A/N: Welcome one and all to my story, Guarding the Body! Yay!

Jin: For those of you reading Speak, not to fear! This story shouldn't interfere with Speak in anyway—I hope…

Nah, no worries; moving along, this story is rated T for teens, not M for mature even though the title sounds that way…Heh…

Jin: Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto and its characters, but we do own the OCs and the plot so please do not steal!

Ah yes, no flaming either; they shall be used to warm our feet during winter! Now, onwards!

Jin: Please enjoy and review!

Guarding the Body

-The Client with the Body-

Where are they?!

Hiashi paced the room in irritation, his mind in a fit. Every so often, he would glance up at the clock, growling and twitching in anger when he saw that only a minute or two had passed; he had been up and treading back and forth in his room ever since he woke up. Hiashi had locked his door and pulled open his window, keeping an eye on the driveway to see if a familiar black car would pull up; he hadn't even gone down to eat breakfast or to kiss his daughters good bye before they left for school. When the maids came up and knocked on his door—it was time to clean his room—they earned an earful shout that caused them to scurry down the hall and around the corner before a second even passed!

How long does it take to get here anyways?!

It was very important to Hiashi that he not be disturbed while he waited for his guests to arrive. The butlers and maids had never seen him so furious; from past experiences with his anger though, they knew to stay clear of him or else they'd receive consequences that were too disturbing to think of.

A chain of knocks on the door caused him to look toward the entrance in pure annoyance; a glare of hatred fell onto his face.

"What is it?" Hiashi growled, a vein throbbing in his temple. "Unless the house is on fire, leave me be!"

"But…sire," came the small voice of a butler. "You have guests…"

"Guests?" Hiashi raised a brow; he scrambled through a black door beside his closet that led to his office. Shoving open the door, he ran to his desk and pulled open the first drawer, taking out a small black agenda. Flipping to a page, his eyes rapidly scanned the words written in his own cursive handwriting.

"There is nothing planned at this hour unless…" Hiashi quickly dropped the little book on his desk and dashed back to his room, almost tripping over his robe in the process. Leaning over his window, he saw three black cars that were not there before; they didn't belong to any of his business partners, nor did they belong to him and his servants couldn't possibly afford such expensive-looking vehicles! That could only mean…

"They're here!" Hiashi grinned. Closing and locking his window, he rapidly stripped himself and pulled on the fanciest suit he owned. Afterwards, he flung open his door—earning a shocked shriek from his butler—and hurried past his servants, down the stairs and into the living room where three people stood, silently waiting for him. Looking around, he saw that his servants were peering at him and the three curiously, wondering what was going on; many of them knew their master's routine. Normally, he didn't wake up until after his daughters left, and then an hour or two later, he would have his business partners come over and they would lock themselves in his office and discuss important matters. Hiashi having strange company at such an early hour was unusual to them.

"Leave us," Hiashi ordered; the maids and butlers hastily disappeared at his command. When he was sure that they were all gone and out of earshot, he motioned for them to take a seat on the classy leather couches; they did so as he sat on the opposite side of them. Soon, they were covered in silence as they each eyed each other suspiciously, for it was the first time they had met. True, Hiashi was the one who called the three, but he had never met them face to face before; his friend had said that they were good at what they did, and keeping their faces hidden from potential enemies was their number one priority.

The head of the Hyuuga clan leaned back into the chair and observed the faces of the infamous Sabaku Trio. They didn't look to be powerful assassins and bodyguards; they were just…kids!

The Sabaku to his far left had spiky brown hair; he seemed to be somewhere around twenty. There were strange purple markings on his face; it only served to increase the creepiness. Hiashi assumed him to be the one known as the Puppet Master; he had heard about the Puppet Master from a business partner. Apparently, the he was the second oldest of the Trio; he was trained in the ancient art of using large puppets as a form of defense and offense. The Puppet Master operated in the shadows, ambushing and attacking from the opponent's blind spot for a quick end to their life.

Purple eyes turned to the blonde female, analyzing her. A female working as an assassin; now that was unheard of! She had four ponytails in the back of her head; it was a strange fashion style, but she seemed to pull it off very well. Immediately, Hiashi could tell that she was the oldest of the group; she sat with her back straight and with her hands folded in her lap; there was an air of maturity around her. Her black dress reached her knees, allowing Hiashi to see the tattoo on her left ankle: a black serpent coiling around a red P. He remembered hearing that the female dealt with poisoning; Hiashi managed to suppress a shiver.

Turning his attention the one in the middle, it was obvious that the red head was the youngest; he had a strangely pale complexion, and eyes that were a mix of blue and green—turquoise, or sea green perhaps. Hiashi had been told of the youngest one; he was probably the strongest out of the three. His reflexes were superior, and his shooting abilities were second to none; though he wore a black coat, Hiashi knew that there was a weapon or two concealed beneath it.

He is the most dangerous. Hiashi thought, frowning. His eyes…

"You're late." Hiashi accused gruffly.

The blonde raised a brow, confused at the accusation. "What are you talking about?" she said, looking at her watch. "We arrived at eight as required."

Hiashi glanced at the clock above the fire place and grunted; folding his arms, he gazed at them once more. "What is your name?" he asked.

"Our names are irrelevant," the brown haired man protested, narrowing his eyes at Hiashi.

"If we are to do business together, I need your names." Hiashi returned the glare with a fierce one of his own; years of practice with his servants finally did him some good. "Knowing a person's name is the first step towards trust."

Before the brunette could say something that would insult Hiashi, the blonde female raised a hand, a gesture for him to shut up; reluctantly, he followed his older sister's orders, but the glower never ceased.

"Very well," she said, nodding. "My name is Temari Sabaku; these are my brothers. The idiot one over there,"—she pointed at the brown-headed man—"is Kankurou, and this is Gaara." She placed an arm around her youngest brother's shoulder, leaning her head against his. "He's not as scary as he looks."

"I am Hiashi Hyuuga, head of the Hyuuga clan," Hiashi announced, ignoring her last comment. He clapped his hands, a signal for a young maid to scurry toward them with a tray of tea; she slipped on her long dress, but managed not to drop the dish—a glare from her master warned her not to. She placed down four cups and swiftly but effectively poured the tea in without spilling a drop. With another look from Hiashi, she ran and disappeared in one of the nearby rooms.

Picking up a cup, Hiashi sipped the hot tea with a satisfied grin. "That girl may be clumsy," he said, referring to the maid that had just run off. "But she makes one heck of a tea."

Only Temari bothered to accept a cup; she was the only one who was fond of the bitter drink; Kankurou preferred beer and Gaara mainly drank water.

Hiashi cleared his throat, a signal that the meeting was going to begin. "Now, I have called you here because someone told me that you are the best in what you do, and I need the best of the best to accept this mission I will assign if I see you fit for the task." He paused to see if there were any changes in their faces; he had to make sure there was no doubt. "If you tend to run from battle more often than not, I suggest you take whatever you brought with you and leave. There will be no room for hesitation in my assignment; should there be any sort of uncertainty, it is most likely that you will fail the task."

Kankurou leaned forward from his position on the couch, finally interested in what the old man had to say; the only reason he was in the family business was because he was promised money, beer, and adventure. If the responsibility was dull and boring, lacking no fun whatsoever, he would decline and move on to the next client. They were a very famous group, especially among underground lords; the Sabaku Trio received many requests per day, so if one was not up to their standards, they didn't have any trouble finding another customer.

"Are we going to assassinate someone important?" Kankurou asked, smirking with anticipation.

"No," Hiashi said, mentally chuckling when he saw Kankurou's beam falter into a frown. "It is much more difficult than that."

Temari glanced at Kankurou and gave him a glare that meant "silence." Kankurou glowered at her, but did as he was told.

"Continue," Gaara spoke for the first time that evening; Hiashi turned his gaze onto the youngest of the group.

"Yes, well," Hiashi nodded, taking another nip from his drink. "As you know, I am a distinguished owner of the Hyuuga companies, not to mention I run the biggest black market known to the Underground City. Many lords want the kind of power I have, so it is crucial that I go out with many protectors ready to safeguard me from any and all attacks from my enemies.

"For years, they have been targeting me, using all kinds of tricks—from traps to snipers; everything far and in between, but I have dodged each and every ambush. I have survived many assaults and though I have lost servants to their acts of violence, they have never once directed their evil eyes at my daughters—until now.

"My daughters are very important to me; I wish for my oldest daughter to take over my business when I retire, and it seems that the idiot lords have finally figured it out. Unfortunately, they have started to pursue my children—Hinata and Hanabi. The weaker organizations are proposing a marriage so that we may unite together, but I have no intention of doing so."

"So, what you're saying is," Kankurou began, though he promised he wouldn't interrupt; receiving a glare from Temari and Gaara, he ignored them and continued. "You want us to protect your daughters?"

"I want you to guard my daughter's body." Hiashi corrected.

Kankurou blinked, obviously confused at the statement. "…What?"

Hiashi rolled his eyes, annoyed at the man's slow procedure of processing information. "Like I said, some of the groups have been insisting on marriage so that they could feed off my power; I am not dumb. I know their intentions. But, they will not go down without a fight; there is a high probability that they would send their son to come after my Hinata; if their son should rape her,"—he practically hissed the word out—"And she gets pregnant, there will be much chaos and trouble. I want you to protect my daughter's body—that means: keep everyone away from her, even the females."

Temari raised a brow. "Even the females?" she repeated.

"There are some crazy people in the Undeground City, Miss Temari," Hiashi said gravely, recalling a recollection of how three highly trained little girls were sent after him one dark night. He only survived because of pure luck and the little assassins' obsession with teddy bears. Though it shamed him to say, he had been very frightened; that was the only time he was a hair's inch away from death.

"Protect you and your daughters," Temari thought aloud, making sure she had her information correct. "Sounds easy enough."

"Too easy…" Kankurou mumbled, slouching in his chair.

Hiashi acted as if he wasn't interrupted, calmly drinking his tea and then started his talk once more. "Now, of course, for such an important task, the payment will be worth your while."

"How much?" Gaara asked; his siblings glanced at him, curious and slightly worried about his sudden reaction. Gaara would never speak during their meetings with the client; he would generally sit quietly and watch with a critical eye, only speaking when absolutely necessary. They were concerned about him; ever since the meeting they had with the strange men in black coats, Gaara had been acting stranger and stranger each day.

Hiashi took a deep breath as if his next words were going to mortally wound him, and they probably would; money was everything to the underground lords. People feared you if you had power, and to have power, you needed money—lots of it. "I am prepared to give you 2 hundred thousand yen."

Gaara frowned; that was a lot of money, but as he thought back to what the doctors said…it wasn't enough. Two hundred thousand yen was not enough; they needed more than that—or it would be too late.

"No," the red head said abruptly.

"No?" Hiashi and Gaara's two siblings repeated, all dumbfounded.

"It's not enough."

Hiashi's mouth was agape, shocked; it was bad enough that he thought that he would lose two hundred thousand yen, but now, he was going to have to up the payment to hire them? He had half a mind to say no; he could always find other bodyguards willing to accept two hundred thousand, maybe even less! But the Sabaku Trio was the best of the best, and his daughters deserved nothing but the best! Still…that was a lot of money, and money didn't grow on trees! Hiashi knew that if he declined and hired a different group, he was going to deeply regret it should any harm fall upon him or his family. He bit his lip, unsure of what to do; spend the money and save his daughters? Or should he employ someone else and have the risk of something dangerous happen to his precious Hinata and Hanabi?

Hiashi sighed. "…How much do you want?"

"2 million,"

The Hyuuga head almost fell out of his seat. "2 million!" Hiashi gasped. "What are you thinking?!"

"I'm thinking that if you don't pay us the money, we walk." Gaara told him; his siblings stared at him in shock.

Hiashi gritted his teeth. "You drive a hard bargain for someone so young…"

Snot-nosed brat…

Hinata took in a deep breath, feeling her heart beat rapidly in her ear. She looked down at the light purple envelope in her hands, feeling her stomach flutter with anxiety.

Today was the day.

It was going to be the day she would look back and smile upon for the rest of her life.

Today was the day she was going to confess to Naruto Uzumaki, her crush ever since grade school. She had always planned out what to say to him in advance; she had thought of the perfect words that would woo him; she even thought of what he would say and how he would wrap his arms around her and murmur, "I love you, Hinata." Her face heated up even more—if that was even possible at that point; she was already as red as a ripe tomato!

Oh, there he was!

His toned arms and crazy blonde hair made her want to faint, but she couldn't, not now, when she was so close to her goal! But then there were his beautiful blue eyes, always sparkling with happiness and mischievous ideas. That was what Hinata adored the most about him, though. He was so strong and independent; he didn't care what anybody thought about him and he looked authority straight in the eye as he flicked them off. Hinata could only wish that she was that self-confident.

Hinata was ugly and shy; she was the black sheep of her family. She wasn't good at fighting, and she was starting to fall behind in her classes; the only thing she was really good at was gardening. Her father didn't approve of it though; he said that it was disgraceful and a waste of time and that she should just concentrate on taking over the family company. She was self-conscious and always worried about what people thought about her; it bothered Hinata to know that she wasn't as brave or determined like Sakura and Ino—the popular girls of the school—but even so, she couldn't change herself. Many times she had tried and it all ended in failure.

But not today; she was going to round up all of the courage she had in her frail body and she was going to give him the love note, even if it killed her!

She nodded, biting her bottom lip. "Alright," Hinata whispered. "I-I'm going to do it."

Just as she was about to take a step forward, a pale hand behind her snatched the memo out of her slender fingers; she yelped, surprised. Putting on the meanest glare she could come up with, she whipped around, ready to give the bully a fierce smack to the head; that was…until she came face to face with a pair of green eyes. Hinata froze; whatever she was going to say got caught in her throat. The stranger's eyes were beautiful, but they were so cold; she thought she saw a hint of blue inside his orbs, but she could see a hard edge to them, too.

He raised the letter and, without taking his eyes off of her, quietly said, "A love note,"

Not knowing what to do, the young Hyuuga only managed a nod and a small squeal, staring up at him. He was at least a head or two taller than her! "C-could I have that b-back please?" she whispered fearfully, reaching for it; he pulled his hand away.

"I highly doubt your father would be happy with this."

A/N:

Yes! After updating "Speak," I finally finished this first chapter, which has been sitting in my folder for quite a while now!

Jin: We hope you enjoyed this; it's her first attempt at a gaahina story. Normally, she's a fan of sasuhina.

Well, I honestly think I did pretty well for a beginner; all that needs to be thought of is the plot…whoops…

Jin: Yes, expect a slow update…

Please review! Remember, reviews make the world go round!