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Title Naruto; Sabaku no Gaara/Hyuga Hinata; 24. good night

Title: We Are the Same
Author: Shilohm
Pairing: Sabaku no Gaara/Hyuga Hinata
Fandom: Naruto
Theme: 24. good night
Disclaimer: I have not, do not, nor will ever, own the great anime/manga Naruto. Some one in japan owns it, and anyone else who has the rights. So, no copyright infringement, okay?

Rating: PG

The Konoha sun slowly began to set on the training grounds, and on the figure of one Hyuga Hinata. Hyuga Hinata fascinated one Sabaku no Gaara, and as one does with something that fascinates them, he watched her. He hid in a tree off to the side of the training grounds, watching as she hit a post.

Now, one must ask why Gaara was fascinated with the Hyuga heir. To answer this is simple. She offered her hand to him. No, no, no, not marriage, but friendship. She was the second person to offer him friendship. Naruto he could understand, as they were very much alike. This girl though... this weak, naive, stuttering girl, they were as different as night and day, the sun and the moon, the earth and the sky. So, why? He had to find out.

"Ha!" Hinata shouted as she hit the post again, her hair moving slightly with the movement. The setting sun's light caused the blue in her hair to stand out. Gaara decided blue was a nice color. "Ha!" she hit the post again.

'She is weak,' Gaara thought as he watched her train, 'I could kill her as easily as an ant.'

He could feel the sand shift at this thought, 'But why would she, so powerless, dare even to come near me, a monster, let alone offer friendship?' Gaara was confused, and that wasn't a good mood for him.

Gaara glared at Hinata, blaming her for his confusion. Blaiming her and her colorless eyes, short, blue hair, and weak attacks. After a minute, he'd finally had enough. He jumped down silently from his perch, and walked towards her, stopping a few yards away.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" she shouted again. He could see her hands were beginning to bruise. He moved his gaze to the back of her head.

"Hyuga."

She spun around quickly with a gasp, eyes wide. When she realized it was Gaara, she did something that surprised him. She smiled.

"G-Gaara-san," she said softly, hands going under her chin, "W-what are you d-doing h-here?"

He stared at her for a second, eyes narrowed. Why did she smile? Why didn't she run? She should be afraid!

"Why?" he said, watching every move she made, "Why don't you run?"

She blinked at him and tilted her head to the side, "W-why sh-should I run, Gaara-san?"

She was too naive. Even after she'd seen him kill, she stayed where she was. He walked towards her as he said, "You should be afraid of me, scream and run away. Why don't you?"

Hinata's cheeks turned pink as she looked at the ground, "W-well... um, I-I don't th-think that you w-would h-hurt m-m-me. Y-you've cha-changed, Gaara-san, s-since the chunin ex-exams..."

Gaara stared blankly at her. How could she know this? He could kill her where she stood... but there was something he had to know first, "Why did you offer me your friendship?"

"W-well...y-you're a lot like N-Naruto-kun," she said, looking at him again, "H-he was alone, too. O-only he f-found s-someone to... believe in h-him, you didn't. W-when... you helped Lee-kun... it proved t-to me that you ch-changed. I-I wanted you to kn-know, that I be-believe in you...and I want you as my f-friend..." she looked down again, face red.

Gaara was surprised. Not that he showed it, but he was. Why, would someone believe in him? It was a concept he had trouble understanding. He took a few more steps toward her, now just a few feet away, "Why would you want me as a friend, Hyuga?"

Hinata glanced at him for a second before looking at the sunset, "I... I was alone too, Gaara-san. Not-not the same w-way you and Naruto-kun were, but I-I felt alone. My f-father... he is d-disappointed in m-me, so he ignores m-me unless it's to tell me I'm w-worthless. Until I-I was a-assigned to my t-team, no one noticed me. I felt like I h-had no one. I d-don't like that feeling, and I don't th-think anyone should feel that way. I don't think you should f-feel that way..."

He couldn't move. No one had ever bothered to think about how he felt, most assumed he didn't feel at all. How could someone, almost the exact opposite of himself, care at all...

Hinata turned her head to look at him and smiled. She reached out her hand to him, "C-come look."

Gaara hesitated for a minute before taking her hand. She pulled him over to stand next to her. With her other hand, she motioned to the sun, "Sunset is my f-favorite time of the day. Everything b-blends together. The n-night and day, the sun and m-moon, the earth and sky, all b-boundaries disappear, and they are the same. There... there is no difference."

He looked at the sunset. It was true. A faint crescent moon could be seen just above the half sun, and stars were starting to sprinkle the sky. The brilliant colors surrounding the sun seemed to blur the tree line, mixing green, pink, red, yellow, orange, purple, blue... so many colors, slowly darkening.

Something struck Gaara then. They were the same, him and Hinata, different and the same, all at the same time.

"Thank you... Hyuga," he muttered, feeling weird for saying it.

Hinata smiled shyly, "Y-you're welcome, Gaara-san, and you can call me H-Hinata, i-if you want..." she suddenly got a slightly panicked look on her face, "Oh no! I have to be home before dark! I'm sorry Gaara-san, I have to go!" she ran a few steps forward before stopping and retracing her steps back to Gaara's side, her face was bright red now, "G-Good night, Gaara-kun," she whisper as she leaned over, giving him a quick kiss.

Gaara, again, couldn't move, he tried. He tried blinking, he tried speaking, he even tried moving his sand! He, to put it simply, was in shock. Hinata took advantage of his shock and ran off, heading home.

Gaara finally managed to say, "Good night, Hinata-chan..."

Maybe, they could friends... and,maybe, one day, more.