A/N: Hey, yeah this chapter should be longer then the last one but I can't make any promises. Thanks for all the reviews! I apologize if I update to slow for you guys school will be starting again soon, so I'm trying to get as much of this done as possible! Oh and a slight spoiler.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Chapter 7
Temari trembled slightly as she heard his sand fly forward; she closed her eyes hoping that she would go to heaven after this. But when she didn't feel anything she cracked open an eye in time to see wood splinter in front of her face. Both eyes now wide open, she saw as another chair met its end by Gaara's sand.
"Get out," Gaara hissed, shattering the clock on the wall next.
Temari didn't need to be told twice; she high tailed it out of the office but didn't make it two feet before bumping into someone. Eyes narrowed, she focused her glare on Kankuro, who happened to be the one who bumped into her, behind him was the small shaking form of Hinata.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Temari asked urgent to get Hinata as far away as possible for the moment.
"We're going to see Gaara, right Hinata?" Kankuro said, Hinata giving a small nod.
"You don't want to do that right now," Temari said pushing the other two towards the stairs so they could get away.
"Why not?" Kankurou asked, just as they heard another wood item shatter in Gaara's office.
"That's why not!" Temari said as they all raced down the stairs.
When they got outside Hinata fell to her knees panting, while the other two remained standing both were breathing equally hard. Running down 20 flights of stairs and through 4 halls wasn't as easy for the already three dehydrated ninja. Temari checked herself for any injury, then looked over Kankuro and Hinata, she sighed in relief. Hinata shakily stood up and forced a small smile onto her face.
"Gaara's not usually like that… Hinata watch out!" Temari yelled as Gaara's desk came flying out of his window.
Before anyone could move the desk hit where Hinata was standing only a few moments before. Now she was on the hard hot ground with a young girl on top of her.
"Hinata are you okay!?" Temari cried kneeling next to her.
Hinata didn't answer, her eyes blinked a few times as if she couldn't comprehend what was going on. When her vision stopped shaking from the fall, her eyes fell on the girl on top of her, face turning immediately red.
"Are you an idiot!? Why didn't you move!?" the girl yelled as she rolled off of Hinata and onto the ground next to her.
The three older ninjas looked down at the girl; she had brown eyes and short brown hair, quite unremarkable in Suna. But there was something about her that made her stand out against everyone else.
"W-w-who are y-you?" Hinata asked.
"Hey, I don't have to answer your question if you don't answer mine first!" the girl said defensively.
"Oh! G-gomen I g-guess I w-w-was stunned," Hinata said, staring at the ground in shame.
The girl stood and offered Hinata her hand, Hinata took it and was immediately pulled to her feet.
"Matsuri," the girl said shortly and started to walk away.
Temari and Kankuro exchanged glances, before turning just in time to see Hinata disappear into the crowd going after Matsuri.
"Temari, do you think we should go after her?" Kankuro asked.
"What kind of question is that!? Of course we …" Temari started, before being cut off by a loud rough voice.
"Temari, Kankuro, you have to explain to the elders why Gaara just ruined all the furniture," their sensei, Baki replied from the doorway.
"But Baki-sensei!" Kankuro began.
"No buts Kankuro they want to talk to you now," Baki replied, disappearing into the tower.
"Temari," Kankuro said glaring at the door.
"Yes, Kankuro?" Temari asked also glaring at the door.
"I hate you," Kankuro replied as they both walked into the tower.
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Hinata gently pushed through the crowed, having to activate her Byakugan just to keep track of Matsuri, muttering apologies under her breath, and only receiving death glares in return. Finally Matsuri stopped and turned to watch as Hinata barely squeezed through the crowd.
"Why are you following me?" Matsuri asked curiously, moving so they walked side by side.
"A-ano because I-I want t-t-to k-know more a-about y-you," Hinata said, slightly embarrassed.
"Who are you?' Matsuri asked, focusing on her eyes.
"Hyuuga Hinata, from the village hidden in the leaves," Hinata said, noticing the girl's awed expression from glimpsing her eyes.
"Wow! A master of the legendary Byakugan!? And if you're who you say you are then you must be the heiress as well! That's amazing! Almost as amazing as…" Matsuri said, stopping herself and blushing, thinking about this amazing thing.
"H-hai I am t-t-t-the heiress, the w-w-worst one i-in the w-w-w-world," Hinata said bitterly.
"Oh come on I'm sure you're great!" Matsuri comforted.
"N-n-no I'm n-not," Hinata said firmly. "T-t-that's why I'm h-h-here, to train and b-become a b-better ninja."
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Gaara paced the floor, he had blacked out for a moment and awoke to find his office trashed. He tried to remember exactly what had happened right before he blacked out, and then Temari's words rang through his head. Two and a half years!? What the hell was she thinking when she agreed to that!? The Hokage must be crazy to think that he would accept this without any warning. But then again she did say that she offered, how dare she do such a thing without his permission. He would just have to deal with the Konoha ninja tomorrow; right now he needed to clear his mind. He walked to his window and looked at the horizon, straining his eyes slightly, he saw sand gathering. Knowing what that meant he quickly exited his office to notify the elders.
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Matsuri had showed Hinata around the village, talking to her about the village, sometimes stopping herself and blushing when she was about to mention a certain person. Hinata soon got tired and asked if they could go to an ice cream shop. Matsuri laughed at this, making people stare at them.
"That's a good one Hinata-san!" Matsuri gasped, continuing to laugh.
"M-m-matsuri-san, don't you g-g-guys have i-i-ice cream h-here?" Hinata asked blushing slightly from embarrassment.
"Hai, but it's a rare delicacy, so we only have one and it's really expensive," Matsuri said, her laughter ceasing.
"Well w-w-what if it w-was m-my treat?" Hinata asked.
"I can't let you do that! Its way too expensive no matter what you say!" Matsuri said.
"D-d-demo Matsuri-san I-I'm an h-h-h-heiress, I'm s-sure I can b-buy two i-i-ice creams," Hinata said.
"Well if you put it that way sure! I've never had ice cream before I can't wait to try it!" Matsuri said, grabbing Hinata's hand and bringing her to the ice cream shop.
They sat there and licked at their ice cream, silence filled the air and Hinata finally got enough courage to ask Matsuri about something.
"M-m-matsuri-san, y-y-you keep talking a-about Suna and a p-p-person who y-y-you obviously a-a-admire v-very much, who i-i-is it?" Hinata asked.
There was no response, and Hinata misunderstood the silence as anger, she was about to open her mouth and apologize when Matsuri began to speak.
"Have you met the Kazekage yet Hinata?" Matsuri asked her eyes downcast.
"N-no, demo I-I-I remember h-him from a l-l-little w-while back a-at the C-c-chunin exams," Hinata said, remembering the shower of blood she witnessed in the forest of death.
"Well what do you think of him?" Matsuri asked.
"I-I-I think t-that he i-is misunderstood, and a l-l-little scary," Hinata said still thinking about it.
"Damn right he's misunderstood!" Matsuri snapped, making Hinata flinch at hearing such a young girl curse.
"D-demo, that d-d-doesn't g-give him a r-reason t-to kill people," Hinata muttered.
"You don't understand what Gaara-sama has been through! He had to endure much more then you'll probably ever have to, he suffered for so long he has hate in his heart and he despises people. Demo, maybe if he met the right person he could open his heart, maybe even a little," Matsuri finished, a dreamy look in her eyes.
"D-d-does Matsuri-san h-have a crush o-on G-g-gaara-sama?" Hinata asked, giggling slightly.
Matsuri's eyes widened and she began to blush; she kicked the dirt up from the ground now that both had finished their ice cream they began to walk again.
"W-w-well do y-you Matsuri-san?" Hinata asked again, grinning.
"Maybe, a little one," Matsuri replied honestly.
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"Alright everyone into your houses, the Kazekage has alerted us that a sandstorm is quickly approaching," was the message many sand Jounin were shouting in their area of town. Temari and Kankuro had finally been released from the meeting with the elders, when they heard the news.
"HINATA'S STILL OUT THERE!!!" Kankuro and Temari yelled in unison.
"We need help," Temari said. "Should we ask Gaara to help us look for her?"
"You're kidding!? He would kill her on sight, recognizing her as the Konoha ninja who wrecked his peace," Kankuro said.
"We really don't have a choice right now, look!" Temari said pointing outside.
"Alright fine," Kankuro sighed.
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Matsuri heard the familiar cry and immediately grabbed Hinata's hand, pulling her toward the orphanage.
"Matsuri-san w-where are w-we going?" Hinata asked.
"Hurry Hinata! We have to get to the orphanage, don't let go of my hand!" Matsuri cried.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of people in the market place today and soon Hinata could feel their hands slipping apart. She tried desperately to grab at the hand but soon found that there was nothing there to grab. Soon enough Hinata was lost, people pushing her from all sides, and then the inevitable happened, someone tripped Hinata, and she fell head first onto a rock. She felt her blood start to pool around her head and her vision get hazy, slowly her eyes closed and all went black.
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"So that's why we need you to help us," Temari finished as she stared hopefully at Gaara.
"You are telling me that you let the Hyuuga heiress run freely around Suna, without a body guard, and then when a sandstorm is about to hit, you can't find her?" Gaara asked.
Temari and Kankuro slowly nodded, both looking sheepish and guilty.
"I'll do it, but after that she has to leave tomorrow, no exceptions," Gaara said.
Temari was about to open her mouth to protest, when Kankuro nudged her.
"Alright, no exceptions," Temari said quietly, feeling like she failed Hinata.
"In the mean time you two can clean my office," Gaara replied as he fastened his gourd onto his back and disappeared out his office door.
"Kankuro! Why did you do that? I could have probably convinced him to let her stay for awhile." Temari snapped as she began to sweep the debris.
"Temari this is a life and death situation," Kankuro said stacking books. "Besides he never said we couldn't argue about it later."
Temari grinned evilly, and continued to sweep the office.
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As soon as Gaara stepped out of the Kazekage tower, he smelled the blood on the wind. It was slightly familiar, but he couldn't place it, knowing that the blood had to be the girls he began to speed through the wind as the storm began to pick up. It wasn't long before he could make out a small huddle in the middle of the road; he approached it cautiously, and gently prodded the figure with his foot. The girl rolled into a ball recoiled more into herself with each prod. He thanked whatever god was looking down on them that the girl was still alive, the death of a Konoha ninja wouldn't be easily explained.
Kneeling beside her, he slowly pried her limbs apart to take a look at her head wound. Blood still flowed out of it, slower than before but still there was blood. His sand stirred anxiously, but he held it back, the next thing he did was examine her face, pale as a sheet and peaceful as a baby, her features were familiar, he paused in his examination, thinking about where he had seen her before. Then it all clicked, the girl who was beaten by her cousin in the chunin exams. He remembered the way she looked at Naruto when he cheered her on, and the way her attacks lacked the will to even harm an opponent. But most of all he remembered how excited he had been when he saw her blood splatter on the ground.
He unwrapped the sash around his waist letting his gourd fall to the ground and wrapped it around the girls head; it would stem the bleeding long enough for him to get her to a hospital. Slowly he shifted her until he could lift her, after he summoned most of his sand and it circled around them in a protective orb structure. The wind raged outside as Gaara tried to get the girl and his gourd back to the Kazekage tower, it took a long time, but eventually he made it. Just before he was about to open the door, the girl shifted slightly. He stared down at her waiting to see her eyes open in fear; instead they slowly opened and examined him for a moment before a small smile spread across her face.
"Arigotou," she said her eyes closing, making Gaara think she didn't recognize him. "Gaara-sama."
Abruptly he stopped walking and looked down at her again, still seeing a contented smile, he felt the overwhelming urge to shake her awake and find out the meaning of this. Why was a weakling like her smiling at him like he was her savior? Sure he saved her from the sandstorm, but that was purely out of duty. This girl confused him and Gaara hated being confused.
Kankuro and Temari finished cleaning Gaara's office and rushed to find their sibling and Hinata. When they saw him he was exiting one of the guest bedrooms, his gourd no longer on his back and his arms crossed.
"Gaara did you find her!?" Temari cried.
"Hai," was Gaara's short answer.
"Was she okay?" Kankuro asked.
"Hai, she had a minor head injury, but other than that she's fine," Gaara stated.
"Well Gaara we wanted to talk to you about…" Temari began but was cut off again by Gaara.
"She can stay," Gaara said.
"Demo! What?" Temari asked forgetting about convincing Gaara in letting Hinata stay.
"I thought you said no exceptions?" Kankuro asked.
"Well, because I am Kazekage it is my ultimate decision," Gaara replied stopping outside his office door. "I have decided that she will stay."
"YES!" Temari cried.
Without another word Gaara left them in the corridor, leaving Kankuro utterly confused and Temari doing her new happy dance.
"What do you think changed his mind?" Kankuro asked.
"I don't know but who cares!? Hinata gets to stay!" Temari replied.
A/N: Okay second chapter I've done this week and now I'm starting chapter 8. This one is slightly longer then the last one but I didn't want to include that much. Matsuri is not an OC she is actually from Naruto. I know Temari and Kankuro are OOC at the end. I hope you all liked it and please review!