Hi gang!

I've somehow managed to sneak this latest chapter in, so three cheers for me. We're making progress with how this story is coming.

As usual read and don't forget to leave reviews!

Now onwards my dears!

Temari couldn't help but feel sorry for the unconscious Hinata leaning against her body.

They had gotten word from Gaara about Hiashi's latest ambition and it was safe to say that it scared the hell out of Hinata. The news had been so disturbing for her that the poor woman ending up fainting from the aftershock.

To think that they had been given good news earlier from the daily check up that the baby was coming along nicely; Hinata had actually smiled again for the first time in weeks. But now with this little piece of information Temari couldn't be certain in her sister-in-law would make it. Her brother really needed to come home. Hinata was totally desperate at this rate. Resisting the urge to sigh she carried her sister-in-law to her room and gently set her down on the bed before she pulled over a nearby chair and waited for her to wake up.

The sandy blonde's mind wandered a bit as she waited. Gaara hadn't sounded too pleased when she read over the message. She knew that he was trying to assure her that he'd handle it, when it reality he was angry and wanted nothing more than to kill the man with his own two hands.

She frowned a bit to herself. All this time she had thought that Hiashi simply wanted to dispose of Hinata for the hell of it, so that he could claim Hanabi. She never thought that he'd go after her niece. But the more the thought about it, the more it made sense. Hinata and Hanabi were too wild to be tamed and their stubbornness would've meant that it would be harder to take them both down. They had missed the critical point where manipulation would affect their minds.

Ah, but Hena. She was still a toddler still young enough to mold into whatever shape was desired. Her innocence could easily be crushed to dust; that childlike wonder could be replaced by hatred. In other words she was the perfect puppet for Hiashi to control.

Temari was disrupted from her thoughts when she heard the sounds of Hinata stirring. It had only been ten minutes but that was more than enough time to think things over.

"Temari-san?"

"Hinata you feeling alright? Kinda gave me a scare back there".

The bluenette sat up slowly rubbing her eyes. "Hmmm yes…I guess I feel alright".

There was a moment of silence as each woman was lost in their thoughts.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you worry over me. I guess I was prepared for the terrible news".

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing Gaara can't handle".

"Please do not say that".

The blonde rose an eyebrow "Say what?"

Lavender eyes met with forest green ones "I don't want Gaara-dana to do my dirty work. It really should be me in Konoha confronting my father".

There was a slight touch of bitterness in her voice. It didn't take rocket science to figure out that Hinata was angry mostly at herself for the circumstances being the way they are now.

"Hinata I shouldn't have to remind you of why you can't go".

A strange sound of annoyance passed through her lips. "Yes I already know. But it still doesn't change this frustration I feel".

Being a mother herself Temari knew where Hinata was coming from. Anyone who had the nerve to threaten her son wouldn't live to see the next sunrise, she was fairly positive that Hinata was just itching to strangle Hiashi to his last breath.

"Hinata I understand that this isn't easy. I know that your father is a giant asshole, but for the moment we have nothing to do but trust that Gaara will do what he can".

Hinata turned her head to the side so that Temari wouldn't see the highly annoyed expression on her face. She knew that her sister-in-law was trying to settle her wellbeing but right now it was nothing but a source of irritation. She didn't want to hear some bullshit words about how her husband was going to make all the bad stuff go away with pretty words. She wanted to take action. If she wasn't pregnant she'd already be in Konoha telling everyone who was boss. Why must fate be such a damn bitch?

Temari stopped talking when she noticed her sister-in-law's body language. She looked way to tense for her own good. Hell, she could practically hear the angry words buzzing around in Hinata's mind. She really was furious.

"Hinata-chan?"

No response, go figure. Well if she wasn't going to listen the best thing right now would be to leave her alone for a while.

"Hinata-chan I'm going to check on Shikadai and Hena. Take as much time as you need".

She was actually somewhat grateful that Temari got the hint and left her alone in her bedroom. The bluenette lowered herself down again to stare up at the ceiling letting her mind wander. She knew that that she was angry and that she needed to calm down. But the childish side of her wanted to say mad and throw a tantrum until she got what she wanted.

Okay it was time to do some serious thinking. It would do no good to just mope around. Forcing herself to clear her mind Hinata started to wonder what exactly she could do should she come across her retarded father again. It was easy to talk big, but taking action was another thing entirely. So she decided to review what had already happened so far.

It was fairly obvious that Hiashi wanted her dead. It had been thought that he could simply marry her off so that she'd give him a source for a powerful bloodline outside their own; hence creating a new line of Hyuga. But that acted almost like a double-edged sword. On one hand, Hiashi did get what he desired, but it was damn near impossible to truly claim it as his own possession so long as she was still alive. That was were the assassin came in, he had been hoping that by killing off her and quite possibly Hanabi that it would make it easier to move in for claiming the prize.

Hinata clicked her tongue in irritation. Something just didn't add up with the logic. Why did all of this sound…rushed? Was Hiashi truly that desperate to create a new more powerful Hyuga bloodline? Was all for revenge? Or was it an influence by an outside source? She simply didn't know; but something sounded fishy in her book. She still didn't know if she was paranoid or if it was the beginning of a hunch.

She stood up from the bed and left the room intending to find Baki. Better to have him contact Gaara about her newest thought. It might give him a slight lead.

The Kazekage was trying to have a moment to collect himself as he sat in the room where he was staying in Konoha. He'd been in the village for nearly two fucking weeks. He hated every bit of the time he was forced to be in the Hyuga mansion and confront that bastard father-in-law of his.

Try as hard as he might, Gaara was not getting anywhere with Hiashi. It annoyed him to no end; his patience was only willing to go so far and it was so close to breaking at this point. Why was the man being so difficult?! They both knew that sooner or later all the answers would come spilling out. It was almost like he was stalling for something else. Gaara had noticed a couple of times before, but due to Hiashi's stubbornness it was impossible to get a word out of him. His wife's cousin had told him that he'd give it a try at making him talk. But Gaara doubted that would do any good. If Hiashi wouldn't listen to him why the hell would he listen to Neji?

His train of thought was interrupted but the sounds of his older brother entering the room. Well so much for being alone.

"Gaara you've been sitting here for more than four hours aren't you going to do something?" Kankuro asked as he set two bottles of vodka on the table in front of them.

The red head didn't seem to notice that his brother was here. Or if he did he paid no mind to it. He was still rather pissed about his latest meeting with the Hyuga bastard.

"Oi Gaara! Are you listening to me?"

He spared a glance at his brother helping himself to a bit of vodka; he had a rather curious look on his face. One that quickly got on his nerves.

"Stop staring at me".

"How can I not. You've been like this ever since this morning".

Gaara scoffed at his brother's rude comment. "You have no room to talk. You're not the one being given shit nearly every day".

Kankuro knew that Gaara was extremely pissed when he started swearing. His younger brother almost never swore unless he was in a terrible mood. No wonder Hiashi was getting under his skin.

Truth to be told, Kankuro hadn't actually done anything during their stay in Konoha. Gaara was warned him that he was not to get involved with his business unless it was an emergency; as much as that frustrated him for not being able to help his little brother the puppet master had no choice but to respect Gaara's decision. There was no real reason that he should be here babysitting to begin with. He would still be in Suna had Hinata not begged him to go along to keep an eye on Gaara.

Quickly taking another shot of the vodka Kankuro turned to face Gaara. "Would it help if you talked about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about".

"Don't sound so irritated, I'm only asking to talk".

Gaara's eyes narrowed in further frustration. He really wished he didn't have to be here right now. What he needed was take his anger out on something, and unfortunately he decided that his older brother was the perfect candidate to do so.

"How the bloody hell would you know what I'm going through right now".

Kankuro looked shocked for a moment by the tone in Gaara's voice but he quickly lowered his brows in anger.

"Excuse me?! I don't remember asking for that kind of attitude".

Gaara couldn't help but sneer "Then do yourself a favor and take your damn conversations elsewhere to someone who cares".

"What the fuck is your problem?! You have no reason to speak to me like that".

The red head chose not to respond to the question knowing that it would provoke Kankuro for the hell of it. He got a tiny bit of satisfaction as his brother let off a growl and took several more shots. They both knew that he was acting like a brat but each was too stubborn to admit that.

"You know something Gaara, your really are a moron in more ways than one".

"The hell are you talking about. I'm not the one drowning in alcohol".

"Did you know that your wife sometimes needs me to comfort her because she worries about you? She always says that she doesn't want to see you getting hurt from stupidly and right now this is one of those moments".

Gaara's right brow twitched. Oh, he was becoming steadily angrier.

"I'm tired of all your shit! I shouldn't have to be the one holding her hand every time she needs you but you're too busy to even notice. She tries to be strong in front of you. But I even I can tell that she's suffering. Sometimes I can't help but feel sorry for that little girl. She picked one hell of a husband that's for sure".

Another swing of vodka was taken before more words were spoken. "Seriously what is it with you?! Why are you suddenly acting like a bitch?! Why aren't you at home with your obviously depressed wife!"

"Kankuro!" Gaara's eyes had turned deadly "Shut the fuck up!" if words could kill he'd be nothing but a pile of ashes.

Leaning over the table the red head took the second bottle of alcohol and brought it to his mouth for a swing. This was very surprising, as Gaara hated alcohol so the fact that he was drinking was a sign he was absolutely livid right now.

"Don't talk about my wife like you know everything about her. Need I remind you that I'm the one she married that day".

Kankuro gave a dark chuckle "Really? Do I really know that?" Gaara gave a warning growl before taking another swing. The burning liquid felt like the best damn thing right now. How the hell did the subject of topic drift towards his marriage? Damn it all.

"Look man it ain't my fault you're not the best damn husband in the world. Methinks you view that pretty little woman more as bed companion for a stress reliever or shit like that. Isn't that what all marriage is? Nothing but instances of heavy sex and constant nagging".

So it was fairly obvious at this point that the alcohol had taking its toll on thinking before speaking. But that was still an unnecessary thing to say. The red head couldn't help but bristle.

Kankuro took another shot of the vodka before doing the worst possible thing; he kept right on talking like there wasn't a care in the word.

"What a shit load of mush. All love making and no love. No wonder the old hags were on your back for months about getting hitched. It's your own damn fault that you can't control your little dick and what happens between a pair of lovely legs. You've basically dug yourself into a damn hole and have no fucking way of getting out what a ladder".

"Unless you want to find yourself in an early grave, you won't say one more fucking word!"

Gaara had a look of murder in his eyes as he gave an icy cold glare at his idiot drunk brother.

Kankuro gave a cold glare right back at him. It was hard to say right now if it was the effect of the alcohol or just pure anger that was making him shake with anger.

"Do you even love your goddamn wife?!" he practically shouted at his little brother. Gaara clenched the bottle so tightly that it was possible it would shatter at any moment. "Why the fuck would you ask such a stupid question like that?! I'm here aren't I?! Why would I be fighting to keep my wife alive if I didn't give a shit about her".

Gaara took a long swing of vodka before he downright roared at his brother "I love that woman so fucking much that it hurts! It terrifies me to think about the possibility that I might not be able to protect her. Hinata is the only woman that I'll ever be able to truly love. I knew what I wanted from the instance I saw her picture in all those damn candidates. I wanted her! I wanted her and no one else, I even came to this village to meet her I wanted her that badly".

Another swing of vodka was taking and he relished in the burning sensation before continuing like he was talking to himself.

"I love her. I love Hinata; I can't lie to myself or anyone else. I know that I'm not the best husband; she deserves someone far better than me. But the fact that she loves me also is more than enough proof to show that she'll never leave my side despite all these shitty hardships that life has thrown at us".

One more swing and the bottle was now finished.

"Damn it all to the blackest pits of hell. I never asked for any of this bullshit!"

In his emotional breakdown Gaara threw the empty bottle at the nearest wall watching it shatter into pieces with a loud bang.

"The gods must be laughing at me, it's no wonder I'm always so stressed about everything in my life. Just once I'd like to have a normal experience with my family. Why must this kind of shit always happen to me!".

Gaara hadn't noticed that tears were streaming down his face. Deeply angered by the turn of events he tugged at his hair till it looked liked it would rip out of his skull. Teeth gritted hard till they looked liked they'd shatter all while the tears never stopped their flow. Gaara really was a fragile being and he was in such a sorry state.

"Enough already, just enough". He muttered mostly to himself.

Kankuro who had been watching turned his head away in respect. Without saying anything he simply left the room; he may not be himself from the influence of alcohol but even he knew that he wasn't needed now. He didn't want to be near his brother in this circumstance, they would talk more after things calmed down.

Gaara stood where he was letting the tears that were long overdue come down hard. His head was starting to hurt but he didn't care. It might have taken a while but all the emotional stress had finally caught up to him.

Nobody could've expected that all that pent up set of emotions would finally come out like this. He hadn't felt this fucked up about himself since he was a child. But even so, all that could happen right now was to wait and pray to whatever god or supernatural force that was out there, that all would be alright. It sounded too much like a bad soap opera; but what the hell could he or anyone else do about it.

So it was as the night wore on all Gaara could do what let out his tears, drowning in his despair till he finally fell unconscious.

Gonna stop here for now.

I have an idea in my head as to what the next chapter might be like. But I won't know for sure until I get to writing it.

Hopefully this didn't suck too badly. I think it's kind of like one of those warnings of what's to come or something like that. Like I've said before I really want to make sure that this story turns out well so please, please be patient with me.

Don't forget to leave me lots of reviews!

Bye bye!