A/N : So, I realized that my last chapter was utter bullcrap and I don't blame you all if you didn't like it. I was not in the proper mindset what with recovering and such. But anyway I hope to be able to satisfy you guys with this chapter.

Now, I know Haruhi and Hikaru are from another anime, but there might be some OOCness too.

Just thought I'd let you know. I hope you enjoy this chapter! 3

Title : Jealousy.

"Won't you show us around, Lord Kazekage?" The bubbling voice of Naruto Uzumaki cleared the slight air of awkwardness among the other 'guests' of the Leaf Village. The blond haired ninja had changed so much since Hinata had last laid her eyes on him – the man looked a lot taller, standing proud at six feet with his equally tall girlfriend by his side. He had however, for once, managed to change his normal attire which at all time, was restricted to an orange jumpsuit. This time however, he donned a rather casual appearance with black trousers, a white muscle tee and an orange jacket that was tied around his waist. His girlfriend, Sakura Haruno, was looking rather attractive in a red Chinese collared tunic that was slit open from the front, faintly displaying her belly button and the waist band of her white shorts.

The other three members of Konohagakure, had remained silent and were obviously overshadowed by the vociferousness of the blond ninja but Shinomiya Hayato, the timid man with silver colored hair, had surprisingly managed to stand out amongst the powerful ninjas. He had taken Hinata by surprise by appearing after years of silence – and it made the woman rather happy to be able to meet her friend after seemingly, ages.

"Please, come inside." Gaara Sabaku sighed, and then ushered the guests to enter his lair. Unfortunately, he did not feel the same way that his wife, Hinata had experienced. The redhead did not mind the company of his old acquaintances, but he had never before seen this Shinomiya and he was wondering why the man had deemed absent up until then.

Although he was the one leading the way, past the lounge room, the dining hall and other such rooms, Gaara could not help but turn every once in a while to keep an eye on his wife, who at the time was walking at her own pace with the awe-stricken Konoha group of ninjas – Naruto was gaping at the size of the rooms and kept doing so till he was struck on head by Sakura who yelled rather animatedly, "It's rude to stare like that, baka!", Haruhi and Hikaru were silent as they strolled along with the group, whilst being attached at the hip. It was Shinomiya and Hinata that really took all the attention, and more importantly, a certain redhead's attention.

Gaara Sabaku was not prone to feeling anything like the way he had been feeling ever since he was introduced to Shinomiya Hayato. The redhead never felt the need to experience such a feeling, and thus having this feeling remain an alien to his being, Gaara did not know what to do. He was puzzled, for he was glad that his wife was able to smile ever so truly for a change, but he was also feeling slight pangs of jealousy deep in his chest and somewhat wished that the Hayato man had never appeared before Hinata. He probably would not have minded a bit of bloodshed coming from the foreigner, and would probably enjoy choking him and burying him hundreds of feet below ground level.

But, he would not do something as ghastly as that.

After all, Shinomiya Hayato was Hinata's friend and it was a duty of the Kage to welcome his guests formally rather formidably, regardless of whether he disliked a person or not. It was a painful duty, but a duty still. Gaara would have to be hospitable to all guests, and Shinomiya was included.

And so he tried to fulfill his duty, as a ruler and as a husband.

"These are our rooms?" Haruhi spoke for the first time, that afternoon, in a rather deep voice which was quite a lot coming from a short petite woman as herself. "Are you serious?" her voice went higher with the last of her interrogation. She stared in disbelief, at the redhead who stood by the gate of the rather enormous room, whilst his arms were crossed across his chest.

"Yeah, Gaara, how do you have such large rooms?" Naruto joined in, as he made an entrance from behind, taking the redhead by surprise. The two rooms allotted to the guests were divided according to gender – the males would stay together in one room while the females would stay in a different room. It was a harsh rule but pretty organized. Besides, the Kage wanted to keep an eye on Shinomiya and he would fail miserably if the silver haired man were to stay in a room surrounded by two women.

"It's not a bother." Gaara half turned to meet Naruto's gaze, who grinned at him with his sparkling teeth. The redhead was not prone to hearing positive remarks and it made him uncomfortable, and unknown as to how to respond to them, and yet there he was practically failing at socializing. Sighing softly, he excused himself from the group's mingling and decided to lock himself inside the Suna office and try focusing on his work for a change.

Besides, it was not like Hinata really needed her husband's presence at this time. She would probably want the time with her friends and he deemed it fit to leave her alone at the moment. He had observed how content and at-ease, Hinata had been throughout the hour upon the group's arrival, and wondered whether she had been like this during her earlier years.

"Y-You should stay for awhile…" Hinata had quietly walked up to her husband, before he left the corridor and turning to meet her timid gaze, Gaara stiffened slightly. Why was it that, she was always shy around him? She was not like that around her friends - not around Shinomiya, at least.

Gaara's eyes hardened just slightly, at the bitter thought of Hinata being comfortable and at ease around the foreigner, and he simply mumbled a stiff "Hn." before turning away from her. He somehow, did not want to see her pale face at that moment.

"G-Gaara…?" she asked, slightly crestfallen at her husband's sudden behavior. It was true that things had been difficult between them since the night of their wedding, but she did not expect such a reaction out of him. Besides, wasn't he Naruto's friend too? He and Naruto were quite similar to one another, despite being poles apart. The blond haired ninja was the epitome of energy and jokes, and he was well liked by almost all in the Konoha. His determination was remarkable, and inspite of always being put down by the low lives of the village, Naruto had not once lost hope of becoming Hogake of Konohagakure and on this day, his determination had proved successful for he was on the path to succeed Lady Tsunade, the current Hogake.

Naruto had managed to instill the sense of determination even in a failure like Hinata. Because of him, the indigo haired woman was determined and hopeful to oblige her father's commands and withstand a marriage with this Suna leader.

But what about the Suna leader, himself?

"Just be with them," The redhead spoke softly in his raspy hoarse voice, quickly interrupting Hinata's thoughts relating to himself and Naruto Uzumaki. With the last of that, Gaara walked away from the corridor and from his wife, and towards his solitary confinement.

*Later That Afternoon.*

"Hinata, it's been like forever!" The pink haired woman squealed, whilst Haruhi and Shinomiya animatedly cupped their hands around their ears as if in protection against Sakura – her voice was undoubtedly high, and was only rising higher with each exclamation. Her emerald colored orbs were gleaming, with joy and excitement at the idea of meeting her friend after years.

Unfortunately, the other men that were accompanying the group were left alone in their bedroom, doing kami knows what. Shinomiya brought it upon himself to be around his friends as much as he could, given that he was not the very talkative type. It was true that Shinomiya Hayato had liked Hinata Sabaku for a while, during the Chunin Exams. He was not a strong ninja, and was quickly dropped from his team, thus allowing Kiba Inuzuka to replace him. Shinomiya was dropped from the team true, but that did not stop him from appearing as a supporter. He was always there, watching from a distance – when Hinata was injured severely by Neji, during their battle, Shinomiya was there; when the heiress got caught up in the rain and then got fever, he was there. He was always around, watching over his hime and Hinata was rather grateful to him for his support.

Flashback:

By a peaceful brook, with lush green trees on all sides and bedded with verdant green grass, an indigo haired woman of around sixteen years, was sitting in a moping fetal position, whilst thinking rather dejectedly about a certain topic. She had just heard the news from Shino Aburame, her teammate, that Naruto was to take the pink haired medical ninja to Ichiraku, for a ramen lunch. It was obvious that the blond haired ninja enjoyed Sakura's company but up until recently, everyone was under the impression that the medic ninja had her eyes set for Sasuke Uchiha, a prodigy. Ever since the Uchiha had turned rogue and left the Leaf Village, Sakura was heartbroken and gradually found solace in Naruto, who naturally took it to his advantage.

They were seemingly hitting it off, and it broke the Hyuga's heart. She had, for as long as she could remember, liked Naruto more than just an idol in her life and that was rather evident in her appearance around his presence. Everyone in the Village could guess that she had a crush on him, and some teased but none mocked her. Everyone was aware, except the oblivious blond ninja.

From a distance, a young man watched the indigo haired woman struck with sympathy and compassion. He too, had heard of the news and being aware of Hinata's liking for Naruto, the man was likely to feel empathetic for his own feelings towards her were of the same nature.

Watching her cry, which was not difficult to understand from the short distance, the man casually walked towards Hinata and sat down beside her. None spoke for minutes and the man with remarkable silver hair simply gazed ahead, absent-mindedly at the water.

"I-I know S-Shino sent you h-here to b-bring me back…" Hinata could barely contain the constant gasps, and tears that were constantly threatening to stain her pale cheeks, but she managed to raise her head and glance at the man. She was ashamed to fully show her face to anyone, let alone this man.

"Are you sure about that?" The man spoke, sighing softly and then turning to gaze at the woman beside him – but all he could see was her indigo hair, cascading across her form like a protective layer. He wished she would face him, for he longed to see her.

"D-Don't tease me, S-S-Shinomiya…" She turned finally, her gaze fallen and her expression practically lifeless. Her eyes looked just as lifeless, and were extremely dull and Shinomiya only wished he could hold her form to him at the moment, and hopefully never let her go from his protective arms. "I-It's true, i-isn't it?" Hinata's question did not reach her eyes and the man debated on whether he should notify her of the latest news relating to Naruto and Sakura's lunch date.

"You don't need him, Hinata." Shinomiya sighed again, and nodded at the woman, when her gaze from him did not leave. She knew the truth and yet she wanted to hear it over and over, allowing the news to impale her heart each time. There were a lot of things that Shinomiya could not understand about the Hyuga woman, but he figured all the best women were difficult to comprehend. "I'm there for you and you shouldn't forget that." He whispered when moving slightly closer to Hinata.

"Y-You're always t-there for m-me, S-Shinomiya…" Hinata had noticed the man brushing closer, and though he was close to her, she could not help but feel warmer around his presence. He was always there for her and she loved that about him, "T-Thank you for b-being around"

End of flashback :

"How's Suna treating you?" Haruhi, chimed in along with Sakura, in a rather curious than excited voice. She was prone to being more of the curious person in the group and she was a pro at appearing as one.

"Ladies please!" Shinomiya cried out, cutting the moment with a deep voice. He had been standing opposite an enormous bay window complimented by heavy upholstered blue curtains. His gaze on the outside world was dazed, as he allowed his thoughts to drift towards the earlier days. "Give her a chance to speak; Hinata, how do you like this place?"

"I personally think its drab," Sakura started off, as per habit. She always felt like she needed to chime in about her opinion regardless of whether it was needed or not. "Like, maybe add some life to it? More trees and possibly more life?"

"Haruno, I specifically asked Hinata," Shinomiya turned to meet the pinkie's face which was twisted in a slight scowl. Glaring at the silver haired man, Sakura then pouted and quickly turned towards the indigo haired woman. "Go on, Hinata."

The woman in question sat rather flustered on the edge of the bed, blinking at the three people who stared at her in anticipation and expectantly, hoping to hear a satisfactory response. Poking her index fingers together, Hinata took a deep breath and started quietly, "I-It's not Konoha, but I-I'm starting to like S-Suna," she smiled slightly, causing the heart strings in Shinomiya's chest to tug rather gently. He had greatly missed Hinata's heart melting smile. "B-Besides, I have to like it since i-it's my n-new home!" Hinata had meant it as a joke, but she quickly regretted it as she realized that the others had not exactly perceived it the way she wanted them to.

"What do you mean you 'have' to like it?" Shinomiya was the first to cut the short silence that had ensued shortly after Hinata's joke. His expression was somewhat unreadable, but it was not that of a happy man. His eyebrows were knitted together slightly, and his mouth was twisted in a scowl. Noticing this, Hinata quickly held up her hands shaking them as if doing something like that would calm him down. "I-It's m-meant to be a j-joke, Shinomiya…"

At that, Sakura and Haruhi's expressions lightened up visibly, and they laughed it out fully believing the young wife of the Suna leader, who was relieved that they had not taken any offense for that. She was thankful for having such good friends but at times, they made her extremely frightened and agitated.

However, Shinomiya was not satisfied. He was not relieved or satiated by Hinata's assuring remark.

"You know, you could always come back to us, right?" Shinomiya spoke monotonously, in a voice that was so blunt that it made even Haruhi flinch. Hinata's gaze snapped towards Shinomiya, and for a split second, her pearlescent eyes met his hazel colored ones and for that second, the man could have sworn that his heart beat ran faster than usual.

*Meanwhile, inside the Suna Office*

"Shinomiya is the son of the Japanese businessman, Asuma Hayato," A formidable man in black attire, along with a small group of men donning the same black attire, stood at a safe distance from the Kage's table. He was the oldest and the most distinguished from the others and hence took on the role of leading them. "His mother divorced Asuma and is now living with her husband abroad."

"Where does Lady Hinata come into this story?" The chair of the Kazekage had been turned away from the group of men, up until then. Upon turning to face the men, Gaara Sabaku watched them with faint interest, whilst he toyed around with a random pen lying on the desk.

"They are childhood friends, milord." The leader spoke up, promptly, proud of the information that he had gathered about Shinomiya Hayato, within the short period. "He was once a part of Team eight, but due to his lack in talents, Kurenai-sensei was forced to drop him."

"And, why has he returned?" Gaara was growing impatient, and his pressure on the pen was slowly increasing. His non-existent brows were furrowed just slightly, and his mouth was reduced to a single line. He felt that it was the duty of the Kage to make a casual check on the strangers that entered his tower. It was only fair, since he was such a respected man.

"Milord?" The leader questioned, rather perplexed by the interrogation. He was not aware of the reason of the man's return to Konoha, for he simply had made a background check on Shinomiya. How was he to know that? "I don't unders-"

"You are dismissed." Gaara cut the man short, and flinched slightly as the pen beneath his fingers, broke into two parts. It had not made much of a noise and the redhead was relieved that no one had noticed it. No one needed to witness something as unimportant as that.

A/N 2 : I simply hope you liked this chapter! It's kind of a small twist in Gaara and Hinata's love life, but I assure you that it'll be worth it.

Sorry for any mistakes, and errors. Please review and follow/favorite this story. Love you all, you guys give me inspiration. 3