18 August 2006

A word from Starry: Hello, again! Yay, I updated twice today! Woo! I'm actually excited to share this chapter with you guys! Very excited! Have you noticed that every sentence before this one is ending in an exclamation point? Hehe! I want to thank the people who reviewed. THANK YOU! ARIGATOU. Your reviews inspire me to continue writing even if not a lot of people read them. Thank you. I'm very happy to know that people like this fic. Very happy. Thanks.

Summary: "I hope he remembers me," she thought, dropping her gaze to the ground. "Remember me," he said softly, as he watched her walk towards the river. First love is never forgotten, right? So will she be able to remember him?

'Thought'

"Spoken"

Past/Memory/Jutsu

Disclaimer: Sadly, it's not mine.

xoxoxoxo

Remember Me – Chapter Seven

She couldn't find anything, anything at all. Not even when she swam deep into the depths of her mind. There were times when she could see a faint light and hear soft voices but right when she was going to see it, everything would fade to black and she'd be pushed out. The lavender eyed girl had been trying to figure out why she was a traitor to her village and who was her family. It frustrated her to not know anything.

"Hinata, are you done eating?" asked Naruto, who was eyeing her sandwich. He'd already finished the three that he'd bought for himself.

The sandwiches weren't small, they were the size of a kunai and you had to open your mouth really wide to take one bite. Hinata still had her three sandwiches and the one she was eating now was half eaten. Her mouth hurt from having to open it really wide only to eat a few crumbs.

The Hyuuga girl shook her head and handed Naruto the two wrapped sandwiches. "Eat them, I'm not that hungry." She smiled at him and watched as he devoured one of the sandwiches in two bites.

'He must have been starving,' thought Hinata, as she tried to take another bite of her sandwich.

The pair had traveled quite a lot in the last hours. After reading the letter, they hadn't stopped until the sun had set behind the gorge's that had been carved out by the flowing rivers. They had brought two separate tents and Hinata was glad because she hadn't been able to sleep. The pain in her back had been killing her, making her stick a piece of her sleeping bag in her mouth to keep her from screaming. Eventually, she had passed out from the enormous pain only to be woken up a few hours later by Naruto who was giving her tea through a straw. He'd seen her moving around while she was out and knew she was probably in pain.

That had helped Hinata a lot, because the pain faded right away and she was left painless and numb. The only thing that didn't seem to fade away was her constant headaches. Those damned stubborn things were still popping up every few minutes and making Hinata's eyesight fuzzy. She couldn't understand why they were beginning to happen constantly every now and then. Of course, she wasn't going to tell Naruto-kun this and have him worry over her. He was already worrying enough and she didn't want to add more. The blonde ramen loving boy always asked her if her back hurt, if she was alright or if she needed to rest.

"These things are good! I don't know why you don't like them, Hinata." Naruto continued chewing on the last bite he had given to the second sandwich.

The dark haired girl stared down at his hands and noticed the second sandwich was now gone. He'd eaten five sandwiches in total. Wow.

"I'm not that hungry," she said, offering him her half eaten sandwich. "If you don't want it I could throw it away."

"No!" Naruto grabbed the sandwich and stuffed it in his mouth, getting up from the small table they were sitting at and walking over to the stand to get them something to drink.

A few hours before they'd stopped at a bathhouse to cleanse themselves and get more comfortable. Hinata laughed a small laugh, remembering what had happened.

"Hinata Hurry, come in here! If we take this special, it'll be really cheap and it'll include a massage as well as some nourishing treats!" Naruto smiled down at the girl as he held up the specials sign that he had gotten from the front of the bathhouse.

Hinata read the advertisement and looked up at Naruto. "N-Naruto-kun, we'd have to get in together in the same spring…"

Naruto nodded eagerly. "I know! But it's so cheap and we have to save the money we have for the trip to the Sand village and then to-" he stopped and frowned. Right, Hinata couldn't return to Konoha. Damn it! Well, they'd figure something out after visiting Hinata's family. "Anyways, we have to save our money and this is the cheapest! Come on, I promise I won't look!"

Hinata felt a wave of heat around her, but she figured it was probably the springs. She looked around nervously before glancing back to Naruto, who had a big smile on his face. "A-A-Alright, but I go in first." She was nervous and at the same time excited.

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto ran over to the counter with the special sign and handed it over to the big breasted blonde girl behind the counter.

Hinata waited in the same spot she'd been, wondering if the answer she'd given him was the right one. She was going to be naked with him in a small pool of hot water… oh great Hokage…

"You wish to go in by yourself first, madam?"

Hinata looked up at the thin black haired girl that had towels in her hand and was speaking to her with a smile on her face. The twenty-two year old girl nodded; her heart beating really fast. She'd been standing in that same spot for the last ten minutes trying to urge her feet to move and walk over to the spring.

"Sir, you have to wait until the missus is in." The assistant girl yelled to Naruto, who was on the other side of the fence.

A yell was heard but it wasn't understandable. Obviously, Naruto was impatient.

"Do you need assistance in taking your robe off?" asked the girl, still smiling.

Hinata shook her head and tried to smile. "N-No, it's alright, I think I can manage. Thank you." Hinata watched as the girl nodded before leaving her alone in the small room.

"Okay, Hinata, just go!" She said to herself, taking a few steps towards the spring.

When she finally reached the spring, she stuck her left foot in the water and found the warm liquid to be a great comfort. She quickly took off her bathrobe and walked into the pool until her chest was well under the surface of the water and only her neck and head were visible.

It was a good thing she was already in because not one second after getting in, Naruto ran out from behind the fence and jumped into the pool, splashing Hinata.

Hinata's face was red and burning hot! She was in a spring with Naruto-kun… NAKED! She backed away from Naruto until she was across the warm pond.

"Hinata! Isn't this great?"

"Mhm," she said, lowering herself even more. Now her neck was underwater and only her head was visible.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the girl before shrugging and lying back on the rocky sides. "Ah, I haven't had one of these for a very long time." His eyes were closed and a smile was evident on his face.

Surprisingly, Hinata's back wasn't hurting and it was as if the warm water was soothing the wound. The headache was still there but it wasn't pounding against her ears and making her dizzy. She wanted to lie back on the sides, but she didn't want anything touching her back. She decided to just turn around and lean forward and rest her arms and head over it.

When Naruto opened his eyes, he saw Hinata's back facing him. His eyes widened as he saw a purple bruise in the shape of a leaf across her back. So that was the wound? He leaned forward a bit and noticed that Hinata had a few light freckles as well as very creamy looking skin. Instantly, he got the urge to go to her and just kiss every freckle until he'd counted them all with his lips.

The first time he'd seen Hinata naked, well almost naked, her long hair had covered her but now her hair was up in a bun and he could see her smooth and bare skin. His right arm lifted up from the water and extended towards the girl.

'What is happening?' he thought, as he felt himself be drawn over to her. He immediately stopped when he saw her turn her head to the side. His sky blue eyes widened when he saw how beautiful she looked with her head resting on her arms and her eyes closed. Her lower lip was sticking out just a bit and if he looked closer, he could see small drops of water on her eyelashes.

It was best if he just swallowed the saliva that was threatening to fall out and just turn around and ignore Hinata. Yes, that was a good idea! Very good idea! The Konoha Nin turned around and forced himself to stay with his back facing the pretty girl behind him.

'Think of something unpleasant! Think, Naruto, think! You have to think of something disturbing.' Naruto closed his eyes and began to think of various things. The girl at the waterfall, No! Sakura-chan, No! Sasuke running around in a hot red bikini and flipping his hair to the side with a 100 percent happy smile…

Hinata opened her eyes when she heard the sound of water being gurgled. She turned around and saw Naruto floating on his back, a bit of blood dripping out of his nose. Her mauve eyes widened when she saw that he was stark naked and everything was above the water.

"Meep!" She quickly turned around and buried her tomato red face in her hands and began to sink under the water.

"Ready to go?" Naruto asked as he handed a bottle of water to Hinata. "Eh? Why are you blushing?"

Hinata's face was red again. Just remembering of what had happened had made the blood rush up to her face again. She shook her head and smiled. "O-Oh, it's nothing, just… Um… Thank you for the water." She took the bottled water and began drinking it, hoping that the rosy hue would eventually fade.

"Alright then! Let's go! We're almost there, Hinata." Naruto approached Hinata and looked into her eyes as he said this. "We'll definitely get your memory back." He gave her a thumbs up.

Hinata nodded, happy to know that she was almost home! Home! Once more, she put her backpack on but winced when she felt that her back was beginning to hurt again. Great! Naruto was busy putting on his backpack and was now getting ready to walk out of the small town they were in. The pain wasn't that big, so there was no need to worry right now. She'd tell him later…

The pair continued their journey together, happy that they were nearing their destination.

…

Gaara sat on a boulder that was sticking out from the big hill that stood next to the Sand village. The view from where he sat was splendid! He could see all of the Sand village as well as the outstretched fields surrounding the small town. Far off, he could see little dots that represented other villages and when he looked behind him, more scenery as well as the farming side of the Sand village.

"Daddy!" Came the voice of a little girl. "When is okaasan going to come home?" she asked, looking up at Gaara with her wide green eyes. Her short red hair was tied in two pigtails that curled at the tips and her bangs were just above her grass green eyes.

It was strange, Gaara thought, as he looked down at his own daughter. The only person's to actually enter his heart after the incident with his uncle, were the two woman that he'd come to love. Hinata and Tsuki. The Kazekage jumped off the boulder and stood beside his daughter, slowly kneeling down to be at the little girl's eye level.

"Soon," he said, standing up once more and taking his daughter's small hand. "Come, Tsuki, the day is still young and the village is not that small."

The little girl smiled, showing her baby teeth to Gaara. "Okay! Will mommy be in the village? Daddy?"

As they walked, Gaara looked down at his daughter and nodded before gazing back up to see the road in front of him.

…

"Are you alright, Hinata? Are you tired? Does your back hurt?" Naruto was beside Hinata, worried and concerned because she'd almost fallen off the branches a few times.

Hinata's legs were beginning to hurt and she needed to sit down. She looked around for a rock before sitting down on it and resting her legs. "I'm just a bit tired," she said, trying not to look at him. The pain in her back was now stabbing at her and the headache was drumming in her head. She only had three more bags of herbal tea left and they needed to last until they got to the Sand village.

"Are you sure? Because you don't look okay to me right now." Naruto sat beside the tired girl on a rock that was next to the one she was sitting on. He was worried and wouldn't rest until the look of pain in her face disappeared. "We're almost there you know. We just have to get out of this forest and we'll be at the Sand village entrance."

"I'm glad," she said, her soft voice becoming even softer that Naruto had to lean in to hear her. She was getting tired and the pain was numbing her. "N-N-Naruto-kun… my back… hurts…" her eyelids were getting heavy and her throat burned. What was happening?

Naruto jumped off the rock and immediately got his backpack and took out a small cup with an herbal tea bag in it. He rushed over to Hinata's side and helped her drink the calming liquid. He frowned as he watched her drink it and said, "Hinata, you have to tell me when the pain starts. Don't wait for the last minute to tell me. If you do that, we could probably stop the pain from getting this strong."

His sky blue gaze was strong and Hinata couldn't tear her eyes away. Then, it hit her. The pain was so strong, that she screamed and accidentally kicked Naruto away from her. She clutched her head and fell to ground, rolled up as if she was protecting herself from something. Tears leaked out of her tightly shut eyes and her sobs came out with the screams.

She could see herself running from a man with long hair, glaring at her and pointing a finger at her. She felt immense sadness seeing this and she looked away. Beside the man was a girl that looked like her, but she was younger. Was that her when she was small? No, that was someone else. Everything faded into black and the pain was gone.

When Hinata opened her eyes she came face to face with Naruto, who was holding her in a careful bridal style so that he wouldn't put that much pressure on her back. His face was filled with worry and Hinata noticed that his eyes were much moister than how they usually were. Had he cried for her?

"Naruto-kun," she whispered, gazing into his eyes. She felt as tears once more began to fall from her eyes, making her wrap her arms around Naruto's neck and bury her face in his neck. "Naruto-kun!"

Naruto had been scared, really scared, when he saw how Hinata had suffered a few minutes ago. As she was kicking and screaming, he'd picked her up not caring that he was being scratched and kicked. All he cared about was getting Hinata to stop feeling whatever it was that was making her suffer. He didn't want her to cry! He buried his face in her hair and inhaled her sweet cherry blossom fragrance. "Hinata," he muttered into her hair.

The Hyuuga girl pulled away a bit and looked at Naruto with her tear filled eyes. She didn't want to feel it anymore! She didn't want to feel the pain! More tears trickled down her cheeks as she continued looking at him.

He had to do it, he just had to! His heart was beating fast and everything was pointing to the same place. Her lips. He lifted his hand and placed it on her cheek, wiping a few tears with his thumb as he began to caress it. Leaning in he saw as her eyes slowly closed and his heart almost burst out of his chest. The blonde closed his eyes and closed the distance between them, meeting her soft lips with his.

xoxoxoxo

Starry: You guys don't know how surprised I am with this. I, and I'm telling the truth, had no intention of Naruto to kiss Hinata in this chapter! Actually, I wasn't even going to have them kiss in this fic, at all! After reading what I had written down, I was surprised and felt a skip in my hear, seriously. These characters are now writing the story themselves, and that's weird and cool at the same time. I don't know, but I just feel lik telling all you guys that I am a 100 NaruHina shipper but GaaraHina is now growing on me thanks to this fic. I mean, while watching the anime I told myself that Gaara would never love anyone and such so why pair him up you know? And then this fic came into mind and boom! It's weird how things happen, no? Anyways, enough of my blabber! Please tell me what you thought of this chapter! Thank you!

Oh! And I don't know if the next chapter will wrap everything up or not. Also, I realized that I didn't give meanings for some words in the previous chapter.

Hime is Princess, Okaasan is Mother, Tsuki is Moon, Kashikoi is Wise, Engo is Protection, Inin is Trust, Omai is Heart, and I think that's it? If I forgot any, just tell me and I'll be sure to clear it up in the next chapter! Arigatou!