Ai (love) ?

Gaarazlilmiss

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in Naruto, only this story and everything said in it.

Hello everyone! I'm back again with Chapter 4! Just a recap…In chapter 3, Hinata and Gaara are now confused about themselves and each other! They've meant twice, and Hinata has asked to see Gaara again! Naruto and the rest of the ninja on the mission to find Hinata are gathering clues to her disappearance and thinking about places she may have gone, while Temari and Kankuro are extremely baffled by Gaara's strange behavior! Now in chapter four, Temari and Kankuro will question Gaara about why he didn't tell them he found Hinata, Naruto, Sakura, Shino, Kiba, and Neji will finally find a clue as to where Hinata has gone, and Hinata will go off with Gaara for a bit! The rest of this though, is continued in the next chapter! Oh, this chapter's gonna be good…at least I think so!

Gaara : I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WEREN'T WRITING ANYMORE!!

Gaarazlilmiss : That was just so you'd stop attacking me!

Gaara : You.Are.Going.To.Die!

Gaarazlilmiss : …eep….

Hinata : I-it's not that I want to see him, it's just that…

Gaarazlilmiss : Stuff it will you Hinata!? You did, you asked him, end of story! And the beginning of this chapter!

Chapter 4 : Admiration

As Gaara walked along, he noticed the presence of some other people. He knew who they were. Of course they'd follow him, he was acting…unlike himself. On normal circumstances, Hyuuga would be dead as a doorknob for the way she acted around him. She had done all the things that other people were killed for! How had she escaped alive?

Temari and Kankuro landed in front of Gaara, serious eyes ment each other.

"Why did you two follow me?" Gaara asked. He didn't stop, just kept walking past them.

This wasn't uncommon for the two other siblings. Gaara didn't care about anything but himself as he had stated…well…now that was starting to change slightly.

"Alright Gaara! We have to go back and get the Hyuuga! She was with you. Dosen't seem like that's the first time you've talked to her." said Kankuro with a slight smirk. This was too different for him. It was slightly amusing, but he knew better than to pull too many strings.

Gaara shot him a death glance. Kankuro froze up, and Temari stood there, not daring to make a move.

"…This mission is null and void. Hyuuga was simply training, and Konoha got overly worried." said Gaara. "This is the end of this mission." he said.

"But we can't! We've got to report back to the kazekage, and if he finds out from Konoha that Hyuuga hasn't been returned…" said Temari.

"Shut up." said Gaara. He didn't even understand himself at the moment. Defending Hinata…what was he thinking?

"We'll take her back when she finishes." said Gaara.

"What? Her training?" asked Kankuro. "But, I mean…" Kankuro said.

"…" Gaara said nothing and just kept walking. The siblings knew Gaara wouldn't say anything else about the conversation. They followed, still very confused. Asking Gaara why he did what he did wouldn't be of any help. They definetly wouldn't get a straight answer, and more than likely, none at all.

The three siblings had returned to the inn, each getting their own room. Gaara didn't sleep, unlike Temari and Kankuro, he simply sat on his bed and gazed at the moon. It was soothing to him, a large round orb of white light in the sky. For some reason, he felt empty, not the kind of empty that he'd felt for the past 7 years of his life, but empty, as if something were missing. Hinata's face instantly popped into his mind. "Hyuuga…I just don't understand how you've managed to make me think about you, just one person, like this constantly." he said. It was almost horrifying to him, and at the same time easing on his mind. Words Hinata spoke to him not to long ago ran through his head too.

You are who you make yourself out to be.

This made Gaara actually think about who he made himself out to be. Only things he could think of were things other people made him out to be.

Monster

Demon

Murderer

Cold

Cruel

And what he thought of himself happened to be what other people thought he was. It hit him. He had never considered himself anything. A sharp pain sprinted through his head quickly then subsided. He had never thought about anything so deeply.

Gaara…

A voice in his head sounded. He knew who it was. It was the Shukaku. He had sensed the thoughts Gaara was having. These thoughts could kill him. He had to stop Gaara.

Little one…why are you thinking such things?

It asked. Gaara shook his head.

Because…I've never thought about it before…

He answered.

The shukaku let out a laugh.

So why start now? It's because of that Hyuuga girl, isn't it? She's the one who's made you start to think such ridiculous things. You ARE a demon, because I am a demon. You could never be like she is.

The shukaku hissed.

Gaara grabbed his head.

Admit it Gaara. You envy her. You want to be like her. You WANT her. And you can't have her.

The shukaku said. He wanted Gaara to belive that he couldn't do anything he hadn't already been doing. It was true that Gaara wanted to see Hinata again. He wanted to learn from her how she could be the way she was, he wanted to see her. It was an odd feeling, slightly close to…

Love. It isn't something you can feel unless it's towards yourself. You don't even understand the meaning. And you've just recently begun to talk to her…

It snickered a little. Gaara growled. "I do not love her." he said simply.

But it will grow into that soon, especially if you keep seeing her.

The shukaku said, hoping it would make Gaara not want to see her.

Gaara was quiet for a minute. "Your right." he said.

The beast chuckled at hearing Gaara's incomplete answer.

"And that's why I'm going to find out what it is." he said as he looked back at the moon, blocking out the demon's shrieking at his failure to keep Gaara from Hinata.

Gaara heard something nearby. It was right on the other side of his wall, and the voice sounded very familiar…he listened close to it…

Hinata was in the inn at this time as well, although she didn't know Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro were here as well.She laid on the bed, and covered herself with the green white and orange plaid covers. Her face looked thoughtful. "Today, I did one thousand gentle fist strikes. Tommorow, it will be one-thousand gentle fist strikes and chakra focusing." Hinata said as she began to close her eyes. The thoughts ran back through her head. Why had she asked Gaara to see her again? She knew it was slightly foolish, and he might not even come. "I don't expect to see him tomorrow." she said.

"…Shino…I'll show you I can beat Kiba…Kiba…I'll make you wish you never knew me in combat…Kurenai sensei…I'll show you that I am not your weakest student…Hanabi…you'll wish you'd never said any of those things to me…father…I'll make you prouder than anyone else could ever make you…Neji…I'll challenge you again, and you'll lose this time…and, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, pausing her vows for a brief moment. "You won't be sorry that you cheered me on. You won't feel bad about turning me down when we spare with other teams…You'll recognize me." said Hinata. "I won't be alone anymore. I won't be lonely." she said then picked up her picture of Naruto and held it in her hands as she dozed off.

Gaara heard every word. "I have to talk to her tomorrow." he said. There was no denying it. Gaara admired Hinata.

(Next day)

Hinata awoke to someone speaking just outside of her door. The voices sounded vaguely familiar, but not to the extent she could tell who it was.

"We'll see you later then, but you better mean what you say. We can't afford to waste much more time." Said a female voice.

"Don't lose it, okay?" asked a male voice.

"I can't guarantee that." said a deep but soft voice.

Hinata gasped. She recognized that voice almost instantly. "Gaara-kun!
She said in a small whisper.

She listened for a little more, but heard nothing but footsteps pad slowly away. There was no noise for a long while. Finally, a few firm knocks hit the door. Hinata jumped slightly, startled. "Ah, um, w-who is it?" she asked, putting on her jacket and pulling her ninja shoes over to where she could slide them on.

"…Gaara." said the voice. Just a simple answer. Nothing different about his tone at all.

Hinata almost smiled. What was that for? How did he know where she was?

"Um, I-it's okay to come in." she said.

Gaara opened the door. As he walked in, he looked around, as if he were searching for someone. Then he stopped. He looked over at Hinata.

She looked at him, a bit shocked. "Um…yes?" she asked.

"Well…I thought you wanted to talk today. Or do you not remember what you asked?" he asked her, his face unchanging.

"Oh, no no! I-I didn't forget, I just well…" she said, and fadded off.

Gaara started to walk out the door, and Hinata followed.

She stared at the large gourd on his back. She had heard nothing good about it. Not one thing. He had to endure all that extra weight just to protect himself. Hinata couldn't imagine doing anything like that. And even when he was just talking to her, he still felt he needed it. Hinata felt a bit edgy again.

"We're going to go back to the place…that place at the edge of those woods, right?" she asked. She had to be sure.

Gaara looked back at her. "Why not?" he asked calmly.

Hinata nodded, taking that as a yes.

"I wanted to ask you some things." Gaara said suddenly.

Hinata blinked. He wanted to ask her some things?

"Oh…a-alright." she said.

The two walked in almost complete silence the entire way towards the area they had talked to each other at last night.

(Meanwhile)

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled. Five extra Naruto's appeared.

"Alright guys! I'm counting on you! Split up and look for any trace of Hinata!" Naruto yelled.

"Right!" they all said. They, along with Naruto, split off and began to search for Hinata in the woods on the sides of the dirt path.

Sakura sighed. "Why can't he just talk normally? Does he have to exclamate everything?" she asked. Because Sakura possessed no special Jutsu's that would help her with this mission, she just looked around normally, keeping a keen eye in case she spotted anything unusual.

Shino's bugs were everywhere, picking up small scents of Hinata. "These are old. They aren't fresh." said Shino.

"Yeah. Same here. Seems as though, however, this area leads towards somewhere where she's been recently." said Kiba. Everyone, including the extra Naruto's huddled around Kiba and Akamaru. "You see this little self- made path? Seems like she's been through here." said Kiba.

The real Naruto laughed. "Hinata's so obvious! I could have sworn she was trying to hide herself!" said Naruto.

Sakura smiled at Kiba. "Great! Then we'll take this path, and hope we find something." said Sakura. The team began to search the path, and make their way farther and farther away from Konoha. Little did they know who they'd encounter halfway…

Yup! This is the end! You'll be surprised by what happens next!!

Gaara : I told you you were going to die, so there won't be a next time.

Gaarazlilmiss : um, before I lose only my life, I think I'll see you all next chapter! Bye!

Gaara : They always run…