Chapter One
Hinata quickly searched the other fallen ninjas and found the same results. The other variation was the amount of sand on them as though they had been tested and only those still alive had been briefly consumed by it. Though, the leftover grains were inconspicuous unless one knew what to look for.
She swallowed and glanced around uneasily once more.
There was only one person she knew of who could control sand and he was not one who should be in the village, much less, one who would save her.
Gaara of the Desert.
The new Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand.
A chill ran up her back and she shuddered delicately. Why would . . .
No, she had to report to the Hokage. She would worry about the motives of a certain sand ninja at a later time.
She turned to toward the Hokage tower and acknowledged the Anbu with a nod.
They returned the nod and gathered the bodies.
Hinata took off at a dead run, arms at her side for balance. She reached the tower without further incident.
She walked through the hallways and was vaguely uneasy with how easy she was able to reach the Hokages office. Usually there were checkpoints one had to navigate through to even get close to said office.
Apprehension filled her belly as she made it all the way without being stopped once.
Two Anbu waved her through, even going as far as opening the office door for her, and despite her misgivings, she stepped into the room.
The door shut behind her.
A head of blood red hair turned to face her and her heart skipped a beat as pale green eyes met hers with perfect blankness.
"Ah, Hinata," The Hyuuga tore her eyes away from the Kazekage to face Lady Tsunades inquiring gaze, "I hear there was a disturbance."
She swallowed and fought not to glance at the redhead. What had he told her?!
"I-I w-was," she took a deep breath to calm herself, "I was attacked by five enemy ninjas. I believe it was their intent to take me alive and unharmed."
"Why do you believe this?" Tsunade frowned as she started shuffling through papers on her desk.
"They seemed reluctant to use deadly advance ninjutsu within the village. They also seemed ill equipped to defend against my bloodline," she fisted her hands to keep them from fidgeting, "I was successfully able defend against three of them."
"Three?" Tsunade arched a brow, "I thought you said there were five?"
"There was," she licked her lips, "The other two were taken out by another ninja."
The Hokage hummed to herself as she leaned back into her chair.
"Who was this other ninja?"
Hinata directed her eyes to the carpet in an effort to avoid looking at Gaara. Why doesn't he say anything?!
"I was unable to make visual confirmation."
"Surely, you have some idea-"
"Perhaps, we should continue with our business," Gaara's deep voice cut through the conversation cleanly. "The situation has been concluded and our negotiations are far from the same conclusion."
Tsunade leaned forward and propped her face in her hands, "All in good time, kid, don't get your panties in a twist."
Gaara stiffened and crossed his arms forbiddingly, "Another time, then."
He turned and left without sparing Hinata a glance.
"Moody brat," Tsunade rolled her eyes, "Now, Hinata, from the top."
It was a good two hours later when Hinata was finally released from the office.
Lady Tsunade had been naturally concerned when she had discovered a rather disturbing history of attempted kidnappings on the former Hyuuga heir.
"I am seen as the weakest one and so they target me," she had replied somberly, "They seek the secret of our bloodline." "I am going to assign you a guard-" "No," Hinata ducked her head, "Forgive my impertinence, Lady Hokage, but I have worked very hard to become jounin. If you assign me a guard then I will be seen as too weak to take care of myself." "I have faith in your abilities," Tsunade assured her, "But your situation is extreme." "Of course, Lady Hokage, I will agree to any terms," her head lowered. Tsunade sighed, "All right, you win. Damn girl, you can pull a guilt trip." Hinata colored, "I didn't mean-" The older woman laughed, "Go away before I change my mind."
Hinata was grateful, of course, that the Hokage cared enough to worry about her safety but she couldn't afford to be seen as weak by her family. They had finally released Neji from his unofficial duty of guarding her. She couldn't disgrace him by accepting another in his place and it would undo all her head work.
Her father was not an easy man to please but he had been proud when she had become a jounin and declared her a worthy daughter.
It was one of the single most precious moments she had ever had with him.
She winced, imaging his reaction to an ordered bodyguard, not even a Hyuuga one at that.
She exhaled softly and glanced around for the eye-catching red hair only to come up empty.
"Hinata?"
She snapped to attention and then quickly moved to help the overloaded Shizune.
The rather frazzled assistant smiled in thanks, "What brings you here?"
"Report," she answered simply and bit her lip, "Have you seen the . . . Kazekage, anywhere?"
Shizune glanced at her curiously, "He mentioned he had an appointment with Naruto and wouldn't be able to continue the trade agreement until tomorrow. Why?"
"Oh, I . . . have to talk to him about something," she thanked the older woman and quickly escaped.
"What's going on?" Shizune wondered aloud and then shrugged.
Hinata paused outside the tower as she did a quick inventory of Naruto's favorite places. The ramen shop was a must see, training ground seven, and the office she had just left. It was still early for lunch and a bit late for breakfast so she turned to the training grounds.
Hopefully, Gaara would still be with Naruto so she could thank him properly and apologize for interrupting his meeting with Tsunade.
"Hinata!"
She was proud she didn't jump with surprise as Rock Lee bounded into her path.
"Lee," she greeted him politely.
"Neji, has already left," the green clad ninja informed her sadly, "I am sure he will be most sad to have missed you."
Hinata lowered her head as she silently berated herself. She forgot all about meeting her cousin for breakfast. She should have asked the Anbu to send word to him before entering the office. Neji was probably thought she had stood him up and when he found out she had been attacked . . .
"Thank you, Lee, will you tell him I'm sorry I missed him if you see him before I do," Hinata met his round eyes, "He's not going to be happy when he sees me."
"You have my word," Lee's eyes were concerned.
"Have you seen N-Naruto around?"
"Naruto?" Lee's gaze went skyward, "He went on a mission this morning, though, he should be back soon."
"A mission?" Hinata repeated dully, how was she going to find Gaara now?
"Gaara was looking for him, too," Lee continued unexpectedly, "He's waiting at training field seven. He said he might even spar with me later."
Rock Lee brought up an enthusiastic fist to punch the air, "Yosh!"
"Thank you so much," she bowed her gratitude and dashed away before Lee could utter another word.
Her pace slowed as neared the field as doubt assaulted her. What if she was wrong? What if Gaara hadn't been the one to help her this morning? What if he got mad at her for thanking him for something he didn't do?
She stopped at the edge of the training field.
Why didn't he say anything when she was doing her report? Why was he even allowed in the office while she was giving her report? She knew it was exactly standard practice to let other Kages an inside look on how your hidden village worked. So why?
He didn't say he had helped her.
He didn't deny it either.
She lifted her gaze from where she had unconsciously dropped it and flinched as cool green eyes met hers across the clearing.
Gaara stared at her from a moment from his perch on a random bolder, his gourd at his feet, and then nodded at her before glancing away.
Hinata let go of the breath she had been holding as her heart pounded her chest.
Quickly, before she lost her nerve, she crossed the grass and bowed before the foreign leader.
"Thank you," she squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for anything.
Silence.
She lifted her head reluctantly and met curious eyes.
"You are one of Narutos precious people," he stated it with absolute confidence.
She flushed a bright red and shook her head. "O-oh no, N-Naruto doesnt see me like that!" She twiddled her fingers nervously. "He doesn't see me at all, really."
A pale hand caught her chin and lifted it once more to met his piercing gaze, "You love him."
Her flushed deepened as her lips parted in surprise unable to even weakly protest. Was she really this easy to read?!
"You love a demon carrier," his eyes seemed to devour her face as he leaned in closer to her.
"Hey! Gaara! Hinata!" Naruto's voice rang out clearly through the air.
Panic made her squeak as she pulled away and she might have run if the Kazekage hadn't taken hold of her jacket.
Unable to escape, she took a deep breath to at least calm her red cheeks.
Gaara eyed her curiously before turning them to his friend, "Naruto."
"Hi, N-Naruto," Hinata bit her tongue and took another breath to control her stutter.
The blond bounced in with a huge grin and eyed them both with interest, "You guys didn't tell me you were dating."
End Chapter
AN: Hey, let me know what you guys think! Thanks for reading! Michelle
