Chapter 9
Sunagakure - A week later
"Why are we going around in circles?" Gaara's sand swirled in frustration as they reviewed the documents spread out on his desk for the third time.
Temari and Kankuro had been discreetly looking into the transfer of Oto from Sunagakure to Blood Prison and all their records seemed to be scrubbed or destroyed.
"Who would have this level of clearance?" Temari muttered, slamming the desk. "This is unacceptable, right under our noses too?"
"It would have to be a Senior Minister. There would be no other ways for someone to access prison records and to destroy them." Kankuro pitched in.
"But even then, people are given access to data as relevant to their jobs. This level of clearance would only be assigned to our Defense Ministers… which are… the people in this very room," Gaara finished grimly.
They looked at each other with unease.
"There was no mission from the Department of Drug Enforcement asking to investigate Oto's trade route back then for the mission Hinata and squad were assigned to?" Gaara confirmed again as this was a cluster fuck.
"No…I checked our logs from the DDE, and I was even here back then… a mission should have came from the relevant stakeholder to our mission review team and then onto the Defense Ministers desk for approval. The only reason you approved that specific mission personally w-was because of Hinata …" Temari's voice wobbled, "but I have no idea where the mission records originated from for approval…"
"The mission review department falls under Matsuri…"Kankuro muttered grimly.
"Well then we have reason to suspect all four of us in one way or another" Gaara stood up pacing.
They had received notice earlier that day that Oto had been found dead in the Blood Prison. There was no evidence of a breach so the prison was in an uproar.
Gaara had submitted paper work immediately upon his return to Sunagakure to have Oto transferred back here but the proper proceedings to do a risk analysis, negotiate with the international countries to authorize a release form a neutral holding prison, as well as internal Sunagakure approvals all took some time. Somehow within the week of that paperwork backlog someone had ordered an assassination on Oto.
The fact that this individual had to be extremely close to the Kage office was obvious… but even within that circle he had shared no news with anyone but Temari and Kankuro and he trusted his siblings explicitly. This made no sense.
"I'll…." Temari's voice trailed off helplessly. "Okay let's review what we know?"
"Oto has been an arms dealer and a drug smuggler in Sunagakure for a while, he'd been operating underground selling drugs, with various legitimate businesses as fronts for his activities and he's been really good at staying out of jail. But somehow a year and half ago we got a tip off that was good enough to capture him?" Temari looked around for confirmation and Gaara nodded.
"It was around the same time that Gaara was sending Hinata back off to Konohagakure and their engagement was on the rocks with the elders council… so he was understandably distracted," Kankura added.
Gaara nodded, feeling ashamed.
"So Oto was captured and imprisoned here and then transferred to the Blood Prison all within a month?"
"I do remember processing his arrest." Kankuro weighed in, "The evidence to lock him up was staggeringly obvious but it was almost clinically collected. Plus there were no records of misconduct or any other aggressive behaviors that would warrant a move from Sunagakure prison to the Blood Prison. That was done under our noses by someone."
"Someone was trying to silence him," Gaara added grimly. "Oto was sent to the Blood Prison for that and when I went over to talk to him and then tried to transfer him back, whoever this was must have gotten spooked and hired someone to kill him. Now knowing this is the Blood Prison it's highly likely the entity that was hired to kill him is Zensu which is the only being that we know of who can move from space to space undetected. He could even be spying on us as we speak…"
They looked at each other again more intentionally. Gaara immediately erected a sand ball around them. If an entity was trying to encroach through the barrier he would feel it.
"Fuck" Kankuro sighed.
"Well…" Temari added when the silence started to be oppressive, "Oto hiring Zensu and the Akatsuki to launch an attack on Sunagakure makes sense, he was pissed off at our administration even before he was imprisoned… he holds a massive grudge against the country and wants to take it down. Maybe he acted alone, maybe there is no inner spy?"
"Well we can't take that chance" Kankuro countered.
"Well if there is an inner spy, what are our thoughts on their motive?" Gaara opened the question.
"An obvious answer might be to kill the Kazekage…" Temari looked at her brother.
"But why go around in all these convoluted manners, they could have just hired a Zensu or whatever to try to kill Gaara by now?" Kankuro scratched his face, the makeup proving to be a bit uncomfortable as the day went on.
"Well… Zensu couldn't kill Gaara…" Temari looked at Kankuro as if he was an idiot.
"Could it be related to the attack on Hinata?" Gaara finally spoke all his body hair standing on edge.
Temari and Kankuro both turned sharply to look at him.
"What do you mean?" Temari asked … a little afraid.
"The Konoha council had disliked Hinata since the moment she set foot here… it's possible they were trying to get rid of her neatly before we got married and…" his voice cut off as Gaara sharply inhaled as his mind raced.
"It's possible they hired mercenaries to kill her and when the operation was botched they've been trying to cover their tracks all this time?" Kankuro finished grimly.
"Fuck…" was all Temari could add as they stared at each other as the pieces finally fell into place.
.
.
Konohagakure - 2 weeks later
On Saturday mornings the Konoha market was a vibrant sight of colors, sounds, and scents.
As the first rays of sunlight filtered through the city, merchants began setting up their stalls with great care and attention to detail. Colorful banners and flags were unfurled, adding a festive touch to the already vibrant atmosphere. The scent of freshly brewed tea, street food and fragrant flowers permeated the air, creating an inviting aroma that lured people in from afar. The cheerful greetings of vendors echoed through the streets, mingling with the chatter of shoppers.
Hinata's usual routine on Saturdays was to scour the market for fresh fruits and vegetables sourced from the nearby countryside. But on this particular Saturday morning she stood there in a side street lost in thought. She wasn't sure how long she had been standing there but eventually a tall presence along with a canine distracted her.
"Hinata oy!"
She turned at the familiar voice.
"What are you doing?" Kiba was asking, peering down next to her worried.
"Oh hey Kiba-kun.. Hi Akamaru" she reached down to pet the dog's head.
"You alright? You seemed a bit out of it there for a bit. Is it happening again?" Kiba asked, worried. He meant the time slippage that used to happen to her intermittently.
"Oh… no… it's just I haven't really been feeling like myself lately."
That made the Inuzakes frown even harder. "God damn Kakashi for sending you on that mission, I was so pissed when I found out. C'mon I'll buy you some tea."
Without further ado Kiba had quickly navigated them into a nearby tea house. It wasn't fancy but it was cozy and clean. After they had been seated in a tucked away two person table, they promptly ordered some tea and snacks.
After the waiter left, Kiba looked at her with the weight of his attention. "Tell me whats going on"
"What do you m-mean?"
"Hinata I haven't found you zoning out like that since last year, you were doing well but obviously this trip to Suna… affected you. So tell me about it."
"Oh…" she bowed her head. A few minutes of silence passed and Kiba waited patiently. "I… think I feel empty…" she finally admitted.
"Empty? In what way?"
"I think I miss him…"
"Naruto?" Kiba asked confused.
"No… Gaara."
That took the Inuzaka by surprise enough for him to straighten up and lean back contemplatively. "Gaara?" he murmured with a laugh. "You know..., last time when you ran away from Konoha, we barely even knew what was happening with you in Suna, but the next thing we heard you were ge-" Kiba suddenly cut off his sentence and cleared his throat, "what I meant was... you were together with Gaara. None of us really knew how it happened or how you fell for him. I mean he looks like a pretty boring guy apart from his anger issues…" Kiba smiled at her teasingly. "So maybe this time around you can explain it to me, what exactly is it you miss about him anyway?"
"Hmmm" she smiled at Kiba. "I felt at peace with him…"
Kiba raised an eyebrow laughing lightly. "Well... what's that like?"
"Once I calmed down enough not to have panic attacks…I noticed that he actually had many qualities I admired. He is hard working, but its not just that… he works hard to serve his people, he is kind to everyone and takes care of those that matter most to him really well. He… gardens," she quirked her lips at that, "he was very patient with me even when I wasn't always being reasonable, he is attractive…" again she smiled at that. "But mostly when I was with him I felt happy, and content and I didn't want the time with him to end…"
Kiba smiled back at her nodding for her to continue.
"I know that's selfish of me to say now."
"I didn't realize you spent so much time with him during this visit. But why is that selfish to say?" Kiba asked confused.
"I treated him horribly after I lost my memory… people kept telling me he wasn't a monster but I still hurt him and pushed him away… even when he tried to stay by my side." She scrunched her face in regret.
Kiba sobered at that, "You were in pretty rough shape when you got here- I don't think that's your fault per se," his voice caught at the end of the sentence as if he was trying to be cautious.
"I could have gone to him, you know?" She said, sipping her tea.
"What do you mean?"
"After my therapy… knowing that Gaara and I had been in a relationship… I could have gone to him to talk… or atleast to apologize. I should have known that a relationship to me wouldn't be a simple and careless thing… it must have meant a lot to both of us," she looked down at her hands ashamed.
"I…" Kiba's mind spun trying to figure out how to alleviate the sorrow Hinata was feeling. "Did something happen between you two for you to be feeling this way?" he countered in a last ditch attempt to steer the conversation in a more optimistic manner.
"Ano.. n-no" she stammered, caught unaware by the question. But unfortunately she could feel her face getting tomato red.
"Ha. I knew it" the larger man turned to share a triumphant look with Akamaru who barked. "So go be with him," Kiba said loudly, and she turned around to look self conscious while Kiba continued, "I mean unlike last time where you were labeled as a traitor for leaving Konoha. This time around I don't think anything would get in your way…It's not too late Nata, you're talking like you can't do anything about this."
"It's… just not fair for him. He's moved on, or is trying to move on. Matsuri, his Chief of Staff's had feelings for a very long time. Honestly given my past situation with Naruto… I can sympathize with her.. She… um… I think they are exploring their r- '' her words died in her throat as her stomach knotted. She couldn't say the word out loud.
"Ah… shit." Kiba gave her a sympathetic look.
"It's okay… I'm doing fine, … mostly. it's just that the days seem to be blending into one another."
"Your missions aren't helping?"
"What missions?" she laughed. "I've been reinstated as a S class shinobi but Hokage-sama has been assigning me to C and B class missions. They are all wrapped up within a few days or so and honestly all have started to feel the same."
"Have you considered a change in career?"
"What?" she blinked.
"Well… maybe what you need is to change it all up Nata?… if you aren't happy as a shinobi, why don't you take a leave of absence and explore some other things?"
"Explore?" she said out loud in wonder, her eyes widening. Why hadn't she even considered that as a possibility before?
.
.
Sunagakure - Atop the Sandwalls
Despite Gaara's promise to Matsuri, it had actually taken him a couple of weeks since Hinata left to arrange a first date. Which is why he was so gratified when Matsuri gasped in pleasure coming across the breathtaking view and the picnic he had set up for them. And when he said he, he had in fact done all this work himself. When it came to his personal relationships Gaara believed in effort.
He had picked one of the sand dunes adjasent to the rocky walls of suna overlooking the city of Sunagakure as their first date location for many reasons. First and foremost this is one of the places he hadn't had an opportunity to bring Hinata. It seemed prudent to Gaara that when starting out a new relationship he did so on a fresh foot. And this was also a place where people who didn't have an affinity with sand manipulation or flying abilities had an easy time getting to. So it was a special place.
The gentle breeze ruffled Matsuri's hair, and she had a smile on her face making Gaara's usual stoic expression soften as well.
This view point happened to be situated in a place where they had a perfect view of the sunset. On a flat patch of the rocky surface is where Gaara had set up the picnic. It was a fairly simple setup, he had a picnic blanket, a basket of food, wine as well as a small desert rose plant that he had planned to gift to Matsuri.
"Oh wow..." she looked down at the plant, "This... why?" she looked a bit confused, and since Hinata was so well known for plants Gaara panicked all of a sudden.
"Its to... its because we are both from Sunagakure... to symbolize our love for the desert" he blanched. Was that weird?
But fortunately Matsuri smiled in understanding and thanked him with a blush.
Gaara was uneasy about everything they had learned about the investigations and he wasn't suspicious of Matsuri per se, but since her team had control of mission assignments they were up for debate. But he didn't want to ruin their first date by bringing that up. Kankuro will be investigating that discretely anyway.
They both settle onto the blanket, their eyes meeting with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.
"You seem distracted," Matsuri said with a bit of worry in her voice.
"There's just been a lot going on, but you are right... I'm sorry, I will be present. This is an important date," he said, turning to look back at her. "Its our first date..."
When Matsuri laughed at that Gaara relaxed. Its been a really long time since he's been on a first date...
Before Hinata, he hadn't had much time for relationships and the few dates he had been set up on had all been explorations of political alliances and marriages. If Hinata hadn't come along when she did, he would already be married to some high born noble woman in Suna. They had all been okay candidates for marriage, but none of them had captured his imagination or true attention. If he was being honest, he couldn't remember most of them.
"You know this is quite beautiful," Matusi turned to look at the city below that was starting to glitter as the sun set, distracting him from his thoughts.
"Yes... I used to come here as a child actually."
"Really?" Matsuri turned to him in surprise.
"I wanted all their attention and approval. I wanted to be seen as more than a monster. But at the same time, I wasn't sure if they would all be better off if I wasn't here." he nodded at the city below.
"Oh" Matsuri was taken aback, "She knew of Gaara's history in the city of course... she'd been one of those people who'd grown up scared of him."
"I'm sorry..." she whispered.
"Oh... no I didn't say that implying anything, its just why I came here."
"Ah" she nodded again a bit uncertain. Gaara's developed so much respect now in Sunagakure, but she knew herself as well as her family had shunned him before. She felt awful reliving that.
"Here let's open the wine now that I've dampened the mood," Gaara smiled waving away her guilty expression. Truly he'd been trying to share his past, but he didn't feel like trying to passify her guilt towards him. He was too tired for that. So maybe a bit of wine in their system to relax was for the best...
Gaara gently poured the white wine into two glasses and passed one to Matsuri so they could toast and watch the sunset. As the glowing sun continued to go down, the calming and warming effects of the wine hit their system and Gaara redirected the conversation to hearing about what Matsuri's life had been growing up.
All in all it was a lovely evening, but Gaara's only regret was that he couldn't get his first date with Hinata out of his mind.
Later that night - outside Matsuri's apartment
"I had fun tonight" Matsuri gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she smiled at Gaara.
"Thank you, I had fun too…" he replied gently smiling down at her.
"I-I will see you tomorrow?"
"Of course" Gaara agreed bending to give the girl a hug. They both awkwardly moved unsure how to wrap their arms around each other until Gaara simply stood still and opened his arms, letting her wrap her arms around his torso. After the initial stiffness melted, they stood there getting used to each other in this new context. It was a nice hug and it had been a nice evening.
.
