Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
-o-o-o-
Droplets of water flew from her blue locks, arching beautifully back into the lake her nimble feet kept her above. Chakra streamed, barely visible, around each step she made. Soundless grace embodied her movements as she twirled atop the surface of the lake.
Eyes lightly shut as if in a daze, Hinata practiced her moves with an elegance befitting her years of training.
-o-o-o-
From the treeline, Gaara stood, transfixed. He had merely been on another moonlight stroll, his inability to sleep making it all that much easier for this to be a nightly routine, when he had stumbled across this hidden sanctuary. In the middle of the lake, moving as if she was a long-blue haired sprite was Hinata. The quiet shinobi who had turned down ANBU placement despite perfect scores was dancing, unseen, in the middle of the lake.
In the middle of nowhere, Gaara had come across a hidden moon Goddess. And the fact that it was Hinata made it all that more unbelievable.
Already at odds with his own nature inside, the sand jounin could do nothing but stare.
Unfortunately, the performance could not go on. Gaara barely twitched as he heard several rustles around the clearing. It appears the little shinobi was going to get more attention than she bargained for with her little dance.
-o-o-o-
Hinata was spinning into a circular crouch when she was startled out of her peaceful reverie.
As if from the very bushes themselves, black and deadly kunai sprung forth from all around the lake.
Ever since her failure in the Chuunin exams, Hinata has trained herself to become stronger, faster, and more receptive to surprise attacks. So instead of freezing like the old Hinata years ago, this long-haired beauty calmly fell into the defensive stance she had created herself through intense, self-inflicted practice. It was her own Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, a technique that stemmed from a combination of the Hyuga Clan's more powerful moves.An intricate design flared up at the lake's surface, the water turning a brilliant green from the chakra barely churning its surface. Hinata's hands were instantly transformed into deadly blades of chakra, the kunai hardly standing a chance once they were within her Byakugan's field of vision.
From the sidelines, Gaara watched with naked brow raised in surprise. She was swatting down the enemy's weapons as if they were harmless fruit flies, except at a speed that was extremely difficult for the sand nin's eyes to follow. Like a swarm, the ebony blades swathed a cutthroat path through the bushes and saplings standing between them and their target. Unblinking, the Hyuga girl stood her ground, taking down the projectiles before they could get within arms-length of her kimono-draped body. In the middle of another swarm is when six enemy ninja decide to take the battle up another notch as they hurtle towards the lone girl in the middle of the lake.
Breaking her stance, Hinata sprints from the wide open lake towards the more closely knit trees of the forest. By the time Gaara realized she was making a bee-line fore his position, she was already a couple hand-widths before him, her eyes wide in surprise.
"Gaara…?" Hinata uttered, breatheless. Was he in on the attack as well? The red-head could see the confusion and concern flit across her face before her expressions shifted once again to surprise.
The sand nin could only gape as he felt the small girl tackle him to the ground, his gourd barely rattling at this sudden move.
Dumbfounded, he lay on his back with the Hyuga girl on top, smothering him. It was only as the 'thwack' of the kunai ripping the nearby trunk into shreds reached him that Gaara realized the girl had shouted, "Watch out!"
She had saved his life.
