4

Konoha looked completely different from anything he had ever encountered before. Then again, he had also never left Suna, so his range of knowledge concerning the outside world was rather limited. The entire place looked like their inside garden and of course Hinata falls in love with the place. He's a little miffed about her lack of attention towards him but he's been in a good mood lately, no one has been pissing him off and Mother has been rather silent.

Briefly, he wonders if the boy Hyuuga would be here. He knew there were a bunch of people involved but he hadn't really cared who at the time. Now there would be actual fighting and it was making him excited. Would there be anyone here who could provide a challenge for him?

Everyone split up to get an idea of the layout of the land and for any strategic positions for when the attack would come. The exams were twice a year but he had heard that they last for a while. That was the annoying part, with so many people around Mother would start wanting blood. He doesn't really give a real damn about their little plan, he just wants to see if there's anyone worthy of being killed by him.

During their walk they see the top of Kankuro's headpiece and the cry of a small child. Hinata sighs, already they were making a mess of themselves. They find Kankuro holding up a small boy who was struggling to get free. There was a blonde, a…pink haired girl – did she dye it or something? – and a black haired guy who actually looked pretty strong.

Hinata comes around the corner to stand beside Kankuro "Please put him down." She says softly "We'll get disqualified if we fight here."

He snorts at her and tilts his head at the boy "I'm not gonna hurt him." He grins "Much."

"Kankuro." Gaara comes in now, regarding the misfit group again. The black haired guy looks surprised to see him standing on the tree. Amusing. He's strong but not strong enough at that level of strength.

Nervously, his older brother turns to the redhead "Gaara…" he laughs nervously "Hey, I was just –"

"Stop being annoying." He looks over at the dark haired boy who was now openly glaring at him.

"Yeah sure, no problem." Kankuro drops the kid who scrambles back towards the blonde and the pink haired girl.

"H-hey!" the other girl steps forward "You guys, you're not from Konoha. You have to have…"

"Um, excuse me."

All eyes turn towards Hinata who looks awfully nervous now. She holds up her pass "We um, h-have permission t-to be here. W-we're here f-for the chunnin exams."

The group looks confused and Gaara is beginning to become annoyed with everyone's incompetence.

"Don't waste your breath on trash." He tells her, then to Kankuro "Don't think that just because you're my brother I won't kill you." He warns. Kankuro gulps and slowly backs away. Hinata puts away her card and gives the group a polite bow.

"E-excuse us, w-we, um, s-should be g-going to register n-now."

There was something about the black haired boy's gaze that Gaara didn't like when he focused on Hinata. It was mostly suspicious, as if he thought she was hiding something. She blinked owlishly at him a few times, confused as to why he seemed to be looking at her.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he tells them but his gaze has flickered back up to Gaara "Remember that name."

Intrigued, the redhead smiles "I am called Gaara." He disappears in a swirl of sand and reappears beside Hinata. "We have things to do." He tells her and she flashes him a smile. Even though he had been instructed not to he takes her hand, startling the people behind him. A cold killer holding the hand of a meek, shy girl who stutters?

They have no idea what she's capable of. He thinks, amused. It'll be interesting to see how you will fail thinking that she's the weakest link. And he knows they will, because how strong can a shy, stuttering girl be?

He is reluctant to admit it but he is glad that she has gone through the intensive training over the years. Her skill was just below her cousin's and even Gaara found the Hyuuga to be an interesting challenge. There would not be many here who would be able beat his Hinata and he was proud of that fact. It was only fitting that his other half also be as dangerous as he, but he'll never admit that she was right. Pride, ego and all that.

"Hey." The black haired boy again "You. The girl with the long hair."

Pausing, Hinata turns towards them without letting go of Gaara's hand. She looks at him curiously. "Y-yes?"

At first the Uchiha is scowling at her, as if he can't quite figure her out. Then suddenly he grins. "Your name." he says "Tell me your name."

The pink haired girl explodes "S-Sasuke-kun what do you need her name for?" she demands "I mean, she's –"

"Enough Sakura." He deadpans at her "You don't know what you're talking about." Black eyes focus on white "You're not as weak as you look, I want to know your name."

"Hyuuga Hinata." She says softly and turns back to Gaara, leaning against his arm as they walk away from the group.

"I could kill all of them." He says once they're out of hearing range.

"I think the boy with the black hair is pretty strong." She observed "And…there is something about the blonde haired boy…" shaking her head she looks up at him "He feels like you."

Gaara abruptly stops and looks at her "What do you mean he feels like me?" his grip tightens on her hand almost painfully.

But she's used to his jealousy and so she merely shakes her head "Two chakra." She elaborated "He um, has two sets of chakra, like you. W-well at least I think so…" she frowned "There's something off. It's like it's there but it's not there."

Realizing that her interest was purely on an intellectual level he continues to walk. Whenever Hinata found someone with an 'interesting' chakra she would tend to get into her moods where she'd try to figure out what that 'interesting' thing was. He decides to just let her muse on it and lets his mind focus on the prospect of finally being able to kill a worthy opponent.

xxxxx

At the hotel Temari, Kankuro, Baki, Gaara and Hinata were inside Baki's room to discuss the game plan for the moment.

"It'll be a week before the exams start. " he informs them. "We've been told to use this time to size up opponents and see who could or could not be a threat to our plans." He looked over at Gaara "Maybe you should stay here…"

"I'm not going to kill anyone right now." He tells them, sounding annoyed "There's some fighters I want to face." He gets up then and tugs her along with him as they leave the room. "I want to find that guy again." Gaara said to her "And Neji. Where is he?"

"He came along with the Hyuuga entourage." She said as she opened the door to their room. "They were a day behind us."

"Hn." He looks bored which Hinata notes as not being a good thing. His patience levels decreased drastically whenever he was bored and she would actually have to try and intervene because she wants him to be able to fight.

"Don't let the Uchiha get near you." He says, walking into their bedroom and propping himself up on the window sill "I don't like it but we might actually be separated a few times while here." He scowled "I…trust you." He says, looking out the window "I saw it today. You are strong enough." He looks at her "Just don't ever get too far away from me, alright?" he is insistent "Nothing can happen to you. Nothing."

Getting up from the bed she walks over and begins moving her fingers through his hair. He closes his eyes and leans on her, content for the moment. An arm moves around her waist and he pulls her a little closer.

"No one else matters." He says to her and she smiles, nodding.

"We don't need anyone else." She responds "And I don't want to leave your side." She says to him "It's…lonely when you're not with me. You've always been there and so…when you're gone it's…"

A hand reaches up, fingers brushing along her jaw. His jade gaze is serious "If I can help it," he says "I will never leave you alone again. I'm sorry I made you lonely before."

Shaking her head she slides her arms around him "It was necessary. Mother will try to take over if you don't and then lots more people would be killed."

"I don't care about that." He deadpans, still looking at her "But I do worry that I might accidently hurt you. When Mother is angry she…" he stops and frowns "You know when it's time you'll have to…"

"Yes." She says "Don't worry, I won't allow myself to get killed. I made a promise to stand by you so…"

Shifting to face her, he pulls her close, looking up into white eyes "Hinata-chan, do you think there are different types of love?"

"Eh?" the question catches her off guard so she is quiet for a moment "Um, yes." She responds eventually "There ares different kinds, I think."

Resting his head on her stomach he keeps his arms wrapped around her "What kinds?" he asks "I love you but…there are other things too. Temari said that there's a love that goes beyond friendship."

"O-oh." She says and he looks up at her, confused.

"You know what I'm talking about?" he inquires and she nods

"It's um, a more intimate sort of love." She blushes profusely and finds herself unable to look at him "L-like b-boyfriend and g-girlfriend stuff."

"Oh." He seems to understand "Would that be bad, Hinata-chan? Would that mean that we wouldn't be friends anymore?"

She shakes her head "No, it's like…you're friends but more. Like an upgrade."

Resting his head back on her stomach he tries to ponder her words. "Maybe we should do that then." He concludes, glad that he's hiding his face otherwise she'd see his embarrassment "If it's you, then I don't mind."

Hinata doesn't answer him and eventually he sighs, slightly disappointed. He's been wanting more and more to be closer to her but he doesn't want to scare her.

"I t-think th-that it m-might be n-nice…." She says eventually. Surprised, he looks up at her and her face is as red as his hair. He hasn't seen her that red in a long time and it makes him smile.

"We'll talk about it more when we're done with this." She nods in agreement and he is amused when she looks relieved.

xxxxx

"Neji-niisan!" Hinata waves at him a bit to catch his attention. Looking over he smiles, well, a Neji smile anyway. The one thing he immediately notices, however, is the lack of Gaara. He has never, not once, ever seen the two of them not together. The redhead kept her on a tight leash.

"Hello, Hinata-sama." He says and one of his teammates, a girl with two buns on each side of her head, smiles briefly at her "I do not see Gaara with you," he observes.

"There was something they wanted him for and when I told him I wanted to look for you he told me to go ahead."

"He…did?" both Neji and the girl look absolutely shocked "I don't –"

His cousin smiles gently at him "He says so far there isn't anyone here that would be a threat to me and he knows that you wouldn't let me die."

She wasn't telling the entire truth but he didn't press her. He had a feeling that Hinata had ended up having to convince him to let her go explore while he went to a boring meeting that didn't even involve her. The fact that Gaara had allowed it was nothing short of a miracle.

Maybe he trusts her a little more…

"Hn. So what, are you two twins or something?" the trio turn to look at the boy from earlier, Uchiha Sasuke. He looks bored with his hands in his pockets "Same hair style, same eyes…"

"I really don't think that's any of your business." Neji snaps in before Hinata can answer "Did you want something? If not, leave."

The two boys face off for a glaring contest while the two girls sigh and shake their heads. Hinata moves forward, putting a hand on Neji's shoulder to calm him "We're c-cousins." She answers shyly, pulling on Neji so she can use him as a social shield. Sasuke raises an eyebrow at this.

"You're really clingy." He observes with obvious distaste "Or is that your gimmick? The whole 'Pretend to be Shy and Innocent When I'm Really a Raving Psycho' sort of thing?"

Her cousin bristles and the brown haired girl holds him back this time. "Is that the only thing shinobi from Konoha can do? Pick on girls?"

The dark haired boy snorted "Better than little kids."

Of course, since Neji wasn't there he doesn't exactly know what he's talking about, so Hinata takes a deep mental breath and steps up to where her cousin was standing.

"Neji-niisan h-has a p-point." She stammers out "D-do y-you want s-something?"

Once again he regards her seriously, as if she's some sort of puzzle that he can't figure out. Then he shrugs and all of a sudden looks completely indifferent "Not really. This is the path I take to get to my district."

She takes two steps back "Oh." She says softly and looks away. This boy was very intimidating. Not as intimidating as Gaara, but intimidating enough.

"Oi!" came a loud cry from around the corner. With an exasperated sigh Sasuke puts his hand over his face at the noise. "Oi! Sasuke! Where are you, you bastard?"

The blonde haired boy wearing that ridiculous orange get up from earlier bursts from around the corner and then runs up to, Hinata was assuming at this point, his team mate. Blue eyes scan over the Suna crowd and then settle on Hinata.

"Hey!" he pointed at her as if she didn't know who she was "You're that cute girl from earlier!"

Stiffening, her eyes widened and her face turned red "W-what?"

Sasuke smacks the blonde on the back of the head "Stupid. Didn't you see the fact that she's obviously that guy Gaara's girlfriend earlier today?"

"Who?" the blonde looks very confused. Sasuke looks as if he wants to hit him again.

"Um." Hinata interjects, her face still a bright shade of red "Gaara-kun i-is my b-best f-friend."

Poking Sasuke he grins "See see? He wasn't her boyfriend after all."

A dark sensation moved through the street and suddenly the redhead was behind Naruto. Sasuke jumped back and Hinata saw his eyes flash from black to red. A bloodline limit? She had never seen any others besides hers.

"That doesn't give you permission to pursue her." He says low, his expression one of definite anger.

Jumping back, blue eyes widen at the incredibly angry-looking redhead and sand pouring out of his gourd. Sasuke moves into a defensive position.

"We're not here to fight you." He says to Gaara "My team mate is just an idiot."

Slowly, he turned his gaze to the Uchiha and smiled humorlessly "So then, if he's such an idiot, you won't mind if I kill him, do you?"

"Tch. I need him to get through the exams, if you kill him, we don't get to fight."

The smile fades into an expressionless mask. Slowly sand moves back into the gourd and the cork seals it. He brushes past the blonde who is actually looking a little frightened. It wasn't hard to do, Gaara would have killed him under normal circumstances.

"Let me make one thing very clear." Standing beside Hinata he takes hold of her hand "Hinata is mine. I will kill anyone who tries to get near her, chunnin exam or not." He looked down at her "She doesn't need anyone else but me." Without another word, he turns and brushes past Neji, Hinata right behind him. His hand is squeezing hers to the point where it hurts.

"G-Gaara-kun…"

"I don't want to see you around them anymore." He snaps at her "You said you were going to see Neji and that was it." He stops and looks at her "Why were those other guys there talking to you, talking about you?"

He's angry with her. She has seen him be many things towards her but angry was not one of them. It frightens her because she doesn't know what he'll do or what to say.

His hands grab her shoulders and push her against the wooden fence "Why were they there, Hinata? I want an answer."

She shakes her head "Th-they showed up." She whispers "T-the Uchiha said that his district was t-that way and then the blonde came around looking for him and…" she trails off, blinking back tears. He's never been angry with her before and it's devastating to her "I'm…sorry."

For a while he doesn't answer her and silent tears fall as she keeps her head down. Moving one hand off of her shoulder he tilts her head up to look at him. His eyes widen slightly at her tears and then his hands are framing her face "Hinata, don't cry." He says reassuringly "I'm not mad anymore, okay? Just…stay away from them. Please."

"Y-you've never b-been angry with me…" she sobs and buries her face in her hands. Her friend makes a strangled noise and then she's in his arms. She cries against his chest openly now and he takes a hand and strokes her hair.

"This place…" he begins "It makes me edgy." His arms tighten around her "I'm sorry I made you cry Hinata-chan. I won't do it again. I'm not…angry at you. I'm angry at the fact that they were trying to take you away from me."

"But I wouldn't –" he nods, cutting her off.

"I know." He says and then sighs "That blonde called you cute and then was acting like he…" his grip tightens again "We belong to each other, no one else." He reminds her "I know I promised you that you could go out on your own but I don't think that would be a good idea anymore."

Understanding, she nods, her sobs now down to sniffles "I'm sorry." She says, her voice watery.

"It's not your fault." He says lightly "It's theirs. I don't want you to go anywhere without me anymore. I couldn't stop worrying about you and I don't like it when you're not near."

She nods sadly "I promise."

xxxxx

The trio stood outside the gate leading into the forest of death. Kankuro raised an eyebrow at the scroll they have.

"So we just gotta get a white one?" the puppet master asks. "Doesn't sound too hard to me." He tosses the scroll to Hinata "You carry it."

She fumbled a bit before she caught it and put it in her bag "Alright."

Taking her hand Gaara brushes past Kankuro "Just stay out of my way." He says "If you don't, you'll die."

Being in a forest was very strange to Hinata, she had never seen so many trees and green before. Remembering that she's supposed to be scouting she activates her Byakugan, looking around.

"I don't see anyone in our immediate vicinity." She tells the boys.

"Then we'll have to go find them." Kankuro says, shrugging.

"But they have to have the other scroll." She reminds him.

"It doesn't matter to me which scroll they have." The redhead comes in "Anyone who gets in my way will die." The grin that emerges on his face makes Kankuro take a step back in alarm "I can kill anyone I want and it won't matter, no one will say anything." He sounds extremely pleased about this.

When Gaara became bloodthirsty there was little anyone could do or say, even her. His thirst for killing was not something she was immune to, it does bother her. It bothers her because she knows it's the demon trying to influence him, that person isn't the real Gaara. The real Gaara was the one that loved her and was kind to her. He was extremely possessive but if it were the other way around she would be hurt if he were around females, so she could understand.

"Maybe I should have told them you were my boyfriend…" she muses silently to herself. Kankuro doesn't hear it, Gaara does. Leaning towards her he turns his head a bit in her direction.

"I could be." His voice sounds guarded "I should be." He insists "I want to be. I love you."

Looking up at him she realizes that his feelings for her truly have changed, although not in a bad way. She does feel very shy about it but this was Gaara so it would be okay, right?

"Okay." She finally says. He stops walking and signals Kankuro to keep going. When his brother is out of hearing range he turns his full attention to her.

"Are you sure?" his expression is impassive but she nods.

"Yes. Because, I love you too. So, it's okay as long as it's you."

Something rustles and immediately his arms were around her defensively while his sand began flowing from the gourd.

"There's three of them." She says, her eyes spotting them easily. "Kankuro isn't that far away. I could call for him…"

"No." he's not looking at her but she knows he's grinning. It was not the boyish grin he gives her when they're alone, it was the grin that emerged when there was 'prey' around. Shortly the expression becomes one of indifference as three males from Ame emerge around them. They all hold packs with umbrellas which Hinata finds to be somewhat funny for some odd reason.

The three men are grinning at the two of them, thinking them to be weak because they are small and young. Letting her go, Gaara takes a step forward, his expression impassive.

"Do you have the heaven scroll?" the redhead asks although it wouldn't really matter if they did or not, he was still going to kill them. Apparently, these men knew nothing about detecting chakra otherwise they would have realized that they were way out of their league.

"And if we do?" the one that seems like the ring leader asks "What do you plan on doing about it, kid?"

Producing their black scroll, she keeps her expression blank "Then, if you…don't mind, we would like to have it." She places hers back into her pack and the three men look at her incredulously.

"Is this girl serious?" one of the other men asks and the other two laugh.

"Little girl," the ring leader begins again "If you give us that scroll we'll let you walk away from here alive."

"Barely." One of the other mutters and as they're chuckling there is a loud popping sound. Looking over at Gaara, they stare curiously at the sand flowing from the gourd behind his back.

Kankuro has emerged and stands a bit behind Hinata, expression grim.

"Listen," the leader continues "We will only ask this once more. Give us the earth scroll and we'll let you live."

Kankuro snorts and inwardly Hinata sighs. Being born and raised in the harsh environment of Suna death was nothing new to her but that didn't mean she liked it. She doesn't like the fact that the demon controls Gaara like it does. She would never leave him, but that didn't mean she liked seeing this side of him.

Instead of answering, cold green eyes merely continue to stare. Taking that as their cue to attack they grab their umbrellas and perform some sort of weird jutsu where black senbon-type needles showered the entire area. Smoke rises as the needles all strike at Gaara and the three shinobi pause for a moment to admire their handiwork. Grins quickly turn into expressions of confusion and horror as they looked at the boy who had his arms crossed, still glaring at them, with a shield of sand surrounding him. There is not a scratch on him and if anything, Hinata can tell that he looks bored.

The needles drop harmlessly to the ground as the shield falls. His expression is cold, merciless. "I'll show you," he begins "how to make it rain. Rain of blood."

The men find that they can no longer move as sand quickly envelops their bodies, rising up into the air. "Sabaku Kyu." He says calmly and the sand hardens, rendering the three men completely immobile. Slowly, he walks over and picks up a discarded umbrella.

"Hinata."

She walks over to him as his hand is shifting for the final technique. Her expression is also grim. She was from Suna, she understood death, she understood that these men knew what they had been getting into when they entered the forest. It was not them she concerned herself with, it is Gaara, her Gaara. This was the first time he has been allowed to kill indiscriminately without having to worry about someone berating or asking him not to do it. It gives her a bad feeling, she thinks the demon will try to take advantage of this, of him.

His hand clenches into a fist "Sabaku Soso." He says calmly, opening the umbrella and pulling Hinata to his side. The bodies drop and it does indeed begin to rain blood. He looks at her briefly, taking in her bland expression.

"This is not something for eyes like yours." He says softly to her and he presses her head against his shoulder "Does it disgust you, Hinata?" he asks her and she flinches, looking up at him. His face is unreadable "Do I disgust you?"

"Please do not ask me such insulting questions." She says firmly, making his eyes widen slightly. The 'rain' has stopped and she turns away from him "You promised you would trust and have faith in me." She was not angry but she has finally come to a point where she can no longer accept his lack of trust in her. So, she was giving him tough love. "You…still doubt me, my feelings for you." She takes two steps before his hand grabs her wrist tightly, stopping her. There is silence.

"Are you angry with me, Hinata-chan?" it is asked softly and she can hear the slight fear in his voice. She has never been angry with him, not ever. He tugs and turns her toward him, trying to look at her face. Hinata looks sad and his expression changed. Tugging her again, he pulled her close, dropping the umbrella to put his arms around her. "Have I finally angered you, Hinata-chan?"

Slowly, she shakes her head "It…just hurts." She admits "Because I love you and yet…"

He surprises her when he actually kisses her, to the point where she merely stands there with her eyes wide, body stiff. Quickly, he pulls away, sorrow in his eyes.

"I…" he pauses. He wants to say that he'll promise to trust her but he has said that many, many times. "I'll try harder." It is all he can give her, because he can't help but to constantly doubt, to worry, to fear. Mother kept him feeling anxious and then at times it seemed that she didn't need him as much as he needed her. She's so kind and people are drawn to her like he is. Sometimes he thinks that because she is so kind that she will leave him, because he is not kind, he is not gentle, he is not pure. Not like her. He doubts even though she has been by his side for almost seven years. "It's not because of you, you know that."

Instead of saying anything she instead takes his hand, showing that all is forgiven. He is relieved, he would never want to make Hinata angry with him. She was…his entire reason for being. She was his other half and he truly did love her.

I will have to try harder. He thinks I can't keep making her sad.

They are the first ones to the tower, apparently some sort of record or another according to some of the exam proctors. Hinata thought it was pretty interesting but Gaara and Kankuro seemed completely uninterested.

"We'll have to wait." Gaara mutters, realizing that the other teams will take much longer to arrive. He does not sound pleased. More than likely, he would quickly become bored and his mood more volatile.

With a mental sigh she tugs on his hand slightly to get his attention. She flashes him a nervous smile "Will you…cheer for me?" she asks "When I fight?"

Once again he surprises her by pulling her close and kissing her softly. He was taking the 'boyfriend/girlfriend' thing seriously it seemed. "There is no one here that can defeat you." He says softly "With the exception of your cousin."

She raised an eyebrow "You are not concerned about the Uchiha?" he had seemed rather interested in the boy earlier.

He gives her a somewhat angry and suspicious look before he remembers his promise and turns his gaze away "Unless he's spontaneously gained an incredible amount of power I do not see him defeating Neji, meaning he could not defeat you and certainly not me." When she frowns in thought he looks at her "You do not believe so?"

"It's not that…" the frown deepens "Besides Neji-niisan I believe that the Uchiha and the boy that we saw earlier known as Rock Lee are stronger than they appear. Rock Lee's movements are…" she shakes her head and gives him a smile "I'm over thinking things, I'm sorry."

Pulling her close he kisses her again "You worry too much."