I do not own Naruto…

Looking around the room again, Hinata suddenly remembered something. Gaara's sand gourd! …It was gone. There was nothing beside the settee. Grasping that fact, she realized that Gaara had actually been in the room while she was sleeping. All of a sudden, she panicked, consciously pulling her kimono tighter in a desperate attempt to still her thoughts.

Recap:

Finally tearing his eyes away from his sleeping bride, the Kazekage pulled his purplish grey vest over his coat. He then quietly walked over to his sand gourd and strapped it over his back before ambling towards the door. Then, darting another glance at the one that had become his wife, Gaara quietly turned and left the room…

One Month

The Kazekage stood up and slowly turned towards a window behind his desk. Dawn was settling into Sunagakure. Looking out, he could see the first light of the day shining weakly upon the village. Everything was quiet… peaceful. It was funny to know that barely a few hours ago, the village had been caught in one of the liveliest event Suna had ever seen - a celebration that had far exceeded any he had held before. Ironically, even though the main focus of the celebration was on him and his bride, he hadn't enjoyed the whole affair.

Exhaling aloud, Gaara closed his eyes. He is married now... he has a wife. Somehow, the thought didn't go down well with him. He hadn't wanted that. It had felt as if he was forced into it and Suna's peace had been the excuse. The village was already peaceful enough, he thought, as he opened his eyes and looked out of the window again. Why hadn't he countered the whole arrangement?

As he turned around, his eyes fell upon two scrolls on the table – the marriage contract. Gaara narrowed his eyes briefly before gradually reaching out for one of them and opening it. Other than the regulations of the agreement and the assigned names below, the document was ineffective. There was no blood consent on it. He understood that the other scroll was also as ineffective since his blood mark was the only imprint made out of the three that was needed. Slowly, he rolled the scroll up again and placed both of them onto the side of his table.

Going back to his seat behind his desk, Gaara wondered if Hyuga Hinata was also a reluctant participant in the whole arrangement. He had sensed her apprehension earlier during the ceremony. He was quite sure she had taken a step back when he came to stand beside her in front of the shrine… She was afraid of him. He could feel her fear and thought he understood why. He had been a beast - a heartless, blood-thirsty beast… One that had killed without remorse, one that was not worthy of love. Even though it had been many years since he had killed an innocent person, he hadn't been able to forgive himself for his previous wrongdoings. That was the reason he had chosen to become the Kazekage to Suna. It was his way of repentance. He needed to start protecting the people in his village. He needed their forgiveness…

As he continued thinking, he wondered why the Hyuga lady had even agreed to marry him in the first place. He also wondered whether his bride had actually fainted during the ceremony. She could have feigned the whole thing so as to delay leaving her blood print on the marriage contract. He wouldn't be surprised if that was the reason. Again, he couldn't blame her. Maybe, his bride had also been forced into the marriage. Maybe she was as unwilling as he was…

As he sat thinking, Gaara slowly closed his eyes, the insomniac within him giving way to exhaustion. He was actually tired – tired from all the preparations for the wedding; tired from playing host to all the honored guests; tired from trying to smile too many times when all he wanted to do was to frown and be left alone; tired from all the mindless thoughts that had passed through his head the past few weeks.

Subsequently, as he sat, he tried to contemplate a way out of his current state of affairs. He needed to be fair to his new bride and also to himself… Little by little, he formed a plan. Since the contract was not effective, he thought he will give his marriage a trial period. That would be the most reasonable solution to the imposed situation he and the Hyuga lady had been put into. He would give Hyuga Hinata a chance to annul the nuptials... He would give himself a chance to call the marriage off. Gaara's lips curved into a crooked smile just before oblivion overtook him. …One month, he thought. He would give them one month…

%%%

Hinata blinked a few times before slowly opening her eyes to the bright ray of sunlight coming through the opened windows. She had been more than exhausted the day before and had slept deeply throughout the night. It took a while before she recognized where she was. Suddenly aware that she had been lying on the Kazekage's bed, she instantly sat up on full alert before frantically turning around. Gaara wasn't lying beside her. He was no where in sight. Hinata had to take a few deep breaths to calm herself.

Many seconds passed before the new wife furtively stepped out of the bed, all the while pulling her clothes ever so tightly around her chest. She was still in her wedding kimono. She understood that she had to get changed and start acting appropriately. It was her first morning as someone's wife. She didn't want to look inept.

Quietly, she scanned the room. It was curved on one side, a typical feature within all the rounded buildings in the sand village. She had to admit that the room looked comfortably cozy. As she ambled towards one of the five small rounded windows, she could see the village before her. Tower-like buildings and dome-shaped ones of different heights and sizes could be seen everywhere. Sunagakure is different from all the other villages she had been to. Unique as it is, it is nothing like Konoha.

Curiously, Hinata placed a hand on a wall. She had wanted to do that ever since they arrived in the place. Hardened sand – the walls, like all the other structures in the village were made of hardened sand. She smiled at the discovery, completely in awe with the place. This village hidden in the sand was going to be her new home. It was going to be a new beginning, a new adventure. For a moment, she felt excited, almost eager to explore the place.

Looking around the room again, Hinata suddenly remembered something. Gaara's sand gourd! …It was gone! There was nothing beside the settee. Grasping that fact, she realized that Gaara had actually been in the room while she was sleeping. All of a sudden, she panicked, consciously pulling her kimono even tighter in a desperate attempt to still her thoughts.

She couldn't recall Gaara lying beside her at all since she had been too soundly asleep. For a moment, she wondered if he actually did. Then, she blushed at the thought, deducing the fact that he might have and had probably gotten up early for… breakfast… training… or… mission assignments? Somehow, she knew she was making up excuses to ease herself.

Nevertheless, even though she was afraid of the red-haired leader and wasn't really looking forward to getting too acquainted yet, she was aware that she had to start carrying out her duties as a wife. In any case, she had been brought up a Hyuga. And all Hyuga women have been taught to treat and serve their husbands with great respect and devotion which, in her case is especially relevant since her husband happened to be the Kazekage, leader to the Hidden Village of the Sand. Great respect, she would willingly adhere without hesitance. Devotion… she knew she still has a lot to learn.

Taking a deep breath, Hinata quickly gathered her things before shuffling into the bathroom. She knew that time would not stand still as she whiled her thoughts away. She had to get ready for the day. She had to move into what had become her future. In her mind, she already knew what the first thing she had to do was – she had to leave her blood print on the wedding contract…

%%%

"I didn't get to try the roasted meat yesterday," Temari said before casually opening the door to the Kazekage's office.

"What a pity. It was really good," Baki said as he followed the blonde-haired kunoichi into the room. "Goes quite well with the wi…" his voice trailed off when the former sensei spotted Gaara sitting upright behind his desk with his eyes closed.

Temari was also taken aback at the sight. It wasn't the Kazekage's sleeping position that surprised them since the two had seen him in that pose before. They just hadn't expected his presence at that time and were disappointed to see that he had actually fallen asleep in the office when he should actually be sleeping in his room… on his bed… and with his wife.

"Gaara…" the elder sister called in a disappointed tone, her shoulders hunched as she walked towards her brother.

Then, just before the blonde-haired kunoichi could place a hand on her brother's shoulder in an attempt to wake him, Gaara grabbed her wrist. It was an automatic alert reaction. Slowly opening his eyes, he breathed in deeply before releasing his grip when he realized who the person before him was.

"What are you doing here?" Temari asked.

The Kazekage didn't answer as he closed his eyes again and took another deep breath.

"Gaara… you're married now," the elder sister started. "For goodness sake, you should be in your room."

"I wasn't feeling tired before this…" Gaara said collectedly.

"It's not that! It's… it's… Baki… why don't you tell him what he's supposed to do?"

"What? …Um… I… Gaara-sama… Gaara..." the jounin stammered.

"Most of the guests would be leaving soon…" the red-haired leader said calmly as he opened his eyes and casually leaned forward, clasping both his hands and placing them on the table. "We should adjourn to the gates," Gaara said, heedlessly changing the topic of discussion.

"Uh… yes, off course," Baki uttered in relief. He didn't really want to explain to the Kazekage what he was supposed to do. All the same, he was quite sure Gaara wasn't that naive too. It would be ridiculous to try to explain to an adult about what was to be expected of him when he got married. It would sound even more ludicrous explaining about the birds and the bees to someone who is actually a leader to a whole village. Again, Baki was sure that the red-haired leader was more knowledgeable in that field than he would let out.

Consequently, Gaara nonchalantly stood up to retrieve his sand gourd before turning to leave the room. Baki quickly followed, hoping to get away from being put into another intricate situation.

"Baki! …Gaara…" Temari called, frustrated by the lack of interest the two were displaying. She knew her younger brother was trying to avoid a full confrontation. Then again, like their ex-sensei, she was also quite sure that Gaara was fully aware off the marriage acts, consummation and stuffs alike. She just wanted Baki to explain it out-rightly so that her brother couldn't act innocent about the whole arrangement anymore.

Defeated, Temari could only huff aloud and cross her arms before she grudgingly followed the two out of the room.

%%%

Yawning aloud, Kankuro lifted a hand to knock on the earthy-colored wooden door as he walked passed it, only stopping in mid-action when he remembered that Gaara was already married and it would only be wise not to intrude. As he put his hand down, the puppeteer realized that he had to stop practicing what had clearly turned out to be a habit. Waking Gaara up, or more accurately, trying to irritate his all-too-cool younger brother every morning wouldn't be such a good idea anymore – not that he had ever succeeded at that, since most of the time, his red-haired brother was already up and more often than not, he wasn't even in his room.

Grinning cheekily, the elder brother started strolling down the corridor when, hardly five paces away, the door slowly creaked opened. Kankuro turned around immediately, eager to come face-to-face with a married Gaara… eager to exchange knowing smiles with one who had just spent his first night with a wife... eager to find out what had taken place behind the earthy-colored door.

Nevertheless, instead of his brother, a pale-eyed, dark-haired lady cautiously peeped out. Hinata caught her breath when her eyes found Kankuro looking at her from the corridor. Gaara's brother was back in his bunraka puppet attire and he had purple paint drawn in a certain pattern over his face.

However, just before Hinata could disappear back into the room, the puppet master abruptly called, "Kankuro here… remember? …Gaara's elder brother… Your new brother-in-law?"

"Uh… hai!" Hinata muttered tentatively. "Goo… good morning, Kankuro…-sama… san."

"Well…" the puppeteer started with a sigh. "Let's just put it this way. Gaara calls me by my name. So, you should call me by my name too and… don't expect me to address you as Hinata-sama, okay?"

Hinata nodded meekly, not meeting Kankuro's eyes.

"No matter what…" the brother-in-law continued. "…even if you were the Hyuga heiress and are now, the wife to the Kazekage, which off course is my very own brother, I'd prefer being more casual… Okay?"

"O… okay…" Hinata nodded again.

"Oh, come on… Do I look frightening? …Are you afraid of me?"

The new sister-in-law nodded slightly before quickly shaking her head.

"That's better… so… Gaara's still sleeping?" Kankuro said as he sneakily tried to peep into his brother's room.

"Um… no… he… um…" Hinata stammered, still not meeting the puppet expert's curious eyes.

"He left early?"

"Ye… I… I think so… I… I didn't…"

"Come on... I'm not going to eat you up," the brother-in-law beseeched, a little exasperated by Hinata's inhibited attitude. "Just speak up."

"Gaara… he… I… I don't really know… I… I didn't see him at all," Hinata stammered before consciously lifting her head to finally look at Kankuro.

"You mean you didn't see him at all? Well, that's weird… We came back together last night."

"Ac… actually, I think he came in but… but I was asleep and… and I didn't know…"

"...My brother could have raped you," the puppet expert carelessly joked, immediately regretting his words when he spotted the horror-struck look on his brother's new wife and how Hinata was grabbing on to the front of her sweater. "Hey, hey… I was joking, okay?" he quickly added.

Hinata had to take a few deep breaths to calm herself. To start with, she was already afraid of her red-haired husband. The puppet expert's comments unexpectedly added another load of worries into her mind.

"Are you… okay now?" the brother-in-law cautiously asked, suddenly wondering if he and Temari had actually made a mistake in picking the Hyuga heiress as Gaara's wife.

Nevertheless, when the lady before him met his eyes again and forced a smile, Kankuro's uncertainty melted away. He had to admit that Hinata was one of the most beautiful ladies he had ever come across. Even though she was a little too bashful for comfort, she looked everything an heiress would look like – graciously sweet, subtly elegant… and strikingly attractive. For a moment, the elder brother couldn't help smiling. He was sure that one of these days, Gaara will have to thank him and Temari for their choice.

Finally sighing with satisfaction, the puppet master casually asked, "Want to go down for breakfast together?"

With that, Hinata's smile broadened into a more genuine one. She had been hoping to find someone to lead her around her new home and Kankuro suddenly seemed the most accommodating person…

A/N: I just want to take this opportunity to wish all the readers a Happy New Year! Here's wishing that 2011 brings about really good ideas to all writers. Cheers!

* Thanks for your review too, Dola!

- softwinds -