Hinata woke up sick. Her medication almost came back up as she took it. She rested her head against the cold bathroom wall. Her symptoms were inconvenient but manageable. Gaara had nothing to make him more comfortable, nothing more than cold water and hot pads. She wasn't even sure they helped.

She rinsed her face and looked in the mirror. She tried to make her face perk up. She couldn't add to Gaara's pain.

When she came out, she was greeted with a message waiting for her. It was a summons from the council. She was expecting it, but she frowned. It was for him.

She denied the message.

She replied, stating that the Kazekage was in no condition to stand. He was certainly in no condition to be arguing with the council.

She received her own summon by lunch.

"Of course, they can't even wait until I can sit up for answers." Gaara mumbled. Her heart ached.

This council had made his life hell as a child. Even now, as Kage, they controlled him, just like her council had been to her.

She laid her hand over his. She wasn't sure he could feel it right now.

She hated to admit that she had expected this. She had actually expected it a few days sooner, but she was sure they tried to do some investigating first. She was sure that snooping didn't work out too well around the Hyuga compound.

"What will you tell them?" He wondered.

"The truth. The Hyuga offered a helping hand to a condition that would be life-threatening to fix otherwise." She sighed, looking down at their combined fingers. "You are incredibly lucky not only that the Hyuga can safely work on your chakra channels, but are willing to do so."

He rested his head back. "I assume I would not get the same treatment in Konoha."

"No, there would be a council meeting to see how it would benefit them to give you the treatment. I would not have been able to bring you there and start treatment on the same day." She could hope that they would not have delayed something so dire, but she knew her counsel better than that. They would also not have opened the compound to an outsider, no matter his status. She was proud of the Suna-Hyuga to have held their arms open to her husband. She hoped that this would lead to more open behavior in the future.

"I will make sure they are rewarded for their generosity." Gaara nodded, agreeing.

Gaara knew something was off. He had woken before her a few times and had seen her run to the bathroom to take her medication or throw up. Though he said nothing. He did eye the separate pots of tea they were brought. Hinata could only hope that his silence meant that he was accepting that she did not bring it up. It was the last thing she wanted to talk about right now. She had the upcoming meeting with the council on her mind. She had put them off till midway through the week.

She was sickly, but she was doing better than earlier in the week. With makeup, she looked fine. It was clear that she was not going to be able to hide her health for long. She wasn't even finishing her meals. She should be doubling her calorie intake at this point, but she was having difficulty eating anything.

She just hoped that she made it through the meeting at this point.

"It was a surprise and an emergency." She clarified. She was annoyed with the disrespect she was being given by the council, and she was getting sick of talking in circles. "And thus, by definition, unseen and urgent. So, no, there was no way to give any warning. We did not know he would need this treatment until it was already too late to debate about it. In fact, waiting for approval for such treatment would have greatly lengthened his treatment and recovery time." She jabbed at their pride. Her patience was shorter, quicker than normal. She assumed that it was hormonal. She would have to make sure that it did not get her in trouble.

The speaker only sneered. "Isn't it inappropriate that the Hyuga are doing these treatments?" Were they offended that the Hyuga stepped in without being asked or that the Suna medical staff was not consulted? Likely they were worried the Hyuga would use this favor against them. "We have been accepting of the secrecy needed to have the clan here, but we can not excuse that for Kazekage's health records."

"His health and treatment will be heavily documented. The use of the Byakugan is simply a tool in the treatment. However, it is necessary. A normal medic would not be able to perform the rerouting in a short enough period to counteract the damage. Without the Hyuga here, he would have had to be rushed to Konoha for treatment. In short, he could have died with normal treatment." She explained, leaving no room to argue for moving him to the Suna clinic.

The speaker eyed her. "You have the Hyuga sight, and you were the one who discovered the problem. How is it that this was not brought to light earlier when it was less life-threatening?"

Hinata's eyes hardened on him. He was accusing her of letting him be sick knowingly until it was critical. "I have been recovering since the attack myself. There were complications with my healing process. I haven't been using my Byakugan as it drains the chakra from my body."

"Then why the sudden discovery?" The speaker asked with a smug tilt of his head.

"I became worried that his health was degrading. He should have been gaining weight, but he was constantly losing it. I checked his levels. I didn't expect to find such extensive damage to his chakra veins. I am upset that I did not think to check sooner. However, his condition is not that common. We do not have much information on what happens to those who have had their tailed beast ripped out." She countered. She did feel at fault for not checking on him sooner, but she refused to let them try to use that against her.

The speaker paused as one of the other members called him. He stepped back for them to whisper something to him. He got an annoyed look on his face. "You are not taking the rule of Kazekage while he is recovering?"

"No." She answered.

The speaker looked more annoyed that she didn't offer up an excuse. "Why?"

"As I mentioned before, my health has also downturned. I have been suffering complications from my previous injuries. They did not heal as intended. The Kazekage and I agreed that instead of stretching myself between here and the Hyuga compound and leaving him there alone. Remember Suna nin are not allowed there. It would be best that the work was delegated, and I stay to watch his progress." She tapped her finger on the podium, making herself look impatient with the question. It was a reasonable question to ask, but the longer she could hide her condition, the better. Right now, between the stress and struggling to eat, it was best she was in the hands of the Hyuga medics.

He frowned, not having much more to work with. "We will, of course, be seeing some of his treatment logs?" The speaker asked, glancing at her, hoping he had caught her.

"I'll have them sent by later today if you would like." She smiled.

He frowned further.

"They are not happy." He stated.

She smiled at him sadly. "Of course they weren't, but there isn't much they can do about it now. Though they were also upset that I am not sitting in your office right now."

"They had a problem with Kankuro...?" She shook her head to stop him.

"Not with him, but rather that it was not me as I am next in command, and there was no clear explanation." She explained. "They're aren't happy with the Hyuga helping, and they are insulted the Suna medics weren't consulted first." She sighed. "That might not have been a problem if I had noticed the signs of damage sooner. The damage wouldn't have been as extensive. We could have gone through the motions without having the council in a fit because they were not consulted." They probably still would have been against the Hyuga helping. It would never be that easy.

"You are not at fault." Was all he said in response.

She stared at him, wondering if he had paid attention to anything else she had said.

"Do not blame yourself for not seeing the damage. My health is not your sole responsibility. It is my own as well. I have been ignoring my health for so long that I too ignored the signs that I was degrading." She frowned. She did not like that he thought that any of this was his fault. He had never felt what it was like to have a normal body that you had to take care of. Why would he know? Before, he only ate because people thought he should. Now he was constantly eating as his body started to recognize that it was physically malnourished. Before, he would just pull the power from Shukaku.

She felt a sharp pain in her heart when she thought about him.

Shukaku.

Even after all he had done in his past, she didn't think he deserved the slightest of his treatment. Being ripped out of Gaara's body, she was sure, had to be painful, especially with the damage that had been done to Gaara. Had he fought? Had he cried out to Gaara though he couldn't hear him?

Would they destroy him? Would they use him against his will?

What would they do to the poor tanuki, hadn't he been through enough?

No wonder he hated humans.

"Hinata." She was pulled from her thoughts, feeling tears run down her face. She sniffed and wiped her face, but her tears were streams and were continuing to fall.

She looked up at Gaara's worried face. They had just been talking about… blaming herself. So he likely thought it was that. "Shukaku-san..." She whimpered, opening her heart.

He frowned. "It's become uncomfortably silent in my head without him." He tried to explain. He scrunched his face like he was unsure if that's what he meant.

"I miss him too."