What If

5

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Hinata, who was usually a patient and understanding person, sometimes found her missions to be a little…juvenile. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem, only circumstances were different this time. Hinata only had two days left to live, and nobody knew it except her…and the red haired one. Gaara

Hinata had discovered his name through little research. The Huuga library was full of documents and articles that revolved around current issues happening in the world. There were even some dating back to her childhood, including the article about her uncle's--Neji's father--sacrificial death. Hinata took that particular news article and hid it deep inside a filing case full of outdated documents. Hopefully Neji would never have to look at it.

During her excavation Hinata had come across an article on Suna. There was no date or headline on it so Hinata figured it was never made public, but she didn't question it's existence since the Huugas were permitted to have such files in their midst.

The article elaborated on a number of killings that had occurred in the Village of the Sand. One was a citizen who had been heavily intoxicated the night he was killed and shortly after that a relative to the Kazekage. The article pinpointed a young boy as the culprit, but also explained that no charges were going to be made against him. Because he was the Kazekage's son. Hinata hadn't believed her eyes when she saw the picture of the boy in question. It was, without a doubt, a little Gaara. His eyes were narrow and cold like they are now, full of hatred and loathing, and even though it was only in black and white, Hinata could tell that there was a tremendous amount of despair in them.

A Huuga's eyesight misses nothing.

Hinata tried to push back the images and concentrate on her mission.

Her team had been assigned to a wealthy landlady whose cat whom she loved and adored like a child, had gone missing. Again. The description of the cat, which had been relayed through a procession of unintelligible broken sobs, said that it was grey and white with adorable blue eyes and a collar which had a genuine golden bell attached. If this was true, Hinata did not think that it was unlikely that someone had kidnapped the cat.

The landlady had said it happened before, only at the time the cat's collar was composed of diamonds, rubies, and gold. She figured it wouldn't happen again as long as the only flashy thing on the collar was gold.

Hinata sighed and shook her head. She was amused that a person could give so much love and attention to a mere animal, but also depressed that the cat's master gave it far better treatment than her own father. It almost made her angry at the cat for running away.

If indeed it wasn't kidnapped, that is.

Not wanting to jump to conclusions, Hinata headed over to the outdoor fish market in the central part of town. If she were cat that's the first place she'd go. Kiba was looking around in the wooded areas and Shino was poking around close to the landlady's home. Hinata was sure neither of them had checked the market yet.

On her way there Hinata peeked around corners and crannies, making sure not to miss a single spot. As she was about to round a corner to check an alleyway, her nose slammed into someone's forehead. She cringed back, cupping her face in her hands, squinting from the pain. She looked up to apologize and jumped back with a tiny, "Eek!"

Her whole face burst into flames.

"Ahh--owww--oh, h-hey, Hinata-chan," Naruto greeted, kneeling on the ground with one knee. He held his head with both hands and grinned at her wearily. "Haha, my bad. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"N-N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelped. She touched him! She had actually made contact with his skin! And right on his forehead! "I-I-I'm so sorry!"

"No problem, Hinata-chan. Did I hurt you?" Naruto asked with concern. He stood to his feet and brushed some dirt off his pant legs.

"N-No…" Hinata squeaked. "Wh-What are you doing here?"

"Oh, heheh. I was looking for something," Naruto replied. "In fact, could you help me?"

It was always a relief to be away from people. Gaara, though not particularly fond of nature, or the sun, or…daytime in general, found it to be exponentially more tolerable when alone. In the barricade of trees provided by the barren emptiness of the woods, Gaara was able to concentrate better than he ever could anywhere else in the hours of the day.

Gaara sat on a sturdy tree branch high above ground, mildly enjoying the comfort of cool shade. He was busy watching the sky, completely oblivious to anything happening below him until a faint rusting of leaves and the sharp snapping of twigs drew his attention elsewhere. When he looked down he saw something dark and fuzzy crawl out from underneath a bush.

Filthy animals.

The creature was bigger than Gaara thought, for the length of it's body continued to emerge from the bush as it resumed edging forward. A human-like grunt escaped it's form and Gaara realized it wasn't an animal, but a person. He recognized this person.

Kiba.

It was slightly amusing how well outskirts of the wild suited him so. But what was he doing here?

"Darn it, Akamaru!" he exclaimed, pulling the small dog from his jacket by the scruff of its neck. "I thought you said that stupid cat was here!"

The little white mutt gave a few apologetic whimpers and Kiba sighed. He rubbed the fur on it's head affectionately and said, "Ah well. Maybe it was only something that smelled like a cat. There ought to be plenty of wild ones running around out here. Maybe Shino and Hinata are having better luck than we are?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed when he heard Hinata's name. She was searching for something?

"I forgot what that stupid cat even looked like," Kiba said exasperatedly. The white mutt gave a few short barks in response. "Yeah, that stupid golden bell," Kiba remarked, seemingly understanding the puppy. Strange. "If that lady doesn't want the cat running off, she should stop smothering it."

The dog gave two loud barks.

"I do not smother you!" Kiba exclaimed in response.

This was getting annoying. The scruffy-headed boy and his puppy were beginning to argue and it was disturbing Gaara's quiet solitude.

He reached behind him and popped the cork on his gourd. Killing him seemed like the most convenient course of action. No one would find him right away. The wall of trees ought to provide a well enough shelter for a body. Someone would discover it soon, probably…

Something soft pawed at Gaara's raised arm. He looked up and saw a gray and white cat with a golden bell dangling from it's collar. It was perched on a thinner branch above him, staring with big green eyes, pawing at the cork in his hand. Kiba, still arguing with his annoying pet, made their way out of sight. Lucky. Gaara wrenched the cork back into place and glared at the feline.

Naruto sighed dramatically and plopped down on the soft grass. Hinata and he were at the park, both depressed at their failed attempts. Naruto and his team were on a mission as well, searching for some guy's lost dog. Naruto had recklessly made a bet with Sasuke stating that if he found the dog first, they would compete in a challenge of his choice, no matter how stupid it was. Naruto, of course, picked a ramen eating contest that Sasuke would have to pay for.

Hinata, who had been flustered and elusive the whole time, blushing and twiddling her fingers, stepped close to Naruto and looked at him shyly from the side.

"Gah! We'll never find these stupid animals!" Naruto cried in the air. "I bet they're off chasing each other and being stupid! This is whole thing is stupid! Why should a ninja like me have to deal with things like this?"

Naruto slumped against a tree with a sour look on his face, crossing his arms in a way that a sulking toddler would. After ages of inner debate, Hinata took a seat next to him. Not close. Just close enough to where she wouldn't faint. Which put a distance of at least three feet between them.

"U-Um…" Hinata began, not sure how to begin. The sky had grown dark and cloudy, looking for all the world like it was about to come pouring down. It was sunny only a moment ago, and the drastic change in weather reminded Hinata just how little time she had left.

"Yeah?" Naruto replied with a trace of sourness still coloring his tone.

"Um…i-if you had only three days left to live, what would you do?"

All bitterness and exasperation washed from Naruto's features. He spun to her with an incredulous look in his eyes. "If I had three days left to live? Why would you ask that?"

Hinata frowned and rested her hands over her lap, folding them over one another to keep them still. "I…well…i-it's just something I was wondering. It seems as if I…as if I were to die, I'd have nothing to show for it. I-I am weak. I have no spectacular talents. I have no kind of relationship with any of my family members. I was just…wondering what the best thing for me to do would be. I don't know how to…"

Live.

Naruto opened his eyes wide, staring so intently Hinata couldn't help but blush. There was sincerity and wonder in Naruto's expression, and he closed his mouth which had parted in surprise. "Hinata-chan…" he said. Hinata looked at him with her eyebrows drawn together. "I…would try to get as strong as I possibly could so I could beat that damn Sasuke!" Naruto declared expressively.

Hinata flinched back at his uncalled for energetic response.

"Well, what I mean to say is, I wouldn't spend all those days feeling sad. I would do and eat everything I've ever wanted and train and train until I just about dropped dead! Then I would challenge that cocky Sasuke-bastard to the match of his life! I might wind up losing, but at least I would give him the fight of his life! At the very least I would break his arm or something!"

Hinata stared at Naruto in a wonder. During some point he had jumped from his seat in all his excitement, clenching his fist to make emphasis.

"My point is, Hinata-chan, is that we don't know how long we'll live. I'm training everyday so that one day I can become strong! I'll become Hogake no matter what, and nothings gonna stop me! I'm going to try my best and keep working no matter what happens!"

Hinata's expression was nothing short of pure amazement. Her mouth relaxed into a radiant smile, surprising even Naruto, and Hinata rose from her seat. "I-I see," she said quietly. "Yes…you are right, Naruto-kun. Thank you." Hinata ran off without another word, leaving behind a confused Naruto, and smiled. "I have a mission to complete," Hinata whispered determinedly.

"And I'm going to accomplish it no matter what!"