Note: Wow, I never thought a lot of reviews would turn out in this crazy Gaara/Hinata fanfiction…LOL and it's my first Naruto one too! Thank you to those who reviewed, I REALLY appreciate it! Anyhoo, in this chapter, an unlikely friendship is formed and more secrets are revealed….maybe…;)

Chapter 5 – Out of Reach

There was tension all around. Each pair of eyes scanned the stranger standing before them in the middle of the room, mindful, that this man was someone who was not to be underestimated. Sunlight gleamed through the glass ceiling and touched only little light in the large foyer…just above the KazeKage-sama. His eyes were trained only upon this man, standing slightly slanted to his right. His face was covered for some unknown reason….he had mentioned before to him that he was to be left anonymous.

"What's happening? Why do you have Hinata captured when she is supposed to be killed?" There was anger in his voice, but KazeKage-sama did not even flinch. He was used to this kind of thing, but never has he felt SO betrayed by this man. He would rather skin him alive, than keep him alive for this long and have him say those things in front of his children.

He coughed slightly. "And you did not keep your word with our deal…you have sent some ninjas to do our job when WE were supposed to be the ones taking care of it. Do you not trust me on this matter, Matsumoto-san?"

"Your SHINOBIS are taking far too long with THEIR jobs! I took matters into my own hands!"

KazeKage-sama stood up and walked down from his throne, like a ghost shuffling down towards the tall man—pale and heartless. The fabric of his robe swooshed heavily as it drags on the floor. "Well, from now on, I will take matters into MY own hands…we will keep the Hyuuga girl in the cell until our demands are met."

Matsumoto winced. "Nani!? Kill her and we WILL bring IT to you!"

The older man smirked, turned around and walked back to sit on the throne. "Plan has changed Matsumoto-san…ne? You said so yourself. So I will only ask this from you…Bring IT to me and I will give you Hinata and you can do what you want with her."

"YOU CHEATER!" Matsumoto grabbed his kunai from its sheath to his right side and charged.

Temari gasped. "KazeKage-sama!"

Matsumoto struck, but he saw no blood coming out from the man. He looked up and noticed that SOMEONE had intervened. A man with glasses and long dark hair tied up in a ponytail gripped his hand around Matsumoto's wrist.

"You WILL not touch KazeKage-sama!" Ribu growled, taking his hand and puncturing his wrist with his kunai, making it vulnerable.

Matsumoto screamed, kicking Ribu in the shins and managed to get out of the way before the younger and taller man broke his wrist. "I'll bring IT to you…I promise you that."

KazeKage-sama smirked. "I'm glad we have this understanding, Matsumoto-san."

Surprised at this reaction, Matsumoto backed up a few more steps and threw a smoke bomb on the floor. Smoke covered the room and before it disintegrated, the tall man was gone. Temari wanted to go after him, but KazeKage-sama's voice interrupted her.

"Leave him be, Temari."

"Demo, KazeKage-sama I don't trust him!" Temari walked back from the entrance and towards her father and Ribu. She glanced at Kankuorou who stood in his spot, then back at her father. KazeKage-sama did not look at her, instead, he stood up and walked passed her. "O….Otousan…." She watched as he walked out of the room and the door closed behind him.

"Temari-chan….." Ribu called. The blond young woman looked up and glanced at him. He smiled and shook his head. "Trust in your father. He knows what he's doing."

He was starting to get worried. Of course he should be since Hinata hasn't shown up for almost twenty-four hours. He figured that she would've been lost in the Forbidden Forest, but then again, why would Sasuke and Shikamaru come out holding only her forehead protector without a sign of Hinata ANYWHERE?

Neji had a bad feeling….. He took a deep breath and stuffed his hands in his pant pockets and walked down the main streets of Konoha, his mind wandering on and off towards his younger cousin. "Where are you Hinata?" He didn't see the figure coming his way and as soon as he looked up to see where he was going he had smashed into that shadowed figure. In instinct, Neji grabbed both the person's arms to keep the two of them steady and looked down.

"Watch where you're going you jerk!" Neji recognized the blond hair, the blue eyes and the loud mouth belonging to none other than Yamanaka Ino.

"I apologize. I wasn't looking where I was going." He let go of her, realizing that he was still holding on to her arms and walked pass her.

Ino raised an eyebrow curiously. "Hey! Where is your other half? I've never seen you two without each other."

Neji paused and turned to look at her, surprised at this question. He barely spoke to this girl and yet she was asking that question as if she knew him very well. "She is not here," he replied. "I don't know where she is."

"That's crazy! How can you not? She's probably still with her new team, I'm sure Shikamaru knows where she is!"

"Shikamaru and Sasuke do not know where she is." From his pocket, he took out Hinata's forehead protector. "I'm going to look for her."

Ino's eyes widened. "WHAT!? You mean she's missing!?"

Neji cringed. He jerked around and grabbed her hand, dragging her to an alley way nearby. Startled, Ino yelped. Neji placed a hand over her mouth to quiet her down. "Will you be quiet!?" Neji whispered as he pinned her against the wall. "Now will you promise to stop talking so loud and attract attention from the villagers?"

Ino nodded. Neji released her and backed away a couple of steps. "Yes, she's missing. It's been twenty-four hours. Gai-sensei's team was training in the Forbidden Forest and Shikamaru and Sasuke were the only ones left standing. They gave me Hinata's forehead protector, confirming that she disappeared."

"How can she have disappeared? Someone kidnapped her?"

Neji shook his head. "I do not know, but I plan on going back to the forest and track her down from there."

"By yourself?"

The tall Hyuuga turned away. "I am used to doing things on my own."

"Why don't you ask Shikamaru and Sasuke-kun to help you look for her?"

Neji glanced at her. "Like I said, I'm used to doing things on my own."

Ino sighed, leaning her back against the wall and folded her arms across her chest. "That's because you're too proud to be asking someone's help. All right, if you're like that, I'll help you."

A sweat dropped from the sides of Neji's face. "No you're not." He turned and began walking away.

The blond girl frowned and ran in front of him. "Sorry… when I agree to something I stick to it."

Neji sighed. "Fine. Just don't get in my way." He walked passed her and left the alleyway towards the direction of the pathway towards the Forbidden Forest. Neji could feel Ino following him from behind.

"Yosh! So the Forbidden Forest it is, eh?" She stepped in beside Neji and looked at him, grinning. "Believe me; you are not going to regret me helping you!"

'I already am," Neji thought in his head, his face looking quite annoyed.

When they arrived there, they had to sneak in to get inside. The Forbidden Forest was indeed, 'Forbidden' and with that came the traps to keep intruders out of the forest. Neji had to pull Ino from the falling floor traps, while Ino in return kept Neji from getting injured by a falling log drop that came down on them from a top of a tree.

Now, they were on their way to track down Hinata's whereabouts, with Neji on the lead. Ino, once in a while, kept asking him questions about unnecessary things in which Neji only kept his mouth shut to shut her up. But overall, Neji appreciated her company, even if she WAS louder than the animals which made noises once in a while in the forest. After all, they kept each other from falling into traps. He hated to admit it, but Ino was pretty good at realizing where and how the traps were created in order for them to avoid it.

"So……do you have a girlfriend?"

That question was about the only thing that threw off Neji, as he almost stumbled forward. He managed to keep himself balanced though, thank goodness, or else Ino would've laughed her butt off. "What?" For some unknown reason, he blushed. Who was this girl to ask about HIS personal life?

"Oh! Look at you blush! You know, if you ask me, a girl is very attracted to a guy who blushes!" Ino lifted up her arms and put them behind her head as she walked beside Neji down a dark pathway, deeper into the forest.

Neji continued to walk, without even looking at Ino. "It's none of your business." Suddenly, he stopped and stared straight forward.

Ino put her arms down and looked at him. "What is it?

The taller teen didn't answer; instead he approached a very wide, open area. It was about the only area where light was emitting from the sky. Neji kneeled down and touched the sandy floor…there were footprints on the floor, a pair of small ones and about two pairs of larger ones. "She was here," he murmured.

Ino kneeled down beside him and looked at the footprints as well. "You mean Hinata? Okay, stupid question….but what are these other big footprints? They looked like they belong to….the kidnappers?" She glanced up at Neji.

Neji nodded. "Could be." He followed the tracks of the smaller footprints, his eyes scanning the floor. It seemed to have started from the tree below them, leading to the footprints he first saw. There was no blood around, which was good. This tells him that she was still alive somewhere. But then again, if he was right about the Sand-nins attacking Hinata, why WOULD they keep her alive? What was their motive? Weren't they SUPPOSED to kill her anyways?

"Oi!" Ino called, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Daijoubu?"

Neji looked up and nodded. "Hai." This time he looked to where the large footprints were leading. It didn't lead anywhere, except they stayed in one spot…surrounding the smaller footprints, which he knows belonged to Hinata. "She's alive," he answered. "But why WOULD they keep her alive?" The threatening letter must be some kind of bluff from the Cloud Country…to frighten the family.

Ino raised a curious eyebrow. "Hang on! What are you talking about!?"

Neji looked at her. There was a desperate looking face staring back at him and the taller youth had no choice but to explain everything to her, otherwise he would end up being haunted by that face for the rest of his life. When he finished explaining to her, once in a while, looking at any evidence that may lead to Hinata's disappearance, Ino said nothing. Neji stopped to look at her. The blond girl was looking up in the tree, staring at something in particular, her eyes wide in terror.

"Ino?"

"I have warned you before and you did not listen, Hyuuga Neji…" a voice spoke in the darkness.

Startled with the voice, Neji jerked his head up at a tree branch where Ino was looking at and threw his kunai at the tree. He knew who the voice belonged to and he had no time to look and confirm it for himself. Ino quickly got out of her stupor when Neji pushed her out of the way and looked around for Gaara, who disappeared from his spot.

The Sand-nin appeared just behind the two of them, his arms folded in its usual fashion in front of his chest. "Someone will betray you."

Neji frowned. "Where is Hinata-sama!?" He jumped up on the tree to grab his kunai and gripped it tightly in his hand. Ino pressed his hands together to do a mind-transfer jitsu but was interrupted when Gaara's sand surrounded her legs and arms, keeping her from doing her attack.

"I doubt you will listen to me even if I told you."

"Like HELL we will!" Ino hissed, struggling to get out of the sand's tight grip.

"…………"

Neji ran over to Ino and cut the sand-like chains from around her arms and legs. What surprised him was that Gaara made no effort to summon his other attacks after Neji. He just stood there, watching as Neji released Ino from her prison.

As soon as the blond girl was released, Ino pressed her palms together to conjure up her mind-transfer jitsu. "Yosh!" However, she was stopped by Neji who stood in front of her, annoying the heck out of the Yamanaka girl. "Hey! What do you think you're doing!?"

The taller teen ignored her, which aggravated Ino even more. "WHERE is Hinata-sama!?"

Gaara turned his head to his right, as if pointing with his finger in that direction. Both Neji and Ino turned their eyes to where Gaara is pointing at and noticed that it was only trees around them. "What are we looking at!?" Ino asked impatiently.

Neji lifted up a hand to his nose and rubbed it irritably. "Ino…"

"What?"

"Right now she is held captive in the Sand Village. There is no way for you to pass the guards. It is very well guarded."

This bit of news surprised Neji the most. Ino was shocked beyond belief that someone from their enemy country could be giving them this much information. "Why are you telling us this?" Neji asked.

Gaara said nothing.

"And if it's well guarded we'll be able to pass them as easy as pie!" Ino spoke proudly. "You can count on THAT!"

"Very well….get yourselves killed." And without another word, he turned and disappeared behind a cloud of sand.

"Killed? Why would we get ourselves killed? They're just a whole bunch of wimpy guards anyway!" Ino laughed and turned to look at Neji. "That guy has some kind of weird humor."

Neji glared at her. "This is no laughing matter, Yamanaka……..We need to get Hinata out of wherever she is. There is no telling how long they plan on keeping her there."

Ino rolled up her long sleeves and nodded, grinning. "Just be thankful they haven't killed her. We better get going if we want to reach her, ne?"

The taller teen gave her a weird look. "Why are you helping me?"

The blond girl led the way, as if she knew where she was going. "Because there's nothing else to do around here…"

The morning sun had awakened her from her sleep. She has never slept this long, but then again she had nowhere else to go. There HAD to be a way for her to get out of here…somehow.

Hinata heard a door open and then closed, followed by light footsteps coming down the stairs of the cell. She looked up and noticed Gaara approaching. Once again he had something for her. Every time he visited, he always had something in his hand, which makes Hinata wonder why. This time, he was carrying some kind of necklace…a VERY familiar looking necklace.

"That's my-!" Without a word, Gaara handed it to her in between the bars and sat down on the chair he prepared for himself in front of the cell. Hinata put her pearled necklace back around her neck and looked at him. "Thank you. I thought I lost it forever."

Gaara just nodded. He wondered in his mind whether Hinata KNOWS that her cousin and some strange blond girl were on their way to bring her back. But part of him didn't WANT her to be taken away. Who else would he talk to?

"Why are you being nice to me?" Hinata finally had the courage to ask, sitting back down on the bed.

"Was that necklace given to you by your okasan?" Gaara sat up straight with his arms folded in front of him and with his raccoon like eyes, watched her from his seat.

Hinata gasped. "How…how did you know that?"

Somehow, he was remembering things from his childhood past ever so slowly and this girl…she was in it. That necklace helped him remember ALMOST everything. "Your mother…she died when she was just…." Suddenly, something was pounding in his head like someone was hammering a nail through his skull. "ARGGGH!!!"

The dark haired girl yelped. "Dai…daijoubu!?" She watched in vain as Gaara held his head in pain. She wanted to reach out to him…she wanted to help him, despite the differences they had and the differences of the journeys they might take.

WHY are you wasting your time trying to remember THOSE memories!? Remember who you are Gaara! You belong to ME! You don't belong to anyone!

Darkness surrounded him. Gaara looked around. Where was he? He couldn't see anything, except darkness. Why was he here? What was he doing? Had he fallen asleep? He couldn't fall asleep now when he had a job to finish.

Gaara! Don't be fooled by mere words! Your memories don't belong to you anymore! They belong to ME! THEY BELONG TO ME!!!!

"Gaara…san?" Had he heard right? Did he just hear someone call his name? He looked around. Just ahead of him there was a tiny light flickering on and off. There was a point where the light would stay on, as if telling him to reach out to it. And he did just that. He reached out to it, but no matter how hard he tried, it felt far away for him.

Hinata watched in fear as Gaara fell to his knees, growling in pain. She couldn't do anything, but maybe if she continued to call out his name, it…would help… "Gaara-san?" It was no good…he couldn't hear her. Her voice was far too soft.

Shut up you stupid Hyuuga girl! Don't listen to her! She won't help you! She'll only make you suffer!

"Do you love your mother?"

Gaara looked up. She was there….the little girl was once again there. Her eyes were the same as the Hyuuga girl. She was looking up at him with the same curious eyes. "STOP IT! LEAVE ME ALONE!" He looked back down, burying his face in his hands.

Hinata jumped, but she took a step forward anyway to try to reach out to him. "Gaara-san? Gaara-san…it's all right Gaara-san…"

He heard her speak again. "Even if you say those things about her, your mother DOES love you. Sometimes parents don't show it, but in real life ALL parents love their mothers!"

Don't LISTEN to that wretched girl! She will hurt you! She doesn't know what REAL love is! She is lying to you!

"Gaara-san, if you can hear me, please…whatever you're frightened of…I'll be here." Hinata didn't know WHY she was saying these things, but she could see the sadness in his eyes. It was the same sadness she had when her mother died. The same sadness as she watched her mother taken underground…forever out of reach.

Gaara looked back up. The little girl was now holding a brightly lit candle which seemed to have appeared in her hands. She was smiling now, as her other hand was held out in front of her for him to take. "Come. Let me take you out of here."

NO!!!!

The Sand-nin looked up, staring back at another girl…this time, a lot older. She was on her knees, her hand held out in front of her as well. Gaara's eyes had gone back to its original colour and shape and Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. "Yokata! You scared me Gaara-san…I don't know what happened, demo let me help you up." She gave a smile and Gaara just stared at the hand held out to him.

"Gaara-sama…" someone called out to him.

Gaara quickly got on his feet and turned to see one of the KazeKage-sama's attendance approaching him. Hinata withdrew her hand, quite disappointed, but relieved at the same time that the Sand-nin was all right.

"KazeKage-sama has asked for you," the young attendant said.

Gaara stood there and stared at him, without moving.

"KazeKage-sama?"

"I know what you want. Take her."

Hinata and the young attendant stared at Gaara. "What are you talking about, Gaara-sama? KazeKage-sama has asked for you and--!" He paused when Gaara walked pass him and stopped just beside the young attendant. The Sand-nin turned towards him. He fished through his pocket and handed him a set of keys. "The smallest one." And then he left, leaving the young attendant confused and quite shocked.

The young attendant stood there, blinking and then shook his head. "Well, that was interesting. But we're here to get the Princess outta here!" He glanced at Hinata and smiled. "Right Princess?"

Hinata watched curiously as the young attendant stood there staring at her. She stood up and let go of the bars and took a few steps back. "Who are you?"

"I'll tell you later, now let's get out of here." He glanced down at the set of keys handed to him. "The smallest one was it, he said? Hm…Ah! Here we go!" He held the keys by the smallest key he could find and inserted it through the key hole, then twisted it open. "There you go! We better get out of here quick before they find out about us! He's waiting for you outside!"

"He?"

The young attendant smiled and nodded. "Yeah, he's outside. Let's go." Without helping her up, he turned and led the way out.

Hinata nodded, stood up and followed the young attendant out. When she stepped out of the room, he noticed a very familiar figure hiding in the shadows. "I knew you'd be here," the figure spoke. "We have hours to get back so we better be quick before they find out you're gone, Hinata-sama."

Hinata-sama? "Neji-niisan!" There was happiness in her eyes. She was so happy to see her cousin again. It felt like she was trapped in the cell forever when it's only been four days. She gave Neji an embrace.

"I hate to break this moment, but we REALLY have to go if we want to get back to my body fast without anyone finding it."

Hinata glanced at the young attendant. "Your…body? Masaka! Ino-chan?"

The young attendant smiled. "Yeah, it's me. You owe me BIG time Hinata-chan! Now, let's get out of here! I can only hold on to this body for a limited amount of time."

Neji nodded. "You don't need to panic, really. Your body is safe and sound deep into the forest. But yes, you're right, we have to go now." He turned, holding Hinata's hand and led the way out of the palace with Ino following closely behind. "How did you get the keys so fast, Yamanaka?" Neji asked Ino as they walked down the dark hallway. "I thought there would be plenty of guards watching over Hinata-sama."

"It was shocking really…Gaara gave me the keys." She took out something from her pocket and showed the set of keys to Neji. "See?"

Neji looked over his shoulder. "What?"

"You heard me. I think Hinata-chan did some WORK with Gaara the way he was looking at her when I came in!" She winked, which made Hinata blush.

Neji frowned. "We have no time for jokes, Yamanaka!"

He watched them disappear through the door and outside into the dark forest back towards Konoha. Why had he given up those keys to them? What would he say to his father now if he asked? He just didn't know why.

You will FOREVER regret of ever defying me Gaara!

"I apologize," he said out loud. "It is much better that she out of my reach. Then you won't have any problems."

It better be FOREVER out of reach…I don't know what's gotten into you earlier but I suggest you stay away from her!

"Understood…………." His mind had understood…but his heart….it didn't want to let go of the memory of that girl from his past.

"He's become a problem that brother of yours, Temari-chan." He spoke as he and the blond woman watched Gaara jump across another roof to watch Hinata and the other trace them back to Konoha.

Temari said nothing.

Ribu turned to look at the young woman before him. He gently grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "Temari-chan…what do you think if I plan on getting rid of him? Would you disapprove of that?"

Temari, once more said nothing.

He smiled and leaned over and gave her soft, teasing kiss on the lips. "I thought so," Ribu whispered in her ear. He ended the conversation with another, soft, lustful kiss.

GoodGurl: WOOH! That took me THREE or more hours to finish! But FINALLY I did! I hope you all enjoyed it and PLEASE review! Thanks!