Bonjour!

Oh gracious me…so many things that life has thrown my way. But against all the odds I have managed to get this chapter up.

So without any more delays let's keep moving forward.

Kishimoto Sensei claims all rights to Naruto.

Now onwards my dears!


The trio didn't have to wait that long for the Hyuga to have a chat with Hiashi. Neji had suspected that it would be days before they resumed their meeting. But in reality it was only four hours, it was better than having to be left stuck in an endless pit of anxiety and emotional distress that was for sure.

The Kazekage was surprised, but he wasn't complaining about anything that was sure. All the shit that he was putting up with was enough to make anyone just want to end it all. How he had managed to make this far with keeping his sanity was a miracle. That didn't insure that Gaara was completely invincible to his inner feelings but for damn sure he was doing a good job of not showing it even if he did feel something. He could get in touch with his vulnerability all he wanted later; he still needed to be a strong and powerful man while he was dealing with the Hyuga.

"Hokage-sama, Kazekage-sama the elders have requested your presence again". A servant showed them back to the meeting room and this time the tension wasn't nearly as deadly. None of the Hyuga council looked happy. Every single one of them was red-faced in anger and there was a strong sense of betrayal that hung over their heads. Considering what they had been talking about before naturally that was to be expected. The Hyuga had always been a very proud and uptight clan. But even the tightest chink in armor would always spell weakness in some form. That was why Gaara felt as though things were going to be much easier when they continued their discussion.

"Please accept our most sincere apologies my Lord Kazekage. We are truly ashamed of these filthy acts of treason and vulgarity. We Hyuga have been completely disgraced by our own clan leader".

On the inside Gaara was giving them a giant fuck you. But because curtsy was expected he forced himself to give a quick nod in return. Oh, what he wouldn't give to sand coffin all of these people right now.

"My Lord Hokage it would appear as though the Hyuga have no choice but to give in to any and all requests that is asked of us. We wish not to cause a conflict between the two villages that have worked so hard for peace".

Naruto raised one eyebrow "Mmm, alright then".

Neji resisted the urge to face palm. Hokage or not at the very least the blonde needed to show a little more politeness for goodness sake. He could've sworn that he had lectured the blonde knucklehead about respectfulness and whatnot.

Gaara on the other hand was still pissed as hell. He wasn't easily fooled by misleading and right now part of him was feeling as though even if the Hyuga council was sounding like they were truly sorry that was only because they were very much embarrassed about the stunts Hiashi had been pulling. They probably didn't want anything to do with him; what the fuck would they do next? After all since rumors were most likely going to spread about this mess the Hyuga had become nothing more than the butt of everyone's joke. The red head was almost glad that he wasn't in their shoes right now.

"I would like to make a request".

"Speak Kazekage-sama".

Gaara's face remained completely stoic "Obviously since the Hyuga have not been on good terms with either Konoha or Suna, I would suggest that reformation of the balance of hierarchy is needed as well as a hand over of your former leader".

That had been Gaara's way of saying 'get your shit together and cough up the bastard' that had been the mildest request that he could think of. There were other things far worse that he could say but chose not to. He was in no mood to be acting all friendly, sometimes it didn't pay to be so damn nice all the time.

The red head could immediately tell that the council was carefully choosing their words. It wasn't like it was impossible request. All Gaara was doing was repeating what he had planned with Shikamaru. He knew that they had no choice but to give in and he knew that they knew it also. If they tried to weasel their way out of it, there would be hell to pay. He really didn't want to be in this room any longer, he was starting to feel claustrophobic.

"Kazekage-sama we are obliged to your request".

Took them long enough to respond, he had asked them for an answer five minutes ago. Gaara was steadily getting angrier from all the hesitation. The council was very lucky that he was such a patient man.

"However we ask that before you take custody of Hiashi, we ask that he be punished by us first".

Seriously? What kind of idiotic scheme were they pulling now? Gaara resisted the urge to throttle all of them. He was starting to get the impression that they were all just damn geezers, much like the ones he put up with back home.

"Why would you want to do that? You aren't trying to defend Hiashi are you".

"No Hokage-sama. We have every intension of handing over this traitor to the Kazekage. But since Hiashi has defined Hyuga laws we are merely asking that he go through our clan's customary punishments before we turn him over".

Gaara wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but from the corner of his eye he noticed Hiashi's face pale in the far back. Whatever they meant it didn't sound like a good thing that was for sure. He hadn't even noticed that he was there. Well it certainly sucked to be him.

"Kazekage-sama we do not want to defy you, please rest assured that this is not an attempt to ignore your requests".

The red head turned his head over to Neji for some sort of clue. The white-eyed male stared right back, one look said it all and he knew that he could trust Neji's judgment. The man had shown nothing but loyalty to him for the longest time now. It would be stupid to try and lie to him in the situation they were in.

"Very well I accept your request".

Naruto shook his head a bit "As Hokage I also agree to this. But do not think that you won't be unsupervised with your actions".

The Hyuga council bristled a bit but otherwise didn't say a word. Gaara was thankful that Naruto had said what he did. He doubted that Neji would be able to keep up with all of this. He could totally understand why Neji wasn't having any of it with his clan. All of them were fucking crazy.

"Kazekage-sama there is actually one more thing we'd like to ask".

Trying really hard not to roll his eyes Gaara crossed his arms instead "Yes? What is it?".

"We ask that Hinata and Hanabi return".

He flinched "Excuse me? Did I hear you correctly".

They had just tapped into dangerous territory. Why would they ask something so unbelievably stupid to him? Did they all have a death wish or something?

"Kazekage-sama please hear us out. Hinata and Hanabi were both originally part of the main family and Hinata was once our former heir. With Hiashi no longer trustworthy we must make necessary arrangements for the reformation of the Hyuga".

Okay, he could see where they were coming from with that. But that still didn't seem to make him feel any better. It was a little too late to try and get on his good side.

"Why would Hinata-sama have to come back?! Is it not enough that Lord Kazekage is already here". Neji knew that he didn't have a place to say anything but he couldn't help himself. Big brother mode had switched on again. The moment his cousins were mentioned that was when he got all defensive and protective.

"Hinata's presence is needed in order to come to a decision for the Hyuga. We cannot proceed without hearing the voices of reasoning from a member of the main family".

Neji was starting to get pissed off; they just couldn't make this easy could they. It always had to be the most difficult and stressful path they took down. Now that they were asking for Hinata as well as Hanabi to come back that was a recipe for disaster. Hanabi was a firecracker already and Hinata had grown a back-bone in her time in Suna. Neither of them were going to take this without putting up a fight.

Gaara on the other hand was just plain angry. He hadn't expected them to ask this; then again he probably should've anticipated that they would. It actually made sense now that he thought about it. He was basically asking to eradicate all the family conflicts that the Hyuga had held onto for so long. Since they wouldn't be able to do it easily, Hinata really was needed to give them a few words of what should be done. By no means was it unreasonable since the reformation of a clan was a difficult task but as a husband he was still concerned for Hinata. He was so not looking forward to telling her this when he eventually did get back.

Naruto didn't look particularly overjoyed about the whole thing. As Hokage he had to do what was expected of him for the sake of his village and his people. But then again, since this had become a rather personal matter for him concerning his dearest friends the blonde was a bit torn as to what he should do. If this was the only method possible that could change the Huyga's ways and keep his friends safe, then there really wasn't much anyway that was left to be said. At least people for now where choosing to cooperate instead of the other way around. Turning his head towards his friend, Naruto could only assume that Gaara was trying to find an uneasy answer. But he wouldn't say anything unless the Kazekage spoke first.

"Alright…as Kazekage I accept". He barely managed to get out that sentence his voice was so hard and full of anger.

"But only if I am present at her side. Hinata is my wife and whatever she says I must have an equal say as well".

The council wasn't happy about that, but they wisely choose not to comment. Lest they further anger the Kazekage and make him do something they really wouldn't like. So with another heavy burden on his shoulders the little trio had to make arrangements for when Hinata and Hanabi would show up and when they could all have the talk that he knew for sure he wasn't going to be looking forward too. It wasn't like Gaara was pleased about the current talk he just had either. The first critical steps had already been taking for the long run. It could be said that Gaara had already achieved what he originally accomplished. Yet he had this uneasy feeling stirring inside of him that the future wasn't going to be a bright as he hoped.

The Kazekage had been so relieved when he finally stepped out of the hell hole that was the Hyuga compound. It wasn't until he was back in Naruto's office where Shikamaru was waiting for them that he finally let out a shaky sigh and allowed his stiff body to loosen up a bit. He didn't have the energy to talk since he was still trying to calm down. So Naruto and Neji had been nice enough to give Shikamaru every detail about what had happened.

"Let me be the first to say that luck was on our side. But this whole changing the Hyuga thing is still troublesome".

"Those bastards what Hinata and Hanabi here in two weeks, as much as I hate the idea I didn't really have the option of turning them down".

"Hinata-sama was originally the former heir, as I can agree with what they are trying to do. But I am not on board with the idea".

The Nara groaned a bit placing a hand over his eyes. Being the genius he was Shikamaru had anticipated that sooner or later Hinata was going to have to get involved in the picture. He didn't think it would be so quick though; all of it was moving a little too fast and that was what concerned him. It was much too early for Shikamaru to know if all just perfect timing or if there something else going on behind the scenes.

"Hey Neji I know that I'm probably asking a lot, but could you keep your eyes and ears peeled for me".

"Certainly, I will do what I can".

He knew that Neji was already tired from the whole episode. But he doubted that his protective instinct would let him rest for some time. Shikamaru made a mental note to properly thank Neji later on; he had been so helpful to him. He would also have to apologize to Tenten about this knowing that she was most likely going to get up in his face knowing that he had put Neji through all this bullshit.

"Say Gaara what should-".

"I'm going back to Suna".

"What?! Why?".

"I have to prepare my wife for this. She's got to be ready for what's to come".

"Gaara! Shouldn't you-".

"Naruto leave him alone". Shikamaru had to intervene since Naruto's ranting was not what the red head needed right now especially since he looked like he would collapse.

"Enough right now. We can talk more tomorrow let him take a breather will you".

Naruto opened his mouth to say something but then realized what Shikamaru meant. As of right now the Kazekage was in another tight spot. Even though Gaara was a strong man, even he was going to fall to stress. The signs were already starting to show.

"I'm sorry…your right. Do what you think is best".

Naruto would be lying if he said that he wasn't worried for Gaara. Being the type of person that Naruto was he couldn't just ignore the pain that his friend was going through. Mentally scolding himself for being so insensitive to Gaara's condition he instead extended an arm to give the red head an apologetic pat on the shoulder.

"I'll wait for you to come back".

Gaara nodded not really wanting to say anything else before he left the blonde's office with Shikamaru in tow.

"You okay?".

Shikamaru wasn't surprised when his brother-in-law didn't answer. All he could think about was Hinata and her possible reaction when he told her about what she had to do two weeks from now. She had been so worried about him before he left. She had already been dreading the worst. Funny how he had sounded so confident before arriving in Konoha, now it was mix of dread and some weird feeling of determination.

"Shikamaru, thank you for all that you've done. We will leave first thing tomorrow".

A shrug "Suit yourself".

XXX

"Mommy! Daddy's home! Daddy's home!".

The bluenette looked up taking back a bit. Gaara was already back? That was…fast. She hadn't been expecting him to come home so soon. On the bright side however her worries could finally be put to ease, she hadn't stopped thinking about him since he left.

She found him next to Shikamaru in his office. Hena was squeezing the life out of her father. Hinata's keen eyes scanned for any trace of hurt or distress. She found none; her husband was smiling as he ruffled Hena's hair giving her a stuffed animal as promised.

He looked a bit tired from the long journey but other than that, Gaara didn't seem to be in any sort of sorry state. She was very much relived by this as she dreaded that a repeat of last time would occur.

"Hena, I will play with you in a little while. I have to talk to Mommy first".

"But Daddy I want to play now!".

The little girl was suddenly lifted away from her father; something she wasn't too happy about "Uncle Shikamaru put me down".

Instead the Nara gently tapped her forehead.

"You heard him. Let your parents talk and then you can play all you want. Let's go and greet Auntie Temari and your cousin Shikadai".

He was almost out the door when Hinata placed a hand on his shoulder "Don't worry Hinata; everything is under control just trust me". He gave her a smile but reassuring grin before leaving them alone.

Not quite knowing what that meant, she quickly ran over to her husband and embraced him. She had briefly forgotten how much she loved his scent.

"Gaara-dana are you alright? What happened?".

"Do not worry I'm fine".

She breathed in relief "Thank goodness, I was afraid that you'd be hurt".

"Hinata…I'm not exactly sure how to say this".

She rose an eyebrow "Say what? What happened when you met with my father?".

This is the moment that the Kazekage had not been looking forward too. He had no idea on how his wife was going to react, the three day journey he had spend much of time trying to think of exactly how he wanted to phrase the details. But the minute he saw Hinata all of that went out the window; only option now was to wing it and see what would come next. Mentally sighing Gaara didn't leave out the slightest thing as he told his wife everything in his short time in Konoha. Hinata had remained surprising quiet the entire time he was talking. He was expecting that she'd want to say something but refrained from doing so.

So by the time he was done explaining. Hinata looked like she was lost in another world. Gaara actually thought that Hinata was going to have a nervous breakdown or pass out. But to his surprise his wife suddenly smiled in glee he was caught completely off guard as she jumped onto him arms wrapping tightly around his neck. The sudden action caused him to lose his balance and both of them fell to the ground.

Hinata started to laugh still holding onto her husband. Her lavender eyes seemed a lot more alive than they had been for days.

"Hinata what-" he couldn't finish what he wanted since his wife gave him a kiss that made his mind temporarily shut down.

"Gaara-dana you're incredible".

She moved her body so that she was straddling him. "The best husband that I could ever ask for".

From the ground the red head was looked up at her a bit dumbfounded. Hinata being so cheerful about this was totally not how he expected her to react. Nonetheless it put him at ease knowing that Hinata wasn't upset or anything.

"When do I go and see my father?".

"Uh…two weeks from now".

Hinata gave an adorable giggle before she tackled her husband once more. Gaara let out a grunt as his wife pinned him to the floor again giving him another mind-blowing kiss.

"Hanabi has to come as well".

The bluenette didn't seem to pay any mind to what he just said or if she did, she certainly didn't let it ruin her good mood.

"I'll think of how to handle Hanabi later".

She cupped his face kissing every inch of it. "Thank you Gaara-dana".

The Kazekage blushed a bit, his cheeks turning pink.

"You're welcome".

Hinata brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "You'll come with me right?".

He nodded "I'd feel better if I was with you; I don't trust any of them alone with you and Hanabi".

Fair enough, she could see the reason behind that. For the first time in very long while Hinata actually felt like the future was looking a little bit brighter. Maybe it was still too soon to say that they could live happily ever after or whatever but this time she really did feel like she was ready to stand up to her problems once and for all. She had waited for the longest time for the right opportunity to jump over this hurdle and this was probably the only chance she would get.

"I don't feel scared as of now. I feel like I can do it".

"You can and you will. I said I'd be there to back you up".

"Gaara-dana?".

"Yes?"

"Do you still trust me?"

He smiled "Of course I do".

It was her turn to smile "And I still trust you".

Hinata laughed softly as she helped him up. "Looks as though I still have my work cut out for me".

The Kazekage took her hand "One step at a time".

Sorry if the ending was a little too mushy, but considering what's been going on I thought that it was a good touch to end the chapter. I have some ideas as to what will come next but we'll have to wait and see.

Thanks for waiting. I'll try to have the next one up sooner but it's not a guarantee.

In the meantime please leave me lots of reviews!

Bye my lovelies!