The journey back to Suna was uneventful. Gaara was unconscious for most of it, and Temari and Kankuro were too tired to fight. Avaya tagged along with the group, adding to what little security they felt. The lot of them were wounded and worn out. Thankfully no one stopped them.

Their arrival back to the village was nothing short of irritating. Gaara had been separated from his siblings and neglected by the doctors. With his siblings unable to get to him and the doctors being unhelpful, Gaara's condition began to decline. Avaya was forced to take matters into her own hands.

A nurse was walking down the hall, engrossed in the clipboard she held in her hands. She was so absorbed that she failed to notice the hands reaching for her until too late. A hand covered her mouth as she was dragged into one of the rooms.

The nurse was shoved into the one containing Gaara. The redhead lay unmoving, as he had for most of that day. Blood and dirt still coated his form, staining the sheets. No one had even looked at him since he was placed there. The nurse was shoved closer.

"Fix him." The nurse saw her abductor. It was a girl close to Gaara's age, dressed in a black robe. Her long black hair was flowing wildly around her. Amber eyes pierced the woman, instilling fear into her. The woman nodded shakily and moved to the boy. Her fear of the strange girl overriding her fear of the unconscious boy before them.

Her fear began to ebb away as she took in just how badly damaged the young boy was. A frown began to mar her face. She stepped into the hall and began shouting for people to assist her. Reluctantly they scurried to her bidding. The woman never noticed the girl slipping away.

But a pair of teal eyes had seen everything.

Avaya slipped out of the village, taking her wolf form once again. The burn in her throat was blinding. She had used two of her precious words. She only had ninety three left. Avaya ran on. She knew the burn would not ease until she got her fill of blood. The girl had risked a lot to help Gaara.

Avaya knew there would be a band of Sound shinobi around the area. She just had to find them. It would be a massacre. The pain in her throat and the risk she had taken put all thoughts of kindness out of her mind. She was a hunter, and she would destroy her prey before returning to Gaara.

When Gaara came to, he was alone in the same room he had been. But his wounds had been cleaned and treated. He wondered how long he had been out.

"Gaara!" The redhead's eyes flicked to the door as Temari and Kankuro walked in. Like their younger brother, they were covered in bandages, though they had just been released from the hospital. His sea foam eyes took in their forms, mentally taking notice of their injuries before speaking.

"Where is Wolf? Temari and Kankuro were surprised.

"We figured she would be with you." Temari was the one who replied after exchanging a glance with Kankuro.

"She practically fought tooth and nail to stay with you after all." Kankuro added.

Gaara frowned. His wolf had been injured, that much he had been aware of. If what Kankuro and Temari said was true, then she had entered the hospital with him. But somehow she had disappeared without anyone seeing her.

"Excuse me." The door opened, revealing a young nurse. Upon seeing Kankuro and Temari in the room, she gave a slight pause before bowing respectfully.

"My name is Yumi, I'm the nurse in charge of overseeing Gaara's recovery." She turned to the boy. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." She hummed and moved closer.

"I'll need to check your injuries and vitals. Is that alright?" Any fear she felt at being near the monster of Suna was hid behind her professional demeanor. Stiffly Gaara nodded.

A bark sounded throughout the room. All four heads turned to see Wolf trot into the room, head and tail held high. Her tail began to wag upon seeing Gaara awake.

"Oh my." Yumi whispered out. Her face had gone pale at the wolf's entrance, professional appearance temporarily forgotten.

"You get used to it after a while." Kankuro comforted the nurse, who nodded, still shocked.

Everyone watched at the wolf walked right up to Gaara and put her front paws on the bed before sniffing his face and torso all over. Apparently appeased for the time being, she sat down beside the hospital bed. Her head in reach, Gaara began to slowly pet her. The tenseness in his frame began to relax.

"She won't hurt you." Gaara rasped out, meeting Yumi's eyes. The nurse remembered what she was supposed to be doing. Hesitantly, she moved back towards Gaara, giving the wolf space.

As she fell into a rhythm in her work, Yumi began to relax. She looked at the gauze around Gaara's torso and shoulder.

"I'm going to have to change this." Gaara tensed again.

"It's going to hurt, but it needs to be done." She told him. Reluctantly he nodded. He was in no hurry to feel pain again, but his wolf was here to help him.

Avaya sat quietly as the nurse worked on Gaara. She could smell the fear on her and did not want to cause her to run off mid-treatment. Avaya decided she liked this nurse though. The wolf decided she would keep a mental tab on her, just in case her skills were needed again. It was nice to have someone not totally incompetent to treat Gaara.

She licked Gaara's hand as he stoically bore the pain of having his bandages changed. The wound was almost healed, thanks to him being a jinchuuriki. Finally the task was complete and the nurse left.

"Ah, I'm going to ask her about Gaara's stay." Kankuro announced as he hurried to follow the nurse. Temari rolled her eyes as she watched him leave.

"More like he's going to hit on her." Gaara could not help but silently agree. His sister turned to face him.

"I'll go get you some clean clothes. Do you want anything else?"

Gaara shook his head and Temari took her leave. But before she reached the door, Gaara spoke.

"Thank you." Temari blinked in surprise at him before smiling.

"No problem, Gaara." She left the room.

Gaara felt satisfied as he rested. He had finally been released from the hospital and now sat on his own bed. Wolf lay on it beside him, content with her spot. Temari had just come up to check on him and bring him supper. Thoughtfully, the older girl had also brought food up for wolf.

The redhead felt a sort of relief at his sister's actions. Though she still had a wariness around her, Temari no longer looked at him or Wolf with fear. Instead, she went out of her way to include the two of them now. Even Kankuro, though still nervous around the wolf, was beginning to relax too.

It was a different feeling for Gaara. Though he decided he did not dislike it. He looked over at Wolf and scratched behind her ears. Her tail wagged slightly.

"You feel the same, don't you?" An increase in the tail wagging was his only answer.

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