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"Please welcome to Sunakgure." A shinobi bowed before Hinata.

Hinata gave him a smile as she continued walking. Her husband stood by her side. Their arms were intertwined as they made their way through the center of the village. Everything they walked past was catching her attention.

The three days had tired her out but that didn't mean much to her. As soon as she first stepped into the village a few minutes ago her tiredness went away. Since it was the first time she stepped into Suna she wanted to make sure she got a good look. This was going to be her new home.

The heat from the sun was ten times worse than it usually was in Konoha. The sand kept getting into her black sandals as they walked deeper into the village. Kankuro had went ahead and departed from them as soon as they reached the guard tower. He was even polite enough to offer to take her suitcases.

Temari stayed in Konoha as the ambassador for the sand. She was to remain there until Hinata gave birth to an heir which would solidify the alliance.

The Kazekage had already sent the shinobi to Konoha as well. They were on standby in case the leaf village were to need it.

Hinata noticed that most of the homes they were walking past were made out of stone though other more bigger ones were made of marble. She wondered where Gaara lived.

It must have been noon because the village was filled with people. They were now walking past booths. Some sold food, clothes, and other necessities.

"This is the shopping plaza of the village." Gaara's voice broke their silence. When her pale eyes met his she saw an emotion that she rarely sees on his face. Happiness. It was like he was happy to have her by his side. The few wind there was shifted his red hair slightly. His pale skin was flawless compared to hers. Hinata was sure she had sweat dripping everywhere. His teal orbs looked down at their entwined arms.

"Remind me to purchase some gold jewelry for you." Hinata was bewildered by his statement until she finally looked around at the villagers surrounding them.

The shinobi bowed their heads much like the one from earlier. Men who were not shinobi were walking around as well.The effort from their work present in their clothes. She felt their eyes on her and she finally realized why.

Hinata looked down at her outfit. It was a white short sleeved shirt with purple stripes. She was also wearing khaki shorts. When she looked up she noticed that all the women were practically covered from head to toe. Long skirts adorned their features. Each had a sort of thin sheen material covering their shoulders for modesty. It was enough to cover but also cool enough for the heat. She took a mental note to visit the store for more appropriate clothing. As the Kazekage's wife she need not stand out.

Children were running around without a care in the world. They looked to be in a soccer match. The dirty worn out ball was being kicked around on the sand. A small child kicked the ball which landed directly in front of Gaara's feet.

He blinked a couple of times before untangling his arm from hers. The children came to a halt before them. It was then that Hinata saw the fear in their eyes. Her heart felt heavy sorrow. Her husband was not one to fear. He was the kindest person she had ever meant. Gaara was nothing but sweet with her.

Gaara picked the ball up and stared at it for a moment. A look of sadness overcame his features as memories came back to him. Hinata saw as the happiness left her husband's face.

She gently placed her hand on his shoulder bringing him back to the present. He blinked and caught the smile his wife was throwing his way. She tilted her head towards the group of kids eagerly waiting.

Gaara was surprised to see that they had come closer. The look of fear on their eyes was instantly replaced with wonder as they eyed Hinata. A couple of the younger boys blushed when his wife would glance their way.

He handed the ball to the kid closest to him. The boy took it eagerly and they ran off to resume their match.

Out of the corner of her eye Hinata saw another group of children. However instead of playing with a ball they were playing with fire.

"Suna is quite beautiful. It's nothing like Konoha. It's unique in its own way. I can't wait to get to know the village a bit better." Her eyes closed as she gave him a smile.

Gaara looked at her and his heart skipped a beat. The fact that she thought the pile of sand that he overlooked was beautiful was enough to make his day. Where had she been all his life?

"I'm glad you think so. The Kazekage palace should come into view in a few minutes."

He wrapped his fingers around hers as he guided her through the still crowded street.

"So the rumors must be true!"

"I can't believe our Kazekage isn't single anymore."

"She's so pretty! Their children will definitely be beautiful."

"I wonder if they already started?"

Hinata blushed at the words of the onlookers. The villagers seemed friendly enough.

Before she knew it they were out of the plaza and walking towards a tall building up ahead. It looked like a palace. The Kazekage palace to be exact. It was made out of white marble. Four columns were holding the ceiling of the front porch up giving it an elegant appearance.

So this is where Gaara worked. Was this also where he lived? There were stairs before you reached the entrance. To her surprise there was somebody sitting on the stairs. It appeared this person was waiting on their arrival.

The closer they got she realized it was a woman. She was sitting with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. When she saw them she stood up and waved.

The woman bounded off the stairs and made her way towards them. It was when she got nearer did Hinata realize who the woman was.

Her short hair and kunoichi outfit were recognizable.

Matsuri wrapped her arms around Gaara forcing him to release his hold on Hinata's hand.

"I've missed you! Welcome home! You weren't attacked on your way here were you?!" She released her hold and looked Gaara over. Hinata swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. She was starting a new life in a new village. The last thing she needed was an enemy.

"Hi Matsuri, it's good to see you again." She extended her hand towards the eager kunoichi.

Matsuri ignored her and pulled the Kazekage towards her. Gaara stood his ground.

"It's nice to see you Matsuri. My wife and I will get situated before I discuss any pending matters."

Hinata smiled as Gaara took her hand once more and they made their way up the stairs leaving an angry Matsuri at the bottom.

They made their way into the building. It was a lot colder in here much to her relief. There was a huge staircase before then. Paintings and other artwork decorated the hallway in which they stood.

"This building has five floors. My office and the council meeting room are located on the fifth floor. The fourth floor houses our research rooms so our library would be found there. The third floor is where my siblings live. The second floor is where you and I will live. The first floor is where the dining room and kitchen are. Any servants that work for us are housed here as well."

"Ok."

Hinata followed Gaara as he led the way up the staircase. Her eyes were wide as she took it all in. There was so much detail. There were portraits of the previous Kages on the wall.

Her feet stopped at a landing behind him.

"This is the second floor where we live."

Hinata noticed there were four rooms on this floor. Two on each side and one on each wall. Gaara turned left and she quickly followed behind. He stopped at the wooden door on the left.

"This is our bedroom. The one across the hall will be our childs whenever we have one."

"That's great." Hinata whispered to him as he unlocked the door. The door opened to reveal a very spacious room.

Hinata gasped in shock. Her hands covered her mouth.

A wide bed sat against the main wall facing the door. White sheets and a comforter made up the bed. It had a dark black headboard. The bed itself looked like it had never been used. That was not the reason for her sudden shock.

"Meow."

A tiny calico kitten was curled in the middle of the bed. It's head perked up at the noise they had made when coming into the room. It stood on its hind legs.

"I got you this kitten as a wedding gift. I remembered you said you always wanted a cat at the festival."

Hinata pulled her husband into a hug as she tried to keep herself from crying. She couldn't believe that he actually listened to her let alone remembered.

"Thank you." Her lips met his in a quick kiss before she removed her arms from around his waist.

She walked in and sat down on the edge of the bed. The kitten crawled into her lap and instantly began purring. As she scratched the back of its ears she looked around the room once more.

To the left of the bed was a small balcony that opened with glass double doors. There were no curtains over it. To the right side of the room was a long black couch, a closet, and to the left was the bathroom.

"I hardly come in here. I do all of my work in my office."

Hinata looked at him and smiled. Her suitcases were already placed at the foot of the bed.

"I'm going to ahead and go to my office. There must be a lot of paperwork that I have missed in my absence. I will leave you to get situated." He left without another word. His red coat moving as he left.

Hinata waited until the door was closed and she heard his retreating footsteps. Her attention returned to the kitten.

"My little princess." She cooed in a baby voice. The kitten began pawing at her strands of hair. A short song escaped her lips. Hinata wasn't the best at it but that didn't stop her from trying. Her tiny cat stopped mid paw in the air. Her gold eyes looked up at her new owner in anticipation.

"Oh you like that don't you? That's a first." Hinata chucked. "Most people would walk the other way when I start to sing. It was a miracle when I did karaoke one night that I didn't cause the crowd to walk away."

The kitten purred even louder as it began rubbing its head against her thigh.

"Melody. I feel like that name best suits you." The kitten instantly looked up at her. It began pressing its paws against her leg.

"Melody are you making biscuits?" She questioned the cat as it kept kneading it's paws. Suddenly there was a grumble and Melody stopped.

"Are you hungry?"

She meowed in response. Hinata rose from the bed and reached for her suitcase.

"Let me just finish unpacking and I'll go down to grab both of us food. How does that sound?"

Melody stood on the edge of the bed eyeing her new owner. Her eyes were watching Hinata as she moved around the room.

Once all of her clothes were in the closet and drawers she reached inside her suitcase and retrieved the remaining few items. She placed a picture frame on the nightstand. It was a picture of team eight when they first were put in the team. Kurenai and Hinata both stood in the middle while Kiba and Shino stood on either side. Akamaru sat on top of Kiba's head.

She felt a pang in her chest. Was she already feeling homesick? When she stepped outside of Konoha she stopped being a villager of the leaf and a kunoichi. Her duties were now solely on being the Kazekage's wife. It was a part of the agreement.

It was going to be strange not going on missions anymore.

Hinata reached inside of her suitcase and retrieved the final item. It was the letter Hanabi had made for her. She let out a chuckle as she saw the glitter on the card and the memories it brought of that day. It contained the picture of her family inside. She set it next to the picture frame on the nightstand.

It looked like she was all done. She shoved the suitcases under the bed. It was going to take a moment until this place finally felt like home.

Her stomach grumbled and she took that as her que to leave. The kitchen should be on the first floor if she remembered correctly.

She quietly made her way down the stairs. A nice aroma of food made its way into her nostrils so she took a right towards the smell. She walked down the hallway and walked passed the dining room into another room which she guessed was the kitchen.

A woman stood with her back facing Hinata. A silver pot stood to her right with boiling water. Her shoulders moved as she continued cutting up vegetables. She put a large knife down as she picked up the wooden cutting board and dumped its contents into the water below.

Her hair was black and was put into a cute braid that was twisted into a bun. She looked to be about Eleanor's age. Her attire closely resembled the clothes Suna's women wore. Tan sandals were on her feet. A colorful tribal print skirt reached her ankles. Instead of a cover she wore a long sleeved white shirt that had small colorful designs that matched her skirt.

Once the cutting board was empty she turned around and nearly dropped it on the floor when she saw Hinata standing there.

"Agh! Sorry I didn't know you were here. Pleasure to meet you Lady Hinata." She bowed her head in respect.

Hinata gave her a smile.

"Your cooking smells wonderful. You don't have to bow every time you see me and just Hinata would be fine." She told the lady as she walked over and peered into the pot. It looked like beef stew was on the menu tonight.

"My name is Sophia. I am the cook of the parlance. Please if you crave anything let me know and I am at your service."

She cleaned off her hands on the apron that she wore and was about to bow again before she caught herself. A pleasant smile adorned her features.

"I'm making beef stew tonight. It's the Kazekage's favorite."

Hinata smiled as she took a seat at the small kitchen table that was in the room.

"Nice to meet you Sophia. What time is dinner usually?"

Sophia pondered for a minute as she walked over to the sink. She turned the water on and began washing the knife she had used.

"It's always at six. However it's usually only Temari and Kankuro. The Kazekage tends to have his food sent to his office."

Hinata took in this information. "Do you mind if you send up two plates instead of one?"

Sophia nodded as she shut off the sink and dried her hands on the towel.

"I also came down here for some milk. My husband gifted me with a cat."

Sophia gasped in shock.

"How sweet of him! I'll definitely add some cat food on the grocery list. Is there anything else you would like to add?"

"Would you happen to have tea in stock?"

Sophia shook her head. "I'll add that on as well. Any specific kind darling?"

"Chamomile would be great thank you."

Just then a sand shinobi walked into the kitchen. He looked surprised to see Hinata but bowed respectfully in her direction.

"Sophia have you seen Matsuri? The same woman is here today. Should I have her step inside?" The guard asked.

Sophia nodded. "Have her come in. Matsuri should come check in any minute now."

The guard walked away and in his place stood a woman. She stood there standing awkwardly and looked to be about in her forties. Her hair was a sandish brown and was shoulder length which framed her kind face. The color of her eyes were indigo. Her outfit was a simple rustic looking brown dress with an off white scarf loosely draped over her shoulders. Hinata noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes.

"Have you come again in search of a job?"

The timid woman nodded. Her eyes were cast down to the floor. Just then her stomach grumbled. Her arms reached out to cover it. It was then that Hinata saw how tattered and worn out her clothes were. Her feet were dirty from walking around barefoot.

"You've been very persistent. Practically coming in every other day for the past month. You know Matsuri's answer." Sophia sighed as she grabbed some milk from the fridge.

"I'm sorry. Did you come here in search for a job?" Hinata's gentle voice filled the room.

The woman looked up shocked but quickly nodded.

"I have traveled far. My name is K-.. I mean Mary. My name is Mary. I've come today in search of a servant's job." She was having a hard time looking Hinata in the eyes.

Hinata gave her a kind smile as she rose from her seat.

"Sophia do we need help around the palance?"

"Yes Lady Hinata."

Hinata looked at the woman once more. "Consider yourself hired. It's nice to have you here." Hinata walked over to Sophia.

The woman stood there shocked. It looked like she was about to cry. Her mouth opened and closed once more. She was speechless but the gratitude showed in her eyes.

"Here's the milk for your cat." She handed Hinata the carton. Hinata took it and leaned in to whisper to Sophia.

"Can you please make sure to feed her. Oh and can you find some shoes for as well?"

Sophia gave Hinata a huge smile. "Of course!"

Mary must have heard her because she looked like she wanted to collapse on the ground with gratitude. Hinata waved at both woman before leaving the kitchen.

"Sit down. The food is not quite ready yet but you can grab some fruit from the bowl in the meantime. What shoe size are you?"

Mary sat down at the table and grabbed an apple from the table. She began eating it and in less than a second Sophia could see the core.

"A seven. Who was that lady?" Mary asked in between chews.

"That was the Kazekage's wife." Sophia smiled. "Isn't she lovely? I just met her today but she seems to be nice. She's perfect for him."

Mary almost choked on her food. "Ga- I mean the Kazekage is married?!"

Sophia looked taken aback by her outburst. The woman before her was usually so quiet and reserved.

"It happened this week actually. She's originally from Konoha. They just arrived today."

Tears began to leak down Mary's eyes but she quickly wiped them away before Sophia noticed.

"What about Temari? Kankuro?" Mary asked with the utmost interest. It's been ages since she had seen them.

Sophia began stirring the pot.

"Temari is doing well. She is currently living in Konoha as an ambassador for Suna. Kankuro is doing just fine as well. He is currently perfecting his puppet skills and serves as the Kazekage's advisor."

Mary nodded. The apple before her was finished.

"Why are you sitting down at the kitchen table?! Get up in this instant!"

Matsuri stood before them. Her hands were placed firmly on her hips. Mary stayed seated.

"She works for us now." Sophia timidly spoke.

"Oh really? And who hired her? As far as I'm aware the only persons authorized to do that are Temari and I. Since she's gone I'm the only one with the authority." She crossed her arms.

"Lady Hinata did." Sophia glared at Matsuri. No one from the staff liked her. Why did she have to be the Kazekage's favorite student?

"SHE WHAT?!" Matsuri screeched. "Oh I'm definitely complaining to Gaara about this." Before she left she turned on her heel to face Mary.

"You better not steal anything either!" With that she was gone from the kitchen.

xxx

Gaara sat at his desk in his office. There was a mountain of paperwork stacked on his desk. Now he was more than halfway done with it.

"I wonder why that motivation little brother."

A pile of sand shot out to attack but the puppeteer managed to dodge it. Kankuro held up his hands in surrender.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing."

Gaara continued to work to avoid his brother. If he continued at this rate he would be able to join them for dinner. It was like his brother read his thoughts.

"With Temari being gone will you guys be joining me? I would not like to eat alone."

Gaara glanced up. "We will be joining you." Kankuro smiled.

"Finally. It only took you to get married for you to finally join me." Kankuro's face suddenly got serious.

"There were seven attacks in our absence. Three were on villagers trying to leave and four on visitors coming in."

The Kazekage brought his hands to his forehead as he was in deep concentration.

"Has the council come up with any possible suspects?"

Kankuro shook his head.

"The only thing they've come up with is that it is an outside party with inside connections."

Gaara groaned.

"By the way, when are the leaf shinobi supposed to arrive?"

The Kazekage flipped through the papers on his desk until he retrieved the letter he received today. It had the symbol of the leaf on the scroll.

"They are sending five leaf shinobi. All of them are Hyugas. Their Byakugun will be a huge asset in this situation since the attacks are usually made during sand storms. The Konoha ambassador will also be arriving with them. The Hokage said we should be expecting their arrival in a weeks time." He rolled the scroll back up and put it to the side.

"Have they given you a name for the ambassador?" Kankuro asked.

"No. It was only stated that it was man." He brought up his fingers and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I wonder who it could be?" Kankuro pondered in thought. "Did you consummate your marriage?"

The redhead slammed his hand down on the desk causing the table to shake.

"How did I know you were going to ask that? We weren't even on that topic!"

"You did. Your reaction says it all." Kankuro smirked. "Did you follow my advice? Did you suc-?" Gaara actually managed to punch his brother with a fistful of sand.

"What a way to confirm that." He wiped the side of his mouth and wasn't surprised to see blood on his hand.

"It's the quiet ones you need to worry about. On the other hand I'll keep you updated if I hear anything from the council."

With that Kankuro took his leave and the door shut soundly behind him. The Kazekage leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Memories from his wedding night filled his thoughts. His hand shifted the gold band that rested on his finger. Gaara still couldn't believe he was married. Their life together was just getting started.

A loud knock sounded on the door.

"Kankuro I don't have time for any more of your questions."

To his surprise it wasn't his brother who walked into his office.