A/N: Just to answer a few questions, this takes place after what I would imagine to be the end of the Chuunin exam. I haven't read past that, so my story doesn't correspond with whatever happens after the exam.

Chapter 2

Around her, the walk home was rather uneventful, but quite a few things were going on in her mind. Gaara kept popping in. She kept asking herself why he had killed those three ninja's in the forest. It would have been so much better to have let them go. Why… Why hadn't he then? Hinata had always been a very gentle soul and she couldn't understand how, with no hesitation at all, Gaara had been able to slaughter them so easily. Perhaps one day, I can ask him, she thought. But the thought was soon driven from her mind as she entered the Hyuuga household.

"I have a message from your father!" said one of the maids breathlessly from atop a staircase.

Hinata inclined her head and asked the maid what it was.

"He says that he's going to run some important errands and that he'll be back later on tonight. You're to train as much as possible until then." With that, the maid bowed and hurried off to attend to her housekeeping duties.

Hinata sighed and looked at her hands. "Training" was one of her father's favourite words. It always cropped up in the conversations they had. You need to train… Not until after you've trained… Have you trained today Hinata?

With a small sigh, Hinata began the walk to the courtyard, which was primarily used for training. By now, she knew where every single scratch on the walls circling the courtyard were. She had been there quite often.

"Alright…" she whispered to herself, as she began to throw shruikens at a target on the opposite wall. Most of them made their mark on the little read circle in the center of the bull's eye; more than usual, in fact. Hinata smiled slightly, it was in improvement on her aim, although, she doubted her father would even notice.

She thought back to the Chuunin exams. Everyone had put up a good strong fight. Even she had; as she was constantly told by her teammates. Hinata hadn't been at all happy with the result of her fight with Neji. She had ended up in the hospital for a good amount of time. However, there was one thing she was proud of: she hadn't given up. Even when she had been on the verge of collapsing, she had stood up straight and looked Neji in the eye.

There had been so many strong ninjas, Naruto among them. This was why she was training. Not to impress her father, but to become more like the people she admired.

Her mind strayed to Gaara again. He was one of those strong ninjas. She hadn't seen his fight, but she had been filled in on the details.

Three hours of training later, Hinata emerged from the courtyard, her forehead covered in sweat and her breath coming in short gasps. It wasn't until she had changed into clean clothing that she realized how hungry she was. Quickly, Hinata ran to the kitchen where she was greeted by empty cupboards. Great…

Hinata rolled her clear eyes and walked out of the household. She wondered if she should go to the ramen shop, but decided not to. You could only have ramen so many times a day.

A stall selling spring rolls caught her eye and she set off towards it. As soon as Hinata had finished purchasing a fresh spring role, two hands covered her eyes and loud voice yelled: "Guess who?"

Hinata felt her entire face turn red. There was only one person in the entire leaf village whose voice was that loud. "N-naruto?"

The blonde ninja removed his hands from over her eyes as she turned around to face him. He had his usual big goofy grin plastered on his face. "Hey Hinata, d'you know why Gaara's here?"

Gaara again. He sure was becoming a major part of her day. "Um, he's here with Temari, visiting Shikamaru."

Naruto scratched his head, deep in thought, until he caught sight of an obviously embarrassed Shikamaru holding hands with Temari.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh!" he exclaimed! "Sorry Hinata, but I need to go tease him about this!"

Hinata giggled slightly, but her giggle soon trailed off into nothingness. Once again, another opportunity to actually talk to Naruto was gone. She stood there for a while, her spring role forgotten. How long would it take for Naruto to notice her…?

"Hello…" said someone from behind her.

Hinata jumped and whirled around quickly. It was Gaara. "O-oh, h-hi."

Gaara remained silent for a while. "You've been training."

Hinata nodded her head. Her face was probably covered in sweat.

A silence followed that made Hinata extremely uncomfortable. Never had she endured such a silence. Why was it so quiet anyway? What was Gaara doing? She looked at him. His eyes were closed. He seemed to be thinking about something.

Finally, after five minutes, Hinata made up her mind. "Erm, sorry G-gaara, but I n-need to go…"

Hinata walked down to the end of the street and turned back to look at Gaara, only to realize that he wasn't there. Tilting her head to one side, she resumed walking, taking a short cut through an alley way.

Wumph!

Hinata had collided with something. She snapped her head up, looking into green eyes. It was Gaara, again.

"I'll help you train if you like…" Gaara's face was completely emotionless, but his voice gave it away. Hinata could sense his hesitation.

She would have loved this moment to no end if it were Naruto asking her the question, but… it was Gaara. Should I accept? Should I decline? Hinata didn't know quite what to say. Somehow, those words sounded awkward, rolling off Gaara's tongue. He probably hadn't asked anyone if they needed his help before…

Before she knew what was happening, she heard herself answer him. "Y-yes, that'd be n-nice…"

Gaara had obviously been expecting a no, because for a split second, a smile graced his features before it reverted to its original hard expression.