Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! *MUMBLES* Unfortunately *MUMBLES*^^

New chapter everyone! This took quiet some time to write, but it's eventually here! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3: Rose of Consolation

Gaara sat up on his bed and ran a hand through his auburn locks of hair. The moon was up in the sky outside and the sky was still a pitch black colour, yet he was awake. It had already been two weeks since Hinata had arrived at Suna and every night she would wake up from her nightmares, screaming and then crying herself to sleep. He would wake up every night, hearing her screams. He was bothered by that to say the least. Not because it annoyed him, but because it would always make his heart ache a bit every time he would hear her screams and crying. Under the light of the sun she was strong and fearless, she was his bodyguard, yet when the night would fall she would become weak and in need for protection like a little child. And he would wake up every night- every single night- and he would never go back to sleep after that. He would be always sitting on his bed waiting for the sun to rise while getting lost in his thoughts. He couldn't understand his own mind and heart any more. Why did he have the urge to run into her room and hug her in order to let her know that whatever the problem was it would eventually pass?

It was, probably, understanding, he thought as he got out of bed and got dressed. For as long as he could remember his nights would be filled with nightmares of blood and death and when he'd wake up screaming and searching for someone to just be there and console him, there was nobody around. He knew how she felt, although he didn't know what the reason of her pain could be.

He walked out of his room and couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of his two guards sleeping while leaning against the wall. And to think that they were supposed to be there in order to protect him.

Suna Fools, Gaara thought as one of the guards started to snore and the Kazekage tried hard not to laugh. Gaara coughed the best he could in order to get their attention, but the guards kept snoring. Gaara sighed.

"Shin! Shou! Wake up!" He said and the twins jumped out of their sleep and started to panic once they realized that Gaara had caught the red handed.

"Kazekage-sama!" They said and bowed. "Sumimasen, Kazekage-sama!"

"No need to say sorry, I understand. That's why I woke you up. It's not comfortable sleeping out here."

"No don't worry, Kazekage-sama. We've got used to it" Shou rushed to say and Shin hit him had on the head whispering something like 'You fool! You just told the Kazekage we fall asleep every night!' to his younger twin brother. Gaara smirked.

"Why don't you go back home and sleep like every normal person does?" The twins shot up their heads at once with shock and fear clearly pictured in their eyes.

"Are you firing us Kazekage-sama?" They almost cried, but Gaara chuckled with their reaction. Those two were just too much to deal with sometimes, but somehow they always managed to lighten his mood.

"No no, I'm just telling you to go and rest. There is no need to stay outside my room for whole the night."

"But Kazekage-sama-"

"I said go!" Gaara said more seriously this time.

"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu, Kazekage-sama!" The twins bowed and made their leave with huge grins plastered on their faces. Gaara chuckled again as he saw them celebrating to have a normal night for once.

He then turned to look at Hinata's closed door and sighed before starting to walk away. He needed to breathe some fresh air and calm down.

Without even realizing it he was walking through the corridors of the Kazekage Tower, heading towards his office. Once he opened the door of his office he saw a young woman sitting at his chair and preparing the paperwork for him to sign the following day.

"Matsuri" The said young woman shot her head up from the papers and smiled politely to her Kazekage. "What are you still doing staying up so late?"

"It is not that late, Kazekage-sama"

"It is 3: 45" Gaara said and Matsuri yawned "And you're tired"

"But there's still a lot off work that needs to be done and-"

"And I'll do it!" Gaara insisted. "I have no sleep after all, so I might as well be useful, right?"

"As you wish" Matsuri said with a soft and friendly smile but before she could walk out of the office she turned around to ask him something that had kept her awake and worried for many nights now.

"Ah, em… can I… ask something more?" Gaara just nodded his head waiting for her answer. Matsuri's cheeks turned red and she looked away nervously. "When is… Kankuro going to come back from his mission? It has been almost a month since he left."

Gaara smiled. With the years Matsuri had gotten over her crush for him and even if she never confessed he could see it in her eyes and moves. And with the years that passed Matsuri had fallen for his older brother and even if she would melt at just one of his smile, Kankuro was too oblivious about her love for him, always sleeping around with girls that would never love him as much as Matsuri did. One the one hand, Gaara was glad that Matsuri had fallen in love with his older brother, because he, Sabaku no Gaara, knew that he would never be able to return her feeling. On the other hand thought, the whole situation was making him furious. Because with every girl Kankuro would sleep, with every girl he'd kiss, Matsuri's heart would break even more and more every time. That alone made him want to punch his brother, but he was sure that if he wasn't the one who would punch Kankuro then Hinata would certainly do as Kankuro never missed the chance of hitting on the new girl around. He wanted to chuckle at that.

"He will be here tomorrow morning." Matsuri's face lightened up at just his words and thanked him for telling her, before she took her leave. Gaara was sure that she would be in his office early in the morning, waiting for Kankuro. It was amazing what love could do to people.

He stood up from his chair and locked the doors of his office before walking towards his desk once more. He unlocked the drawer on his right and took out a yellow file. He read the name of the ninja that was written with big capital letters on the back of the file: HINATA HYUGA. It was sent a few days before Hinata's arrival at Suna.

He opened the file and started reading one by one the papers inside. They were about missions she had taken part in from the day she became a gennin up to the day she was included into the body of Anbus. She had taken part in the Fourth Shinobi World War, but what made his eyes widen in shock was that she had been the one who killed the Uchiha bastard. He hadn't witnessed his death, but once the Uchiha dropped dead under the rain everyone cheered for the Hyuga that had managed to kill the monster called Sasuke. But that's all they referred to Uchiha's killer: A Hyuga, they'd say, a Hyuga killed the last of the Uchihas. A Hyuga killed Uchiha Sasuke. A Hyuga was all they ever said. No first name, not anything. But how could he have ever imagined that the shy Hyuga girl he remembered from his chuunin exams could have turned into a Shinobi strong enough to kill a criminal like Sasuke? Because Gaara remembered her, not her name, but when he'd sometimes sit under the starry sky after a long and tiring training, he would from time to time recall the chuunin exams and all of those who had participated. And among all those faces was hers.

Gaara flipped the pages one by one until he found what he was searching for. Her past- and most probably the cause of her nightmares. Not many things were written. Disowned Hyuga Heir and dead parents were among them, but what caught his eye was a detail that Tsunade had made sure to add in Hinata's file. He threw the papers away, letting them scatter all over the place. It all made sense to him now. Her father was murdered right before her eyes two years back.

So, that's what changed her, he thought and something in his heart slightly dropped: she is seeking for revenge.

He shook his head trying to get rid of all those unneeded thoughts. Why did he even care when he barely even knew her?

He walked towards the window and watched how beautiful Suna looked under the glistering moonlight. And he stayed there, silent, until the morning came.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"And is that new bodyguard of yours sexy?"

"This is the millionth time you ask me since you came back from you mission and it's only been an hour, Kankuro!" Gaara whined. Seriously, for an older brother Kankuro was way too hard to deal with at times.

"Yeah and you still haven't answered my question!" Kankuro said with a groan of annoyance. "Is she sexy or not?"

"Just a word of advice for you, Kankuro, that is the only thing I'm going to give you: Don't mess with Hyuga Hinata." Kankuro raised an eyebrow at his little brother's smirk.

"And why not?"

"Because, if you're lucky, you might end up in the hospital."

"Or else?"

"You'll land on a grave." Kankuro laughed.

"She sounds interesting." He said and Gaara shrugged his shoulders in fake indifference.

"Tell me why you are interested in my bodyguard again?"

"I always had fantasies involving sexy bodyguards with huge boobs and bossy character. If you know what I mean little brother." Kankuro said and winked at him while Gaara's cheeks burned up.

"I get it, I get it. Now shut up and let me finish with my work!" Gaara said and Kankuro chuckled. A light knock on the door was enough to make Kankuro take a hold of his self and control himself once more, but when a beautiful and sexy young woman walked inside he just lost it.

"I'm surprised." Kankuro turned to look at Gaara once he heard him speak. The smirk on his baby brother's face and the slight teasing tone in his voice took him by surprise. "You came right on time for once Lady Hinata."

Hinata sighed.

"Cut the crap with that Lady Hinata thing will you? My headache is already too bad for me to deal with all that." She said and groaned before she walked and sat on the edge of his desk with her arms crossed over her chest. She then turned and looked at Kankuro. "And you must be Kankuro" She said or more like stated.

"You wouldn't happen to be my baby brother's bodyguard now, would you?" Gaara glared him for the baby brother thing, but Kankuro paid him no mind and just proceeded with flirting his brother's sexy bodyguard. "Well, you're so much more than I expected, Miss Hyuga. It's a pleasure to meet you." He said and kissed her hand, but Hinata just narrowed her eyes at him and Gaara shook his head at his borther's motions. Kankuro seemed to realize none of that though.

"Tell me, Miss Hyuga, would you happen to be an angel? Cause I think I'm in heaven." Hinata just restrained the urge to roll her eyes.

"No, Kankuro-san, I don't remember seeing any wings the last time I looked my self in the mirror." She said flatly, but Kankuro didn't seem the list phased by her answer. To him, Hinata was just another play-hard-to-get chick that would eventually fall for his endless list of pick-up lines and his irresistible, as he would always call it, charm.

"Say, Miss Hyuga, would you happen to have a map with you? I think I just got lost in your eyes." Kankuro said with a smug smile plastered on his face and Gaara just coughed in an attempt to warn Kankuro as Hinata seemed eager to just kill him any moment now.

Many questions like these followed, but when Kankuro asked Hinata something that had to do with how she liked having sex, Gaara immediately stood up and drugged Kankuro outside his office, before he sat back down on his desk and sighed in relief that Hinata had not managed to kill his brother just yet.

A light melodic laugh echoed throughout the Kazekage's office making Gaara turn and look at his bodyguard surprised. Had she just laughed? And what a beautiful laugh she had. Gaara shook his head to get rid of the unwanted thoughts.

"Thank god you're not like you're brother." She said as her laugh ceased. Gaara raised an eyebrow at that.

"Why is that?"

"Because I think that if you were like Kankuro, I wouldn't be able to deal with you the least. At least now, the way you are, you are not so hard to deal with. You still have the ability to drive me mad at times, but I've got used to it by now."

"That's an honest answer." He said slightly amazed.

"I never lie."

I never lie she said, Gaara thought, smirking inside. Being surrounded by people who wouldn't loose the chance to lie in order to succeed in their secret goals, he was glad that at least she would be honest with him.

A knock on the door made their attention slip towards the blonde young woman with the sparkling energetic eyes that entered the office.

"Are you two ready?" Temari asked while swirling a small fan around her index finger.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Hinata tried hard to hide the amazement that filled her eyes as she looked around. They were walking through the open market of Suna and the streets ere crowded with people who wanted to see their Kazekage or talk to him about their problems. In the two weeks she had been in Suna, she had never, not even once, taken a walk through the village to take a look. Seeing the warm people, the familiar atmosphere and the excessive beauty of Suna made her promise to herself that she would stroll through the village whenever she was free from her duties as the Kazekage's bodyguard.

The Kazekage's bodyguard, she thought as she shifted her eyes to look at Gaara who was talking with civilians, trying to solve their problems or promise that he would do everything he could to help them while small children kept listening to him with admiration. His words weren't lies, she couldn't help but notice. He was honest with the people of Suna and they appreciated that and loved him in return. Even if he would always pretend to be tough, his behaviour now proved to her that he was warmer and softer than he wanted others to think he was. She couldn't help a small smile from reaching her lips.

She felt a small hand tugging on the hem of her shirt to get her attention and Hinata shifted her eyes to look at the short girl standing before her. She was very young, almost twelve if Hinata had to guess, yet she was thin and seemed so frail, with short black hair and blue eyes begging for some attention.

"Ex-Excus-se m-me M-Miss." The girl shuttered out. "Ar-re y-you a n-ninja?"

"Yes." Hinata said as she bent down on the girl's level. "Yes I am." That little girl reminded Hinata so much of how she was when she was a gennin, that it was kind of distracting. "I'm an Anbu" Or used to be until I was assigned to protect your Kazekage, Hinata added in her head.

"A-An Anbu!" The girl's face beamed with excitement. "Tht m-means you must b-be s-so strong!" The girl said but then her face saddened and she held her head low. "I-I o-only wish I c-could b-be as s-strong a-as you one d-day, Miss. B-But I-I am useless and a-always b-bring sh-shame to m-my father. I am s-so weak." Hinata's eyes widened in shock at her words as her own memories immerged. She rested her hand on the girl's head and she smiled as the girl raised her head to look at her.

"You already are strong; I can put my hand into fire for that." Hinata said, giving the girl the support she never really had when she was in her age. "We all are strong in a different manner each of us. As the years will pass you'll realize that your hands might not be as strong as some others', but you are sure to have a strength they don't."

"A-And h-how w-will I f-find th-that strength, Miss?" Hinata smiled again.

"Life plays us some weird games some times. You'll find your strength when the time is right." Hinata said and the girl's cheeks turned red with happiness before she bowed to Hinata.

"Thank y-you, s-sempai" The girl said before she dashed away.

Sempai, Hinata thought and suddenly Kiba's words came back in her mind. Maybe giving up on Anbu and training a gennin team in return wouldn't be that much of a bad idea after all.

Gaara on the other hand had seen the whole seen unravel right before his eyes and seeing Hinata's softness and kindness come to the surface so unexpectedly, made something flutter in his chest. Gaara brought a hand to his chest. What a weird feeling, he thought but Hinata's worried face brought him out of his thoughts. Why would she be worried about him? He couldn't help but wonder.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just fine." He said as they started walking back towards the Kazekage tower. Hinata's attention fell on some bushed with roses at the left side of the road and Gaara noticed. Those roses were like nothing she had ever seen in Konoha. They were a light shade of pink combined with the relaxing colour of the sand. Beautiful, Hinata thought.

"They are Sand Roses and they only grow here, in Suna." Gaara said and she turned her head to look at him. "Many call them Roses of Consolation though. People used to believe that just one rose could take someone's pain and sadness away." Gaara's voice trailed off.

Hinata said nothing and just looked into the distance. If those roses could ake her pain away then see would take them all. Then she would probably stop hurting once and for all.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

She shot up from her bed with a scream still on her lips and tears staining her cheeks. The full moon was up at the sky outside.

Hinata heaved as she tried to control her breathing once more. She would do everything just to have those nightmares once and for all. After all those years memories of that night were still haunting her, making her shiver and tremble in fear. They made her fell weak and she didn't like that.

She brushed her tears away with the back of her hand when her eyes fell on what was laying right next to her pillow. She took the rose in her hands, so carefully, as if afraid to break it into pieces. And suddenly Gaara's words echoed in her head. Many call them Roses of Consolation though. People used to believe that just one rose could take someone's pain and sadness away, he had said the same morning.

She stood up from her bed with the beautiful rose still in her hand. She walked towards the window and looked outside, at the young man sitting on the soft grass in the garden, looking up at the endless night sky and the moon, that unknown to her it reminded him so much of her eyes.

She brought the rose close to her face and its intoxicate and sweet scent made her smile. She knew he had brought it to her, Gaara, although she also knew that he would never admit it.

She walked back to her bed and lay back down, hugging the rose close to her chest, wishing that it would take her pain away.

She closed her eyes again, this time not the least afraid of her nightmares because she knew that she wouldn't have any. The rose of consolation, could it be that Gaara was her rose of consolation? It was weird, she thought. She had never felt like that before, not even when she had that crush on Naruto.

And as she breathed Gaara's name, she knew for sure that she was weak. But maybe, just for this once, weakness wasn't that bad to accept. Just for this night, she would admit to herself that she was weak-weak because even if she managed to block all of her feelings for the past four years, her heart proved to be stronger than her in the end.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Hyugas were running maniacally throughout the compound, through fallen lifeless bodies, blood stained corridors and flames, in an attempt to save their lives.

A branch house member was lying among others, right on the verge of death, his breath coming out in heavy heaves as his hands turned into fists on his sides.

He could barely see anything as his sight was slowly going blur with every drop of blood that would further stain his white shirt.

"Neji nii-san! Neji nii-san!" A girl screamed. He knew that voice.

"Hanabi-sama! We should leave immediately! We need to protect you!"

"No! Let go of me Ko! I said let go! Neji nii-san… Neji nii-san needs my help! Let go!"

Neji heard as Hanabi's voice disappeared in the distance as they dragged her away to save her life, while he just laid there, knowing that his time was almost up. He saw the blurred form of a man dressed in a long crimson cloak hover over him. Neji couldn't see his face, but he could see the man's white byakugan eyes and the odd bloody red caged bird seal on his forehead.

And he closed his eyes, waiting for his death to come.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Next chapter coming soon!