Urgh… I hate disclaimerS beyond belief….

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO AND THE CHARACTERS. THEY BELONG TO MASASHI KISHIMOTO!

"Father…! You can't!" Deidara and I cried at the same time.

Their father merely rose an eyebrow, "Why can't I? Deidara is already engaged to a woman of his choice. Because of that Ino, it is your responsibility as a princess to be married off to a prince of a neighboring country."

"But why, Father? You said I could marry for love instead of being in an arranged marriage! You promised!" I exclaimed desperately.

"Promises are meant to be broken," my father stated coldly. Then, in a softer tone, he tried to explain, "Deidara would be in your position, but he is already engaged, and I cannot take that away from him. It is not right, and it would not be fair."

I stared at my feet. It wasn't Deidara's fault that he fell in love with someone before me; he is older then me by a few years. But it wasn't fair. I mean, Father promised me that he wouldn't have me put in an arranged marriage; he would have me marry for love. That is, if I ever fell in love like my brother. I looked at Deidara. I think he's taking the news as bad as I am. He may not show it, but he really does care for me, and is quite overprotective when it comes to boys. Older brothers… I sighed again, feeling a little depressed. Okay, maybe more then a little.

"Father, I would like to talk to Ino in private for a few minutes," Deidara announced.

Father just nodded and left the room.

My brother walked towards me and pulled me into a very tight hug. Not that I minded. I hugged him as tightly as I could while I choked back a sob; I was not going to cry right now. I'll do the bawling in the privacy of my room with only my best friend and personal servant, Tenten, for company.

"Oh Ino…" Deidara murmured in a soothing tone, "I feel so guilty…"

This is why Deidara's the best brother in the world. He doesn't tell me that everything will be all right and sugarcoat the truth for me. No. He isn't that kind of person, and that's why I love him.

I shook my head vigorously, "Don't say that you feel guilty for falling in love. It's not your fault that love came to you first. Besides, we both knew this day was going to happen…even though Father promised let marry for love. Oh, and if you say guilty for falling in love, I'll make sure that you will regret it."

Deidara chuckled at my threat as he rubbed my back to soothe me even more, "I won't say that again, I swear."

Good. He didn't use "promise".

"Deidara…"

"Hmm?"

"Why did Father do this to me? He knows that all I've ever wanted was to marry for love, and now he throws me into this?! Why?!"

"To tell the truth Ino, I really don't know."

I couldn't hold the tears any longer. Gripping my older brother's shirt, I cried and soaked it. My brother just stood there, letting me bawl my eyes out. I don't care if my eyes are red and puffy afterward. I don't care if I ruin my brother's shirt. I don't care, I don't care, I don't care!

"I thought Father loved me…I really did!" I rambled, "I tried to be the best little girl I could for him…but it never seems to be enough! He's always comparing me to someone else like Haruno…why Deidara, why do I deserve this?"

My brother remained silent; I think he feels so helpless, but it isn't his fault.

"Deidara…don't you dare feel bad when I say this…but I'm so jealous of you…! You managed to find someone to share your life with; I have no one…. All the men attempt to court me, but it's only for my status or looks! You're the one that courts the other women. They don't have to fear you because you have no evil in your heart, unlike some of the men who have attempted to woo me."

Deidara's hold on her tightened as she went on.

"Big brother…all I've ever wanted was to fall in love with someone who loved me for who I truly am. Is that a lot to ask for…?"

Deidara stroked my hair, knowing that it would calm me down a little, as his grip on me tightened even more. It felt nice to know that someone in the world is still there for you when everything else crashes down. The thing is…Deidara won't always be there for me. He's engaged, and he'll be spending more time with his betrothed…I'll miss him a lot. His fiancée is so lucky that she's marrying him….

I felt my waterworks shut down, and I released my hold on my brother's shirt. He just kept his arms around me as I started to sniffle.

"Tha-a-nks, Dei-i-dara,"

"No biggie. Besides, what are older brothers for?"

I grinned, "They're for torturing, doing experiments on, annoying…"

Deidara rolled his eyes at my immaturity. So what if I'm an almost grown woman (17), but still a girl at heart? It's not my problem.

"Really, Deidara, thanks for being here,"

Deidara snarled, "I know that already, but Father is such a bastard to have you in an arranged marriage! He knows that all you've ever wanted was to marry for love…!"

Smiling wistfully, I said, "I agree with you…but he's still our father."

"By the way, do you know who your betrothed is?" Deidara questioned.

"Umm…now that I think about it, I don't believe Father ever got the chance to tell us you my fiancé is…"

"That's pretty sad if you ask me…."

"Hey! It's not my fault…!"

"Riight."

I pouted, "Meanie."

Deidara laughed, and then asked, "Who could be your fiancé?"

"Uh, the only men that I know are the Sand brothers, Hinata's cousin, Shikamaru, Uzumaki Naruto, the Uchiha brothers, and the Inuzuka's son. There may be some others, but that's all I can think of right now."

"Okay. It can't be the elder Uchiha, he's engaged to the Inuzuka's sister. I really doubt that it's the Hyuuga heir…nobody can force him to do anything. The Inuzukas aren't the kind of people who support arranged marriages; they're extremely loyal to each other, so I doubt it will be the Inuzuka."

"That leaves the younger Uchiha, Uzumaki Naruto, the Sand brothers, and Shikamaru."

"It can't be Shikamaru. The last time I saw him, he told me that he was courting the Sand brothers' sister, Temari."

My breathing relaxed after that. Thank God. It's not that I like him or anything, it's just I see him as a brother and he sees me as a younger sister that acts like an older one. Besides, he's so lazy! I don't think I'd survive if I married him…

"You seem happy," My brother observed.

"Of course I am! Shika sees me as a sister, and I see him as another older brother! To marry Shikamaru would be like marrying you! Do you know how terrifying that is?"

Deidara winced playfully at the terrifying part, "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Dear brother, you are,"

Deidara just brushed it off and focused his attention at the more important matter, "So there's the younger Uchiha, Uzumaki Naruto, and the Sand brothers."

"No."

"No?"

"No, as in Uzumaki Naruto isn't a possible choice." I clarified.

"Really? I never knew that…"

"That's because Hinata and Naruto are keeping it a secret."

"If it's supposed to be a secret, then how come you know?"

"That's because Hinata told me asked me to keep it a secret."

"So you technically just revealed their secret to me?"

"I did…? OH MY GOODNESS!"

My brother just smirked.

I turned around and started to beg, "Please don't tell anyone, please! I'll do anything, just please don't tell anyone! God, Deidara, ple-"

"Anything?"

I stiffened slightly. The last time I had begged like that and used that line did not end well for me…

Deidara burst out into laughter as he saw the fear run through my eyes, "Really, Ino. Did you really think that I was going to reveal their secret like you did?"

"You…!"

"Enough about me. Now, why does Naruto and Hinata want to keep it a secret?"

"Hinata never told me. I think it's because Naruto doesn't want to face the interrogations of Hinata's father and cousin. From what I've heard, they're quite protective of her."

"Hmm. Interesting. That leaves us with the younger Uchiha and the Sand brothers."

"Uh…do you know anything about the last few possibilities?"

"If you're going to be betrothed to one of the Sand brothers, I think it'll be to the younger one."

"Ehh…? I thought the father's position was passed down to the oldest son…?"

"No, according to Sasori, the older one is not ready to take his father's place when he dies. On the other hand, the younger one in much more mature, and it is only reasonable that he becomes the new Lord."

"Oh…. Well, how old is he?"

"…Seriously, Ino?"

"I'm sorry! He's the younger one, and it would feel extremely weird for me to marry someone who's younger then me…"

"Well, once again, according to my best friend Sasori, the younger brother is 18 years of age, older then you by one year."

I thought about that for a moment before asking another question, "Deidara, how come you keep referring them as 'older brother' and 'younger brother'? What are their names?"

Deidara thought about it and answered, "The older one is Kankuro, and the younger one is Gaara."

I nodded, and then stated, "Well, then that leaves the two younger brothers – Uchiha Sasuke and Gaara!"

Deidara looked at me quizzically, "You seem so happy for someone in an arranged marriage…"

I shrugged, "This is the only thing I can do. I'm tied to it. I can't escape it."

"Do you want me to send a servant to fetch Tenten to really make you happy?"

My eyes gleamed in delight when my brother mentioned my best friend, "Oh, yes please! Thank you Deidara!"

"Anything for your happiness, little sister," my brother stated softly.

Oh, I'm really going to miss him when he marries and starts a family of his own…

"Yamanaka-san?" the servant called out.

"Yes?"

"Tenten is-"

I ran to the door and threw it open, revealing a very surprised servant and a grinning Tenten, "Come in, Tenten. You can go back to whatever you were doing," I told the servant, who nodded his head in return and bowing in respect before he left.

Once the doors were firmly shut, I turned around and pounced in Tenten, "TENTEN! I haven't seen you since this morning!"

Her eyes glittered in happiness, but quickly turned dark and serious, "Ino, you never interact with each other when we're outside your room. Tell me, what's wrong?"

The dreadful depressed feeling was replaced by cheeriness of seeing Tenten when she asked that question. I saw Deidara shoot a concerned look at me, but I just shook my head, telling him through my actions that I was okay. He just nodded once in my direction and sat down in one of the chairs in the room.

"Well…" tears started to form in my eyes again.

Tenten's beautiful earthy orbs filled with worry as she looked at me, "Ino…"

I managed to crack a smile, "I'm okay; I just need to collect myself." I took a deep breath and told her, "I have an arranged marriage."

Tenten stared at me in shock, "No…"

I smiled, but it was an extremely bitter one, "Yes."

Tenten glanced at Deidara to confirm it, and when she saw him nod…

"Tenten, you are so lucky…you aren't forced into loveless marriages because of your status…"

"Really…?" she questioned.

"Yes."

Deidara interjected, "Now, Tenten. You're probably wondering who Ino is betrothed to. To tell the truth, we don't know it ourselves. But Ino and I have narrowed it down to two people."

"Yes. We narrowed it down to two people." I echoed.

"Well, who are the two?" Tenten asked.

"Uchiha Sasuke and Gaara." My brother and revealed in unison.

Her brows furrowed as she thought.

Hmm. I wonder what she's thinking about…

"That's it! According to my fellow servants, the younger Uchiha is to be engaged with a princess – but they didn't say who." Tenten exclaimed.

"The younger Uchiha…?" I started.

"Yeah. At least that's what I've heard…"

"I think Tenten may be right. I overheard a couple of our maids crying because Uchiha Sasuke was now engaged…" Deidara said.

No. This cannot be possible. It just cannot.