Chapter 1: The Land of Iron

The howling blizzard spelled trouble for the two Sand Ninjas en route to the Land of Iron. Seeing white specks of ice flying around erratically had them considered to take shelter at the nearest giant rabbit burrow the young men passed half an hour ago.
They were used to encountering dry spells, wild sandstorms and blistering heat waves so the duo, instinctively, retreated in crossing the terrain they were least comfortable with. No matter how worse the desert becomes, it was something they could
deal with ease. And it is helping them now — blizzards and sandstorms can be dealt with through the same solution: waiting.
While tracing back the burrow, the pair scanned for anything that could pass off as a hideout.

"How is your fever?" The older man asked his companion of higher stature.

Before replying, the redhead pulled down the scarf and face mask that covered his face. His face was flushed. "Still bad but better than earlier. We can sprint back to that burrow," He had contracted the fever a week before. His brother and right hand
man, Kankuro, had advised him to stay and recuperate in the Sand Village rather than attend to the Emergency Meeting called by the Tsuchikage and the Head Samurai. Gaara insisted on leaving their village earlier so they can travel at a slower pace.
But it didn't help the Kazekage's condition which he keeps on lying about.

Kankuro sighed. "I can hear your wheezing, Gaara. I can almost feel your temperature from where I'm at. Stop being a baby and tell me the truth."

Realizing that he has been caught, Gaara's shoulders drooped.

"It's that bad huh?" The Puppet Ninja mused verbally. "Ride on my back." He put down his puppet scrolls and crouched down.

"It's fine. I can—"

"We're not in Suna. Hurry up; the blizzard is catching up." He snapped back.
Gaara reluctantly climbed over his brother's back. All sorts of worry filled his thoughts. The first one is how he and Kankuro would survive in the Land of Iron... in the middle of nowhere. His second concern was how he would function at the Emergency
Meeting. His fever was not getting any better and it has been a week, maybe it was something much more chronic than a usual flu. He never got sick (except those mild cases of cough and colds, stomachaches and other silly illnesses) unless, something
else was messing with his system. Thirdly, since Kankuro caught him faking his health, then it's likely that he won't leave the Land of Iron until the source and cure of his malady is known. He knows his older brother too well; Kankuro would lock
him in the infirmary and carry out the Kazekage's duties on his behalf if needed. The last and his most urgent concern would be how Kankuro would carry a person, a sand gourd and massive ninja scrolls in one go.

"I know what you're thinking…" Kankuro scoffed, "I'm asking the same question myself." To say that he's not the most intellectual among them siblings is an understatement. But is was compensated by his eye on details. Kankuro had seen how medical
ninjas carried their paatients on their backs. He tied a cloth around the gourd, Gaara and his torso for support and carried his scrolls with one hand. The Sand Nin noticed the wind is becoming colder which alarmed him. He thought he needed to make
a run for the burrow or else its game over for them.

"Hang on tight." He told his brother.

While speeding through, Kankuro noticed how adverse Gaara's self-proclaimed "fever" was. It was as if his little brother was a heater strapped on his back. Although, it helped Kankuro keep warm and more focused at the snowy threat chasing them at a frightening
speed.

I have to hurry, the Puppet Master thought.

Finding the giant rabbit burrow was a piece of cake for the jounin. He evaluated the area and noticed no anomalies. When he looked inside the burrow though, he saw a brown, two-foot long, giant rabbit protecting her rabbit kittens. It was ready to attack.
Kankuro chuckled a bit. He removed his cat-like headgear and the giant rabbit started to relax.

"Must have thought I was a cat or lynx." He told the rabbit. "Can I rent this place? My brother is not feeling well. I'm not expecting you to answer back but don't try clawing on Gaara or you all will be dinner." He placed Gaara, who has been sleeping,
near the rabbits who were still wary of their presence. Kankuro, who was being too sensitive on the matter, felt guilty and gave the rabbits one of the onigiris he was saving for himself. Surprisingly, all four rabbit kittens ravaged the rice ball
and they stopped being too cautious around the Sand Ninjas.
Kankuro checked Gaara's temperature and was surprised by how warm his forehead was. He wrapped the latter with the cloak he had on in spite of feeling to cold himself. The blizzard was nearing since the little bunnies regrouped back to their nest.

It's going to be a long afternoon.

When the blizzard reached them, Kankuro concentrated his chakra to keep him warm. The rabbits, who noticed his warmth, all snuggled on top of his legs. He almost laughed at how those animals, who were about to kill him earlier, were using him as their
furnace.

The blizzard ended abruptly. It almost caught the puppeteer by surprise. Gaara hasn't woken up yet. Using his extra scrolls, he created a link with Gaara's gourd and the rest of Sasori's puppets to make their travel smoother. Only his puppet, Sasori,
was left in the real world.
He didn't bother getting back his cloak from Gaara since his temperature started to get better after he was dressed warmer. To keep his spirits higher, the jounin thought that a Gaara burrito is not bad looking. Maybe, if he takes a photo of his brother
and share it to his married sister, she'd visit them and give him a beating.
Even though it has been a year since she got married to Shikamaru and migrated to the Leaf Village sometimes he'd still accidentally address her while he's half focused. After all, they've been each other's confidante for all their lives. In times like
emergency meetings and the regular Five Kage Summit, she's a much better assistant to Gaara when it comes to political matters and diplomacy.

Kankuro arrived at the meeting place an hour later still carrying Gaara on his back. The samurai expecting them were surprised not only of their punctuality but also the ailing health of the Kazekage. Medical officers immediately escorted the duo to the
nearest clinic. As suspected by the Sand Nin, they acould nrt find out what was causing the Kazekage's fever. They had to run additional tests on Gaara before determining its cause.

"Did the Kazekage sought medical health prior to this journey?" The young female doctor asked him. She had a stern and commanding voice which pissed him off. Doctors always think their patients are idiots, he thought.

"How would I know? He's a jinchuuriki, he doesn't pass out because of fever until today." He snarled.

"Is that so?" She seemed unfazed by the revelation. "You are?"

Before he could form the words, a nurse whispered that he is the elder brother of the Kazekage the leader of the Counter Terrorism Division of the Shinobi Alliance.

"Kankuro-dono do you need to tell us more about your brother's illness?" It sounded as if she knew some things that he know. People like that got under his nerves. Her manner of talking was too condescending. He would have said 'No, I don't need to tell
you more about his illness. You could've said it in a more respectful manner. Maybe I would consider answering you properly.' if he was his usual, hotheaded, self. But the puppeteer was not in the mood to argue, although he noticed that the doctor
was not somebody he'd get along with.

"It has been a week since he had that fever. He was functioning fine until earlier. Maybe it's the weather." He told the doctor and her entourage of nurses. "Maybe that would help you in your… testing."

"The weather?" The doctor was confused. She didn't follow his line of thought.

"We're from the Wind Country. Our Village is located in the middle of the desert." Kankuro said unenthusiastically.

"Thank you for that." She smiled at him. "Your brother's condition has stabilized but the fever has not gone away. He'll be awake soon. Once we find out something, we'll let you know immediately." The medical officers, then, left the room.

The jounin went to the bathroom, turned on the faucet and splashed warm water on his face. It relieved him from some the worries he's been having since the start of their arduous journey but it wasn't aesthetically appealing. Hisface paint ran all
over his face. He took the soap and washed his face with it. So far, it hasn't been a good week for him or his brother. He reflected on his supposed plan of action after the meeting. Consistent with his calculations, they had arrived a day earlier.

Kankuro had anticipated that in case Gaara's condition takes a turn for the worse, he has some time to rest before the meeting. He was praying that it won't happen but it did. Beyond that, he had no contingencies. Although, he was grateful that they did
arrive earlier or it might have cost his brother's safety. If Gaara does wake up as the doctor said, Kankuro pondered, then Gaara can attend the meeting. The trip back home though, would be the tougher challenge. They might have to stay much longer
and let Gaara recuperate. But Kankuro had doubts with the doctors with Samurai upbringing. Medical ninjas would be a much better physican for his brother because his case was too peculiar.

While thinking of all these things, Kankuro didn't realize that he fell asleep.

Hi! I'm R Cleaver.

I really like the characters in Naruto, especially their secondary characters. So, I thought, after about ten years of liking Temari, Shikamaru (ShikaTema forevaaa ya), Kankuro, Gaara, (yes, I'm slightly obsessed with the Sand Siblings… SLIGHTLY),
Shino, and some super minor characters like Kurotsuchi, Shion (sadly, she's filler), Darui, and all those other cool ninjas who appeared in the Shinobi War, I am finally putting into words the visions that keep me awake at night.

Anyway, it doesn't speak much about why I wrote this fic. I've always wanted to write a Kankuro fic for as my first fic because I like him and he's unpopular. I have to admit that I really got into him during Shipuuden because of his devotion to support
Gaara (weeps). Sadly, he didn't have much character focus in the epilogue (man, he ain't got no wifey… NOOO! What about those genes tho?!), so I thought I wanna make his own ending.

So here ya go. The story mainly revolves around KanKuro (Kankuro x Kurotsuchi love it! HAHA) and some other canon and non-canon pairings (super crack). I promise I will be (or am) doing my best to improve my consistency because I have this tendency
to be overly diligent in writing narratives and storylines and suddenly become lazy right in the middle of the story, like doing a one liner description of an elaborate scene. I promise I won't do that because it would tick off any reader.

Before I post, I will proof-read (or proof scan) but please don't be too overly critical because I'm not perfect and I don't have any fanfic buddy/ies (yet). Most of my real life relationships (friends) are my nerdy (not like the genius type but the
weird nerdy kind) classmates and colleagues who are unaware of the world of fanfiction..

That's all (for now). I hope you enjoy what I have written and best regards to everyone who has grazed this humble story of mine.

Thank you!

PS. R & R