It was late afternoon when the gates were cleared to be opened for the three of them. The mighty sandstone barriers were pulled left and right to allow them entry into the Sand Village. Shinobi wearing attire similar to the Leaf's could be seen atop the wall and waiting for them inside. The only difference was the white cloth most of them had wrapped around the tops of their heads with some of it hanging down over one of their eyes. It was pretty laughable to him. Their forehead protectors had the symbol of a engraved 'i'.

Once he crossed the threshold into the main city, Sasuke looked around. It was clear that orange was the prominent colour as nearly everything was orange. Houses were generally cylindrical or a dome shape with small windows that Sasuke doubted could be looked through very easily. Everything, literally everything, was made of sand.

With a tug from Maruu, he placed her on the ground where she raced to Hinata's side to hold her hand. Seeing a brand new place with brand new people was definitely difficult. Speaking of which; Sasuke had never actually visited The Sand either. He had, however, fought the Kazekage- not once but twice- and many of his subordinates.

Gaara. Naruto's other best friend since childhood. It was odd how an unstable jinjuriki had managed to become a Kage but he supposed it was to keep an eye on him or manipulate him. Either way, he wasn't looking forward to seeing him face to face anytime soon.

Inside, a team of Jonin were waiting for them. Three men. The first had brown hair and blue eyes with a black coat on. The second had the weird cloth thing on his head, and the last wore a black all in one suit that reach over his head, his face was also painted purple in stripes. On his back was a large scroll obviously hiding something important inside.

When the group spotted them, they looked relieved until their eyes settled on him. Looks of disgust and hatred happened upon them. Unlike The Mist, which was on a far away island, The Sand and it's people had had multiple run-ins with the Akatsuki and him so Sasuke doubted anyone liked him in and around Suna. This was going to be harder than he thought.

The man with purple paint on his face conversed with his peers silently before talking to Sasuke directly.

"Uchiha, my name is Kankuro. I'm here to escort you safely to the Kazekage, do you comply?" Kankuru stated. The name rang a bell. Naruto had talked about him being Gaara's brother and right hand man.

"Of course. That's why I'm here," Sasuke replied back coldly.

Kankuro nodded once in acknowledgement, not wanting to talk to him longer than needed to. His eyes shifted to Hinata and Maruu. "Hinata! It's lovely to see you, welcome to Sunagakure."

"Thank you, Kankuro. It's a lovely village," she bowed shortly.

"You're welcome. And who's this?"

"This is-"

"None of your business. Only Gaara needs to know why she's here. I seem to remember being told I was to be taken to him?" Sasuke cut in. He did not want to retell the tale again to some lackey. Hinata looked surprised at his outburst and Maruu looked to a spot on the floor. He would talk with them later and help them understand.

"Fine," Kankuro almost spat. The two other Jonin looked even more furious at Sasuke's outburst. "This way."

Sasuke flashed him a smug smile which made the mans eye twitch before falling slightly behind them with Hinata and Maruu. Sasuke went into his cloak and pulled out Mei's and Kakashi's credentials stating they could stay here and who Maruu was, so that he could give it to Gaara.

The young Kazekage was strong, Sasuke could admit that. Even without the One-tails, he could still control tonnes of sand which could then be used to protect him incredibly well. It was the ultimate defence until he unlocked his Susanoo. Sasuke had fought Gaara for the Chunin exams. It seemed so long ago. It was the first time he had used his signiture lightning move: Chidori, and saw a Tailed Beast. Gaara often liked to compare the two of them, with how he used to be lost until he found Naruto. 'I guess it was true,' Sasuke thought.

"Are you OK, Sasuke-kun?" Hinata whispered next to him. She looked concerned like a Mother wanting to help her child. "You snapped a little."

"I'm fine, Hyūga," he sighed, "I'm just not very well liked in Sunagakure."

"Yeah I can see. I'm sorry."

"I told you it wasn't your fault. Don't worry about me, let's just get this over with."

"Ok, but if you need to talk, I'm here for you, Sasuke-kun. Perhaps we could... go out later on... to a restaurant or something."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at her sudden shyness. He hadn't dealt with that from her for ages, but she just looked so damn cute. He smiled, "Oh? Sure, whatever you like." She smiled back, touching his arm for support before walking ahead a little.

Around him were more shops on one street than probably the whole of The Mist. Lots of clothes shops and cafés selling everything under the sun were scattered everywhere. Sasuke started looking for the best place to go later on. That's when he spotted the villagers. Nearly all of them were staring at him in distaste and disbelief. Many turned away when he made eye contact but the ones that didn't, whispered to themselves or others about his history. The silver lining was that at least he had a reputation- good or bad- in the Sand. Hinata looked back at him, her face saying 'sorry' yet again. And with just that, Sasuke felt immediately better with himself. Another silver lining; Hinata believed in him and he wouldn't let her down and give into the villagers ideals of him.

Along the way, Sasuke bought a Poncho similar to Hinata's. It was a browny, rustic colour with red, green, and yellow bands running around the neck. It stopped just below his knees. He sealed it into a scroll for later use. Buying it wasn't as simple. In the end he just took it and left the correct amount of ryo on the counter before walking away from the woman that was giving him daggers.

Not long later did they all come to a stop at the Kage Tower. It had a small wall running around it for minimal protection. Above the wall was a spherical ball housing the famous Kage himself. On the ball was a large, red kanji reading 'Kage Tower'. Signs and adverts were plastered to the wall around it. All in all, it didn't give off the feeling of a Kage Tower. It was smaller than some other buildings around it, and it was certainly not grand.

"You can leave now, thank you for your help, Rho. Latty," Konkuro said to the two Jonin. They both bowed, flashed him a dirty look and flash stepped away without a word. "The Kazekage's tower. Follow me."

They went around the wide building and finally found the entrance. At a glance at the door, it seemed like a simple wooden entrance with no guards posted. On closer inspection, Sasuke could feel chakra radiating off of it, ready to stop anyone who wasn't authorised. He supposed that anyone who could get passed the ginormous gates would be beaten before they got anywhere near the Kage Tower. Then again, Deidara had done it by flying. That didn't go to well for the Sand Village.

Konkuro latched a visible chakra string- a by-product of puppetry- onto the door, pumping his chakra into it. Within seconds the chakra surrounding the door was disabled and they entered the Tower.

There was a homely feel to Gaara's oversized sand castle. Employees treated each other more like family than colleagues. They rushed around greeting each other as they went about their day. No Anbu could be spotted anywhere but Sasuke knew they had to be close in case of an emergency. Comfy, green seats lined the walls with glass desks holding folded paperwork. Through some doorways were training grounds where trainees could practice, and shinobi could hone their skills to serve their Kage. Even though many of the employees didn't like him around, none blatantly rejected him from the building. He didn't think he could handle that bother.

They came up to a small desk behind a glass barrier. Behind the glass sat a young, blonde woman who was rushing around with paperwork. When she spotted Konkuro she smiled gratefully and addressed him, "Hey Konkuro, need anything?"

"Hey Sam, Is the Kazekage free at the moment? We have guests," Konkuro asked, motioning to them. She spared them a quick glance.

"Let me check," she flicked through a timetable on her desk, humming in thought, "Uhh, yes, he should be free now."

"Thanks."

Sasuke followed Konkuro through a empty doorway. If his calculations were correct, they were in the exact center of the building. That seemed to ring true when he spotted the spiral staircase running up above them. It was a silver and black sand that looked quite grand.

"Up the stairs and straight ahead. My brother should be waiting," Konkuro said.

"You're leaving?" Hinata asked.

"Yep, sorry. Lots of things to do, but I will see you two soon. Goodbye." He left at that and Sasuke turned to climb the stairs.

It felt like he was going round and round forever until he reached the top. It was a thin staircase. At the top was a short corridor leading to a wooden door with only a silver knob on it.

"Ready?" Sasuke asked them both. It was met with two nervous nods.

With a quick stride he was in front of the door turning it open. The door creaked and revealed the Kazekage's quarters. The floor was an ugly green, but had a purple carpet over the top of it. Two plant pots stood either side of the desk. At the back was six small, oval windows peering out over the Village. The desk was wooden with a deep, red cover over it. Cacti was displayed to show anyone they were still in a desert. It smelled very musky as if one were in an underground cave.

One thing different from Kakashi's office was the lack of paperwork. Apparently Gaara didn't slack off in that apartment. The Sage forbid when Naruto has to start that shenanigans.

Sat at a leather swivel chair was the Kazekage himself. He wore a red cloak with a grey jacket on top of it. Matching the red cloak was his bright, unusual hair that stood to attention all spikey. Black eyeshadow surrounded Gaara's turquoise eyes and on his forehead was a red tattoo that read 'ai' which signifies love as a symbol of a 'demon loving only himself.' On the right of his desk was the gourd of sand he always kept with him. It allowed him to create his ultimate defence.

Gaara's hands were clasped together and he was looking at the three of them intently. With a quick movement, Sasuke threw the scroll containing the credentials towards him. The sand from the gourd sprang to life and caught it in midair placing it softly on the desk. He read it carefully.

From what Sasuke could remember, it mentioned that him and Hinata would be staying for four months to help out wherever required. It also mentioned who Maruu was and what happened to her. It explained they were searching for a relative or guardian. And, of course, it had both Kage's signatures to show it wasn't a hoax or trick.

"I see," Gaara said out loud for the first time. His voice was monotonous and sad at the same time. Still, it was powerful. "I welcome you to Sunagakure, Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyūga, and Maruu Sintary. It's been a while. How have your travels been?"

It was Hinata who answered him. Sasuke awaited his judgement from the man. "They've been successful, Kazekage. We've left The Mist knowing that we've helped many people who were struggling through the aftermath of the war. Lord Sixth has asked us to come here next to help wherever needed. Thank you for giving Sasuke-kun this chance!"

"Just Gaara is fine, Hinata. Any friend of Naruto's is a friend of mine. You're welcome," Gaara exclaimed, "Hello Maruu, it's nice to meet you, I'm sorry for your loss."

"Hello... Thank you for letting me stay," Maruu gasped.

Gaara smiled kindly, "It's no problem at all. I hope you enjoy your stay. There's a fireworks display soon in honour of the fallen and to represent new beginings, I'm sure you'll love it." That cheered up Maruu greatly and she smiled back at him, apparently happy she gets to see a firework show. Sasuke wondered if she had ever seen one before.

Finally all eyes drifted to him. Hinata knew quite a bit about his history but not all. Maruu had no clue what happened between them two. Gaara searched his eyes for any information. Sasuke stayed calm and collected.

"Your eyes... They're no longer dead. You're content, as if you've found something you've been searching for. I'm glad you've changed your ways and you're no longer lost. Naruto was so badly affected," Gaara examined. Sasuke felt like Gaara had stared a little into his soul. At least he was no longer 'dead' whatever that meant. He closed his eyes awakening his Sharingan and opened them again. The Sharingan showed no emotion so Gaara couldn't read him as easily. A simple facade. Hinata seemed suprised at his rash course of action.

It didn't fool Gaara however, he simply smiled at him then at Hinata.

"I assume you are all tired from the journey?"

Hinata and Maruu nodded.

"I've taken the liberty to book you a hotel: The Moseleum Hotel. It's a few blocks from here. Room one hundred and twenty."

"Thank you," Hinata bowed.

"May I speak to Sasuke alone? I can have someone show you the way to your hotel?"

"Uhh," Hinata looked slightly puzzled. With a quick look in her direction she nodded at him and took her leave with Maruu, "I'll see you soon, Sasuke-kun."

When the room was clear, the two stared at each other.

"You have feelings for her?" Gaara smiled.

"I've no idea what you mean, Gaara," Sasuke said back, moving to look out of the porthole windows.

"She likes you too, I can see it in her eyes, she just doesn't know it. But she also likes Naruto you know?"

"I'm aware. Whoever she chooses is up to her," he replied, slightly jealous again. He desperately wanted to change the conversation.

"I see. You've matured."

"Is this all you wanted to talk about," he snapped, losing his patience.

"No. I wanted to go over what you being here entails."

"Go on."

"During your stay, there will be few missions and many will be helping the Villagers. You need to build their trust up again. I'll try and find some bigger ones for you as well."

"I agree."

"Also, there's been a scientific breakthrough in the Leaf and Kakashi wants to test it soon, so I'd like you to be here for that if you will?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"You'll see," Gaara said knowingly, "In the meantime I'll send off an eagle to Kakashi and let him know you've arrived."

An awkward silence came over them suddenly.

"What's the best restaurant in town?" Sasuke asked through gritted teeth. His nerves shook even more when he heard a low chuckle behind him. 'Argh'.

The Moseleum Hotel.

"Room One-Hundred and Twenty. Yes of course, we have you booked under 'Hyūga'. The Kazekage came and made this reservation himself. You must be very special to afford this place. It's the best hotel in the village!" the middle aged woman ranted. She had brown hair tied in a pony tail and she wore a white business suit and a red tie.

"Can I have the key please?" Hinata asked. Maruu was growing restless and needed some sleep.

"Oh yes, of course, here," she handed a gold key, with the number '120' on it, over. "Please enjoy your stay."

"Thank you."

She backed away from the reception and made her way over to Maruu.

"I've got it. You ready?"

"Finally! I'm so tired!" Maruu yawned. Hinata laughed and took her hand.

As they made their way up the marble staircase, her mind drifted to Sasuke. When he had subtlety asked her to leave him alone with Gaara she got worried and didn't want to leave. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to leave him at all these past few weeks. It was like that with Naruto, but she knew that Naruto was always away so she could never be anywhere near him.

When they would go to the restaurant later, she could ask him more about his life and what happened with Gaara which she so greatly wanted it was like a drug. To learn more about Sasuke was to know him. The people who looked at him in disgust broke her heart because she knew the real him. Only her.

"Hinata, this is our floor!" a voice shouted behind her.

Hinata broke out of her stupor and turned around seeing Maruu a flight of stairs down. She turned to look at the floor. Floor 8. She'd gone too far while lost in her thougts.

"Oh sorry," she apologised. When they were finally on the right floor, they quickly found the room and unlocked it. The room was a pristine white but she knew behind the wallpaper was a lot of sandstone bricks. Still, it looked nice. They walked into the living room that was connected to the kitchen. It was relatively big. Bigger than their previous apartment. The lights were much brighter and she could spot many bookcases and lots of food everywhere. There were two bathrooms, each incredibly white and clean. And finally there were the two bedrooms.

'...Wait two bedrooms!' She almost shouted out loud. The hotel room had only given them two rooms. Of course- Gaara didn't know Maruu was coming so he gave them two rooms. Oh no. What would Sasuke think? What would her Father think? What did she think?

Hinata decided to calm down and talk about it with Sasuke first. Perhaps they could ask for a bigger apartment when they go for dinner. Yes. She was thinking clearer now.

After making a small snack for Maruu, she put her to bed in one of the large bedrooms. Before walking into the living room and staring out of the window.

Outside was beginning to get a bit darker. It was probably around six in the afternoon judging by the sun's position. It was still warm and humid outside as well. That was something she would have to get used to.

The front door unlocking startled her and she turned around to see Sasuke walking in.

"Sasuke-kun, are you Ok? What did Gaara want?" she blurted out.

"Don't worry about it, we can talk later at the restaurant," he avoided her eyesight to look around the room, "Nice place."

"Yeah it is... There's just one small problem," Sasuke raised his eyebrow in confusion. "There's only two beds."

Sasuke's eyes widened suddenly, "Oh. Have you asked reception?"

"Not yet. I was going to when we leave later."

"Speaking of which we should get going soon. I... saw a place on the way that looked nice," his face looked strained at that almost as if he was bringing up bad memories. She was about to ask what was wrong but he spoke again, "What do you think?"

"Should I change?" she asked, looking down at her clothes slightly nervous for some reason.

"You look perfect... ly fine in that! Whatever makes you comfortable," he stuttered, before walking off into the kitchen. At his words her heart beat quickened its pace. In a split second decision she threw on some casual clothes and met Sasuke in the kitchen. He had discarded his cloak, scrolls, and sword in favour of his black, high necked shirt and black trousers. She followed suit and placed her katana next to his on the table.

"I'm ready. Should we get going?" she said.

He gave her a quick look over and agreed with a nod.

Once they made it to the reception, they moved in line and saw many people getting turned away. Hinata gulped. Soon it was their turn and she managed to get matched up with the same talkative, brunette woman.

"Hello again, is there anything I can do for you?" she asked, and then looked at Sasuke- she she was holding hands with- "I see your boyfriends here now? Are you going out on a date?"

Ignoring her comment- which made Hinata blush red- Sasuke said back, "Our room only has two beds, are there any other bigger rooms avaliable?"

"Oh, uh, sorry no. They've all been snatched up for the fireworks display soon. Probably every other hotel too. Is there anything else I can do?"

"No, never mind," Sasuke finished. They turned away towards the main entrance. "I'll just sleep on the couch, it doesn't matter."

"No!" she exclaimed before she could stop it, "You've slept on the couch for months now, it's not fair. Let me take it."

"Hyūga, if you think I'm going to let you sleep on an uncomfortable couch you've got another thing coming," he grinned, "You are from a prestigious clan after all."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the mention of her clan. She didn't need their luxury all the time. "I don't need your pity. You are too!"

Sasuke grinned wider, "Well there's only one more option. Sharing?"

"Huh?" she staggered backwards.

"It's not that bad. You hurt me," he feigned pain, "Its a pretty big bed. It's your choice though."

"Can I think about it?"

"Sure."

Twenty minutes later they stood in front of a big restaurant complex. It was the only building on the street that wasn't sand. Well, it was, but it was painted a nice blue colour. There were large glass panes looking into the fancy place. Inside, she could see neat tables and chairs and even a piano player in the middle. Waiters and waitresses wearing black suits roamed around the place.

"Woah, this place is really nice," Hinata uttered. Sasuke was smiling, looking relieved. "Can we even afford anything in here?"

"Of course," he affirmed, "Come on let's get a table."

They sat at a small, two seater table a few metres away from the piano player and listened quietly to the music. Sasuke had insited they sit in a darker area so no one could throw him dirty looks all night and lower her reputation. Like she cared about her reputation. He didn't deserve this.

"So... what did Gaara want alone you for while I was gone?" she asked innocently.

"He went over what I would be doing here and wanted me to test out something for Kakashi. He won't tell me what it is though. He said something else but it's of no concern," he replied, hiding something.

"Ah," she said, "It seemed pretty tense in there with you two."

"Indeed. Back when I was... rogue, I fought him and the rest of the Kage's at a Summit. I may have insulted him a bit. I passed that now, and he seems to be as well." So that's what it was. No wonder they were so rash towards each other.

"I'm glad you've changed then. We would've never of met else."

"True," he looked sad at that.

They drifted into comfortable silence and listened to the woman singing in her angelic voice.

'You're alone,

You're on your own, so what?

Have you gone blind?

Have you forgotten what you have and what is yours?

Glass half empty, Glass half full,

Well either way you won't be going thirsty,

Count your blessings not your flaws'

The piano playing was beautifully well done and the voice matched it perfectly. She found herself looking back at Sasuke.

'You've got it all,

You lost your mind in the sound,

There's so much more,

You can reclaim your crown,

You're in control,

Rid of the monsters inside your head,

Put all your faults to bed,

You can be king again'

Hinata watched the piano keys get tapped in perfect order and how they made an incredible sound. She had never learned an instrument, always focused on fighting and clan politics.

'There's method in my madness,

There's no logic in your sadness,

You don't gain a single thing from misery,

Take it from me.

You don't get what all this is about,

You're too wrapped up in you're self doubt,

You've got that young blood, set it free'

She turned to Sasuke again and looked into his eyes. The deep onyx eyes that pulled her in. She always thought hers were hypnotic, but his were mesmerising-

"Hello, my names Elise, I'll be your waitress tonight. May I take your order?" a girls voice asked.

Pulled from her thoughts she looked at the voices origin. It was a girl around her age. She wore a identical black waitress suit. She had a strikingly similar colour hair to Hinata's own, only it was longer and tied into a high pony tail. She was very pretty. Unfortunately she only had eyes for Sasuke. Hinata felt her blood boil slowly.

"Your order, sir?" she asked again.

Sasuke sank back into the dark. "I suppose you'll let everyone know I'm here now."

"Huh? Oh, the famous Sasuke Uchiha. I promise I won't tell."

"Why?"

"Because I don't believe in judging people straight away. Plus I heard you were here to help out. Thats good enough for me. Oh and you're incredibly good looking," Elise told him leaning closer.

"Thanks," Sasuke said without emotion. She knew he didn't enjoy females attention all that much.

How dare she say that. Hinata felt anger rise up.

"So would you like anything to eat?"

"Hyūga?" he looked at her.

"I'm feeling a bit tired Sasuke-kun. Can we go?" she said. She felt bad to lie, but the waitress had ruined her mood.

"Oh?" Sasuke asked suprised. She flashed him a weak smile, "Sure, whatever you want."

He held out his hand for her and she lifted herself onto her feet.

"Sorry. Must dash," Sasuke told Elise.

"See you around, Sasuke-kun," Elise finished smiling seductively. Hinata left before she said anything else.

Once they were back at the hotel Hinata sat down on the bed and began drinking the wine that was complementary with the room. She had never tried it before but it tasted nice and she felt insanely unhappy at the moment.

Sasuke came into the room after putting their stuff away and noticed her drinking the bottle. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Don't," he said, taking the bottle just as she was about to finish it. She was about to protest when he said, "You'll feel worse in the morning trust me. Stop."

She nodded along, slightly tipsy.

"Do you need help or shall I go?" he asked.

Go? Oh right, the couch. "We can share, Sasuke." She realised she hadn't used her usual -kun but she couldn't be bothered to correct herself.

Sasuke's eyes widened again. "Are you sure?"

"You're my best friend, Sasuke. You don't need to sleep on the couch," she confessed. He was utterly surprised again by her words. He smiled sweetly at her.

"Thanks for that."

He climbed into bed shortly after, wearing just his trousers. He shifted to the far right while she stayed on the left. Within minutes she had fallen asleep, whether it was the alcohol or sleeping next to someone she cared about, she didn't know.

Konoha.

Kakashi held the recent report from Gaara in his hands and read it over.

'Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyūga have arrived safely at Sunagakure. If there are any problems please write back whenever you can. Thank you Kakashi for sending them around. They make a good team.'

It was good they had finally made it because now he could do two things he had been meaning to do for a while now. The first was test the prototype computer they had sent to Gaara on how well it handled the computer conference. That way he could see and issue orders to Sasuke whenever and far more easily.

The second was to continue gathering much needed information on Sasuke and Hinata. He desperately wanted to know what was going on.

"Two-Face!" he said to thin air for the second time.

Within seconds the Anbu man with a double coloured mask appeared in his office.

"Lord Hokage?" the man said through his mask.

"Hello again, Ash."

He was silent for a second as if he needed time to catch up. "They've arrived at The Sand, my Lord?"

"Indeed. It's the same mission as before. I may have permission from Gaara this time but try to stay covert and out of sight. My student is no push-over. He may easily spot you or your chakra. You need to be extremely careful. I need you to trail them for their entire stay and then report back to me. Is everything understood?" Kakashi commanded boredly.

Ash soaked up the information and replied with a curt, "Yes, sir."

"Great," Kakashi replied, "Have fun. Dismissed!"