A/N: Well, it's been a while since I've submitted anything here. I'm sorry, but life has kept me busy. If you're waiting for the next chapter of "The Name", you're in for a long wait, because that particular story has been barricaded with writer's block. If you're waiting for the continuation of "Ron's Talent", I'm not updating until I get some feed back aka reviews!

Ok, this is my first Naruto fanfic, so don't judge it too harshly. It's Gaara/Hinata, I just love that pairing! The name of this story is a work in progress, because I have no idea what to name it yet :P.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series. If I did, Gaara and Hinata would have gotten together a loooooooong time ago.

Untitled (until a title can be found)

She had always been a quiet girl. No one really seemed to notice her and she was fine with that. She had grown up watching Naruto from afar, hoping that perhaps one day, she'd pluck up the courage to really talk to him. Alas, that day had not come yet. How she hoped and prayed that that day would come soon, but it didn't. As Neji might say, Naruto was not her destiny.

----------

Hyuuga Hinata stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom. Gazing back at her was a plain girl with short dark hair and clear eyes. Nothing special, she would think to herself. Giving the mirror a slightly annoyed glance, she left her room and made her way to the front doors of the Hyuuga household. She pushed them open and breathed in the crisp morning air of Konohagakure. How lovely it was.

She quickly descended the front steps and made her way to the ramen shop. This morning, she was in the mood for something simple. The familiar sight of the red booth greeted her eyes five minutes later. She sat down and was about to order when something, or rather, someone caught her eye. She gasped.

Hinata had seen this boy before, during the Chuunin exams. She recognized his reddish-brown hair and the strange mark on his forehead. What was his name? What was the name of the boy she had seen murder three ninjas during the trial in the forest? The answer came as she remembered the electronic machine which had decided who Lee would fight against in the preliminaries. His name was Gaara.

She stared at him and before she could avert her eyes, Gaara's head turned slowly to face her. He fixed her with one of his piercing glares. Hinata shivered and looked down at the countertop. She knew he was still glaring at her, she could feel his gaze boring a hole into her.

"What can I get you?" asked the cheery shop owner.

Hinata's head snapped upward in surprise. She had almost forgotten where she was. "Just plain ramen, thank you." she uttered quietly.

"Coming right up." said the shop owner, as he placed a steaming bowl in front of her.

Hinata busied herself with her ramen in an effort to shake off the feeling of Gaara's gaze, which was making her feel more and more uncomfortable. She was halfway through the bowl of noodles when a voice broke the silence.

"You're name's Hinata, isn't it?" asked Gaara quietly.

Hinata nearly choked on her ramen. She didn't even want to look at Gaara, much less talk to him.

"Y-yes." she replied.

"You fought your cousin in the Chuunin exam didn't you?"

"Y-y-yes." she stuttered even more. Unconsciously, she started to fidget with a fold in the fabric of her sweatshirt.

Gaara closed his eyes. "Yes, I remember. All that blood…"

Hinata shivered to an extent she had never thought possible. Gaara was a very frightening person. She was debating the idea of running away when Gaara spoke again.

"You almost died."

"Yes, I d-did almost die, but the medic nins were there so…." she trailed off. Talking about near-death experiences with a killer didn't sit quite well with her. Her ever increasing sense of unease must have decided to show itself, because Gaara chuckled.

"I frighten you, don't I?"

Hinata was about to say no, purely out of politeness, but she was interrupted.

"Don't pretend that I don't. I scare everyone."

Hinata looked up at him, he was still glaring at her, but miraculously, she didn't look away. "S-so, what brings you to this ramen shop?" she asked.

Gaara didn't answer right away. "I'm here with Temari. She's visiting Shikamaru. I…couldn't sleep… so I decided to get something to eat."

Hinata giggled internally. She had heard that Shikamaru had told Temari how he felt about her a few days ago. All she could think was: it's about time!

She then noticed that her bowl of ramen was empty. Clumsily, Hinata pulled out her wallet and placed a few coins on the countertop to pay for her meal. The shop keeper happily accepted them and took away the empty bowl. Quietly, she scraped back the chair she had been sitting on and stood up. Gaara did the same.

For a moment, they stood facing each other. Already, something was nagging at Hinata; telling her that Gaara might not be as bad as she thought. She wondered for a moment how she might see Gaara if she didn't know of his murderous actions. It was impossible for her to tell. "Well, it was n-nice talking to you…" said Hinata in barely more than a whisper.

Gaara's eyes widened slightly as she said this. For a few moments, he remained still, but then he bowed his head slightly. A few seconds later, he was gone in a whirl of sand.

Hinata's eyes were fixed to the spot where Gaara had been standing. As frightening as he was, she wasn't nearly as scared of him now as she had been before their meeting that morning.

--------

A/N: What do you think? Please review, because if you do, it'll make my writing go a lot faster. I tend to write more if I see that me writing is appreciated. : )