The tinkling of debris trickled onto Gaara's head. The driver's seat of his convertible was almost completely caved in, and the sun was setting fast. He strained to remember what happened: he was driving to Konohagakure, when a rain of needles poured over the driver's seat and through the windshield. He tried to move his arms: there was a large needle pierced through his shoulder. He flared his nostrils: "I am Sabaku no Gaara: I DO NOT GIVE IN!" Screaming incoherently, he pulled the needle out of his shoulder. The wound sprayed blood, reddening the upholstery and making him light-headed. Now that that was taken care of, he had to get out of the car. He tried to move his wrist, and was rewarded with more pain. His wrist was dislocated: unset and unhealed, it would slow him down and he would die here on the road to his friend's village. He took the seatbelt and tied it tightly around his wrist. Screaming, he pulled at it, until he heard a loud POP, indicating that the wrist had been set. His vision was polluted with colored lights, and his shoulder still felt like it was on fire. Fumbling in the glove compartment, he took out a small first aid kit: it contained a bottle of Naprosyn, some anti-septic, a roll of gauze bandages and a tourniquet. He popped the top of the bottle off and poured the contents into his mouth, chewing them and grimacing at the foul taste. Tying the tourniquet around the wound, the medicine took effect, and Sabaku no Gaara passed out.
He awoke several hours later to the sounds of metal scraping. Light slowly filtered in through what was left of the hood of the car. He heard voices, and shut his eyes. "Is he dead?" A hand was pressed against his throat to feel his pulse. In a flash, Gaara's hand flew to the other, and pressed a needle against a soft, vulnerable throat. "Alright. Now, get me out of this car!" Gaara snarled. A tiny gasp seemed to escape the unknown person's throat, and with some effort, a soft hand pulled Gaara out of the wreckage. Blinking in the light, the pale face of Hinata Hyuuga was illuminated; her pale eyes were huge and frightened. Gaara sighed and tossed the needle aside, relieved to see a friendly face. He grunted with effort to force himself to stand on occasion, but was immediately brought down by gravity. A concerned noise escaped her lips, followed by "Gaara-kun, please stay put! Y-you can't be standing in y-your condition!" He looked at her closely: she was different now. Her hair was longer, and she had grown a head taller. She was up to his neck in height. Gaara felt a throbbing pain in his temple and cursed aloud. He was in pain, but he had a few questions for his petite rescuer. Straining to find the words, he finally asked that one burning question: "Why are you here?" Hinata stopped tending to his wounds for a second, and seemed to be thinking about an appropriate answer. After a long and awkward silence, Gaara shook his head and mumbled "Never mind…"