Chapter 6: Remains of Our Past

"Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick and think of you
Caught up in circles, confusion is nothing new."

-"Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper

Hinata

What remains are broken shiny things and trinkets of harmony. It funny how things so sacred and so strongly promised could be meaningless if you do the slightest things to tilt them off their axis of power. I find myself snarled by these things constantly.

My marriage to Gaara no longer symbolized the joining of nations.

It now only symbolized Gaara and me.

Husband and Wife.

King and Queen.

Living in this luxurious mansion forged from his element the essence of him is everywhere. The maids will come at the drop of a hat to deliver me breakfast, lunch or a snack in bed. The windows are open just slightly to allow the wavering soft breeze to banter against the desert heat and the light of the morning that touched me would kiss my tanning skin and rose me from my sleep where I would then wake Gaara for breakfast then work. My clothing is as fine as gossamer and more glamorously expensive than twelve kimonos from my original wardrobe brought all together.

It was our honeymoon.

It was a fairytale.

Our first week of marriage, at least.

Gaara frowned as he ordered for the staff to be cut down to minimum well–known maids and butlers. I soon had no other choice, but to eat in my room –breakfast, lunch and dinner, no snacks during wartime I had to stay lean– with my royal food taster, where it was safe. The windows were closed at all times for fear of assassins and my fine clothes were replaced with my usual ninja wear and hidden weaponry.

With the emending threat of war over our heads, Gaara wanted everyone to be ready.

I, personally, didn't believe my family would demand war . . . on Sunagakure.

Me, however, I was theirs for the taking.

Laying in bed together at night, Gaara would endlessly mutter apologies and apologies and promises. This was not the life we planned to have. Married, yes, but living in fear? No.

He was a Kazakage and I was his wife, the lady of the house, in ranks with Temari and Kankuro, the daughter of a powerful bloodline limit lord with a prestige family and pedigree. I was a tool for marriage. Though no one had expected Gaara and me to fall in love, or marry. My father and his private council had seen this as an advantage and a down fall.

They warned, trained, and tested me about keeping the love of Gaara's people, secretly training any future children about the glories of Konohagakure and keeping all secrets within family range.

They wanted to use me.

But in the end, I guess, I used them.

Leaning up from my side of the bed, I curled into my husband's arms and kissed his forehead.

"I don't need the fancy things, Gaara-kun. I knew what I was signing up for before I married you." I murmured, so sure of myself. "I want you and nothing else. You make me happy."

I now lived for moments like these. Gaara not working, all alone in our room.

Naruto

This is not right. My mind raced with the words Kakashi-sensei told me and continued to rush through my head. Spinning and knocking into each other like poorly thrown throwing stars. This is not right. Not right.

Nothing was right. Not Sakura turning out to be the Akatsuki leader's daughter and running off (or being carried away since she was injured) to be with a man from the Akatsuki. Not Uchiha Madara suddenly coming to play and posing as a harmless Akatsuki member. Not Danzo taking over. Not Shikamaru and Sai working for him. Not anything.

Especially, not the fire set on Konohamaru's house.

People had deemed it useless to go sifting through the ashes and charred remains for too long, but this was the ex-Hokage's daughter. Lady Nala Sarutobi who, even retired, had credentials and power within the system of council members because of her father and her assassination skills, and she was an avid supporter of Lady Tsunade.

There was so much reason for someone to kill her.

But then there wasn't.

Lady Nala was a good mother, even to Sakura who wasn't her child, and the best cook I had ever known. Way back, before Sakura, Hinata and I were even Genin, we would all gather in the Sarutobi backwoods and practice with kunai and throwing stars, occasionally Sakura and I would even wrestle a little, but Hinata would stand off to the side as the official referee and would ask us to stop fighting if we got too into it. And when we were all tired from training we'd exit the woods facing the back of the Hokage's house to find three towels and three glasses of water set out for us on the back wall.

Why would anyone want to kill such a kind, beautiful person?

"Naruto, you have to let this go." Shikamaru murmured softly as we stood outside the cut off line to civilians from the charred house. He'd been one of the few allowed to search it, being part of Danzo's new ROOT division he had special advantages, including his pick of missions –lucky bastard, I would have complained if the circumstances were different. "There's nothing more we can do. Lady Nala is dead."

Shikamaru stood with the sort of lazy manner that he always had. Having his leg super-surgically chakra healed so he could continue with his duties he didn't seem to stand on it quite right yet.

"And Konohamaru? Where is Konohamaru?" I growled lowly.

Shikamaru sighed. "He was found with his mother, they both perished in the flames."

Tears threatened to fall, but I held them back, letting them burn in my eyes. "I want to see him."

"Naruto, you–" Shikamaru started blatantly. How could he be so cruel? He knew Nala too!

"No! Don't tell me what I can and cannot do, Shikamaru! I want to see him! I want to see with my own eyes! And you're going to let me!"

"No." Shikamaru said, characteristically blasé and bored looking. But there was a slight spark in his eye. A tinge of annoyance. "Naruto, I can't."

"Yes, you can." I growled, meeting his eyes. "You can, you have to."

I didn't know what happened until I was constricted, dragged to the ground into a sitting position, by dark shadowy hands that Shikamaru controlled with ease. Air seeped from my lungs and the snake-like arms loosened and tightened, loosened and tightened.

Shikamaru glared down at me. His voice was cold, smooth and clipped.

"You really want to look at that poor boy's charred body? That's sick," Then I was rolling back, shoved further away from the house.

Once I regained control of my body, Shikamaru was already walking away.

He's not right either. I realized, deciding to stand and head back to the infirmary tent to talk to Lee. None of this is.

Oh, Shika you little jackass.

Sorry nothing really happens here, but we see Shikamaru's change of behavior and Suna getting ready for Konoha to find out that they broke their treaty in order to stay out of their fights with the Akatsuki. (Temari's gonna smakc a bitch, just saying) And Konohamaru, poor baby, he's been declared dead.

Sorry for the wait, yet again, I'm trying to untangle my plot ideas from my jumbled mess of a mind. You can thank and her friends for beating monopoly money on my next update.

I've been working on a few of my original stories and trying to lessen my new obsession with Tom Hiddleston (who plays Loki from Thor and Avengers) I love him so much . . . Anyway, the story. Yes, the story. More plot. More on Isamu. And Sakura. And Madara. And Team Taka next chapter. Soon there will be a little filler chapter titled: "The Misadventures of Isamu and Konohamaru" it should be in parts, because these two are not goign to get along. Also, we'll get to see more of Isamu's soon-to-be famed cold character and 'kill Konohamaru' additude.

-Song- It's for Gaara and Hinata, there marriage isn't what they thought it would be *sniffle* Sorry guys . . .

Review me, let me know your with me,

~QueenVamp