I do not own Naruto. I hope you like this chapter and please feel free to review.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Each bang on the door a kunai driving into Gaara's hung over brain. "Get up Gaara." His sister's voice roared from behind the door.

"Go away." Gaara grumbled. More banging sliced his skull.

"You skipped out on Naruto's wedding early after dragging us here. The least you can do is go out to breakfast with our other leaf friends before your meeting with the Hokage in an hour." A click was heard just before the blond woman and a man with purple face paint appeared in the door way. "Why did you leave the wedding…" Her words were cut off. Gaara had sat up in bed to glare at her but he wasn't the only one. Long dark blue black haired woman also rose from the bed. Her face was covered by her long locks but Temari could see small white hand clutched the sheet to her chest. As quickly as she shot up the woman dove back into the bed covering herself with the sheet. "Gaara who is..."

"Get out of my room now." His voice was dripping with his anger. "I will meet you down stairs in a few minutes." Kankuro tugged at his sister's arm and pulled her back through and closed the door. "I'm sorry about that." Gaara turned to his bedmate. He was surprised to see her standing. The pale woman grabbed her fallen dress. He watched as she drew it up to cover her skin. The red head had to admit he was disappointed. "Are you leaving so soon?" He asked her. Hinata stopped her dress zipped up. She turned to him.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep. There will be trouble if my family realizes I have not been home." She said softly. He watched her crouch down to find her shoes.

"Hinata?" Her name a question that left his lips. The joy he felt last night seemed like an ancient memory. New strange emotions clogged his mind as he watched her slip into to her white heels. Her hand was on the door knob when he reached out to her. "Hinata please."

"I have to go." Her voice trembled. She turned from him. A second later she was out the door. Gaara stared at the door for a moment before he let his arm drop. He dropped back onto his pillows. His hands came up to rub his pounding head. 'She sounded scared just now. Could she be scared of me or does she regret what we did?' He sighed. 'I need to get ready to discuss trade and other things. How can I do that when my mind is filled with thoughts of my midnight goddess?' Slowly he rose and dressed for his meeting with the Hokage.

Upon the roof tops a lavender blur could be seen racing to the Hyuga compound. Hinata pauses for a moment on the roof across from the side of the compound near her home. Silently she activates her byakugan. She scans the surrounding area. All is quiet this early morning. Letting out a breath she slips over the wall and toward her bedroom window. Carefully she lifts it and climbs inside. With a bit of luck no one would realize that she was just getting in. Quietly as she could she slipped out of her cloths and headed to the shower. Hinata dressed in her normal attire and prepared for a regular day of training.

She was drying her hair when she heard the soft footsteps outside her door. Turning she watched her father enter without knocking. Hinata became rooted to the spot by fear of the look in her father's eyes. "Father." Her voice quivered.

"Where were you?" He shouted at her.

"Father I don't…" Hinata looked up at the cold man from her new position on the floor. A pain radiated from her right cheek.

"Do not try to lie to me. What new shame have you brought upon yourself?" The venom of his tone bit into her heart. "You threw away the last good thing you could do for you clan, didn't you? Was it that mutt of an ex-teammate of yours? Or some other worthless ninja?"

"Father Kiba wouldn't." Slowly Hinata rose to her feet.

"Then who was it? I want retribution for what this man is now going to cost the clan."

"Please father. We were both drunk. You can't blame him." Hinata eyes sparkled with unshed tears.

"Are you saying you were raped?"

"No father everything was consensual. Besides Gaara would never." Hinata gasped. In her attempt to defend him she had accidentally spoken his name.

"Gaara the Kazekage?" The dark haired man's eyes narrowed. "Answer me. Was Sabaku no Gaara the one you were with last night?"

"Yes, father." Hinata looked down at her shoes. Soft pink lips gasped in pain. Her father's vice grip cut into her arm. He was dragging her out of her room. "Where are we going?"

"We are going to the hokage tower."

Gaara sat in the hokage's office staring at the silver haired man. He was already growing weary over the discussion of trade route safety measures. Green eyes glanced over at the fifth who stood against the wall with her eyes closed. 'Neither of us wants to be here doing this. I bet if Tsunade wasn't here teaching him how to be a "good" hokage Kakashi would have just accepted the proposed of sending out border patrol every few days and scouting the route up till the border on either side.' Gaara's shot up facing the door. His stance alerting his siblings to the possible danger.

The pale man burst through the door. His long brown hair pulled back. The man's cold white scanned the room till they locked onto the red head standing in front of the Hokage's desk.

"Hyuga Hiashi what can I help you with?" Kakashi asked in a confused tone.

"I have come to seek retribution for the property that the Kazekage damaged last night." Hiashi cold voice declared. Several eyebrows raised at this remark.

"What property might that be?" The young blond woman asked? Her hand still on the fan on her back. Hiashi pulled Hinata from behind him.

"Hinata?" This came from Lady Tsunade. She removed herself from the wall and began approaching. "What do you mean by damaged property? Did he beat her?"

"No he did far worse then beat her. She was to finally bring honor to our clan by an arranged marriage. We already received several inquiries from foreign dignitaries. That is all ruined now thanks to him." He pointed at the Kazekage. "No one wants a wife that's been spoiled."

"Father please stop." Hinata's voice was high with fear. Her face was bright red. "Gaara did nothing without my consent. You cannot…"

"Shut up you whore." Hinata closed her eyes prepared to be struck. Several seconds passed but the hit never came. Slowly she opened up her lavender tinted eyes and gasped. Her father's arm was raise and coated in sand. She turned to the kazekage. His red hair blazed in the morning light, as if to reflect the fiery nature of his anger. His hands at his side were balled into fist. The knuckles on each hand were as pale as her own flesh. No one moved or spoke for a long moment. Finally after what seemed like days Tsunade took a tentative step. "Kazekage?"

His voice broke the spell they all seemed to be under. Slowly Gaara approached the taller man half covered in sand. He stopped next to the girl. Slowly he pulled the pale beauty away from the man in front of him. "She is your daughter not your property." His voice made the people throughout the room shiver. Hinata felt her back connect with the solid chest of the man behind her.

"She belongs to the clan. She is supposed to put what is best for the clan before herself. That makes her the clan's property." Hiashi growled back. He would not let himself be talked to as if he's anything less than the head of a prestigious clan. "She has always been a disappointment not fit to be the heir. This was the only way for her to bring honor. Yet again she disappoints. Or was she not pure before she threw herself at you?" Hinata began to cry from her father's words. She knew she had never lived up to his standards but still she thought she meant more to him then this.

"If it is a political marriage you want then you shall have one. What prestige and honor will it bring to the great Hyuga clan to have the eldest daughter married not only to the son of the most powerful clan in Suna, but the Kazekage himself? This marriage forever sealing the alliance between leaf and sand." He practically spit the words at the pale eyed man.

"That marriage would be acceptable." Hiashi said as if body was not in a position to be crushed.

"Good. Kakashi in Suna the kazekage is allowed to perform a marriage ceremony. Is it the same here in the leaf?" The young man inquired. He turn the small woman with him to look at the Hokage.

"Ah well yes." Kakashi said. He scratched the back of his silver head.

"Good. Please bring out three copies of the marriage contract for us to sign." Gaara said. His tone slightly calmer than before.

"Three? Um sure let me just see where they are?" He began moving papers and scrolls around his desk. Tsunade sighed. She moved over to the filing cabinet and pull out a handful of papers. She placed them in front of the masked man. "Oh thank you Tsunade. So when would you like to perform the ceremony?"

"Now."

"Now?"

"Now." Gaara voice held a note of finality to it.

"Gaara what are you doing?" His sisters asked.

"I'm getting married Temari. Please begin Hokage sama." Gaara moved so that he was looking down into those large lavender tinted eyes. He reached down and took Hinata's hands into his own. Gaara had seen couples hold hands on many occasions. He felt this was appropriate.

"Gaara this is crazy you can't just decide in the matter of a minute to get married." His sister yelled.

"I can and I am. You have no say in this matter Temari. You are my sister and I love you but you are not involved in this. There is only one person whose objection matters." All eyes turned to the bluenette. She just stood there startled and confused by the entire situation.

The room was silent. Each person seemed to be trying to grasp exactly what was going on. A collective thought of this can't be real was felt by six of the seven people. After a couple of silent minutes Kakashi took Hinatas silence as her consent to the marriage.

"Okay. Well Gaara I need you to sign here." He pointed to a line on the papers. "Hinata you will sign here. Gaara released her hands. He signed with the speed he'd obtained from the thousands of documents he signs every day. He turned carefully placing the brush into Hinata's shaking hands. The bluenette hesitated.

"Sign them Hinata." Her father commanded. She blinked. Then signed them. Her body seemed to be on autopilot. Her mind in a complete jumble. She couldn't grasp the fact that not only had the man she slept with the night before come to her defense but that he was about to become her husband.

'This can't be happening. I must be having a crazy dream I'm in after my father knocked me into unconsciousness.' Kakashi reached over and pulled the papers back toward himself. The Hokage cleared his throat before beginning.

"Do you Sabaku no Gaara take Hyuga Hinata to be your lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold in sickness and in health so long as you both shale live?"

"I do." His voice was as empty as ever.

"Do you Hyuga Hinata take Sabaku no Gaara to be your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold in sickness and in health so long as you both shale live?"

"I…" Hinata looked up into the dark rimmed eyes that stared back at her. Their normal coldness gone. Several emotions flitted threw them but they were all too fast to read. She felt him squeeze her hands gently. 'What was that look just now? It looked almost as if he were scared. But why would the Kazekage be scared?' Hinata felt a strange feeling stir in her chest. She wanted to take his fear away. "I do." The look of relief that filled his eyes was startling.

"Do you…" Kakashi paused. He felt he already knew the answer to this question given the strangeness of the circumstances but still he had to ask. "Have the rings?"

"Rings?" Gaara quirked an eyebrow less brow. "No."

"Well we kind a need them for the ceremony." Kakashi stated. He scratched the back of his head again. 'Could this day get any weirder?'

"Do they have to be metal?" The Kazekage's voice took him off guard.

"Well I mean that is traditional but I guess it wouldn't really matter. It's more a symbol kind a thing." He watched the redhead nod.

"Give me a moment." Gaara held up Hinata's left hand by the wrist. He called forth some of his sand. It swirled wildly around Hinata's finger. He held up his own hand and the sand did the same to him. Gaara held out his right hand. Both swirling masses moved to his palm. In a quick movement he clamped his hand shut. After a minute he opened his hand. There sat two sand stone rings. "Will these work?" Gaara asked the older man as he reached over to show him the rings. The Hokage blinked with his visible eye.

"Yeah they will work. Alright well give your ring to Hinata to hold. Repeat after me. I Sabaku no Gaara take Hyuga Hinata as my wedded partner, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. Place the ring on her finger."

Gaara did. He took a moment to marvel at how tiny and delicate looking her fingers were.

"Hinata repeat after me. I Hyuga Hinata take as my wedded partner, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part." Hinata had stumbled on the word love but barreled through the rest. "Now place the ring on his figure. She did as she was told. Her figures fumbled slightly. Her whole body was starting to feel numb. "By the power invested in me by the land of fire I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Hinata gasps at the soft hand on her cheek gently turning her to face those aqua eyes. She didn't even realize she had been looking at anything but him, while she said the rest of her wedding vows. He closed his eyes as he leaned in gently to kiss her. Her eye shut and she gasped once more at the feel of his lips. Gaara took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. It was not a battle of the tongues but not chaste either. With reluctance he withdrew from the kiss to look at his new bride. His fingers brushed against the bruise on her cheek. 'He will ever do this to you again.' Gaara thought as he ran his fingertips along her jaw. A few minutes passed.

"Well um are we going to continue the treaty discussion or do you want to have some time alone?" Kakashi asked. He had just finished signing and sealing the three marriage certificates. He was truly hoping it was the latter. Watching the beautiful young woman in the Kazekage's arms had given him a need for some alone time with his favorite book.

"Yes we should finish these documents. "Temari will you please send a copy of the marriage certificate to the Council of Suna, then go to my room and remove my sheets from last night. The goats will be wanting to see them I'm sure. Once they are packed up please return here to help me finalize things."

"Goats?" Kakashi questioned. As he handed one of the certificates to Temari.

"It's what he lovingly refers to the Suna council members as." Temari replied. She nodded to her brother before walking out the door. 'I have no idea what sort of madness has possessed my brother but getting away from here for a while will be good.' She thought.

"It is short for old goats which most of them resemble." Gaara stated simply. "Kankuro please escort…" He stumbled on the word. "My bride to the Hyuga estate. She will need to pack and be ready to leave with us in the morning."

"You can't leave that quickly." Hiashi voiced. All eyes turned to him. The sand had fallen off of him at some point during the ceremony.

"Why not?" The young man questioned of his new father in law.

"That will not be enough time to prepare to give Hinata the cage bird seal."

"She will not be receiving any seal. You will not touch her." Gaara growled at the man. The look in his eyes had made many a man cower but Hiashi Hyuga was not just any man.

"She is no longer the heiress of the main house she has to receive the seal."

"As I said you will not touch her. Any attack on her is an attack on me. Therefore it will be seen as an act of war." This startled the older man.

"She is my daughter and a member of the Hyuga clan she is bound by clan rules. Those rules state she is to be sealed." Hiashi yelled.

"No she may still be your daughter but the minute we signed the marriage certificate, which is already on its way to my village, she stopped being a member of the Hyuga clan and became a Subaku. She is no longer bound by your clan laws. So as I said it would be an act of war. A war that the rest of your village will not support you." Gaara's tone was neutral. He watched Hiashi blink at his words.

"No we will not support a war with the sand." Kakashi and Tsunade said together. Hiashi looked over at them then back to the young Kazekage.

"You planned this?" Hiashi whispered in disbelief.

"No I did not plan for you to burst into this meeting and cause all this. I did however cause the marriage to happen immediately since I did not trust you not to harm Hinata. I knew as my wife she would be safe. I wanted her safe as soon as possible. Thus the need to have an instantaneous wedding." He turned to Hinata. "I am sorry that it happened this way. I know most woman have planned to have a wedding like the one we attended yesterday. I assure you that I will get you a real ring. Also the elders will probably insist on some sort of celebration in honor of our wedding." Hinata merely nodded at him. Her voice seemed stolen by his words.

'He married me to protect me from my father. He committed himself to me a woman he doesn't love for the rest of his life because he thought that he was rescuing me. Why would he do this?' Hinata's thoughts were cut off by his next words.

"Please pack a fancy kimono for the trip. I will see that you will have as many new ones as you want once there but you will need one for meeting the council. Also please pack lighter attire. The desert is very hot and the jacket you used to wear will not be appropriate. Anything nonessential can be shipped at a later time. Kankuro if you're ready. When she is done please bring her back to my quarters to rest and change for tonight's renewal of the treaty dinner."

"Don't worry about it. I'll keep my new little sister safe." The black clad man walked up. He took Hinata by the arm and gently led her out the door. Hiashi made a move to follow them.

"Hiashi sama I think it best if you stay away from the Hyuga compound for a couple of hours. I can't have something happen to start a war. Tsunade why don't you take Lord Hyuga for a drink or two on me." Kakashi stated. He pulled out some money from his wallet and looked at the beaming blond. "Tsunade keep him from doing anything. Use force if necessary." The Sixth said in a quieter tone as he handed her the money. The pair left the two Kages in peace.

Kakashi reached into his desk and pulled out his own bottle of sake. He poured two cups. "To our two lands that are now bound through marriage." He toasted and downed his cup. Gaara nodded and drank his own. "Well I guess we should hurry up and rewrite this alliance if you plan on making it back to your room tonight to consummate your marriage."