DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS CAME FROM.

Complete and total drabble. BLEH.

Anywhos, I don't own Gaara or Hinata or Shino or Temari or Kankuro or any of that.

Gaara owns Hinata and Kishimoto owns everyone else. :D

100 CHALLENGES:

# 48. RED

The first time they met, she actually wasn't aware of it.

He had smelled her before he saw her-and her blood had the sweetest smell he had even encountered, like vanilla and lilacs and peace…

It had a calming effect on him. So instead of destroying the petite Hyuuga and her team, he turned his attentions on a different enemy.

Death chose another that day.

He saw her again when she fought against her cousin. When her sweet, sweet blood was spilled, he somehow forced himself to resist crushing her opponent.

It was probably that first moment of self-restraint that allowed Gaara to push past his 'demons' and become a new man with the help of one Uzumaki Naruto.

He had later asked about the shy paradox of a Hyuuga girl, and a frustrated look crept onto his friend's face.

"She's….I don't really know how to describe her. I mean, yeah, there's the obvious-she's shy and kind of painfully kind to people who don't deserve it. She's kind of dark and timid…But at the same time, she's one of the strongest people I've ever met. Sometimes I wonder if I really have that kind of courage. And she's got this uncanny ability to let you build up all these preconceptions of her, and then blow them all away."

Gaara decided it was best not to show his surprise that Naruto knew words like 'uncanny' and 'preconception'.

He had learned more about her when one of her teammates came to Suna. An Abarume, by the name of Shino.

The young man was visiting Kankuro-the two had an odd friendship that had resulted from a very interesting battle between the two. The two had already been discussing the violet-eyed girl, so it wasn't hard to get some information.

Gaara was in the kitchen at the time-making a sandwich-and couldn't help but over hear the conversation.

"Oh hey, Shino," Kankuro had begun while the two were tending to their wounds from an earlier spar. "Is your teammate still single?"

"I assume you are speaking of Hinata, and yes…Why?"

Kankuro wiggled his eyebrows. "Well, duh! She's hot! I mean, she's at least got a D-cup under that bulky jacket of hers….OW! AH, HEY, THAT HURTS!"

Shino withdrew his kikachi beetles that had been attacking Kankuro's leg. "Please refrain from speaking about Hinata in such a crude manner. She is more than just a pretty face-she is possibly the kindest person in Konoha, as well as the best cook and most patient sister and teammate in the world…Also, she is deceptively strong and if she heard you speaking about her in that way you may find yourself sans head-and not the one above your shoulders."

Kankuro paled and laughed shakily. "Heh, you know I was just kidding with ya. Sides' ain't she in love with Naruto?"

Well, that was an unexpected and unwelcome surprise.

Although…if she could love one demon, could she love another?

"She was…Though I believe things have changed. They dated for a few months before she broke it off-I recall Naruto saying something about him and a blonde Hinata look-alike and Hinata getting the wrong idea…There were many trust issues in that relationship. That is one of the reasons I'm here-I escorted her here so she may start her new position as Konoha liaison. She will be working as a teacher at the Suna Academy. In addition, she is very skilled in the art of 'sucking up and smoothing things over', something Shikamaru is not."

Liaison…Oh, shit. That's what he was supposed to be doing right now-greeting the new teacher, not making a sandwich.

He grabbed his gourd and had rushed to the Kazekage tower. Luckily-or rather, unluckily by the look she was giving him-Temari was already doing the greeting portion.

"I apologize for my tardiness." He said, giving the bluenette a brief nod as he took his seat. "Temari, you may be excused."

There was that look again-Gaara was sure he hadn't said anything offensive, so why was Temari looking at him like he was Kankuro and she had caught him looking through her underwear drawer for blackmail material?

But she left and then as the Hyuuga turned to him, he realized that when Kankuro had said she had been hiding 'a D-cup under that bulky jacket of hers'.

Except now she wasn't wearing the bulky jacket-Temari had apparently gotten to her, and that meant a black kimono-style dress that accentuated her breasts, tight in all the right places, its end brushing against her ankles. But a slit up the side, going up to the top, bared one of her long, long legs from mid-calf to mid-thigh. She wore black shinobi boots that stopped at mid-calf and drew his eyes straight to her legs-not that the slit didn't already do that. And of course, the lavender obi tied around her waist brought them straight back up to her breasts…

As a strange feeling came to his head, like all the blood in his body was shifting around, Gaara briefly noted to later kill Temari.

"K-Kazekage-sama?" She asked in a sweet, high voice. "A-are you ok? You seem to have a b-bloody nose…"

What?

Gaara touched his face and his hand came away covered in a red liquid.

And that was the first time the Kazekage had a bloody nose due to the evil that is hormones.

Er….

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