Chapter Nine

Remembering the past: Sasuke vs. Gaara

As soon as Hinata opened the door she was greeted by a hug by the hyperactive ninja.

"Naruto-kun…"

"Oh Hinata-chan I was so worried about you…I hope that Akira guy didn't lay a hand on you because if he did you just tell me and I'll beat him up" Naruto explained as he continued to hug Hinata.

Sasuke glared at the blonde as he walked towards him and grabbed him by his shirt and pushed him away from Hinata. Naruto looked at Sasuke and glared at him.

"What's you're problem teme?" Naruto asked as he walked back towards Hinata. "Stay away from her" Sasuke hissed. Both Sasuke and Naruto glared at each other. "You don't tell me what to do, I can be around Hinata-chan whenever I want she's my friend" Naruto shot back. Sasuke continued glaring at Naruto. He still wanting to continue his fight with him that they not to long ago.

"Che…you think of her more than that I know you do and I don't like the idea of you being around her, friend or not…she's mine not yours" Sasuke hissed. "Hinata-chan isn't some type of property you know so don't talk about her like you own her you baka" Naruto said as he step towards Sasuke growling.

Sasuke remained quiet as he never took his gaze off of Naruto. Hinata stood still watching the scene before her not knowing what to do.

"And by the way…yes it's true I do still think of her in that way which I've told you before and she knows that but I also told her that I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize our friendship" Naruto explained as he looked at Sasuke and then Hinata.

"Whatever…I don't care" Sasuke huffed as he walked away from Hinata and Naruto. Naruto looked at Hinata. "I'm really sorry Hinata-chan…really I am" Naruto said as he looked away from her. "I just don't the way he's acting…he has really changed and he's becoming really possessive of you and I don't like that" Naruto said as he looked back at Hinata.

Hinata hadn't really noticed anything different about Sasuke but she just nodded her head to what Naruto was saying. "Well…I better get going I'll see you tomorrow Hinata-chan" Naruto said as he waved goodbye to her.

Hinata said goodbye as she closed the door. She turned around to see Sasuke standing right behind her. "S-Sasuke-kun…you scared me" Hinata said as she blushed at how close he was to her.

Sasuke said nothing as he looked at her. Hinata looked up into his eyes and notice something about them…the look of desire. Sasuke leaned closer towards her and kissed her passionately. Hinata was taken back by the kiss at first but she kissed him back. He licked the top of her lips asking for an entrance. Hinata stiffened for a moment but slowly opened her mouth and in entered the ravened haired ninja's tongue.

He continued kissing her as he picked her up as carried her to the bedroom. He never once took his lips off of hers though. He laid her out on the bed looking at her. She was blushing like crazy. Sasuke smiled at her as he took off his shirt and pants until he was in nothing but boxers.

He walked over towards Hinata and laid in the bed next to her claiming her lips once again as he started to take off her shirt. She tensed up when she felt Sasuke slid his hand up her shirt squeezing her chest as he started to lift her top off.

Sasuke looked at his girlfriend and could tell that she was nervous. "It's okay Hinata" Sasuke said in a whisper. Hinata nodded as he slid her shirt off to see her in her black lace bra. Hinata blushed as she tried to cover herself up only to be stopped by Sasuke.

"Don't…" Sasuke said as he stared at her. Hinata blushed as she watched Sasuke move on top of her. He watched her for a moment as he started to kiss her as he slipped his hand under Hinata's bra playing her nipple.

Hinata moaned as she closed her eyes. Sasuke looked at her as he smirked. He continued kissing her as his hands made they're way down towards her pants pulling them down. Now Hinata was just in her bra and panties as Sasuke was just in he's boxers.

He continued to allow his hands to roam over her as he nuzzled into her neck as his body became more aroused. He grabbed her hips and when doing so he heard her gasp. He then leaned down and began kissing her neck. She could feel him grinding into her and she wrapped her legs around him, pushing herself against him.

"Wait a minute what am I doing…I'm not ready for this yet" Hinata tensed up as she looked at Sasuke who stopped to look at her.

"What's wrong…?" the raven haired boy asked. "I'm not ready for this yet…I can't do this" Hinata whispered as she looked away from him. Sasuke watched her for awhile until he removed himself off of her. "It's okay…I understand" Sasuke stated as he looked away from Hinata.

"I'm sorry…Sasuke-kun…" Hinata said once more. "I said its okay you don't need to apologize anymore" Sasuke grunted as he laid on his back closing his eyes. Hinata studied his face and she could tell that he was mad.

Sasuke glanced over at Hinata. He noticed the expression on her face he didn't mean to sound the way he did. Sasuke pulled Hinata near him as he placed her body on top of his.

"S-Sasuke-kun…"

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to sound like that…" Sasuke whispered. Hinata smiled at him. "It's okay Sasuke-kun…its okay" Hinata smiled at him as she laid her head on his chest.

It was now the next morning Hinata was not on top of Sasuke anymore but instead she was lying on his arm using it as a pillow. As she opened her eyes she looked up at Sasuke and smiled.

As she looked down she noticed that she was still in her bra and underwear. The Hyuuga girl made an 'eep' noise which woke Sasuke. He looked at her blushing face as she moved away from him trying to cover herself.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you're being shy…what for" Sasuke asked as he watched her move further away from him covering herself up with the sheets.

"You don't have to be so shy Hinata…come back over here" Sasuke said as he looked at her. Hinata didn't budge as she closed her eyes. Sasuke smirked at her shyness.

"Well if you're not coming to me…I'm coming to you" Sasuke frowned but the frowned turned into a smirk as he scooted his way towards her.

"I." Sasuke started as he placed a kiss on Hinata's lips. "Love." Sasuke placed anther but on her neck. "You" Sasuke finished as he kissed her lips. Hinata was now red as a tomato. Sasuke smirked as he continued kissing her.

Suddenly both Hinata and Sasuke stop kissing each other when they heard the door open. "Oh no…" Hinata whispered. Sasuke looked at her in a confused way. "What is it?"

"It's Neji-niisan, you have to get out of here" Hinata shot out of the bed pulling Sasuke towards the bedroom door and towards the bathroom across the hall.

"Hinata-chan wait, you're pulling to hard" Sasuke said trying to stop Hinata from pulling him. Hinata pushed him inside the bathroom. "Stay in here" Hinata didn't even let Sasuke say a word as she closed the door shut.

She leaned against the door sighing in relief. As soon as she turned to the side she saw Neji who was staring at her blushing. Hinata looked down to notice that she was still in her bra and underwear.

Hinata blushed of embarrassment as Neji never took his gaze off of her. "NEJI-NIISAN" Hinata scream as she ran pass him towards her bedroom door and shut it.

Neji cleared his throat as he turned around still blushing. When Hinata came out of the bedroom he was still blushing she had on a robe but it was still very revealing. It was a while silk robe that was very short showing her thighs.

Neji still there watching her body, but Hinata didn't seem to notice that he was staring at her. "Neji-niisan what are you doing here?" She asked. "I just wanted to apologize about what I said to you the other day…I lost my temper with you which I shouldn't have did…and-I'm sorry" Neji said still staring at her. Hinata smiled at Neji.

"It's okay Neji-niisan…I forgive you" Neji was still staring at her, he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Hinata noticed that Neji wasn't saying anything else so she started talking. "So…is they're anything else that you need?" Hinata ask sweetly. Neji this time looked up at her face. "No I just came by to tell you that I'm going on a mission today with my team and I'll be back in a few days or so" Neji stated. Hinata nodded. "Oh I see"

Neji walked towards the door before turning around to look at Hinata. "Well I should get going now Hinata-sama" Hinata walked towards Neji and gave him a hug. Neji stiffed up a bit when he felt Hinata embrace him.

"Please be careful Neji-niisan" Hinata said in a whisper. Neji smiled as he hugged her back. "I will Hinata-sama" Neji replied as he let go of her.

She watched him as he walked away before she closed the door. "I see he's still overprotective of you" Sasuke said as he walked towards her. Hinata smiled. Sasuke came closer towards her as he snaked one arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss her.

"If anything Sasuke-kun has sure has become more affectionate" Hinata thought to herself as she kissed Sasuke back.

KNOCK KNOCK

Sasuke growled. "Who the hell is it this time?" Sasuke frowned as he let go of Hinata. Hinata looked through her peephole in her door to see Gaara standing there.

"Oh it's Gaara-sa- I mean Gaara-kun" Hinata quickly corrected herself. Sasuke frowned. "Gaara…wtf is that spook doing here" Sasuke glared as he looked at the door. Hinata looked at Sasuke and could sense that he was really angry. Hinata however never knew about the thing between Sasuke and Gaara. She knew that they fought in the chunnin exams but she didn't she it.

Out of anger Sasuke didn't even care anymore he opened the door and glared at him. Gaara looked at him in a surprised way, he didn't expect to see the Uchiha open the door.

"Uchiha Sasuke" Is all the red haired ninja said. Sasuke glared at him watching his every move as he walked inside. "What the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke asked as he looked at Gaara. Gaara looked at Sasuke glaring at him not saying a word as Sasuke was also giving him the death glare.

Hinata looked at both of them and also noticed that Sasuke had his Sharingan activated. The looks that they were giving each other made it seem like they were going to kill each other any moment now.

As the raven haired boy stared at him he remembered the time he and Gaara fought.

(Flashback)

Gaara freaks out when he sees Sasuke and starts ranting about how Sasuke has friends and goals. "I will take pleasure in killing you Sasuke, then I can be known as the one who erased you're existence" Gaara smirked.

Gaara screams out in pain and Shukaku begins his transformation. Meanwhile, Gaara's arm completely transforms and he swings wildly, wiping out several trees in the process, but missing Sasuke.

A partially transformed Gaara uses his beast arm to attack Sasuke, leaving Sasuke baffled as to how to hurt this hateful creature. Mentally unstable, Gaara flashes back to a childhood moment. Chibi Gaara sits alone on a swing while kids around him play soccer. One kicks the ball up onto a tall cliff. As the kids stand at the cliff's base wondering how to get their ball back, Gaara decides to play nice and uses his sand to retrieve the lost ball. Unfortunately, Gaara's mere presence terrifies the kids and they run away screaming. Gaara's sand, which he doesn't seem to have full control of, grabs the kids' legs and pulls them back. Yashamaru gets there just in time to stop any potential bloodshed, but Gaara taps into that anger welling inside him to fuel his rage towards Sasuke.

Sasuke, meanwhile, flashes back to his training session with Kakashi before the Chunnin. "You're my prey" Gaara said. "Why are you was so obsessed with me?" Sasuke asked. "You're eyes know true solitude, the worst kind of pain. We have the same eyes. Eyes that seek power and are full of murderous intent. Eyes that are itching to kill the one who did this" Gaara replies. Gaara declares that the purpose of their battle will be to prove who is the strongest - to prove whose existence means more - a battle to the death.

In the present, Gaara taps into Sasuke's weak spot - his fear of his brother. Itachi wanted an avenger to kill him and Sasuke just so happened to be that person. Not yet willing to give in, Sasuke prepares his chidori.

Gaara and Sasuke attack one another and chidori cuts through Gaara's monstrous hand. Gaara laughs and gets back up, as Temari watches in amazement. Gaara's really enjoying fighting someone who can actually cause him pain. Killing Sasuke will give him an even stronger will to live. Gaara then continues his transformation by growing a tail. Sasuke's now at a disadvantage because he can no longer use chidori. He attacks with Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu! (Fire Element, Blazing Fireball) to shoot fire at Gaara. Gaara counters with his Shukaku side as a shield and attacks to smack Sasuke backwards into a tree. Sasuke remembers Kakashi telling him that his limit for chidori is 2 shots - he can only use chidori twice in one day at his current level. Kakashi, on the other hand, can use 4 until he's maxed out his chakra. If Sasuke were to attempt more than his limit, Kakashi warns him that it won't function properly and his chakra will be reduced to zero. In the worst case scenario, he'll die. If he does survive, it will have bad effect on him. The bottom line - don't try it.

Gaara continues to insult Sasuke. "You're weak and you're existence is worthless. You just don't have that murderous intent that I have" Gaara says. Sasuke grows more pissed and decides that he'll try chidori again. As he attempts the forbidden third chidori, he drops, completely out of chakra. Gaara hovers, preparing to attack a helpless Sasuke, who's lying on a tree branch motionless.

(End of Flashback)

Sasuke snaps out of his thoughts and when he does he sees that Gaara is now standing in front of Hinata. Sasuke glared at him, he was now beginning to think the Naruto could have been right about Gaara liking Hinata.

"Here…I brought this you" Gaara says as he pulls out a golden necklace with a heart shaped charm on it. Hinata looks at it a surprised way. "Gaara-kun…it's beautiful but I can't accept this" Hinata protested. Gaara shook his head. "No I want you to have it…I brought it for you" Gaara said. Hinata smiled.

Sasuke couldn't see Hinata's facial expression because her back was to him. The raven haired watched Gaara he wanted to beat the living day lights out of him for being close to his girlfriend.

"Here let me put it on you" Gaara said as he placed the necklace around her neck looking at Sasuke at the same time smirking. Sasuke growled as he watched him. As Gaara put on the necklace he let his fingers touch the chain of the necklace slightly brushing his fingers on Hinata's skin as he touched the charm. Hinata blushed when she felt Gaara's fingers on her skin. Gaara noticed the blush as he smirked.

"That's it get you're hands off of her you teme" Sasuke glared as he walked towards Hinata and grabbed her away from him holding her waist. "Sasuke-kun" Hinata said in a surprised way. Sasuke still had his Sharingan activated staring at Gaara.

"Stay away from her" Sasuke hissed holding Hinata even closer to him. Gaara frowned as he watched how ruff he was being to Hinata just because he was jealous.

"I don't want to see you anywhere around her, she's mine and no one else's you got that" Sasuke said. "Sasuke-kun…why are you acting like this Gaara-kun is my friend" Hinata said trying to get through to Sasuke. Sasuke ignored her never taking his eyes off of Gaara.

"You're being a little possessive of Hinata don't you think" Gaara said with a smirk. Hearing him say this made Sasuke even more pissed off. "SHUT-UP" Sasuke yelled. He never once let go of Hinata through this whole thing. "Humph…" Gaara looked at Hinata. "I should get going now…Ja na Hinata" Gaara said as he gave Hinata a small smile as he walked towards the door giving Sasuke one more glare.

When he left Sasuke turned his attention towards Hinata. "I don't want you around him anymore" Sasuke said in a demanding tone with his Sharingan still activated. "What? Gaara-kun is my friend you can't tell me who I can and can't hang around" Hinata said with a slight frown.

"The hell I can…that guy is trouble I don't want him around you" Sasuke shot back still glaring at Hinata. Hinata were shocked by his words. "Gaara-kun has changed he's different now…I'm his only friend and-"

"I don't care if you're his only friend or not Hinata you're mine and I don't want him around you"

"Why are you acting this way? Maybe…maybe Naruto-kun was right you have changed" Hinata said as she looked away from him. Sasuke stared at her in shock. He couldn't believe she just said that…was it true? Did he really change?

"I don't have time for this I'm leaving" Sasuke said as he walked towards the door. Hinata looked at him wide eyed. "Y-You're what?" Hinata asked. "Don't worry I'm not leaving Konoha I'm just…I have to get out of the house I need to think"

"B-but I thought you said that you didn't want anyone to know that you were here?" Hinata asked. Sasuke didn't reply as he walked out of the door slamming the door in the processes. Hinata stood there as tears came down on her cheeks.

"…Sasuke-kun…"

As Sasuke was walking in the village surprisingly no one seemed to notice that it was Uchiha Sasuke, during this time his Sharingan was still activated but he realized that it was so he deactivated it. As he was walking he stop to walk towards the old training area where him and his teammates trained with Kakashi.

Sasuke started thinking about how Naruto was tied up and how he and Sakura let him have they're food. Sasuke smirked at the thought. As he was thinking about the past he heard a familiar voice.

"S-Sasuke-kun…is-is that you" The pick haired girl asked. Sasuke turned around to see his old teammate staring at him in shock. He looked at her and noticed that she still looked the same but she seems to blossom a little but her hair was still short.

Tears came from her eyes as she ran towards him and embraced him. "Sasuke-kun I missed you so much…not a day has passed since you left that I haven't been thinking about you" Sakura said crying into his shirt as her arms were wrapped around his waist. Sasuke didn't hug her back as he just stared at her.

"Does Hinata-chan know that you're back?" Sakura asked. Sasuke looked at her and nodded his head. "Oh…so did you just get back?" Sakura asked as she found herself blushing.

"No…I've been here for a couple of days" he replied. "Really? Hinata-chan never even told me" Sakura said in a whisper.

"Because I told not to tell anyone that I was here" Sasuke said. "Would you mind letting me go" Sasuke said as he looked at Sakura. Sakura blushed, she didn't realize that she was still hugging Sasuke. She slowly released him.

"So where were you staying?" Sakura asked out of the blue. "With Hinata-chan" Sasuke replied. Sakura made a surprised expression with a slight jealous expression.

"With Hinata-chan…?" Sakura asked. "Yes…is there a problem with that?" Sasuke asked making no facial expression. Sakura didn't reply. "Since you're back do you want to maybe…hang out" Sakura asked while blushing. Sasuke noticed that she was blushing but didn't say anything about it.

"I can't…I don't want certain people to know that I'm here"

"If you didn't want anyone to see you why did you leave the house?" Sakura asked as she looked at him. "I don't want to talk about it" Sasuke stated as he looked away from Sakura. "I wondered did he and Hinata have a fight" Sakura thought to herself.

"Oh…I see…well we can just stay here and talk" Sakura asked in a hopeful way. Sasuke thought about it for a while before answering. "I guess it will be okay" Sasuke said. Sakura smiled.

"So…does Naruto know that you're back?"

"Yes…and that Miyazki guy and…the spook" Sasuke said. Sakura raised one eye brow. "The spoke…who is that?" "Gaara…" Sasuke replied. Sakura nodded her head. "So…are you planning on staying" Sakura asked scooting closer towards Sasuke.

"I'm not sure…I originally just came here to see Hinata-chan and leave…but-"

"You don't want to leave her again" Sakura asked. Sasuke remained quiet. "You know when you left she was so devastated, she stayed by herself most of the time but…Naruto promised her that he'll bring you back for her. He hated seeing Hinata like that…he started hanging around her a lot keeping her company almost never leaving her side, but then he left for two years for training"

Sasuke listened to Sakura, he had no idea that Naruto was also gone.

"…After that Hinata-chan continued thinking that she was always alone since you left and then Naruto who had become her best friend, she felt like she had no one. I always told her that she could talk to me about anything even Neji and Akira said the same thing but she wouldn't talk to us about anything. Then there was Gaara-san…the two of them became friends that same year you left"

Sasuke frowned at the mere mention of Gaara's name. He didn't like that Gaara was around Hinata the way he is since he has been gone.

Sakura continued. "I think that the only people that she'll actually let in are you, Naruto and Gaara-san…but Gaara-san he's hardly here and when he does come here it's only to-" Sakura stop talking when she realized that Sasuke seemed to be getting jealous.

"Well…anyway I know that Hinata-chan is really happy that you're back and so…am I" Sakura smiled. Sasuke smiled but the smiled went away when he started thinking about Hinata. "…Hinata-chan…I must have really hurt her earlier. She probably hates me for losing my temper at her." Sasuke thought to himself.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sasuke looked at Sakura. "What is it?"

"Never mind…if you don't want anyone else to see you, you better hurry up and leave the training area because during around this time ninja's come here to train" Sakura explained. Sasuke eyed her, he noticed that she was acting a little strange. "Sakura…"

"Hmm?" Sakura looked at Sasuke. "I'm going to get going…" Sasuke stood up and glanced at Sakura. "It…was good seeing you again" Sasuke said as he walked away. Sakura stood there speechless as she started blushing.

"It was good seeing you too Sasuke-kun" Sakura said in a whisper.

As Sasuke was walking away he spotted Akira and what it looked like to be his teammates. Akira turned around to see Sasuke standing not to far from them. "Oi Sasuke-san what are you doing outside I thought you didn't want anyone to know that you were back?" The blue haired ninja asked. Sasuke walked towards him.

"I guess needed some air" Sasuke replied as he looked at his teammates. The other male like he was the smart one of the group but also very lazy and then the girl looked really tough like a tomboy as she had a frown on her face as she looked at Sasuke.

"You that Uchiha that's dating Hinata-chan aren't you?" Mizuki asked. Sasuke nodded. "Humph you're not that bad looking…Hinata-chan has good taste" Mizuki smirked. Kiyoshi nudged Mizuki's arm. Sasuke said nothing as he turned his gaze back to Akira.

"Well…Uchiha what about we spar?" Akira asked as he smirked at him.

"I don't have time I need to get-"

"What's wrong afraid you're going get beat" Akira cut him off as he smirked. Sasuke frowned. "Fine I'll spar with you…but you're the one that's going to lose" Sasuke said with a frown.

"Hum…I'll think that over if I were you" Kiyoshi looked at Sasuke and then at Akira. He had heard how strong the Uchiha was but never seen him fight but Akira he had seen him fight and knows that Akira was pretty strong himself but when it came down to who would win in this sparring match he wasn't for sure who would win. Mizuki on the other hand wanted Akira to win, she had faith in her brother-like teammate sure she didn't know how well a fighter Sasuke was but knew that Akira was an excellent fighter and knew that he could defeat the raven haired ninja.

"Well I'm ready whenever you are?" Sasuke said.

"Then let's begin" Akira said as he ran towards Sasuke.

Stay tuned for the next chapter. Chapter Ten: Miyazki vs. Uchiha.