Chapter 3 up... so yay. I'm thankful for everyone who are actually taking time to review the chapters, and people who take their time to even look at my fic. Yeup, R&R

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... at all.

Chapter 3

Hinata stared outside the window, sighing inwardly. She wanted to go outside but Neji was persistent on her staying indoors and resting until she was okay. She was okay… He was being too overprotective. She was use to it though, being a Hyuuga usually meant 24 hour protection from harm.

"Hinata-chan," Neji said coming through the hospital bedroom door. He held some neatly cut apples in a plate. She smiled at him.

"Arigatou, Neji-kun," she said reaching out for a piece of apple. She munched on it, enjoying the savory sweet taste on her tongue.

"No problem," he said grinning back at her.

"Would you like some?" she asked him. She was quite use to his presence now, he had been visiting often and stayed for long hours.

"You can have all of it," he assured her. She shook her head modestly.

"No, I insist," she said practically shoving the plate at him. He smiled sincerely and took a piece. When they finished eating Hinata took an apple from the bag Neji had with him and slowly began to peel the ruby red skin with a fruit knife.

"Watch your fingers," he warned her. She wished he would stop mothering her but she didn't mind either, she didn't get a lot of mothering from her actual mother, Kurenai-sensei usually did that part but she hardly saw her anymore after becoming a Chuunin.

"Neji."

"What is it?" he asked warmly.

"I-I… um, thank you for spending time with me," she uttered quickly looking down, not noticing that Neji's pale cheeks had grown pastel pink.

"It's nothing," he replied.

"No really!" Hinata said suddenly looking up and taking his hand. "I really appreciate it…" her voice trailed off as she blushed, realizing that she was holding Neji's hand. No one visited her as often as he did, it made her feel special, even if it was only for a moment. He really did care about her, the thought made her smile.

"Hinata-chan…" he said softly.

"Thanks, really," she said releasing his hand. She waited for him to say something but he didn't. She wondered what was running though his mind right now, his face was expressionless and gentle. The tension was beginning to build and she could feel her cheeks heating as he kept his gaze on her.

"So…" she said, trying to think of a subject to speak about. A certain red-headed sand-nin popped into her head. "What do you think of Gaara-san?"

"Gaara?" he said in a disapproving tone, his expression immediately changing. "What about him?" He knitted his brows. After a few seconds he wondered out loud, "Why?"

"Oh no reason really, I was just wondering what you thought of him," she said slowly, after she finished she wished that she could take back her question.

"I don't like him," he said plainly with bitterness at the tip of his tongue.

"Why not?" she asked almost immediately but soon regretted it.

"Why are you asking?" Neji asked suspiciously looking her in the eye, scanning her.

"I-," she said nervously. She held back a blush of embarrassment.

"You should stay away from him," Neji said before she could finish saying whatever she was going to say. "He's insane, twisted, evil, homicidal, a lunatic, murderer!" Neji went on and on, calling him all sorts of name. He certainly did have a large vocabulary to describe how evil and bloodthirsty Gaara was.

"B-but, Neji he's changed!" she protested, much to her mistake. His intense white eyes similar to her own glared back, deep into hers as if ripping whatever she had for Gaara away but she broke the eye lock and started slicing the apple she finished peeling minutes ago. She could feel the heat from his eyes on her, she was sure he was going to have an angry outburst but instead his eyes softened.

"Maybe he did," he said quietly. "But I still don't want him near you Hinata," his voice had a warmth to it, a warmth that pulled at her heartstrings. He was worried about her. She wanted to ask him to explain what he meant but she knew better. It was better to leave it as it is.

After Neji had left to get her some water, Hinata stared blankly at wildflowers set by her bedside. Shino, Kiba and Akamaru had come to visit her earlier wishing her well. She was hoping that maybe Naruto or Gaara would come by but they never did. She listened to the birds chirping outside, two were flirting with each other playfully. She smiled sadly, she did miss being outside. Maybe this is what Neji felt like… a caged bird. The door slowly creaked opened. It was probably him. She heard a cup being placed down next to her.

"Thanks," she said turning, her heart skipped a beat seeing the striking red hair and cold sea glass eyes staring back at her. She looked at him, eyes wide, heart pounding. He certainly startled her. "U-uh… where's Neji?" she asked, sitting up, her fingers reached for the glass of water. He made a disgruntled face at the mention of his name.

"The Hokage is mad at him for forcing you to stay in the hospital for so long so she kicked him out for today," he said, with an amused expression. She knew something must've happened.

"I see… ano, why are you here?" she asked. She swirled the water in the glass, constantly glancing at him but always looking away when she caught his lingering gaze.

"I came to visit you," he said patently. That was obvious but it still surprised Hinata. Why would he even want to come see her after all the trouble she caused for him?

"Where's Sakura-chan?" she asked.

"Silly pink hair girl?" he asked. Hinata giggled but then looked at him to see if it was okay but he didn't show any sign of emotion at her laugh.

"Yes… the silly pink haired girl…" she said smiling. She thought he would be one to address people by their full and proper name.

"She's with… Uzumaki," he told her reluctantly.

"Are they on a date again?" she asked, not the least bit surprised. The two did seem pretty happy together.

"Maybe."

"Well I'm happy for them," she said, she decided that the best thing to do was to accept that Naruto and Sakura were happy together and she had the move on.

"You're okay with that?" he asked, a little surprised.

"As much as I can be anyway, I guess I'm just happy that two important people in my life are happy," she looking down, she couldn't deny the sinking feeling she had every time she thought about it though.

"You're not sad that Naruto, the important person in your life is being taken away?" Gaara asked innocently. The way he put it and said it surprised Hinata. She had to stop assuming that he was a cold hearted and uncaring person. She guessed it was all the time she spent with Neji.

"I'm sad but I'm just glad that I even met Naruto, that's enough to make me happy," she told him. Gaara scratched his head lightly, pondering over her words.

"You just told me that you're sad… and happy. I don't understand…" he said looking at her with a confused expression.

Hinata laughed, "Gomen, I didn't mean to sound like that. I guess I meant that I'm moving on and moving foward."

"I see…" he said still scratching his head. "Hinata, would you like to go for a walk?" he asked her. She nodded, surprised that he wasn't being formal at all.

Gaara walked out while Hinata changed into her regular clothes. She ran outside to see him having a staring contest with a squirrel. She giggled to herself, she didn't want to admit it but he was kind of… cute. Even though he was seventeen now and grew up with practically no childhood he was still boyish. He had an old soul yet he seemed so clueless in the real world.

Gaara turned and spotted her standing over there, her hand wandered to her lips as she tried to conceal a smile. Why did she have to feel this way about him now?

"Something wrong?" he asked walking towards her. She looked away and took her attention to the ground.

"Nothing, I guess I just feel kind of weak since I haven't been walking around in two days," she said.

"Let's go," he said leading the way. She ran after him and stopped next to him, walking. It felt nice to be walking again and she was enjoying the fresh air. She missed the color of life, the luscious green that covered the ground and trees, and the refreshing blue in the sky and the fluffy white clouds floating so high above her.

"It's so nice to be outside again!" Hinata said taking in a deep breath. Her face lighted up seeing two little birds flirting with each other, dancing with the breeze chirping a love song.

"My village very different from yours," Gaara said watching the two birds fly around. "It barely holds any life because of the frequent sandstorms," he explained. "The only life there are the people, that's why I came here to look for an antidote." Hinata gave him a worried look.

"The plague is really bad isn't it?" she asked.

"You can say that," the same pained expression flew across his face again even if it was just for a second Hinata noticed it.

"It must be nice to have so many people depending on you," she said.

"I'm not sure about that," he said with an ironic smile. "I would rather have one person that I can depend on who can also depend on me than just a village of fake smiles. The people there still don't trust me," said Gaara.

"Why not?" Hinata asked. "You do your best don't you?"

"Even if I'm given the duty to protect them all, they're still afraid of me. I am Gaara of the Desert after all and no fancy name like Kazekage is going to cover that up. Even now everyone still lives in fear of my presence," he said rather bitterly.

"I don't," Hinata said firmly. "No fancy name like Gaara of the Desert is going to cover up the fact that you're still human, after all," she said with an encouraging smile. Gaara looked at her with a surprised expression.

He muttered something she couldn't comprehend but the relieved look on his face said everything. She smiled, pleased that her words had such an effect on him.

They walked around the village once before stopping near the lake to take a quick break. They stared at the water on the bridge. The sun was starting to set.

"Today… is my last day here," he suddenly told her. She felt her heart sink. Today? Why today? She was just got to know a little more about him! Now he was leaving.

"Oh," was all she said. It was selfish to ask him to stay because he was the Kazekage and is needed back at his own village, his village was suffering from a disease and needed the antidote as soon as possible and there was no way Gaara would stay just because she asked anyway.

"The lake is pretty," she said in an unenthusiastic tone. She tried to change the subject, her entire mood was completely ruined.

"I guess," he replied staring at the ripples in the lake. The sakura petals were floated down from the trees and landed softly in the clear water beneath them, the petals were making small ripples onto the otherwise calm lake.

"Do you think you'll ever come back to the village?" she asked him curiously. "You know, to visit maybe…" she said hopefully but she knew it was a stupid question. She watched her rippled reflection in the water, standing next to Gaara, his expression emotionless and unreadable. He looked away from the water.

"I don't think so," he said. Her heart sank a few more inches but then again she hadn't expect any other answer.

"Oh," she said simply, disappointed.

"I wouldn't have time," he explained. "I have to watch over the village so I'm not allowed to leave, this was a special occasion. Even if it's an important mission I'm not allowed to leave."

She knew the rules, the kage wasn't suppose to leave his/her village, they were suppose to protect it and she wasn't allowed to leave and live in his village either… wait what was she thinking! Blood rushed to her face when she realized what she was thinking. He gave a strange worried look. He probably thought she was angry at him.

"Maybe I'll come visit you then," she said quietly, her blush darkening when she saw his surprised expression but it quickly faded.

"It's getting late, you should go home," he told her matter of factly.

"B-but!" she protested.

"I have something for you," Gaara said, interrupting her. She paused, looking at him curiously. Slowly he lifted a beautiful clear crystal from his pocket. It was neatly cut and shined brilliantly with the sunlight that was slowly disappearing before the horizon.

"Y-you don't have to give me this," she said staring at it in awe. Was he actually going to give her something so beautiful? But they barely knew each other!

"It belonged to my old friend… Yashamaru," he said. "I want you to have it now that we're…friends," he grabbed her hand and gently placed the crystal in her slightly rosy palm. He let her hand go. She withdrew it and clutched the crystal tightly to her chest. He called her "friend". She couldn't help the smile that tugged at the edge of her lips.

"I-I'll treasure it," she promised, tears were beginning to swell behind her pearly white eyes but she blinked them back. She wanted to mentally kick herself for tearing up but she couldn't help it. He was being so nice to her. "B-but why me?"

"Because," he said staring straight into her eyes, penetrating her soul. The look he gave her made her stomach tighten and her heart flutter. "Because, you're an important person… to me. I like it when… you're near me," he said with much difficulty. Hinata felt like she was going to pass out, her knees were going weak. She felt like one of those main characters in those romance movies she sometimes begged Neji to accompany her to. Her mouth opened to say something but closed again when nothing came out.

"You should get going," he said giving her a playful push. She walked stiffly, her heart still pounding and the fluttering feeling still remained. A slight breeze made her shiver as she clutched the necklace closer to her.

Her heart told her to stay with him her mind forced her legs and feet to move and walk towards her home. The Hyuuga mansion laid only a few yards away. She turned around and looked back at the path she had taken to walk home. She stared longingly… what was this feeling. It was so similar, like how she felt when Naruto acknowledged her but it was slightly different. All she knew was that it remained in the pit of her stomach.

"Hinata!" her cousin's voice broke through her thoughts and her longing gaze at the road behind her. She turned to see her cousin, the same white eyes staring back at her, worried.

"Neji," she gasped. Was he waiting for her? He had startled her, she didn't sense him come out.

"Are you okay? Where were you?" he asked. "You look like you're sick, do you have a fever?" He brushed a few black strands of hair out off of her pale face.

"I went for… a walk," she said, barely able to utter the words. Neji's worried expression turned to sudden anger.

"With who?" his harsh tone knocked her off of cloud 9. He had his hands firmly grasped on her shoulders.

"N-neji, you're hurting my sh-shoulders," she said wincing. He loosened his grip but still held her.

"Well?" he asked, demanding an answer.

"I-I was just seeing Ga-Gaara-san off," she said trying to cower away. Neji's eyes narrowed as his grip tightened once again. "I-I'm sorry, Neji-kun," she squeaked. She knew she didn't do anything wrong but that look he gave her, she knew it so well. It must run in the Hyuuga family. The apology must've worked because Neji took his hands off of her and sighed.

"I guess it can't be helped, I'm glad it's his last day here," he said relieved. She frowned, she didn't answer. She didn't want to tell Neji that she didn't want him to leave.

"Come on let's go," he gave her a smile. "You must be hungry." He grabbed her hand and pulled her through the gates, she turned her head as Neji dragged her home. She stared back at the road once again before disappearing into the house.

Hinata sat near the window staring up at the full moon glowing in the dark night sky. Chills flew down her spine. Something felt wrong. She clutched the crystal tight enough that it left an indentation in her skin.

"I have to go see him."

She looked down at the clear crystal in her palm and squeezed it tightly. She wanted to go with Gaara but was it a good idea? What if he tells her to go home? Would she? She wondered why she wanted to go with him. Gaara's face flashed into her mind, the pained look he wears once in awhile when she brings up his past or when she mentions the idea of love. He shared the same loneliness as Naruto, the same loneliness that attracted her to him, the same loneliness she went through herself. Even though they've only been talking for a short time yet she already understood his world better than the people that have been around him for years. The pain of solitude and rejection, she knew it all too well.

"I can't let him go back to that world," Hinata thought stubbornly to herself as she lifted herself out of the spot next to the window and ran swiftly jumped out of the window making sure not to cause any commotion or get caught.

Yes… this is the right thing to do… isn't it?

A/N: I actually didn't like this chapter but the romance had to start somewhere neh?