Disclaimer: Do not have any rights to Naruto!
Hi all! Some of you might have read this story of mine before but I decided to MAJOR grammar edit this entire story. I will be posting chapter to chapter after I edit and maybe change things around. Thanks and I hope you enjoy! :D
With all the pressures of being the Kazekage of Sunagakure, another pressure is added on that comes in the form of an arranged marriage. Since Gaara is non responsive to emotion and affection at times and with that Shukaku beast within, he thinks that the marriage will be a waste of time and definitely unnecessary.
XXX
"Gaara, Gaara!" Kankuro shouted repeatedly. He was so loud that his voice was heard closer and closer as he ran down the hall to The Kazekage's closed doors.
When he finally reached the doors, he shoved them open with a breathless expression. While Kankuro was catching his breath, Gaara looked up from the papers from his desk calmly even if his brother was panicking.
"Gaara, the elders calls for a meeting…" Kankuro finally gasped from his sprint.
It was just a meeting but Kankuro was acting as if war between the villages had broken out. Gaara had to question with suspicion but also with ease, "What is the reason for this sudden meeting?"
"The elders didn't tell me why but only for me to get you. But Gaara, you know it's something urgent if the elders call an unscheduled meeting."
His older brother made sense so Gaara left his office and followed his brother to where the council meetings were usually held.
As they walk down the hall to the large mahogany doors, Gaara grew a little anxious in what the meeting could be about.
When the doors opened for him and his brother, he could see all eleven of the elders occupying the table in their rightful seats. The Kazekage and his brother bowed in respect and then they sat at their rightful seats at the round table.
The one that was sitting directly across the table from Gaara had the most to say. Shiro-san began straightforwardly, "Lord Kazekage, we call you here today to discuss a matter involving you."
His tone of voice was a little too serious. It made Gaara a little nervous, "What matter would it be to concern me?"
Being The Kazekage of the Sunakugare, every specific matter involved him but by the looks on each elder's face, the situation seemed to be connected with him than most.
"A marriage." Shiro answered silently but deadly as the other elders remained silent.
Gaara was taken back at what Shiro-san stated.
Surely it was some kind of a joke!
Even Kankuro had the resulting emotional shock waves running through his body.
"What is of this arrangement? Why am I just being informed of this now?"The Kazekage quickly questioned as he shot up from his seat.
His older brother agreed angrily, "Yeah! Since Gaara is the Kazekage, he should know of everything, why is he just hearing about this now?"
The elder who had been doing all the speaking explained calmly, "My lord, you know of the constant serious feud with The Village Hidden in the Clouds; Kumogakure. It must end. Now… We, the elders have been negotiating with the Raikage. She is more than willing to end the feud and become noble alliances but with one condition that we go by the tradition of a marriage alliance."
"Why must it have to be a traditional marriage that will bring our two villages together? The Sand and the Leaf have been great allies and all without a ridiculous arranged marriage." Gaara continued with his questioning.
"Lord Kazekage, I understand that you are upset but think of this village. It would be a great aspect to have them with us rather than against us."
That wasn't the answer that Gaara wanted to hear nor it was an answer that fit the question, "You still didn't answer my question, why must we be joined by a marriage, it does not make sense."
The elder sighed as he gave the explanation, "It was your father's idea from long ago. The Raikage respects it and frankly we elders see it as a great way to join villages. Any other negotiation would have a flaw. This way there would be nothing to break it."
"Father? Not that I'm complaining, but why would our father arrange for Gaara to get married and not me, his oldest son?" Kankuro asked a little curious.
The elder only shrugged his shoulders honestly, "The reasons are of his own, we are not clear ourselves but Lord Kazekage, you are at the age to be married. Eighteen has always been a fair age."
Gaara thought silently to himself.
It was his father's request…
Would he be viewed as disobedient and disrespectful toward his father if he denied the absurd agreement.
He is only eighteen…
"Who am I suppose to wed from the Hidden Cloud Village?" The young Kazekage asked. He should know the details before he agreed to the..situation…
Cautiously, Shiro-san answered the leader of the sand, "Her name is Kamiya Yue and she is only one year younger than you. She will be arriving into the Sand soon to meet you."
"Will I have a say in the matter at all?" The young leader asked the most important question that he should have asked from the very beginning.
That was something that the elder was glad to answer, "Lord Kazekage, you may have a choice whether to wed her or not. It is not entirely against your will. It is an arrangement but we will not force it on you. You may make your choice. But perhaps spend some time with the girl before making your decision."
When the situation was abundantly clear, there wasn't much to say so Gaara bowed and left the room with his older brother.
In all of his life, he had things planned for him; The One Tail Beast, missions, and now this…
Why is this life of mine so incredible cursed…
XXX
"Gaara is arranged to be married?" A blonde woman with four pigtails and dressed in a black dress practically shouted.
Kankuro sighed and gestured to her to lower her voice. They were downstairs in the living room of the Kazekage house. "Yes that's what the council wanted a meeting about."
Temari couldn't believed it either; it wasn't something to be heard of in this time and era. "An arrange marriage between Gaara and someone from The Cloud. Surely they have gone mad, he is far too young!"
Her older brother explained further, "Actually, eighteen would be a reasonable age; the girl is only a year younger than him so don't worry about a big age difference and-"
"That is not what the worry is! You know as well as I do that Gaara… He hasn't fully interacted with others that well and now he is going to get married to a complete stranger? Are they out of their mind!" She intervened into his sentence in frustration.
"It was father's idea from some time ago, how can Gaara disobey that but… The elders did tell him that it was an optional choice even though they were obviously rooting for it. He may go through with this and may not. It is completely up to his choice."
A sigh of relief came from Temari but then her face lit up in terror when she realized something. She sprang up from the sofa, "The girl is a cloud shinobi?"
Kankuro nodded, knowing full well why Temari was so distressed, "I know… If Gaara does marry her, how will our village react to the sudden marriage, especially one that involves a girl from an enemy village."
"Well… They didn't accept Gaara either, at least up until now. I suppose the people of this village will learn to accept her but still, it's a fragile subject to even calculate in mind."
The Sand and Cloud had always been at odds and ends with each other. People of Sunagakure were the type to keep a judgmental eye of outsiders so it might be a difficult situation to comprehend and accept.
"She will be coming to our village soon to meet Gaara." Kankuro informed and reached for the file that rested on the coffee table. He stretched across and handed it to his sister. "Here's her file, it's pretty detailed."
Temari took the file and instantly opened it to start reading. Her anxious face grew soft, "So... She's an orphan with no family what so ever."
XXX
Yue Kamiya had always been an independent girl so when the Raikage asked if she needed an escort, she gratefully declined the offer.
Yes there were many dangers with traveling from her village to the Sand but she could take care of herself.
For as long as Yue remembered; it was just her and no one else. Whoever her parents were, they left her clear outside the gates of Kumogakure. No one knew anything of the small baby or even her name.
Ever since her training started at the village academy, she had always been the one to excel to the top. Nothing was ever difficult for Yue to handle. She always worked hard to amaze and give back to the village for taking her in.
Yue even made Jonin before anyone in her age. That greatly impressed the Raikage and therefore she chose her to bring two warring villages together in a union.
In truth this wasn't the only reason why Yue was picked to marry Gaara. It was because Yue was also very beautiful.
The Raikage and the council knew to pick someone attractive so not to offend the Sand Village.
It would certainly be offensive if they had picked someone unsightly to wed the Kazekage.
Not only she was beautiful but she was also quite kind and friendly to whoever she met; friends or strangers.
Never in her life had Yue thought of getting married; it was the farthest thing from her mind.
So of course when Yue heard of this she wasn't at all happy but when she thought about it… Sacrificing her happiness and wishes were better than having two villages in turmoil.
So there she was standing in front of the entrance of the Sand Village.
After the two days of constant traveling she was exhausted but butterflies still flew about in her stomach. Any moment after entering the village she would see her future husband for the first time.
Swallowing a silent gulp, she approached one of the numerous sand ninjas, "I'm Kamiya, Yue. I'm here to see the Kazekage."
The sand ninja looked her over skeptically and then checked his chart, "Sorry, I don't have you on the list. Perhaps you have some documents proving that I can let you into the village?"
Sunagakure became a lot stricter after Gaara became Kazekage. It was enforced by his protective brother Kankuro.
Yue looked at the ninja strangely, "My name should be on there…" She paused shyly before admitting, "…I'm the girl who is getting married to the Kazekage."
No one knew of the arrangement yet so he considered it a joke. He laughed insultingly, "Now look here girl, it is not good to lie. Leave this village now."
That wasn't going to happen.
Yue was supposed to report to Gaara as soon as she arrived. She frowned disapprovingly at the sand ninja, "If you could just go tell the Kazekage that I'm here, I'm sure he will explain everything."
He inspected Yue again, this time more closely. Soon his eyes stopped at her arm where her Cloud Village head gear was tied to it.
"You're from the Cloud village! Intruder!" Immediately his expression changed dangerously as he got into an offensive stance,
"What! No, really I'm not!" Yue quickly exclaimed trying to not cause any trouble.
It was no use. The sand ninja yelled to his comrade to aide him. As swift and hard as he could, he threw a punch toward Yue but she was able to dodge it.
Another punch came and that time it was awfully close to Yue's face but she moved away and hit him back on the chest; sending him colliding into his friend who was rushing over to help him.
Acting on fear and instinct, the girl ran pass the fallen ninjas and into the village. She didn't inflict too much damage on them so it was easy for the two sand ninja to stand up and go after her while loudly warning the village that there was a trespasser.
The girl ran as fast as she could but every where she turned, there was a sand ninja blocking her way.
Yue stopped in her tracks immediately when she realized that ten sand ninjas were surrounding her in a circle with people of the village watching intently.
"Please, I'm not an intruder. I swear I mean no harm to you all!" Yue tried to reason but that one ninja that she had fought back was in the circle as well.
He growled at her furiously, "Liar! You attacked me full force, she's from the cloud village! An intruder!"
"No, please that was in self defense, I really mean no harm!" She once again told them but before she could explain any further, he charged at her with full speed.
She took one look to calculate his movements.
His speed is too unstable and too fast… He won't be able to stop. She thought and moved aside easily just as he came close with his fist to her.
He was indeed going to fast which made it to difficult for him to stop. He collided into one of his teammates with great force.
Two down.
Another ninja learned from his fallen friend's mistake and slowed down his assault. That sand ninja used a fist as well but when Yue dodge that, he launched a kick to her abdomen.
Yue was able to read his attack before it landed and caught onto his leg. Her other hand tightened into a fist and decked him across the face. She shoved him back with chakra in her hands.
Once again, Yue pleaded with them, "Please, I don't want to fight! I don't want to hurt anyone!"
The moment she finished her sentence, a fierce wind struck her way. It was so strong and unexpected that it knocked Yue off her feet; sending her flying to a distance.
Yue coughed at some dust that got into her lungs when she dropped roughly to the sandy ground. She looked up to see what happened.
A lady with a black short sleeve dress on was glaring down at her. In her right hand was a huge fan.
The lady was rather appealing. Tall, graceful, and four pigtails to represent her youth; she even looked pretty with her glowering gaze.
"I…I don't want trouble, please I just-" Yue attempted to clarify the situation but the shinobi guard from before got up weakly and beat her to it.
"Don't believe her, she attacked us! Don't let the intruder get away Lady Temari!" He stated bitterly, obviously out for revenge.
Lady Temari turned her head just slightly to listen to the sand ninja's words. The Cloud Village girl took the distraction as her opportunity to escape. It was clear to her that Temari wasn't going to listen to her explanation.
Forcing herself up onto her feet, Yue quickly did hands signs to reveal her jutsu. "Water style! Liquid bound jutsu!"
Liquid in the air started to form around Temari in long ropes all achieved by water. It tightened ferociously around Temari, not allowing her any space to get loose. "I'm so sorry..!" Yue apologized before sprinting in the opposite direction to get away.
People from all around were shouting, "Get her! Get her!" It confused Yue so much that she didn't know where to go but just to run until something clicked in her head.
I know! I have to find the Kazekage but where do I go to find him! Her thoughts were interrupted when she had to stop suddenly.
A guy in a black jump suit with purple face paint and controlling a puppet stood in her way. "You're not getting away from me so easily." He promised at her.
Yue opened her mouth to tell him why she was there and what she needed but Kankuro didn't want to hear it. He sent his puppet soaring towards her with a sharp knife in its hand.
Moving as quickly as she could, Yue evaded it but not before having it slice her arm. It hurt terribly when the sharpness tore the skin. She clasped her hand over it. It was soaked with blood right away.
"Kankuro I got your back!" Temari shouted as she appeared behind Yue suddenly. Both surrounded at opposite sides.
Oh NO!
Yue looked to both of them in sudden glances to see what their next moves were. Temari was exerting another large gust and Kankuro was sending his puppet again at quick speed but this time some sphere was launched out of the puppet's mouth.
The girl rapidly sent some chakra into her feet and jumped high up into the air. A mammoth explosion was heard below her the second she went up.
Kankuro acted at righted away and extended his puppet into the air as well. The puppet's wooden hands got a hold of her foot and then its master slammed Yue back onto the ground.
The pain of the slamming was unbearable but she weakly got up and tried to use one of her jutsus again but Temari recognized that instantly.
"Watch out she's using her jutsu to trap you!" The blonde lady cautioned.
Kankuro smirked smugly and arrogantly, "I'm not going to let that happen!" He instructed his puppet to shoot out another exploding ball from its mouth.
Yue stopped her hands signs and caught the ball with her bloody hand and then threw it away to her side.
The people that were standing at that area ran away hastily but a little girl about the age of four stood frozen as she cried.
Yue caught sight of that, "No!"
Faster than ever, Yue ran like lightening to get the child. The moment that she was in front of the toddler she picked her up and jumped away with only seconds to spare.
"Hey put her down!" Kankuro yelled when Yue grounded herself unsteadily. Impulsively, he assailed at her with his puppet again.
After losing a great amount of blood and with a child in her arms, it made Yue hard to dodge the puppet. She managed to move away but ended up only stumbling back over her own two feet. She fell back exhaustedly and in a lot of pain.
Temari and Kankuro lurked forward dangerously like how a lion slowly approached their prey.
"Now you're really going to get it." Kankuro breathed heavily and motioned his doll to use its hand with the knife.
The dagger was landing at Yue rapidly. This time she couldn't move, she was too tired and injured. Shutting her eyes tight, she expected a great pain somewhere on her body.
But nothing…
Nothing happened, nothing was felt.
What…?
Yue slowly opened her eyes to see. It was some sort of barrier made out of…sand? It started to disperse back down onto the ground and she could see Temari and Kankuro staring at something or someone questionably behind her.
The girl lifted herself up a little from the ground and looked behind her to see what they were staring at.
A guy wearing a burgundy color suit with a white sash tied intricately around him. It looked to be holding the gourd he had behind his back. He had red hair but what caught Yue's attention the most were his green eyes.
Who is he…?
The little girl in her arms squirmed excitedly, "Lord Kazekage!" Yue let go of the girl so she could get up.
Huh? He's the Kazekage?
The Kamiya girl slowly got up as she felt sore and dizzy. Her whole right arm was dripping in blood and she was a mess.
"Gaara what are you doing? She's an intruder." His brother told him.
The Kazekage shook his head emotionlessly, "No, she's from The Cloud Village Kankuro. Her purpose here is to meet me."
"What!" Both cried out outrageously as they retreated their weapon of choice.
Gaara stared at her curiously but also purposely indifferently. The girl was a nicely pale with dark brown eyes that looked to be like the night sky.
Her long black hair hung straight down her back but the ends of her hair curled naturally; giving it a lovely look.
Her outfit consisted simply of a white tank top with a grey short sleeve jacket over it and shorts with boots for shoes. On her hands were leather black gloves and her head gear was tied against her arm.
Yue turned to Gaara and neared to him. Hesitantly, she bowed to him, "Lord Kazekage, I'm Kamiya Yue from the cloud village. I've come to…"
Yue drifted off mid-sentence when she felt herself giving out. Her image of Gaara was becoming unclear with each passing second. She shook her head to snap out of it but it only made it worse.
She endeavored again, "I…I'm…" Suddenly Yue could feel herself falling forward as her world went black.
Seeing how her condition was, Gaara let her fell against his chest and hurriedly scooped her figure into his arms. "Hurry, we must get her to the infirmary." He said calmly to his siblings.
Before the Kazekage took off running to the infirmary, he gazed down at Yue's unconscious face.
So this is the girl…