Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine.

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Sandman

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The rising sun tinted the pristine sands of the shore a light golden color as it peeked over the horizon. Three pairs of footprints, becoming less visible as the waves moved to and fro, continued to trail the seaside in what seemed to be a leisurely stroll.

"Oi, Temari, We've been walking for the past two minutes. Just pick a damn spot so we could relax already," one of the footprint-owners said.

"I was just about to tell you that this is our spot," the second one replied placing her hands on her hips and glaring at her companion. "That was until you interrupted me," she finished showing her displeasure, making exasperated gestures in the air.

"Pfft. Yeah, right," with a roll of his eyes, he ignored her annoyed stare and proceeded to setting up their spot. "Gaara, you can unfold the chairs right over there," he instructed their silent companion whose reply was a mere nod.

"Did you bring the sunscreen?" the one named Temari asked.

"Yeah, it's in the bag. Not much use though, considering there is barely any sun. Honestly, we're too early no one's even here yet." Kankuro said as he scanned the beach for any other people. When he found none, he went back to fishing things out of the backpack he had brought and continued setting up.

"Gaara doesn't seem to mind. Do you Gaara?" she turned to her other brother expectantly. Like Kankuro, the only response she got was a slight shake of his head as he laid their beach mats upon the sand.

"See," She stuck out her tongue and crossed her arms in front of her petulantly.

"I only agreed to come because you said there were a lot of babes here. Right now there are only three of us and I'm hardly interested in ogling either of you."

Temari shrugged him off saying, "Like you said it's too early. They'd come eventually. Until then, you can fix yourself or something. Besides, it's way easier to relax without other people around."

"Whatever," Kankuro replied with his back turned to her. "I still would have preferred camping over this." He walked towards the ocean and stopped short until he was slightly distanced from his siblings. He then proceeded to setting up their portable barbecue grill muttering something about how barbecues were more appropriate in the woods.

Gaara, who had been silent during the entire time, turned to look at his sister with a knot forming above his eyes. Tilting his head ever so slightly he voiced his confusion by asking, "He doesn't know, does he?" He made a motion with his head towards his sulking brother.

Temari, with a smug smile, replied, "You know your brother Gaara. He's as stubborn as a mule. He wouldn't have agreed to hold our annual outing at the beach. He's so bent on that camping stuff that I had to tell him there'd be a lot of babes here. He is a playboy above anything."

"This is a private beach. You lied to him," Gaara had said it with such indifference that Temari knew he was only pressing on the matter because of curiosity and not because of her unjust treatment. Their trip, afterall, should've been decided by taking vote. Since Gaara had no opinion of the matter and just agreed with whatever they wanted, Temari had only Kankuro to convince or deceive in Gaara's opinion.

"Well if he wasn't smart enough to figure that out after us having to use father's connections and paying a lot for the reservations then I don't see how it's really my fault. Besides, I didn't lie. There could be girls here soon, though not as many as he would have imagined. The receptionist did talk about other parties having a reservation for today."

"Right," he drawled, not quite believing her. He gave his sister another curious glance before continuing, "So, what have you planned for this year?"

Temari gave him a wry smile and answered, "Why, Gaara! I don't know what you're talking about." Her expression shifted from mock innocence into complacency as if saying, 'you'll find out soon enough…'

If Gaara was unnerved by his sister's behavior, he showed no signs of it. He was, however, a little wary and decided to proceed with caution from this point onwards. He could tell his sister knew what he had been talking about.

Every year, during the last Wednesday of the first month of summer, the Sabaku siblings would have an intense prank-pulling contest on each other or prankathon, as Kankuro would call it. It had been tradition present since Gaara had been old enough to pull pranks—which was when he learned how to walk and put his dirty diapers under his brother's pillow, his first ever prank at an impressive age of one. The venue for the annual summer outing would serve as their stage and should normally have been chosen by the best prankster of the previous year. However, since it had been Gaara who kept on winning and he didn't mind nor did he particularly care about the next venue, Temari and Kankuro were naturally left to argue amongst themselves. Planning the venue and taking the resources available in it into account is necessary for a good prank after all.

Unbeknownst to the two, their supposedly clueless brother had been listening intently on their exchange. Although he was at a distance, he had understood every word uttered, some of which he had to read from their lip movements. He could feel himself smirking. The advantage of being thought stupid was that people often underestimated you. Now, he knew neither of his siblings thought of him as such but if they didn't think he had anything up his sleeves they sure as hell would regret being wrong.

-o-o-o-

On another part of the same beach, three other figures were already enjoying themselves, already finished setting up their spot.

"Hinata, you should seriously take that jacket off. It'll be too hot soon you might get heat stroke or something," one with unruly auburn hair said as he petted a big white dog.

Hinata, being shy as she was, flustered at the thought of showing any skin and timidly replied, " I-it's alright. I'm more comfortable this way Kiba-kun."

Kiba just shrugged and continued to play with his dog.

"Thanks again for inviting us to stay at your family's summer rest house. It sure is awesome living near the beach. Of course it probably ain't as awesome as owning said beach. It must totally rock being a Hyuuga, eh? What do you think Shino?"

Shino who had been poking the sand with a stick paused and turned to look at him. "You're embarrassing Hinata," he said pointedly and continued what he was doing.

"Uh-huh. I'm just saying thanks, right Hina?"

"A-ano… There's no need to thank me. I-it's me who should be grateful that you accompanied me. H-hyuuga family outings are more about work than fun and father barely spends time with u-us it gets really boring."

"You're dad's just an old stick-in-the-mud. Anyway, since you're so thankful how about you express that gratitude of yours?" Kiba smirked at her.

She tilted her head and asked, "H-how?"

"Kiss me."

Ah… Same old Kiba shamelessly flirting with her. Of course she knew he only harbored platonic feelings of friendship—they were after all best friends—but that didn't make her any less embarrassed. Shino just rolled his eyes at Kiba's antics.

"K-Kiba-kun!" She touched her face willing her blush to go away.

He pouted. "Is it because I'm not blond?" They all knew he was referring to only one particular blond.

Despite her embarrassment she giggled at him and lightly ruffled his hair like a dog's.

"I don't like blond's anymore Kiba-kun." 'At least not that much anymore,' she added as an afterthought.

"But seriously Hina, you should practice kissing especially since," He pretended to hesitate and darted his eyes from side-to-side as if watching for anyone else listening to their conversation. He lowered his voice and in a loud whisper said, "since this very beach is cursed… They say only a kiss can break it…"

"C-cursed?" Now, Hinata wasn't particularly afraid of horror stories but naïve as she was she knew not how to disbelieve any story told to her and she readily accepts them as truth unless obviously false. And obvious to her meant poking her in the eye.

And so Kiba began to narrate the curse of the beach, "Once upon a time there was a man who fell in love with a woman…" He checked his companions and felt satisfied when both stopped what they were doing to listen to him. After all, he wasn't lying; this beach did have a famous myth surrounding it. He had the whole week before their trip researching it so he could wow his friends by his knowledge of folklore.

"The man had never loved before and everyone thought him to be coarse and calloused as the sand. Many maidens have tried to proclaim their love for him for he was a handsome man and what person did not desire that which they could not obtain? But much like the sand he was compared to he slipped from their grasp not one could claim his heart."

"H-how did he fall in love then?" Hinata's eyes were wide and curious, like a child being told a bedtime story.

Kiba chuckled, "I was getting to that… No one could capture his heart until people began to wonder if he ever had one. People avoided him afraid of someone who was incapable of love—a monster.

"Devoid of human contact and unfeeling of any emotion, he began to doubt his own humanity. One day, while walking by the shore he came across a sight that took his breath away.

"There, sitting on top of a cliff was the most beautiful maiden he had ever laid his eyes upon. He immediately thought of her as the ocean. Her presence, serene, tranquil, and calming yet her eyes shone with determination indomitable like the waves during a tempest."

Shino snickered.

"What?"

"Nothing…I just didn't think you were poetic."

Kiba glared at him and huffed.

"Continue please?" Hinata asked eagerly.

"Right… Where was I? Ah yes… He put his hand right above his chest and wondered if the repeating rhythmic sound he had been hearing was indeed coming from inside him. His eyes widened when he realized what was producing the sound. A heart! He had a heart—a proof of his humanity, his ability to feel, his capacity for love. He knew just had to know her and reach out to her.

"She was nowhere near him for he was below by the shore and she was standing on a cliff, head raised defiantly, hair fluttering with the wind. He was about to make a move to call to her but, before he could even utter a cry she had jumped off head first. The instant before she made contact with the water, their eyes had met and she had offered him a smile.

"When he got to the spot where he had seen her fall, he began searching for her but only in vain. The ocean had taken her away.

"Not wanting to separate himself from the only girl whom he had felt a feeling remotely akin to love. He decided to bury himself alive by the shore where the ocean caresses the sand fondly as one would to a lover…"

o-o-o

"And so…" Kankuro stood up and with his hands made a motion as if trying to grab something. "It is said that at times when the waves don't reach him, his face pops out from the ground asking to be relieved from his prison of sand by a kiss as the wave does the shore…"

"That. Was. Lame." Temari said as he gave his brother an odd look. "You honestly believe that this sandman exists?"

"Nope. But the myth does add to the tourist attraction in this area," he said sitting back down. "What did you think Gaara?"

"It would have been a decent story if you told it properly."

"What do you mean told properly?"

Temari snickered and imitating his voice, began to retell the story mockingly, "There was this sand dude who fell in love with this hot babe… The dude was a total prick blah blah blah—Need I say more?"

"Tsk. Whatever."

He moved towards the cooler and produced two bottles of juice. "Here. It's pretty hot so you guys should have a drink." He tossed a bottle to each.

Gaara eyed the drink warily. He could be paranoid or this could be a prank. Kankuro is never this thoughtful. Then again although their pranks were extreme, they had an unspoken rule not to cause severe injuries to each other so there was probably little risk of the juice being poisoned.

Temari, on the other hand, had no qualms about voicing her suspicion, "What's with this all of a sudden?"

"What? A brother can no longer care for his siblings? Consider it payback for the sunscreen you gave me. I don't want you nagging me about it so this is equivalent exchange, kay?"

Temari shrugged and downed her drink in five gulps. Gaara drank it so it probably was safe. Besides, Kankuro already used her sunscreen. She smirked inwardly at the thought. Kankuro thought he had forgotten his own sunscreen when, in fact, she had taken it left it on purpose. Unfortunately, Gaara had declined her offer claiming that he had already applied some before they left—clever little devil. She'd have to think of another prank for him.

She was feeling a little sleepy so maybe she'd do it later. She told her brothers to wake her up after a few minutes. All the excitement was draining her energy.

o-o-o

The day passed by quickly for the Hyuuga heiress. She spent the majority of it playing with Kiba and his dog, Akamaru. They also helped Shino build a very intricate sandcastle complete with tiny bugs as citizens. There weren't many people around but Hinata still felt a little embarrassed to remove her jacket so she just opted to wading about the shallow waters instead of swimming. It was so much fun that she almost hadn't noticed it was already afternoon.

"Neji-nii would be arriving with Hanabi to join us soon…"

"That's nice…" Kiba said, not really paying attention.

"The breeze sure is refreshing… W-would you guys want to take a walk with me?"

"You go on ahead Hinata. Shino and I are still adding the final touches on our castle."

Shino just nodded at her and said, "We'll join you later. Just don't wander too far and don't talk to anyone suspicious."

She smiled and nodded back at them. It was adorable how they were always overprotective of her.

"Oh and Hina," Kiba decided to add, "If you see the sandman of the beach… Be sure not to ravage him too much for me… A kiss would suffice but if you want to go to the next level then yo—"

SMACK!

Kiba rubbed his aching head where Shino's palm had just made contact. Hinata giggled and gave them one last glance before walking away. She could still hear Kiba complaining and Shino berating him about corrupting the innocent minds.

Before she was completely out of earshot, she heard Kiba shouting, "Remember Hina, It has to be on the lips… Ouch! Damn it Shino!"

o-o-o

Temari yawned and stretched lazily. How long had she been sleeping? The sun hasn't set yet so it couldn't have been too long. She couldn't help but appreciate the beauty of the vast expense of the ocean. Odd. She could feel the ground shifting from where she was sitting. Come to think of it she couldn't see the ground at all.

That was when she realized, with utmost dismay, she was sitting on a raft in the middle of the ocean. She had probably been sleeping there for hours already. 'Kankuro,' she thought as she gritted her teeth. So the juice was drugged!

"I hope you're enjoying your sunburns you jackass!" She shouted towards the direction of the shore.

As if mocking her, she noticed that her raft had several inflatable sharks floating around it .Funny… She also found a note:

Gone swimming with some girls. I'd introduce them to you but you seem to be busy at the moment. Hope you appreciate the little details I added. It completes the whole castaway theme I have going on for you...

PS

Thank you very much for the sunburn… Although it hurts like hell, the chicks dig my new tan so I forgive you…

PPS

There's a paddle there. I suggest you start immediately after you read this you have a long way to go… Let's just hope you don't get biceps bigger than mine after this… that would just look wrong..

PPPS

… Gaara's busy at the moment you can come see him though, I doubt he'll move from his spot…

~Your genius brother… King of the prankathon

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Temari rolled her eyes. Typical. As she tried to refold the piece of paper, her eye caught something attached to it.

"No way!" Temari uttered in disbelief as she stared at her youngest brother in a photograph taken from an instant camera.

As Temari paddled her way to shore, she couldn't help but think that maybe Kankuro might have won their contest this year.

o-o-o

Sky. It was peaceful as he watched what little clouds it had move lazily across. That was all he'd been doing for the past couple of hours. He sighed. Kankuro might have pulled a nice one on him but it didn't bother him much though he was getting bored. He was glad that the winds weren't that strong, otherwise, the sand would probably get in his eyes and that would be annoying.

He could feel his back starting to itch but couldn't do anything about it so he contented himself by just releasing another sigh. He vaguely wondered how Temari was doing. If he knew his brother the way he did then she'd probably be drifting somewhere in the middle of the ocean.

At least his brother was considerate enough to cover his ears to avoid sand from entering. Did Kankuro really have to tie his hands behind his back though?

He let out a small smile. Kankuro wanted to win badly. He smile turned to a devious smirk. Too bad he didn't know what he'd been up against.

o-o-o

Kankuro was feeling smug. He got to prank his siblings and was now enjoying his beach time with cute girls. Oh yeah, he was feeling really smug.

"Girls, girls there's plenty of me to go around," he said as he draped one arm over one of the bikini clad girls he'd met.

"You're so awesome Kankuro"

"Well I do try…" He grinned at her.

"Kankuro-kun, can you show us how fast you can swim?" One of the girls asked cutely.

"Yeah!" the rest followed.

"Alright, alright. Just stand back and watch then."

He proceeded to swimming a few laps back and forth from the shore to a visible rock at a distance. He was feeling so elated that nothing could have ruined the moment for him. The cheering of the girls further increased his motivation to show off so he did more laps than necessary. It was rare for him to be this popular with girls especially since they preferred his little brother over him. When he was through, he swam back to the shore. As he was standing up, collective gasps were heard from his audience. Kankuro blinked, confused.

His shorts were missing.

Ah… He was wondering what Gaara's prank was. If anything he felt more smug now than before.

'Tsk. Gaara, Gaara, that prank again? You already pulled that one when we I was twelve?'

True enough it was one of Gaara's most embarrassing pranks on him. Cutting the elastics of his shorts to reveal his pride and glory. Since then, he had learned his lesson and began wearing briefs underneath his swimming shorts. At the prospect of outwitting his little brother he felt proud… that was until he heard the girls comment.

"Isn't Thomas a man's name?"

"Eew… He's gay!"

"He slept with a man? Eww?"

Say what?

He glanced down at his briefs and flinched.

Written in permanent ink were the following:

Property of Thomas Smith. If lost you know where to find me baby…

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Kankuro twitched.

o-o-o

Hinata had wandered a little too far from her friends and found herself at another part of the beach. The part was a little more secluded but the view for the ocean from there was breathtaking. She loved the beach. The breeze, the sea, even the sand stuck between her toes. She satisfied herself by closing her eyes and just standing there for a moment.

Gaara did not flinch when he felt a foot—specifically toes—resting on his forehead. He did however stare at the girl who owned the said toes. 'The chick was beautiful. Calming, and peaceful like the ocean' He remembered Kankuro's words about the girl in the story. Staring at the oblivious girl above him, he noted that she was indeed beautiful like the ocean. She even has blue hair, he mused.

He contemplated whether he should alert her of his presence but decided that he'd rather wait and see her reaction once she does notice him. Although he hoped she wouldn't have to step on his nose to see him.

Hinata knotted her brows. This is odd. The sand beneath her right foot didn't feel like sand. It felt more like hair and… skin?

She glanced down only to gasp as she saw eyes staring right back at her. She flushed and brought her hands to her mouth, her heart racing. It's the sandman! She stared at the face sticking out of the sand looking intently at her.

Gaara blinked at the flustered girl. Well? Wasn't she gonna do anything?

Hinata's mind on the other hand was in turmoil. What was she gonna do? Should she kiss him? She turned a darker shade of red at the thought. Was he even real? She blinked. Of course. She almost smacked herself in the head. 'This couldn't possibly be real. It was just a story after all.'

She was about to run away and never look back when a thought crossed her mind. 'What if he was real?' Her eyes softened. 'It must be lonely in that sand prison…'

She looked back down at him. Gaara eyed her curiously, interested in the play of emotions on her face. She was… cute.

She crouched down and stared at him with a determined expression. One that said, 'I ain't afraid of no mean sand monster'

Hinata decided that first of all, she should confirm it if he was real. She grabbed a nearby stick and poked him gently on the forehead. Since it was only his face that was showing and he couldn't crane his neck towards her, he settled glaring at her sideways.

Hinata let out a little 'eep!' when she saw his glare. Ok… He was definitely real..

"S-sorry… A-ano, I'm, gonna h-help you now M-mr. Sandman."

Before he even had the chance to say anything she bent down and kissed him on the forehead. He blinked and turned to look at her. She was staring intently at him with a determined expression on her face, although the blush was still present.

He saw her frown and knit her brows drawing her hands on her chins as if contemplating. "I-it didn't work.."

She sounded disappointed and Gaara was almost tempted to tell her that he wasn't the cursed sandman of the beach. Almost because he was more curious of what she was gonna do next so he kept quiet.

Hinata thought hard and deep. What had she done wrong? Her eyes widened when realization dawned on her. 'Remember Hina, It has to be on the lips…"

With a determined expression she looked at Gaara and put her hands at either side of his face. 'I probably look silly' she thought. True enough, to people who could've seen her she looked as if she were about to make face prints on the sand but, lucky for her, there was no one around.

Slowly, with her eyes closed, she touched his lips with hers. She snuck a peek at him and saw that he too had his eyes closed.

He was pleased with the situation before him. Not only was the girl cute, she also smelled very nice. Perhaps she tasted nice too?

She didn't move from her spot as if waiting for something to happen. When she felt something wet on her lips, her eyes shot open and she withdrew herself as if she got burned.

Tracing her lips with a finger, she gave him a confused look and with her other hand pointed an accusing finger at him. "Y-you licked m-me…"

"I did." He could barely hide the look of amusement on his face as he observed her. Her actions were amusing and her blush was adorable.

"W-why?" She tilted her head, her hands unconsciously hovering right below her mouth. A nervous habit, he observed.

"You kissed me." He stated plainly.

Her eyes widened when she remembered the reason why she had done so. "I-it didn't w-work?"

He chuckled at her confused expression. So she honestly thought he was some cursed sand monster?

"No. But at least I'm no longer deprived of human contact."

The nerve of him. He was making fun of her. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. Whether or not she knew she was pouting, he did not know but he still found it adorable.

"You could still help free me." He said monotonously.

She looked at him and, although she was a little bit annoyed and embarrassed, she saw that he was indeed genuinely stuck. With her hands she started digging away the sand that covered his body.

"W-why are you b-buried in the sand anyway?" she asked her curiosity obvious in her pale tinted eyes.

"My brother buried me."

So Mr. Sandman wasn't much of a talker, she observed. Silence stretched among them as she busied herself with digging him out.

He was finally able to move his neck so he was able to observe her properly. He noted her uniquely colored eyes. "You're a Hyuuga."

"Y-yes…"

"You own this resort."

"F-father does."

After a couple of minutes, she was finally able to untie his hands. The rest of the dig had been easy from that point.

With a blush adorning her face, she bowed her head whispering something that he was barely able to hear.

"S-sorry for k-kissing you."

"Hn. What's your name?"

"H-hinata…" She looked at him expectantly waiting for him to mention his name.

"Gaara."

When Hinata returned to her friends, her cousin and sister were already there waiting for her. They did not expect the redhead who was walking beside her. Much to her cousin's chagrin, she invited said redhead for dinner. Hanabi approved, her sister's new friend was hot.

o-o-o

It was later in the afternoon when Temari found Kankuro by the shallow part of the waters wading about as if looking for something.

"Oi, What are you still doing here? I thought you were celebrating your victory with a bunch of cute girls? Thanks to you my arm hurts like hell."

Kankuro only mumbled something under his breath. It sounded something like, "I'm looking for my shorts. Stupid Gaara! Who the hell is Thomas Smith anyway?"

When Temari got a glance at his underwear, she burst out laughing and even forgot about getting mad at him for leaving her in the middle of the ocean.

"Looks like Gaara won again this year," She said as she wiped a tear from her eye.

And so concludes another Sabaku summer with the usual results. The only difference was Gaara already knew where he'd want to spend the summer outing next year.

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End

A/N: My first ever Naruto Fanfic. This is my entry for the July contest of Dateme with the theme : Sun and Sand.

I hope it gets accepted as an entry.

And Thomas Smith is a random name so my apologies to anyone with the name...

:)

Read and Review please...

Oops... almost forgot the disclaimer thingy...

Oh yeah... This wasn't proofread so I hope you didn't get headaches because of errors and stuff... :D