Astrocam: Hey, it's me again :) This time I'm going to attempt to write a full-length fic and not just a one shot. Forgive me if the updates are not as fast as you hope. I am nearing the end of my first year in college, so it will be busy. Along with my personal life having a lot of drama.
I wrote a story like this a while back. Some of you may remember. It was a Gaara/Hina fic based on a summer vacation. I took that one down because I didn't like how it turned out. So, this is pretty much me re-writing it, with hopefully better results.
Pairings: Gaa/Hina (romantic), Naru/Hina (friendship). Of course there will be a love triangle. It's a romance story.
Warning: IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THE GAARA/HINATA PAIRING, STOP READING RIGHT NOW. Gaara/Hinata is personally my favorite pairing, so please no comments about how they shouldn't be together because they never talk in the show, or something. I know that. I watch the anime. This is called fanfiction.
With that out of the way, on with the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Or else Gaara and Hinata would be together if I had anything to say about it.
Chapter One – How to Save a Life
Tell me how to get back to, back to Summer Paradise with you, and I'll be there in a heart beat...
Hyuuga Hinata watched the horizon of her hometown of Konoha disappear below the clouds. Her flight had taken off. She was leaving behind her home, her family, and friends to attend a summer school course in a town called Suna, which was a two-hour flight from Konoha. It didn't seem like a long distance, but to Hinata, it felt like a lifetime.
The course she was going to take was only taught in a school in Suna, so she'd had no other choice. She was going to miss out on summer vacation with her Konoha friends, including the one person she cared deeply about. No, maybe even...loved.
She fiddled around in her backpack for her mp3 player, pulled it out, and flicked it on. Setting the earphones in her ear, she pressed buttons until she found the song she had been listening to ever since that day...
Slide by Goo Goo Dolls.
She closed her eyes, letting the sun hit her face through the airplane window and reminisced about the most amazing day of her life.
Just a few weeks ago, she had been in school in Konoha, texting one of her closest friends, Uzumaki Naruto. They normally only hung out on weekends, or when they weren't too busy with other things. Today though, the weather was amazingly beautiful for this time of year. It was March and it was 26 degrees celcius. Could it get any better than that?
Apparently it could.
Naruto sent her a text message. You know what? Why don't we skip last period since we don't have anything important to do. Let's just go. The weather is too beautiful to be stuck in this building all day.
Hinata didn't like the idea of skipping a class. But, she hadn't skipped any at all this year except for twice when she was sick. She hadn't had a break in a while, and she figured she deserved one.
She wrote him back. Ok. Meet me outside the front doors.
He quickly answered. See you in a few.
They hadn't hung out other than seeing each other in school for a couple of weeks. This would be nice.
Hinata loved her time with Naruto. He was her best friend, and she knew that she was one
of his best friends. They shared a special bond, one that was more than friendship but not quite romantic. At least, not yet.
Hinata was in love with him. After being friends for nearly six years, how could she not be? He had stuck with her through everything. He had even stuck up for her when she was bullied a couple years back when she'd first started high school. They had fought a few times, but always pulled through because their dedication to each other was so great. Hinata often wondered why Naruto still bothered with her, but she was glad that he did.
Now they were past the rough patches, and Hinata knew it was only uphill from here. She had yet to confess her feelings to him, though. The moment never seemed right.
He beat her to the doors. He was waiting for her when she walked up.
"Hey! Man it's gorgeous outside. Let's go!" Naruto grinned, opening the door and taking a deep breath of the fresh spring air.
Hinata had to admit, he was right. She loved warm weather, but not so warm that it was muggy. This was just right. The perfect day to spend with her best friend.
Their school was on the waterfront, so they headed down a path that took them to a rocky bank that had huge rocks they could easily sit on. Hinata had been here a few times with Naruto, but they had always been with friends. This was their first time alone in quite a while.
They found a spot on the rocks to sit. "How's your classes going?" Naruto asked. They were only in one class together, and that was the class they were missing now.
"Fine. I'll graduate with decent marks I think. Y-you?" Hinata still blushed when the two of them were alone, and when he was talking to only her. She just couldn't get over how amazing he was.
"I'm not sure, one is kind of iffy. I hope that I graduate. I'll talk to my teacher I guess." Reaching his arms out behind him, he laid flat on his back on the rock, his hands behind his head. It was large enough for two people to lay down on, so Hinata did the same. Their elbows touched and her heartbeat sped up. She loved making contact with him. Any type of contact with him would make her heart beat faster.
"I-I'm sure you will." She loved encouraging him, too. She knew he didn't get much encouragement, so praise from her meant everything to him.
As it was, he rolled over so that he was facing her. "Thanks! I think I will too."
Again, she blushed at his closeness. His face was only a few inches from hers, but likely nothing would happen. It was always this way when they were alone.
He reached into his pocket to pull out his mp3 player. "I've got a song you might like." Flicking a few buttons, he finally stopped at a song that Hinata recognized but didn't know the name of.
She was about to ask Naruto about the song, but suddenly, he was blocking the sun, moving over top of her so that both of his hands were on either side of her. She let out a yelp when he started tickling her sides. The song was still playing.
"Hah! I know your spots, Hinata! You can't get away!" he laughed.
Hinata couldn't help but giggle, rolling back and forth to try and get away. She didn't want to roll over too far to one side, she might fall off the rock. She was at a disadvantage.
Naruto had done this to her before. This was not unusual. He loved to to torture her, usually by tickling or wrestling. Even though she didn't put up much of a fight, he'd pin her down in seconds, yell that he won, and jump up and run, letting her chase him.
After a few moments, he finally stopped tickling her, then balanced himself over top of her again. "I win!" he grinned, his cerulean blue eyes glinting. The sun was behind him, and cast a glow over his sun-kissed blond hair, making it look almost like he was glowing.
Hinata just smiled up at him, expecting him to roll off of her so they could continue basking in the sun together.
Instead, he dipped his head down and pressed his lips lightly onto her mouth. So lightly she almost didn't feel it, but she gasped in surprise anyway. Just as she gasped, he pulled away quickly.
No, don't stop! Her mind shouted, but she remained silent, staring up at him in shock.
"I'm sorry," Naruto sat up so that he was sitting beside her, not on top of her now.
"N-no, don't be," Hinata sat up as well. This was the moment. She had to do it. He had kissed her. Maybe he felt the same way.
"I-I guess I just..." Naruto started to say, but then a third voice interrupted him.
"Hey! I thought I heard voices!"
Hinata groaned. It was one of her classmates, Kiba. No Kiba, not now! She pleaded just as he jumped down a few rocks to sit on a rock next to her and Naruto.
She knew Kiba had feelings for her as well. She just didn't return those feelings to him. She looked at him as a good friend. Kiba was obviously jealous whenever she was alone with Naruto, so he often had to interrupt if he saw them together. He didn't understand the meaning of "alone time".
"So guys, what's up?" Kiba seemed to notice the awkward air around them but he pushed ahead with his interference.
Hinata sighed. What had Naruto been about to say? She'd have to ask him later.
Naruto pretended like nothing had been about to happen and went on to have a conversation with Kiba about their last science project of the year. Hinata just sat there in silence, confused. Naruto had just kissed her. Why?
Now, Hinata would never find out the answer, because since that day she had not gotten a chance to be alone with him. He hadn't talked to her much, either, as though afraid she was going to bring it up again. In fact, he seemed to be avoiding her.
She had been hurt, but he had come to see her goodbye before she'd gone away for the summer. He'd given her a hug, told her to message him whenever she wanted, and told her to be safe. That was it. No hint of anything romantic. No reaction to what had happened between them. She internally cursed Kiba for interrupting just before she had been about to confess.
"We have arrived at the Suna airport. Please prepare for landing." came the captain's voice over the announcement system on the plane.
The stewardesses instructed everyone to have their trays up and seats back in the proper position. Hinata followed what they said, but she already knew the basic landing procedures. She had flown before.
Landing was bumpy, but they made it. Hinata gathered her bag that she had brought on the plane with her and followed everyone down the tubes, out to the airport. No one was coming to greet her, so she had to fend for herself until she got to her apartment. She had found an apartment to rent for the few months she would be there. The landlord had his apartment set up for purposes like this, when students only needed to stay a few months. She was grateful she had found it. It came furnished and everything, at an affordable price.
Once she'd found all her luggage, she called a taxi and one arrived for her in minutes. The taxi driver helped her put her stuff in the car, then she told him where she wanted to go.
"Arigato," she told him when he helped her take her bags into her apartment. She gave him a tip for that, even though the ride had been expensive. Her father had given her lots of spending money as well, some even for groceries, but she hoped to get a part-time job while in school so as not to worry about spending money. Her family was well-off, but this summer, Hinata wanted to be independent.
She hadn't really seen her apartment yet, only in pictures. So she took the time to explore, figuring out where she was going to put her things. She was a bit tired from the flight, but it was late afternoon, and she wanted to go on the beach as well. The beach was about a five minute walk from her apartment.
Then she heard her cell phone ringing. She rushed to catch it before the person hung up. It was Naruto.
"Hey, Hinata. I see you made it to Suna. I called you a couple times but you must have been in the plane."
"I-I was." Hinata was surprised that Naruto was calling her. He had been avoiding her since they had kissed.
"That's good. How's your place?"
"I-it looks fine. I-I'm going to unpack later, I will probably g-go to the beach in a bit." Hinata had a natural stutter to her voice that made her sound like she was nervous and shy all the time. Once in a while she could speak clearly, when she was angry, or upset, or had to make a point. But most of her casual conversation was made in her stuttering voice.
"I bet you're surprised that I called. I just wanted to make sure you got there safe. That's all."
"O-oh." Hinata had hoped that maybe he wanted to talk about what had happened. "Well, I'm f-fine. Thanks for c-calling."
But Naruto didn't hang up, as she'd expected. "Hinata..." he began.
"Y-yes?"
"I'm sorry I've been avoiding you. I know you're upset with me because of what happened. I've realized I'm going to miss you when you're not here for the summer. Going to the beach and hanging out with our friends won't be the same without you. I shouldn't have spent our last month together avoiding you."
"I-it's ok, Naruto-kun..." Hinata knew she would forgive him no matter what. She loved him that much.
"I'm glad you forgive me. I would hate to spend the whole summer wondering if you were still mad at me."
"I-I'm not."
"Good. Maybe I can get a job and save up for a flight to come visit you for a week or two," Naruto offered.
Hinata jumped at the idea. "T-that would be fun."
"I'll try to get a summer job. Then save up everything I can."
A "beep" sound interrupted her phone call. "I-I'm sorry, my father is calling," she told him. "I-I'll talk to you later."
"Cool. I'll message you later. Bye."
"B-bye." Hinata ended her phone call with Naruto and answered her father's call. She chatted with him for a bit to assure him that she was fine. Her mom had left the family when Hinata was just a baby, but her father refused to talk about it, so she just accepted that she didn't have a mother.
After that phone call, Hinata decided she should wait until the next day to go down to the beach, since it was now starting to get dark and she hadn't unpacked yet. She spent the evening unpacking, then had her first shower at her new apartment. Her father had given her money for her first grocery run, which she would be doing in the morning. For tonight though, she walked the few minutes to the gas station and picked up a few snacks to do her over until she got groceries.
She talked to Naruto most of the night before falling asleep.
Since her course didn't start for a couple of weeks, Hinata had some time to get used to the area and get a feel for where things were. She'd planned it this way, although that meant two less weeks with Naruto, she knew she needed time to get used to everything.
Today she needed groceries. She assumed that she would have to call a cab, which she did once she was finished making her rounds. It turned out to be the same taxi driver from before. Again, he helped her with her packages, and then gave her his personal taxi number in case she needed a driver again. He told her if she drove with him enough, he'd start giving her discounts. This pleased her.
Once back comfortably in her apartment, having unpacked and put away all her groceries, she made a real lunch time meal for herself, consisting of a tuna sandwich with strawberries and yogurt for dessert. Much more appetizing than the bag of chips she'd had for supper last night...
Her cell phone vibrated just as she was eating her lunch. It was Naruto.
He wrote, Hey, Hinata. I hope your first night went well. How are you? I miss you.
Hinata blushed at the last few words of the text. I miss you. He missed her? And she'd only been gone a day...
She responded quickly. Hello, Naruto. I'm fine. Went to get groceries this morning. Got the same taxi driver I had last night. He's nice. I miss you as well.
It only took a few bites of her sandwich for Naruto to respond again. At least the people are nice there. That's good. I'm going to apply for some summer jobs today, so I can save up some money to come visit you.
Hinata was glad that he was willing to make that effort just for her. That will be fun. I hope I can see you this summer.
Me, too. When is your course over?
Middle of August. So I'll come home with a few weeks of good weather left. Even if you don't make it here, don't worry.
Excellent. Well, I gotta go. Sakura-chan wants me to go prom dress shopping with her. Ugh, really?
Hinata giggled at that, but then sighed. She was going to miss her prom due to this course, and her graduation, but she would have her transcript mailed to her. This course was essential for the college program she planned to attend this September, and if she didn't take it now she would have to wait for another year.
Ok, tell Sakura to send me pictures of the dress she picks. And I want a picture of her and Sasuke together.
I will tell her. She misses you, too. She's going to text you sometime today. Talk to you later.
Sounds good. Bye.
After lunch, Hinata decided to head into town to do a little shopping. She wanted to explore the town and see what kind of stores were there.
She decided to dress up a little bit, since she was in a new place and wanted to look nice. Not that people cared. She didn't know anyone. But, she wanted to make an impression. She wanted to make her friends and family in Konoha proud to know her.
Instead of her normal sweatshirt and yoga pants, Hinata decided to go with a light blue fluttery shirt that was kind of baggy and sheer, with a white tank top underneath it. To make it look more fitted to her waist, she secured a brown belt around the shirt under her breasts. For pants she threw on a pair of dark wash skinny jeans with a belt. These were the kinds of things she usually only wore when going out with friends, or some important event.
As she looked at herself in the full-length mirror in her bedroom, she realized that dressing up this way made her feel more confident. She couldn't help thinking that...maybe she looked...good. She should do this more often.
It was a new place, a new start. Hinata decided not only was she going to be in Suna to go to school, she was going to transform herself. Her looks, her personality, everything. When she returned to Konoha, Naruto would be shocked.
Yes. This was a new goal. To make herself look, and feel good. To be confident.
A little thrilled about discovering this new goal, she decided to take it a step farther. In town, she would buy some make up. She didn't have much in her collection, just the basics in case she had a pimple she wanted to cover or something. But she'd seen other girls like Sakura and Ino wear it, and thought it looked good. If she could learn to do this...
Eager now, Hinata grabbed her purse, rushed out of her bedroom to put on her silver flats. Maybe she would even get a new hairstyle, she'd had her violet-coloured hair straight for as long as she could remember.
Once she was in the downtown area with the shops and restaurants (it was a ten minute walk from her apartment), Hinata went into a make up store, and one of the girls who worked there gave her a make over. When she was done, Hinata hardly recognized herself, and she liked it. She liked the way the eyeliner made her unusual lavender eyes stand out even more. Hinata purchased most of the make up items the girl had showed her how to use, then headed to a clothing store next.
As she was walking towards the boutique, she couldn't help but notice a man walking back and forth in front of a store. He seemed agitated, nervous, he was quietly murmuring to himself. Hinata figured he must just be mentally challenged, as they had a few of those in Konoha wandering the streets. She thought nothing of it, and continued on her way.
Suddenly, someone let out a scream.
Hinata whirled around, alarmed. A woman who had been standing close to the man was now being held hostage by him, he had a gun to her head, his arm tightly around her neck.
The man looked directly at Hinata. Other pedestrians and onlookers dropped to the ground, worried the gun may go off. Some ran into stores. Cars pulled over. Hinata remained standing, while the man's eyes were fixed on her own.
"Give me all your bags, and your money, or the woman dies," he growled. "I'm sick of not having money for food to feed my family."
Hinata wondered why he didn't just grab her when she'd walked by him. But that didn't matter. She dropped her bags quickly, and her purse. "T-take it all. Just don't hurt her!" Hinata's heart was pounding. She had never encountered something like this in Konoha.
The man roughly pushed the woman against the wall of the building, causing her to fall to the ground, then rushed up to Hinata, grabbed her bags and money, whirled around and ran.
A few seconds later, sirens could be heard. One of the police cars gave chase to the man, the other stopped just inches from the sidewalk and where Hinata was standing, in shock.
"Ma'am?"
She turned to see a young man with crimson red hair and jade eyes, he looked very young to be in the force. Then again he could just be out of school as she was. "Y-yeah?" she murmured, quieter than normal.
"Are you all right?"
"I think you should make sure that she i-is," Hinata gestured shakily to the woman who was still on the ground.
The young man nodded to the rest of his team, who went over to examine the woman. He stayed with Hinata though. "Can you walk?" he asked her.
What kind of silly question was that? "O-of course I..." Hinata took a step forward, and a wave of dizziness and nausea washed over her. Her ears began ringing, and inkblots dotted her vision. She stumbled, but the officer caught her before she hit the ground.
"I noticed you were shaking. You're in shock. Let me take you to the hospital. Is there anyone I can contact?"
"No. I-I'm here alone. Just m-moved here yesterday." she suddenly found it difficult to speak. Her words were slurring.
"Ah shit, I think we need an ambulance here!" was the last thing Hinata heard before darkness closed over her.
Fortunately, since Hinata was eighteen, they didn't need to call her parents. She was legally an adult. She woke to find the police officer from before standing beside her bed. She was surprised he had waited for her.
The first thing she said was, "S-shouldn't you be on duty?"
"I am. I was told to watch over you. Since you told me you were here alone, I figured you should have someone to wake up to."
Hinata was grateful for his kindness. "Thank you."
"No, thank you. You saved that woman's life. And, we captured the man and got your possessions back for you. They're waiting for you in my car." The man sat down in the chair next to her bedside.
"Thank you again. I-I have never witnessed something like that before."
"I don't imagine. I hope you don't mind, but we looked at your driver's license and health cards to confirm who you were. We didn't look at what's inside your bags, though. I told them not to. Nice to meet you, Hyuuga Hinata from Konoha."
Hinata blushed. "T-that's me. N-nice to meet you, too."
"Sorry. I haven't told you my name yet." he gave a small smile. "Sabaku no Gaara. How are you feeling?"
"Fine. B-better." Hinata confirmed. There were no more inkblots or ringing in her ears.
"We'll bring the doctor in to examine you before you leave. I will need your witness reports, though, so we can close the case. I've already interviewed the woman, and she is fine." Gaara stood and left the room, returning with a doctor. He was allowed to stay while the doctor examined Hinata.
"Everything looks clear. Take it easy for the next few days. You just have to fill out some papers, then you may go." The doctor gave her a friendly smile before leaving her and Gaara alone again.
Hinata blushed when she remembered she was in a hospital gown. "W-where are my clothes?" she asked Gaara.
"Over there." Gaara pointed to a chair across the small room. "I'll leave you to get dressed, but I'll wait for you outside."
When Hinata was alone, she replayed the day's events as she got dressed. She had saved a woman's life. Somehow, that wasn't registering in her brain. She had given up her money and possessions for a complete stranger. Wouldn't that be something to tell Naruto? She'd never tell her father, though. He would demand for her to return home. He was pretty protective, sometimes overbearing. It had taken a lot of convincing for him to let her leave for the summer.
She was imagining what Naruto's reaction would be as she stepped out of the room, fully-clothed, carrying her hospital gown. Gaara was leaning against the wall, his arms folded across his chest. Hinata had to admit, he was rather...attractive.
"All set?" he asked when he saw her.
"Yes."
She went through the procedures of filling out the paperwork with her information. All the while, Gaara waited for her. He never left her side, even as they stepped out of the hospital into a bright, clear sunny day. As though the past few hours hadn't happened.
Hinata could tell by the angle of the sun that it was late afternoon, now. Her plans for shopping were over. Most shops here closed at six PM, only few stayed open until nine. Plus, she was still too shaken up from what had happened to even attempt another shopping trip, at least not for a few days.
"I'll take you home so you don't have to pay a taxi. Where do you live?" Gaara led the way to his police car without waiting for her answer.
She followed him, telling him her address. When she crawled into the backseat of the car, she saw that her purse and bags were there. She opened her wallet. Her money was all there, as well as her identification. She sighed in relief.
"Sorry, but passengers have to ride in the back, because we have a bunch of stuff up here," Gaara pointed out the control panels and various buttons.
"I understand. A-at least I'm not in handcuffs." Hinata managed a small joke, but it got a chuckle from Gaara.
"You're too pretty for that," he murmured.
Hinata was surprised at his boldness, but she didn't acknowledge his comment. She wasn't sure what to say to something like that. But...she had to admit, she liked it.
"Here you are," Gaara announced ten minutes later when they reached her apartment complex. "Do you need help with anything?"
"N-no, but thank you." Hinata could manage her bags by herself. They weren't that big.
"Anytime. I know this is kind of personal...but I like you. And, since you're new here, would I be able to show you around sometime?" Gaara leaned out his window to talk to her.
Hinata was standing a few inches from him. She didn't know him well, but she found that he could be trusted. He was a police officer, after all. "Sure. I-I don't have any friends here."
"Here's my number. Call or text anytime. I have unlimited." Gaara wrote down his number on a notepad, ripped out the sheet, then handed it to her.
"A-arigato." Hinata decided she wouldn't leave him hanging. She wanted to make friends. Why not start here?
"Have a good night." Gaara gave her a small wave with his hand before driving off.
Hinata looked at the number he had scrawled on the paper. He'd written his name above it, too, so she wouldn't by chance forget who had written it.
Sabaku no Gaara, she thought, heading towards her apartment building.
Maybe this would be an interesting summer after all.
Astrocam: I hope you enjoyed it. If so, fave and comment :) Thanks :)