((Okay, this was a story that I made for momofletti. They asked me to make a Gaara/Hinata pairing and after several attempts of trying, failing, and eventually making a decent beginning, I lost it. But after searching through all of my notebooks, I've found it once more and I'm writing it down and putting it up before I lose it again! So momofletti, sorry for the wait and hopefully, you haven't died yet!))

Hinata Hyuuga. Fragile, gentle, nervous Hinata. Compared to the violently passionate Sakura and the arrogantly confident Ino, the delicate bluenette was an adorable force to be reckoned with. Ten-ten was closer to her style but the weapons master didn't have the Hyuuga girl's nurturing nature. She, along with her Kekkei Genkai, was a brilliant healer. Fighting just didn't suit her submissive nature but she did as well as any could expect against her cousin, Neji.

Everyone felt her pain when she was defeated and on the brink of death. Everyone except Gaara. He was a death-dealer, forever on the outside of that dizzying cycle. He knew that the only way for him to join everyone else in such a state was through old age. But would Shukaku let him? Or was he doomed to live his entire life alone and eternal?

As he thought about what the demon might do to him, the sand he controlled kicked up- a clear sign of aggitation. His siblings and keeper noticed almost immediately and stopped what they were doing. Ever since the Chuunin Exams a few months ago, they weren't sure how to handle the redhead's moodiness. It was obvious that he was trying to change and his brother and sister wanted to support him. But instinct and habit caused them to edge away when he got like this.

Suna was the same as always. Sand and fear were things that didn't fade easily. The citizens wouldn't walk outside at night and it wasn't because of the near-freezing temperatures. Gaara didn't sleep. Ever. Shukaku would escape and reek havoc on the village. So he meandered around outside for something to do. In the past, he would kill whoever crossed his path. Now he patrolled the village to keep it safe. But the past is a difficult thing to forget.

In their eyes, he would never be anything more than a monster.

"Gaara, you need a lovely item."

Temari stared at Kankuro after he made that announcement and answered for the wide-eyed Gaara. "What he needs is to not be related to you. Why would you even suggest something like that? You know he doesn't know how to treat "lovely items"... no offense."

The redhead just shook his head. His sister was right. He didn't know anything but killing and hatred. What would he do with a lovely item once he got one.

But Kankuro didn't let up. "I'm serious! I was reading up on it and even the toughest killer looks friendly with a lovely item by his side! They were talking about teddy bears and different clothes... what do you think?"

She tried to think about it and rolled her eyes in the end. "His normal clothes are find. And a stuffed animal won't help much either."

"What about a girl?" the brunette male asked with a grin. "A nice, soft-spoken girl dressed in frilly outfits and staying by his side in public? Think that'll do the trick?"

Gaara knew Temari's answer before she even thought about it. His blond sister had been without female companionship for almost her entire life. Suna had girls but they were as harsh and unforgiving as she was. The price of living in the desert, he supposed. But a gentle girl dressed up in cutesy clothes was enough to brighten anybody's day.

"That's not a bad idea. Who, though? Any of the girls at school wouldn't fit the bill."

"What about that Matsuri girl?" Baki asked, finally putting in his two-cents. The tan giant usually stayed silent until it suited him to speak a short, direct sentance or two.

Kankuro nodded faintly. "She's not bad but... I'm sure there's someone better, right?" As cute as Matsuri was, excessive chatting on her part would only annoy Gaara. And shedding blood was no way to treat lovely items.

Temari had to agree with her younger brother. She thought for a moment and then it hit her. "What about looking in Konoha? They've got a lot of cute girls. Even if we stuck to the kunoichi from the exams, there's four right there."

Gaara couldn't deny that but he never thought of any girls as "cute". But when it came to tolerable female companions, only one came to his mind. "Hyuuga..." Too bad he didn't remember her name. Or what she looked like. She was quiet, though, and that was all that mattered to him.

"Hyuuga?" Temari asked, glaring in thought. Truthfully, she only remembered Neji's name from that clan. Why would her brother ever request that asshole when they were talking about nice, pretty girls? She really hoped that that wasn't a sign pointing to sudden homosexuality. She wanted to be an aunt someday and quite frankly, Kankuro's kids were bound to turn out all wrong.

The brunet male of the group pieced it together. "You mean Hinata?"

All three shinobi thought about the bluenette as a possibility. She was cute despite her bulky attire. Even when shouting, her voice was low but maybe a little high? Not an annoying high, though. Just a bit high-pitched and mousey.

Suddenly Temari wanted to bring her to Suna, if only to get her out of that coat and into clothes that the blond was unable to wear. Tough girls just didn't do "frilly" and "girly". But Hinata would do just find for Kankuro's idea.

None of them could deny that the shy female was perfect for the job. However, while the two eldest sand siblings were fantasizing, Baki had a thought that swiftly burst their bubbles. "IF she accepts the proposition of being Gaara's "lovely item"..."

Boy did that do the trick. Both fantasizers were knocked to the floor with that blow, leaving the redhead to come up with a suitable defense.

"There's nothing wrong with just asking. Even if she refuses, it's not like we're dead-set on Kankuro's plan. We can always go back to plan A."

"What's plan A?" all three shinobi asked. Since when had there been a plan at all? That wure was news to them.

"Protect the village and slowly gain their trust and respect, just like Naruto Uzumaki."

They should have known. One thing the young demon-vessel was almost obsessed with was the nine-tailed fox-boy. Not because of the power he possessed but the friends that he had been able to acquire despite his demon. If there was anything Gaara wanted more than anything, it was someone to call a friend. One would be enough for him. He wasn't selfish.

When he was a naive child, he had foolishly wished for all the children of Suna to be his friends. Needless to say that didn't happen and by age 6, Gaara had guarenteed that it would never happen. But now that he was older, he knew his mistakes and was paying for them.

"So... shall we go make a house call?" Kankuro asked with a grin. It meant a road-trip mission that didn't involve getting their asses kicked. And it was important because the sooner Suna trusted Gaara, the sooner it had a new Kazekage. He didn't want that position- too much paperwork.

Temari and Gaara nodded and set off to pack for the trip to ask Hinata Hyuuga to be Gaara's lovely item.

((What do you think? Send me reviews to tell me if I should keep this going or not!))