Rippled Reflection

Hinata's eyes slowly fluttered open. She felt Gaara's arms wrapped around her waist, his legs trapping her next to him. It was the unfamiliar weight at the end of the bed that startled her awake.

She smiled when she lifted her heavy head up and saw Kanna. The woman had her knees tucked up against her chest, her arms placed on her ankles tightly. Hinata knew that she herself was tiny..but Kanna was even smaller. "Morning," she breathily whispered, wiping her fingers around the edges of her eyes.

Kanna shrugged her shoulders seemingly carelessly. "I guess," she said evasively. Her long hair curtained her face from view and Hinata knew from experience that she was trying to hide.

"Do you want to make breakfast with me?"

Kanna started pulling at a stray strand from her shirt. "Sure," she finally said, her eyes widened with sheer joy.

Hinata twisted around in Gaara's crushing grasp, trying not to wake him. His eyes were shut so tight and his breathing was even when she finally escaped, a small smile creeping up on her face. He looked so peaceful and still.

Kanna jumped off the bed and followed at Hinata's heels silently. If Hinata hadn't known that she had once been a fierce assassin she would have assumed that she was a librarian or a teacher, given her silent nature.

It had been two days since the assassination attempt. Hinata and Gaara had, for the time being, moved into a separate apartment with Kanna's money. They hadn't been too thrilled to discover that it was money she earned from killing but they hadn't had much of a choice. They couldn't use Temari's and they certaintly couldn't ask anyone else. They wouldn't have had enough. Kanna had come along as well, clinging tightly to Hinata like a baby to its mother.

"How about pancakes?" Hinata asked, as she looped a pink apron around her shoulders.

Kanna shrugged again. "Sure," she said quietly.

Hinata felt like sighing. Kanna was an introvert to the extreme and though she was trying she still couldn't connect with people naturally. "What are you in the mood for?"

Kanna hesitated. "Um..I kinda want an egg sandwich," she mumbled, her face lighting up with a faint flush.

"Alright, then that is what we are making," Hinata said firmly.

The kitchen was smaller than the one at Gaara's but Hinata was able to easily maneuver her way around it, grabbing muffins, the eggs and some cheese. She set the ingredients down on the counter while Kanna watched curiously.

"Would you like to help?"

Kanna nodded, padding forward to peer over Hinata's shoulder.

"Okay here is what you do.."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gaara yawned. Peering over next to him, he realized that Hinata was not at his side as she had been when they had fallen asleep. He panicked for a moment until the faint sound of girlish giggling floated in from the open door. He sighed happily. She had gone to fix breakfast.

He threw his heavy blanket off of him and stretched. Hinata tended to cuddle closely to him and he always held her so close that it hurt his muscles in the morning. He didn't mind. So long as he had her with him, safe and happy, it was worth it.

His belly growled as he sniffed the mouth watering scent of melted cheese and eggs. Not one to disagree with his stomach, he padded off down the narrow hallway and into the cramped kitchen. Kanna had her hand covering her mouth in shock while Hinata was bent in half, laughing so hard that she was chocking.

"I think I missed something," Gaara stated blandly. The girls whipped their heads in his direction. His entrance was so quiet that they hadn't noticed him.

"It was nothing," Kanna said roboticly. So far, Hinata had been the sole person to break her cold exterior. Gaara didn't seem to mind on the outside though he did find her attachment to Hinata a bit infuriating. He didn't like to share and Hinata was the one person he really felt selfish about.

He turned to Hinata. She wiped a tear out of her eye, her breathing heavy. "You should have seen her face, Gaara," she said, and he could tell that she was thrilled just from the way she uttered his name. "It was sooo funny."

Kanna, a bit miffed, had the nerve to blush but she didn't deny the accusation. Instead, she picked up her formerly forgotten food and stuffed it into her mouth gracelessly.

Hinata started to giggle again, but she remembered Gaara. She picked up a yellow plate from the counter and handed it to him, her fingers brushing against his in a comforting fashion. His own sandwiches were heaped on it, and Gaara smirked. He had gotten three of her near famous egg and cheese sandwiches.

Kanna shifted over for the both of them to sit. She licked her fingers clean of grease and salt and then sat silent, contemplating something.

She had quit her job as an assassin and in doing that had runaway with her former targets. All of her clients, rich and powerful people could double cross her at any point if they so choose. But for now..Kanna looked at Hinata and Gaara. The red head was grinning at Hinata, his eyes shining. She had an urge to smile, one that had once been so unfamiliar to her, now came daily. Being around this pair..it was like living with family. And family was the one thing she had ever truly wanted.

So for now, staying with them was enough to make her happy. She just hoped that when it came to confronting their fathers she would be enough to make them happy..and safe

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A knock at the door an hour later left the trio on edge. For now, only Temari and Kankuro knew of their whereabouts but Hinata had practically ordered them to at least inform Neji. So whenever anyone came, they always twitched and hesitated a bit before finally opening the door.

It was Kanna who worked up the nerve to open it this time. Her quiet voice asked, "Who are you?" when the door was halfway open.

"Neji Hyuuga." A hand shot out to push past the petite adult but Kanna was ready for it. Her fist connected with his face painfully and he was pushed momentarily back.

"Neji!" Hinata cried, and Kanna felt her gently run past her. The girl was worried about this Neji, so that meant that they knew each other. Judging from the similar eyes and pale facial features they were somehow related.

"I'm fine," he said curtly, but once he stopped sulking, a small smile crept up. "It's good to see you, Hinata," he said, laying a hand briefly on her shoulder. His eyes wandered to Kanna, her hands on her hips. "Though I have to say that your companion I am not as fond of."

"I missed you too!" She hugged him tightly, and he let her, patting her back. She choose to ignore his jib about Kanna, who seemed to totally disregard it. "Come in," she said, dragging him behind her.

"Gaara," Neji said shortly.

"Hi to you too, Neji," Gaara said. Their relationship had gotten better since the first time they met, but Neji was still the overprotective type. And Gaara was sure that once he was informed properly of the events that had lead to them running away, he would be even worse.

Hinata turned back to Kanna. "This is my cousin Neji," she said. "I'm sure that he will forgive you for punching him. He's...not really one to deal with people much. "

"It's not a big deal." Kanna shook her head, pale locks shining. Her hair was almost white. "If he is important to you then I will forgive him for being a jerk to me."

Neji glared at her. She almost reminded him of Hanabi with her spunky attitude. But Hanabi was sassy and Kanna...well she came off as cold and detached. "Forgive me? What did I do?" He paused. "Who are you anyways?"

Kanna went further in to the apartment sitting demurely on the ratty couch. She hadn't been able to afford a real expensive place. Most of the cash she received had gone to charities that benefited the world. "Well," she started, "you scared all of us. And any information about me is none of your business."

Neji felt an eye twitch. "Look, you brat..." he started, but she cut him off.

"I'm twenty five," she replied indignantly. Her size and looks were a sore spot with her.

"Irregardless," he said, though he was surprised. She looked almost Hinata's age. "What are you doing with my cousin?"

Hinata, sitting on the armrest, shook her head. She exchanged glances with Gaara. He nodded.

"It seems that for some reason our another, our fathers joined forces," he said lowly, sarcasm coating each word. His fists were clenched at his sides. "They hired Kanna to assassinate us, but she failed and turned to our side. But we had to come into hiding, leading us here."

If Neji was the type to hyperventalate he would have started then. However, he merely nodded, his hands clasped tightly in his lap. "I thought that something horrible had gone down. Your father had seemed ecstatic," he said pointidly. Hinata shivered.

"So you can see our situation," Gaara said, placing a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "We will face our respective fathers soon-first we want to rest a bit and ready ourselves."

"I see," Neji said. "But why wasn't I informed properly at the beggining?"

"I'm sorry Neji. I thought that Temari and Kankuro had already informed you before. I specificly asked them to. But I guess they forgot." Hinata's wide eyes got even bigger and not even Neji could hold a grudge on her. She was too cute.

"Fine." He swept his gaze around the apartment. "But why is your current home so dark and dingy?"

Hinata launched into an explanation while the others listened. Only Kanna didn't. She was tracing Neji's face. He was cute she supposed...a little high strung and an ass sometimes but she sensed no ill intent from him. She would allow him to stay if he wanted to.

She realized that over time she had become attached to Hinata. She was like her mother in a weird way, teaching her about the world. Hinata never hurt her and helped her instead. To Kanna that meant the world.

So if anyone dared to hurt her...she was sure that her skills as an assasin would be used to the best of her abibilty.

"Let's watch a movie," Hinata suggested.

The air was thick with tension and Hinata couldn't stand it. Neji and Gaara were glaring at each other and Kanna was curled with her head resting on Hinata's shoulder, watching intently.

Neji ignored her. "If you so much as soil her, I swear I will kill you," he hissed.

Gaara let his arms rest on his lap, but the way his eyes narrowed to slits suggested that he wasn't as easy going as he seemed. "I won't. And it is doubtful that you would even be able to lay a finger on me, Hyuuga."

Hinata shook her head. Males. "I'm putting a movie in," she stated. Kanna moved for her to leave and Hinata broke the two's staring contest.

"Fight later," she said softly. "For now, let's just enjoy a good movie huh?"

The males nodded, silently. No one could handle that innocent smile. Hinata selected an old Disney movie and they settled in. Gaara set his hand on her knee, Neji wrapped an arm around her shoulders and Kanna sat at her feet.

Who said you couldn't enjoy hiding from the world?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

AN/ So yeah this story is the sequel to Magnetic Attraction: Angel and Demon. As you can guess the style is different. There are no more changing of point of views in each chapter. Instead they will swap whenever I feel like it.

Please review!