Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Call It Fate: Part I

Lines encircled the large wooden gate. The moonlight danced around the shadows, glistening off the metal plates that were secured on each of them in a place.

A burly man stood in front of the line as he silently signaled in one wave of the arm. Swiftly like a breeze in the air, they split into groups and surrounded the gate.

Three people stayed behind as they waited for their separate orders. Two men and a woman in their early twenties stared at the darkened gate, bored, since they had had to wait for so long.

"The scroll in the shrine on the East End."

A brusque whisper snapped at them to be serious.

The shorter of the two men simply stuck his hands into his pockets and took off as the other snorted and followed suit. The woman lingered back; hesitantly she spoke up.

"Give us seven minutes before you start the siege."

Her superior frowned, "I follow strict orders from the Kazekage himself. I cannot give you the wanted amount. The scroll must get back here five minutes after the siege, no matter how long the invasion goes on to. Go."

A scowl appeared on her pale features as she disappeared in a gust of wind as she caught up to her teammates.

"Three minutes…that's all we've got to search for a small shrine. That leaves us four minutes to bring it back here."

Catching her nod, the three split up immediately, sweeping the area in a spread out line.

~~~

"It's an invasion."

Ibiki turned around.

"Get all capable Chuunins and Jounins on guard and notify Hokage-sama."

Genma nodded in response and swiftly left in a poof of smoke.

"Their main purpose may be the Forbidden Scroll."

Gesturing at the group of Jounins behind him, "Protect the Scroll."

"Hai."

~~~

A green flare hit the sky as explosions sounded off at the outer side of the gate surrounding the village.

"Shit."

The man turned to the woman beside him as they stopped right in front of a shrouded small shrine in the middle of the woods.

"Get the scroll, Kankuro."

He nodded grimly.

Their third member was nowhere in sight.

As he reached the shrine, the woman suddenly ran up and yanked him back.

Two figures stepped out from behind the shrine as a third could be seen behind the shrine, the activator of the Jutsu.

"Barrier no Jutsu."

She hissed in his ear.

A dark-haired man and a blond man took a defensive strike in front of the shrine, while the third still kept his Jutsu on.

"You got it, Shikamaru?"

The blond regarded behind him.

"Yeah, you two take them."

Kankuro picked himself up and dusted his shirt.

"Well well well, isn't it Uchiha and the loud mouth."

The blond man pointed a finger at him.

A not very nice finger, either.

His partner sighed, "Baka…"

Kankuro turned to the woman; "I'll take care of the demon boy, Temari."

In a large gust of wind, the pairs disappeared.

~~~

The third man on the team scowled at the roadblock in front of him. The musty smell of wood annoyed him too. He liked the dry air of the desert better.

The figure in front of him slid one foot in up and raised both hands in a defensive mode. Veins appeared at the side of her eyes.

His teammates were probably at the shrine by now; he'll just have a little fun over here. They didn't need him, yet, at least.

A green light had appeared in the sky just a moment ago, right before he ran into her, it signaled the beginning of the invasion…that allowed him to kill now…

He gazed at the woman in front of him. Her long dark blue hair was tied in a loose ponytail behind her and her petite body was dressed in black pants and shirt with a green vest. She wasn't bad looking either. Her features were plain looking, without the large amount of makeup like other women do, but it held a light glow to it.

//Jounin//

She was a Jounin…just like him.

He had heard that Leaf ninjas, mostly the Jounins, were very skilled. He licked his lips.

The Sand had been at peace for too long.

//This would be fun//

Sand started to surround him on the ground as it speedily raced towards her.

She jumped onto the tree, as the sand swarmed under it menacingly.

Muttering a quick chant, she jumped off of the tree and straight at him.

As her fist neared his face, a sand wall rose up to protect him. But her fist went right through.

//Illusion//

A loud sound came from behind him as her leg slammed him and directly after her fist.

He reached out and proceeded to grab her wrist, but she had jumped back onto a tree limb.

//I need to penetrate the wall…//

She jumped off again, this time, splitting into seven identical figures as she lunged towards him.

All the clones that smacked him went right through…all illusions.

Another impact was heard from behind him as she double kicked it.

He lashed out to swat her away and she slid back, barely avoiding his kunai.

She charged at him again, disappearing once more before she got to him. He could see her image flash around him as she decided where to attack during his confusion of her placement.

Her speed was fast.

//Very fast…//

A palm came out in front of him and slammed into the sand wall.

"Hyaaah!"

He could see a bit of chakra escape from where her palm was planted on the wall.

It went right through.

He stumbled back as the energy shot straight at his shoulder. It wasn't just chakra either. She had held onto a kunai had the same time and sent it right after her chakra infiltrated his defense.

After that she had retreated back onto the branch.

Reaching up, he pulled the embedded kunai out of his shoulder and threw it at her.

She caught it promptly and quickly jumped onto another branch as the sand started to chase her again.

Catching her by surprise he appeared in front of her and grabbed her neck and slammed her against the tree trunk. She had bit her lip at the surprise of the impact, and a thin line of red ran down her lower lip.

She lifted her leg up to kick him, but the sand blocked her path once again. It now encircled itself snake-like around her ankles and wrists, keeping them back from attacking him.

His nails dug into her neck and her blood trickled down slowly. She bit her lip to keep herself from screaming, smacking her lips together.

The crimson liquid smeared all over as she trembled under the grip.

It was tempting.

He could smell it from the arm's length away.

The sand tightened around her right ankle.

Snap

She cried out in pain as her usually white bandages around her foot were now soaked in a maroon shade.

The scent awoke the danger lurking within him.

All the while the blood on her lips enraptured him.

Taunting him…Mocking him as it shimmered in the light.

He had to get rid of it. But he didn't really want to rid of it.

He leaned in towards her and brushed his lips against hers. She stopped struggling, given that she was too stunned to do anything. His tongue tracing her lips as he licked the blood off.

So soft…So sweet…

She stared back at him fearfully.

An explosion caught his attention as he pulled away.

Temari sailed passed him, as she slammed into the tree adjacent. Kankuro landed near her and helped her up.

"Gaara, retreat."

An all too well known figure appeared behind him.

"Hinata!"

The woman choked out a gasp from his grip.

//Gaara…?// That name was vaguely familiar to her.

Another explosion sounded.

Gaara growled at the intruder.

"Gaara! That was the retreat signal!"

He let go of her and the sand bindings and disappeared into the darkness with the other two.

Hinata lost her footing, as one ankle was broken—and slipped.

Naruto jumped down swiftly and caught her.

"C-Crap…I thought…I was gone that t-time."

She smiled wryly as she licked her dry lips, but stopped in her thoughts.

Even though it wasn't really what it was meant to be.

But it had been more like an indirect kiss.

"Hina-chan?"

Naruto waved a hand in front of her, "Helloooooooo."

She blinked out of her thoughts.

//Now is not the time to be thinking of that!// She mentally scolded herself.

"Even though that was nice…" The guy was pretty good-looking, spare for the dark circles around his eyes, but the red-hair was to die for. Too bad he was a Sand. She wouldn't mind getting to know him a little better. Something bugged her though.

"Hm, Hina-chan?"

//Crap...// She had mused out loud.

"Er…Nothing…"

Naruto looked doubtful but he didn't persist it anyway, "Let's stop by the shrine first before I take you to the hospital."

"Alright."

But there was still something about that Sand ninja she couldn't get rid of. He was frighteningly familiar…but how…

End Part I

Hmm…here's my second Gaara/Hinata…

This one, to be expected would be a lot more on other couples too, still centric on Gaara/Hinata though. But I'm going to make them more…direct with each other…^^…Hinata's a lot more out-going now, since times change, people change…I'm just centering on the development of their relationship.

This is placed 10 years in: Temari/Naruto/Sasuke/Shikamaru/Others-24 years old

Gaara/Hinata-23 years old

I haven't decided the other couples yet, so if you want to request one, feel free…Be open-minded about it too! I was planning on like a…Sasuke/Temari thing. Haven't seen one of those yet. ^^ But don't go overboard with like a Kankuro/…Ino thing…*shivers at that pairing* That one even gives my muse a mind block.

R & REVIEW ONEGAI!

Ame no Megami