Chapter 5 up, sad to say the next will take longer... Anyway thank you everyone for such the lovely reviews! Eh I'm going to do the renaming of chapters and perhaps change the title if I feel like it.


Chapter 5

Gaara and Hinata had finally reached the hidden village of the sand. The architecture was certainly different than that of Konoha. The homes were built of stone to keep them from blowing away if a sandstorm should appear. Hinata gaped at the village, simply amazed. She had been to other countries and other ninja villages for the Chuunin exam that changed locations constantly but she's never seen one so different from her own.

"Surprised?" Gaara asked her as their pace slowed down to a steady walk. All she could do was nod. Gaara smiled slightly, pleased at the expression on her face.

"It's so different!" she exclaimed.

"Temari, Kankurou," he called. The two sand-nins came to him. Gaara handed them the antidote and asked them to distribute it and try to get as many as they can to help.

The medicine consisted of a small, hard and brown ball that was microscopic. Hinata thought it was genius, the medicine was easy to take, pain free and cleared up the symptoms in a matter of days. Gaara led her to his home. Hinata felt at awe every turn she took.

"Wow, you have such a lovely home, Gaara-san," she said trying to absorb the large room through her white eyes.

"Make yourself comfortable, I have work," he said walking off.

"W-wait!" she called. "I-I can help if you like," she offered. She almost forgot to remind herself that she wasn't here for sightseeing, she was here to help.

"It's just paperwork," he said shaking his head. "Go help Temari and Kankurou, they're in at the hospital next door," he told her. She nodded and ran off. She stared at the large stone structured building across from the one Gaara inhabited. She slowly walked in.

"Gaara-san told me to help you…" she said nervously after seeing Temari walk by. Temari gave her a strange look but nodded.

"Alright," she lead her to a room where five beds were occupied by moaning patients. "You can start here, it's pretty simple. First you give them one of these," she said handing her a small vial filled with the medicine Tsunade made. "After you give 'em one remove the bandages and apply new ones, you think you can handle that?" she asked. Hinata nodded.

"Okay good," Temari said, "All the supplies you need are in that cupboard."

"Hai," Hinata replied with another understanding nod.

"By the way, between you and me what exactly is your relationship with Gaara eh?" Temari asked with a smirk. She noticed that a few of the patients who overheard perked up to listen. Hinata blushed.

"I-I'm just here to help," she stuttered.

"Sure you are," Temari said teasingly. "Anyway we'll see… but first get going," Temari said. "If you have questions I'll be around." Hinata nodded watching as the spirited blonde walk off. It was strange how Gaara's siblings acted so differently, were they really related?

Hinata slowly handed out the little brown pills, they gratefully accepted it. She noticed that one of them was only a little boy. She slowly unwrapped the bandages of a young woman, underneath were dark black swollen rashes in which pus oozed out of. It surprised and disgusted Hinata at first but like always she quickly ignored it, she worked at the hospital long enough to not stare at a patient's wounds, disease or disfiguration for too long. She gently wrapped the wounds with care, making sure they were tight but comfortable at the same time. After Hinata had finished she went to go look for Gaara's elder sister. She found her in the lobby with talking to Gaara but conversation automatically ceased when she entered the room.

"Temari-san, Gaara-san," she said surprised to see Gaara there.

"Finished?" Temari asked. "Don't worry there are plenty more patients," she assured her with a grin. Hinata laughed nervously.

"Gaara-san, are you finished with your paperwork already?" she asked. He nodded simply.

"You should get something to eat," Gaara suggested firmly.

"And some rest," Temari added quickly afterwards. "You've been running and traveling all day, Gaara can take care of the patients, the boy doesn't sleep anyway," Temari received a scowl from her younger brother.

"Doesn't sleep?" Hinata was puzzled. Gaara didn't sleep? Well she had never seen him sleep but she never thought he didn't at all. She noticed the dark rings around his eyes but she never really thought about it, she also noticed that his eyebrows were missing also but it was hard to notice because of the dark rings. She could only guess what had happened to Gaara in the past.

"Temari will show you to the cafeteria," after that said, Gaara left the room.

"This way," Temari said leading her to another room. Volunteers poured in and out of rooms, checking and rechecking patients.

"The disease is pretty bad huh?" Hinata said stupidly.

"So," Temari said, ignoring her irrelevant question. "When are you going back?"

"I'm not sure…" she said quietly. She had never really thought about it. When is she going to go back? Probably tomorrow or in a few days, she had to prepare for her journey back, they didn't need their help anymore. There was no point in her staying. Neji was probably dead worried about her, why did she leave in the first place? Then she remembered, Gaara. She had come because of Gaara but he was busy here, he didn't need her… she would only get in the way of his work. Why was she so stupid to think that he needed her?

"You okay?" Temari asked, worried about the discontent look on Hinata's face.

"Tomorrow morning," she mumbled.

"What?"

"I'll go back tomorrow morning," Hinata decided.

"So soon?" Temari asked, she almost sounded disappointed.

"Hai," Hinata replied. "I don't want to bother anyone any further," she said quietly.

"Don't worry about it, you should stay for a few days, it's not going to kill you," Temari told her. "Besides Gaara's a lot less temperamental when you're around," she said winking. Hinata blushed, what was that wink just now?

"I-I don't know…" she said, her face still red, she tried to hide it by looking the other direction. Sometimes she still feels like a little girl, the little girl that watched Naruto from afar.

Gaara stared blankly at the full moon painted onto the black sky. He was glad to be back in his own village, being in Konoha bothered him. People there were less judgmental of him but it still bothered him. It never did before his previous and last visit. He doubt he would ever see Konoha again, nor Hyuuga Hinata after she leaves. The thought bothered him much to his displeasure.

He watched his elder sister Temari appeared out of the entrance of the hospital, looking slightly fatigued.

"What?" he asked impatiently. He didn't like it when people interrupted him, especially on a full moon, he got easily irritated since Shukaku was most attentive under the moonlight.

"That girl," Temari said, "Hinata-chan." His ears perked up.

"What about Hinata?" he asked.

"She's leaving tomorrow," she informed him. It felt like someone just punched him in the stomach but he showed no sign of the blow and ignored the feeling and her words. Temari waited for a few seconds for a reply.

"Are you okay with that?" she asked angrily when she realized that Gaara wasn't going to say anything.

"What are you talking about?" he said defensively. It wasn't any of her business anyway.

"I think you know what I'm talking about Gaara," she said in a serious and sisterly tone.

"Shut up, you're annoying," he muttered looking away from her.

"You're completely impossible!" she yelled. "You-"

"Temari-san?" a curious voice asked. Hinata walked out of the hospital to see the furious Temari yelling at the unmoved Gaara.

"Hinata-san, talk some sense into that idiot!" Temari fumed to Hinata. Gaara gave her a dangerous glare. What the hell is Temari up to? Was she trying to tell him to actually ask Hinata to stay? Is she stupid? Even if Hinata could stay it's not like she would want to.

"Ano, what did she mean?" Hinata asked curiously, jumping up and landing softly on the roof a few feet away from him. Gaara stood mutely, trying his best to ignore her.

"Gaara-san?" she asked, her fingers lightly touched his arm sending chills down his spine, deciding that it wasn't a good sign he quickly backed away from her. What the hell was she trying to do?

"It's none of your buisness," he replied acting annoyed. Why the hell was he acting like an asshole all of a sudden? All he knew is that if she didn't leave soon he would never let her go. He wanted to deny it but he knew his feelings better than anyone. He shifted his weight on his legs restlessly.

"The moon is really big," she said, trying to relieve tension. Hinata was simple to please he noticed in the short time with her. The slightest positive notion could make her happy, even if that happiness was short lived.

"You make it sound like it's a feat," he said in a bored tone. She flushed, embarrassed. He also noticed that she blushed, a lot, but he didn't mind it so much, it was her way to show that she cared about what just came out of his mouth.

"Go-gomen," she said looking down again.

"For what?" he asked flatly cocking his head to look at her.

"I-I don't know…" she said, blushing again. He could tell she was trying hard to please him, for what he wondered. Acceptance? Acknowledgement?

"What do you want from me?" he asked her bluntly. She looked startled by his question. Why is she trying so hard to win his affection? Did it mean that much to her? He didn't understand. His mind wandered back to when he was young, back when he too sought for the affection, acceptance and acknowledgement that he so desperately wanted. The tragic thing was that he never received any so therefore he had none to give to this trembling delicate girl before him.

"I don't… understand," she said quietly after thinking through his question.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" he changed his wording so she would understand.

"B-because…" she said quietly, trying to think of words to say. "B-because you were nice to me," she replied.

"Everything happens for a reason, no one would be nice to another for no apparent reason. I never asked you to return that kindness, are you afraid that I will hurt you?" he asked her, trying to read her nervous expression. "What is it that you want?"

"I-I'm sorry," she muttered, obviously not sure how to respond to that. He looked away. He didn't know why he was interrogating her. "I-I'm not afraid that you'll hurt me… it's just… I don't know," she said looking away upset that she couldn't answer him directly.

"If it's not that then what are you hoping out of me?" he asked. When she didn't answer he decided he would tell her. "Would you like me to tell you?" He knew it too well for he too felt the same.

He turned to look at her, those white eyes glowing under the effects of the moonlight. She looked utterly confused; he didn't blame her for he pondered over the same question when he was young.

"Eeh," was all she said.

"What you're looking for," he said slowly and softly. She listened intently, "is my love." The words immediately had effect since her face turned into a scarlet red as she darted her eyes away from him. So it was true… she wanted him to love her.

"I-I," she started to say but couldn't finish. In silence they stood only five feet apart from each other under the strong gaze of the moon. He had figured it out, but now what? Should he give her what she wanted from him? His affection, his heart, his life and love? That was impossible for he had no affection, his heart was cold, his life was gone and he had no love to give. The realization made him depressed, more depressed than he had ever felt before. He desperately wanted her to say something, anything would do. He wanted her to deny it, to run away, to yell at him. Anything would've been better than this anticipating silence the two shared.

"Hey Gaara," Kankurou's voice interrupted the little moment they were having. He shot a deadly glare at him making him stop in his tracks for a few seconds.

"What is it?" he asked coldly. He saw Hinata sneak a glance at him.

"Uh… never mind," he said seeing that further conversation would mean much pain coming to him. "Uh there's a bed ready when you're ready to sleep," he told Hinata. She just smiled and nodded weakly.

"A-arigatou," she said following him in. "U-um good night Gaara-san," Hinata said mustering up her best smile before disappearing into the building before him.

Hinata tried to shut her eyes and try to get a good night's sleep but Gaara's words kept running through her mind. He was certainly straightforward yet not at all. She didn't know what to say, she would've apologized out of habit but he didn't say it like it was a bad thing and her voice gave out on her. Hinata listened to the pounding of her heart as she clutched the necklace closer to her.

Was she looking for his love? She did want him to look at her, like how she wanted Naruto to look at her but Gaara was different from Naruto. Gaara carried himself in a more dignified manner, rather similar to her cousin Neji.

Neji… she wondered how he was doing. Probably worried sick over her, she wouldn't be surprised if he actually came all the way to the hidden sand village looking for her but then again, she probably wasn't worth it. Hinata sighed before falling into asleep. Hopefully her dreams will take her mind off of things for awhile.

"Good morning!" Hinata squeaked early in the morning to Temari after she went outside. Temari was busy carrying boxes into the hospital. More supplies probably.

"Oh hey," Temari said. "Aren't you leaving today?" she asked. Hinata nodded slightly.

"I wanted to say goodbye first," she said softly.

"Well I'm not sure where Gaara is right now," she said pausing to think. Hinata blushed, remembering last night.

"I'm right here," Gaara said appearing out of his home. Hinata immediately looked away, her blush darkening.

"Well… see ya, stop by before you leave neh?" Temari said before walking away. Hinata responded with a nod.

"Come with me," Gaara said after Temari was out of ear shot. Hinata looked at him surprised but seeing his serious face she just nodded. She followed Gaara through the town.

"W-where are we going?" she asked.

"I'm sorry… for judging you last night," he said so quietly she thought that she heard wrong.

"N-no… y-you don't need to apologize," she said solemnly. "You… were right," it took her all her might to say that. She had never confessed to Naruto that she liked him, but he never would've guessed it either. Gaara looked at her surprised.

For awhile they walked in silence. She didn't really know if he was rejecting her or just plain accepting the fact. She had never really been put into this situation before. She never really had any romantic moments before. There wasn't any she could recall at the moment. Only that time when Gaara held her in a soothing way before the two had left Konoha.

"You shouldn't… you know," he said suddenly.

"Hm?" she uttered, confused.

"Look around," Gaara told her. Hinata looked and saw the villagers, their eyes wary of Gaara. They went on with their daily lives with cautious eyes. Mothers would walk a little farther, children would hold onto their mother's skirt tightly glancing curiously at Gaara, everyone had looks of suspicion and fear in their eyes.

"I-I don't understand," she said. What do the villagers have to do with anything?"

"They… look at me differently," he said quietly.

"I-I don't care about that!" Hinata blurted.

"That's because…" he said, his face cast downwards. "You haven't seen it yet."

"It?" Hinata asked puzzled. What was he talking about? The look of pain and fear on his face scared her. She knew about Shukaku for Naruto had mention it a few times but she never seen Shukaku before and the look on Gaara's face made her hope to never see it.

"Never mind," he said quickly and changed the subject. "So you're leaving today," he asked.

"Hai," was all she could say, there were so many questions in her mind that her brain ached. She wanted to know more about Gaara.

"You're not going to stay… longer?" they kept walking until they were out of town and into the dry desert, still cool from night and untouched by the sun. Before her stood an oasis, not much bigger than a lake, she stared back at herself. Her features screamed Hyuuga, she knew she could never run away from her destiny.

"No," she replied quietly. She had thought about it and she knew that the fact that she was an unmarked Hyuuga wouldn't allow her to leave for long.

"What if… I asked you to?" Gaara inquired. Hinata blushed, did he wanted her to stay? She wouldn't have thought so but she wasn't completely dense.

"I-I don't know…" she said quietly avoiding his gaze. She thought there was a whole village behind them, yet it was gravely silent. She could hear her own heart beating loudly, she wondered if he could too.

"What's your answer?" he asked, slowly taking her hand. She looked at him startled. The skin on his hand was smooth, she knew those hands had never been scarred in their life. She was practically trembling, her mind started to swim. What could she say? She couldn't say "yes", that would be a lie. It was shocking how gentle he was, she remembered Neji's grip was always hard and suffocating.

"I… can't," she looked away. Gaara frowned.

"Why not?" he asked, like a stubborn child.

"We both have responsibilities… it's as insane as asking you to come live in my village," she said. She hoped he would just understand, it hurt her that it didn't. She didn't want to explain it.

"Do… you want me to?" Gaara asked shyly. Hinata's heart skipped a beat.

"I-I guess you could," she said blushing again. "But… don't you have your… duties?" she said bashfully, almost resorting to her old habit of playing with her fingers but she didn't dare slip from Gaara's grip.

"I don't like that game anymore."

"B-but it's your responsibility!" Hinata protested.

"But I don't like it," he said, to Hinata it seemed kind of childish to just stop doing it just because you don't like the job.

"But no one else could do your job, it's an honor to be the one protecting the whole village! Many people have died to get where you are now. You can't just throw that away!"

"Stop being so selfish!" she said scolding him angrily but it immediately disappeared when Gaara shot her a cold sharp look.

"G-gomen," she stuttered. "I-I didn't mean it…"

"You're right I am selfish," he said more to himself than to her. "I forgot that you had someone waiting at home," Gaara cocked his head lazily to look at her. "Hyuuga Neji… right?" he said rather disgustedly. Hinata's face turned deep red.

"N-neji?" she said surprised.

"You love him more than you love me right?" Gaara assumed.

"W-what?" she asked in disbelief. She couldn't believe she was actually hearing this.

"So you admit it."

"No!" Hinata retorted.

"So you love me… more than him?" he asked forcing her into eye-contact. Hinata paused. Her head lost and heart clenched, she truly didn't know the answer to that. She opened her mouth just to close it again. After a minute he sighed. "Fine, whatever. I don't care anymore," and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Hinata cried running after him. She really didn't know what to say. Neji had been by her side forever, they've been through thick and thin together and Gaara… she only had recently actually known him, while most of the time she feared him. But there was something about Gaara that was different from Neji, something she couldn't put her finger on, something that attracted herself to him.

"Please! Gaara!" he turned around to look at her.

"Go home Hyuuga, where you belong. Back to your friends, family, and the man you love," he said bitterly. Hinata shook her head. She knew what it was that attracted her to Gaara. He was alone, and he was still alone. Even though his view on life changed nothing else had.

"Please," she said desperately, clinging to his arm.

Gaara stopped and faced towards her giving her a warning look. She blushed when she realized what he was about to do. He slowly leaned forward, those sea glass eyes came closer, she could see her reflection in them clearly now. Her knees were about to give out beneath her but she used all the will she had to keep from collapsing. Instinct told her to run away and the pounding of her heart was so loud that she was getting dizzy. She slowly closed her eyes, her cheeks hot with anticipation, and finally she felt his lips brush against hers gently. Her heart fluttered, it felt like a thousand butterflies would burst out of her chest. When they brushed again they were more insistent this time, Gaara's hands rested gently on her waist. Hinata's arms, against her will wrapped around his body as she kissed him back, though the fiery feeling in her stomach stayed her nervousness left her. Gaara's lips lightly ran across her teeth and tickled her tongue, when she tried to catch his tongue Gaara suddenly pulled away. Their face barely an inch away now.

"Goodbye, Hyuuga Hinata," he reluctantly let go of her and took a few steps back. With that sand surrounded him and he disappeared.