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Love's Misconstruities	By : Idleflame Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1431 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Love�s Misconstruities

Author�s note: �Text between the ~*~*~ is a flashback
sequence.

Chapter 6

�� Hinata raced toward
the training ground they�d agreed to meet at, trying to think of a suitable
apology for being late.� She didn�t want
to lie, but telling the truth would be rude.

~*~*~

�� Hinata-sama.�

�� Neji-nii-san,� Hinata
greeted, bowing.

�� Where are you rushing
off to?�

�� Eh?� Um�training.�

�� Really?� With who?�
Kiba was assigned clean-up duty for Naruto�s mess like me, and I thought
you said Shino left on a training exercise with his father.�

�� Uh�yes.�

�� Then who are you
practicing with?�

�� Um�well�uh�� Gaara-san�� she whispered.

�� Gaara?!� Hinata-sama, he�s dangerous!� He does NOT have good intentions.�

�� W-why do you say
that?�

�� Because�!� came his
angry, unexplained answer.

�� Does it�does it have
to do with the other night?�

�� What?� Neji asked,
clearly caught off guard.

�� The other night, I
saw you and Gaara-san in the woods behind the estate.�

�� What were you doing
there?�

�� P-practicing.�

�� With who?�

�� I-I was alone.�

�� So late at night?�

�� Yes�Neji-nii-san,
please don�t change the subject.� Tell me
what happened.�

�� Neji sighed
angrily.� �How much did you hear?�

�� Nothing.� I mean, I heard shouting so I came to see,
but you were too far away to hear anything clearly.� But I saw you threatening him.� Why?�

�� You�re worried about
me yelling at him but not why here was here on Hyuuga property so late at
night?�

�� Neji-nii-san�please
just answer me.�

�� For you,� the older
boy hesitantly admitted with a sigh.

�� What?� came Hinata�s
surprised reply.

�� He wanted to challenge
you to a fight.� You remember how
dangerous he is.� He would have hurt you,
maybe even killed you, so I told him to leave you alone,� he explained, though
he hid Gaara�s true intentions from his awkward cousin.� It wasn�t physical harm that he was afraid
Gaara would inflict upon her, but emotional...something his cousin had a far
worse time recovering from.� �It doesn�t
look like he listened to me.�

�� Hinata�s eyes were
wide with shock and confusion.� �W-why
would he want to challenge me?�

�� Because you will be
the next head of the clan.� As your
cousin and a branch family member, it is my duty to protect you.�

�� Hinata understood his
feelings, but under these circumstances, or rather, regarding this particular
individual, she would not have it.� She
wasn�t sure why, but after last night she just couldn�t believe that the stoic
Suna boy had ill intentions.� �Protect
me, yes.� �But not shelter me.�

�� Hinata-sama?�

�� Neji-nii-san, thank
you,� the young girl began with a warm smile.�
�I appreciate you trying to look out for me, but you should have told me
about what happened.�

�� I�I didn�t want to
worry you.�

�� I-It�s my decision to
worry or not.� And it�s also my decision with
whom I spend my time.�

�� Hinata-sama-�

�� Neji-nii-san,
please.� You are my cousin and best
friend.� I need you to be honest with
me.� Please.�

�� Hai.� But promise me something.�

�� What is it?�

�� Promise me that if
he, or anyone else for that matter, does anything to harm you, you�ll come to
me first.�

�� Thank you�but please
don�t underestimate me.� If someone tries
to hurt me, I�ll be the first one they�ll answer to.�

�� Neji finally dropped
his scowl and replaced it with a smile.�
�Just let me know then, so I can be there to back you up�if you need
it.�

�� Arigatou
gozimasu.�� The two shared a peaceful
moment before Hinata realized that the conversation had cost her precious time
that she did not have to begin with.�
�Well then, I�m off.�

�� Hinata-sama,�

�� Hai?�

�� Don�t lower your guard.� Especially not around him,� Neji warned,
cursing Naruto and his drunken mess that he had to help with instead of
watching over his precious cousin.

�� Please have faith in
me, Neji-nii-san.�

�� I have faith in you.� Just not him.� Be careful.�
I don�t trust him.�

�� And with those
unsettling remarks, Hinata left.

~*~*~

�� When she got to the
training ground, it appeared empty.� She
quickly scanned the small area with her Byakugan and
found no one.� Her mind began to race.

�� Maybe he�s late,
too.� Or what if he was here but left
because I took too long?�� Upon
weighing the possibilities, she decided to wait a bit longer, then visit his
lodgings and sincerely apologize if, indeed, he�d already come and gone.�

�� She sighed, leaning
against one of the tall tree stumps they used for target practice in the center
of the field.� The weather was sunny and
mild, and a warm breeze blew carrying the sweet scent of flowers on the spring
air.� As time passed, Hinata found
herself smiling, enjoying the nice day despite her anxiety.� She should have known better.� She barely had time to dodge the sand
shuriken that approached from her right side.�
She hadn�t even sensed a presence.�
She�d let her guard down after all.�
Still, she did find some comfort that she had not missed Gaara, though
it irked her a bit that he wasn�t playing fair and had masked his presence and
launched a sneak attack.� After all, they
were here to practice, weren�t they?

�� She jumped to her left
and assumed a fighting stance, but it could not guard from the earth below
suddenly starting to suck her in.�
Quickly, she reached into the equipment pouch on her thigh and tied a
piece of wire onto a kunai.� She threw it
at the top of the tree stump she had been leaning against, using it to help
free herself.� She was met by several
more sand shuriken once she had accomplished her task, this time from the
opposite direction than where she had figured her opponent was.

�� He can manipulate
sand into various shapes and forms, and it looks like he can keep creating more
of it, like with the soil he turned to quicksand,� she deduced.� She jumped on top of the block and activated
her Byakugan.� �He can�t be too far
out of my range; not if he�s controlling the sand as well as he is.�

�� She scanned the wooded
area which encircled the field, carefully dodging the random sand shuriken
which approached from every conceivable direction, clearly meant as a diversion
to keep her from being able to concentrate and find him.� �He�ll have to work harder than that!�
she thought as she detected a figure hidden high in a tree not far off.

�� With lightning-fast
speed she darted toward her target, maneuvering expertly through the
projectiles and managing to deflect with her kunai the ones which she could not
avoid.� As she approached the first line
of trees she was caught off guard by a bombardment of sand shuriken that she
did not see until the very last second.�
She reacted, but knew she�d been too slow and was expecting a direct hit
to her side. �She was quite surprised
when it missed her by a small margin.� Counting
her lucky stars, she continued onward.

�� When her target saw
that she was indeed headed toward him, he retreated, taking to the ground,
weaving in and out of the trees.

�� The sand makes you
too heavy.� I�m faster than you!� the
kunoichi realized.� Hinata took to the
trees, and soon had gotten ahead of him.�
As her opponent slowed down to glance behind for his pursuer, with kunai
in hand she jumped down in front of him pointing the sharp weapon at his throat,
causing him to stop abruptly.� He was now
at her mercy.

�� I�ve got you!� she
proudly exclaimed, waiting for his acknowledgement that the exercise was over.

�� No, you don�t,� came
a voice from behind her.� She spun around
and met the stoic figure which had managed to sneak up on her.

�� A sand clone?� she
asked, referring to the figure who she held at bay.� �But, how?�
I didn�t see or sense-�

�� From behind her, she
heard sand moving, but too late to react.�
It quickly wrapped around her legs and snaked up her body, restricting
her movements.� The figure before her
disintegrated into a pile of sand and the figure behind her, the one she�d
originally captured, walked around to face her.

�� Gaara-san�!�� He raised his hand toward her and the sand
tightened.� Hinata�s heart raced.� She�d seen this technique before during the
Chuunin Selection Exams.� It had given
her nightmares for a month.� Sabaku Kyuu,
he called it, followed by Sabaku Sousou - a deadly combination.� �Gaara-san, y-y-you win,� she acknowledged,
her voice trembling.

�� This is no game,�
came his reply.� �The winner is the one
left alive when the battle is over.�

�� She was struck
speechless.� �Was Neji-nii-san
right?� Was I deceived?� Should I have listened to him?� �I�m afraid��
He�s�he�s got to be joking, right?�

�� Don�t worry,� the
red-head comforted, and for a moment Hinata had a glimmer of hope that he wasn�t
serious.� �You won�t feel a thing.� By the time your brain registers the pain of
your body being crushed, you�ll already be dead.�

�� He is
serious�� I can�t die here!� Not after what I said to Neji-nii-san�� No.�
There is a way.� There�s always a
way.� I just have to find it!� I won�t give up!� That is my way of the ninja!�

�� Activating the
Byakugan once more, she began to study what she could see of the sand which
encased her entire body.

�� That won�t help you
now,� he said, raising his arm more.

�� Chakra!� The sand has an enormous amount of chakra
molded into it.� That will be your downfall�because
chakra is my specialty!!�

�� Goodbye, Hyuuga
Hinata.� Sabaku Sou-�

�� No!!!�� Hinata began emitting concentrated beams of
chakra from all over her body, cutting through the sand.

�� Impossible�� Gaara watched as the sand lost its strength
and gave way as the girl exploded from within and charged at him.

�� Hakke Rokujuuyon
Shou!!�

�� Before Gaara�s sand
could even protect him, the girl began hitting his tenketsu.

�� Two strikes!� Four strikes!�
Eight strikes!�� Gaara was pushed
back by the sheer force of her attack.�
�Sixteen strikes!� Thirty-two
strikes!�� The ferocity in her eyes
excited him more than he had ever thought possible.� �Sixty-four strikes!!�

�� Gaara landed several
feet away lying on his side and breathing heavily.� Hinata, who was also catching her breath,
came to stand over him and gasped at what she saw.

�� An armor of sand��
she began in disbelief, gazing at the broken shell that covered him.

�� Protected me, yes,�
he said with a cough, repairing it.� He
sat up and Hinata jumped backwards.�
�It�s over now.� I surrender.�

�� But�you said that
this wasn�t a game.� You�you tried to
kill me!�

�� This earned her a
frown.� �If I had seriously tried to kill
you, you would be dead.� I did what I had
to do in order to bring out your best abilities.� If you knew that your life wasn�t in danger,
would you have tried so hard?�

�� No, I�I suppose not��
she answered, still keeping her eyes on him.

�� Gaara stood and
staggered, holding his chest.� �That�s a
very powerful jutsu.� If I hadn�t have
been wearing my armor, it would have been you trying to take me to the hospital
today.�� The poor attempt at humor had no
effect on the girl like he had planned.�
He walked toward her but stopped when she took a wary step back.� He had hoped this wouldn�t happen but understood
that it was nearly inevitable.� �I wanted
to see what you were really capable of.�
I would never intentionally hurt you.�
I didn�t�did I?�

�� Hinata contemplated
his words before answering.� �So,
those sand shuriken didn�t mysteriously miss me after all,� she realized,
thinking back to earlier.� �N-no.� I�m fine.�

�� Good.�

�� Except,� she
added.�

�� Though his face stayed
as solemn as ever, he could not hide the concern from his eyes.� �What is it?�

�� A blush crept onto
Hinata�s cheeks and she shifted uncomfortably.�
�The sand�got under my clothes��

�� Gaara�s eyes widened
and he swallowed a lump in his throat.�
He quickly performed a simple hand seal and concentrated.� Hinata watched him curiously then gasped,
jumping.

�� Hold still.�

�� Hinata did as he said,
trying to suppress her laughter.� The
little grains tickled as they slowly made their way against her skin and exited
her clothing.� She watched as it trailed
out in a small but steady stream and entered the gourd on Gaara�s back.

�� A-Arigatou�� she
said, bowing her head.�

�� Gaara�s chest
surprisingly shifted from feeling sore to light and fuzzy.� The mere thought that some of his sand had
actually touched where he hadn�t even dreamed of excited him in a way he�d
never felt.� He had never been so
thankful that he was wearing his sand armor, otherwise she�d have seen just how
deep his own blush was.

�� Uh�y-you�re welcome��
he stuttered in a broken voice.� It
earned him a questioning look from Hinata and he quickly cleared his throat and
looked away.� �If you�d like, we can
continue training.� There are a few jutsu
I�d like to show you.�

�� Before that, I�d�I�d
like to ask you something,� Hinata shyly asserted.� Gaara nodded slightly, waiting for the
question.� �Neji-nii-san�he said that you
had been looking to fight me the other night.��
She paused, watching the boy before her.�
After a moment, he realized she was waiting for a response and so
nodded, acknowledging the fact.�
�W-why?��

�� Gaara turned away
slightly, pondering how to answer such an awkward question.� �Her cousin told her about our
confrontation.� He probably even knows
we�re here right now.� I should thank
Shikamaru for volunteering him to clean up the village today.� Still, it seems he didn�t tell her
everything. �For that, I am grateful.�� Gathering his courage, he spoke softly.� �We are similar�you and I,� he answered,
though by the look she was giving him, he could see that such a simple
explanation wasn�t going to cut it.� �You
have been thrust into a position of power and responsibility�and I seek to
obtain one,� he explained.� �I do not
believe you are living up to your full potential.� I want to help you realize it.�

�� Hinata contemplated
his awkward response.� Though he did not
seem to express himself very well, she could see that his intentions were
sincere. �Smiling kindly at him, she
replied, �Arigatou,� the fear completely drained from her eyes.� Despite what had just happened, she believed
that this boy was someone she could trust.�
�What jutsu did you want to show me?�

* * *

�� The rest of the week
passed by uneventfully.� The meetings
remained boring to the bitter end when, finally, a draft of the treaty was
accepted.� With the negotiations having
been concluded, it was time for everyone to return home.�

�� Kankurou, thanks for
helping out at the Academy,� Shikamaru said at the gate where he faced the
three Sand-nin in their usual good-bye ritual.

�� Heh.� No problem.�
Hopefully the little squirts learned a thing or two.�

�� Of course they
did!� Anything�s gotta be better than his lessons,� Temari chimed in.� �Probably teaching them to give up when
they�re in a bind.�

�� This is why women are
so troublesome�� They don�t know how to
let go of the past.�

�� Hmph.� I�ll let go of the past when you get over your
�men and women� crap.�

�� The two shared a smirk
before the Sand-nin turned to leave on their three-day journey back home.�

�� Oh, Gaara.� Naruto wanted to say �thank you� for offering
to help pay the debt he owed the village for his clones eating so much.� He�d be here himself but he was sent on a
mission and I got the bothersome job of messenger.�

�� He owes me no thanks,�
Gaara replied over his shoulder.� In his
eyes, he was the one who owed Naruto for using him to his advantage.� At Naruto�s expense, Gaara had had a very
pleasant week.

�� Heh.� Another troublesome thing about women: they
cost a guy a lot of money.�� The chuunin
and Temari exchanged playful glares before he turned to leave.� �Have a safe trip,� he bid over his shoulder.

�� Gaara, I�ve been
thinking.� Now that the new treaty will
allow us more military power�maybe we could develop an Academy of our own, like
what they have here,� Kankurou mentioned as they turned to set off on their
return home.

�� Hey, that�s a pretty
good idea!� I�m surprised someone like
you could�ve thought of it.�

�� Ouch.� Give me a little credit, Temari.�

�� Gaara, paying no
attention to their bickering, replied, �We can talk with the Council about it
when we give our re-�

�� G-Gaara-sensei!� came
a timid shout from behind them.

�� Temari and Kankurou
both turned, and seeing who the call came from, looked to their youngest
brother and grinned.�

�� Gaara-sensei,
huh?�

�� Ignoring them, the boy
in question turned around to find Hinata running toward the gate.�

�� Gaara-sensei�� she
repeated, catching her breath and stopping at the gate.� Not wanting to give his siblings any more
ammunition, he turned back toward the village and quickly closed the distance
between them.� �I�I just wanted to,
um�� I�well�uh�� she stammered, her eyes
darting everywhere else but his own as she tapped her index fingers together.

�� Gaara placed a hand on
each of her wrists.� She stopped her
nervous habit and began to blush.� �Look
at me,� he requested.� �Don�t be ashamed
to look others in the eye.�� She did as
she was told, her blush growing even deeper, and was rewarded with the faintest
of smiles.� �You are strong.� Never forget that.�

�� Th�thank you�for
everything,� she replied, smiling back.�

�� When the moment became
awkward, he let go of her and took a step back.�
She bowed deeply as he turned to leave once again.

�� Hinata�� he began,
waiting to hear if she would react to his omission of an honorary suffix on her
name.� When she made no protest, he
continued.� �Stop calling me �sensei�.�

�� Hai�Gaara-san.�

�� Just �Gaara� is
fine.�

�� G-Gaara�� she repeated,
sending a thrill through his body.� He
looked over his shoulder one last time at the young blushing girl then
proceeded back with his team.

�� I�m surprised Neji
didn�t see you off, too,� Temari teased.

�� Neji had paid Gaara�s
room a visit the night after he and Hinata had first started training.� Temari had asked him about it the next
morning but all her brother had said was, �He made it clear that he does not
approve of me.� Nothing more.�� She�d replied that he should have told him to
screw off, to which she received a disapproving look.

�� So, what now?�
Kankurou asked once they were a ways from the gate.

�� What do you mean?� he
replied.

�� I mean, what now?� You like her, right?�

�� Yes,� Gaara finally
admitted.

�� Does she like you?�

�� I don�t know,� came
an irritated reply.� This was still not a
topic he was comfortable discussing.

�� Kankurou, leave him
alone.� It�s bad enough that he fell for
a Leaf kunoichi, much less the heir to the Hyuuga clan.� It�s not like it�s going to be an easy
romance.�

�� Uh�Temari?� Kankurou
warned, motioning to their scowling little brother.

�� Oh, eh�sorry, Gaara.�

�� Indeed, there was much
for Gaara to consider over the upcoming month, which would be when the two
would meet once again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Translations/Term Definitions...in no
particular order:

- -nii-san:� The nii
means �brother,� and adding �san to
it makes it more respectful.� While Neji
and Hinata are not siblings, but cousins, Hinata still feels close enough to
him to refer to him as such.

- Hai:� �Yes.�

- Kunai:� Throwing knife/dagger.

- Sabaku Kyuu:� �Desert Coffin,� one of Gaara�s techniques.

- Sabaku Sousou:� �Desert Funeral.�

- Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou:� �Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms�...an attack
of the Hyuuga clan that can be quite devastating to the target.

- Arigatou:� �Thank you.�

- Kunoichi:� A female ninja/shinobi.

- -sama:� An honorary suffix added to the name of
someone either higher in rank than yourself or someone you greatly admire
and/or respect.� It is often said to be
equivalent in english to saying �Lord/Lady� before the
person�s name.� Neji uses it toward Hinata
because, while he may be older than her, she is still a member of the head
Hyuuga family and he is but a branch member, so that earns her more
respect.�
- 6
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- 8
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Love's Misconstruities