Hope you like this one

The sun beamed through the cracked window, waking Gaara from his light slumber. Groggily sitting up, he rubbed his eyes from the hazy sight. Getting up lazily, he almost tripped over Shukaku as he stumbled into the kitchen.

Holding onto the kitchen bench, he sighed.

"Shukaku, here." He called for the dog, who, at this point, had woken up and grumpily walked to his master.

Patting the dog on the head, he looked through his cupboard, fully stocked with canned food. Choosing dog food, he grabbed Shukaku's bowl, put the food down and watched the dog scuff the food down hungrily.

Shaking his head, Gaara jumped over the kitchen counter, mindful of the boxes littering the floor, and squeezed himself through the gap in the door to the bathroom.

Stripping himself from his last remaining article of clothing, he turned the shower on full force and watched the steam rise, wrapping around the room like a blanket. Jumping in, he loathed himself in the cheap soap he brought and cleansed himself. The scalding hot water sipped in his pores and turned his pale skin red and raw.

He loved it.

Nothing other than fighting, of course, he enjoyed more than pain. The pain was all he ever felt, and the pain was all he ever wanted, and the pain he was going to get.

Washing his hair, grease, mud, and blood ran down his body and down the drain, which he hadn't realised till now.

He never did.

He had a little fight before he left the dojo last night; Naruto, his best mate, had a little trouble with his 'friends' car and, being a good friend to him, decided to help him out. Of course, Naruto may be a friendly old bloke, but he never really made the best decisions when making 'friends'. Hence why he and Naruto are friends; it's a friendship based on respect and quarrel.

So when Naruto's 'friend' turned up to get back his car Naruto had 'borrowed'. Gaara had to be the one to save his friend's ass and help end the disagreement and argument with his words of wisdom.

By beating the crap out of the guy.

Naruto was much grateful, though he never did agree with Gaara's method per se; he had known Gaara long enough to know how he dealt with things, whether it was argumentative or not, it was his way of fighting, and no one was going to come between the two.

Sighing again, he finished washing his hair and himself; he turned off the shower and grabbed the towel on the shower wall. Drying himself, he kicked his boxes on the floor away and stepped out of the bathroom, with much difficulty, and kicked a few more boxes away.

Jumping over the counter bench again, he walked over to the messy clean clothes and picked out a new pair of boxer shorts, jeans, a sweater, and the old pair of broken shoes. Putting them on, he flung the towel on the unmade bed and looked at the time.

6:45 AM.

Perfect, he thought. He would always be at the dojo by 7:30 every morning. He was more dedicated than most people would be; the dojo doesn't open till 9 AM, but then again, Gaara never really followed the rules. He mostly did break into the dojo, but the people who owned and ran the place didn't really mind and usually left the back door, which is a pretty secluded and challenging place to get to, open for him.

"Shukaku," Gaara called the dog, seeing him trot up to him from the position he was lying.

"Look after the joint, will you?" He patted the dog behind the ear and walked to the distorted door.

Flinging it open, he moved so Shukaku could get past him and watched as the dog went barking down the gloomy alleyway. Shaking his head, he shoved the door back in its place. He didn't worry about locking the door; he didn't have to.

No one would dare walk into his shitty little apartment and try to steal anything of his because he didn't have anything worth stealing, and secondly, they all knew him in this part of the town, and they wouldn't dare cross him.

"Gaara!" he heard a girlish voice behind him.

Turning, he saw the very person he loathed, "Karin." He nodded his head.

"Oh, Gaara, honey, I was just wondering when you'd come out of that little shack of yours." She walked up to him seductively, "Come out and play with me." She put her index finger on her lip like a lost child.

Gaara just sighed, "Karin, I don't have time for your pathetic little childish games." he said calmly as he could through clenched teeth, crossing his arms.

"But Gaara." She whined, "I have been waiting out here forever and only for you." she walked up to him, her hips swaying in her short skirt, though you really couldn't call it a skirt per se, more like something you'd just put underneath a skirt. Karin looked ridiculous in it. And she certainly had no intention of putting on a good skirt or anything.

"Don't you have any other clients to annoy and pursuit?" Gaara turned away from her blatant seduction, more so failing seduction.

"Oh, don't be that way, Gaara." walking up to him with his back turned to her, she whispered in his ear, "I can make you a pleased man... if only you'd let me." smiling, she nibbled on his earlobe.

"Karin." He said sternly, trying hard to keep his cool, "I suggest you stop nibbling." Ripping himself from her gasp, "And piss off!" He yelled, turning around sharply and holding her face in his hands.

"G-Gaara... Honey." She gasped when his hands went around her neck, "You... wouldn't... ah... want to... do this... I... have very... powerful... ah friends." she whimpered as he held her tighter, completely cutting off her air.

"Next time, you will do well not to annoy me; NEXT FUCKING TIME!" Slamming her on the cold hard ground, he walked away.

The last thing he heard as he turned the corner was her frantic coughing and wheezing as she tried to recover from the shock she had received.

The brisk cold air hit him as he trudged through the wet, damp path; he shoved his hands in the jeans of his pocket, and his pace quickened. He wanted to get to the dojo faster, and after the display that happened this morning, he was caught up in time and was much later than his usual time.

Grumbling, he turned the many corners he knew off by heart to the dojo; he wouldn't even need to see; he could close his eyes and let his feet take him to paradise.

As he neared the building, the rain started pouring fast and heavily. Cursing silently to himself, his pace almost doubled to a sprint as he ran the rest of the way to the dojo.

If there was anything more Gaara hated, it was the cold and the rain. Nothing he liked less than water tickling inside his broken shoes with holes soaking into his socks and making him cold.

He hated it.

Groaning in delight as he saw the dojo, he walked around the back to the entrance only a few people knew and jumped over the bin to see the door.

Going inside the building, he walked to where the towels were held. He dried off, then took another towel and went to the training rooms to begin warming up. Looking at the clock on the clock on the wall from the door he entered, it read 7:32 AM.

Maybe he wasn't so caught up with time after all.

The rain poured down heavily, tapping against the window like hard stones. The sun no longer shined brightly, but a dark, gloomy sky clouded the sun. The cold sent shivers down the young woman's spine as she cuddled into the pillow for more warmth. Her tired pearl eyes looked to the window to see the grey sky with rain spitting down.

Sighing lazily, she covered her mouth with her tiny hand and reluctantly got up from the warmth of her bed to her bathroom.

Looking at the clock there, it read 8:00 AM. Groaning, she undressed, put the dirty clothes in the hamper next to her, and turned on the shower. Hopping in, she relished in the shower's warmth and cleansed herself.

Once done, she walked into her room again, went to the in-built wall robe, and picked out the clothes today. Choosing an oversized bulky purple jacket and blue jeans, putting on her underwear and bra, she dried and put the clothes on and walked out of the room. She looked around the room for her brush, and when she could not locate it, she went out to the hallway.

"H-Hanabi! h-have y-you s-seen m-my h-hair b-brush?" She called out to her little sister, brushing her fingers in her hair to undo the knots; she walked down the hall to her sister's room.

"Yes, Hinata, I have it right here." Hanabi walked out of her room and handed her a white brush.

"O-oh, t-thank y-you, H-Hanabi." She smiled graciously to her little sister, "Have you seen father this morning?" She questioned.

"Oh, yes. He went out on a business meeting early this morning and won't be back till later tonight." She nodded and walked down the hall, turning briefly, "Oh, and the maids are out too, something about maid meeting or something. I wasn't listening to them." Hanabi shrugged and skipped down the stairs, "Guess who's making me breakfast!" she yelled down the staircase.

Hinata laughed at her little sister; she may be a bit of a handful at times and had quite a mouth on her. But she was as sweet as rice cakes. On the other hand, her father was a completely different matter; don't get her wrong, she loves her father more than anything. He did own a multi-millionaire company and was often or not wiped away for a business meeting or travelled all over the globe for his company, in which she may someday hope to succeed May. However, he was dreadful and ruthless at times.

Her father was heartbroken when his firstborn was a girl and not a very bright girl, not in the sense she was stupid or had a disability, but in that mind that she didn't see eye to eye with her father and business, not like Hanabi did.

Hence, she may or may not get the company; her sister may be a better option. Or so her father had often or not pointed out.

Sighing, she walked down the stairs, brushed through her tangled black hair and walked into the kitchen to see her little sister sitting at the breakfast table waiting for her elder sister.

"W-what w-would y-you l-like t-this f-fine m-morning?" she looked out the window and laughed.

"Hm, pancakes sound good." Hanabi laughed, too.

"H-Hm, p-pancakes s-sounds g-great i-indeed." She smiled sweetly at her sister and went to the fridge to get all the ingredients to make the pancakes, "W-want t-to h-help m-make t-them?" She grabbed a pan from underneath the stove counter and put butter on the pan.

"Of course!" She cheered and helped Hinata put everything in her bowl messily while Hinata watched the butter melt.

"O-Oh H-Hanabi." Hinata shook her head and laughed when she saw the mess Hanabi had made.

Hanabi only gave her an innocent smile and shrugged, laughing too.

It was late afternoon; the sky was black and bleak as the rain poured heavily. Hinata was entertaining Hanabi as they played a game, Have you ever?

"Okay, okay." Hanabi giggled with her elder sister as they were hunched together under a blanket with a candle between the two, not bothering with the lights, making the room dark and gloomy. "Have you ever... kissed a boy." Hanabi covered her mouth with a hand and giggled.

Hinata blushed like a tomato, "N-no." She squeaked like a mouse.

"No!" Hanabi shrieked, "How could you not have already? You're nearly 19!"

"I...I n-never m-met s-someone o-or... o-or l-liked s-someone e-enough t-to k-kiss... o-or b-be k-kiss b-back." She lowered her head in shame.

"Oh, C'mon, sis. No need to be ashamed... I've kissed quite a few guys." She giggled.

"W-What!" Hinata gasped. "B-But...B-But... y-you're o-only... 10." whispered, "A-And y-yet I-I h-haven't y-yet k-kissed a-a g-guy a-and I-I a-am n-nearly 19." Hinata lowered her head in sadness.

"Well." Hanabi began, a hand raised in the air, "I'm just more open and louder than you." she shrugged.

"H-Have...H-Have y-you... H-Have y-you e-ever... d-done m-more t-than k-kissing." Hanabi was intelligent and young when Hinata asked such a question.

"Well." Hanabi blushed, her hands rubbing her face, "Maybe... Don't tell dad, though, okay!" She exclaimed.

"O-Oh... I-I w-Wouldn't d-dream o-of I-it." She smiled at Hanabi and hugged her. "B-But w-what e-exactly h-have y-you d-done H-Hanabi?" she asked sternly.

"I... I haven't done that... I've just seen bits of pieces here and there, but that's all, I promise." She smiled.

"I-It's o-okay." She put a hand on top of her head, "I-I b-believe y-you."

The door flung open like thunder striking down.

"Oh no! Now I've done it!" Hansuke, a young maid boy, frantically said as he looked all over the place.

"What is the matter, Hansuke?" Hanabi asked, turning her head to the side, "Aren't you meant to be at a meeting or something?"

"Yes, yes I am... But I have forgotten my herbs for the meeting and am afraid to go back without them." He tugged on his hair.

"W-Well... W-what herbs a-are, y-you looking f-for?" Hinata asked.

"The Camellia sinensis, they are brewed for tea." He paced around the room, "And now I've lost them." He cried.

"H-Hansuke, d-don't b-be t-this w-way I-I'm s-sure y-you w-will f-find t-them, s-soon." She got up from her position on the floor with Hanabi and walked to Hansuke. "I-I w-will h-help y-you f-find t-them."

"Oh." He smiled brightly at Hinata, "Thank you so much, Hinata."

"Wouldn't the herb or tea be in the gardens instead of the?" Hanabi looked around the room, "The lounge room?" she raised an eyebrow at the disarrayed room.

"Oh, yes, yes, they would be, hehe." He bowed and bolted into the kitchen to the herb garden.

Hinata and Hanabi walked to where the maid had wandered off to. He was certainly a character. He was a member of the maid family and thus worked at the Hyuga mansion; though he was odd, he was still kind and warm towards the girls.

Walking in the garden, they saw the said maid dismaying the plants from their pots and making a big mess of soil.

"Do you even know what they look like?" Hanabi questioned, her arms crossed.

"No, I mean yes... they look like daisy flowers, almost. But there seems to be none here!" He cried once more.

"W-well, m-maybe y-you c-could g-go t-to t-the s-shops. S-surely t-they s-sell t-them." she bowed her head.

"Oh, Hinata, you're a genius!" He cheered.

O-oh y-yes." She smiled awkwardly.

"But I would not be able to go to the shops and back to the meeting in time!" his eyes widen.

"Hinata could go get them for you." Hanabi said, looking at Hinata.

"W-what." Hinata shrieked.

"Yes, Oh Hinata, would you, please, for me." he walked up to Hinata, bowing to her.

"O-oh." She looked at both Hanabi and Hansuke and sighed. "W-Well I-I g-guess I-I c-could." She twiddled her fingers.

"Oh yes! Thank you, thank you." he smiled and hugged Hinata, who gladly accepted.

"T-that i-is quite a-alright." she took a questionable look out the window. Rain poured down heavily.

"I got to get going." He let go of Hinata and walked out of the room, "By the way, the meeting is being held downtown, near the dojo next door." he smiled and waved goodbye.

They waved at the young maid, watching as he bolted again to the meeting in a hurry. "Maybe if he had just kept track of where he put things, he wouldn't lose them all the time!" Hanabi rolled her eyes and walked back into the lounge, popping down on the couch and turning on the TV.

"W-Well, h-he d-does h-have a-a l-lot o-of t-things o-on h-his m-mind," Hinata whispered.

"Why do you do that?" Hanabi asked.

"Do what?" She questioned.

"Stutter around everyone." not once taking her eyes off the TV.

"W-well, I-I'm just a little shy, I-I guess." she shrugged and walked to the table that held the wallets and keys; taking her white purse, she turned back to Hanabi, "W-Will y-you b-be a-alright... B-By y-yourself I-I m-mean."

"Yeah, yeah, I will be alright." She waved a hand at Hinata. Hinata smiled and walked out the door, grabbing an umbrella by the stand.

"Bye," Hinata called; she only heard a little grunt before she left.

"Gaara, my man." A blond spiky-haired boy called, distracting Gaara from his training.

"What!" Gaara yelled, not happy with the blonde already.

"Could you maybe..." The blonde trailed off.

"No, Naruto," Gaara growled.

"Oh, come on, you haven't even heard it yet!" He whined.

"No... I've done too much for you already." He shook his head and went over to the punching bags.

"C'mon, just hear me out," he said with his arms out wide.

"Fine," he said but continued punching the bag.

"Well, I got this really hot date tonight and..."

"No," Gaara said.

"You haven't heard the rest of it," he yelled.

"Don't need to." he shrugged, turning around and kicking the bag.

"I Just need condoms, okay!" he said quietly.

"The fuck!" Gaara stopped, turning to Naruto, "Why the fuck can't you get them?"

"Because I have to stay back and help Jiraiya with the cleaning up from yesterday," he growled at Gaara. "So I am doing you a favour by cleaning up the mess you made."

"You made me talk with him."

"Yeah, talk, not beat the crap out of him!"

Gaara pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm himself down. Naruto was right; He'd be stuck cleaning the mess if Naruto didn't offer to clean it up. Now it all made sense why he'd provided in the first place.

"Fine." he spat, "But you better give me money for them."

"Yeah, yeah," he said, reaching into the pockets of his sweatpants and pulling out his wallet. "Here you are." he handed Gaara a couple of notes.

"Give them to me afterwards." he tossed his hand away.

"No, I need them now," he whined.

"I'm working now."

"And I will be working later."

Growling, he took the money from Naruto, cursed to the bench, and grabbed the towel to wipe off. He got up from the bench and put on his top and broken shoes. He didn't wear a top; sweat glistered his pale sick.

"Thanks, Gaara, my man." Naruto patted Gaara on the back.

"Hm," he grunted.

The rain poured down heavily; Hinata cuddled into her coat more, the umbrella held tightly in her hand, and she held the tea herbs in her jacket pocket.

The little old lady at the herb shop had kindly given her two extra servings of the tea, saying how it was such a horrible day, and yet she had come to get the herbs this very day.

Smiling with the herbs in her pocket, she trudged through the wet ground, rain drops splashing against her pants, wetting them.

The rain continued to pour heavily, so Hinata was beginning to find walking difficult. The rain started fogging the streets, making it difficult to see.

She didn't exactly know where she was going, the wind started picking up, and her umbrella was flopping everywhere. The next thing she knew, she bumped into something solid.

"Ah." she squicked, losing her foothold and falling on the wet ground.

"Hm." She heard a manly grunt.

Looking up from the cold, wet ground, she saw red.

Hope you like. R/R