This chapter pretty much assumes that the second movie never took place and that none of the Sand Siblings have ever seen an ocean. Now, carry on. :D
Another few days passed without event.
Hinata and Kankuro were sitting on the couch watching television at home on a day when neither Gaara nor Kankuro had to go in to the building. The day had been lazy and drowsy and absolutely perfect. Neither Kankuro or Hinata had done much. It was late in the afternoon- the sun would be setting in a short while.
No one had any idea where Gaara was.
That is, until a carrot hit Hinata in the back of the head.
"Hey!" she said, rubbing where it hit. "That- that hurt!" She turned around to glare at a snickering Gaara, who they had only just realized was there.
He shrugged. "Couldn't pass it up. You weren't paying attention. You should train more. I'm off to train, myself. Want to come with? We can spar."
He wasn't really sure why he invited her. Maybe just to see how good her skills were with the Byakugan.
(A voice in the back of his head mentioned it could possibly be that he wanted to spend time with her as well.)
Hinata nodded fiercely, trying to prove that she could be a good ninja too. Kankuro shrugged.
"Bye, guys."
"Cool," said Gaara, smirking and picking up his gourd. "I'm leaving in... five minutes."
Hinata ate as fast as she could.
She followed Gaara out the door.
"Where do you train, exactly?"
"Today... I'm not going to let you have the advantage. I'm going to train at the sand dunes. You can see for miles and miles and miles," he said bluntly. "Nothing in the way. Just open space."
She glared at him. "That's your advantage, then. Sand everywhere."
Gaara smirked. "Then you just have to deal with it, don't you?"
Hinata's jaw dropped in outrage. "Hey! That's not fair!"
"Good. Anger," said Gaara. "Use that."
They had reached the sand dunes.
"Rules?" asked Hinata.
"None," said Gaara. "Starting now."
Sand curled up around her ankles. She jumped up and bounced back, but realized... all the ground was sand. How to stay up and not get sucked in?
She needed something to stand on... but there wasn't anything, and she couldn't keep bouncing like this forever in a defensive strategy. She couldn't keep floating on air... could she?
A picture of a crater popped into her mind. Nii-san! Rotation repelled things- chakra repelled things-
She pushed all her chakra to her feet and floated a bit... just off the sand. Gaara blinked.
"Hyuuga chakra control. Impressive," he said. And then suddenly she was surrounded by about five Gaaras... made of sand.
Hinata bounced up around them, again pushing all her chakra to her feet. She kicked one, and it returned to a puddle of sand on the ground.
Okay, what have I learned?
He's... A long distance fighter... like Shino-kun...
Shino-kun says long-distance fighters are bad at close range- which means I just need to get closer-
Oh, but wait...
His sand will get me then, too. Do I just need to be faster?
No, I'm not fast enough. What can I do?
I can... well, ninjutsu will take him out easily. Wouldn't it?
Or a genjutsu...
She decided to go for ninjutsu, opting for several clones to see what would happen.
He encircled himself in sand. The Hinata clones (and Hinata among them), propelling themselves off the ground in a maneuver that was sure to waste her chakra fast, attacked it and cut through.
Good- he had blinked. The clones moved in, and Hinata knew this was her final chance to get him- she'd likely run out of chakra soon.
She moved in and cut off several big chakra points. Gaara winced and clutched his arm... and then melted.
"Gotcha," he said from behind her, sand circling up around her legs, and winding around her arms and finally her torso until she was covered in it- his trademark Sand Coffin.
Wait, when had the clones disappeared?
"I already got all your clones," he said as if he had read her mind. "You moved in close. They didn't."
She sighed, ashamed.
"Keep in mind when using ninjutsu and genjutsu what your enemy is seeing," he said quietly. "If they see one leader, they will assume it's you. If they see one that hangs back, they will assume it's you. You must move as one with your clones. Remember what Naruto did during the Chuunin exams to your cousin? Try something like that next time."
She nodded.
"But... other than that," he said, and smiled. "Your chakra control is excellent, nearly perfect. Normal shinobi can't do half of what you did. But I bet you knew that. And I'd also be willing to bet quite a bit that you are nearly out now."
Again, she nodded, keeping her head low. Shame prevented her from meeting his eyes. She'd been so close...
"I have an offer for you," he said.
"Yes?"
She was still trapped in the sand coffin. She recognized it as his personal sand- it smelled of blood, of death- reminding her of the Chuunin exams. She coughed a little and tried not to puke, remembering the gruesome fate of those nins...
He could kill me now- no one would ever know- he'd tell everyone I was lost in the desert-
Fear like that of the day she first saw his Sand Coffin swamped her-
And then she looked up into his eyes.
They weren't the eyes of the lonely murderer she remembered from so long ago.
They were Gaara's eyes... and now they looked shocked and confused, even if the rest of his face didn't.
The sand's grip on her loosened, and she fell out onto the hard, warm sand.
"Hinata- I'm sorry," he said quickly.
She'd looked so scared of him that moment- it had passed quickly, but still... it had brought up old, painful feelings that he never wanted to remember again. Had thought he'd forgotten.
The image of her eyes, pale, wide with fear... he wasn't sure if it would ever leave him. So... vulnerable
Instinctively, he let go of her and apologized.
"I- I didn't mean to-" scare you.
Hinata was never sure what made her do it. Maybe it was the hint of fear and sorrow in his eyes when he looked at the ground and apologized. Maybe it was the barely audible- but there- wavering quality in his voice when he apologized.
"I- I didn't mean to-" he stuttered out, looking shocked and ashamed.
She reached out and touched his arm. "It's all right," she said, smiling.
"A-are you okay?" he asked, comforted despite himself by her smile and her words and, yes, her hand on his arm.
She nodded. "Perfectly fine."
"I'm really sorry... I wasn't planning on Sabaku Kyu or anything-"
"I know." Suddenly seeming to realize where her arm was, she blushed fiery red and pulled back.
Despite this, Gaara felt more relieved than he ever had.
"Your offer?" she said, curious.
"Oh," he said. "If- if you don't mind. You see, sparring in the desert at night- it's very... effective, training-wise, than sparring in the desert during the day. But you're out of chakra, so I propose that we rest awhile. And next time... I don't think I'll use sand... your advantage."
He seemed so much more vulnerable now.
And then she realized- she had struck his weakness. Of being thought of as a monster again.
"Sure," she said happily, eagerly, trying to help him- at least make the wound a little better, somehow.
"All right, then," he said, but there was no change in his body language.
She sat down on the sand, and it moved just a little under her. It was somehow softer than the rest of the sand, and she realized- with her Byakugan- he was controlling it, making it comfortable to sit on.
It was one of the sweetest things she had ever seen a person do for anyone, let alone herself.
I sat down cross-legged next to her after moving the sand a little to make it comfortable to sit on- hard sand isn't very fun, but if you add a little chakra into it some how it gets cushioned and- well- yeah. I just figured it'd be more comfortable for the both of us to sit on if I did that. I really didn't want to frighten her any more... her eyes- they'd looked like peoples' had back then- I watched her carefully, looking for fear in her body language. I didn't find any.
Then she looked at me, a little shock in her eyes, a blush adorning her cheeks... Against the backdrop of a Sunagakure sunset, it made for a pretty sight.
What are you thinking, Gaara? That she's pretty?
I guess it was kind of a weird thought. I'm not really the kind of guy that thinks girls are pretty very often... it usually takes a girl who is something else. It just... doesn't usually occur to me. You know. To look at girls to see if they're pretty.
Usually they aren't. Very few of them are attractive... My student Matsuri likes to think she is. But she isn't.
Hinata, though...
Hinata is pretty.
She's got that dark hair, and it's really long, and... well, I'll spare you the details of my thoughts. Let's just say she looked really pretty right then.
I moved the sand a little so it was more comfortable, at home in my area of expertise.
She looked amazed.
"You can do a lot with sand, can't you?"
I nodded.
"Like what else can you do?" she asked curiously.
I shrugged. "A lot of things. What would you like to see?"
She thought.
"Well, I don't know what you can do... so what do you like to do?"
I have about three tricks I can do with my sand- creating bunshin, making said bunshin move around, and finally a rather impressive but easy impression of an ocean.
I decided to make the bunshin first. They're a big hit with the village children. That is, the ones that whose parents let them talk to me.
A 3-inch-tall Hinata rose out of the sand. She gasped and reached out to touch it.
I made it mirror the move. A miniature me rose out of the sand as well, next to the Hinata.
"They're so cute," she said, giggling as my bunshin crossed its arms and pouted and hers poked its fingers together and bit its lip.
A Temari and a Kankuro appeared next. The Kankuro-bunshin played with dolls- puppets!, I could almost hear him scream in my head, and the Temari-bunshin purposefully waved around a fan making funny little sand tornadoes. And then a Baki, and a Matsuri, and a Naruto...
Just to tease her-
The mini-Naruto walked up to the mini-Hinata and bowed (like he'd ever do that in real life, but I know how girls' minds work because Temari forced me to watch some of her stupid romantic comedies), and they started to waltz around.
The real Hinata beside me turned a bright red that rivaled the sunset and then she glared at me.
A part of me, though... didn't like it. A part of me... wanted for my bunshin to cut in on the couple.
That feeling, I decided, could be examined later. Outwardly, I chuckled.
She made spluttering noises. It was funny.
"Hey- You- I- GAH!" Folding her arms, she turned away from me.
I shrugged. Time to move to the other show-offy trick.
The bunshins disappeared and the sand writhed, forming into waves that came crashing down in front of us.
It was actually pretty... romantic. Note to self- If I ever get a girlfriend, take her here and show her this.
Hinata gasped.
"It looks- it really does look like the ocean!" she exclaimed.
"I wouldn't know," I admitted.
She looked at me. "What?"
"I've never been to a beach... This is just me playing around with the descriptions I've heard. Temari and Kankuro like to see this, too... none of us have been to the beach." I shrugged.
"Sometime when I go back to Konoha," she said dreamily, "I'll get Sakura to invite her team to the beach... you can come too, if you like. If you're there. I bet we could set that up. Nii-san and his team could come too. And my team. Ino-san, too. She'll go if Sasuke's going and then her team can come. The whole group."
The Naruto bunshin returned and sat next to her. She glared at me.
"That's not the only reason I want to go!"
"Lies." I dismissed it with a wave of the hand (which also made the Naruto bunshin disappear).
She stuck her tongue out at me. And then sighed. "Okay, maybe just a little bit..."
It grew quiet. I decided to tease her a little more.
A Hinata bunshin (in a bikini... I guess I really am kind of a pervert) jumped up and down in the waves, waving its arms and sinking under every now and then. A Naruto bunshin dove into the waves and saved her, carrying her ashore.
Her face was steadily turning a neon pink color.
"Oh, no, is she breathing?" I asked, mimicking Naruto's voice. "Maybe I have to do mouth to mouth!"
THUD.
Oops.
Okay! Like I promised. But those ten reviews came so fast that the chapter wasn't even finished!
This chapter, it is AnimeRose93's turn. :D
Gaara: HEY WAIT. I have a complaint about this chapter. Aren't I supposed to be... you know, inhuman?
AnimeRose93: No. You're supposed to be adorably trying not to care.
Gaara: But I'm not supposed to be all mushy like I was in this chapter...
Hinata: You weren't mushy! You were mean! You made me faint!
Gaara: :( I'm really sorry about that.
AnimeRose93: -hugs- I'm sure Hinata-chan will forgive you.
Hinata: BACK OFF! HE'S MINE!... I mean, Gaara- Um- it is okay... I guess.
Matsuri: Now, that was really mushy, Gaara.
Gaara: -back to stony-faced stoic-ness... because that's totally a word now- It was an apology.
AnimeRose93: And a very cute one at that.
Gaara: Shouldn't Hinata be the one to hug me?
Hinata: Yes-
Matsuri: -shoves Hinata aside- No. It's AnimeRose93's turn this time. :D You will get plenty of chances to hug Gaara later, Hinata.
AnimeRose93: -hugs- Squee. :)
Please review! (These ending scenes just get longer and longer Dx but I have so much fun writing them. I hope you enjoy reading them.)
Just so you know, here is the lineup so far to hug Gaara (so these people know I remember them): CantThinkOfAnamelol, mwth06. If you would like to add your name to this list, or you are supposed to be on here but I forgot or something, please ask me in a review or something. :D Muchos gracias!