Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Rating: M
(This story is rated mature for a reason.)
Special thanks to reviewers
Chapter 4
"Suna"
'Snow?' whispered Hinata, looking down at her palm, as a slow, gentle smile crossed her face. She loved the snow, although she could not completely understand why. She watched as the small flake began to melt in her hand before looking up at more falling snow.
Everything around her seemed to glow as the white snow gentle swallowed the dead black trees surrounding her. Her smile grew as it began to snow more heavily around her, gentle raising her hands up to hold them. She then gentle closed her eyes as she opened her mouth and waited for the icy cold water to touch her tough.
When she felt it fall into her mouth she quickly closed it tasting the snow, but something was off about it, causing her face to move into a slight frown. It did not taste like water but more like she was sucking on a penny.
'Blood?'
When she opened her eye she no longer saw the loving white snow, but red snow instead. Her eyes widen, looking at her hand to see blood instead of the melted water.
Slowly a look of sadness comes over her face, she never liked blood. She hated the way it never seemed to completely come off, always there to remind you of your sins.
She slowly turned her head up as she felt someone's eyes heavily on her, only to see . . . Gaara. Soon her look of sadness disappears as she turns her head to the side, looking confused.
'Gaara?' she gentle whispers, as he began walking towards her before stopping and moving into a crouch.
'Hinata.' He replied in his monotone voice. They looked into each others eyes, both searching for something unknown to themselves. Then he slowly raised his hand to reveal a small black flute in his hand. The second her eyes saw the small object she visible stiffens and begins to shack in fear.
'This seems to be important to you,' he said looking at the flute before looking back at her fear stricken face, 'very important.'
'Please, give it to me.' She whispered moving her hand to try and take it only to have him move it further away from her.
'No, because if I have this . . . I can control you, can't I.' he said grabbing her chin with his thumb turning her face to look into his eyes. 'Yes, that's right.' a dark smirk growing on his face.
'Please.' She whispers again trying to look back at the flute but he refused to let her.
'No.' he growls as sand explodes out of his gourd, violently spinning around them blocking out the bloody snow and turning it into a murderous red desert.
Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna
"Wait." Kankuro said causing Temari's hands to freeze.
"What?!"
"What if she's ugly or horrible misshapen?" he asked.
"Kankuro you fucking ass, she could have a concussion or a fracture and your worried about what she fucking looks like?" she shouted at him angrily.
"Well, people only put masks on if their trying to hide something bad." Kankuro said trying to defend himself.
"She could have a bloody pig's nose for all I care and a snake's tough. It's coming off." She said as she finished undoing the locks before laying her back onto her back, "Besides it couldn't be half as bad as your face." she said as Kankuro shot her an angry dull look. She then slowly began to remove the white procaine mask. Kankuro's stiffened as he took in the sight before him.
"She's . . . wearing another mask?" he said looking confused, "Why for kami's sake would she need to wear two masks. Wait Temari, this must mean she's really, really ugly and misshapen. Leave that one on."
"Kankuro, I swear if you say one more word about her possibly being unpleasing to the eyes IM GOING TO FUCKING TARE OFF YOUR FACE AND FEED IT TO YOU!" she shouted grabbing him by the front of his shirt.
"H-Hai." He squeaks out before she roughly let him go and moves back to the second mask. The second mask was slightly different looking, as if it was more like padding for her face. She looks around it to make sure that there were not straps before gently removing it.
"Dear lord she's fucking beautiful." Kankuro says breathlessly slightly leaning in closer before being smacked in the head by his sister.
"You fucking touch her and all make you my new baby sister." She threats him.
"Dame it Temari, I wasn't going to do anything." He said glaring at her. "I'm just saying that I wasn't really expecting her to look like this."
"Hum" she said barely listening to him as she inspects her face for any damage. "We it looks like nothings broken but she's going to have one painful headache when she wakes up." She said looking up at her brothers. "You know I have to agree with you Kankuro, she really doesn't look like anything I would have excepted, she looks so . . . so"
"Innocent looking." He said leaning in a bit.
"Ya, so don't you do a dame thing to her." She said pointing to him.
"I wasn't going TO!" he shouts back at her.
"Ya sure." She said unconvinced.
"Temari you son of a –"
"I think we need to get going before more soldiers come." Temari said seriously, cutting off her brother.
"I'll carry Hinata." Kankuro eagerly said, lifting his hand in the air.
"Hell no!" she shouted back at him, smacking him hard in the head. "I'll carry Hinata; you carry my fan and her sword. I think its somewhere near where Gaara was fighting." she said pointing to the bloody mess. She tried not to look at it as Kankuro made a face like he was trying not to throw up. Temari then gently pulled Hinata to were she could pick her up piggy back style.
"Kankuro, did you get it yet?" she said standing up, pulling Hinata up a bit more.
"No, I can't find her sheath- oh no wait it's under this one guy here." He said trying to lift up his arm as his upper half of his body fell away from his lower half with a sickening sound. "O.K. I'm ready."
With in moments they were far from the bloody scene with Temari and Kankuro running side by side and Gaara far in the lead.
Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna
Hinata woke up with a painful sounding gasp as she moved into a sitting position, looking around quickly. As she slowly took in her surroundings she began to relax, with a gentle sigh.
It was dark, with only the small fire next to her giving her a gentle glow of the small campsite she was in. Both Temari and Kankuro where sound asleep under their small dirty planets, finally able to get rest on the opposite side of the fire from her.
Hinata watched them with gentle and slightly relived eyes, glad to see them unharmed before noticing the smooth white object next to her hand. She looked at it for a long moment before her hand shot up to her face feeling soft skin instead of hard porcelain.
A look of pure confusion came onto her face before she slowly picked up her mask, feeling the soft padding underneath it. She looks in between the mask and the two sleeping people on the other side of the fire before slipping the mask into her long sleeve in a hidden pocket.
As she felt heavy eyes on her, which she was quickly becoming familiar with, she turned to she Gaara sitting in the shadows. She looked at him as images of her dream flashed before her eyes. They stare at each other for what seemed like hours before Hinata finally turns to look into the fire.
"Gaara . . . I was . . . I was wondering it you would not play the flute." She gentle whispers as her hands squeeze into small fist on her lap.
"Are you giving be an order." He said with a dark, cold glair causing her to suppress a shiver.
"No . . . trust me it's . . . it's far from any type of order or . . . demand." She said, trying to place her words as careful as possible. "It's more along the . . . the lines of pleading." The minutes seemed to spread like hours for Hinata as she sat worriedly waiting for any type of acknowledgment from him.
"And why should I listen to you?" he said in his emotionless voice as his face went black, only keeping his eye cold.
"Because . . . Because when ever it is played . . . very bad things happen . . . and I don't want to . . . to hurt anyone." She said as she looked at Temari and Kankuro before turning to look pleadingly at him.
". . . Hn." was all he said before crossing his arms over his chest and looking into the fire. At this a small, small smile crosses over her face as he watched her from the corner of his eye.
Time seemed to have frozen for Gaara as he took in her first smile, confusing him greatly. He didn't really giver her an answer yet she still seemed to believe that he would listen to her. He had a sudden urge to pull out the dame flute and play it just to prove her wrong, yet he stayed still just watching her.
"Why are you smiling, I never gave you and answer?" he asked coldly as he glared at her.
"But you listened." She said acting like it was just as wonderful only making Gaara even more confused. He watched as she turned back at the fire and give small cat like yawn, rubbing her eyes before looking at the tree beside her. He saw her give a quick scan of the tree before moving onto all fours.
"Good night." She said looking like she wanted to say something else before closing her mouth and walking over to the tree.
Hinata easily channeled chakra into her hands and feet as she walked up the tree gracefully until she came to a very large branch that hung over campsite. She then moved to lie down in a very cat like manner. She had her knees on either side of the branch with her feet tucked closely to her and one of her arms tucked under her head while the other hung of the branch.
As Hinata laid there waiting for sleep to come many thoughts swam in her head. Slowly the events leading up to now played before her eyes. Then the dream, yet it wasn't a dream. It was too real and the way Gaara seemed to look at her when she woke up. Like he just found out something, the same shine in his eye's that was in her dream. No it wasn't a dream, yet he didn't say anything.
Soon her head was spinning, and the painful headache was not helping but it was nothing she wasn't used to. Within minutes the ache became less to where she could move it into the back of her mind, numbing it before sleep began to come over her. With in seconds she was falling into the darkness, slipping away from everything as one last thought played through her head. 'What's next?'
Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna
Kankuro woke slowly as the sun shined in his eyes, and unwilling deciding it was time for him to wake up. As he sat up he saw his sister also slowly starting to wake up before turning to see Gaara glaring at him. He ran a hand through his messy brown hair before pulling up his hood hiding it as he at last turn to Hinata to see . . . she was gone.
"Shit, Temari wake up." He said shaking his sister.
"W-h-a-t?" she growled as she sat up and fixing her ponytails.
"Hinata's gone!" he said standing up looking around the camp for her.
"What!" she said fully awake, also jumping up. "Gaara, where did she go?" she said looking over, panicky at her youngest brother. She slightly stiffened as his glare became dark before pointing up.
Both Temari and Kankuro's eyes shot up to see Hinata laying high above them on a large branch looking at the sky humming quietly to her self.
"You dum ass," she said smacking her brother, "You got me all worked up for nothing."
"Well how was I supposed to know she was up the tree?" he asked rubbing his new burse.
"By paying more attention, Kami!" she said whipping a hand over her tired face. "Hinata, come on down, were going to be leaving soon." Temari shouted up to her as she shoved her blanket into her pack.
"Hai." said a gentle voice, jumping down the tree in seconds.
"Well, its going to take week instead of the regular three days to get back to Suna, but I think if we stop only twice a day we might get there in four and a half days instead." said Temari as she mumbled to her self making mental notes of how to ration out their food supplies for four people instead of three.
"Suna?" asked Hinata, with her head tiled in a puppy like manner.
"Yeah, that's where we are heading." said Temari, just now realizing that Hinata was never informed. "It's located in the country of the wind, it's in the desert." Temari watched as her eyes became slight out of focused before shaking her head.
"Come on Temari, I want to be home sometime this week. I'm sick of this place." whined Kankuro following Gaara through the trees.
"Were coming, were coming. Kami I swear all you do is bitch and whine." she groaned back to him, as both girls quickly caught up to him.
"Oh please like you're one to talk." he mumbled back.
"Wise Ass."
"Evil Bitch."
Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna
"Why do you do that?" asked Kankuro, as he watched Hinata on the other side of Temari. They had been running for almost five hours strait in silence, no one wanting to break it. They where just now coming close to the fire nation's board, with only about three more hours until they would finally reach the desert.
"Do what?" asked Hinata completely ignorant of his meaning.
"Stay on all four, why don't you move on two legs? It's weird." He asked gesturing at her.
"Kankuro you Ass," she said hitting him over the head, "Don't put her on the spot like that. If she wants to walk like that let her walk like that." Temari said glairing at him, although the same question was also running through her head too.
"What!? I just wanted to know." He said trying to defend himself.
"I have a . . . few reasons for doing it." Hinata said with a gentle smile.
"Well, what are they?" he asked getting impatient.
"Kankuro." Temari warned lifting her fist in the air.
"There are four of them . . . the first is I was . . . raised to walk like this." she said as she watched the confusing no both Temari's and Kankuro's faces.
"The second is that it . . . protects most of my vital organs and makes me . . . more difficult to attack." She said as the two sand nin saw the logical point in it.
"The third it's a bit more . . . difficult to explain." She said trying to find a way to have them understand.
"Well put it into an example." Temari said no longer able to hold back her curiosity.
"What would you find more . . . terrifying, a person running at you with a . . . kunai in their hand or one running at you like a . . . creator with the kunai in their teeth?" she said looking both of them in the eyes.
Both Temari and Kankuro stiffened as the dark thought entered their minds, as silence soon came over the three of them.
"Wait what about the fourth reason?" asked Kankuro.
"The last reason is because it makes me feel more . . . comfortable and . . . secure." she said tuning to look at Gaara as he listen to listened to her explaining it before turning to look ahead on him once again.
"Hu, that's the reason why Kankuro ware's the make-up." Temari said pointing her thumb back at him.
"War Paint Not Make-Up!" shouted Kankuro glairing daggers and his older sister.
"All looks the same to me." She said shrugging her shoulders. This caused a small giggle to come from Hinata getting everyone's attention before Temari's joins in.
"Evil Bitch." Spat Kankuro before turning away to pout.
"Make-Up Boy." Shout right back still laughing.
"It's Not Make-Up!" he hissed back before turning away again causing once again a comfortable silence to come over the travelers.
The silence lasted for three hours before finally coming to the boarder where hot sand met green grass. Hinata stood there with wide eyes as she took in the burning desert before her, feeling the dry air blow in her face.
"Hey Hinata," shouted Kankuro "Where going to take a quick break here before going into the desert." He said moving to sit next to his sister under the shade of a tree while Gaara jumped into another tree far from them, yet still close enough to keep an eye on Hinata.
"Hai." She said before moving to sit in front of the two siblings. She watched as they both dug through their packs before pulling out a few things to eat.
"What do you want?" asked Temari as she held out to her a power bar and an apple to her. Hinata starred at both of them with wide eyes before slowly taking the apple in her hand and starring at it.
"What never seen an apple before?" Kankuro teased her with a smirk.
"Don't be an Ass." said Temari smacking him over the head.
"What! I was just joking." He said
"Actually . . . I never had an apple." she said as a deep red blush flowed onto her face.
"What? Well what did you eat when you were with the Hyugas?" he asked finding it hard to believe that she had never happen before. For crying out loud, you couldn't go ten miles without running into one around there.
"Rice and mush." She said as she whipped the apple on her shirt.
"Mush?"
"It's what I called it. They . . . never told me what it was called. It's this green . . . stuff that taste like dirt." she said blushing an even deeper red.
"All the time?" he asked up believed.
"Hai." she said before slowly taking a small bight out of the apple. As she tasted the apple her eyes become wide staring at it for a second before taking another few bights out of it.
"Like it?" Temari asked with a smile.
"That an understatement." commented Kankuro as he watched her start to eat the core of the apple.
"Don't Be An Ass!" Temari shouted slamming his head into the trunk of the tree.
"Ow!"
Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna Suna
The next four days for the travelers was rather uneventful and clam. Temari and Hinata became close in that time, talking with each other; well Temari talked, Hinata manly listen.
Hinata became to be like a younger sister to Temari, which she secretly always wanted while she became more of a close friend with Kankuro. He took great fun in teasing her about certain thing before getting pummeled by his sister shortly after.
"What's Suna like?" Hinata asked. They where only a few minutes away before it would come into view and she was starting to become slight excited.
"Well it's nice. They have huge market days and lots of nice places to go shopping for clothes and weapons." Temari said with a smile as she too was become excited about going home.
"They also have really nice bars." commented Kankuro with a smirk.
"Suna is also known for its world spiciest food dishes." Temari said encoring Kankuro's remark.
"Are people nice there?" Hinata asked with a child like smile on her face. At this she saw both Kankuro and Temari stiffing before looking over a Gaara that was walking ahead of them.
"Well, there's a few. Do you know that it is also known for being the largest village in the country of the wind?" Temari said with a smile changing the topic.
"How big?" she asked
"Well the population it about 64,00 so it pretty big." Kankuro commented again, placing his hands behind his head.
A smile stayed on Hinata's face as they continued to walk through the desert, feeling like she was getting another chance to have a life. But Hinata's thoughts soon turned to the conversation she and Gaara shared the night before.
The desert night was freezing as the wind blew hard over the small campsite as Hinata sat close to the fire. Both Temari and Kankuro were deep asleep despite the cold under their thick blankets next to each other.
Hinata sunk deeper in her blanket as she starred deep into the fire. She had woken up a few minutes ago, unable to sleep for more that two hours for reasons beyond her understanding. Although it was nothing new to her but it did require her to sleep more often, which she could not do while traveling.
Luckily she had been able to hide if from both Temari and Kankuro, not wanting to slow down anyone. But not Gaara as nothing seemed to go unnoticed by him, who always seemed to constantly be watching her. She didn't really know how she felt about it but it did make her a bit nerves about her actions.
Gaara sat away from his siblings, like always, but slightly closer to Hinata watching her again. He sat a bit more relaxed than he usually did when everyone was awake. He had one of his knees up, with an arm sling above it, while is other leg was stretched out in front of him.
Hinata found out by the second night camping with them that Gaara never slept. The closest thing she saw him do was meditate, which she found a bit unusual. She knew something was different about him, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She felt that he acted like her when it came to a few things, except when it came to that insanely short temper of his. She turned to look at his light sea green before looking back at the fire.
"Gaara-san?" she whispered quietly as she turned to look at him. She watched as he striated a bit to show that she had his attention. "I have a question to ask you."
He watched as he saw her play with her fingers, one of her nerves habit he had found. He had seen her doing it since she had woken up, stopping once realizing she was doing it only to be back at it again. He had a sudden urge to cut them off to stop their annoyance only to continue to sit there. He had seemed to be doing that a lot lately although he was unsure if it was good thing yet.
"When . . . when we get to Suna . . . I . . . I was wondering if I . . . if I could stay with you guys." She said before looking back into the fire. "I know that I might be stuck into some cell or . . . cage again and might not see any of you or killed but . . . but if there is the slight chance that I'm not can I?" she asked looking at him with sad soulless eyes.
He was confused by her actions although he hid it all, not understanding her. He was sure that she would ask Temari with something like this seeing as the two girls had become close over the short for reasons beyond his understanding.
After staring at each other for what seemed like hours Gaara finally looked away from her to look at the cold desert. "I do not care if you sleep in some cell or the pelf in the streets. As far as 'where you sleep' goes, I don't care about people that are not worth my time. You're nothing of my concern." He said, he monotone sounding a bit board. When he looked back at her he excepted her to look sad or a bit of an angry one at his cold word but all he saw was that small smile of hers.
"Thank you Gaara-san." She softly said as she looked at him with soft eyes and what he guessed to be happiness.
"Hn." was all he said; deciding not to even try to understand what she was met by it. As silence seemed to spread between them the night suddenly appeared to become a bit warmer for the both of them.
"Hey Hinata, Hi-na-ta?" Temari said moving her hand in front of Hinata's face.
"Hai?" she said coming out of her thoughts.
"Well, what do you think?" she said gesturing to the huge canyon in front of them that looked like giant stairs with a huge slice between them. But as she looking between the canyons she saw hundreds of buildings and house in many odd shapes that she could not help but look at it in wonder.
It was Suna . . .