Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Team ❯ Team Rounding Up ( Chapter 8 )

Title: Team Part Eight

Author: Persephone-sings

Date: 12/21/04

Author's note: Well, here's the next part. Lyfe.exe - you're right, I am sort of suffering from writer's block. I'm not really sure where I want to take this whole thing. I thought I had it planned out pretty well in my head, but it just never seems to work and I feel like I keep getting further and further from the actual true characterization...anyway, thanks to all for the great reviews and hope you like this next part.

Team Part Eight

"Hinata! Oi, Hinata! Are you alive? Can you breathe? Do you have sand caught in your throat from that bastard's attacks?"

"Don't be stupid, Naruto. If she had sand caught in her throat, she couldn't be breathing right now. I know enough not to kill her, dammit!" But Gaara was worried and more than a little upset. He had been anxious to end the training session and so had let loose a little more power than he knew she had been ready for. He should have known he couldn't have handled his power well enough to safely fight against her. Frustration swelled inside him. He needed to get stronger and safer to be around or Hinata wouldn't be safe around him.

And as much as it pained him to admit it, her safety was a constant thought in the back of his mind. Naruto, well, he didn't worry about Naruto handling his tempers and his occasional loss of control during training. But Naruto and Hinata were two different people with completely different ranges of power.

And he was beginning to care about his teammates. He worried that Naruto was constantly snubbed in the village, probably made worse by his association with Gaara and he worried when Hinata would show up to practice with her mouth painfully tightened and her eyes dark and hooded. He figured she was getting a lot of reactions (not many of them good) from the villagers and her family. Even if she didn't live with them anymore, Hinata was still forced to see them on the streets, to pass them in stores or in meetings.

It made him angry when his teammates' eyes were sad and their voices tired. It made him ache somewhere inside when Naruto's shoulders would slump after being rejected by yet another person or the way Hinata would avoid people all together because it made it easier to cope with life.

And it worried him whenever they got injured. And so even though Naruto was vocal and expressive in his worry over Hinata, Gaara resisted the urge to bite his lip or gnaw on his thumb as they anxiously waited for Hinata's eyes to open.

Naruto tried again.

"Hinata? You in there, girly? Time to rise and shine, miss fearsome warrior!"

Gaara snorted and thought it quite unlikely that anyone could mistake her for anything else when he or she got on Hinata's bad side. Even if she didn't have a lot of strength behind her fighting, her waspish tongue could flay any person alive if she got it in her head.

A move and a slight groan from their teammate had the two boys craning their necks to watch her.

Pinpricks of light shot through the darkness surrounding Hinata's vision and she blinked to get rid of it.

Groaning, she lifted her head, more than aware of how lightheaded she was and how sore her body felt.

Her eyes flashed open and the first thing they settled on was a nervous Naruto and an impassive Gaara.

"Guys? How long was I out?"

Naruto grinned when she spoke and handed her a bottle of water to quench the thirst she hadn't realized she had.

He rubbed his head and gave a laugh, "You certainly had us scared for a bit! You were probably out for a good half hour!"

Eyes wide, she handed back the empty bottle. "Really? A half hour? Wow."

"Thirty-two minutes and forty seconds, actually." Gaara watched her closely, looking for any lasting signs of pain in her eyes or confusion. Had she hit her head hard enough for a concussion?

His teammates looked at him in surprise and he fought a mortifying blush. He tried to shrug it off, "I happened to look at my watch just now . . ."

Hinata smiled at him and he found the urge to smile back at her ridiculous. He had almost killed her and she was smiling at him? Geez, the things he got himself into.

Naruto watched him curiously and he ignored the blonde man's inquiring gaze and focused on collecting his gourd and preparing to leave the training field.

Jumping up, Naruto helped a shaky Hinata to her feet.

She looked hopefully at him, "Did I make ten minutes?"

Flashing her a grin, he said, "Nah, but you were close. Seven minutes was a lot better than either of us thought you would do . . ." she narrowed her eyes at him and glared. He faltered and wondered how he could fix his statement, "Er . . . well . . . that is to say . . . you did well?"

She laughed helplessly because anything would have involved a long bout of self-pitying crying. "Oh, Naruto, admit it. I was awful. What was Tsunade thinking when she put me on the team? I'm only holding you guys back.."

She sniffed dejectedly and began walking towards the street leading back to her tiny apartment.

Naruto stood, watching her walk away helplessly, trying to think of anything to say to make her feel better.

He looked at Gaara, motioning towards their retreating teammate. When Gaara just stood there, watching Naruto with one eyebrow raised in question, Naruto sighed and stomped over to him.

"Say something, you idiot! You're the one she lost to!" he hissed into Gaara's ear.

Twitching from having the other man so close to his personal space, Gaara sighed and began walking towards Hinata.

She was walking slowly, so he didn't have to work too hard to catch up to her. When he was a few feet away, he called out her name.

She turned and he was sure she was half-expecting him to yell at her for being so awful. But the truth was that Hinata wasn't really that bad at her techniques and her abilities showed great potential. It was just that, and he knew this without arrogance, he and Naruto were so very powerful.

"Hinata, where are you going?"

She looked at him like he was stupid and he felt his eyebrow twitch. "Home, Gaara. I think I've been humiliated enough today. I need to go soak myself in ice cream and somehow manage to face you guys again tomorrow."

He notched his head in the opposite direction. "But the ice cream parlor is that way."

"What?"

He sighed, "Don't you remember? I owe you ice cream."

Her brow creased in confusion, "But I didn't last ten minutes, remember? You knocked me out cold at seven."

He lifted one shoulder in an indolent manner, "Guess I'm rounding up then."

She let out a strangled laugh and walked back towards him. Falling into step next to her, he found he didn't mind when her shoulder rubbed occasionally against his.

And when Naruto met up with them, chattering excitedly about what flavor of ice cream he was planning on making Gaara pay for, Gaara found he didn't even mind when Naruto's arm brushed repeatedly against his own.

He glanced at the girl beside him, debating flavors with his other teammate and he nudged her when the two teens paused for breath.

"You did well."

She smiled, suddenly shy. His heart lurched in his chest and he almost stumbled.

Eyes glinting mischievously at him, Hinata nudged him right back.. "You, on the other hand, were completely lax in your control. Remind me to find you a scroll to read on that tomorrow."

He did stumble then and stopped dead in the street.

"I lacked control? Are you insane? Your third teammate is a complete nut on the battlefield and you imply that I lack control?"

Amused, Hinata stopped to wait for him to catch back up. "There was no implying in that statement, Gaara of the Sand. You were lacking control."

His mouth worked, knowing she was right but not liking that she also knew she was right.

Naruto laughed at him and Hinata joined in and Gaara found, for once, that he didn't mind being laughed at, because he found himself joining in as well.

Owari

Once again, thanks for all the great reviews...KageOni1, you're right! I think Naruto was cautious about hurting her because he's starting to have feelings for her. The only problem is that I seem to be having difficulties working it into the story without one or the other of the two guys being left out. Every time I work it out in my mind, someone is left out in the cold. Sigh. :)

Janine- I hope Gaara satisfied a little of your sweet-tooth in this chapter! More to come, promise.