Notes from the Authoress

This is the sequel for Close Encounters! It just screamed sequel to me. This was something I started awhile back, so I touched it up and finished it. Gaara's a whole lot nicer to Hinata in this one. x3 I think the title implies something that doesn't happen. Oh, yes, and, uh, this takes place somewhere after the 2.5 year arc.
Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue. I don't own Naruto, and neither do you.

Just Say No

One Shot - Sequel

"Y-Yuki-neko! C-come back, p-please!"

Hinata felt ridiculous, running through the streets after a little white kitten named Yuki with apparently no hope of catching it. She was willing to bet her life that the kitten was some sort of ninja cat. It was evil. It had escaped the Hyuuga compound, only eyed the string Hinata had used to try and lure it back, and was now darting through the village fast enough that she could keep up with it but couldn't manage to catch it. Unfortunately, Hinata couldn't leave Yuki out for a run. It wasn't her cat, and she couldn't betray someone's trust by leaving the cat out.

"Y-Yuki!" She called, watching as the kitten darted into an alley. She pursued, but the kitten had put on a burst of speed and was already exiting the other end. "Y-Yuki!" She called louder while doing her best to pick up speed as well. By the time she got to the road she could barely see the kitten anymore. "Y-Yuki!" She yelled again, but she stopped and placed her hand on her chest, breathing heavily. She needed a break, and with how far that cat was away from her, she was sure she couldn't catch it now. She still had to go after it, but she needed to figure out some kind of plan first.

Hinata stiffened slightly as she felt something rush past her, not a person, but some kind of grainy object. She realized a moment later it was sand. She froze in place, her eyes fixed on Yuki in the distance, and she watched in surprise as the sand lifted Yuki from the ground and started bringing the white cat back. Her breathing leveled to normal as the sand stopped before her, holding the meowing creature in place. She held out her shaking hands and the sand dropped the kitten into them. She clutched Yuki to her chest, ignoring his meowing, as she slowly turned around to face the person she knew would be there.

Gaara was standing not to far away from her, his arms crossed over his chest and the sand retreating to the gourd strapped to his back. He looked different than Hinata remembered. Maybe that was because his face was emotionless compared to the anger she always saw the two times she'd ever been close to him.

It was needless to say that Hinata wanted to get out of there. She remembered quite clearly her only face-to-face encounter with him, and she was in no hurry to repeat it. She was already unconsciously focusing her chakra toward her hands. There were only two reasons she remained where she stood. One was that Gaara was now the Kage of Sunagakure, and she wasn't going to be rude to someone in such a high position inside a country that was barely Konohagakure's ally. Two was that Naruto spoke very highly of Gaara now and said he had changed. Hinata couldn't see Gaara in a different light, but she trusted what Naruto said.

Finally, ducking her head a little bit, she murmured, "T-thank you…for getting Y-Yuki back."

"Do I want to know why a kitten was able to outrun you?" Gaara replied stoically, and when she looked up to him, he had stepped closer and was holding his hands out to her. At first she was confused, but then she realized he wanted to hold Yuki. Unsure, she pried the kitten's claws from her shirt and placed Yuki in Gaara's hands. She expected Yuki to jump from his hands, but Gaara brought the cat to his body and held it like Hinata had. He watched the cat for a moment before his green eyes went back to Hinata. It took her another moment to realize he wanted an answer to his question.

Hinata could feel the blush spreading across her cheeks as her eyes went back to the ground and she began to push her index fingers together nervously. "I-I must ha-have looked ridiculous," She admitted quietly. She was hoping he would leave it at that, hand Yuki back, and let her walk away.

"Is it yours?"

"N-no…"

"Then why were you chasing it?"

"I'm w-watching him un-until K-Kurenai-sensei comes b-back f-from a m-mission." Hinata tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, needing to do something to keep herself distracted. How could this not be a discomfited meeting for him? Did he not remember who she was? She really wished that she had pushed for Shino and Kiba to help her watch the kitten. Yuki kept trying to eat and claw at Shino's bugs, and Kiba was very much not a cat person. She had offered to watch Yuki herself because of this, but that was before she found out Yuki was ninja/demon cat. If she had insisted that sometimes Shino and Kiba take Yuki, then she wouldn't be in this situation.

Gaara cleared his throat slightly, and Hinata looked up. He was holding Yuki out to her. She quickly took the kitten and held it to her chest again. How long had Gaara been holding Yuki out like that? "If it isn't yours and you can't catch it, you shouldn't let it run around outside."

"S-someone le-left the door o-open," Hinata answered in weak protest. It occurred to her then how she could get away from Gaara, and she offered a fake, shaky smile. "I-I sh-should be g-getting home. No one knows I-I've left."

"I'll walk with you."

Hinata nearly had a heart attack on the spot. Couldn't he see she wanted to get away? Probably not, but she wished he would understand and let her go. Over all things, she did not want him knowing where she lived. It was probably a silly notion and he could easily figure out where she lived if he knew her last name, but she wasn't sure if he knew her last name or not and she would like to keep it that way. "Y-you d-don't h-have t-to…"

The look he sent her had Hinata realizing that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. She squared her shoulders slightly while holding Yuki in such a way that she could easily drop him and protect herself in half a second, if she had to. "I-I…l-live that w-way," She pointed down the ally she had come through, and he moved aside to let her pass and then presumably follow. Hinata kept her head down—she could hear Gaara's movements well enough to know if something was wrong—and started walking the way she came. She heard the movement too late, and the next thing she knew she had walked right into Gaara, whom had stepped into her path again. She quickly stepped back and looked up at him nervously while ignoring Yuki's mewls of protest at being squished. "Y-yes?"

Gaara crossed his arms over his chest, the frown he wore becoming more pronounced. "Why don't you just say no?"

Hinata was definitely confused. "P-pardon?"

"You obviously don't want me near you," Gaara said easily, not sounding as if this fact bothered him. "Why don't you tell me no?"

"I-I d-don't…I mean…I…" Hinata was flabbergasted. How was she supposed to answer that? Gaara waited patiently for her to find her words, but Hinata didn't know what she was trying to say. "I d-don't know," She finally said quietly.

"The word no goes a long way. You should learn to use it." He placed his hand on her head, and Hinata immediately cringed, her memories going back to years ago when he'd grasped her hair hard enough for some of it to be pulled out. She should have attacked him right away, but she was glad that her body froze for that second. By the time her right mind came back, she realized he had just ruffled up her hair a little bit and his hand was already falling away.

Again, Hinata didn't know what to say. She opened her mouth and closed it again, no words coming to mind.

"You have to be getting home," Gaara reminded her lightly. Then he stepped aside and walked past her, the opposite direction she was to be going. Hinata turned to watch him walk away. It occurred faintly to her as he disappeared from her view that he was leaving her be. She began her way home slowly, her feet dragging somewhat while she listened to the meows from Yuki. Naruto was right; Gaara had changed. A lot.

Hinata couldn't keep the encounter to herself. She couldn't tell Shino or Kiba because, once the Chuunin exam was over, they had managed to wriggle the information out of her about what happened that day in the hospital. She'd tried to keep it a secret. If she told them she had run into Gaara again, they—or at least Kiba—would immediately assume the worst.

So she told Sakura. Sakura had voiced disbelief at the story, even went as far to accuse Hinata of lying. "Gaara doesn't touch anybody," She had protested, referring to how he held the kitten and how he'd ruffled up Hinata's hair. "And no one touches Gaara either. You must be mistaken."

Hinata did, however, get information from Sakura of why Gaara would be in Konoha. He had some sort of official meeting with Hokage-sama to discuss the peace treaty between the two villages. Sakura wouldn't give any more information than that and continued to insist that Hinata was mistaken in thinking she'd run into Gaara.

Hinata went to sleep that night more confused than she'd ever been. She knew it was Gaara; there was no mistaking him. But did he really not touch people? Why not? And why her? Should she hold against him what had happened those few years ago? Or should she forgive him and try to accept him as he was now? She drifted off with those thoughts running through her head, and her dreams were filled with the face of a certain redhead sand shinobi.

End.

Notes from the Authoress

I love ninja cat Yuki. He's, like, my baby. Anyway, review! -Pokes at Gaara with a stick.- -Gets hit over the head with said stick.- T.T