"Alright, lord Gaara we are ready to go when you are!" Kenji said somewhat excitedly as he looked at his kazekage.
"Gaara, have a good trip ok." kankuro. " kenji, sasori take care of him. if anything happens I'll bust your nuts."
"we will be on our guard lord kankuro," Sasori confirmed.
"Gaara, this meeting has to go well. We need these connections with the land of mist." Temari told her brother.
" I understand my duties temari. Do not worry." Gaara assured her
"Well, then are we ready to depart?" sasori asked,
" not quite yet," Gaara told them as he looked up into the trees.
"Are we waiting on someone else?" Kenji asked
"Yes," Gaara responded.
" who?" temari and kankuro asked
But Gaara shook his head refusing o answer.
A few minutes later a woman with green and white hair and a mask on her face jumped down from the trees.
"My apologies for keeping you waiting lord gaara. I gathered some things you might need."
" no apologies nessacry. Everyone this is Haruhi, she is from the Leaf. She will be traveling with us..now let's go."
Temari and kankuro opened their mouths to protest and asked questions but one look from Gaara told them to shut up.
…
Two weeks later found them in the land of mist. The four shinobi had been given luxurious suites since they were guests and had been treated with the highest hospitality. And just like its name, Kiri was full of mist, fog, and humidity. It made the ends of Hinata's hair frizz up.
At the moment, she and Gaara's other guards were sitting in on a meeting between him and the mizukage.
" so, lord Gaara you are willing to provide a few extra shinobi in trade for Kiri to help you with your water system?" the mizukage asked.
" yes. As you know we live in the desert, we have a water system but it needs to be improved. I have heard of the class shinobi you have that purely focuses on your water supply. Suna could benefit from them."
"ah! But what would Suna have to offer Kiri? Hmmm." The mizukage asked in a flirtatious way.
A streak of jealousy hit Hinata as the mizukage ran her hand up and down Gaara's arm.
But why was she jealous? She had no reason to be. It wasn't as if she and Gaara were dating.
And yet you want him all to yourself. A small voice told her.
Hinata blushed fiercely even though no one could see it.
"Haruhi?" Gaara's deep timbered voice called.
Hinata felt herself shiver. Where were these feelings coming from all of a sudden?
"yes lord kazekage?" she asked softly.
"what do you think? "
Hinata was stunned. He, the kazekage was asking her for her opinion about his village.
Not wanting to embarrass him she answered swiftly.
" I think the mist and the sand have many things to offer one another. Perhaps the mist would be interested in suna's prickly pear fruit, or Suna could offer their puppet brigade to help with certain missions?"
Hinata had made sure to touch up on all the v history and resources of all the villages she worked with. She knew that Suna specialized in clay, puppetry, and different kinds of cacti.
"oh, lord kazekage there is that plot of land that Kohona first Hokage gifted you maybe we can trade some of the produce we grow there."
"that land hasn't been used in years." He told her plainly
"But we can start." Hinata smiled behind her mask.
"very well. Thank you, Haruhi. Lady Mei, how would the mist like a trade of produce and clay barriers to help protect your village from the heavy rains? Im sure flooding can be a problem."
"yes! Flooding is something we have been fighting for years. Perhaps we could talk more about those clay barriers."
Hinata stepped back somewhat pleased that she could help.
"Who is this woman? Since when does lord Gaara seek council from strangers?" Sasori whispered to Kenji.
Hinata pretended she didn't hear him.
…..
Later that evening, Hinata was putting on a simple a different color cheongsam when a knock sounded on her door.
"Who is it?" she called.
"It's Gaara."
Another blush crossed Hinata's face at the presence of the kazekage but she held it back and opened the door.
"lord Gaara? Is something wrong?"
"I have asked you to call me Gaara more than once. Please do so."
"My apologies. Is something wrong? Do you need something?" she questioned.
"yes. May I come in? I have something to ask of you."
"of course come in ." she encouraged allowing him to step into her room.
As soon as she closed her door, Gaara turned to her with a serious look and said" I feel as if I must repeat my invitation from before. When I asked you the first time you passed out and never answered me. so I will ask again I desire for you to attend the ball as my date tonight not as my bodyguard."
Hinata's face turned pepper red as she gained the courage to answer him. The last time he asked she had fainted and never got to respond.
But this time she was ready.
"Gaara Kun, I would like to accept your invitation to be your date tonight. Will this dress be suitable?" she questioned.
When she looked to see his reaction, she noticed a look of surprise on his face. A look she wasn't used to.
"is something wrong? Is the dress not suitable?"
"you called me Gaara kun. No one has ever used a term of affection for me in that manner. I am normally referred to as lord gaara or gaara sama. Do you… have affection for me Hinata?"
Hinata felt her heart skip a beat. This interaction was different than any interaction she had before. Her heart would skip out of nervousness around Naruto. Afraid of making a mistake or embarrassing herself in front of him but here with Gaara, it was different.
It felt more like a nervous anticipation than a nervousness of embarrassment.
"I admit that I do have an affection for you gaara kun. I would like to know you better outside of professional settings."
" I am growing in my affection for you as well Hinata. Tonight after the ball, we will have a date. Now in regards to the dress. I have something for you."
…
"Man have you known lord gaara to take this long to get dressed?" Kenji asked Sasori. The suna ninja was standing at the bottom of the wrap-around stairs waiting on their kage. The doors to the ball were opened, and many other kages and leaders were already inside.
"no . he's usually quite punctual. I should go check on him." Sasori responded.
Before Sasori could move, his kazekage appeared at the top of the stairs but to their surprise, he was not alone. Wearing a maroon high-slit dress with a maroon obi was the woman lord Gaara had called Haruhi. Her green and white hair curled and loose around her shoulders while red lipstick and eyeshadow had been applied to bring out her yellow eyes. lord Gaara wore his traditional kage outfit with a maroon sash.
"kenji, sasori good evening. Let us begin the evening."