Gaara closed his eyes and rubbed his temples as a hiss released itself from his lips.
He had just finished up a late council meeting and there were mountains of scrolls on his desk. A few of them were from the leaf waiting on him to read and sign.
It had been a whole month since he had seen the Hyuga, which meant a whole month of no sleep.
It didn't help that the council meeting had gone downhill completely. The council wanted to raise the taxes on fruit because of how expensive importing produce had become. Ever since the war ended, the five great nations had begun to trade different items but the prices were ridiculous. To solve this, the nations agreed to loan out their ninja, and in return, they would lower the price of produce. However, suna's council had been giving him a hard time about this trade agreement. Not to mention there had been rumors of the Akatsuki rising again to steal the tailed beast. They had succeeded in capturing two but during the battle of Pein, they had gone underground and disappeared. The nations had come together to try and find them but they seemed to have successfully disappeared. Not to mention, they were preparing for the great ninja war at the time and couldn't lose focus.
With all these things on his mind, Gaara had a roaring headache. Add in the insomnia and he was not happy.
A knock on his door made him groan.
"enter." He commanded harshly.
Baki, Temari, and Kankuro entered his office timidly.
Gaara glanced at the clock that struck midnight.
"what is it?" he demanded. " I have much work to do."
"We won't keep you long lord Gaara." Baki began. " we just wanted to discuss what happened in the council room."
Gaara shook his head and waved them away.
"no. not tonight. We will discuss it tomorrow. You all are dismissed. " he ordered firmily.
He noticed that Temari opened her mouth to argue but Gaara beat her to it.
"MY ANSWER IS NO!" he shouted.
His siblings and sensei stepped back, a look of fear on their faces.
Gaara clutched his head and closed his eyes.
"leave me. NOW!"
He heard the door close and the shuffling of feet disappear down the hallway.
Taking a deep breath he tried to calm the raging beast inside but it only roared louder.
Gaara groaned, rubbing his temples trying to get rid of the pounding inside his head.
"lord kazekage?" a soft voice answered.
Angry at being disrupted and his eyes still closed, Gaara threw the closest object he had with his sand at the voice.
"I DEMANDED TO BE ALONE!"
There was a gasp before all went silent. Footsteps coming towards him.
"lord kazekage. I think there has been a misunderstanding. It is I hyuga Hinata. Your messenger. I have the balm you requested. Are you perhaps tired my lord?"
Gaara opened his eyes to see hyuga Hinata. This time her hair was different, it was put up into a high ponytail with curly bangs framing her face. dark circles were under her eyes and she wore all black. In her hands were three medium-sized boxes.
"you have dark circles under your eyes," he commented.
"you do as well." She told him softly. However, it seemed off. The last time he saw her she was glowing, a sense of happiness about her. But now it seemed as if that light had been extinguished. It made even him uncomfortable. According to her file, she tended to have a bright personality and was a joy to be around. Something must have happened. He wondered who broke her down and shattered her to dust.
"something is wrong with you," he stated.
She didn't respond to his comment and instead walked towards him.
"I received your letter a month ago. Unfortunately, I had to wait for Lady tsunade to send me here to get you the balm. I also brought some other items"
She placed the boxes on his desk and opened them.
Inside one box was the balm he had asked for. In the second box, she pulled out what looked like tea.
"I made all of these items by hand. in this box is the balm. The second box has a mixture of tea that will help you sleep and the third box is a spray. You spray it on your pillow and it helps calm you."
Gaara looked at the gifts before him and then looked up at the Hyuga.
"you made these by hand?" he questioned.
"yes, from my garden back home."
"you have a garden?" his curiosity peaked.
"oh yes, it is the one thing I have left of my mother. I grow herbs and flowers. It helps me create the balms and medicines."
Gaara leaned on his elbows, all his attention on her as she talked about her garden.
"I also grow sunflowers during the summer! I take the seeds and pack them for missions. They come in handy for a good snack. I want to plant some fruits and vegetables this year. As I have only worked on herbs and flowers. My apologies. I am rambling. I am sure you have things to do."
Gaara however shook his head, holding up a hand for silence.
"come with me."
….
Hinata didn't understand what was happening at all.
Tsunade had sent her to Suna on what she thought would be a simple messenger mission. It would go like it did before. She would take the scrolls, wait a few days, and be on her way. but no, instead she found herself in the kazekage's greenhouse, sitting beside him at two in the morning.
He had pulled up two chairs, gesturing for her to sit. And then they went silent.
It seemed forever before he spoke.
"I come here often to think. To have silence, away from all the noise. My mother too loved plants and this was her greenhouse. It is the only connection I have to her. I didn't get the privilege to know her as she died right after I was born."
Hinata nodded in understanding. While she got to know her mother, it was only up until the age of five. From then on her memories were fuzzy. It didn't help that Hanabi never got to meet their mother at all.
"Lord kazekage, while I can relate the pain you have gone through. I must ask why we are down here. I am but a simple messenger assigned to serve you. I don't want to waste your time."
He was silent before he spoke.
"you have been…kind to me. even tho we have only met twice, your kindness has …overwhelmed me. I have been struggling to sleep for years, suffering in silence. My siblings knew of my insomnia and yet they never offered any solutions. Our family doctor offered pills that simply made me drowsy and only doing it out of obligation. And yet Hyuga Hinata, when I am in your presence the beast inside of me is…silent. My mind is completely at peace in your presence. Alongside the herbs, you have given me. To be honest this whole situation perplexes me. with that said, I wanted to offer you a show of gratitude. I wanted to show you the moonflower. It only blooms once a year right before the summer begins."
He then gestured to a plant before them. The stems were an odd color of blue and at the ends were flowers that had yet to bloom.
"the moonflower?" she questioned.
"it is a rare flower that only blooms once a year when the moon hits it directly. My mother created this plant. I've been keeping it alive as long as can remember."
"thank you for sharing this moment with me," Hinata said.
"thank you for your kindness. There is only one other ninja from the leaf who has been kind to me without fear."
"let me guess, Naruto Kun?"
Gaara looked at her in surprise.
"yes, that's precisely who I am talking about. Do you refer to him with an honorific that shows close friendship? I have never been referred to in that manner. Are you a precious person of Naruto's as well?"
Hinata sighed.
"I am a precious person of Naruto. But not as precious as I once thought I would be. You see, I grew up watching Naruto. I saw the suffering, pain, and loneliness. And yet I could do nothing to stop it. but I watched him stand strong and proud. He inspired me to do better. I… fell in love with him. Hoping one day I would hold his hand and walk beside him. and the day, I finally got to hold his hand and stand beside him, I didn't realize the heartbreak that would come next. You see, when Pein attacked our village, Naruto was struck down and I went to help him. I was ready to die for him. that's how much I loved him. I confessed to him my feelings, not knowing if I was going to live or die. And when the great war came, those feelings got pushed aside so that we could focus, and yet I still found myself by his side, fighting alongside him. When it was all said and done, Naruto Kun rejected me. He had fallen in love with another. They are now engaged and planning their wedding. I can only wish him happiness in all he does."
"Do you….regret loving him?" Gaara asked.
"no. never, the love I had for him helped push me to become better. However, I must now live without that love and stand in my ninja way. I don't know what my future looks like but I can only do the best I can until tomorrow. Besides a poet once said it is better to have loved and lost than to never love at all. I am a little sad of course, but I will move on from it."
Before either of them could speak, the moon seemed to brighten just a little more and its rays shone onto the flower.
And right in front of their eyes, the moonflower bloomed.
The blue stems took on a fluorescent hue while the bulbs opened to reveal a deep red flower, glowing in the moonlight.
Hinata gasped as she had never seen something so beautiful.
"Wonderful isn't it?" Gaara said lowly
"it is…"
The duo was quiet until the moon moved and the flower closed its blossoms.
Before Hinata could say anything. A thump was heard and a warm pressure was felt on her shoulder.
Looking over, there was Gaara, head laid on her shoulder. Softly snoring.
Hinata couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth bubble up within her.
How strange. She thought. What is this feeling?