Temari seemed to be suddenly fond of her. She could assume she was trying to start their relationship off on a good note but was it something else? Probably not. Hinata didn't find she had any good qualities for her to want to be close. It would be nice having an elder sister rather than being the elder sister for once. It kind of took off some on the weight of the world, knowing there was someone who was more experienced to get to. She hoped that's how she made Hanabi feel.
Hinata wrote her signature beside Gaara's on the scroll. A letter to his council, informing them of their engagement. She sat quietly beside him while the two Kage's and Temari spoke about the marriage's politics. Hinata played with the hem of her long housework shirt. She really should have changed. She felt underdressed compared to the other two women in the room.
She drifted from the conversation when she caught sight of her ring. She was growing more attached to the ring the more she thought about it. It was the sweetest, most thoughtful gift she had ever been given. He didn't even understand. Somehow that made her heart melt even more. The innocence of it made it all the more special. She would have to make up for it somehow.
She didn't know what he expected out of his wife. She didn't think he knew or had even thought about it. He didn't think she needed to be arm candy or dressed for the high status he held. He had taken her to the Hokage's office dressed in her chore clothes.
She knew how to behave if she had been a Hyuga bride or the wife to a man in Konoha, but how did Suna men expect the wives to act? An even bigger question, how was the wife of the Suna Kage supposed to act. She couldn't remember the last Kage to have a spouse in Konoha even. Was it Naruto's father?
All the voices stopped suddenly, and she looked up, realizing everyone was looking at her. Her face flamed as she released someone had addressed her, and she wasn't paying attention.
"I'm sorry?" She asked, feeling sick with embarrassment.
The Hokage smiled warmly at her, amused by her. "Did you want a wedding here, Hinata?"
She tried to think of how the three had gotten to that point in the conversation while she drifted. She looked up beside her to Gaara. He looked annoyed like he had been scolded. She could put together what happened. She could also guess where he got the idea for the ring from now.
"I don't mind, either way, I don't need a big Konoha wedding as much as it might disappoint Ino-chan and the Hyuga." She didn't know how Suna did weddings, so she couldn't speak for it.
Temari picked up on her distinction, and her face lit up. "Would you want a Suna wedding then?" She looked a little more excited than she should be. She likely never thought she would be able to plan her little brother's wedding before her own. Hinata didn't want to crush her excitement.
"I don't know about Suna wedding customs." She admitted. "If that's expected of me because of Gaara-sama's position, I don't mind." She carefully gave Temari the rope to latch on to.
Temari leaned forward from her chair, uncrossing her legs. "I can help!"
The eldest woman chucked, amused by Temari's sudden change in priority.
Gaara stayed silent, letting his sister take over the conversation. She gave her a short rundown on the difference in customs. He only wrinkled his nose when certain things came up to show his distaste for them. Hinata found it amusing and kept in mind what he didn't like for later, so maybe she could get those areas toned down.
"You know, you can talk about this outside my office." The Hokage inserted 20 minutes into Temari's wedding rambling. Promptly tossing them out.
Temari led them outside as she continued. Hinata tried to soak up the mass as much of it as she could, but she couldn't retain it all. Most of it had a lot of backstories she didn't understand. She was glad Temari was excited, at least. Gaara took to step right beside her once more as they followed his sister. Temari took them to a restaurant. Hinata couldn't ignore that it was Shikamaru's team's favorite, but she would keep that to herself, of course.
Hinata found herself actually enjoying the idea of a real wedding. Suna weddings sounded interesting. They were not totally unlike Konoha ones, but different enough to find interest in. Even the attire sounded more to her comfort. In Konoha, the wedding dress had replaced the traditional kimono, even in some Hyuga weddings. She disliked the idea of looking like a large white cupcake, and her hips were large enough without help.
She wondered if the people of Suna would reject her as the foreign bride of the Kage. That's when a question struck her.
"Temari-san?" She interrupted as soon as Temari stopped to take a breath. She got both's attention on her immediately and almost flinched at the shift. "I was just wondering if there are responsibilities I must take on as a Gaara-sama wife."
Temari paused for a few moments processing the change of subject. "Well, we haven't had a spouse standing beside the Kazekage for a while, so next relatives usually fill in. I took that place, so I guess you take on most of my responsibilities." Temari looked over to Gaara for confirmation. He simply nodded.
"Okay." She gave an internal sigh of relief. She was glad she would be given something to do. Despite what she knew of Suna, she was worried about becoming more of a doll for a political council to dress up and show off. She wasn't sure if that was totally out of the water yet, but at least she could help the country he cared for. She only felt comfortable asking because of Gaara's unwavering aura of strength. It was odd to feel so safe around someone she hardly knew. It might have been because the feeling of safety she got from him was about the same feeling she had around Naruto. It was nice to feel the warmth again without her heart hurting.
"I explain all that when we get to Suna and have you settled, you know it will be nice to have another woman around."
Hanabi decided she was sleeping in Hinata's room until she left. She snuck in every night like a child with nightmares carrying an extra blanket curling up beside her. She had her tell her stories of when she was younger or what she remembered of their mother.
Hinata worried about her. The girl had an unwavering physical strength and a hard exterior. However, the younger girl was attached to her. They had grown up without a mother's guidance, with a father who made them compete, but they decided they were still sisters at the end of the day. Though Hinata was the weaker of the two in both strength and personality, there was one thing she would always stand up before the council and deny them, Hanabi's wellbeing.
That was why she was getting married in the first place, wasn't it? So Hanabi could decide her path.
"That Temari woman isn't going to replace me, right?" She asked from her place curled up with her head on Hinata's lap.
Hinata stopped playing with the younger girl's hair. "What do you mean?"
"Will she replace me as your sister?" Hanabi shrank into her blanket childishly.
Hinata smiled warmly down at her, hoping it gave strength to her moment of insecurity. "Of course not, she'll be my sister-in-law, but she's not you, and she can't replace you, Hanabi-chan."
Hanabi nodded. Hinata felt her heartbreak looking down at her sister's show of human weakness, something Hyuga wasn't supposed to have. Her own greatest weakness. It was a cold reality that she was still young and childish, as she should be, of course, but that was a weakness in the eyes of the Hyuga. They were truly their mother's daughters.
She hoped she could speak to Neji about this before she left. Any spare time she had after the meetings were usually taken packing, with Hanabi, or by Gaara. She knew he wished to talk about it. Every time she saw him, he gave her the 'we need to talk' glare. She just hadn't had the time. Everything was going by far too fast.
"Hinata! Get up!"
Hinata shot up to the sitting position in her bed, accidentally spooking her sister awake as well. She rubbed her eyes, looking out her window to the edge of the compound.
In horror, she realized that she had forgotten something important in the mix of confusion the last couple of days were. She flew out of bed, throwing on clothing, barely brushing her hair, and running down past, confused branch members preparing breakfast.
She ran out of the compound, feeling dizzy from how quickly she got up. She leaned over to take a breath while she was approached.
"It's not true, is it?" Hinata flinched at the unmasked hurt in his voice. "You're not getting married to the Kazekage?"
She stood looking down at her feet. "Yes, I am Kiba-kun." She shrunk as she felt him flinch.
"Why did I have to hear this through my sister's gossip mill?" He growled at her.
"I've been very busy with the meetings, and all my spare time has been getting to know my fiance and getting ready to leave." She explained. It wasn't an excuse. There was no excuse for forgetting to tell her best friends about her engagement.
"You didn't even consider me did you?" He growled, glaring at her fidgeting hands. Hinata cringed.
She looked down at her ring, rubbing it back and forth on her finger nervously. "I didn't ask what anyone thought, he asked, and I said yes. We didn't even tell my father until after."
"That's not what I meant, Hinata." She looked up, confused. Then what had he meant?
"I didn't even think about the fact that accepting meant moving away or leaving the team at the time either." She tried feeling tears start in her eyes.
"No, Hinata, I don't mean you not being part of the team anymore." His growl got lower. Couldn't he just directly yell at her? It would be less painful.
"She doesn't know what you mean. Stop making her feel worse." Hinata turned quickly to see Shino dropping to his feet and approaching. Both males were stiff, and the air was uncomfortable.
"I thought I told you to stay out of this!" He barked.
"I didn't agree." He replied, stopping beside her. "I'm letting you ask her. That's bad enough."
"I'm sorry, I seem to not understand what's going on." She interjected, breaking their deadly eye contact.
"Why wasn't I an option, Hinata?" Kiba asked angrily. Hinata stared at him blankly, still not understanding. She ran through her head a list of the things he could mean, but she came up short. His anger heightened at her confused face. She looked up at Shino for help.
Shino sighed. "He would have married you, Hinata."
Hinata's chest deflated. He was right. She hadn't considered it, but not just for the reason he probably thought. The Hyuga clan didn't like the Inuzuka. They weren't an option in the Hyuga's book, so he couldn't be in hers.
"The Hyuga..." Hinata started to explain.
"No, you never even thought to talk about it. Don't hide behind them!" Kiba yelled, stepping forward.
Shino took a step in front of her. "It's not her fault you didn't say anything all these years." Years? "She didn't know because you never said anything. That is your fault, not hers. She didn't go around asking every male she knew if they ever thought to marry her. After she told us she was required to, it wasn't brought up again." She hadn't considered Shino either. She hoped his feelings weren't hurt like Kiba's were.
"I'm sorry, Kiba-kun, I wasn't aware you wanted to be considered that way." She tried peering around Shino.
"You're not even considering it now!" He snapped.
"I've engaged already." She whimpered.
"You don't even think breaking it is an option, do you!?" He came closer now, yelling in her face.
Hinata was now annoyed and feeling cornered. "No, I don't think it is an option! Not only is that rude since I have accepted, but we have already told both our councils of the engagement. Above all, it would be highly unfair of Gaara-sama who asked me to marry him!" She didn't realize that her words had a double meaning until Kiba flinched back, looking wounded. "I didn't mean it like that. He didn't need to ask. My father already offered me. He could have just gone to my father."
"And do you think that was that emotionally stunted bastard's idea?" Kiba crossed his arms, moving his weight to one leg. She knew he was upset, but there was no need to attack Gaara in this.
"No, I don't, but I think it's sweet that he decided to take the time to get me a ring even though it's not his custom. He was even worried the ring wasn't good enough. He's not cold. You're misunderstanding him." She defended.
Shino plucked her hand from her other fidgeting one and looked at the ring.
"It's sand." He stated, rolling her hand over.
"Yeah, from the gourd he wears." She felt her cheeks redden, and Kiba stiffen. Now was not the time to blush over her ring.
"He can't love you how you loved Naruto." He accused her coldly. She flinched. She watched in horror as Shino's hand left hers, balled into a fist, and connected with Kiba's face.
"Shino-kun, stop!" She cried. She grabbed his coat and threw him behind her preventing further damage as Kiba fell back.
"That was not necessary!" Shino snapped, letting himself be easily pushed away, showing he was done.
Kiba held his face and glared at the ground. "No, it wasn't. Sorry."
She dropped to her knees beside him, pulling his hand away to look at the developing bruise.
"Leave it. I deserve it." He whimpered. "I shouldn't have even thought about it."
She lifted her hand to his cheek, healing the bruise before it formed. "I'm sorry that I didn't consider your feelings."
"I never made them known. I'll get over it." He mumbled, flinching in pain as the cheek healed under her hand.
"I think you would like him, Kiba-kun." She tried.
"I know I won't, but I'll take your word for it." She reached forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. He lay a hand on her back and his head down on her shoulder.