I still don't own Naruto.
Please review!!!
Gaara looked at the girl cautiously. What if she ran away like everyone else did? But... Maybe if he was nice she would see that he wasn't scary, and maybe, just maybe, she'd even be his friend. With renewed hope, Gaara walked towards her.
Now right next to her, he extended his hand.
The girl, noticing the presence of another, looked up with fear in her eyes.
"Are you...okay?" He asked her with a small smile, still determined to be nice in spite of the terror she had of him.
She backed away from him with a whimper.
Gaara's smile crumpled and his hand fell to his side in defeat. She hated him. Just like everyone else. And now she was going to run. They all did.
But she stayed where she was, still scared, but not running.
Someone in the distance yelled indistinctly.
Her head whipped around to the direction of the voice, then back to Gaara. It was like she was trying to see inside him, to know if she could trust him or not.
The girl stood hesitantly, and then opened her mouth as though she was going to say something, but quickly shut it again.
Gaara wondered if he should ask her to swing, but she was wearing such a pretty dress, despite the fact that it had dirt on it... swinging could rip it. Then he realized how hungry he was. Maybe this girl hadn't had lunch either.
"Do you want to eat with me?" He asked her, hardly daring to hope that she would.
She nodded.
His smile reappeared. "What's your name?"
"Hinata..." she replied in a barely audible voice.
He started off in the direction of his house, and she followed him, looking at the ground.
After walking a few streets without talking, Hinata spoke. "...What's your name...?"
This came as a shock to Gaara, who had been assuming that she knew who he was. "I'm Gaara..."
There was another stretch of silence as he wondered what she had been so scared of, and as she tried to get the courage to ask another question.
Finally she did. "What, um, village is this...?"
"This is Sunagakure," Gaara told her, confused.
At this point they had reached his house so he opened the door and they went in. Yashamaru was in the kitchen, but at the sound of the door he came out to greet his nephew.
A look of surprise crossed his face when he saw the girl, but he quickly exchanged it for a smile. "Who might you be?" he asked her.
"Her name's Hinata and she's eating lunch with us!!" Gaara replied for her, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice.
"It's nice to meet you," his uncle addressed Hinata.
She bowed politely, but still didn't look up.
"Our dining room is this way," he said kindly to the young girl.
Reassured by his tone of voice, she managed a small "Thank you," as she followed him.
"Lord Gaara, why don't you help me get the food," Yashamaru suggested after their guest was seated.
In the kitchen, Gaara started talking. "Yashamaru, she didn't know who I was! She even asked me what village we were in!"
A small frown crossed his uncle's face as he considered this. He spooned rice into three bowls and handed one to Gaara.
Hinata glanced up as they entered, and the older man was able to see that she had been crying recently. "Hinata, where are you from?" he questioned.
She didn't reply immediately. The question seemed to scare her. Her eyes searched his face, trying to see if she could trust the motives behind the question. Finally she answered, "Ko- Konohagakure..."
"Really? Is your family here on business? Are you lost?"
She wasn't sure what to say. He was smiling, and he looked so nice. But so had Mae. What if he was working with her? She stared intently at her rice bowl, her hands clenching the bottom of her chair. What if he tried to cut off her finger too?
Yashamaru saw her unease and said, "We could help you find them."
Tears suddenly welled up in her eyes again. "I... I was kidnapped..." she told him quietly.
Gaara's eyes widened. "Kidnapped? Yashamaru, can she stay with us?"
His uncle considered this. "Maybe that would be best, at least until the people that tried to kidnap Hinata are caught... Is that all right with you?"
She looked at Gaara. His face was hopeful, almost desperate that she wouldn't say no.
Even though tears still threatened to pour down her face any moment, she felt herself smiling a little bit. "Okay"
