Hinata opened her eyes to find herself in an infirmary. She saw several familiar faces, including Temari, Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi.
"N-Naruto-kun?"
"Hinata! Good, you're awake!" He said with a smile.
"What happened?"
"We found you outside of the Suna gates," Temari said. "You were tied up, blindfolded, and dehydrated. You've got a bit of a sun burn, but you're ok now."
"You have to go after Gaara. He handed himself over to the Akatsuki."
"We know. That's why Team Kakashi is here. We called them right after we found Gaara's note."
Hinata felt tears forming. "It's all my fault! If I had realized they were imposters earlier, I wouldn't have been captured and Gaara wouldn't have handed himself over to save me!"
"No one's blaming you, Hinata," Sakura said, placing a hand on the weeping girl's shoulder. "We'll get him back, don't worry."
"Yeah! No one takes our friend and gets away with it! Believe it!"
Hinata smiled up at her former classmate. Even though her feelings for Naruto were no longer what they were, she still admired the blond.
"I found this along with Gaara's note," Temari said, handing Hinata a small box. "He said that he didn't think he'd be coming back and wanted me to give this to you if something happened to him."
Hinata slowly opened the box, only to cry when she discovered the contents.
"What is it?" Naruto asked.
Hinata placed a hand over her mouth, trying to quiet her cries. She turned the box so the others could see. Inside was a diamond ring.
"HE WAS GOING TO PROPOSE?!" Naruto exclaimed.
"I-in his last letter, G-Gaara said he would leave me with no doubt of his feelings the next time he saw me. I-I guess this is what he meant."
Hinata held the ring close to her heart.
'Oh Gaara…"
"N-Naruto-kun, please promise me you will bring him back to me."
Naruto gave her thumbs up. "Believe it!"