I do not own Naruto or any of the original characters and ideas from the series.

Suna, The heart of the Wind village. It might look like an ordinary place, but it has its secrets, which it guards well. Unknown to many who visit this bright sunny place, Suna is ruled by those in the shadows, by families who are considered the founders of this village. If you by chance you ask who it is that really runs this city, well, they will all answer the same, the Sabuko family.

Blood, it was smell and sight which he relished. What other's might have found disgusting and horrifying, he found pleasure in it. Glancing around him, he took in the different sights which greeted him.

Naruto was stood, nudging a dead man with his shoe, as if somehow the man could still be alive after having a bullet put through his chest. Kiba was kneeling next to him, wiping the red dripping blood from Akamaru's white fur. Gaara recalled a time when the dog had been small enough to ride around in Kiba's hood, now the dog was large enough that Kiba rode on his back.

Shino stood hidden in the shadows, blending in with the darkness of the alleyway. Shikamaru sat atop one of the dead bodies, a smoke hanging from his lips as he watched the smoke rise above him.

"That's everyone. We made sure to leave no loose ends, just like you asked," Sasuke informed, coming to a halt next to Gaara.

"Let's go then, we've done what we set out to do," Gaara replied, his eyes ghosting over the dead which now littered the alleyway. "Kankuro should have collected Neji by now, he mentioned Neji wanted to stop off at the Hyuga estate so we'll meet up there."

First, they'd need to clean themselves up. Just because they were the ruling family within Suna didn't mean they could just walk around sporting their kills blood. They weren't untouchable, as was shown when Neji had been placed behind bars.

It had been a bank raid which went bad. Neji had been on a job when one of the new recruits had tripped an alarm, Neji had then paid the price. A year and a half behind bars, which would have been decades if not for all the strings Gaara had pulled to get him as little time as possible.

Neji had once lived the Hyuga estate, it seemed odd that he wanted to return there when he hadn't lived there for years, but then Neji didn't always explain his actions.

The Hyuga estate was a grand place, similar to the Sabuko estate, it was guarded well by the Hyuga family. The two families had once been enemies, but that relationship had changed in Gaara's early years. Ad they pulled up to the main house, Gaara took note that the top members of the family were present.

"Hello, can I be of help?" A girl asked appearing in the doorway, and Gaara's eyes widened as he took in the person before him.

Familiar midnight colored hair, eyes the same shade of lavender as those that haunted his dreams. She's grown her hair out since he'd last seen her, but he'd know the person stood before him no matter how much she might have tried to change herself.

She was looking at them first with curiosity, but then he saw the moment it clicked in her mind just who they were. She began backing up, her breathing catching as she locked eyes with his before she turned and escaped back into the house, slamming the door shut.

Gaara could tell the others had recognized her also, muttering amongst themselves.

Hinata, his Hinata had finally returned.

She managed to escape him before, and somehow she'd been able to get back into the village without his knowing. She'd ran from him, and he'd been unable to find her, until now.

She'd left as a girl, and returned as women, a goddess. She was his, no matter the amount of time which had passed, she was still and this time around, he wouldn't allow her the chance at an escape.

The door reopened, Neji appearing. He'd barely managed a step out of the house before Tenten was on him, her legs around his waist, her hands cradling his face as the kissed.

It wasn't a sight Gaara was interested in, no he was much more interested in the fact that Neji hadn't informed him of Hinata's return. As if he could feel Gaara's ridicule Neji broke off his kiss with Tenten and turned his gaze towards Gaara.

"Neji!," Kiba grinned. "How's life treating you on the outside?"

Neji broke from his Gaara's gaze to smile at the others. "Better now that I can hold my girl again."

Before anyone can engage him in conversation, Gaara motioned him to him, wanting to speak with alone.

"I wasn't informed of Hinata's return, why?"

Neji looked back towards one of the upper windows before he answered. "Seems she grew tired of running."

Neji rejoined the others, there banter loud and jolly, but Gaara kept his gaze focused on the window Neji had looked to before. She was up there, in that room, and now that Gaara knew where she was, he would allow her a second chance at escaping him, because she belonged to him, whether she wanted to or not.

Hinata threw herself back onto her bed after she'd watched Neji and the others leave. She'd felt Gaara's gaze watching her from below, and with them gone, she could finally breathe.

She had tried to run from her past, from here, from them, and yet still she'd ended up right back where she'd started. Hinata knew she'd have to face her past at some point, she just had thought it would be so soon.

It was all his fault, Gaara's that is. He'd been the one to force her away, to make her run as far away as possible.

Why was it always her? For once, couldn't it be someone else? Then again, she'd been the one start all this.

Flashback

She'd been sat beneath her favorite tree when she'd first heard the sounds of branches breaking, someone clearly moving towards her direction, although it was a strange path they'd chosen to take to reach the clearing. She thought it surely her Father, or perhaps Neji, but no, it had been him.

Once, she would have loved to see him stood before her, but now, she felt nothing but fear. He'd changed, and she had been too late to realize it.

"I had a feeling I would find you here, but didn't I tell you not to stray from my side?"

Slowly, she stood up, her gaze staying focused on the ground. She'd never feared Gaara before, never thought that she would ever feel the emotion others had described to her about how they felt when Gaara stared at them. They'd been friends, best friends Hinata thought, but now, she's nothing but his plaything. Everyone fears her now because being friends with Hinata meant facing Gaara's wrath because he didn't share with others.

Hinata knew he wanted her, wanted more than she was willing to give. She also knew that the only reason he hadn't taken her to his bed, was because he was waiting, but for what she didn't know.

Suddenly he was before her, his lips ghosting over her neck and cheek before sealing them against her ow lips. With a nip her lips parted, knowing that he wasn't afraid to bite should she not welcome his kiss. It had been an early lesson, one which she'd not knew not to provoke again.

She followed his touch with her own, yet she felt nothing but shame in doing so. Once she had loved him, once she had dreamed of life far away from here, with him. That dream was dead and gone now, nothing remained.

He broke the kiss, his body keeping her pressed back against the tree. His eyes told her all she needed to know, he would never free her, she'd be a bird trapped within a cage.

"You belong to me, Hinata." He spoke as if to a lover., his lips gliding along the shell of her ear as he spoke. "You will always be mine, and should I ever find you with another, I will give them such a faith that they'll wish for death." She shook, knowing that whenever he promised her something, he kept his word.

End Flashback

She'd had no choice but to run after that, to try and escape while she still had the chance to do so. She'd found a place, far away from where Gaara could find her, but then she'd received news about Neji, and had no choice but to go back.

Seeing Gaara after so long, left her feeling panicked and afraid. He wasn't the boy she'd left behind, he was a man now. His hair had grown out slightly since they last seen each other, his skin as pale as she remembered, the tattoo which gave her nightmares seemed to glow against his pale skin. There was no denying he was handsome, surely he'd found someone else while she was away? but the look in his black-rimmed aquamarine had told her otherwise.

Closing her eyes she dreaded what tomorrow would bring and wished that somehow, she'd be able to avoid Gaara, as unlikely as it sounded.

Within the Sabuko mansion, Gaara sat behind his desk, a glass of bourbon placed before him as recalled the sight which had greeted him earlier.

She was beautiful, more so than she had been when she'd left him. He loved her, and she'd left him, now that she was back within his grasp he wouldn't allow her to escape again. He give her tonight to think that she was safe, and then come tomorrow, he would make sure that she knew that she could never again hide from him.