Disclaimer: Naruto and all it's characters do not belong to me, my imagination is not that good.

Note: Okay, this story takes place when the rookie nine are about 19. Sasuke is still on the loose and the Akatsuki really wants the Kyuubi now.

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In the dark shadows of Akatsuki's lair, a shinobi secretly listens in on the members.

"The kyuubi is too powerful."

"There must be some weakness…"

"Gather the others. We must have the kyuubi at all costs!"

'Hn. They'll never find his weakness' thought Gaara as he turns his attention back to the members sitting around the stone table. 'With his limitless source of chakra and obstinate nature, he has none.'

Something then catches his attention.

"Wait, there might be a way." Kisame suddenly spoke up. "Itachi, do you remember the last time we fought the gaki?"

"What of it?" asked an emotionless Itachi.

"Do remember how he fought relentlessly to protect that pink-haired girl?"

"Yes, what does that…ah…I see."

The leader then gave a shark-like grin and commented, "Men, I believe we have just found our weakness…"

'Pink-haired…do they mean Haruno Sakura?' wondered Gaara.

However, before he could further contemplate on this, he is nearly hit by a kunai.

"Intruder!"

As all the Akatsuki prepared to attack, Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand.

"Oh well, " said Deidara as he sat back down. "There goes that plan."

"Not quite. " replied the leader.

"What do you mean leader?" asked another member.

"This might work to our advantage after all", said the leader mysteriously.

……….

While leaping through the forest in the direction of Konoha, one thought flew through Gaara's mind. 'I must warn the Hokage.'

………

Meanwhile in Konoha, at a secret waterfall, a young woman dances on the water. Wearing only a white bathing suit, she quietly goes through her nightly routine workout. Tears silently fall from her face as she recalls the events of the past month…

-flashback-

In a valley, the rookie 9 (not including Sasuke), team Gai, and the siblings of Sunagakure are engaged in a fierce battle with Kisame and Itachi. In the midst of fighting, Sakura becomes trapped under a fallen tree.

"Sakura!" screamed Naruto.

"Naruto, forget about me, get away from here, you know it's you they're after!"

"No! I won't leave my precious person behind!"

-end flashback-

'His precious person…is not me.' Thought Hinata sadly. 'But why do I still love him? It hurts, but the feelings won't go away.'

While contemplating on this, she slowly ends her dance and redresses her self. Then drying the tears on her face, she secretly goes back to her home.

………………

So what do you think? Sorry, for any grammatical or spelling errors. First fanfic, so tell me whether I should continue or not please. Oh, and if you want me to continue, please vote in your review.

I'm thinking on whether having it Hinata/Gaara or Hinata/Naruto. Don't worry, if you vote for Hinata/Naruto, I won't make him look like a two-timer, and Gaara would just end up being a friend. If voting for Hinata/Gaara, then Naruto will stay with Sakura.

The other one is, anyone want Sakura or Hinata to die? If so, only choose one, not both. If you don't want either of them to die, then that's okay too. Originally, I planned for Hinata to die, but I like her too much . Don't worry, there is no Sakura bashing, I don't like to bash people.

Okay, that's it for now. I'll let this post for a week or 2 and see how to continue from there.

Ja ne!