Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Special Thanks: goes out to rao hyuga 18, ssspooky, skltl90, QueenP19, McKazekage, Hwlloworld, princess p, BlueSpiritFire1, and Anoninon for all your reviews! Also thanks to all those who have, and continue to, add this story to your favorites and alerts list. You all are definitely a huge part of what keeps me going, especially during a kind of hard week for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Author's Note: Surprise! As a thank-you for all you lovely people who have been so patient while waiting for the answers to some of the questions which have been raised in earlier chapters, I decided to post ten a few days early. Please don't get used to this schedule, though, because from here on out things will get back to the once-a-week-on-Monday (Tuesday for those across the pond) updates, since I'm sorry, but I just can't keep up a double-weekly update schedule. But thank you for your patience thus far, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

*~Chapter X~*

~Past, Present, Future~

Breakfast and Gaara arrived in Hinata's suite the promised half-hour later.

Gaara, seeming distracted, folded his lean form down onto the cushion across the table from Hinata's as the servants quietly laid out the contents of their trays for the couple, then bowed out of the room, closing the door behind them.

Matsuri had left after helping Hinata change clothes and redress her hair, saying she'd get breakfast in the servants' dining hall with the others. Hinata was glad for the few minutes of solitude she got before Gaara arrived, needing time to think things through and recompose herself.

Nibbling on a strawberry, Hinata stared at Gaara across the table. He made no move to touch his own food, instead staring into his tea cup with a speculative expression on his face as his red hair dripped onto his collar and shoulders. She itched to retrieve a towel and rub away the dampness, but didn't dare. She was half-afraid to touch him again, after what happened the other night. She had absolutely no desire for a repeat performance.

At last Gaara picked up an orange slice and popped it into his mouth. He shifted his stare from his tea cup to her as he chewed, regarding her as if she were some strange new creature he'd never seen before. She shifted uneasily under his gaze, but didn't move away like she wished. At least there was a table between them, leaving just enough space so he couldn't touch her.

"You know," he said at last, "you haven't really changed much in the past few years."

Hinata blinked. "P-Pardon?"

A smile ghosted across his lips. "You don't remember, do you?" he asked softly. Without waiting for her to reply - a good thing, since she couldn't find the words to formulate one - he continued. "I guess I shouldn't really be surprised. Twelve years is a long time, but we grew so close so quickly. I had been hoping..." He trailed off, seeming suddenly, inexplicably, sad.

The desire to reach out and comfort him flared so hotly in Hinata's chest she almost gave in. But her caution and confusion won out, and instead she clenched her hands into fists on her lap and tilted her head slightly. "I'm s-sorry," she whispered. "B-But I d-don't know what you're talking about. We've n-never met b-before." Have we? Suddenly she felt uncertain about what would have been fact to her not ten minutes beforehand. There was something in his face, and in the way he'd been treating her over the course of their recent acquaintance, and the things he knew about her which suddenly made her wonder.

Pushing his mostly untouched plate away, Gaara shifted so he sat with one knee upthrust, his arm resting across it. "I accompanied my father, brother, and sister to Konoha twelve years ago at the request of the leader of your village at the time, Sarutobi Hiruzen. The two leaders were ostensibly meeting to discuss the decaying state of affairs between our villages, but there was an additional purpose to our visit, one I didn't find out about until much later."

Hinata groped through her memory, trying very hard to find something, anything, familiar about what Gaara was telling her. She vaguely remembered Sarutobi, though he had died when she was very young. The only leader of Konoha she really remembered was Tsunade, who had been at the village's helm for over a decade now. "G-Go on," she urged him when he paused, staring at her expectantly.

A flicker of disappointment crossed his face, but he continued obligingly. "During our stay, one of Konoha's most prominent clans offered to host us. My father always suspected they wanted to garner favor, both in their village's eyes and those of Suna's, but I can't say for sure." Gaara leaned forward slightly, his eyes distant as he remembered things Hinata either couldn't, or did not know in the first place. "I found the Hyuuga estate a cold and forboding place, but I was used to things like that." He waved a vague hand at their surroundings, a quick, wry grin twisting his lips. "After all, despite the heat of the desert, this place has always had something of a chilly atmosphere hovering over it."

She had sensed it sometimes, the coldness of which Gaara spoke. She'd found some little measure of comfort in it, since the chill reminded her of home. "Yes," she agreed quietly.

Her response seemed to hearten her husband slightly. Brightening a bit, he went on. "Despite the atmosphere of the grounds, I did find something to like about Konoha, and the Hyuuga clan in particular. I'd always been something of a reclusive child, allowing no one to get close to me." The darkness in his eyes was gone as quickly as it appeared, making his words ring slightly untrue, but Hinata dared not address the issue as he continued. "But in Konoha I found a little girl, a year younger than me, who looked past what everyone in my own village saw to that which I was trying to hide deep inside myself, to protect as much as anything."

Gaara paused, and Hinata closed her eyes, knowing he was talking about her. But no matter how much she tried, she just couldn't remember any visitors coming to the estate, or socializing with any children other than Neji, at that age. Hanabi didn't come along until two years after what Gaara was telling her (if he spoke truth), and Hinata didn't make friends with Naruto and the others until she was almost a teenager. Frustrated, she opened her eyes and shook her head again. "I'm s-sorry," she repeated. "I just d-don't remember any of this."

"We took a liking to each other immediately." Gaara seemed unsurprised at her words now, as if he had accustomed himself to the fact he was going to have to tell her the whole story instead of just reminding her of it. "Your cousin, on the other hand, didn't seem to approve of me, but I didn't let it bother me. I was used to being hated. What I wasn't used to was people actually liking me, as you seemed to." His expression softened as he remembered, making Hinata ache with the need to recall these things, too. How could she not?

"Ultimately, we weren't in the village long - less than a week in total, actually. Every day you and I would go out in the gardens, and we would take turns hiding and seeking each other, running and chasing each other through the paths. You helped me laugh, something I can never recall doing before then." His expression darkened again, and he frowned. "Something I didn't do again for a very long time afterwards, either."

Hinata leaned forward, grasping the edge of her cushion so she wouldn't overbalance and land face-first in the rice bowl, still confused but entranced at the same time. "What happened?" she asked. Something teased at the back of her mind, as if a long-forgotten memory was trying to resurface, but it slipped away before she could grasp it.

Her frustration was soon forgotten as Gaara answered her question. "I woke up that last night in Konoha with a bad feeling. My instincts have always been something - more than usual, and they were screaming at me then. Careful not to wake Kankuro, I left the room we'd been assigned and crept through the dark halls of the Hyuuga manor, staying quiet so I wouldn't be found out. I'd gone through the halls enough with you to have become reasonably familiar with them, so I knew my way. I was intending to go to your room, to check and make sure you were all right, but before I could get there, I saw a shadowy figure slip around the corner." He grimaced, his shoulders hunching under the weight of the memories he was reliving.

Another memory slithered along the back of her mind, cold and frightening. A dizzying number of images flashed past her mind's eye, one after another, making her absolutely certain she knew exactly what Gaara was talking about, though she couldn't remember his involvement.

"As I got closer, I saw the intruder had you over his shoulder, and was quietly but quickly spiriting you away." Gaara closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as he let out a long, shaky breath. "I knew I should raise an alarm, but I couldn't risk endangering you. So I took the only course of action available to me."

A scream, coming as if from the end of a very long, dark tunnel. Suddenly she was falling, striking the ground painfully with her shoulder and hip. Warm wetness spattered across her face, the walls, staining her nightclothes and her skin as the darkness rose to steal her away again...

Hinata jolted out of the memory, gasping at the suddeness of its return. Lifting her hand to her head, she said shakily, "I-I remember p-part of it, I think. When I was little, someone tried to k-kidnap me. M-My father stopped whoever it was, and I was safe, b-but..." She trailed off. No, that wasn't right. She had been drifting in and out of drugged unconsciousness through the vast majority of the incident, leaving her memory hazy and disjointed, but she thought for sure she'd remembered her father stopping the intruder and rescuing her.

But now, thinking about it, her father had only told her this later, while she was recovering from the incident. Rubbing her forehead, she concentrated, trying to see if any further memories of the incident came to mind, but they all slithered away before she could capture any more.

Gaara looked torn between concern and disappointment. "Your father?" he asked, then grimaced again. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," he muttered. "Figures he'd want to cover up as much of the incident as possible."

"He told me the attempted k-kidnapping was b-because a rival v-village wanted to ransom me. Since the Hyuuga are such a prominent c-clan in K-Konoha, and I was the d-daughter of the leader..." Her brow wrinkled. "Wait. He n-never told me why they wanted to ransom me. What, exactly, they wanted in exchange." By the time Hinata had been old enough to understand and think of such a detail, she'd forgotten the incident. But now, since Gaara had reminded her of it, she wondered. What exactly did the rival village feel they could possibly accomplish by kidnapping her?

Her husband was quiet as he waited for her to sort through her thoughts and reach a conclusion. When she looked at him again, he correctly took it as her prompt to go on. "Your father got the kidnapping attempt right," he said. "But what he, apparently, failed to tell you was it was engineered by Suna. By my father."

Hinata fought back the urge to recoil from the table - and, thus, Gaara. Her mind was already working, spinning, trying to figure things out. If, in fact, it was Gaara's father who was the mastermind of the plot, why did Hiashi allow her to marry the man's son? Did he really care about her so little, that he'd give her to the very people who had wanted to kidnap her in the first place?

Seeing her reaction, Gaara remained absolutely still, not withdrawing, but not moving toward her either until she relaxed a little and asked for more of the story. He seemed relieved when she did question him, as if he'd expected her to run away right then.

"I didn't find out about the details until much later," Gaara said. "Of course, by the time the incident itself was over, obviously the entire house had been awakened by the noise. You were spirited off to your room by your mother and some maids, only semi-conscious and hysterical, and I..." He tensed, abruptly looking away as he traced the edge of the table with the tip of his index finger. "Well, I was spirited away to a different portion of the house by guards."

Hinata felt her forehead wrinkle. If Gaara had indeed saved her, why would guards take him away? Surely everyone would have been thanking him instead of treating him like a criminal. It didn't make sense. He was hiding something else from her, and the holes he was leaving in his story were making her even more confused and frustrated than she was before.

"The masked intruder who was trying to kidnap you was discovered to be my uncle, Yashamaru. Ever since my mother died in childbirth with me, he, her brother, took over caring for Temari and Kankuro." His lack of mentioning himself was glaringly obvious, and the look on his face made it clear she shouldn't ask about it, either. "He had come with us to the village as their, and my, protector and caretaker. But, in actuality, he had a dual purpose. When talks with Lord Sarutobi did not go as my father had planned, he hatched a new plan, one sure to make everyone in Konoha sit up and listen while at the same time proving Suna to be the more powerful village." He frowned. "He did not, however, count on my messing things up."

"Your father engineered my k-kidnapping?" It was still so hard for Hinata to believe. She just couldn't reconcile those things with her current circumstances. Granted, Gaara's father was dead, but still! If Suna was that untrustworthy, why would her father send her here to live out the rest of her days? Was she that unloved and unwanted? If so, why now, and why not then? It made no sense!

"Yes. As I said, though, I did not find out about this until later. At the time, my father made it seem like my uncle was working on his own, for his own agendas. Of which, might I add, my father claimed he was unaware and unapproving. Yashamaru was - well, due to the course of events, he was unable to defend himself, or prove or disprove my father's words." Regret flashed in Gaara's eyes, and she caught a glimpse of it before he looked away again. "No matter. We were escorted out of the village, and when we got back home, my father launched into a very long tirade about his failed plans while making his displeasure over my own actions well known." He looked back at her, and a strange light entered Gaara's eyes - cold, remote, almost inhuman. "But despite that, he was still pleased. Oh, he was so pleased. Once he had time to think about it, he realized other plans, ones which had been percolating and developing much longer, were coming along better than he realized. And I was at the center of them, the cause of them. He had lost one battle, but he was winning the war, practically single-handedly, without even having to lift a finger or throw a single knife."

"I d-don't understand," Hinata whispered.

The frightening look in Gaara's eyes vanished, immediately replaced by one of - was that sympathy? Hinata couldn't be sure. "I know," he replied. "And I'm sorry, but we don't have time to get into that right now." He looked at the nearest clock, and Hinata followed his gaze, surprised to see it was nearing time for those from Konoha to make their departure. She had a feeling she'd not be going with them.

"To make a long story short," Gaara said, drawing her attention back to him, "my father made it seem my uncle was working for an organization opposed to both Konoha and Suna, thus not allies of either. It was untrue, of course, and I don't think anyone in Konoha believed him, which is why we were thrown out. Naturally they couldn't punish any of us since there was little evidence and no one of Konoha had been killed. But the ironic thing is, before the kidnapping attempt on you, during Father's talks with Lord Sarutobi, an arrangment was proposed. The son next in line to take over after my father's death - which, even then, was me - would, when we came of age, marry the daughter of one of Konoha's high clans. As you know, the leaders of the Hyuuga, Uchiha, Nara, Aburame, Yamanaka, and Inuzuka clans are all on Konoha's Council, but only three had daughters. Only two had daughters around my own age."

Hinata remembered what Gaara had told her in the library, how their betrothal had been in place for twelve years, and surmised at least some of the rest of the story. "I was ultimately chosen," she whispered.

Gaara nodded, looking proud of her leap in logic. "Yes. The Hyuuga, the Uchiha, and the Senju clans are the three oldest in Konoha. Though the Senju were, ultimately, the ones who actually founded the village, all but Tsunade have died out."

Except for Naruto, Hinata wanted to say, but refrained. Technically, Uzumaki Naruto was Tsunade's adopted grandson, even though he was to inherit leadership of the village when Tsunade died. She'd also heard rumors that Naruto had ties to the Senju on his mother's side of the family. But, as far as she knew, those had been neither proved nor disproved.

"Uchiha Fugaku had only sons, so the Hyuuga clan was the only real choice in the end," Gaara continued, unaware of her thought process. "Hyuuga Hiashi, of course, had a daughter my age. He had been introduced into talks two days before your attempted kidnapping, in fact. He was, however, reluctant to agree to the terms set forth, even at the cost of peace between our villages. Suna has always had a certain sort of reputation, one which paints us as a violent, bloodthirsty group of people. I believe it is because of our seclusion in the desert, of our lack of proximity to what most consider 'civilization.' And there are also stories, told generation after generation among those from Suna - and apparently those of Konoha, as well - about how the foundations of Suna were forged by blood and steel. Because of all these things, your father did not want to release his daughter into the care of such 'wild dogs,' as he called us." Instead of looking offended, Gaara's expression remained bland, as if he'd long ago learned not to let such comments bother him.

"Anyway," he continued, "my father wanted to force the Hyuuga - and the village's - hand that night. But his plans were ruined, and he returned to Suna without any sort of agreement in hand. However, he did still have some ideas about what to do. Even though his brother-in-law had been involved in your attempted kidnapping, his son had saved you. Was that not a good foundation on which to build another agreement? He sent a series of letters to Konoha, though he never returned to the village."

"An agreement was worked out," Hinata supplied when Gaara paused yet again.

His red hair, now mostly dry, waved about Gaara's pale face and briefly hid his tattoo as he nodded. "Yes," he agreed. "Lord Sarutobi exerted his influence as leader of the village and agreed to the betrothal without consulting your father. The way I heard it later, Hyuuga Hiashi was furious about what he saw as the duplicity of his own village leader, but there was nothing he could do about it. What was done was done. Less than a year after the agreement was finalized, Lord Sarutobi was assassinated. Lady Tsunade returned to Konoha and took her rightful, albeit reluctant, place as leader."

"And your f-father?" Hinata prompted softly. She sensed there was more to that part of the story, but Gaara tensed again.

"He has been gone now for seven years. Let's just leave it at that, shall we?"

Even though she didn't want to, Hinata gave in and nodded in agreement with his request. "There's still one thing I d-don't understand," she said, even though there were actually several things she still didn't understand. "What d-does all this have to d-do with my f-father's d-death?"

"I knew you'd ask that eventually," Gaara said. At first he seemed disinclined to answer, taking interest in the fruit he'd completely ignored earlier. Hinata waited impatiently while he ate half an orange, then took a long draught of his now-cold tea.

"Do you remember how I mentioned my father blamed Yashamaru's involvement with a group opposed to Konoha for your attempted kidnapping?" At Hinata's nod, he inclined his head in her direction. "It is really all rather ironic and mind you, this is mostly hearsay. But if what Lady Tsunade and I discussed last night is true, the very same organization my father blamed for your near-abduction is actually responsible for your father's death."

Hinata jumped to her feet. "S-Something must b-be d-done immediately!" she cried. "The c-culprit must b-be arrested, and-"

Between one blink and the next, Gaara had stood and come around (or had he actually jumped over?) the table to stand in front of her. He'd moved so fast, Hinata hadn't even time to register his movements before he was there, taking her shoulders in his hands. He stared down into her eyes and made a soft shushing sound, once again shaking his head. "Remember, Hinata, we haven't proved this," he said softly when he'd regained her attention. "There is going to have to be a good deal of investigation before we can."

Shrugging out from beneath Gaara's hands, which had been gentle but still disturbingly oppressive on her shoulders, Hinata looked toward her room. "All the m-more reason why I should g-go to K-Konoha with the others," she said pleadingly. "P-Please, I d-don't have much time to p-pack b-before it will b-be time to leave."

Gaara captured her again, and this time he wrapped his arms around her to prevent her from slipping away. Pulling her gently but firmly to his chest, he rested his chin on top of her head and said, "You can't go yet, Hinata." The words were apologetic but final.

She struggled against him for a few moments, but gave up when she realized he wasn't going to let her go. Resting her head against his chest, where she heard the strong, steady beat of his heart, she closed her eyes against the stubborn tears of grief and frustration welling into her eyes. "B-But why n-not?" she asked hopelessly. "I have to g-go. For my c-cousin, and my sister, and everyone else..."

Moving his hands to her shoulders once more, Gaara gently pushed her back from him so suddenly she jumped. "Hinata," he said, as serious as she'd ever seen him, "do you trust me?"

Hinata blinked, shocked by his direct question. Truthfully, there were few people in Hinata's life she really trusted, faithfully and unquestioningly, but she didn't know Gaara that well. Her own paranoia, born from her upbringing and more recent events with her friends, had prevented her from forming that same unquestioning trust she shared with people like Neji and Tenten. But now Gaara was asking her quickly to make that decision, take that step, and trust him completely. She knew he would not let her go without an answer, one way or the other.

Do I trust him? Even despite the story he'd just told her, Hinata instinctively felt she had nothing to fear, at least physically, from Gaara. But there was still a part of her which felt deeply mistrustful of him, unwilling to let go of that small seed of doubt about his reliability, nurtured by things she'd heard her entire life. She did not know him well, and there was no one to ask about the truth of what he'd told her. She wanted to believe him - oh, how much she wanted to believe him! But could she? Should she?

In the end, there was really only one thing she could say. Closing her eyes, she bowed her head and whispered, "Yes." It was only partly the truth, but she couldn't let him know about the rest of it, about the part of her which still wondered about him.

Gaara let out a breath of what sounded like relief, so strong it ruffled her bangs across her forehead. "Thank you," he whispered. Catching her chin with his index finger, he tilted her face up to his and offered her a very small smile. "I promise I will explain more to you later, when I can. But, for now, please continue to trust me and understand when I say, as much as I want to, it is not safe for you to return to Konoha with the others."

"Why n-not?" Hinata was ashamed when her voice broke in the middle of the word. She wanted to take back her affirmative response, to fling it back in his face with accusations and threats and hatred. But she couldn't, not when he looked so sincerely grateful for her response. Not when she'd already given her word.

He studied her face for a long moment, steady green eyes reading every tiny nuance of her expression, tracing her features almost as palpably as the touch of his hand. "Because it is expected," he said at last. "Whoever assassinated your father might next set their sights on you, and I can't take a chance with your safety. They - whoever they are - will expect you to leave with those from Konoha, and to arrive at the same time." He brushed his fingers along her cheek, offering her a soft but grim smile. "Were you to leave with Lady Tsunade and the others today, you would not be the only one in danger. Your presence could put them in danger, as well. However, if we wait until tomorrow to leave, we should be safe. And, when those who might be lying in wait to attack see you are not among those headed to Konoha, your friends will remain safe, as well."

"B-But won't that just shift the d-danger to you, and those others from Suna who will b-be traveling with us?" She watched his expression closely, wanting to see the slightest change which could help her better read his emotions.

"Perhaps. But I've had some time to think it over, and I've come up with another idea. A decoy group will leave early tomorrow morning, while it's still dark. Any lookouts posted to keep track of our movements will naturally follow them." He curled his lips upwards in a smile. "The early group will be comprised of some of Suna's strongest fighters. When we actually leave later in the day, we'll travel quickly and take an alternate route to Konoha. We'll have to travel straight through, with only very short breaks for food and rest, but it's the safest way I can think of to keep you - and, yes, all of us - safe but still get you to Konoha in time for your father's funeral."

Hinata's breath eased out of her on a long sigh. This was the proof she'd been looking for this whole time, proof that Gaara was trustworthy. He had gone through so much trouble not only to keep her safe, but also to make sure she was able to go back to Konoha and attend her father's funeral and be there with her family during this difficult time. Bowing her had in a nod of agreement, she whispered, "I-I agree. Thank you."

Gaara looked slightly surprised, as if he'd expected her to argue with him. When he finally regained his voice, he smiled softly and replied, "Thank you, Hinata." He paused for a moment, as if considering the wisdom of whatever he wanted to say next. He must have come to a favorable decision, for he continued a moment later, "I didn't know your father well at all, but I do know we didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things. But I can be sure of one thing: the things we have done have been for nothing less than your absolute safety."

Of Gaara, Hinata didn't find it a stretch of her imagination to believe such a thing. Of Hiashi, however, she found it nearly impossible. To keep from having to reply, she simply offered her husband a soft smile, hoping that would placate him.

Fortunately, she was saved from having to come up with a verbal answer by a knock on the door. Gaara stared at her for one more long, breathless moment before tearing himself away with obvious effort to answer the summons.

Unsurprisingly, it was Matsuri who stood on the other side, her head bowed respectfully. "Milord," she said, curtsying to Gaara. She looked up just enough to catch sight of her mistress, her face set in a decidedly grim expression. Curtsying again, she said, "Milady, those from Konoha are preparing to leave. I came to fetch you so you could say farewell."

It did not occur to Hinata until she was halfway down the steps, Gaara still at her side, that Matsuri had spoken as if she'd known Hinata would not be going with Lady Tsunade and the others.

Another slight stirring of unease fluttered in her stomach, but Hinata resolutely pushed it away. She would be starting her journey back to Konoha tomorrow, and she knew with frightening certainty she'd get more answers there.

Only one question remained. Was she ready to hear them?

*~To Be Continued~*

Author's Note: To thank you for your patience while waiting so long for this chapter full of answers (and yes, sorry, more questions too), I decided to post this chapter a few days early. I'm planning for the next chapter to be on the regular day, Monday, though, so sorry, but please don't get used to this schedule. I have only one more thing to say, for all those people who have voiced doubts: the last chapter was not a filler. Every word I write has a purpose which might not be immediately indentifiable, but I promise what happened in the last chapter will tie in to something which happens later. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you Monday for the next update!