I'm so sorry this was late! I've had so much going on these last few days I've had no time. Thank you so much to the beautiful people who reviewed, you make this worthwhile :)

Watchingtherain2 – thank you so much honey, it was lovely to hear from you again!
Witchy Bitch
Gabster357 – Thank you so much, I love writing her and I hope that their development is going well :3
Tamani
CAR – Thank you! I love Ko and Kankuro too, they don't get enough love in the series
Eleoopy
dumdeedum
KiunoNamu
WarFlower
HopeoftheForgotten

.:{~}:.

Chapter 11

.:{~}:.

Two weeks passed, with no word of Hinari. It was as if she'd completely disappeared. The crew from Konoha, made up of three of the Hyuuga Clan's best trackers, had found absolutely nothing that would indicate where Hinari was hiding or who she was concealing herself as. She'd vanished like smoke on the wind, and after two weeks of fruitless searching everyone had begun to relax a little. Life went on.

Ko had, thankfully, begun to loosen his merciless grip on Hinata, and she was free to teach without his constant presence ("Though I must be there to walk you to and from the hospital, Lady Hinata! I will not risk your safety when you're out in the open!"). Despite the fact that he was indescribably overbearing, Hinata did appreciate his concern. It reminded her of home, somewhat.

It was a Sunday, and Hinata and Ko were sparring with each other. Hinata admitted to herself that it was nice to have another Hyuuga to practise with; with Hinari as an ever-present threat, Hinata wanted to keep her Byakugan as strong as possible.

Ko managed to get a jab in, and Hinata felt her shoulder go from numb to bruised within the space of a few moments. Her chakra became harder to mould and each movement seemed slower and required more energy. She soldiered on despite the hindrance and the sun beating down on her back. It was a good test of endurance, training out in the Suna sun. Hinata knew that her stamina had improved since her stay in the city of sand.

"Are you okay, Hinata-sama?" Ko asked, seeming almost apologetic for his attack. Hinata hit him in his moment of weakness, in the exact same spot he had hit her.

"Don't go easy on me, Ko-san," Hinata said, frustrated by his treatment of her. "Enemies won't."

This seemed to steel his resolve, and he fought back, matching her hit for hit.

Though Ko was a Jounin by Konoha standards, it brought Hinata satisfaction that she was able to hold her own against him, almost equally. She would definitely sit the Jounin exam the next time it came around.

"Hey, Hinata!" a familiar voice called out, resulting in a momentary lapse of concentration that saw a particularly painful jab to her stomach. She watched as Nise ran up behind her, and Ko ceased his attacks. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and turned to face the girl, a hand held to her stomach.

"Is everything alright, Nise?" Hinata asked, wincing at the pain that radiated through her gut.

"Yeah," Nise panted, coming up to stand in front of her. "Just wanted to know if you'd heard anything about the Temple? No one's told me anything. Did they find her? Hinari?"

Hinata shook her head. "Gaara-sama is supposed to bring me an update later on, but so far I haven't heard anything."

Nise looked away, an unreadable expression on her face. "So they didn't find anything about her? No evidence? Nothing?"

Hinata shook her head. "I'm sorry, Nise. The only thing she left was a note for me, and it's so blotchy and written so strange that they can't trace the handwriting."

Nise rubbed her eyes and let out a sigh. "I hope they catch her soon. Who knows what else she'll do. You'll tell me if they find anything?"

"Of course."

It was at that moment that Nise noticed Ko. "Who's that?" she asked, her tone arrogant. "He was the one who interrupted class the other week, wasn't he?"

"Yes," Hinata conceded. "This is Ko, a friend of mine and a member of my family. He's been my guard for as long as I can remember."

Nise sneered. "He sounds like a babysitter. I thought you were better than that, Hinata."

Hinata could see Ko's face turn red from humiliation out of the corner of her eye, and rushed to intervene before he blew up at the young girl. "It's just a precaution. Ko's one of the best ninja that the Hyuuga have to offer. Hinari's already proven herself dangerous. He's just here in case something goes wrong."

Nise narrowed her eyes at him, and Hinata remembered how she felt about authority figures.

"Anyway," Hinata continued, trying to divert the conversation, "is there anything else you needed to talk about? We're in the middle of a sparring session at the moment."

Nise looked like she was about ready to say something incredibly insulting, but thought better of it. "No. See you in class." She walked away, and Hinata watched her go before getting back into her fighting stance.

"What an obnoxious little brat," Ko said, staring after the girl. "You let her treat you with such insolence? My Lady, she should be punished for speaking to you like that." He didn't move to get back into his stance, apparently too flabbergasted to do anything but stare agape at Nise's retreating back. "Her treatment of both you and I was appalling. Hinata-sama, I hope you won't let others treat you like this when you take your place as Head of the Hyuuga Clan."

Hinata shook her head at him. "She's a friend, Ko. That's just how she is. Now fight me. There's a move I've been thinking about, and I want your help to learn it."

Nise completely forgotten with the subject change, Ko perked up. "Is it an original or pre-existing?"

Hinata thought a moment. "I think it's original. I want to be able to concentrate my Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists into senbon-sized attacks that I can throw. I got the idea when I sparred with Gaara-sama, and I feel that it would be a useful jutsu to have for subtle attacks.

Ko's eyes lit up immediately, and he immediately began to devise how such a jutsu could be achieved.

It was late. Ko had gone to sleep an hour ago and Hinata lay restless in her bed waiting for sleep to claim her.

Somehow sleep seemed intent on abandoning her for the night.

There was a rap at the window, and Hinata sprang into action, Hinari being the panicked thought that scattered through her mind like shards of glass, poisoning all ideals of reason and safety. She activated her Byakugan immediately, shifting into a defensive stance, and was just about to call out to Ko when –

She deactivated her Byakugan, exhaling a sigh of relief, and went to open her window.

"Gaara-sama, you scared me!" she admonished, keeping her voice a whisper. Rightfully, and from what little moonlight was afforded, she could see that he looked guilty.

"I apologise," he said, and she accepted it.

She relaxed her shoulders and leaned against her window sill, wrapping her arms about her middle so as to warm herself. The heat of the day all but fled when faced with night out in the desert, and Hinata could feel its icy breath begin to creep up on her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, keeping her voice low. Now that her heartbeat had regained its normal pace, Hinata couldn't help but feel a little flattered (and surprised – why was she always surprised?) by his visit.

He shrugged, looking nonchalant. Hinata could tell that it was a façade by the slight tremor in his shoulders. "It's a beautiful night," he said finally, his voice a poor excuse for disinterested. "I know I said to not go out after dark, but I was wondering if you would like to come out with me. Hinari has retreated for the moment, I figure that it's safe. And I doubt that if she did show herself that she'd be able to take us both on."

She watched as he risked glancing at her and, upon seeing the amused smile on her face, narrowed his eyes. "Never mind, forget it. I shouldn't put you at risk like -"

"Let me get my jacket," she interrupted, and disappeared for a few moments to retrieve the item. Gaara looked nervous, she thought. He seemed to ramble when he was nervous, which she found endearing. She didn't think that Gaara would be the kind of person that would ramble. Kankuro's words came back to her then, hitting her with full force.

"He likes you, you know. It's true. You should see the way he looks at you. It's like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time. I've never seen Gaara look at anyone the way he looks at you."

Hinata forced the memory from her mind, a word sounding strangely like Preposterous escaping from her mouth. She slipped her jacket on and, with one final look at her room (making sure Ko wasn't around), she jumped out of her window.

He took her out beyond the wall, past the sentries who snapped to exhausted attention in wake of their Kazekage, and out beyond into the nether. There was a light breeze out, causing the grains of sand to whisper along past their feet. Hinata could hear the occasional animal scurry away from their approaching footsteps, but in such complete darkness she couldn't see them without her Byakugan. Her only source of light was the silver cast by the sliver of moon and the stars that painted the landscape in a sterling sheen. Suna rose out of the sand behind them like an inky shadow against the backdrop of night.

In short, it was beautiful, Hinata thought. The silence of the desert was so absolute, she swore she could hear her heartbeat above the soft footfalls she and Gaara made.

"I don't think I ever thought I'd say this, but Suna is beautiful," Hinata said, deciding to express her thoughts. "Despite everything that's happening, I love staying here." She couldn't see Gaara's smile, but sensed that he was pleased.

"I'm glad you think so," he said, coming to a halt. "Suna is a strong city. I am proud to be its leader. My people are stubborn, intelligent, and are able to adapt to even the most foreign of climates."

"That's a good trait for people to have," Hinata praised. Gaara sat down, cross-legged and Hinata sat facing him. "I always thought that the desert was a strange place for people to live," she continued, looking back at Suna with curiosity. "Do you know how anyone came to be here?"

"Our legends say that we were descended from the Goddess Sunako." He looked bored by the statement, and she knew that he didn't really believe it.

Hinata's interest was piqued. "You have your own legends?" she asked, intrigued. Konoha, of course, had legends regarding its origin and its people, though they mostly centred around Madara and Hashirama. She wondered if they were similar at all, though she had certainly never heard of a Goddess named Sunako.

He nodded, sending her an unreadable expression. "Yes. Sunako was the Goddess of the Desert." When Hinata looked at him with rapt interest, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes and continued. "She was said to be beautiful to behold, and many Gods vied for her attention. In the end, two brothers were the ones who had impressed her the most. Their names were Kaze, the God of Wind, and Fudo, the God of Fire. Kaze and Fudo fought for one hundred days and one hundred nights, until all the other Gods had had enough and decided to choose who Sunako should marry, as she loved both Gods equally and couldn't choose. It was decided that Kaze would marry her, as he was the eldest and complimented her element more wholly than Fudo. Sunako and Kaze were married, and lived happily together for many years. They had many children together.

"But everything started falling to pieces when Kaze showed a side of him Sunako had never seen before. He became cruel and violent towards his children. He would often yell at them, hit them, and disciplined them harshly for minor wrong-doings. In her fear for her children, Sunako turned to Fudo for help. Fudo still loved Sunako, and had recently lost his own wife in childbirth. Fudo agreed to help Sunako, and tried to talk sense into Kaze, but he would not be swayed. Sunako, afraid that leaving Kaze would incense him into further anger, relied on Fudo to be her support. All the other Gods turned a blind eye to what was happening, believing it to be none of their business, and it wasn't long until Sunako began to fall in love with Fudo. She fell pregnant to him, and out of fear for her life and her unborn child, planned to escape with Fudo and all of her children.

"Kaze heard of her plan, and was furious. He told Sunako that for her crimes, she would need to leave and never return, and that Fudo would have to commit suicide, as his honour had been destroyed in his betrayal. Sunako said that Kaze's honour had also been lost when he had become abusive towards his children, and that she would never have done what she did if he had stayed the good man that she had married. The three of them struck a deal. For her infidelity, Sunako would need to flee into exile with her unborn child. To regain his honour, Fudo would need to commit a ritual suicide, as he had brought too much shame onto himself to continue living. And to make up for his transgressions and regain his own honour, Kaze would have to raise his children and Fudo's son, and never lay another hand on any of them again, and treat them with love and kindness for the rest of his days.

"As agreed, Sunako exiled herself to the desert, where she was surrounded by her natural element. As she cried for all that she had lost, her tears became the oases that are dotted throughout the desert. Eventually she gave birth, and that child went on to found Sunagakure, which was named after the Goddess. It is said that Sunako's body became the sand dunes. The Kazekage is called such because it is their duty to love and protect the children of Suna, and if they break the vow that they have to their people then they must walk forever in shame and without honour. Fudo is honoured every year in Suna, with the Celebration of Fire."

Hinata sat there, feeling something akin to shock as Gaara reached the end of the tale. It was so tragic, she was certain that Konoha didn't have anything so sad in its arsenal

She was speechless, and had no idea how she should respond to the story. Eventually, she managed to say: "That was so sad. Thank you for telling it to me." Hinata could have hit herself – that was possibly one of the most stupid sentences she had ever uttered.

"Did you like it?" he asked, seeming all of a sudden very uncertain. "I'm not very good at telling it. Kankuro is much better than I am."

She finally managed a smile. "I loved it. You told it really well. I wish Konoha had stories like that. Ours are so boring in comparison."

Gaara chuckled, low and honest. "I doubt that. Not if you told them. You could make anything sound good."

Hinata flushed at the compliment, then, embarrassingly, let out a yawn. With a jolt, she found that she was absolutely exhausted. How long had she been out?

Gaara, noticing how tired she was, began to stand up. "We should get back, before your guard notices that you're missing." Hinata nodded in agreement and made to stand when Gaara just smiled a half smile and pushed her back down. "We don't need to walk," he said cryptically, before the sand underneath her began to shift. Before she knew it, she and Gaara were hovering on a small patch of sand at least twenty feet in the air. Hinata looked over the side and shrieked, scrambling back: she had always hated heights.

Gaara sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "Don't be afraid," he whispered, his lips maybe just a little too close to her ear, and then the sand was moving gently back towards Suna. The sensation was something like being cradled, and it wasn't long before Hinata managed to relax and even found herself leaning in a bit closer to Gaara, for the night was still cold and he was warm. She started to fall asleep against him; her face buried itself into his shoulder and her hand rested easily on his thigh.

She wasn't sure, but she thought that maybe her turned a little so that his nose and lips were pressed against the crown of her head and his arm brought her in just a bit closer. But by then she had fallen asleep against him, with the wind kissing her cheeks and Gaara's lips in her hair.

He woke her gently, careful not to startle her, when they arrived back at her house. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing eyes the same colour as the moon. Drowsily, she recognised that they were back, and began to extract herself from him, not finding in herself the will to go quickly.

He helped her down off his cloud of sand, holding her hand to keep her steady, and led her back towards her window, where he helped her climb inside. She didn't immediately retreat to her bed like he expected her to, and instead turned to face him, leaning against the sill.

"Thank you," she said, her voice soft. He inclined his head in a gesture to mean 'you're welcome'. "I had a really nice time."

He smiled a little again, and Hinata thought that she wouldn't mind if he did that more often. "As did I."

"Maybe we could go out again sometime?"

Tension that Gaara didn't even know he had released itself, and he was able to breathe a little easier. "I'd like that," he replied, not able to help the small smile that found its way onto his lips.

She made no move to leave, though he could tell that she was falling asleep where she stood.

"Can I try something?" she asked. He was immediately curious and a little suspicious, but nodded anyway. "Close your eyes," she said, her voice… nervous? He narrowed his eyes at her for a moment, suspicion growing, but did as she said.

He waited for a moment, feeling her hesitation, her confusion, until something warm brushed itself against his lips, before withdrawing all too quickly. By the time he had opened his eyes Hinata had gone, and he was left reeling from shock with the knowledge that Hinata had just willingly kissed him.

Ah! The kiss! I was very excited to post this up :3

Okay, two things: first, I'll be changing my pen name to Alia Rubrik on Sunday the 18th of May. Just don't want anyone to be caught off guard and I've been SapphireRivulet for so long it'll be a bit of a change.

Second, I think that this story might have to go back to an update once a fortnight. Please don't think it has anything to do with any of you, you're all wonderful and I couldn't be more grateful. Uni is just getting really intense and I've got exams and assessments left, right, and centre that I really need to focus on. I'll get back to every week as soon as I can, I just can't right now.

Also, I'm 21 today! Omg I'm so ollllddddd D: Leave me a review as a little birthday present? ;)

- Sapphire xoxo