Chapter 4: I'm not sorry
"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left you there. I just got mad and I had to get away before I did something I would regret." He said.
Hinata didn't say anything.
He breathed slowly so he could keep his temper.
"I understand that you're upset and I'm sorry. I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you. It's my fault this happened."
"No. It was my fault. I-Itachi started chasing me and I got scared. I eventually lost him but I tripped and the next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital with the doctor looking at my x-rays."
"Itachi did this?" Gaara said getting angry.
Hinata started coughing and as she did so she coughed up a little blood on her hand.
Gaara could smell it, the blood and the scent it was intertwined with... lavender. The smell was so familiar yet so unknown.
He could feel it again... the thing that stirred inside him was beginning to wake.
"Gaara?" Hinata said.
Once again Gaara found himself fade back into reality.
"Uh... yeah?"
"Thank you for rescuing me again." Hinata said sheepishly.
"You're welcome..."
When they got to her home Hinata waved to him and went inside.
Gaara went to the drug-store but it was closed. "I guess I'll have to come back tomorrow." He said to himself and then went home.
It was still raining and he didn't have an umbrella, but he didn't care.
As he walked in the door he was soaked.
"Gaara!" Temari said.
"What took you so long?" She asked.
Gaara didn't say anything to her he just went to his room and changed his clothes.
He laid in bed the entire night unable to sleep.
The thoughts of Hinata continually coming into his mind, and with her came the scents.
Something about her was causing something to stir in him.
He had this horrible feeling like something bad might happen when it does awaken.
The next morning Hinata awoke with a big headache and to the sound of knocking at her front door.
Thinking it was her father she quickly put on some jeans, converse, and a tank top with a hoodie over it. She brushed her hair and teeth and then rushed downstairs.
"Hello fa-" Hinata stopped as she realized it wasn't her father.
"Gaara? What are you doing here?" She asked.
"Umm... I came by to drop off your medicine I would've gotten it to you last night but the drug-store was closed." He said.
"Oh. Thanks." She said.
She took the bag and opened the door wider.
"Do you wanna come in?" She asked.
"Uh- sure." He replied.
Gaara walked into the house. It was as big on the inside as it was on the outside.
He took a seat on the couch.
"Do you want anything to drink? We have tea, water, milk, juice, soda, anything really." She asked.
"Umm, no thanks I'm good." Gaara responded.
"Well, thanks for the medicine. I better go take some." She said.
She went into the kitchen, where she opened the bag and took one of the pills.
She walked back into the living room and sat on the chair next to the couch.
"Where's you father?"
"Oh he's on an important business trip." She replied.
"And the rest of your family?"
"Well, my little sister is at Neji's house and my mother passed away two years ago."
"So you live alone?" Gaara inquired.
"It wasn't always like this. Before my mom died we had a dog. It was a St. Bernard named Bear. It was my mom's best friend and Bear loved her so much that when she died Bear was never the same. She never played or wagged her tail she wouldn't even eat or drink. Finally, my father had to take her to the vets where they put her down. My father has thought about getting another dog so I won't be lonely but he hasn't had the time."
"Oh...I'm so sorry for you losses." Gaara said unable to think of anything else to say.
"It's okay. I thought that when they died I would never be able to get over it and I didn't but I was reminded to never forget them and always love them." Hinata said.
She couldn't figure out why she was telling him all of this it just seemed like she could tell him anything.
"You know if you really want a dog you can get it yourself." Gaara stated.
"I know but I'm just not sure what kind of dog I want."
"You could go to a professional like at the pet store I'm sure they'll help you with that." Gaara suggested.
"Okay that will work! Thanks for helping me." She said.
"Hinata, I think we need to talk about yesterday."
She didn't say anything she just looked at Gaara waiting for him to talk.
"I'm not sorry for kissing you but I don't want you to be sorry for it either. So, for now I'll go on pretending it didn't happen." He said nonchalantly.
Hinata couldn't believe what she was hearing.
After a few minutes of silence Gaara got up and started walking towards the door.
"Well, I better go. I'll see you around I guess."
As he opened the door Hinata quickly got up.
"Gaara wait!"
She ran to him.
He turned in her direction and as he faced her she grabbed his head and kissed him.
As she stepped back she looked into his light blue eyes.
"I-I don't want you to pretend that it didn't happen Gaara. It's just I've been so overwhelmed lately. I'm sorry not about the kiss but of the way I've acted." She explained.
"It's...It's alright." Gaara replied. "Hinata, do you want to go out with me?"
Without any hesitation at all she replied,"Yes."
Gaara grinned.
"I have to go... but do you mind if I drive you to school?" He asked.
"No I don't mind at all. Thanks." Hinata replied.
Gaara kissed her on the cheek and left.
Hinata closed the door and leaned on it. Her knees were wobbly and her heart beat was racing.
Hinata pulled out her cell phone and starting dialing someone's number.
"Hello?" Sakura answered.
"Hi Sakura, it's Hinata. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind taking me to the pet store?" Hinata asked.
"Umm... sure! I'll be over there in like five minutes." She exclaimed and hung up.
Hinata put her phone in her pocket and went upstairs.
She grabbed her wallet and went over to her jar of saved money. She took half of it and put it in her wallet.
Then, she went downstairs where she waited for Sakura.
When she saw Sakura pull up in the drive way she got up and went to Sakura's car.
"So, why do you want to go to the pet store?" Sakura asked.
"Because I'm interested in getting a dog again." Hinata replied smiling at Sakura.
"Really? Who convinced you?" She asked.
Hinata hesitated to tell her but decided to tell her anyway. "Gaara."
Sakura was silent the rest of the ride to the store which made Hinata nervous.
As she went into the giant mall-like store she grabbed a cart and went straight to the puppy isle.
As Hinata was looking around Sakura walked off. She continued looking around at the puppy toys, food, treats, collars, medicine, and clothes, when she accidentally bumped into a girl with the same red fang marks as Kiba.
"Oh I'm s-sorry." Hinata said helping her up.
"Oh it was nothing." Hana replied.
As she got up she realized who the girl was. "You're Hinata aren't you? Wow! The Hyuga heiress at the Inuzuka pet store! Sorry I must sound weird of me to talk this way. By the way I'm Hana Inuzuka. I own this pet store and work in the veterinarian section of the store. So, are you interested in buying a puppy?" She asked.
Quickly realizing that Hinata still hadn't said anything she replied,"Oh y-yes!"
"Well I can help you with that. Have you owned a dog before?"
"Yes. She was a St. Bernard her name was Bear." Hinata responded.
"St. Bernard! That's not a dog you see everyday in Konoha! Well, are you interested in getting the same type of dog or are you looking for a different breed?" Hana continued questioning.
"Umm... I'll try a dog of a different breed." Hinata said.
"Ok! Well, you've owned a big dog before so let's start with the big dog breeds that you might want. Here follow me." Hana said happily.
She took Hinata into a different section of the store and brought her to a big play pen full of puppies of different breeds.
"This is our inter-racial puppy play pen! These are most of the big dogs. Feel free to go in and play with any of them I'll be right over there near the cash register if you need anything." She smiled and walked over to the cash register.
Hinata entered the play pen and sat on the ground with all the puppies.
She pet every one of them and loved them all. The one she was most interested with was a long haired black and white dog. She picked it up and it instantly started licking her. Hinata knew this was the puppy she wanted.
She got up with the puppy sitting happily in her arms and went to the cash register.
"Ahh a Border Collie! That's Colene! Do you want to purchase her?" Hana asked.
Hinata instantly answered,"Yes!"
"Alright now we have to get puppy stuff! Here let's put a dog bed in your cart so she can lay down." Hana explained, grabbing a green and white dog bed and placing it in Hinata's cart.
Hinata walked over to the cart and placed Colene in the bed.
"Alrighty then. Now, let's start with the puppy food. I recommend Orijen for puppies. It's very healthy for puppies and when Colene is old enough she can have the Orijen for big dogs. So, medicine-wise you don't need to worry about vaccinations, worm medicine, etc. that's already been taken care of. You will need to take her to a vet every year for her yearly vaccination. I checked her two days ago so, bring her to me every year for her rabies shot and other things and bring her in for a monthly check up to see how she's growing. Well, you can pick out treats, collars, toys, and furniture just call my name if you need anything at all." She said then went back to the cash register.
Hinata got a big bag of Orijen and went to the toy isle. She picked out several soft, squeaky, and bouncy toys for Colene. Then, she looked at the treats. "Hmm, I think I'll get the soft treats for her." She said to herself, grabbing three bags of soft chewy treats. Finally, she picked out a collar for Colene.
It was light purple with little butterflies on it. She got two that looked identical one that would fit her now and one that would fit her later as she got bigger.
When she finished she went to the cash register where Hana was waiting.
"All done? Okay then I'll ring you up and oh- here this is a gift from your friend. It's a name tag your friend picked it out and gave me your address. Here-" Hana said giving her that small purple heart-shaped tag.
Sakura was leaning against the wall of the store, smiling.
Hinata smiled back at her.
After they purchased everything Hana helped loading Sakura's car.
"Alright you guys have a good day." She waved and went back inside her store.
Hinata got into the car with her new puppy and Sakura drove to her house.
Hey guys sorry I haven't written for a while my computer is being mean. Anyway I hope you enjoy. I really love dogs so I had to add another dog into my story! I'm sorry! :) Well thanks for reviewing everyone and thanks for reading! :) PEace!
-Rumiko