A veil of dark, dank, dampness blanketed the Hidden Village of the Sand, throwing the normally dry, peaceful atmosphere into one of torrential misery.

Mixed in the low rumbles resonating off the ominous clouds plaguing the sky was the deep, weary sigh of Subaku no Gaara. His normally piercing, sharp turquoise eyes were clouded with stress and tiredness which he attempted to blink away with no avail. Hidden under the towering stacks of paperwork, he briefly wondered if he could throw them out the window and blame it on a sudden lashing from the storm.

But a serious, responsible Kazekage could not possibly do such childish things his conscience berated mockingly.

It was at times like these that he really despised being the Kazekage as it didn't allow him to interact with people with the slightest shred of normality, the way others did.

Not like I could in the first place he thought bitterly.

Though Shukaku had been extracted from him ten years ago he still came off as frighteningly intimidating to the people he had protected for so long. Granted he was acknowledged respectively, his required demeanour had come off as cold and heartless and so he still had not managed to make any real friends other than with his comrades in Konoha and his own siblings.

Slowly rising from his seat, he decided to call it a night and walked towards his door, smiling to himself as he came across a note slid under the door. No doubt left by his assistant who knew not to disturb him when he was in a work rampage. He was, however, not smiling because of the fear instilled in the poor girl, but at the realization of who the letter was from. It was his sister's special form of communication as she could not visit as frequently as she did before due to the arrival of her 'troublesome' twin girls a couple of years back.

Picking up the thick envelope, Gaara glanced at the picture residing in his cabinet which revealed a radiant Temari holding a bubbly little toddler with the same frizzy, blonde hair as her mother - Sayuri, standing next to a smirking Shikamaru trying to pry the hands of his hyperactive daughter- Natsumi away from his hair.

They look so happy though Gaara fondly. However, he could not prevent a pang of envy from enveloping his heart. Of course he was happy for his sister and he loved his nieces - and pending nephew- with all of his being, but a part of him longed for what they so clearly had.

Breathing another heavy sigh and shaking his head in an attempt to rid himself of those thoughts he continued down the hall, deciding to read her letter the next day after some well deserved sleep.

Unfortunately, fate seemed persistent and unwilling to give him his dosage of rest, at least not for a couple more hours.

Upon exiting the main building and making his way through a sheltered path leading to his house he heard a distant scream seemingly drowned out by the severity of the storm. Nonetheless, he had heard it and instinctively turned his head in its direction straining his ears for another sign of danger.

True to his instincts, the scream was heard again but appeared to be quickly cut off. Immediately, Gaara set off with amazing speed and swiftness through the downpour and into a deeper part of the desert outside of the village. Soon enough he could start to make out a couple of figures struggling amongst themselves, one hauling a violently protesting woman over his shoulders and the other snatching away her belongings. Without thinking Gaara attacked full force with this body, as his sand was wet and not as controllable as it once was. He managed to knock the man holding the woman to the ground, he then skillfully grabbed his kunai and slashed the other man deeply in the throat.

Panting lightly he turned around to help the woman up only to find that she had already managed to untie herself and arm her shaking body with a weapon whilst cautiously observing his movements. Putting his hands up in defense, Gaara tried to show the feisty woman he meant her no harm. Locking his calm eyes with her distressed ones in an act of trust he noted they were a peculiar shade of amber. However, he could not continue his train of thought as instantly his world went black.

Honeysuckles and dew. That was what he smelt right now in his half-asleep state, much too tired to notice he was nearing consciousness.

Feeling something soft and warm beneath him, he realized he was in someone else's futon as his was never this comforting, and it certainly did not smell of honey and dew.

Trying to recollect his memories quickly and piece together this growing enigma, he remembered a stormy night, a woman being kidnapped and harassed by two men, he took them down then… blank. Gaara frowned unknowingly, attracting the attention of an amber-eyed woman sitting next to him.

"Oh you're awake" came a soft voice.

Gaara opened his eyes to find that his vision was blurry, barely making out the figure in front of him.

"Shh you should rest some more" the voice reprimanded calmly, wiping his sweat covered brow.

"Where am I?" Gaara asked trying to keep his composure, blinking away the haze obstructing his vision.

Catching her eyes, he recognized them as the familiar amber ones from the night before.

She had chestnut coloured hair lightly sweeping over her face, it suited her delicate features, very soft and gentle like her voice.

"At my place" she answered vaguely, not daring to break his intense gaze.

Gaara tried to sit up to better recognize his surroundings, but as soon as he moved in the slightest an excruciating pain shot up the back of his skull eliciting a sharp gasp from his mouth.

Immediately, she reacted by gently but firmly pushing him back down into the soft pillow.

"Be careful, you got hit pretty hard there"

"What happened?"

"After you took them out, you turned around. You didn't see one of them stand back up and hit you in the back of your head. I stabbed him after that though, and dragged you back here" she flushed, obviously embarrassed by her actions.

"I didn't know where else to take you, the hospital was too far, and my house seemed to be nearest" she blabbered.

Gaara closed his eyes tiredly, contemplating her explanation.

"What's your name?" he asked after a while, barely audible.

She blushed lightly, avoiding his stare.

"Kumiyo" she replied shyly.

Upon awakening a second time, Gaara found himself in a completely different place, which looked to be the Suna hospital.

"Oh Gaara, you're awake!" cried an anxious Temari, concern clearly plastered on her face.

"You really had us worried, what happened?" questioned an equally worried Kankuro.

A look of confusion over took Gaara's somber features.

"Kumiyo" he mumbled

"Who's Kumiyo?"

Was it all a dream?

"I… don't know" he replied truthfully

"You've been gone for two days Gaara, do you really remember nothing?" came an impatient Kankuro

"It was raining, and I saved a woman from two men. Then I think I got knocked out. Temari what are you doing here?"

"I was worried idiot, so I came as soon as I heard"

"If you got knocked out, why didn't we find you? We searched everywhere but it was like you just disappeared into thin air. You were only found a few hours ago on the side of the street near the hospital, but it wasn't like we hadn't looked there before. Someone must have brought you there, probably the same person who gave you that bruise on your head" interrupted Kankuro

Gaara's hand tentatively moved to the back of his head to touch the bruise. Its pain had subsided to a dull ache now.

"Oh Kankuro just leave him alone, at least we've found him now that's all that matters"

As his siblings continued their ever present bickering Gaara's mind ran back to a certain woman with mysterious amber eyes.

It must have been a dream, I really need a rest from all that paperwork

Hnn sorry. I'm perfectly aware of my writing skills (or lack thereof), I'm just hoping they'll improve as I continue.

Thanks for reading

p.s

I'll be editing this over and over again as I never seem to be pleased with it.