AN: Wow! It's been so long! I'm soooo sorry. My computer crashed and I've been sick for weeks. It has not been fun. Well here it is! Hope you like it. :)
He could feel the sand move barely fast enough to block the knife. It felt like stretching a muscle overdue for some use. The sand felt heavy, reminding him painfully of his neglect. The sand surged forward, more by instinct than anything else. It rushed up and covered the beautiful body that had attempted to kill him. Gaara watched as if in a daze as his own white hand outstretched in front of him, the fingers wide apart, trembling as the chakra traveled through his fingers. Then the fingers closed and a loud voice interrupted the silence. "Sand Coffin." It was his own. The sand squeezed tight like a muscle, an extension of his very body.
His eyes narrowed slightly as the sand trembled before sliding away at his beckoning. The sand returned to him, begging for blood. The place where the body should've been was empty. There was a slight shuffle behind him, enough to alert him but barely. He whipped around. The wind had suddenly picked up, as if bemoaning the fight that had started below. He felt his red hair slap almost painfully against the edges of his cheeks and forehead. The hair almost blinded him as his sand blocked one beautiful chakra laced hand after another. He growled in agitation. Now was not the time to be hampered down by such a careless thing as hair length.
The figure twirled away, the movement so fast that, despite his best attempts, Gaara could still not see the woman's face. His bangs swept once more in front of his eyes, aided by the wind. Gaara almost felt like yelling at the desert, asking what side the desert was on. That was when he decided that enough was enough. With a motion more ingrained in his muscles than conscious, he extended his shield in front of him. He saw a blurr of purple and white charge towards him once more. This time his shield wouldn't stop her. It was too weak, just like he wanted. The moment one strong, beautiful hand connected with his sand, he felt it collapse under the wieght. There was a small stumble as the enemy was caught by surprise. It was enough. Suddenly his sand had ensnared the arm of his attacker. It was crawling up slowly and hardening as it went. The woman tried to tug her arm away futilly. Then she froze.
Gaara watched with a sort of transfixed amusement as the woman's full lips opened slightly in shock. Her clear, white eyes widened...white eyes...It took Gaara a fraction of a second to realize who she must be. A Hyuuga from Konohagakure. As he studied her angelic face, he was startled to find it slightly familiar. Didn't Tamari say something about an ambassador from Konoha? It took him more than a minute but then it hit him as hard as one of Sakura's punches: Hinata, Hyuuga Hinata, heir of the Hyuuga clan. He remembered her now. He had watched her disinterestedly during the Chuunin exams. He seemed to recall shorter hair back then and an almost constant blush. She had been weak. It was easy to tell that was all in the past. There was no way that little girl could've stood up to him. No, she was strong now although he figured he should be annoyed at the very least. It's not everyday that an abassador from your ally village tries to kill you. For some reason, it didn't anger him. It made him want to...laugh. Such a foriegn action, Gaara mused. He wondered if he was even capable of it.
"Kaze...Kazekage-sama?" Hyuuga's voice shook slightly. Her mouth had closed, forming a thin line of embarrasment and fear. She lowered her gaze from him but to his surprise no hint of blush marred her creamy cheeks. "I'm so sorry. I did not mean to attack you, Kazekage-sama." Her voice no longer wavered. She seemed to be focusing on proving that she was innocent by making sure did not look like she was scared.
Gaara let the sand soften slightly so that its hold was no longer painful but he didn't let go. Hinata didn't try to break away. For all her bravado her arms were shaking slightly. She understood what a great mistake she had made. It might result in war between the villages if the Kazekage thought that her aim had been to kill him. Even if it didn't damage the affairs between the villages, it would surely damage her job. As Gaara took all this in, he realized that she had never activated her Byakukan. If she had, there would've been no doubted that she would've realized who she was attacking. Not one to take the effort to console her, Gaara glared at her before demanding, "Explain."
She executed a somewhat awkward half bow before she spoke, her eyes glued firmly to the ground. "I was training, Kazekage-sama. My Byakukan wasn't activated and I heard a noise from behind me. I'm sorry. It is no excuse...but I was a little upset and I confused you for someone else. When I realized it wasn't who I thought it was, it was already out of control. I'm so very sorry, Kazekage-sama. Please be assured that this was not an intentional attack on your person..." Her voice faded away into the aching silence. She could feel those eyes on her, hot and powerful against the back of her neck.
A small grunt escaped from Gaara's lips and he let her go. She almost stumbled forward but caught herself just in time. Her eyes were wide once more, this time in surprise, not fear. Gaara ignored her as he concentrated on getting his sand back into the gourd. He was glad he still had it in him, but his muscles were weak. He needed training and he had no one to blame, but himself. He walked past the Hyuuga, disgruntled by his interest in her. He knew it was impossible for him to have a relationship with a woman, even without his demon inside him anymore. It was no use dreaming either.
He heard the Hyuuga following him. Gaara looked back. Hinata did not even have the decency to look away anymore. She stared back at him with those strange eyes that seemed to see everything. "Why are you following me?" he asked. His deep voice seemed to vibrate through kunoichi's body. It trembled through her, almost making her speechless. But she refused to be weak, especially when she had fought for so long to become strong and stand on her own two feet. It was a seemingly insignificant incident. But Hinata forced herself to speak just to prove that she could.
She knew she had to trod gently, however, so she took a few seconds to answer. "A person like me shouldn't have been able to get so close to a Kage like you. You came to train, right?" When all he did was stare at her she continued. "You probably don't want a baby sitter, but maybe I can help. Maybe you could spar with me and if you need extra help getting back..." she shrugged. Gaara's intense stare did not let up and Hinata felt increasingly uncomfortable. It had been a while since she had been attracted to Naruto, but to be attracted to Gaara? She had never thought it possible and would've denied it if it weren't for the ever increasing heat in the pit of her stomach. Hinata gave it another shot. "Temari would be less angry if you came back with a companion. I know she gets worried when you go out alone." To Gaara's raised invisible eyebrow she said, "Naruto told me."
His voice came again like a Tsunami of lava. "You are friends with Naruto?" Hinata nodded. "Come," he ordered and Hinata let out a silent, drawn out sigh. For a second she had thought she had blown it.
AN: Like it? Hate it? Review!