Magnetic Attraction: Angel and Demon
Moaning, Hinata shifted to the left slightly, her knee coming into contact with a hard chest. Her eyelashes fluttering, she finally awoke, and come face to face to with a very awake and pleased looking Gaara.
"Meep!" she yelled, her face rapidly changing from white to red. She buried her head in his chest, gripping the soft red material of his shirt in her hands. She wanted to be able to see what was underneath but didn't dare.
"That's a nice way to wake up," Gaara said, chuckling. He pulled her head closer, and sighed. Hinata could hear each loud beat of his heart, and she found herself counting in her head, 1, 2, 3...
"Sorry," Hinata said, her soft voice further muffled by his shirt. She poked her head forward, her face coming dangerously close to Gaara's smirking one. "What time is it?"
"It's eleven thirty."
Hinata detangled herself from Gaara hurriedly, though she had to admit to herself she would have rather stayed in that position longer. Gaara was warm and she could just imagine him wrapping his arms around her and smothering her into a fiery kiss...
Ah, bad thoughts! No he won't feel that way about me! Stop stop stop!
Blushing madly by now, she stretched, her silky hair curtaining her blushing face from view. Examining the still room, she found Temari sprawled out, mouth wide open with a trail of droll leaking out. She giggled.
"She tends to sleep like that. I'm used to it," Gaara explained, setting his hand on her shoulder. He rubbed it, and she savored the minimum amount of contact he was granting her. "Come on, do you want a shower or something?"
Hinata nodded gladly. She was all sticky from sweat and she relished in the thought of feeling clean again."I would like that very much," she said, following his every step. She didn't want to lose him again. It hurt the first time and she believed that it would sting more if she were to stray from his side even just once more.
This is really love. I guess I fell real hard for him.
Gaara, hunched over his bureau, extracted a plain black shirt and jean shorts. He shrugged at her, when she held the shorts up. They would at least come down past her knees. "One of my smaller set of clothes. I never throw anything out."
Hinata tilted her head. "Why not?"
He shrugged again, awkwardly. "I don't know. I just don't."
Hinata bit her lip from asking again. She could tell that he wasn't telling her the whole truth. However, she could be as patience as needed and so she decided that she would wait. This little tidbit of information was not enough to spoil the playful mood between them. "Okay then," she said smiling. "I'll go take my shower now."
He held the door wide for her and she couldn't help noticing how when he talked with her, his shiny aquamarine eyes never strayed from her own pale ones. He was a dedicated listener, at least to her. Another new piece of information for her to note. She entered the hot shower with a bright smile and red cheeks.
A blue towel slung over her shoulders carelessly, she headed toward the kitchen, rubbing her wet hair as she went. She could just barely hear the rough voice of Temari calling out lowly to Gaara, and she poked her head curiously into the kitchen.
Her face was met with the barrel of a gun.
Thump. Thump. Thump thump thump.
"Don't move," the gunner said, but it wasn't necessary. Hinata was frozen. Her own body wouldn't obey her instincts to flee to get as far away as she could. Instead, she stood there, her eyes fixed on the gun stuck in the position of shock. The towel fell from her limp hands and landed softly on the floor near her still feet.
Thump thump thump thump. Thump thump thump thump.
"Please don't hurt her!" Temari pleaded, her hands wringing a dirty dish towel anxiously. "Please, just leave us alone."
"Orders say to exterminate Gaara and Hinata. Orders have to be followed."
From the other side of the room, Hinata caught a glimpse of Gaara. His face was white, and she could tell even he was terrified. His hands were shaking and his eyes were wide, just as she imagined hers were. She never thought she would see him scared and that just made her more terrified to the point where she just wanted to throw herself at the gunner and end the anxiousness.
Thump thump thump thump. Thump thump thump thump thump.
A bolt of fear traveled up Hinata's spine and settled thickly on her heart. She was going to die here, without ever accomplishing her goals, ever telling Gaara she loved him, ever kissing his soft lips...
"I'm sorry," she said so softly she could revile a mouse. "I'm sorry, Temari Gaara. I'm so sorry," she rambled, playing for time. The gunner was faced towards her, and as far as she could tell wasn't paying much mind to the others. It was hard to guess with the gunner's face obscured by a pitch black mask, but even so, it was worth the chance. "I'm sorry for mixing you guys up in this," she continued. "I should have stayed all by myself like I used to. I"m just worthless, the lowest of the low."
Clang! The figure fell, solid form crashing into the table and then the floor. A thin trickle of blood escaped from where everyone assumed the mouth was but that couldn't be helped. Hinata sighed loudly, her abnormally high heart rate rushing back to normal. She clutched her heaving chest and fell back into the wall, a goofy smile creeping along her face. She breathily whispered, "We're not dead."
"Nope, we're still alive," Temari said, her blue eyes sparkling. She let out a breath she had been holding for far too long and turned to Gaara, whose fingers were still wrapped tightly along the handle of a cooking pot. His knuckles were pure white and he was still shaking. "Hey are you okay?"
"Fine," he said curtly, his voice rough. He let the pot drop onto the floor with another loud Clang! and finally his body stopped trembling. "We should check to see if he is still alive."
Temari grinned sheepishly. "Yeah I guess you're right." She stepped back just in case, towel in hand to throw if she needed to.
Gaara crouched on the floor, ready for any sudden movement and lifted the mask from the invader's face slowly.
Blankly, he stated, "He's a she."
Temari wiped a cold bead of sweat from her face. "Well that makes me feel loads better," she said sarcastically. "Is she dead or alive or what?"
Gaara felt for a pulse, pushing the woman's blond hair out of the way of her neck. After a few seconds he pulled away and dusted himself off. "She's unconscious. At least for now."
"Maybe we should tie her up...?" Hinata suggested, finally willing herself to come closer. She wanted to just throw herself into Gaara's arms, but she couldn't. His safety as well as hers and Temari's was still in danger.
Temari made a comical face. "I never thought that the shy little Hinata would ever suggest a thing like that," she said, hands on hips and tongue sticking out. Apparently facing death was not enough for the blond to stop being immature.
Gaara left the room, his pant legs brushing along her bare lower legs. "I'll get some rope!" he shouted, and she could hear him rummaging around in his closet.
Temari leaned against the table, pointedly not looking at the gunner. "That scared the living daylights out of me," she whispered, raking her fingers through her hair. "I mean, that's the first time in my life that I was ever that afraid. I don't like it."
Hinata could agree. The gun alone had scared her, but just the thought of losing her life made her almost pee her pants in fright. She scooped down and grabbed the gun. She disdainfully placed it on the kitchen counter.
"But..." Temari came closer and she put her hands on Hinata's shoulders. "The gunner said that she only wanted to kill you and Gaara..."
Hinata gasped. In the heat of trying to disable their opponent she had forgotten that Temari had never been in real trouble. The gunner wanted Gaara and herself dead. not Temari.
Gaara come stomping back, rope thrown lazily over his shoulder. He was no longer on edge. "I'll tie her up."
He looped the purple rope over her shoulders and started tying intricate knots until she was completely covered by rope. "There," he said, whipping his hands on his pants. There was sweat all over them. "All done."
Hinata walked over to him shyly. "The gunner only wanted us...?" she said insecurely.
"I know," he said calmly, eyes locked onto hers.
Temari cleared her throat. "I guess we just have to wait until our hostage wakes up before we find out who is after you two. Though I have only two guesses. And the first one doesn't count."
Gaara was forced to heave the figure on his shoulder. He threw her on top of the couch, not caring for her safety. He was not one to forgive others easily. However, when he saw Hinata's horrified expression, he set a pillow under her head, feeling somewhat lame. This woman had tried to kill them and now he was treating her like a guest.
The ringing sound of jingling keys caught the threes attentions and they turned back to the door, Gaara standing protectively in front of Hinata and Temari. When they heard a voice call out joyfully, "I'm home!" they all relaxed.
Kankuro strutted in, a box of donuts held firmly in hand. His jaw went down when he saw Gaara and Hinata, but it went even further down when he caught sight of the women bound by ropes and stuffed on their couch awkwardly.
"Alright, what the hell is going on?" he shouted, face turning red from confusion.
Gaara, as was his way, calmly stated, "She tried to off me and Hinata. I hit her with a pot. Now, we are waiting to see who's father wanted to kill us. Any questions?"
Kankuro shook his head stupidly and placed the box on the table. "Oh shit," he muttered. "So that's why the Spawn was so happy." His fingers stroked the top of his head, a headache creeping along.
Gaara rose his brow. "So it was the Spawn," he said thoughtfully.
"But why would our dad want Hinata dead as well though?" Temari spoke up. "I mean, he's never even met you before right?" she asked the Hyuuga.
"I guess we still need another piece of the puzzle."
A small groan alerted them to the waking prisoner, who shifted in her binds fiercely before she settled down. "Damn brats," she muttered crossly, head shaking sadly. "Are you going to kill me now?" she asked, ice blue eyes blazing. She was a fighter.
Gaara stepped up, placing his face directly in the assailant's line of view. She couldn't look away. "Who hired you? Why were you sent to kill us?"
She stubbornly shook her head. "I won't tell you."
Hinata came closer, and kneeled in front of the woman. "Can you at least tell us your name? We would really appreciate it."
The woman's breath caught in her throat. No one had ever bothered to ask her name, not even once. She had always been just a shadow in the world, an unwanted presence. That was what had made her choose this path. She could rid the world of other unwanted blights and in the process have a purpose. But this one little girl, who was smiling at her, with no hint of malice, broke all that apart.
"My name..." she paused. "I don't remember it. It's been so long."
Hinata shifted, resting her cool palm on the blonde's's head. "Can we call you Kanna? Just for now?"
The woman nodded, and Hinata extracted her invasive hand. Kanna sounded like a good name. "Why do you care to know my name?" she asked sharply.
"I would like to know the name of a person who holds a grudge against me," Hinata said so softly only Kanna could hear.
Kanna's brows furrowed. "I don't have a grudge against you," she said honestly, also keeping her voice low. The others seemed to sense Hinata's need for secrecy and were as far as they could be. Gaara was off to the side, and Kanna had the insight to realize that he was reading their lips. Good for him. He at least cared about someone in this world. She frowned. One of her bosses had said that he was cold hearted and not needed in the perfect world she was trying to create.
"Then why would you want to kill us?" Hinata questioned, and Kanna could see small tears bubbling up in the corners of her eyes. "Why would you want us dead if we have done nothing to you?"
Kanna cleared her throat. The rope was digging into her skin, and she cursed her failure to watch all of them at once. If she had been able to carry this mission out successfully, she wouldn't be in this mess, and her heart wouldn't be aching so much from this one girl-and her own painful past.
"It was orders..." she trailed off. "From both of your fathers." This she stated loudly, and she could feel the others interest and could hear the older brother and sister start whispering to each other. "They said that you were bad people and unwanted. That it would be a service to kill you both," she rambled. Kanna could feel the familiar tears start to come and closed her eyes tightly, willing them away. "I thought I was doing good," she choked out, despairingly.
Hinata whipped a crystal tear from the corner of her eye, . "That's not doing good. Killing should only be in self defense. And no one is unwanted in this world," she said firmly.
"No one wanted me. No one wants me," Kanna whispered.
Hinata started crying harder. She laid her head on the woman's chest gently. Kanna didn't reject her. "Don't say that," she said, shaking her head against the ropes. "There is someone that wants you to live a happy and wonderful life. Someone that is close to you right now."
Kanna opened her eyes. She was unfamiliar to the feel of another human leaning on her, though surprisingly she found it wasn't unpleasant in the least. It was...warm.
"Who?" her voice cracked.
"Me."
Hinata's voice echoed and the others couldn't' help but turn towards her. She was shaking and her eyes were watering but her voice and eyes were firm and unmoving. "I want you to live. I want you to be happy. I want you to be alive and be my friend, without killing. I want you."
Kanna felt her breath leave her. For so long, she had wanted to hear those words and now they came from a small timid girl, at least ten years younger than her, that she was assigned to assassinate. Her whole body shook and she nearly choked on her own spit as she found herself nodding, her whole body trembling with the effort.
"Would you like to be my friend? Would you like to be wanted and loved, and to be free of killing?"
Kanna nodded fiercely, tears falling rapidly from her pale face. "I would like that," she croaked.
Hinata nodded too, a ghost of a smile on her face. "Good. Then Kanna, can I trust you not to hurt anyone?"
The women shakily said yes. Hinata motioned to Gaara and whispered into his ear. He complied to her wish and carefully untied Kanna, who was shaking so badly he almost had to hold her down to get her lose.
Hinata held her hand out, a warm smile now planted on her face for good. Kanna stood on her feet, trembling because her feet were numb. She almost tripped but Hinata quickly grabbed her arm and lopped it around her shoulder. Kanna leaned on her dependently, her head falling onto Hinata's neck. The younger girl was taller, Kanna noted, closing her eyes.
For the first time in ages, Kanna smiled.
Hinata leaned against Gaara, smiling so broadly she thought her muscles would hurt later on. Kanna was curled up on the couch, her feet dangling off the edge since she was in the middle, head squished under a pillow. She was softly snoring, her hand clutching the blanket in her sleep. A teddy bear was in her lap.
"You took a chance in trusting her," Gaara said. They were in the hall, peeping at the woman. Hinata turned around and headed back to his room. She settled herself comfortably on his bed, wrapping her arms around her knees and setting her head on them.
"And you took a chance in trusting me. Thank you."
Gaara smiled faintly and lied next to her on his back, hands clasped on his chest. "You were really nice to her," he said finally. "How could you be like that, when she tried to kill us? Surely you were mad with her or even furious."
Hinata's eyes glowed. "Sure I was mad. But I could see something in her...something like how I looked...before I met you. She just needed someone to care that she was alive, someone to tell her and show her that she was wanted. And because I could see that I was able to push aside my anger and fear of her. I wanted her to trust me and by being nice to her, I gained that trust."
Hinata smiled childishly at him and he felt his heart soar. She finally had enough courage...if she could face a killer she could certainly tell Gaara her feelings...
"Gaara..." she tugged on his shirt, and he looked up at her questioningly. She cleared her throat. "I um, I...I really like you!" she yelled, face ablaze.
Gaara froze, his eyes wide and focused on her form. Hinata was hunched over, hiding her face in shame.
He's rejecting me...oh my god, he's rejecting me, she thought, and she could feel the pieces of her heart slowly fall away, becoming puzzle pieces that she couldn't fit together by herself.
Gaara chuckled and Hinata found herself burning with shame even more. He's laughing at me. I'm so pathetic.
However, when she felt his strong arms wrap around her waist and his face nuzzled in her neck, she felt her mind go blank. He was rubbing her tummy, his fingers sliding under her shirt and his face planted in her neck. He whispered, "I really like you too. For ages, I have. Don't think I would ever reject you."
Hinata saw his legs trap her own, as he dominated her, stealing her heart, her breath...and the puzzle pieces. "Thank God," she said to herself.
Gaara turned her face around, and Hinata let herself enjoy his silky skin against her own. And with a curve of his pink lips, he stole hers in a kiss.
She had never felt so wanted and loved in a long time.
He pulled back first and she felt dazed. He smirked at her, and she could feel her heart beating loudly in her chest. He was the only one that could make her react this way.
Gaara gripped her chin firmly but softly in his hands and she smiled. "Do you know how long I've wanted to do that?" he asked and she shook her head. He grinned awkwardly at her. "Since I first saw you, last year."
Hinata rose her brow. She hadn't remembered seeing him then. "Wha-" she started.
"I was at one of your meets and saw you. I felt a strong need to be around you," he explained, his warm breath fanning her neck. She shivered. "Since then, I kinda stalked you..."
Hinata 'meeped!' but smiled at him shyly. "So, you liked me from the get go huh?"
"Yup."
Hinata grinned and hit his shoulder. "You should have told me! I thought it was one sided!"
Gaara shook his head. He was grinning like a fool at her and he couldn't stop. "Nah. But hey, don't you like this for your happy ending? You're alive, you get the guy, and mostly everything is back to normal."
Hinata tilted her head cutely. "It's not the end Romeo," she teased gently. "There are still many things we have to do."
She shifted and settled her back against his chest comfortably. "But for now, this ending is just fine."
AN/ THE END!
Well not really. There will be a sequel to this coming up soon, so be aware of that.
Kanna will also be a central figure in the next story... I hope you guys don't mind? I also hope she's not a Mary Sue...that would really suck.
Yes, I picture Hinata as the type of girl who would get angry at someone but still be able to connect with them. Unlike me.
To help me with all the sad parts near the end I listened to Whispers in The Dark by Skillet.
So, Review please? And please if you like the story, check out the sequel!
Kita-chan out!!