"I heard about your dress-up sessions," Kankuro grinned.

Gaara didn't like the look Kankuro was giving him. "And?"

"Temari said you acted like a pet dog." Kankuro chuckled. Was he teasing? Kankuro didn't tease him.

Gaara briefly wondered if he had been replaced. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Hinata, playing with your hair," Kankuro explained. "Is it true? Did you blush?"

"I'm not sure if I would know," Gaara enjoyed the experience. He never had someone comb through his hair before. Who would have touched his hair? He didn't handle his hair gently, so the light sensation was welcomed. Hinata ran her warm fingers through it with care not to hurt him. Was she so gentle?

"Temari said you gave her puppy eyes and everything. You've gotten attached to this woman." Kankuro continued his assault.

"Though I do not believe I am capable of 'puppy eyes,' I do enjoy her company, and I believe that is the point." Gaara was growing annoyed with his brother's teasing.

"Oh, come on," Kankuro whined.

Hinata seemed to effect everyone.

Hinata jolted out of bed and looked at what woke her outside. She ran down to Temari's room in her nightgown and house robe, but she wasn't there. She ran down further to see people rushing around. "What's going on?"

Someone stopped only briefly to explain. "Unexpected sand storm. We're preparing to bring in people caught in the storm." Hinata ran back upstairs, getting dressed, coming back down.

Someone stopped her. "What are you doing, Hyuga-sama."

"I'm a tracking nin." Hinata excused herself only to be stopped by them throwing a wrap around her head and tucking her face in.

"Be careful." They warned. "Storms can pick up full-grown adults and throw them to anything solid. Stay low, and don't jump." Hinata nodded. They opened the door, and she bolted out, activating her eyes. The village had essentially shut down. Awnings turned into shutters. There wasn't a single item outside the doors. Some were taken inside. Some were blowing in the air. She sought out people who were not inside.

Walking was difficult, so Hinata kept low as she ran against the wind and kept close to the buildings like she was told. She ushered people she found into nearby houses. What worried her was a cluster of chakra she saw on the edge of town. She couldn't see a structure. She worked her way toward the outer wall and the strays.

Gaara scoped the town again. Everyone was inside by now. He could return. He opened the tower door to a panicked and frantic sister.

"Hinata's still out there!" Temari tried to turn him back around.

"Why did she leave?" Gaara growled.

Temari released him, retracting with an old fear in her eyes. "She went out after we did," Temari explained. "Kankuro said people saw her, but she was heading further out. He went to go find her."

"Why did she go out? She hasn't seen a sandstorm before." Gaara barked as he turned.

"She's a tracker," Temari explained to his back.

Gaara headed back out into the storm in the direction Temari told him Hinata had been, but when he got to the edges of the house line with no sign of her, fear gripped his chest. He was sure she could see, so why would she go past the house line? She should know there would be no one out there.

He continued toward the wall. Finally, he saw something.

Hinata exhaustively fought against the wind and sand to reach the nearest houses. She clutched a child tucked in the folds of her clothes. He held on as he wailed. Under her free arm, his mother's face was buried into Hinata's shoulder, stumbling behind her, shielding her face from the sand. She gripped tight to Hinata's waist and the arm of her older child, hiding his face in Hinata's rib cage on her other side.

Hinata knew they were getting closer to cover, but she wasn't sure how much further they could go before she would have to carry all of them. To her luck, she saw Gaara barreling for them.

Gaara came at them in a rush. Hinata stopped as he encapsulated them, and she gasped, pulling her face out of the wrap as soon as the air was clear. Gaara stared at her with his frustration as he returned them to the tower. Hinata offered no apology. Once in the building, the mother recovered and gave her and her sons a crushing, desperate hug.

Hinata attempted to rock and hush the distressed toddler while his mother tried to clear her and her elder boy's eyes. The scared child didn't want to release her, so her mother left him where he was and cradled the head of her older child as he trembled, whispering to him as people rushed around.

Hinata sat in the main hall with those who took shelter there, not trusting their homes, standing out with her pale skin and dark hair among the tans. She laid back, cradling a child to her chest, a teen curled up with his head in her lap, and an older woman leaning on her shoulder. All four were asleep.

Gaara couldn't explain the level of fear he felt when he found she was missing. He snapped at his sister, who felt comfortable in fear and panic to touch him. The gentle woman he grew accustomed to doing paperwork with was a nin, just as he was. Tonight he realized he was afraid of losing her.

Gaara approached the sleeping group. His presence woke the woman. She bowed her head and took care to try to pry her children away gently. The movement woke Hinata as she protectively clutched over the children before understanding what was happening. She relinquished the children and rubbed her eyes, and then her delicate features turned hard on him.

Gaara stiffened. He didn't want another argument in the state he was in. He held out his hand, and she let him help her to stand and lead her out of the main hall.

Hinata was exhausted. She stumbled despite their slow pace.

Gaara led her to her room and stopped. "Clean up. We can talk in the morning."

"Well, there are two reasons that's difficult," Hinata looked up at the door.

"Why?" Gaara sighed.

"Well, I don't like to put off pressing conversations. I know what pent-up feelings do to a person." Gaara nodded reluctantly. They were talking tonight, then. "And this isn't my room." Gaara blinked at it. He thought it was her room. "My room is on the other side of Temari's." She pointed two doors down.

"Wash." Gaara pressed.

"You too. I'll meet you in your office."