Note: Where have all my readers gone? L O h well at least I had some good reviews and thank you to those who did! Now, we last left off with Neji FINALLY finding Hinata amidst all the chaos surrounding KazeKage-sama's palace, of course with the help of Ino, the most unlikely person ever. And along the way, Ino and Neji form an unlikely friendship (don't worry it's not a pairing Besides…it's been mentioned that Ino and Shikamaru are dating!). In this chapter, let me take you back to the last three days that Hinata has been there and how she managed to form a bond with Gaara!
Chapter 6 – Truth
Gaara paused in the middle of the room to look at her.
Hinata slowly looked up, careful not to strain her neck than it already was. She stared back at Gaara, not knowing what to say or do in this situation. She felt awkward around him, but then again, to her, he was the safest one there. All the other Guards that have come down to give her food from yesterday insulted her. The man with the long dark hair was even more intimidating than Gaara, despite the difference in their facial expressions. "Ano…." She sat up slowly and rubbed her neck again.
Gaara shuffled his feet, showing Hinata that he was listening.
"Do you have a pillow that I can lay on?" Hinata's eyes turned away shyly. It was the weirdest question she has ever asked, but it was a question nonetheless, otherwise she would just say nothing at all. She was afraid that Gaara would be annoyed if she didn't say a word, after getting his attention.
The Sand-nin shook his head, then turned and left.
Hinata was surprised and listened as the door closed behind him. After a couple more seconds, the door opened again and in came a different person. This time, it was the same Guard that insulted her yesterday, one who treated her some kind of criminal instead of a hostage. He stood six feet tall and was quite handsome with short silver hair, though you can never tell by his looks. For Hinata, this man enjoyed torturing her and she was scared to be alone with him. There was one point yesterday where he looked at her up and down…quite lustfully.
"Hello, ojou-san!" the man spoke, his eyes once again examining her lustfully. He had something in his arms and Hinata noticed, as soon as he stepped into the middle of the room where the light was showing, it was a basket of fruits.
Hinata found herself eyeing the fruits. She hadn't noticed how hungry she was until she noticed the food and the way her stomach called out for them.
"Are you hungry?" He grinned and approached her, unlocking the door to the cell and stepped inside. Hinata continued to stare at the food hungrily and she mindlessly nodded her head to his question. "That's good! KazeKage-sama told me to feed you! Gaara-sama was just checking up on you, which is odd since you're from Konoha! I guess there's just something in you that attract his kind." He took out an apple from the basket and handed it to her.
"His…kind?" Was he some kind of animal to him? She took the apple from his hand and began eating, keeping a watchful eye on where the man would put his hands or where he would sit.
The man still had the grin plastered on his face as he sat down at the very edge of the bed and watched her as she ate. "I've never really told you my name, did I?"
She looked up and stared into his eyes. Bad move…Hinata turned her eyes away from him and shook her head. "Iiee…" And I don't want to know, she thought. She had made eye contact, which she's done with him already before.
The man moved a bit closer. "Boku wa-Sai Ichiro-des," he answered.
Hinata nodded, not looking at him. She felt large, rough hands caressing her cheek. The dark haired girl winced, shivering at the cold hands touching her skin. She should say something…but why isn't she saying something? Why weren't her lips moving to tell him no?
"Mmm…your skin is so soft Hinata-chan…" he purred.
It took her a while to get the courage to say, "Iiee…" but it was so soft that the man decided to ignore her pleas. "Iiee," she repeated. However, the man continued to caress her cheek and even going as far as to taking her long dark tresses and putting it close to his nostrils to smell her hair.
He leaned closer and licked her cheek. "I want to rough you up all over," he whispered in her ear.
Hinata shivered. "Onegai…leave me alone…onegai…" There were tears in her eyes and they fell heavily on her lap. She wanted to get away. "Onegai…can someone help…onegai…."
Ichiro smiled and slowly put the basket down on the ground and put both his arms around her. He allowed his hand to explore her body, starting off with the thighs and then moving on up towards-
"What are you doing?" came a soft, hoarse voice from behind him. Startled, Ichiro removed his arms away from Hinata and looked up. Gaara had come back again, his arms folded in its usual fashion in front of his chest.
"Ah! Gaara-sama! I was just…"
"You were just leaving…" Gaara said coldly.
Ichiro nodded as beads of sweat fell at the sides of his face. 'Damn!' he thought. He stood up and bent down to pick up the basket full of fruits, but Gaara's voice once again stopped him. "Leave it," his master's dangerous voice spoke up. Ichiro nodded, slowly stepped out of the cell and headed for the door, but not before Gaara grabbed his hand.
The much taller man gasped and glanced at his young master. "Gaara-sama?"
Gaara turned his head at him and flicked his hand, breaking Ichiro's right hand. Ichiro cried out in pain. "Hands are not meant for exploration. They are meant for serving KazeKage-sama's food and for cleaning…"
Ichiro nodded, tears coming out of his eyes from the pain. He felt relief when Gaara finally let go of his hand and when he did, the taller man quickly bowed and left the presence of the room.
When he was sure he was gone, the Sand-nin turned to look at Hinata. In the very corner of her bed, with her back touching the wall, she sat shivering in fear. He didn't understand this girl at all. She showed so much determination during the Chuunin exam when she was put face to face against her relative, but this time…she looked so pathetic to him. Gaara walked up to her and opened the cell door that was left unlocked by Ichiro and stepped inside.
What was he doing? Why was he suddenly willing to comfort her?
Gaara reached out to her, but withdrew it quickly, realizing what he was doing, then retrieved his arm back to its usual position…folded in front of his chest. "You are very pathetic," he said suddenly.
Hinata looked up, tears welling up in her eyes. She wiped her tears away quickly and frowned. "I….I am not pathetic," she replied softly, looking away.
The Sand-nin saw how her face had now changed back to its original, determined look. For some reason, that's what Gaara liked about her ever since he started watching her from afar back in Konoha. "Then why didn't you push him away?"
Maybe it was the fact that Ichiro was very handsome that Hinata was unable to say the right words. "I….I don't know." The dark haired girl hugged herself and shivered again. It wasn't because she was scared it was because she was freezing cold. The fear had disappeared ever since Gaara came into the room to stop Ichiro from going any further. All of a sudden, the felt something warm go around her shoulders. Hinata looked up, glancing at her shoulders to find a blanket wrapped around her. She turned her eyes towards the hands that gave her the blanket and noticed Gaara backing away a couple of steps. "A….arigatou," she said.
Gaara paused by the doorway and gave her a sideway glance. To her surprise, he nodded, his mouth kept into a firm, frowning look before he turned back and walked out of the room. Hinata smiled to herself, feeling warmer now and hugged the blanket tightly around her body. She closed her eyes and allowed her body to fall back on the bed into a full, deep sleep.
He was suspicious the moment KazeKage-sama's acclaimed son arrived back from Konoha. There was something that Gaara was hiding…deeper behind his raccoon-like eyes, but Ribu was well aware how difficult it was to read the young man's thoughts. He was a closed gate that no one could open and if someone were to open it, he knew it would be someone pure, someone patient-someone who accepted the monster for who he was. Ribu snorted. Would ANYONE accept the monster as a human? He highly doubted anyone would. He, on the other hand was curious about what Gaara was thinking for the times he was near his family, but yes, he was too impatient to deal with it right now.
The dark haired man could hear footsteps ahead of him coming closer. Ribu looked up and noticed a tall man walking his way. He recognized the younger man to be Ichiro Sai with short, silver hair. Ribu noticed that the younger, yet taller man was cradling his right hand. Ichiro had a look of disgust etched on his face. "What happened?" he asked as soon as he was in earshot of Ichiro.
Ichiro looked up, startled and immediately his scowl disappeared. "Ah! Ribu-sama…"
"What happened?" Ribu repeated.
As soon as he asked again, Ichiro's anger came flooding back to his face. "Gaara-sama is not normal!" he hissed. "He…he broke my wrist! I should report him!"
Ribu stared at him. "You know, I have heard some rumors about you…especially from the women," he said thoughtfully. The dark haired man's face turned suddenly into a frown. "They say that you sexually molested a sixteen year old girl who works with KazeKage-sama."
Ichiro gulped. "Come on, Ribu-sama I am your most humble servant! I would NEVER do such a thing and-!"
"Leave," Ribu interrupted. "Leave now before I break your other hand."
"You…you will regret this!"
"What? Not having a perverted moron like you?" Ribu replied, glaring at him.
Ichiro growled, turned and left Ribu's sight. Irritated by having to lose another attendant, Ribu rubbed the top of his nose and sighed. He should've gotten rid of Ichiro the moment he met him. Ribu was too clueless to notice that Ichiro had his eyes on Hinata the whole time, when she was brought inside. "I should really be careful on the attendants I choose," he said to himself. He looked up and was surprised to see Gaara leaving the cell where Hinata was. Ribu slid through the nearest hiding spot he could find and watched in the darkness as Gaara came back a couple seconds later holding a pillow. "What are you up to, Gaara?" Slowly, Ribu moved from his spot and made his way to the doorway of Hinata's cell. The door had been left ajar so Ribu was able to see a little bit of Gaara's back. Gaara was seen moving around and Ribu could hear the cell door open, followed by footsteps.
He watched her sleep, careful not to wake her as he entered her cell for the second time that day. She must have been tired, seeing that it was already past the morning of the next day. She woke up just a few minutes ago and she was back to sleeping. Gaara moved closer and gently lifted up her head, while he carefully put the pillow underneath, then slowly put her head back down on the pillow. He glanced back down at her face. She seemed so fragile, so innocent…so angelic- even as she slept, she looked so peaceful. How can any man resist such a creature?
She moaned, her eyebrows furrowing, as if dreaming of something sad. Gaara just sat there, watching her. Hinata slowly opened her eyes and looked up. Her focus was a bit blurry, but she could see someone's face looking down on her. The dark haired girl blinked once, twice and then…the face was no longer there. "Who-?" she said aloud.
Gaara paused and looked over his shoulder to stare at her.
Hinata closed her eyes again, a smile spreading on her lips. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for the pillow." She moved her head from side to side, feeling the pillow softening behind her head.
She didn't need to thank him. What use would she be if she was sad and rotting in the cell? To him, she was his captive. Someone that KazeKage-sama needed alive for the time being. Then why…why was his heart pounding? Why is his heart responding to such a feeling--the heart that's supposed to be cold and emotionless?
Gaara growled silently to himself and left the cell, promising in his mind that he would never EVER go back to feed her, or put her to sleep or…He stopped himself from thinking anymore and left the building to the only spot where he felt comfort…the roof.
They made it at the very center of the forest, back to where her body would be waiting. Ino led the way, while Neji and Hinata trailed behind her, while at the same time, watching behind them to make sure no one was following them.
The blond girl looked around frantically. Where had her body been put? Where had Neji put her body? She began to panic. "Where did you put me!?" she hissed, looking at Neji with a stern look.
Neji frowned, rolling his eyes in annoyance. He walked pass Ino and walked over to a pile of bushes. The tall, Hyuuga teen kneeled down and removed a couple of bushes out of the way to reveal Ino's body put gently on a bed made of leaves. "I had to make sure it was hidden so no one else would see." He picked up Ino's body and brought her over to where the young attendant was standing.
Ino sighed in relief and kneeled down in front of her body, where it was leaned against a tree. She put her hands together and performed her mind transfer no jitsu. Hinata and Neji watched as the young attendant's eyes closed and his body collapsed right in front of them. Neji quickly caught the young attendant in his arms and put him gently back down on the ground. He looked up and was relieved to find that the blond girl's body was moving. "Urrgghh!" Ino moaned, opening her eyes and looking up.
"Glad to have you back," Neji commented. He lent a hand towards her and pulled her up. "Did you have fun inside the boy's body? Are you feeling much better?"
Ino nodded and placed a hand at the side of her head. "My head hurts though. Must be my chakra telling me I've had enough fun for today."
Neji nodded. "But you did well."
"Ore? Was that a comment coming from you?" Ino smirked, folding her arms across her chest. "I never thought that the mighty Neji Hyuuga was good with comments. Do you still regret my company?"
The tall young man blushed and turned away. "Urusai."
Hinata giggled. "Neji-nii-san is never good at comments, until now. He must really like you Ino-chan."
Ino grinned, sticking out her tongue towards Neji. "Sorry, lover boy, but I already have a boyfriend!"
"What are you talking about?" He turned away, frowning, but there was a hint of blush that crept across Neji's cheeks which made Ino tease him even more.
Hinata giggled as she watched them argue, but then suddenly, she stopped.
Both Neji and Ino looked at her. "Hinata-sama? Is something wrong?" Neji asked worriedly.
The dark haired girl looked around and just a few feet away from them, she noticed a figure watching them in the distance. "Gaara…." Hinata whispered. Neji and Ino glanced at each other, then back at Hinata.
"Gaara?" Ino asked suspiciously. "Why are you suddenly whispering that guy's name?"
Hinata pointed to the figure. "Because he's right there."
Neji frowned. "So he decided to follow us after all…" He looked to where Hinata was pointing at and folded his arms across his chest. "Gaara of the Sand! It's time to stop hiding and reveal yourself already!"
A comical sweat dropped from the sides of Ino's face. "Nyeee! Don't call him over! He'll kill us for sure! Oooohhh I KNEW he was toying with us! He probably helped us escape so he can have his fun hunting us!"
"No….he would never do that," Hinata suddenly spoke.
The figure moved and landed just in front of them. Hinata felt her heart beat and for a moment, a smile spread across her lips, but then it quickly faded when she realized what she was doing.
"What are you doing here, Gaara?" Neji asked.
Gaara glanced at Hinata.
She blinked. He blinked.
Time was frozen.
Her heart pounded and so did his.
What had gotten into him? Gaara moved away, his lips warm from hers. He touched it with his fingers and suddenly stared into her eyes, expecting some kind of fear coming out of them. But…to his surprise, there was none.
Hinata blinked once, twice and then she backed away, her back touching the wall. What did he just do? Did he just…kiss her? Was he lusting for her? No…she felt no lust coming from him. She couldn't blame him now…because she had returned the kiss as well.
First they were just talking about their families and she mentioned something that clicked Gaara to go insane. The next thing she knew, she was under his grasp, his hand around her neck. He pinned her against the wall of her cell and lifted her up just above him. "Are you lonely?" she had asked.
"URUSAI!" Gaara roared, gripping his hand tightly around her neck.
"You've been so kind to me, Gaara. I'll be your friend…you must be so lonely. I'll be your friend-!" But she was cut off when Gaara removed his hands from her neck, dropping her back on the bed.
"I don't need a friend!" Gaara hissed.
But she had been stubborn. Why had she forced herself to help him? "Everyone needs a friend…even you, Gaara-san."
"You don't know me!" Suddenly, he went on top of her and his hands went around her neck once more, pinning her against her bed. The bed creaked as Gaara placed his legs in between her body. "YOU DON'T KNOW ME!" His eyes turned into thin slits, his anger now visible in his eyes.
Hinata did not move, instead she stared straight into his eyes. "If you don't need a friend, why are you kind to me?"
"I said--!" He stopped and stared into her eyes. There were tears in her eyes…was she afraid? After all the things she's said, of COURSE she would be. His life was none of her business. He should've killed her when he had a chance, but LUST had beaten him to it. Her innocence, her pure nature and her eyes…those clear blue eyes kept him from killing her. The next thing he knew, he had pressed his lips against hers.
And what surprised him the most was…she had responded with a more satisfying kiss of her own.
It was quick. It was emotionless, but Gaara had felt something he has never felt before. Realizing what he had done, he quickly stood up and left the cell without another word. Hinata sat up and slowly brushed her fingers across her own lips.
"What do you want me to do?" He glanced at the man who hired him and waited for his answer, shuffling his feet to get his attention.
The man hidden behind a black cloak turned to his right to glance at the young, but rookie shinobi looking at him. "Simple as that, Satoshi. Gaara has become a problem for KazeKage-sama ever since that girl was captured. I don't think it's the same Gaara he knows anymore."
Satoshi lifted up a curious eyebrow. "How is he different?"
Ribu smirked. "I think he's in love."
This bit of news was impossible for Satoshi Watanabe to comprehend. He knew Gaara very well…he was the son of KazeKage-sama, the killing machine…the insane young boy who killed his guardian, Yashamaru. How could a man like him 'fall in love?'
As if reading his mind, Ribu stared at his young assassin. "Do you not believe such a thing would happen to a man like him, Satoshi? Believe me… love is stronger than you think."
Satoshi nodded. "Hai." He had no choice but to believe his master. Ribu Serizawa was wise beyond his age and he believed he WOULD be the next KazeKage-sama. "I will take care of him immediately. Demo…if I may ask. Are there any other reasons why you want to dispose him so much?"
Ribu looked ahead of him and folded his arms across his chest. "He is just in my way…" he said simply. "Now get going."
The young shinobi bowed. "Hai," he replied and with that, he disappeared.
"HEY!"
Gaara turned his head slowly at the source of the voice, which belonged to the loud blond girl standing beside Neji.
Ino frowned. "Aren't you going to answer what Neji asked you!?"
The Sand-Chuunin stared at her. "I am here to warn you, that we are still enemies." When he said this, his head immediately turned to Hinata. He seemed to be directing this warning mostly towards her and Ino and Neji were more confused than before. Neji was beginning to feel suspicious as well.
Hinata knew this was coming and she responded with a nod. "……" Why had she put all her hopes up anyway? She knew that her and Gaara were completely different from each other.
She was light.
He was dark.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?" Ino was panicking, wondering what Gaara meant. Of COURSE they were enemies…so…why had he said that even though they KNEW they were!? "Hm?" Ino glanced at Hinata. "Hinata-chan?" She watched and studied Hinata's face. She looked….hurt…why?
Then…
Something hit her. 'Masaka!' she thought. Could Hinata be…with Gaara no less? Ino turned to look at Neji to see if he understood, but all she saw was a blank look on his face. 'Oi….He will NEVER understand, but I better not show it to him or else Neji would go ballistic!' Ino said inside her head.
Hinata turned to look at Ino. "Oh! I'm fine, Ino-chan!" There, she hid her real emotions behind her smile. But Ino had already seen it.
"Hinata-chan-!" Suddenly fire appeared around them. "What the-!?"
Gaara stood still and immediately his eyes looked up to where the fire had come from. A figure stood in one of the branches of the tree, hidden behind the shadows. A couple of kunais flew directly towards him, but Gaara dodged them without even trying, jumping out of the way to avoid the fire as well.
"Hinata-sama! Yamanaka!" A fire that spread on the ground had separated Neji from the girls and he pressed his hands together to perform his Byakugan. He glanced around quickly and noticed Gaara on the other side, looking up at someone. Neji followed his eyes and saw a shadowed figure jumping down to meet with the Sand-Chuunin.
Meanwhile, Hinata coughed and looked around, calling Neji's name. She felt a hand hold on to her arm and she jerked her head up to see Ino standing there. "Ino-chan!" she coughed, sweat from the heat pouring at the sides of his face.
Ino looked around for any branch they can jump on to avoid the flames and she found one just above them. "Jump up there!" she said, pointing to the branch. Ino led the way and jumped up on the branch.
Hinata nodded and did the same, landing just beside the blond girl. "Where is Neji-nii-san?" she asked Ino.
Ino shrugged.
Then, they saw a whirlwind in the middle of the forest, sweeping the fire away. Ino and Hinata looked up to see the fire disintegrating and to reveal Neji standing there with his byakugan activated. Neji had driven the fire away with his whirlwind jitsu. (A/N I don't know the name of that attack he did on Naruto but I made it up so please don't kill me! ) "Neji-niisan!" Hinata called.
But it seemed he hadn't heard because his eyes were focused on something in front of him. Hinata and Ino both looked and noticed that Gaara was fighting with someone. He was a shadowed figure, preferably the same person who had sent the fire around them. From what Hinata could see, he seemed young, by the way he moved and the way he could read Gaara's moves, this told her he was on a whole new level than she or Ino combined.
It seemed Gaara had the upper hand, dodging the man's attacks, combining kunais and jitsus, but as soon as Gaara decided to summon his sand coffin, the young Shinobi immediately knew to stop him. He slid in front of Gaara, lifting up his left leg to kick at the Sand-Chuunin's gut. Gaara doubled over, but managed to balance himself on the ground.
"Pretty good," the young Shinobi smirked. He straightened up and pressed his hands together to perform another seal. "I should remember never to underestimate the son of KazeKage-sama. Ribu-sama warned me you'd be difficult to defeat." He charged.
Gaara smirked and folded his arms across his chest and just stood there, watching as the man charged.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!? DO YOU WANT TO GET YOURSELF KILLED!?" Ino's voice roared. Although, she wouldn't mind him being killed but the look on Hinata's face…
He was getting nearer now, but Gaara stood his ground.
Closer…
Closer…
And…
The young Shinobi jumped in the air and threw his kunais towards Gaara. Of course, for Gaara it was easy for him to dodge…too easy. The kunais formed a circle on the ground around Gaara and then they began to set fire. 'Kuso!' he thought. The fire grew stronger around him. A large fire tail appeared behind him. Gaara turned just in time to dodge it, but more fire with the shape of a whip appeared at the same time.
"What do you get when you mix fire with sand?" Satoshi told him, landing in front of Gaara as the fire began to surround his enemy. He put his hands together and performed a second seal. "Yosh!"
He heard it.
They all heard it.
They all heard the shattering of the gourd that protected him from death. Fire had burst through it and sand began to pour from those ragged shaped holes. But Gaara continued to be untouched with the feeling of remorse for his own life or the Gourd's that had protected him all these years. He knew that the life in the gourd would never die. The demon would continue to live on within his body.
Another kunai had dodged through the fire, cutting Gaara slightly in the arm, but he paid no heed to that particular kunai because it didn't harm him at all. He had to get away from the fire as soon as possible and there was only one possible solution.
Satoshi watched through the flames as Gaara began to stand still. He knew this was coming. This was the Sand-Chuunin's only solution to saving himself. Sacrifice was the only answer to him.
Suddenly, he heard a rumble beneath him. Satoshi winced and a large amount of sand in the form of a large hand appeared from the ground. The large fingers surrounded the young Shinobi and he was unable to escape in time. The hand it closed around him, suffocating him immediately with its grasp. Hinata, Ino and Neji could hear the man's loud scream and it quickly faded like a nightmare.
The fire dissipated and Gaara was the only one left standing. He looked up and saw Hinata's big, round eyes surrounded with fear. It was only a few moment, but he knew that she had seen IT.
The demon…the real him.
"Now…do you see?" he said with a hoarse voice. Gaara tried to move but his legs were too stubborn. He looked around and his vision had suddenly become blurry. It was only for a few seconds and suddenly…
"Gaara-san!" Hinata yelled.
Gaara had fallen unconscious right after his victory.
Note: gasp What's wrong with Gaara!? ;) Find out on the next chapter!