections might seem disjointed... I'm sorry about that. Crazy college schedule has screwed with my brain and thus my writing. Be that as it may, enjoy!

I do not own Naruto.

Bloodline

--Chapter Seven: Giants In The Sky--

In Suna, the Sabaku siblings had gone to a private school. There, no one (including the supposed authority figures) bothered the three of them because no one was stupid enough to try it. Upon learning that he would have to attend Konoha's public high school with Neji, Lee, Tenten, Naruto, and Shikamaru, Gaara was slightly displeased. By the end of his first week, he envied Kankuro and Temari a little. They had already graduated and didn't have to put up with this shit.

On Monday, Gaara decided he did not like the Konoha High uniform. He was okay with the dark gray pants. He could tolerate the crisp, white collared shirt. He was not fond of the blue tie but could live with the thing. Gaara's major issue was the deep green sweater-vest. When combined with his dark red hair, it made him feel like a Christmas decoration. That Christmas was far from one of Gaara's favorite holidays was not helpful.

On Tuesday he was called into the principal's office, where he had to listen to her ten-minute tirade about the school's policy on tattoos and why the kanji for "love" on his forehead was unacceptable.

On Wednesday he was sent back to the principal's office, where he was subjected to a lecture on the reasons boys should not wear eyeliner, especially in excessive amounts.

On Thursday the school counselor wanted to talk to him about the monologue Gaara had written for his drama class (which he was only taking because the school required it). The monologue had been about death, with numerous mentions of blood and methods of killing. The counselor wanted to know about Gaara's family life.

Friday was the one day of the week where the students were allowed to dress as they pleased, within limits. Gaara wore all black, because that was what he always wore when he didn't have to wear the school uniform. That day, unfortunately, also happened to be Halloween. Someone in his math class asked if Gaara meant to be dressed as a Goth. The only thing that saved the student from a black-eye and Gaara from third visit with the principal was Naruto dragging the youngest of the Sabaku siblings to lunch.

Gaara was surprised to discover, on that Friday, that lunch was the only time of the school day he actually almost liked. He nibbled at his lunch and found himself observing the eating habits of the other five teens he sat with. Naruto was slurping down ramen, which he had every day. (He used the microwave in the teacher's lounge to heat it, since the only teacher in there at lunch time was Jiraiya, an English teacher. The two of them had an agreement that Naruto could use the microwave all he wanted as long as he didn't tell Principal Tsunade that Jiraiya wrote erotic novels while he was supposed to be teaching a bunch of teenagers about Shakespeare.) Tenten ate neatly and with a fork, conversing with Neji as she did so. The newly-proclaimed Hyuuga heir was no messier than his betrothed, but he used chopsticks to consume his meal. Lee ate a sandwich as he read either a sports magazine or one of his textbooks. Shikamaru slept through lunch.

Gaara wasn't entirely sure what their eating habits (or lack thereof, in Shikamaru's case) said about the Hyuuga family's best hunters.

--

Sasuke Uchiha was confused. Since Sasuke did not like being confused, he was not happy. When Sasuke was unhappy, he paced.

Sasuke didn't know Sakura, and she didn't know him. No one did, except Kakashi. So why had he kissed her? Her prettiness seemed to be a stupid reason. Ino and Hinata were pretty, and he'd certainly never kissed them. Shikamaru had said that Sakura was smart, but that was no better. Perhaps, the next time he saw her, he would not mention the kiss and reserve judgment until he did get to know Sakura better. Not that he had any idea of how to go about doing that. So he continued to pace.

Really, it was quite amazing that he hadn't worn a path into his carpet yet. Sasuke decided to pace in the hall outside his bedroom instead.

--

Sakura was bored. Even a few days awake in the Uchiha compound had not been long enough to change her into a complete night-owl like the rest of the occupants. She'd attempted to ask Ino for suggestions of something to do, but pestering the sleeping blond had only earned Sakura a slapped cheek and vague directions to a music room. She didn't bother trying to find the room until after most of the vampires had left for their nightly outing, opting to spend her daytime waking hours buried in Shakespeare. Once night fell and the others were gone, it took her ten minutes to sort out Ino's directions and actually find the room, but her curiosity- and the desire for some sort of noise, in which the compound was distinctly lacking- fueled the search.

The music room was smaller than the library, and much of the space was occupied by a grand piano. The top and keys were covered in a light layer of dust. Sakura wondered if it was even in tune. A quick C-scale, her fingers practically flying across the keys, proved that it was. She sat down on the satin-covered bench. It had been too long since her last piano lesson, and her fingers were itching to play.

Sasuke was surprised to hear music drifting from the room a few doors down from his own- no one had played any of the instruments stored in there in months, and he was pretty sure that even Shino, who used to frequent the room the most, had stopped dusting off the piano. The room- and the piano- used to be part of a method to calm Kiba down during his monthly transformation, but Shino could control the werewolf without music now. So by the time Sasuke gave in to his curiosity and peered into the music room, he wasn't so surprised to see Sakura seated at the piano.

She seemed unaware of his presence, her fingers gliding across the keys to produce a familiar-sounding melody. He realized it was from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, a ballet that his family had gone to see when he was much younger… before they were all destroyed. Without a word, Sasuke turned to leave the music room.

"Somebody help us in here!"

The music stopped abruptly as Sakura looked up. That voice- clearly belonging to an adult female- was familiar, but she couldn't place it and decided to investigate. She stood up just as Sasuke walked past the doorway. "Sasuke? What's going on?"

He didn't look at her. "I don't know. That's why I'm going to find out."

"Do you… do you mind if I come with you?" She shouldn't have asked it, really. It wasn't any of her business.

"Hn." He kept walking. Sakura hung her head. She should have known…

Sasuke paused. "Are you coming or not?"

--

Sasuke led Sakura to a bedroom in a wing she hadn't entered before. They found Kurenai looking over Shino and Kiba, who were perched on top of a bed. Sakura barely registered that this room was no where near as elaborately decorated as the girls' rooms. Kiba was in his wolfish form and appeared to be in pain. Shino was petting him, whispering to the squirming werewolf.

"Lucky the full moon is almost over," Kurenai said softly as Sasuke and Sakura came into the room. "He's in bad shape."

Shino said nothing, only continued to pet Kiba. The werewolf relaxed a little under his touch.

Sasuke looked grim as he observed them all. "What happened?"

"We ran into a pair of Hyuugas. They took Hinata."

Sakura gasped. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Took her out?"

Kurenai shook her head. "Took her with them, which is worse. She's not likely to make it out of that house once she goes back in."

"Do you think the werewolf is going to survive?"

Shino glared at Sasuke, who glared back. "Don't look at me like that. If he was struck by silver-"

"He's not going to die."

"You can't turn him to save him."

"He's not going to die," Shino repeated, looking down at Kiba. "I know I can't keep him forever. I know I'll have to watch him grow old and weak while I stay the same for eternity. But I'm going to watch him do that, because it's worth it."

Sakura glanced at Sasuke. The Uchiha vampire turned away.

--

"He practically raised that damn wolf, and now he talks about him like a lover."

"Maybe that's how he feels. At any rate, can you imagine Kiba without Shino?" Shikamaru said. They were in the library now. Sasuke knew that Shikamaru would show up; he came every night. And while neither of the boys liked each other, when Kakashi was gone (he had a tendency to vanish every so often and return after a few days), Sasuke ended up talking to Shikamaru.

"He would have died before he turned ten."

"He would have died the night his clan was killed."

Sasuke was silent for a moment. "Maybe he should have," he said softly before leaving the room.

--

Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi had been best friends for years before Chouji was turned into a vampire. They were still best friends, despite the circumstances, and Shikamaru made it a point to talk to Chouji as often as possible. They usually sat in Chouji's room, away from any potential eavesdroppers.

"How are you and Ino doing?" he asked.

"She's distracted by Sakura right now."

"Ah."

Chouji chuckled, a sound that seemed odd coming from one who looked so young. "Speaking of distracted, what's with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you don't usually ask questions you already know the answers to. What's got you all… thoughtful?"

Shikamaru sighed, and Chouji smiled.

"A girl, huh?"

"She's not a girl; she's a lioness."

Chouji laughed. "No wonder you're distracted." He was undeterred by Shikamaru's glare. "Who is she?"

"One of the hunters from Suna."

"And her name is…?"

"Temari."

"How troublesome is she?"

"More than Ino and my mother combined."

"Wow. So you're in love with her."

Shikamaru stared at his best friend. "What?"

"You heard me."

"And you think I'm the insane one."

--End Chapter Seven--

Perhaps my love for dialogue is getting the best of me… Anywho, I hope you guys are more or less happy with this chapter. I'll try to finish the next one, which features the beginning of some NaruHina, as soon as possible. Thanks for reading, and please review!