Well, there used to be this crazy big rant here from me about OCs and well...everything, but seeing as this is the cleaner, tidier edition I thought it was only right to edit it out.

Reviews, praise, criticism, or other are always appreciated

Chapter One


The sun rose over Suna and reached its finger-like rays in through the window of the Kazekage's office. Dust particles danced lazily as they basked in the morning's gentle kiss. The exquisitely patterned glass cast unique shapes all about the room in a variety of colours, reminding any onlooker of a kaleidoscope they may have played with as a child. The beauty of the stained glass, the sun and the hypnotic dance of the dust were all lost on the red-haired Kazekage though. With his head down he continued to scrawl.

He was a logical young man, and he dome to the reasoning that if sleep was not an option, than he might as well work straight through the evening. Perhaps this way he would finish everything and when Suna came to life with its inhabitants milling about he could join them. He paused briefly, fantasizing of an afternoon where he and his siblings wandered amongst street vendors and pretend they were just a normal family. Pretend they were all simple, human residents.

Shaking his head he returned to the proclamation of alliance he had been working on tirelessly. This would ensure peace between themselves and the people of Konoha for sure. It would go down as a historical event – the first of Suna's honest allies. An alliance built on friendship. It had to be perfect.

A soft knock at his door dragged him from his thoughts again. It was a timid knock that told him the person who awaited him was terrified they would upset him by interrupting his work. "Enter," he commanded as he placed the pen on his desk. The door did not open; instead there was a second knock. A little frustrated he called out more loudly, "Enter!"

Much to his frustration there was another knock. He rose from his seat and moved calmly to the door. He swallowed, preparing himself. Life had taught him to fear strange behaviour. Surely, there is nobody on the other side who wishes me dead, he told himself as he reached for the handle. The cold laugh of the demon echoed in his mind. He forced the phobia of assassins from his mind. They would never had made it this far.

Grasping the handle, he turned the knob and pulled the door open slowly, hoping to inflict some fear into the heart of the person who dared disturb and even frighten him.

On the other side stood a horrified looking young man that Gaara recognized instantly as Kankuro's assistant, Isamu. His brother was a short distance back, smirking at the torture he was putting poor Isamu through. "Nothing better to do?" Gaara growled. He turned and went back into his office, ignoring the whimper that came from Isamu. Leaving the door wide open he returned to his chair and waited for his brother to follow.

"You're a fucking idiot," Kankuro muttered to his assistant as he brushed past him. He sat in the chair opposite Gaara and his assistant followed him quietly, taking the cruelty of puppet master. He seemed to feel more nervous because of Gaara, than because of his actual tormentor.

Ignoring what he had heard, the Kazekage stared at his brother expectantly. He had better have a good reason to pull a stunt like that.

"I wanted to talk to you in private, thought this would be a good time to do," Kankuro answered his brother's thoughts. He turned to look at Isamu, "Get out." The boy jumped and bowed quickly to each of them before taking the opportunity to escape, closing the door behind him.

A long moment of silence passed before Kankuro finally spoke. A very serious stare in his eyes left Gaara feeling uneasy. Kankuro was rarely serious. He had made intern abuse a hobby, and loved to play ridiculous pranks on various people he knew, including the Kazekage himself.

"I think Temari is seeing someone."

If not for much practiced composure, Gaara's jaw would have fallen to his desk and smeared the ink of his proclamation. He failed to understand how this was a problem and even if it was, did he actually expect the youngest sibling to step between a love-struck Temari and her desired. She'd likely disembowel him. He wanted to slap his brother, but reserved himself to await an explanation as to why he should be concerned.

"I'm pretty sure it's that guy from Konoha…"

Gaara felt relief. That would only strengthen the bond between the villages. What could the problem possibly be? Even the demon was calling Kankuro stupid for clearly wanting to interfere.

"…that creepy guy with bugs in his skin."

Forgetting his composure, the red-haired brother laughed loudly, with his head tossed back. This has nothing to do with Temari. He just thinks Shino is creepy and he's pissed that he lost to him, Gaara leaned forward on his desk and his laughter slowly died off.

Calm again, he looked up to see Kankuro still looking as though this may possibly mean the end of the world. Rolling his eyes he knew he had to go about the proper sibling assurance speech, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He sat up straight and made eye contact with his brother. "Maybe try talking to Temari about it. You don't even know if you're right."

Kankuro looked the same as he did whenever Gaara threatened his life. "There is no way I am talking to her about this. She'd… it….I … there would be carnage!"

"Carnage?" came a voice from behind the door. Temari strode in; an inquisitive look graced her features.

"Is Isamu still outside the door?" Gaara asked. The cogs in his head already turning and plotting a nice maniacal plot he thought the young boy would enjoy.

"Yeah," Temari responded, she gestured for the assistant to follow her. He entered and bowed three times.

Gaara pointed to a large cushion in the corner of the room and said, "Have a seat Isamu." The boy shivering obeyed.

Once he appeared to be as comfortable as he could be, Gaara looked to his confused siblings. Grinning briefly at Kankuro, You'll pay for that incident with the whoopee cushion, he looked directly at Temari. "I have something to tell you. Allow me to finish before you answer to it." She gave a slight nod, complying and awaiting his continuation.

"Kankuro has shared an interesting theory with me. Apparently he thinks you are having an affair with someone from Konoha. A certain bug housing Aburame…"

The scene that followed was just too gruesome for words. Suffice to say, it made Isamu a happy boy and left Gaara happily drowning in the glory of a perfect revenge.

I know, it turned a wee bit humorous there at the end, but that's my style. It's also my style not to edit things before I post them… Fine, that's not a style, it's just lazy. Whatever. Anyway, I don't intend to make this story funny, I'm just trying to lighten things up a little. Hopefully you've enjoyed it.

On the topic of character behaviours, I'm aware they may have seemed not entirely themselves. I meant it to be that way. I felt like they would behave differently as a group of siblings. I also thought Kankuro would adopt a little bit of a power trip when he got an assistant, because he basically lives in Gaara's shadow. Anyway, as I've said…Reviews, praise, criticism, or other are always appreciated

DLH