"Kazeku!" a female voice screamed at the top of their lungs, their electric blue eyes as wide as they could possibly go. Before them, pinned under a dagger's blade, was a young man with black hair and pale skin. He seemed normal for all intensive purposes except for the large crimson stain at their abdomen surrounding the blade.

An older man who looked to be in his early to late thirties ran into the large, master bedroom that the girl had called out from. He was disheveled having woken up from a dead sleep and his grey eyes were showing his tired state. "What's wrong Princess!?" he asked in a panic before even seeing the dead body.

Taking the time to actually absorb the scene before him, Kazeku saw the body of a young man, possibly in his early twenties, lying on the wooden floor of the bedroom. Even with his spirit at eternal rest, the man's features were hardened and chiseled with short, spiky black hair atop his head. His skin was pale, but nothing in comparison to that of the Princess that hunched over his body. Still clutching a kunai in his cold hand, a dagger jutted from his stomach where it looked like she had impaled him. Blood pooled around the blade and under his body, staining his clothes and the wood. Tearing his eyes from the dead boy, he looked to the seemingly terrified Princess. Her hands still clutched desperately to the hilt of the dagger; her knuckles white from how tight she gripped it. Her long pale, platinum blonde hair fell over a shoulder but because it was put up in a messy ponytail it didn't dip into the blood. Icy, blue eyes sat wide and looked to be filled with horror at having just killed a man, turning pink and puffy as she tried to hold back tears.

The dagger itself was nothing special, a simple silver blade and black handle but compared to the ornate pastel blue night dress she wore it stood out like a sore thumb. Same was said of the red speckles of blood that littered her clothing. Walking over to the Princess calmly, he wrapped his arms around her, touching her shoulders gently. Feeling her tense body calm the slightest bit he wrapped his hands around her and helped her release the dagger. The moment she let go, she flung herself into his chest and sobbed loudly grabbing the attention of guards. They made their way into her room and seemed shocked by what they saw.

"Remove this assassin's body," Kazeku ordered without looking up from consoling the Princess.

"Yes sir!" the Lieutenant answered with a rigid salute. He and a few of his men picked up the body and walked out, leaving the Princess and Kazeku alone.

Looking down at her, he noticed she seemed to have fallen asleep through her crying fit. Still covered in drops of blood, he picked her up and gently placed her into her bed, covering her with the blankets. Closing the door as he left her room, his face once full of concern, now replaced with serious annoyance. That woman would do nothing but bring about their clan's destruction! Why was she chosen to lead them? Catching up with the group of guards taking the body away he stopped one of them that was trailing a little behind the rest.

"Son, a moment of your time," he said as he placed a hand upon the young man's shoulder.

He turned and looked at Kazeku with confusion, "Sir?" he blinked as he was lead astray by the older man.

"I want that body taken to my office. He may be dead but he may also hold valuable information about who was trying to assassinate the Princess," he said firmly, giving the young soldier a hard glare to match his voice.

"But sir," the soldier clad in silver armor looked befuddled, "Sir, I thought you told us to-"

"I know what I said!" Kazeku shouted at the boy's impudence. "Listen to what I'm telling you now. You want to protect the Princess correct?" The young soldier nodded vigorously. "That's what I thought. Good man! Now do as I say," he said padding the boy on the back and walking away.

His brown hair was barely visible in the nightly blizzard surrounding their castle. Weather such as that was quite common in the high mountains, so close to the clouds you could practically taste them; and they did taste wonderful. Although in the confines of the castle, the cold and sound barely broke through the walls, leaving the long, dark halls warm and silent. Through each window though, you could see the blanket of white that covered them like a silent sweep of a master swordsman. Kazeku walked into his large room and sat at the desk that sat in the furthest corner. Lighting a lantern so he could see, he picked up a pen to start writing on a piece of paper that lay in the middle of the refined wood.

Dear Kazekage…

The sun pounded away at the desert village, unrelenting and harsh; like always. But the people were used to it; they grew up with such weather and didn't really know anything different. They weren't adverse to other climates; they just knew how to survive better in the harsh environment that was the sand. This particular day seemed to be the hottest yet! A supposed spring to have the couples dancing in the streets and yet, all that lay in the streets were quiet people and billowing sand. Just to the west, their sister village Konoha had a festival for the couples in their village. To celebrate the holiday that only couples could celebrate! Some from Suna had attended, if not for the company then all the games and food.

Many people had attended the celebration, even big figures heads such as Temari and Kankuro from Suna. The Sand Siblings tried to get their youngest brother to attend with them, to have some fun, even the young man's one and only best friend Naruto tried. Every attempt failed miserably. Every time the Kazekage had simply sighed and said he had far too much work to do to be attending to ridiculous party. Needless to say all of them were just a little bummed by this fact. They all just wanted him to experience life now! He was no longer a human sacrifice, he deserved to live his life how he saw it and not be tied down to titles! Forever the isolationist.

Speaking of his mounds and mounds of paperwork, the Kazekage, seventeen year old Gaara, gave a heavy sigh of discontent and pushed the paper before him away. Running a tan hand through his messy red hair he took a moment to sit back and stretch his rigid body. Sitting for hours on end was indeed no way to live his new life granted to him. Rubbing the bridge of his nose in exhaustion he got up from his chair to walk around his office a moment and relax his mind. Walking to one of the large windows, he crossed his arms and leaned against the frame staring down at the people going about their lives. He wondered what it was like to be a regular person without the fate of so many people hanging from your shoulders. Not that he wouldn't give his life for them, it was just hard to handle some times.

Closing his sleep deprived eyes for a moment, he couldn't help but wonder if his life would ever become normal. Would he learn to sleep and relax? Learn to interact with people on a friendlier basis perhaps? He wouldn't lie, it was awkward for him to be friendly and warm towards a person. Being anywhere close to Naruto's position was almost impossible! Was it even possible for him to be that trusting and genuine to a person?

"Kazekage sir!" a young woman shouted, dressed in a gross green vest and black pants.

Slowly Gaara turned at the urgency in the young woman's voice. She was a plain Jane of sorts, sand brown hair, darker than chocolate brown eyes and a light tan to her skin; normal in many ways. "What is it Matsuri?"

She couldn't help the blush that rose to her cheeks when he spoke her name. She stopped, bowed respectively and held out a piece of paper. "We received some kind of urgent message from a village far…far north."

Walking over to the girl, he took the note from her and dismissed her in the process. Turning his back to the door, he opened the letter and read over the contents. His brow furrowed and he reread what was written to him. Could this be right? Was this some kind of joke brought on by his siblings? The only way to know for sure was so respond to the letter. Setting the script aside on his desk, he sat down and cleared a space for him to write his response.

Dear Kazekage,

I know you know not of me or the village with which I represent, but my name is Kazeku of Aisugakure. I am the royal advisor to our Princess, Setsuko Ayani. As of recently our dear Princess has come under attack of assassins and although we are doing all we can to find who is behind the attacks, we feel she would be best kept elsewhere. Particularly somewhere far, far away from our village. In the recent days, Princess Setsuko has undergone a horrible ordeal having to take it upon herself to kill a would be assassin with her own hands. Needless to say she is very troubled by this event as she has never raised a blade in her life. The royal court feels it best for her to, relax a bit, and stay safe while we figure out things here. If you do accept our plea, please don't bring up the incident with Princess Setsuko; it's a very touchy one.

Royal Advisor Kazeku Banki