Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Special Thanks: goes out to rao hyuga 18, DarkAnonymous324, PolkadottedAngels, and Myomi-chan for all of your wonderful, mind-blowing reviews! You all are seriously amazing. And also thanks to the people who are adding this story to their alerts and fave lists, I appreciate you all so much, too!

Author's Note: This is definitely an important chapter. Lots of interesting things going on - and a big event, very important to the plot and future development of this story, is revealed. I'm really excited about it. And to those of you who wanted more Kakashi and Tenten interaction - the last scene in this chapter is for you! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

*~Chapter XIII~*

~Discoveries~

Time passed. Itachi continued holding the sleeping Temari while thinking about everything she'd told him about her mother, her father, her brothers. Eventually the stillness of the garden and the gentle breathing of the woman in his arms lulled him into a kind of waking doze. The sound of the greenhouse's heavy door opening, however, roused him to instant alertness. Raising his head he saw Lord Gaara stepping through the portal and quietly closing it behind him. Temari's younger brother paused just inside for a moment as he absorbed the scene in front of him, then crossed half the distance between them and halted.

His flat, hoarse voice - due, Itachi now knew, to his larynx being damaged in one of his father's attacks - was barely above a murmur when he spoke. "She's told you." It was a statement, not question. "Good. She'd made up her mind you had to know, but has nearly worried herself sick over the how and the when of it." He lifted his gaze from his sister's face, locking it onto Itachi's eyes. "I expect you want to ask me something now. Go ahead. Ask your question."

Itachi's anger threatened to roil back to life. He took an extra moment to make sure he had himself well under control. "All right," he said just as quietly, "I will. Why are you forcing your sister into this marriage?"

The Suna lord's unnervingly light green eyes in their darkly shadowed sockets remained unblinking. "Because Temari deserves a life of her own away from me, away from Kankuro," he said. "And she'll never have that here in Suna. Yamato Tenzou spoke very highly of you during the marriage negotiations, Lord Itachi. I could tell even through his professional demeanor that he was sincere in his praise of you. It pleases me to see that he did not overestimate your suitability as a husband for my sister." Crossing the remainder of the distance separating them, he squatted in front of Itachi and extended his arms. "Let me have her, I'll take her to her room."

Itachi involuntarily swept Gaara's thin form with a quick, estimating glance. "If you will allow me the honor, Lord Gaara," he started to say, but stopped when the other man flicked him a look.

"I am stronger than I appear. You, however, look like you've been sitting here for a while. I am less likely to drop her than you are. Can you find your way back to your suite from here?"

"I believe so." Itachi leaned forward, his stiff muscles twinging in sharp protest as he carefully shifted Temari from his hold into her brother's. Her eyelids fluttered slightly during the exchange, but subsided once her head settled onto Gaara's shoulder. The young lord rose to his feet with no apparent effort. Itachi suppressed a grimace as he followed suit: How long, he wondered, had he been cradling Temari on his lap? He went ahead to open the door for the sand siblings, parting company with them at the bottom of the stairs.

In his suite once more, he took his time bathing and preparing for bed, his thoughts still full of Temari's revelation as well as his encounter with Gaara. Uchiha Fugaku, he acknowledged ruefully, might not take any prizes in the parenting department, but at least he hadn't tried to kill either of his sons with his own hands.

After the humid atmosphere of the greenhouse and steamy warmth of the bath, the drier air of his bedroom felt uncomfortably chilly to Itachi. He hurried to slip beneath the covers, grateful for their puffy thickness which he'd found curious earlier. He expected to have some difficulty falling asleep, but his body had different plans. It seemed he'd barely settled into his usual position on his right side and closed his eyes, than he was opening them again onto bright sunlight falling through the round windows set just below the ceiling.

Itachi hurried through his morning ablutions, anxious to get downstairs and see Temari again. Not until he approached the doorway to the dining room did it occur to him that some awkwardness might attach to their first meeting after the previous night. He nearly froze in midstep as a thought suddenly blazed across his mind. Did Temari know it had been Gaara who returned her to her room? Or did she think he had?

Well, he'd soon find out. He drew a quick, deep breath and crossed the threshold.

Only Temari and Kankuro were in the dining room when he entered. His eyes went straight to his betrothed even as he spoke a greeting to both of them. To his relief she met his gaze openly if a little shyly and smiled.

"Gaara has already eaten and gone for the day," she said. She lifted the teapot and poured a cup to give to him. "He told me the two of you talked - earlier."

Kankuro looked quickly from his sister to Itachi and back again. "Huh? You did? When did this happen? You two disappeared after dinner, and Gaara said he'd brought some documents home he needed to work on, so I went down to the shop. What're you talking about, Sis?"

"About nothing that concerns you, nosy little brother." Temari tipped her chin up archly, but a smile gleamed her turquoise eyes.

Kankuro shrugged in good-humored resignation. "Oh, well, if that's the way you want to be-"

Itachi contented himself with sitting quietly as he ate breakfast, listening to Temari and Kankuro's playful give and take. The sound of her laughter, freer and happier than he'd ever heard, wrapped warm tendrils around his heart. This, he thought, is what Gaara meant. This is how she's supposed to be.

After they'd finished the last of the tea, Kankuro leaned toward Itachi slightly and said, "So what are your plans for today? I'd be glad to take you down to show you-"

"Oh no you don't, Kankuro," Temari interrupted firmly. "In case you've forgotten, Itachi is here to see me. That means I have dibs on showing Suna to him first. Right, Itachi?"

"I am yours to command, my lady," Itachi replied instantly. Kankuro groaned and rolled his eyes, reminding him intensely of Sasuke even though the two looked nothing alike. "In fact, I'm very eager for you to show me your village, as I showed mine to you. I'm ready to leave this moment, if you are."

Turquoise eyes and brown raked over him. Temari and Kankuro emphatically exclaimed in chorus, "Oh, no, you aren't!"

Itachi looked back at them in some startlement. Kankuro was grinning broadly, while Temari's expression was much more serious. "You're dressed for Konoha, Itachi," she said earnestly, "not Suna. If you went out as you are now, we'd be carrying you back on a stretcher. There's a practical reason we wear the loosely fitting robes we do. And one of the first things to remember is never, ever go out in the day with your head uncovered. I'm eager to show Suna to you - but not until after you're properly dressed for our climate."

Kankuro stood up. "C'mon, Itachi," he said. "I'll get you rigged out with what you need."

Before long, Itachi was walking alongside his sand princess through the village. "Even though it's late summer, these are some of the hottest days in Suna," she told him. "Oh, sure, you can go out during the hours of high daylight. You won't automatically shrivel up and drop dead. It's just wiser not to unless it's essential. That's why Suna has several different marketplaces, rather than a larger, more centralized one like Konoha's. We know it's better not to go farther than absolutely necessary." She gestured ahead. "There are shelters set up all throughout the village, not only to give relief to people with business in the market district but also for safety if a sandstorm should suddenly sweep in from the deep desert. Usually we have enough warning that everyone knows to stay home, but not always. It's good practice to give the desert extra respect, rather than tempting it to do its worst."

Itachi didn't much care where they went or what they did, just so long as he did it with Temari. "Sandstorms," he repeated thoughtfully. "Are they the reason your buildings are all rounded, even the rooftops? To lessen wind resistance and prevent the sand from accumulating and caving in the roofs?"

Temari looked pleased by his observation. "Yes, exactly. We've learned how to cope and minimize damage. Fortunately we don't get the really devastating, monster storms very often; the last one occurred two or three generations back. When they come, though, they're called shukaku: demons of the sand."

By this time they'd entered the marketplace closest to the Sabaku domicile. Itachi immediately noticed how the people of Suna seemed inclined to get straight down to business rather than exchanging pleasantries and small talk first. Fortunately the layout was very similar to his own village's, with vendors of similar wares clustered together into districts. Having paid attention to what interested and disinterested Temari in Konoha, Itachi skipped over the stalls selling jewelry, steering them inconspicuously toward those with scarves, fans, and bags. Over her protests he bought her a dark purple scarf, its silken length delicately shot with gold and light as breath, because it reminded him of the kimono she'd worn the night before. He also insisted on getting a fan to go along with it: the same shade of purple in a heavier silk figured with lighter colored sprays of small flowers and mounted on beautifully carved ivory sticks.

Temari laughed as she accepted it, thoughtfully weighing it in her hand as she eyed his head. "At least it should help me knock some sense into you if you try to go on being extravagant," she said.

Itachi held out his hand. "In that case," he said with mock gravity, "perhaps I should carry it for you. After all, I wouldn't want to tempt you do something I might regret later." When she declined his offer by shaking her head and mischievously holding the fan behind her back he smiled warmly at her, encouraged into hoping that her teasing meant she was starting to feel more natural and comfortable with him.

Two days later, as they were just finishing lunch at Suna's equivalent to Konoha's Ichiraku ramen, a sudden, sharp hooting pulsed through the air. Itachi looked up, startled, trying to discern the source of the sound. "What-?"

Temari had already slid off her stool. She quickly placed some money on the counter, other customers on either side of them doing the same, then caught his wrist in a light hold. "Sandstorm alarm," she said, briskly drawing him toward the entrance of the little eatery. Behind them, the owner had already started closing up shop. She cocked her head as another hoot assaulted his ears. "From the timing, we'll be able to get home if we don't dawdle. Wait a second." After a rapid glance outside, she turned to face him and reached up to adjust his headcovering until it stuck out beyond his eyebrows, then pulled some of the scarf wound around his neck over his mouth and nose. She did the same for herself. "In case the lighter dust bands get here before we make it home," she explained.

All around them Itachi saw the market district shutting down with practiced efficiency, the area already all but empty of shoppers. A high-pitched keening could be heard between blasts of the alert and seemed to chase them along the vacant streets as the daylight slowly went from eye-hurtingly bright to brownish dimness. Just before they got to the lane leading to the Sabaku estate an itching, tickling sensation began worming its way through the tiny creases in Itachi's clothing, adding to the discomfort of the dry air entering and leaving his airways, the pounding of his head and heart.

They passed the gateway into the courtyard. Two robed figures stood just outside the door to the house. Temari reached back to snag Itachi's hand; they put on a final spurt of speed; one waiting figure swung open the door just enough for all of them to squeeze through. As soon as the last one was clear, the taller of the two slammed it and sealed it behind them, then unveiled as his companion did the same. Itachi recognized Kankuro and the mousy little woman who had accomanied Temari to Konoha.

Temari ripped aside the fabric protecting her face and took a swift step toward her younger brother. "Gaara?" she said sharply.

"Safe in Suna Tower," he hastily assured her, "which is built and provisioned to withstand a lot worse than this promises to be. Baki is with him, along with all the emergency staff. He'll be fine, Sis."

The other woman approached Temari. "You know Lord Gaara will fret less if he's where he can continue seeing to Suna's welfare," she said calmingly. "Now come, my lady, and bathe as quickly as possible."

Itachi gently pressed Temari's fingers, which were still twined with his. She looked around in surprise. "Is there anything I can do, Temari?" he asked quietly.

"Thank you, Itachi, but Matsuri is right. Suna Tower is designed to survive even the largest shukaku the desert can throw our way." She very lightly pressed his fingers in return before withdrawing her hand. "She's also correct in saying we need to bathe and change clothes as soon as we can. The dust can rub raw places unbelievably fast if left on skin. I'll see you at dinner."

The sandstorm, while not as serious as a dreaded demon of the sand, lasted a day and a half. During that time, while Temari was consulting with household staff about the best use of their resources, Kankuro took Itachi to the shop where he built his puppets. Not knowing what to expect, especially after what Temari had told him, Itachi steeled himself to display the necessary enthusiasm and wished he were still with his betrothed.

Clean smells of wood, paint and stains flowed out from the dark interior after Temari's brother opened the door. But instead of crudely fashioned puppets constructed in a rough and makeshift workshop, when Kankuro put on the lights Itachi saw a clean, spacious area equipped with the very finest of modern tools, as well as others that appeared so old as to be antique but lovingly maintained. Finished puppets, superbly crafted in incredibly lifelike detail, rested in glass-fronted cupboards against one wall; while others in varying states of completion patiently sat on shelves over worktables awaiting their creator's return.

Itachi's breath went out of him in a whoosh. "This - is truly amazing, Kankuro," he said as he looked around. "You are a very gifted artist! I've never seen their equal, not even in the shows the monks stage during festivals in Konoha!"

The other man blushed and looked pleased. "You probably recognize some of them from old myths and legends," he said, pointing out several in quick succession. "But others I've made to-" he paused and looked down in apparent embarrassment before finishing in a rush, "-to be characters in the plays I write. I go down to the children's ward at the hospital a couple of times a month, you see, as well as to the foundlings hospice. I like to think it gives them something else to think about other than the sadness of their lives - at least for a while."

Another deep stab of shame went through Itachi as Kankuro gave him what he called the deluxe guided tour. And I once suspected him of abusing Temari, when he's taken the pain of his own childhood and turned it into something to relieve the pain of others!

He didn't realize how much time had passed until Temari came looking for them at dinnertime. Now he was coming to know her better, he heard the pride beneath her scolding of Kankuro for "boring" on about his "boring old" hobby.

The "all-clear" sounding early the next morning woke Itachi. He lay for a long moment even after puzzling out what the rhythmic reverberations of a gong meant, feeling oddly averse to rising. As the shivering echoes faded, and the light coming through highset windows turned from grey to rose to gold, he finally talked himself into sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

Instant pain zinged inside the right side of his skull, making him double over with a stifled groan and clap a hand to the afflicted part of his head. Migraine! he thought grimly. Shouldn't've spent so much time in Kankuro's shop with all those fumes yesterday, but it was so fascinating. Need to take something for it even before breakfast.

All during the process of bathing and dressing he continued to anticipate relief from the intensifying pain; relief that didn't come. He nearly left his hair loose, but forced himself to pull it back into its usual tail. Just man up, Itachi. This won't be the first time you've had to tough it out like nothing's wrong, and it won't be the last.

The food odors rolling out to meet him before he even got to the dining room were nearly enough to send him scrambling back to his rooms. Concentrating on breathing as shallowly as he could he went inside, where Temari and Kankuro were already discussing the all-clear and the latter's imminent departure to meet Lord Gaara at Suna Tower to help oversee cleanup operations. While Temari went with him to the front door, Itachi rested his elbow on the table and cradled his forehead in the cup of his hand. If only it wasn't so hot. The bright sunlight beating through the small round windows under the ceiling made him feel like a piece of meat on the grill at Akimichi's.

"Itachi, what's wrong?"

He jumped when Temari's hand gently landed on his shoulder. Rapidly sitting upright again, he swayed as the room tilted unsteadily around him. It took every last shred of his strength to focus on Temari's worried teal eyes. "Wha-?" he slurred. What's the matter with me? I sound like I'm drunk!

Forehead wrinkling, Temari lifted her left hand to his forehead. "You're burning with fever," she accused. "I'm getting you back to bed."

"No," he tried to protest, but Temari ignored him. Sliding his arm around her shoulders, she secured hers around his waist, holding his wobbling footsteps steady as she guided him through the house to his room with surprising dexterity, especially considering he stood least six inches taller and outweighed her by close to a hundred pounds. She opened the door to his suite and maneuvered him through it.

He heard her breath coming harder and tried with everything he had to stand away from her; but "Stop that!" she snapped. "We're almost there." And indeed, it seemed only a heartbeat later that she eased him down onto his bed. He wanted to apologize for inconveniencing her, explain that it was just one of his stupid old sick headaches, but couldn't seem to get the words from his mind to his mouth. She brushed her hand across his forehead again, then shook her head as she straightened. "That's it. I'm sending Matsuri to get Granny Chiyo."

"Who?" Itachi rasped cautiously.

"She's the best healer in Suna." Temari rustled away; paused at the doorway and turned around, brows pulled down in a scowl over her narrow, steel-sharp eyes. "You'd better still be right there when I come back, Itachi," she said dangerously, then shut the door behind her.

Itachi covered his eyes with his forearms to block the light, willing the pills he'd already taken to take effect. Far from dulling the pain and nausea, however, it felt as though they were stuck in his throat and making matters worse. Maybe if he got a drink of water- Clenching his teeth he pushed himself to a seated position, then stood up...

...Only to fall promptly on his face. Scrambling to his hands and knees he grabbed desperately for the trash can sitting next to his bed and proceeded to be thoroughly and violently sick.

What happened next made his blood run cold through his shaking limbs.

Once news of the Uchiha/Sabaku marriage erupted, family dinners in the Hyuuga household had mostly gone by the wayside; which meant Tenten and Hinata had gotten used to having their meals in the privacy of the latter's suite, although the former secretly mourned the lost time with her brother. After the nerve-shattering interview with Lord Hiashi, Tenten mourned instead over feeling secretly relieved she would not have to face Kakashi in private.

That changed the very next afternoon, when a servant arrived to inform Hinata she would be dining with her father and sister at the usual time.

Alone again, the two girls stared at each other in consternation, Tenten feeling every bit as pale as Hinata looked. "At l-least we're only going to b-be t-t-terrified for a few hours instead of s-several d-days," the heiress finally said with a wan smile.

Tenten made herself smile back, even though her lips felt numb. "We don't have any reason to be terrified at all," she said, adding daringly, "It's just another awkward family dinner for you-" Hinata giggled nervously, "-and time for me to catch up with my big brother."

Hinata reached out to squeeze her hands impulsively. "I'm sorry, Tenten. I am b-being so selfish. Of c-course you miss being with K-Kakashi." She giggled again, this time with a forlorn undertone. "I'll think of how much f-fun you're having with your brother during my d-deadly d-dull meal."

Tenten felt like she'd swallowed a very, very large chunk of ice, which still hadn't melted by the time she made her way to the kitchen.

Kakashi arrived less than five minutes after Tenten and settled across from her with a huge sigh. "Whew, Panda! It has been a while!" He waited until one of the kitchen staff placed a series of dishes between them, then pulled down his mask and picked up his chopsticks. "Lady Hinata doing all right today?"

"Yes, though last night was rough." As she'd done so often before Tenten lifted the teapot to fill their cups.

"Hn."

Tenten's hands suddenly jerked, sending a jet of hot tea into the bowl of rice. "Don't say that!" she hissed fiercely. "Just - don't - say that!" All but dropping the pot onto the table, she clenched her hands together in her lap.

"Excuse me?" Kakashi reached across the table to tip up Tenten's chin until she was looking him in the eye. "You want to tell me what's going on, Tenten?"

I can't, big brother. For the first time I can't be completely honest with you, and it's tearing at my heart. To keep herself from blurting out those words, Tenten asked in a rush, "How do you stand it, big brother? How do you keep your sanity cooped up day after day with that - dreadful - man? The way he treats people, his own daughter-"

Not until his thumb swiped across her cheek did she realize tears were overflowing from her eyes. "Sh-sh, Panda, you must seem outwardly calm," Kakashi whispered. He pulled back his hand. "Drink your tea and listen to me. Lord Hiashi hasn't always been this way. But sometimes things happen in people's lives they never get over. Young as you are, that might be difficult for you to understand or accept: even given the fact of your own personal history. For now, can you leave it at that, and not let your personal feelings affect your job?"

Tenten nodded slowly. "Yes," she whispered in return, thinking, For Hina's sake, I have to.

They ate in silence for a while, Tenten mostly just nibbling at her food. Kakashi stood and leaned over to flick her buns as usual. Except this time when he leaned in to kiss the top of her head, he whispered so softly she barely made out the words, "You need to stay with Lady Hinata during the night, Panda Bear, and not go on solitary walks through the gardens." He tugged his mask back into place and was gone.

The chunk of ice in Tenten's stomach swelled to fill her throat. B-but how-? And if he knows I was outside the house the other night: What else does he know?

*~To Be Continued~*

Author's Ending Notes: Um - please don't kill me? I know a lot of things happened this chapter, but the next one will bring answers to at least a few of the questions and events raised here. Thank you all so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed, and see you next update!