It took a while for Hinata's embarrassment to fade. The young Kage still didn't seem to comprehend how he had caused her reaction. They resumed their tour until they were greeted by a flash of orange.

Naruto bolted through the market crowd to them. "Hey, guys!"

"Naruto-kun." Hinata greeted him.

Naruto looked pointedly at his friend. "You're not being mean still, are you?" He asked childishly with his hands on his hips.

Hinata blushed. This wasn't necessary.

"I am not sure. I seem to be regularly offending her." Gaara replied bluntly.

"Really?" Naruto looked over to her for answers.

Hinata promptly waved her hands to reject the claim. "No, he hasn't. He's been very kind."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at them. Gaara looked at her with a simpler expression of the same feeling.

"Really, Kazekage-sama. I'm fine." His conversation choice was embarrassing, but he hadn't purposely tried to attack her. He didn't seem to realize when he was being insulting, even to himself.

"Good. I'll see you guys later then." Naruto waved, running off before she could protest.

Hinata sighed.

"You don't wish to be left with me again?" A flash of child Kazekage asking questions replaced him for a second. Hinata shook it away. He did ask questions like an insecure child.

Hinata blushed at the idea of thinking of him as a child. How disrespectful. "No, it's nothing like that. Let's continue."

"Father, it's embarrassing!" Hinata protested.

"That's it? You're embarrassed like a child? You knew it was coming." Hiashi calmly barked back. Hinata shrunk on the inside.

Hinata corrected her tone. "I thought we would make it clear that I was available and wait for suitors."

"We'd never find someone that willing." It hurt much more than it should have. Why did it break her heart to hear it out loud?

Hinata felt tears starting. She blinked them away before they got to the surface. She bowed, excused herself, and headed down the hall and out of the compound, wiping her eyes. She begged them to hold off until she left. She didn't want her sister to see. Hinata slid through backstreets and alleys, keeping to the shadows as she crossed town. She didn't even know where she was going. She just wanted as far from her father as she could. It had been so long since her father managed to make her feel this worthless, years since the last time she ran out of the house to hide. The stress finally got to her. When the tears blurred her vision enough to stop her, she rested against a wall, wrapping her arms around herself, sliding down the wall to let them fall.

Someone landed beside her, Hinata didn't want to know who, but she sniffed and cleared her eyes with her sleeve to see the last person who needed to watch her cry.

"You are upset." Gaara pointed out bluntly.

"I'm sorry, Kazekage-sama." Hinata whimpered as she attempted a bow of her head, but it probably looked more like a nod from his angle.

Gaara's blank eyebrows creased in confusion. "Why?"

"It's nothing for you to be bothered with. Please excuse me." Hinata put force into wiping her eyes, trying to dry them faster. She looked up at the building she stopped at. He wouldn't be staying. How did he find her?

Gaara picked up on her search. "I followed you. I thought I would have to apologize again."

"No, it wasn't you, Kazekage-sama." Hinata whimpered, forcing herself up to a standing position. All she wanted to do was curl up and be left alone. Obligations were always in the way of her just having a moment to release all this build-up, so it wouldn't crush her.

"It hasn't been an hour since I took you home, and you are crying." Gaara pressed. It was sweet he was so concerned, but Hinata could only assume it was to avoid upsetting Naruto again.

"I promise it wasn't something you did." Hinata was hoping he got the point.

Gaara frowned, only a twitch more than usual. "Would you like me to take you back home?"

"I don't want to go home, no." Hinata looked at her fingers, sniffling.

Gaara studied her for a moment. "Your father." Hinata pressed her lips together, not answering. "He is forcing you to court me." Hinata nodded. "You're upset about that."

Hinata shot up straight, waving her hands. "No! I wasn't upset about that, really. It's just…" Should she tell him the whole truth? She was honest so far. Gaara had been so honest with her. "My father has expressed my need to court because no one would be willing to court me." That was the briefest, least evasive answer.

"He believes you are undesirable?" This was not a conversation Hinata wanted to have with the Kazekage. Were his bluntness and honesty good traits?

The tears came back. "He made that point, yes."

"You are not." Hinata didn't hear that. She did not hear that.

"What?" Hinata looked up to make sure this time.

"You are not undesirable." Gaara wasn't considering his words in other contexts. Hinata couldn't take it seriously. He was only being nice because Naruto asked him to. She could keep the blush down with that knowledge in mind.

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama." Maybe blunt honesty was a good thing.

Gaara led her around the village aimlessly, never letting her fall too far behind him. He asked about customs he didn't understand, keeping her mind busy. Once she could manage it, she returned the questions. Suna seemed nice, with deeply rooted traditions of a proud and strong people.

Gaara was deeply interested in learning her village's customs and its people. She could see why people saw him as a leader, despite his hard exterior and horrid past. It was hard to believe this was the same man she met yesterday. This was how he was with Naruto, calm, barely expressive, like Shino. Despite that, his questions were blunt, like a toddler without filter, curious about everything, with follow-up question after follow-up question, short worded sentences, and why's. She couldn't complain. It wasn't often someone would make an effort to keep a conversation with her.

It became painfully obvious, despite his constant questions, Gaara was holding back what he wanted to ask the most. The way he stared and deliberately closed his mouth. He wasn't satisfied with her personal answers. There was more to the story, but it was at least polite that he wasn't asking. At least he understood that she didn't want to talk about it. To counter the blunt honesty, he sometimes kept his mouth shut.