"Hinata-chan! Wait up!" Naruto shouted from behind. The team was darting through the woods atop of tree limbs and leaves.
Hinata paused to look back at Naruto, and then returned to her quick pace. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but we must hurry," she said, emotionlessly. Despite the fact that the rest of the team was lagging behind, Hinata pushed herself to the limit in order to reach the remains of the Sand Village, where she knew Gaara was.
"He's right, Hinata," Yamato said, "As we draw nearer to the Sand Village, we need to become more cautious and alert, rather than rushing into the place our enemy is most familiar with."
Hinata lowered her head. She no longer took orders from people such as Yamato, or so she tells herself. And much less from Genin like Naruto. Perhaps her inferiority complex has changed her more than she realized. But, reasoned Hinata, it has also made her stronger.
She suddenly stopped in her tracks. Up ahead, she spotted the edge of the Hidden Sand Village, or rather, what remained of the Sand Village. The place was so desolate that it looked like a ghost town, broken down by the sands of time. But Hinata wasn't fooled. She knew that within the ruins of the once prosperous village, Gaara laid in wait, hoping either for more innocent people to kill or (although she'd never admit it) for a chance at redemption. Her sympathy for Gaara has long since waned away.
"We're here…" she murmured.
"Hinata, Naruto," Kakashi said as he came to a halt, "Yamato and I will scope out the peripheral area of the village. You two wait here for us to return, and then we'll all slowly make our way to the center. Understood?" Naruto nodded and Hinata merely blinked, showing neither agreement nor dissent. As soon as Yamato and Kakashi left, however, Hinata began heading off in the same direction, straight for the center of the village.
"Oy! H-Hinata!" Naruto called out, "We're suppose to wait here!" Naruto, who would have normally done the same thing Hinata did after their captains left, had restrained himself. Although he would have loved to give Gaara a piece of his mind, Granny Tsunade had warned him to watch over Hinata and make sure she isn't foolishly running into battle.
Hinata looked back towards Naruto with distain. "We all know he's somewhere in the center of the town. Why should I wait? Kakashi is just trying to delay us because of some 'noble' concept of his that you and I should be protected." She started off again.
"Hinata!" shouted Naruto. He rushed ahead and grabbed her wrist. Hinata jerked away and glared at him.
"I always thought you were stronger and braver, Naruto-kun. I guess I was wrong to believe that." Hinata said. But Naruto wasn't going to give up that easily. He jumped in front of her and spread his arms out.
"Hinata! I can't let you get hurt by Gaara again! You almost died the last time he released the chakra of the one-tailed demon!" You can't…" Before Naruto could finish, Hinata had released chakra from the tips of two fingers and touched the place above his heart. Naruto gasped with surprised and pain.
"I'm sorry, Naruto, but I can't let you get in my way now that I've come this far," Hinata said ruefully. She then left her teammate paralyzed and lying on the ground as she headed toward the village.
--
Gaara sat in the dark silence of his old home. The destruction of Village Hidden in the Sand was just an unforgiving memory to him now. He couldn't seem to keep track of time, nor could he think of anyone else but Hinata. The ninja of Konoha had pinned the murder of Neji on him, and with good reason. He was a marked and guilty man. And this time, not even Hinata's sympathy would save him. He knew what he must do. With new resolve, Gaara stood up and headed for the one place where he would be most wanted.
--
Hinata dashed to the place that she and Gaara first met, the home of the Third Kazekage. But before she could enter the building, the only recognizable thing in the mass of sand, an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back.
"Hinata!" Kakashi barked. For the first time, he seemed angry. "I warned you to stay hidden until we've secured the area!" As he spoke, he let go of Hinata. Wrong move, Hinata thought. She quickly darted around him and towards the door of the Kazekage's tower. "Hinata! Hinata!" shouted Kakashi as he followed closely behind. Hinata ran up the stairs and reached the door to the conference room, where she had once buried her head in Naruto's hair in a futile attempt to save him. How ironic, though Hinata, but this time, I won't be the one cowering in fear.
She opened the door quickly, not waiting to sense enemy chakra, and rushed in. She gasped. The room was empty. Kakashi arrived right behind her.
"He's gone," he said after searching the room. Hinata, wide-eyed, could only kneel down onto her knees and sob. After all this, he was gone. They had come too late.
--
Gaara was already amongst the trees when Hinata had come into his "home" of nearly a year. Thanks to Kakashi's timely and unintentional diversion, he was able to escape. Just as he was about to dart over another limb, he spotted Naruto, lying helpless in the tall grass. It was already too late to disguise his presence, and so his shadow glided over Naruto as he and Naruto looked at each other, one set of eyes widened in surprise and the other in cold calculation.
Gaara considered killing him in order to further delay the team's advancement. But a memory suddenly came up of Hinata burying her head in Naruto's hair, trying to use her body as a shield in order to protect the blond ninja. Gaara clutched his forehead, as another wave of nausea swept over him. He now knew the dizziness as a foreshadowing of his blind anger, and darted forward, trying not to reveal the growing strength his chakra.
He knew there was only one place that he could go: Akatsuki.
--
A special thanks to the following people for commenting on my story! GaarazBabiiGirl, Wombatxxmd, Rot Into Death, and AnimeRose93.