Note: Hiiiiiiiii I'm back! Sorry for making you guys wait another week but I did warn you! Anyways, what has happened to Hinata? Find out on this exciting chapter! And what the heck is really going on? Oh yeah on this chapter there's going to be a ShikaIno moment here! Oh yes, I also have a reason why I put a moment between Temari and Ribu in here…she says something about Gaara

Chapter 8 – Unmatched

A single drop of rain fell heavily on the solid floor as the eyes scanned the figure's unmoving body. It was now three hours passed since Neji and Ino came back from their supposed mission and since a stranger to whom she knew as Gaara carried an unconscious Hinata into her tent. It was an odd combination really, but the two young men seemed to have no quarrel between them, except for a few short glares from the Hyuuga boy towards the Sand Chuunin.

Tsunade took a deep breath, removing her long blond hair from her right shoulder that has found its way to rest there and glanced down at Hinata's form. She was breathing now, but her health was hardly back to normal. There were still a few finishing touches she had to do. She placed a hand on Hinata's forehead and sighed. "It won't be too long now, Hinata-chan," she whispered. She was quite surprised that a poison could last this long…normally diseases would keep her alive, eating her slowly, while poisons kills its prey instantly, but Hinata…she was fighting to keep herself alive. That was something the Hokage-sama was proud of her about.

She could hear someone's pacing footsteps outside. Tsunade took one more glance at Hinata before stepping out into the rain. At the sound of the tent flap opening, Neji stopped his pacing and looked up, approaching Tsunade with an urgent look. Ino, the blond Hokage-sama noticed was no longer there, but she had heard her telling Neji that she had to go and meet with her team and that he informed her on Hinata's condition. There was no answer from Neji, but Tsunade knew he had agreed on her behalf.

"How is she?" he asked.

Tsunade took one look at Neji and then moved her eyes towards the figure standing by the tree, his back resting on it, while his arms were folded across his chest. "She'll be fine," she replied, averting her eyes back to Neji. "She's fighting well…if you hadn't come sooner, she would have died. This type of poison could be considered a disease since it's killing her ever so slowly, but Hinata-chan is strong. She's doing her best to keep her life, but I don't know how long she can hang on." There was a pause from her statement and watched Neji's reaction for a while, which went from relief, to confusion and to fear. "I managed to keep the poison from spreading throughout her body." From that sentence, the relief on Neji's face came back. "In order to get rid of it quickly, I need to go to the Hidden Village of Water to obtain a special herb grown only in those parts."

"What…kind of herb?"

"This herb contains vitamins which can nourish the system of a poisoned body. It flushes out the poison from her blood, and then with a little bit of luck, the poison will stop spreading and completely disappear."

"How long do you think it will take to heal her completely?"

Tsunade shook her head. "I cannot say. It depends on how her body reacts to the herb and how much poison is inside her. I have to be honest Neji…I don't know if the herb will work, but I will do my best to keep her alive."

Those last few words had hit Neji hard. There was silence from him for a while before saying, "Can I see her?"

The blond Hokage nodded. "Of course." She stepped aside and opened the flap of the tent to let Neji in. With a mumbled 'thanks,' Neji went inside quietly, afraid to disturb the sleeping Hinata.

Tsunade stepped away from the tent to give them some privacy and glanced over at Gaara. "Thank you for bringing her here."

Gaara said nothing and slowly pushed himself off of the tree he was resting on. He turned and began walking away.

"Where are you going?"

The Sand Chuunin paused and glanced over his shoulder at her. "I am not needed, so I have no reason to be here any longer."

Tsunade folded her arms across her chest and raised a curious eyebrow slowly. "Are you sure about that? You could have left before but you decided to stay. I can see that you are worried about her and thanks to you, you managed to bring her in time to me."

For a couple of minutes, Gaara stared at her, his aqua eyes just boring through her. She didn't understand it at first, but she got the idea after. It was Gaara who had no idea what was in Hinata's heart. This young man was the only reason Hinata managed to keep herself alive for so long. He must have affected her so much that she would go as far as to whispering his name while she was in a deep stupor. "Tell me something, Gaara."

This conversation was getting out of hand, something that Gaara wasn't really used to. He turned away and began walking again.

"You must care a lot about her more than she cares about you, because usually if you don't care about a person, he or she would just disappear and never come back."

Those words forced Gaara to stop walking to turn back towards Tsunade once more. "What makes you think someone like me are capable of such feelings? Someone like me should never feel that way."

The blond woman smirked. "Like I said…you wouldn't be here now if you didn't have those feelings. And why not? We are human…we ALL feel that way."

Gaara snorted. "Me? Human?" He turned away again. "Hardly…"

Tsunade frowned. "Are you telling me Hinata has made a wrong choice? I know her well…she is one of the smartest girls I know and she NEVER makes mistakes, especially her feelings towards you."

He jerked his head at her and glared. "That is what I am saying." With that said he jumped on the nearest tree branch and disappeared in the darkness.

The blond Hokage sighed and closed her eyes in annoyance. Lately, speaking to someone as stubborn as him hasn't been her favorite of pass times. Tsunade turned and gently opened the flap back to her tent where she found Neji sitting on a chair beside Hinata. "How is she doing?" she asked, even though she knew Hinata's health.

Neji looked up and nodded, his hands encased around Hinata's smaller one. "She seems fine to me."

"Good, because now I would have to kick you out of here," Tsunade said quietly. "She needs all the rest she can get before I leave for the Village of Water for the special herb."

The Hyuuga teen nodded again and stood up, bending down to give Hinata a kiss on the forehead before saying good bye to her and to Tsunade. He turned and left, leaving Tsunade alone to glance down at the sleeping girl. Honestly, she didn't know how long this girl had. "But…" she whispered, gently squeezing the Hyuuga girl's hand. "I promise to do the best I can."

Normally, in the middle of the night, he would stare at the moon, comfortably sitting on top of some stranger's house. The darkness was his best friend and every night, he felt at peace just being in the darkness and the only single light he touched was the light from the moon. But…not tonight. He didn't feel at peace. He didn't feel the need to be in the darkness. He wanted to be wherever SHE was.

Gaara looked down to where the Hokage's tent was and to where she was resting. He didn't understand this feeling. He felt rather pathetic feeling it. What kind of weakling had he turned into? It was her fault…she needed to be gone. She didn't need to be alive to make him suffer anymore. The Sand Chuunin jumped down from the roof and silently walked towards the tent, gently pushing the tent flap out of his way and stepped inside.

There she was…sleeping on a small carved out bed covered in what looked like brown cat fur. He could see the way her chest moved up and down ever so slowly to indicate that indeed she was alive.

Good boy! Now…kill her! KILL HER! You don't need her! She's useless to you! End this suffering right now!

Gaara took a few steps forward, lifting up his hands towards the base of her neck. Yes…it was time to end the suffering…this pathetic feeling he was having. He was closer now. He was close to feeling his hands around her delicate neck and squeezing the life out of her.

Perfect boy! This is the reason WHY I used you as my puppet…to end their suffering by ending their life quickly! THAT'S what counts Gaara! Yes…yes…Closer now.

His hands had reached the destination. They fit perfectly around her small neck and he could feel the way she breathed just by the feel of her neck. She was so pale in the darkness and Gaara was ready to commit this murder.

And then…

She opened her eyes.

Gaara quickly removed his hands away from her neck and looked back at her. She was staring right at him and she had a smile on her pale face. He didn't understand her. She knew she was going to be killed there and yet…she continued to smile.

What do you think you were doing!? Kill her now! You were SO close! Don't let her smile get to you!!!!!!!

The Sand Chuunin lifted up a hand and brushed the back of it against her cheek. Hinata enjoyed the warmth and she closed her eyes to feel it against her skin. Gaara had lost his mind to her…his heart. There was no way of telling if he would EVER come out this stupor whom humans called 'love.'

Hinata opened her eyes once more and looked deeper into his face. It was so odd that someone with the coldest face could have the warmest touch.

Gaara stared back at her eyes. He wanted her there. He wanted her now. Her look was driving him crazy, as if inviting him to do the unthinkable. Slowly, as if his head had a mind of its own, he leaned his head down, his lips inches from hers.

And before he could stop himself, they sealed their lips together with a kiss.

The gentle girl with the mesmerizing eyes kissed him back, as if wishing that this kiss would wash away all the loneliness she was feeling inside. Somewhere deep within, she knew she needed him. That he in return needed her too.

They wanted each other so bad that not even the voice of reason could stop them.

Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down towards her, his heart beating against her own.

What do you think you're doing you STUPID BOY!?

Suddenly, Gaara pulled away. He stared at Hinata with a shocked look on his face. What had just happened?! What was he doing kissing a girl like her? And what was he doing kissing!?

He backed away a couple of steps and looked away. He couldn't look at her. Gaara was beyond shocked that he could fall into such a trap. The Sand Chuunin glanced back at Hinata. It was as if she had planned this all along…no…he was the one who started it.

Without a word, he turned and left quickly before Hinata had a chance to call him back. Hinata lifted up a hand to her swollen lips and blushed. Was she just kissing Gaara of the Sand?

So much has happened yesterday that her head started to swim. She had all her thoughts into what she saw between Gaara and Hinata that she had forgotten about meeting with Shikamaru for breakfast. By the time she remembered, she was just training with her new team and Ino, after doing a bit of cussing, asked to be dismissed early to meet with Shikamaru. She arrived at the place where they were supposed to meet, but found him nowhere. He arrived seconds after, yawning and stretching and Ino knew he had forgotten too or was just far too lazy to even remember such an occasion.

"Is something wrong?" They were eating their food now, sitting side by side in their favorite booth at the far right corner of the restaurant. Ino looked up. This was the very first time Shikamaru has ever asked her such a question. Normally, he would be as quiet as a mouse, too lazy to start a conversation. Ino would be the one doing all the talking while he listened.

Ino stared down at her food, the content of the ramen floating around inside the bowl. "What would you say if I told you I knew something I shouldn't have?"

Shikamaru snorted, lifting up his soup to his lips and began to sip it. When he was done, he put his bowl down and looked at her, folding his arms across his chest. "I'd say there's no surprise there."

A spoon goes flying towards his head, hitting him square in the forehead and landing loudly on the table. Shikamaru didn't even make an effort to dodge the assault, because he knew it was coming anyway.

"What if I told you something was going on between two UNMATCHED people?"

Shikamaru looked at her. "Why do you think these two people are unmatched? Are you talking about Sasuke and Sakura?" He stared at her, his pupils turning into thin slits.

Ino rolled her eyes. "No you moron!" She felt her heart flutter when Shikamaru looked jealous when she thought she was talking about Sasuke-kun and Sakura. "I'm talking about Gaara and Hinata."

The dark haired chuunin lifted up a curious eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about? Gaara and Hinata? That's like putting a dog and a cat together! Besides…" He looked back down at his food, his heart feeling relief that she didn't mention Sasuke. "Why do you care anyway? It's not like it has anything to do with you."

The blond was starting to get irritated, not because of what Shikamaru said, but the fact that he was right. "I know it's none of my business! I just…She's my friend Shikamaru and I'm worried she could be involved into something more dangerous than Gaara himself! There was a guy after Gaara and we were lucky enough to get away from the fight! And because of Gaara, a poison is slowly killing Hinata-chan!" Tears escaped her eyes, falling like rain down her cheeks.

Shikamaru sighed. "Ino…" He didn't know WHAT to say, frankly, he was too tired to even deal with a crying girlfriend right now. Instead of saying some kind of advice, Shikamaru wrapped an arm around the blond and let her head rest on his shoulder to cry on.

"Well? What do you say?" He looked at her, examined her eyes to see whether she was REALLY ready for a challenge.

She looked back at him and then glanced back down at the item held up to her in the palm of his hands. It was a ring…an engagement ring. Yes…in the entire world, she was WILLING to be with this man for the rest of her life. Maybe it's love…maybe it's lust, but all she knew how to feel right now was that she was breathless. As the bright diamond stone glared back at her, she knew she was ready. "Yes," she whispered.

Ribu smiled. He felt so relieved. In all honesty, he wasn't sure whether Temari really loved him or not. It took him at least a week to think about what he was doing, whether he really wanted to do this. He contemplated many nights about their relationship, wondering that asking her to marry him was really a good idea. There was also the fact that both of them haven't told Temari's father about them. "I'm glad." He sighed and stood up, gently removing the ring from its comfort place and sliding it through her ring finger. And as soon as he did so, he KNEW then that he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life.

"We…we should tell him," Temari spoke up, after a couple of minutes of silence. She looked at him and smiled, her eyes twinkling-a sign that she was holding back tears of happiness.

The dark haired man nodded, pulling her towards him and kissing her on the lips. "I know…we'll tell him together."

"Tell me what?"

Startled by the voice, the two of them quickly pulled apart from each other. Temari, her heart pounding, looked up in shock at her father standing right by the door of her bedroom.

KazeKage-sama curiously stared at Ribu. "Ribu? What are you doing in my daughter's bedroom?" Of course, he knew the answer to that. All this time, he knew, but he wanted to see how far they would keep their relationship a secret. But he was quite disappointed that they would keep it a secret until Ribu finally asked his daughter to marry him.

Ribu calmly smiled at him and, with a cool voice he said, "I was talking to Temari-chan about Gaara. We can't seem to find your son anywhere."

KazeKage-sama was silent for a few seconds, staring at the two of them before saying, "Gaara is no son of mine." Those were the only words he said before turning around and leaving Temari's room.

Temari sighed and looked up at Ribu. "You think he knows?"

"I think he knew even before we had our relationship," Ribu answered.

The blond girl frowned. "I hate it when he says those words."

"Says what?"

"I may not act like it towards Gaara, but I'm still his sister and I still don't like the fact that my father would insult him so much."

"He's still traumatized by his wife's death, even after so many years. It takes time for wounds to heal. Come on, let's go for a walk." Ribu wrapped an arm around Temari and lead her out the door and into the cool night air.

'Well,' Ribu thought. 'Soon, Temari-chan…soon…your worries will go away.'

"Hi!" Here she was again, smiling at him, her hands clasped behind her back and her head titled to the side cutely. She held out her hand, but he just stood there awkwardly, hesitating to move. If he did, where would she take him? "Don't be scared…I'll take you somewhere safe!"

It took him a moment to realize that she wasn't looking directly at him. She was looking right past him, right behind him. Gaara turned his head and noticed a young boy, his hands covering his face and his shoulders shaking. He was crying, from what he could see and he was on his knees.

"Okasan! Okasan! Otousan! Otousan!"

"I'll take you somewhere safe!" the girl repeated.

Finally, the boy looked up and Gaara gasped at the sight of him. The boy was actually HIM as a young boy, his red mane visible underneath the light now. His eyes were full of sadness, which were no longer visible within him. His heart had turned to stone for years in isolation. And this young boy was a sign that he HAD a heart back then…something he didn't remember having.

The girl continued to smile, taking a step towards him, her hand stretched out for him to take. "Don't cry anymore." When he didn't take her hand for the second time, she kneeled down in front of him and wiped his tears away. "If you come with me, we can go somewhere where we can be happy! We don't need to cry in this place."

"What kind of place is it?" the little boy finally spoke.

"It's a happy place where you can wish for whatever you want!" she giggled and stretched her hand out for the third time. "Do you have a wish?"

Finally the boy took her hand, although hesitating for a bit and stood up. "I wish to have a family," the boy replied.

"Me too! I mean, I do have a family, but I don't feel like I belong anywhere! Come on! Let's go meet our family!" She pulled him along with her, but despite all that, Gaara STILL couldn't see her face. Her bangs kept shadowing her face away from the light.

The little boy wiped his tears away and ran along with her. He didn't know what to say instead he let her pull him towards the light that appears from out of nowhere.

Gaara ran after them, but the light disappeared and they were gone.

She sat up and looked around groggily. Shivering a bit, she picked up her blanket and wrapped it around herself. The wind had picked up, blowing away the tent flap and everything else light inside the tent. Hinata put on the slippers Shizune had left for her in case she decided to wake up and go for a walk and walked out of the tent.

As if on cue, the wind began to blow harder as soon as she stepped out. There was pure darkness around her, except for the occasional glow from the lamps posted in the front yards of the residential homes. She could tell it was really late at night because she could see no movement inside people's homes and could hear no noise from around her, except of course for the hard wind blowing.

Hinata walked around a bit, passing Naruto's house, then a few shops around the village and then finally stopped right in front of the empty ramen shop, which was considered to be Naruto's favorite place. She couldn't sleep and she knew she had to stay in bed and rest for a bit, but there were so many thoughts overflowing in her mind that she couldn't close her eyes. The kiss she shared with Gaara was the worse one of all…something that seemed to be tattooed inside her head.

"You should be resting," a voice spoke behind her.

Startled, the dark haired Chuunin whirled around and saw a dark figure standing there. She didn't need to second guess who it was because his height and his long dark hair was a dead giveaway. "Gomen," she said softly. "I couldn't sleep so I decided to go for a walk."

Neji approached her slowly, his hands stuffed in his pockets. His mouth turned into a frown the moment he noticed her walking around. "Then you shouldn't be walking by yourself."

Hinata smiled. "Why don't you walk with me, Neji-niisan?"

The taller teen agreed and stepped in beside her. "How are you feeling?"

"If you ask me that again, I might have to kill you," Hinata joked, walking side by side with Neji, once in a while trying to go against the wind for it had picked up harder now.

Neji laughed. "All right, I won't, but I kind of don't mind to feel Hinata-sama's wrath…maybe she'll attack me with a dozen lilies!"

"Hah! Hah! Very funny!" Hinata stuck out her tongue at him and laughed.

"But even if I say that Hinata-sama, I do admire you with your strength. You may not show it, but you have a lot of it."

Suddenly, the conversation had turned serious.

Hinata blushed. "That's not true."

"Of course it is. Look at you now…despite the weakness in your body, although I wish you'd stay in bed-you still manage to talk to me and walk with me especially in this VERY windy night. And you manage to capture a cold man's heart, despite him being the most dangerous out of all the enemies we've faced." Neji glanced at her.

Hinata blinked, taking a while to figure what he was talking about and when she did, she turned away, her cheeks turning beet red. "I…what are you talking about?" She began walking faster ahead of her cousin, avoiding Neji's curious eyes.

"He better make you happy." Neji followed her and stepped in beside her once more. He was amused with Hinata's coyness and inside he was laughing really hard with how WELL she was hiding her embarrassment. "And if he doesn't make you happy, then I would have to hunt him down and get myself killed."

Hinata's eyes widened in shock. When she noticed his grin, she began hitting him playfully in the arm.

"Hey! Hey! I'm kidding! Ouch! Stop hitting me!" Neji lifted up his hands in surrender and when she stopped, he began rubbing his bruised arm. "Ouch! You hit pretty hard for a girl!"

"Well I am so deal with it!" Hinata looked up and stopped walking.

"What is it?" Neji followed her eyes and noticed someone lying on the ground. Before he had a chance to ask who it was Hinata ran towards the figure.

"Gaara!" Hinata could tell by Gaara's sash that's usually on his shoulders. She kneeled down beside him and gasped when she saw that the poison had spread throughout his entire body, making him fall into unconsciousness. She shook him and slapped him gently many times in the face, but could hear no response from him. "Gaara, please wake up!"

Neji checked his pulse. "He's still alive, but we have to bring him to Hokage-sama and get him treated!" He lifted up Gaara from the ground, wrapping his arm around himself and quickly fast walked back to where they came from with Hinata following behind.

See what FOOLISHNESS can get you, Gaara!? You and your pathetic THAWING heart will go back to the way it was…cold and uncaring-something that's easy for me to handle! The poison is killing you and if you don't give your heart back to me, then you will DIE!

Gaara growled deep in his throat. 'Then so be it!' he thought inwardly.

GoodGurl: KYAH! I like the way it ended here especially about what Gaara said! Aaaaaawwww he would rather risk his life than have the demon take over him completely! He really MUST love Hinata! KYEEEEEEE! I am SUCH a sucker for romance! So, what's going to happen to Gaara? Find out on the next chapter!