Chapter 4

Mariko sat wide eyed, unsure of what to make of the report she'd just been given. Her mother never cried, at least not over a bad dream. The older woman was a ninja, and she took a great deal of pride in that. It was no question that she would hurt people if she had to.

Even after hearing that it bothered Temari greatly, her daughter was sure that there was no way a dream could be that bad. No one rattled any of the three sand siblings and lived to speak of it, at least, not that Mariko knew.

Licking her lips, she grabbed at her tea, but that just made her belly hurt. It was stupid to ask, but she had to be sure. "You... You killed a bunch of genin?"

"They were already dead," Temari said as she notice that her daughter seemed to have a hard time accepting that.

"You mean like puppets?"

Temari nodded. "You could look at it that way, I suppose. Our opponent reanimated dead shinobi, and used their powers against us. It's like puppeteers, who can use charka strings to overwhelm their opponents or control objects."

"And you fought this guy?" Mariko shuttered to think of it. "Sounds sick…"

"It was sick," Temari said wondering just how much she could say. She decided to take the clinical route, and cleared her throat. "This particular enemy could call back powerful ninja, with all of their memories still intact. He could also clear their minds too, if he wanted."

"Not so, Ma. Uncle Kankuro insists that puppet masters love their puppets. That they have to take care of their every need and flaw. He told me it's impossible not to," Mariko rebuked as her fingers came up to rest on the edges of the table. "You can't maintain a strong bond with your chakra strings if you don't have an equally strong bond with the puppet. Each puppet has to have meaning, or it's just a half-assed tool."

"And therein lies the difference," Temari grumbled as she watched her daughter fidget with a napkin, using two fingers on each hand to make it flop around. "They were people without autonomy, but, they were still people...those ninja weren't just puppets."

The napkin dropped as the small blue threads snapped. "Isn't that called psychological warfare?"

"Yes, it is," Temari nodded. "It's a strong tactic too."

"Yeah, but like that?" Mariko shook her head. "Why would anyone do that?"

"People freeze up when they see an old friend behind enemy lines." Temari said quietly, that's how she felt at least. "Family members had to bury their kin a second time, it's not something you can just shrug off and forget about. Everybody knew someone, either by namesake or by reputation."

"Oh, I see." Those little blue lines of chakra extended again, capturing the napkin a second time. "I don't think I'd be able to do that."

"Sometimes you have to fight your friends," Temari shrugged, "you don't have a choice."

"No, not that," again the lines snapped. "Use people. I don't think I'd ever be able to do that."

Temari swallowed hard. "I hope it never comes to that."

"You think I'm a freak, don't you?" Mariko asked as she looked up at her mother.

Temari just laughed, using her own chakra to manipulate the napkin. She was no puppet master by far, but being around Kankuro had earned her a basic understanding of the style he employed. "If I thought that, I wouldn't let you anywhere near your uncles. They'd be terrible influences."

"You can do it too?!"

"Not on anything heavy. Only two strings on each hand. It's worthless to me in a fight," Temari said, as she tried to jet out a third, only to have the strings snap at her attempt. She never tried to get better, her wind was enough for her. "You're a genin now, what you choose to learn is entirely up to you. Just be careful if you ask Gaara to show you anything. He'll turn you into a one woman army."

"Would that be a bad thing?"

Temari mulled it over. Would it truly be a bad idea? She wasn't sure, because Gaara had come a long way in his time. He had also learned a great deal as he'd gotten older. Still, Gaara was naive when it came to some people. He gave too freely sometimes. "Well, that depends."

"On what?"

Temari paused, it was no mystery, but it wasn't freely bandied about by the common folk either. "On you. Gaara wants to keep the title of Kazekage in the family. It's always been like that here. Gaara has no child of his own though, so Suna doesn't have anyone else for the future. We've been mulling it over in our heads. This has been a problem ever since your brother was born."

Mariko wasn't entirely sure she liked the expectant gaze aimed at her. "Why have you been worried? Shikadai is the oldest right, he can take Suna over, can't he?"

Temari shook her head. "It would be absurd for a Konoha ninja to inherit Suna, and furthermore, Shikadai was groomed to continue the Ino-Shika-Cho formation. That formation belongs to Konoha alone."

Trying to mold chakra, she tried to make a grab from her mother's feet, but her shadow wouldn't reach. "Let's face it, I just suck at dad's kind of fighting."

Temari smirked, she'd tried to learn it too, but to no avail. It just wasn't within her purview, and she suspected Mari would forever be the same. "You're the interesting compromise for Suna. It would not be difficult to groom you for the role of Kazekage, and it would save your poor uncles from having to produce an heir. Neither one of them are quite up to the task."

Mariko released the seal her hands had been making. "Is that one of the reasons you let me come to Suna's academy?"

Temari shook her head. "It's an added perk you might be able to consider. We never intended to force you into the position."

"As dad would say, that sounds troublesome."

"It is."

"Then why?" Mariko asked.

"That's complicated, there are a lot of reasons. Putting it simply, the village elders look highly upon you. No matter what they say, though, you are still a Konoha ninja by rights…unless you choose to be otherwise. The academy here was merely better suited to your interests at the time."

"Uncle Gaara you mean." The girl saw him sitting quietly on the window sill, but he lifted a finger to his lips.

"He has always been your favorite," Temari sighed, not aware of the man behind her. "I've yet to discover if that's a good thing or not. He tends to be very strange. He's still a bit animalistic, acts by instinct more than he should."

"Don't put ideas into my niece's head."

Temari jumped as soon as his hand landed on her shoulder, breaking the chair as she flipped over him entirely, ripping away from his grasp. "Damn it, Gaara!"

"Huh, Naruto was right," the Kazekage folded his arms over his chest. Laying on the floor looking up at his elder sister, it made him feel a bit odd. "You do startle easily now that you're a housewife."

Mariko sat wide-eyed as her uncle brushed himself off, not a scratch on him. "Woah, how'd you do that?"

"My sand," he said simply. The small specs started to return to their bottle. "My armor."

Temari was pissed. "Where's Kankuro?"

The man shrugged, walking to the other side of the table to put a hand on Mariko's shoulder in greeting. He lingered there before patting her on the head. As he walked by to get something cool to drink, he addressed his sister. "I'm not his keeper."

"He's supposed to be yours," Temari growled, picking up the pieces of broken wood. "Please tell me you haven't been letting him strut around all day. We don't need him chasing the village girls."

"He's building a puppet." Gaara said after swigging from the glass. "Low chakra in-take."

Of all the whimsical things to be doing, that took the cake. The sibling shared a glance, but Temari was already in interrogation mode. "Why would he need that for?"

"Mariko," Gaara said simply. "It's a small one. Lots of little moving parts. Going to take weeks to make it."

Temari blinked at that. Small puppets were never made for combat, but, they still had a use. "Espionage?"

"Is he really building me a puppet?" Mariko asked excitedly.

Gaara glanced over at his niece who continued to play with the napkin, and nodded. "He'll help you to bond when it's ready," then he turned back to the girl's mother. Gaara got quiet. It was the one thing that nobody wanted to hear. If his niece wasn't wearing a forehead protector, he would have never have said it in her presence. "Sasuke reported in, and Naruto gave the go ahead."

"I see," Temari didn't need any more warning than that. It was pretty bad when Naruto called for war preparations, and all within the alliance knew it.

"Naruto wants Suna to sit tight for now." Gaara was not one to argue with Hokage. "That's what we're doing."

"It's always a waiting game isn't it?" Temari cursed. "Shit…"

Gaara held out his hand upright to stifle any further comment from his sister. "He would like to handle things as peacefully as possible. Movement from the enemy could bring any of our villages under fire. To prevent that, we're taking precautionary measures. Nothing has been officially declared."

"Damn it, Shika's plan no doubt." Temari stood from her chair. "Who brought word here?"

"Ino."

"Ino? Of all the people, why send her on a solo mission?" It didn't make any sense to Temari. "Usually they send Karui."

"She'll be returning to Konoha tomorrow with correspondence," Gaara gave Temari a nod to the door. "Go if you want, I'll stay here with Mariko."

"I might, but only for a little while. Don't warp her Gaara, she's still Konoha's until she decides otherwise." Temari said waving them off, she didn't need to tell Mariko to mind her uncle. Instead she headed for the inn. There was a room there reserved for important officials, and she wasted no time.

Meanwhile, uncle and niece found themselves alone in the kitchen, exchanging quiet but meaningful glances to each other.

Finally, he reach up on one of the shelves, pulling out a shogi board, and pieces to go with it. Together they set up the board, and quietly played without any complicated exchange.

They had a special symmetry together when they were by themselves. No words, just action. Gaara found the silence companionable, and valued the intelligence his niece portrayed. It was exactly the kind of thing he wanted to foster within the family. Several games went by with no words, only the occasional exchange of glances.

Finally, though, Mariko broke the silence between them. "Is it true?"

A shared glance, and Gaara pushed a piece forward onto the board. At this point, it didn't matter what he played, only that he continued to movie pieces. The two of them neither wanted nor needed victory to be content. They merely needed to know that the other maintained equally vested interest.

"I value bloodline," Gaara said crisply.

"It's important," Mariko agreed, also sliding a piece forward. "So is the village."

"It is," Gaara murmured as their game continued. "Immensely."

"Has it always stayed in the family?"

Gaara nodded.

"Oh," she pushed forward a piece and then sat there. "Okay then. I think I understand."

In a blink, he cocked his head ever so slightly to the side, a question unvoiced.

"It's nothing," she said with a small smile. "Nothing to worry about."

He then played his move. "Do you favor Konoha over Suna?"

Mariko shrugged, she wasn't really sure. "I'd say I value them both equally." Then with a little hesitation, her finger tapped onto the table before playing her next piece. "Suna needs an heir, Konoha does not."

"Correct," Gaara said please with that assessment. "Konoha has many powerful ninja. The burden would not fall to you."

Her uncle's next move was sacrificial, and Mariko took the point without hesitation. For a short time, the only noise in the kitchen came from the moving of wooden pieces across the board. Finally, Mariko paused, lingering over her next move. "The burden will fall on Suna, so it will fall to me."

Gaara thought on that, and gave the slightest shake of his head, declining her theory. "It would fall to Kankuro first, then to your mother, and then to you."

"With all due respect, you're assuming they'd still be healthy enough to take office," Mari murmured giving her uncle a small shrug before playing her piece and folding her hands neatly onto the table. "I hope they would be. I hope you all live very long, prosperous lives. I'd hate to lose any of you, but…"

Gaara played his move. "Go on," he encouraged placidly, interested in what she might say.

Checkmate, and the game was over. "Strategically, that's political suicide."

Gaara knew that better than anyone, but it was interesting to see his young niece come to the same conclusion. This too, was training in the highest regard. Training Shikamaru himself would be teaching the girl if he were here. Gaara and Kankuro both felt it was their responsibility to step in when Shikamaru was unable.

They reset the board to play again.

"Interesting," Gaara said, "strong words."

The girl shook her head. "Just fact."

He tilted his to the side, nearly catlike in curiosity. "Mind telling me why?"

Mari chuffed at that, a grin playing across her lips. "Uncle Kankuro has about as much ambassadorial sense as a poison laced kunai…"

Gaara nearly smirked, that little detail was undeniable. "Your mother then?"

Mari shook her head. "She might be an ambassador and take missions for both Konoha and Suna, but she'd never take the title of Kazekage. If she did, dad would follow her, and if that happened half of Konoha would be camping out right at Suna's entrance."

Gaara, now more than mildly amused let out a soft, heartfelt chuckle. Knowing Naruto like he did, that wasn't exactly an impossible outcome. Konoha ninja seemed to travel in droves. He half expected them to arrive in a mismatched pack when given the opportunity. Odd village, odder Hokage. "I would enjoy seeing that."

"The other villages wouldn't," Mariko responded accurately. "It would lead to the, um 'the degradation of the treaty' I think dad would say. The alliances that have been in place since the war, they would probably crumble."

"You have an aptitude for politics," Gaara said to her simply. "I'd like to see it put to good use."

"You just don't want to get re-married to a different person," Mariko added.

He knew he'd been caught, and blinked at her, a mild expression of indifference on his face. "There's that too."

"I feel better in Suna," Mariko concluded as their game continued on. "I wouldn't mind if you chose to train me."

"Stay with your newly assigned squad," Gaara said as he won the game with ease. They set up for another. "Train hard, rise the ranks, and learn what you can. The time for more will come."

While Gaara and Mariko continued their games well into the night, Temari whittled away the hours with Ino.

Suna was a warm place during the day, but cold during the night. Temari was used to the harsh conditions, and thought little of them. Ino was not so lucky, and huddled under a blanket for warmth.

Their relationship was a strange one. They were more than friends, thanks to the deep ties that Ino shared with Shikamaru. Yet, strangely enough, Temari hesitated to consider the woman family. It was different than that. They didn't want to label it, but the trust was deep, the kinship deeper. The two of them were happy in the knowledge that it didn't need to be analyzed any further than that.

They'd been together for everything. From bloody battles, double dates, chaotic weddings, clueless husbands, long pregnancies, horrendous childbirths, and training the next generation. They rested elbow-to-elbow, a lack of space entirely between them. They talked about life in Konoha, and the latest events in the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance.

"I'm not even kidding, and don't even get me started on the dishes." Ino sighed as she adjusted the pillow behind her head, recounting the disaster area that had become the Nara household.

"Funny," Temari frowned, "he didn't tell me that when he visited."

"You probably would have killed him," Ino laughed, "the house was a pig sty."

"Not that the boys care, of course, it's their usual routine." Temari said, as she crossed one foot over the other. "Once all the plates are dirty, they'll start eating out and leave the boxes everywhere until they can't stand it. Then they'll clean just enough to get by, and repeat the process."

Ino couldn't argue that, it was entirely true. "Well, I've resorted to doing their laundry."

"Thank god for that," Temari chuckled. "Let me guess, that was strewn around the house too."

"Uh-huh," Ino agreed, none too pleased. "And with all of missions the kids have been on, Shikadai's clothes absolutely reeked."

"Such is life with the two laziest human beings in all of Konoha." Temari couldn't say she was shocked. Between her husband and her son, the house fell into shambles. It wasn't that they were naturally messy people. It was that they couldn't be bothered to actually clean in the first place. Left to their own devices they'd avoid any household duty until it was completely unbearable. "As long as they have clean underwear and a place to go get food, those two have no motivation."

"To be fair," Ino interjected with an all too valid point, "Shika has enough messes to clean up thanks to Naruto."

Temari smiled at the old pet name. Ino was the only woman who could get away with pretty much anything when it came to Shikamaru. It was a trust forged by time, and by commitment. "Either way, I hope you beat the boys across the head, the both of them."

"I chewed them out, but it goes in one ear and right out the other," Ino said with a laugh. It was nice having somebody to rant with once and a while. "Honestly, I'm concerned about the kids. The exams are coming up again. Between Shikadai and Chocho I don't know who's less enthusiastic about their training. Inojin is getting frustrated that none of them have ranked up yet."

Temari nibbled on her lower lip. It was a concern. "How does Sai feel about it?"

"Do you really have to ask, Tem?"

No, she really didn't. "I assume he feels the same as Shikamaru does. They'll rank up when they rank up, and there's no use forcing the issue."

"Exactly," Ino rolled her eyes at the mere thought. "And of course, Choji is completely worthless when it comes to setting a fire under anyone's ass. He's just happy that Chocho gave up on that fad diet of hers. It was doing terrible things to her chakra."

Temari sucked air between her teeth. "Yep, sounds about right. I'll bet Karui still thinks we've all lost our minds."

Ino let a long lasting sigh slip from her lips. Resting her head on Temari's shoulder, she yawned. "I don't know, Tem." she said, setting her empty mug off to the side. "Karui does what she wants, when she wants."

"I'll be going back to Konoha soon," Temari said, giving her good friend a nudge. "When I get back we can run our boys through the ringer. Then Chocho will have to join too if she wants to keep up. She's like her father in that way. She hates dragging others down."

"Are you really going to leave Mariko here?" Ino asked, finally voicing what had been on her mind for months.

"As a family, we agreed we'd leave it up to her." Temari shrugged, she wasn't really sure how she felt about it. "Naruto and Gaara both think that she should be able to do what she wants. Shikamaru and I talked about what we should do, but it came down to a matter of priority. If the two village heads don't mind one way or the other, why should we?"

"Because she's your daughter?" Ino asked, eyebrow raised.

"Speaking of that, I've got to get home. I was telling her about the war, and I want to finish that before my return to Konoha."

Ino shook her head. "You should stay the night with me, there's still loads of gossip. She's going to need to get used to you being gone anyway, and honestly, I miss my friend."

"You've always been such a clingy little thing," Temari noted, only partially joking, poking the long, slender woman in the side. She was pretty sure that she could carry Ino around one armed, if she really had to."I don't know how Sai puts up with it."

"The same way you put up with it," Ino said, her eyes still closed.

"Ino, I don't put up with it. I usually shove you onto Shika so that you'll get out of my hair."

"Shika's not here," Ino said with a laugh. "Neither is Sai, so you're stuck with me this time."

Temari yanked some of Ino's blanket, pulling it over her own chilled legs. "Don't I know it, at least you don't reek of blood."

"Blood?" Ino asked, now thoroughly confused. "Why would I reek of blood?"

"The first time you ever ended up leaning on me. You smelled like blood then, blood and ash."

Ino opened her eyes, concern there. "You're not going to tell that to Mariko, are you?"

"No," Temari said quietly, pushing a strand of long blond hair away from Ino's face. "That's your own painful memory to tell. I'll keep that between us."

Ino just sighed, not entirely sure if she should be thankful for that or not. "You know, you shoved me onto Shika then too."

"So I did," Temari laughed quietly. "I'd do it again, too."

"You had a crush on him, even then, right?" Ino asked, even though she already knew the answer. "Why'd you do it?"

Temari gave Ino a sideways glance. "Shikamaru isn't as strong as he looks. I knew some part of him needed you too. It's a team thing. I wouldn't have been able to heal those wounds for him. I knew that you could. I only did what was tactically advantageous for my peace of mind at the time."

Ino grinned, "You're a big softy at heart. You know that, right?"

"Don't make me push you out of the window," Temari grumbled as she closed her eyes. "I'd hate to have to find a place to hide your mangled corpse."