S'up guys.
One quick thing before we get started. This may be the last chapter for a while since I'll be starting classes again soon. When that happens I won't have time to keep up with most other things so I really hate having to put this story on hiatus but it looks like that's going to have to be the case.
I might be able to squeeze one more chapter in before that happens. Of course that is most certainly not guaranteed. Please be patient with me.
I promise that as soon as things have settled down I will get right back on track. There is no way I'm leaving things unfinished.
So for the time being enjoy this new chapter and if at all possible leave a review.
Ignore the spelling mistakes if you can. I edited as much as possible.
Now onwards my dears!
Hanabi was in a state of utter disbelief when her brother-in-law told her what was going on. Originally Hinata had wanted to talk with Hanabi, but since neither of them were getting along Gaara had decided that it was best that for this conversation he should be the one that handed it instead. He figured that Hinata probably wouldn't be able to tolerate her sister for long thus she do something that could potentially put Hanabi in the hospital though at this point it was a bit too late to be feeling sympathetic towards her; especially since she had already hurt Hinata so many times.
"Gaara-sama why are you telling me this? Did my sister ask you too?".
"Hanabi I will be honest, I can't see any other reason as to why you should be involved. I can't forgive you for what you've done but I am showing kindness because Hinata in some way is still looking out for you".
"So then why would I have to go as well? It doesn't make sense to me".
"I do not understand either. But all I can say is that your presence is needed alongside Hinata's because you are her younger sister".
"You know that she hates me. You've seen how angry she gets whenever I try and talk to her. In her eyes I'm nothing more than a ball and chain dragging her down".
"I'm not going to argue about that. Whatever Hinata decides concerning you is only something the two of you can work out".
Pearl eyes looked away in frustration; Hanabi would be lying if she said that she wasn't fed up with having been giving the cold shoulder over and over again. What was she honestly expecting? That Hinata would automatically forgive her just like that. Even she knew that it would be some time before her older sister even said a simple kind word to her. Hanabi knew that she had fucked up pretty bad; she knew that she completely got what she deserved from Hinata. But at least she was still willing to try and earn back her bond with her sister. Hanabi wouldn't deny that she loved her older sister. She had been her only source of comfort since her early years. It may be that Hanabi was coming across as being too possessive or ignorant but that was really how she felt.
"I hope that you're aware that anything you say may be turned against you".
"Yes…I understand".
Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow "Hanabi I will ask again, do you know that your words will not have any effect".
She nodded slowly. Gaara was pretty good at reading people, but occasionally he had moments where he couldn't figure out someone no matter how much he tried. Hanabi was definitely one of those cases. True, he didn't know her as well as someone else might. But that didn't mean he couldn't let his guard down around her. Too many times had he learned the hard way of what Hanabi was capable of.
"Just think about will you. I don't know what the intensions are in Konoha but I can't have you running around making a fool out of yourself once again. I am not invincible Hanabi, and if Hinata was to get hurt again I cannot say what will happen to you".
"Yes, I will think it over. Thank you Gaara-sama".
She quietly left his office with her head down and the red head took that as a sign that she was already submitted to what was happening. If he had it his way Hanabi wouldn't be involved in this whatsoever. He couldn't understand the point of why the Hyuga council needed Hanabi as well. Hinata was one thing since she was the former heir, but Hanabi was entirely different.
Gaara was aware that Hanabi despised every single of those old coots. He didn't blame her for doing so, they got under his skin just thinking about it. He wasn't sure if Hanabi would actually behave herself or if she would rebel and decide to take matters into her own hands. He would have to plan this carefully since the tides of fate could easily pull away from him; it may have been a lucky break before. But one must keep in mind that luck whether good or bad does not always been fortune will be blessed.
"Gaara you in here?"
He barely spared a pacing glance at Kankuro as he walked in. "You look terrible, are you feeling alright?".
The Kazekage rolled his eyes "No I'm just thinking about what going to happen soon and trying to think of all the things that could go wrong and how to prevent them, thank you asking".
Kankuro probably shouldn't have asked that question since for the last few days his little brother had kind of been in a bad mood. Normally Gaara wasn't one to be so snappish at others but since the tremendous amount of pressure from his personal life was catching up to him, it kind of made sense that his tolerance was a little short as of late. The puppet master doubted that Gaara would settle down until the talk was over. As the big brother he honestly did feel bad for Gaara; he was proud of him for doing all this for himself as well as his family, at the same time he also didn't know how his brother had made it this far from all the stress that he normally dealt with. A normal person wouldn't be able to take it but Gaara had never been what one would consider normal to begin with. That's why Kankuro was at a mix of feelings for his little brother.
"Do you need anything?"
"No".
"Are you sure?"
"Kankuro" the red head looked at his big brother with exhausted eyes "I understand what you're trying to do but please stop. It won't do any good".
The brunette shook his head "I get it man, but I'm worried for you".
"I appreciate your concern but I have too much to deal with".
"At least try not to let it get the better of you. Need I remind you of what happens when you do, you should take a walk or something clear your head or whatever".
Kankuro's suggesting wasn't a bad one, fresh air would do him a world of good. He couldn't remember the last time he had simply walked for the pleasure of it.
"Maybe you're right".
Walking out of his office and coming to the mansion portion of the tower he found his wife playing with their daughters in the living room. Hinata's smiling face made him feel a little better; he was concerned that she wouldn't be able to handle her clan when they went to Konoha again. Hinata's sweet nature often got the better of her and while she had worked to improve herself Gaara couldn't help but feel as though she'd break from the circumstances. He shouldn't be so pessimistic about the eventual future but how could he not.
"Daddy!".
The red head stumbled back a bit as Hena ran smack into his legs nearly causing him to fall over. Maintaining his balance he lifted his daughter into his arms and smiled for her.
"Gaara-dana you're home early".
"It took a little persuasion".
The bluenette giggled silently as she figured Kankuro had done his job since she saw him walking to his office earlier.
"Daddy, play with us".
"Hena you know that your father is busy".
"But Mommy, Daddy promised he'd play with me".
Gaara gave his wife a tender look "I did say I would, I wouldn't want to disappoint our daughter".
So that was how it was for the next couple of hours the royal family just enjoying been together. Hena was ecstatic to finally have some quality time with her father as she didn't often get to see him from his position as a village leader. Hinata was glad that her husband was allowing himself to take things a little more easily for the time being. She knew that he'd been under a lot of pressure for multiple reasons and she didn't blame him at all. She was going through a similar predicament but Hinata had learned not to dwell on the little things too much for too long. Something Gaara had yet to learn.
The fun was interrupted when the red head asked a rather serious question.
"Hinata have you spoken at all with Hanabi?"
That was about the fifth or sixth time he had asked her that. Her happy mood faded a little but not too much. Hinata knew that inevitably she would have to put aside her differences with her sister at least for the meeting in Konoha which wasn't that much longer now. Problem was Hinata still was not willing to cooperate with her sister; Gaara had already gently encouraged her to try but she was being as stubborn as a mule.
She purposely avoided eye contact, and that told the red head all he needed to know. Sometimes he wondered how Hinata could be the person that she was.
"Let me take the baby" carefully he took Imari from Hinata's arms and into his.
"I'll play with the girls some more, please go and at least try to talk with Hanabi".
She had stopped counting the number of times she had heard him say that in the past few days. It was starting to annoy her. But if it meant that she could shut him up about it once and for all then she would try even if she really didn't like doing it in the process.
Leaving her husband to attend to their daughters Hinata forced herself to find Hanabi. It wasn't that hard to spot her as she was standing outside what had become one of her favorite balconies. But she nearly gave Hanabi at heart attack when she walked closer and tapped her shoulder making her jump at least ten feet in the air. Hanabi was still in shock as her older sister gave her a very stern look.
"Nee-chan? What are you doing here?"
Hinata desperately wanted to turn around and walk away. But she had said that she would try and by the gods she was going to get through this even if it killed her.
"Hanabi…I need to talk to you".
Pearl eyes were filled with confusion; Hanabi was starting to get the impression that this was a joke, but it wasn't her older sister was standing in front of her asking to talk. Hanabi wasn't sure she should dance around in glee or pretend that this wasn't happening.
"Nee-chan are you sure? You haven't-"
"Just listen to me". Hinata was being nice for the sake of her husband; it was a miracle that she hadn't ripped out Hanabi's tongue by now.
"As you already know we are going to Konoha and confronting our father".
Hanabi nodded "Yes, Gaara-sama spoke to me earlier".
"Hanabi I will be blunt. I cannot forgive you even now I'm struggling to have this talk with you from all the hardships that you've forced upon me. But since I don't have a choice but to take you with me, I will only ask that you respect what I have to say".
Was that it? That didn't seem to be the answer she was expecting, Hinata would usually give a threat of some kind or hit or something. But she had gotten off so easily, not even an insult. Did this mean that Hanabi was coming back into Hinata's heart or was she trying too hard to be nice because she knew that she had to be. Either way it didn't matter to Hanabi that much she was just relieved that her older sister was actually willing to listen and negotiate with her. She wouldn't say this out loud but Hanabi did not harbor any intensions to dispose of her father or any of her clan. It took a long while and a hell of a lot of trouble but she had learned her lesson.
"Nee-chan I promise that I'll listen to you. But only if you will listen to me as well".
The bluenette clenched her fists tightly "Pardon me?"
Hanabi raised her hands in defense "I'm not trying to cause any threats but since we are both needed to confront father, then it is best that I have a say as well. We are sisters and both former members of the main house. Whatever you say then I need to have go also".
Hanabi wasn't wrong there, still did not do anything to ease Hinata's discomfort. It was so hard not to beat her senseless right now. Hanabi wasn't playing around though. Hinata was all too aware of her sister's importance for this meeting and whether she liked it or not Hinata needed to get along with her for the sake of her future.
"If this should fall apart then what do you expect will happen?"
Hinata gave her a weird look "Huh?"
"I'm curious is all. Father may not give us an easy time when we confront him. As silly as this sounds coming from the last person you want to hear it from I'm concerned about you".
Hinata simply waved off her attempt of sympathy "Hanabi you really are a strange one".
The younger sister felt a little awkward as of right now. For a while now Hinata had been saying the most hurtful things that she could come up with and now with the sudden mildness of her aggression it wasn't really a feeling that Hanabi felt comfortable with. However it was a hell of a lot better than being told to rot away in a ditch. Since Hanabi didn't know how long this was going to last she figured that at least for now she would have to work a little harder to win over her sister again. Maybe if she played her cards right and had a little good luck Hinata could potentially find it in her heart to give her a second chance.
"Nee-chan?"
"What?"
"May we talk a bit more later? There are some things I want to go over with you".
Sucking up her despair the bluenette gave her a simple nod and walked off. Hanabi was pleased right now, that was the longest chat they had, had in a while without any sort of negativity. Maybe things were looking better between them after all.
XXX
The day that Hinata had to head to Konoha, she could barely contain herself. She may have looked calm and composed but inside she was ready to get things moving. Her inner self was ready to charge into battle and knock the shit out of the enemy. The last few days she had prepped with her husband for who knows how long going over the slightest details that might be important. Hinata had also been preparing mentally for this as well. She told herself over and over again that she needed to be confident and display the face of determination. As lovely as the thought was to only be confronting her father, she was also going up against the Hyuga council and she especially didn't want to put up with those old windbags. Still, Hinata was only going to do the best that she could.
Gaara was a different case; unlike his wife who was itching to dive in head first. He was a bit presumptuous about everyone and everything.
This was something that was very unlike Gaara, but no one was going to call him out on that for a variety of reasons. Despite Hinata's efforts to settle her restless husband Gaara had giving off this nervous vibe it was like the slightest movement would have him activating his sand defense. Hanabi was also going with them and Gaara couldn't say for sure how his wife and sister-in-law would react on the journey to Konoha. Even though Hinata had assured him that she wasn't going to start picking fights with Hanabi he didn't know for sure he could believe her. From the way things had been standing as of late that was kind of a big statement for her to make.
Shikamaru was going with him again. Since he was still needed, Kankuro was also coming as well and that didn't make sense to the Kazekage. When he asked why the only answer he got was that Hinata had asked him too. He wouldn't say why, but Gaara figured it was that so he could keep an eye on Hanabi; his brother hated having to play the role of babysitter but because he was fond of Hinata he was putting up with it.
"Go and kick his ass Hina-chan! I'll be rooting for you".
His sister was once again left with the task of looking after the kids. Gaara didn't like having to leave Hena and Imari who was now nearly three months old once again. But Temari had insisted that she'd take care of his children while he helped out. He'd have to figure out some way to show his gratitude to her soon.
Only when Kankuro finally showed up, something about finding one of his puppets did the group depart for Konoha. Almost immediately the atmosphere between them was rather uneasy to say the least. Everyone was pretty much lost in their own world of thoughts. Gaara did notice that Hanabi tried to walk beside Hinata only to be ignored. His wife had mentioned that Hanabi had been a pest to her lately and he was starting to see why. Hanabi was trying a little too hard to have Hinata's approval. Deciding to take pity on his wife he purposely walked in-between the pair and took Hinata's hand. Hanabi didn't attempt to get close again since she knew that would most likely be a bad idea.
"Hinata are you-"
"Gaara-dana please relax. Everything is going to be alright".
She had said that for the umpteenth time and it was starting to annoy her. The roles had been switched again, but she didn't exactly want to complain about it.
"I'm worried about the children".
"Temari-san is with them. They will be perfectly fine; you know that they can't come with us".
"Yes but-"
"We are not going to argue about this again. Hena and Imari are safest in Suna".
She gave his hand a squeeze; part of her was relieved that Gaara's protective side was still there on the other hand she wished that he'd shut up about the matter. Whining never did anyone any good to begin with.
He opened his mouth to say something but she squeezed his hand again as an indicator to be quiet and he did just that. Hinata resisted the urge to smile as she leaned over to peck his cheek.
"Now, now do not feel sorry for me or yourself. Try to think positive about this".
So that was how they spent the long travel to Konoha. Hinata giving her husband small but encouraging words of comfort. Hanabi had oddly enough behaved herself only speaking when addressed directly; other than that she had kept her mouth shut. The fact that they made it to the Land of Fire so smoothly was almost too good to be true but there wasn't any time for feeling giddy just yet. Naruto and Neji had greeted them at the village gates. Before anyone could stop him Neji had began fussing over his cousins about everything. That of course got him a scolding from Hinata who wasn't too pleased that her overprotective cousin was acting like a paranoid dad. The last thing she needed was to have Neji remind her all the worries that had plagued her for a while.
"Hinata-sama are you ready for this?"
"How many times must I say it? Yes, I've been ready for days".
"I will back you up in any way I can".
"I appreciate your support but I trust that Gaara-dana can help me".
"Hyuga-san if you please, I think that it's best we meet once last time". Hinata couldn't say how grateful she was when her husband interfered she was certain that she'd have to knock Neji out if he didn't leave her alone.
Standing outside of Naruto's office gave her some time to catch up on her current feelings while Gaara was in conference with Shikamaru, Neji and the blonde Hokage.
Hinata was still feeling brave but naturally there was a small seed of doubt that had settled in her mind that the worst would happen. But that was nothing a quick mental pep talk couldn't tackle. In no time at all she was back into her full on battle mode.
"Hinata-chan?"
She made a small noise to indicate she was listening to her brother-in-law. "Just wanted to let you know that I'll be supporting you".
She gave a lopsided smile "Thank you Kankuro-san".
Soon after she said that, the door opened and she felt Gaara take her hand. She felt her stomach tightened as she risked turning around to see the red head's stern expression. She was very much tempted to ask if he was okay but knowing him he'd probably avoid the question and ask her the same thing. Placing his hands on her shoulders he lightly squeezed them before looking into her lavender eyes. One look told her all that she needed to know. It was now or never; the moment had at long last come.
"Let's go…it's time".
And we'll leave things as they are right here. Next chapter will have the confrontation that's been expected.
I will do some thinking about what will happen next. I want the next chapter to be good so it's back to the drawing board for me.
Please be nice about it. I have a lot going on.
So until the next chapter everyone!
Bye!
