He sat there with slouched shoulders, staring at the tactics table as the generals pushed and placed figurines, representing armies on the map.
"Shikamaru, what do you think about this? We take back the camp here from the Suna, staging an attack in the middle of the night?"
"Huh…" He was awoken from his absentminded thinking – in a swift glance he noticed a problem in the plan.
"If you do that, then Suna troops can counterattack on this side and this side as well." Shikamaru quickly changed the positions of the figurines – the situation was completely different. Naruto looked awestruck. "Wow." It was the only word that escaped his mouth – Deep down you are still a child, Naruto. Shikamaru thought to himself.
He could not focus in tactics – she was constantly on his mind.
Temari.
No news have been heard from Sasuke's black ops yet. Surely she would survive – nothing could kill her, her brothers would not let them near her.
She would not die, not after all that she has been through to climb back to where she is right now.
She would survive.
Wouldn't she?
Shikamaru shook his head in a futile attempt to clear up his thoughts.
"Your Majesty!" A scout blurted into the room, crashing onto the floor.
"What is it?" Naruto asked, his voice laced with worry and anxiousness.
"The operation – the operation…" The man was panting and gasping for breath.
"Out with it! What about the operation!" Naruto lost his calmness and slammed his hands onto the table, the figurines collapsing and falling to the ground.
"We received this from the military camps…" the man took out a parcel, and handed it over his head to Naruto.
Naruto slowly unwrapped the package – in it were three bloodied animal masks, and a letter.
Fox King of Konoha,
Here are your livestock – our princess is alive and well.
Suna
"They failed," Shikamaru whispered under his voice. She is alive after all.
He let out a sigh of relief, and quickly covered his joy with furrowing brows.
"I am sorry, Your Majesety." Sasuke quickly apologized. "I should have sent more able men, even doing it myself…"
Naruto stopped him talking by putting a firm hand on his shoulder.
"It is okay, Sasuke – we don't have complete control over these type of things – guess we will have to take them on the battlefield then." He grinned confidently.
"We will have plenty of chance killing them off on the battlefield."
Shikamaru said nothing, he was so overwhelmed right now, and yet he cannot show any of his emotions – although Naruto has forgiven him, the nobles still think that he is a traitor – one wrong move, he might as well hand his head over on a silver platter.
"Then what do we do now?"
"We hold the lines like we are doing right now – nothing more nothing less." Shikamaru said, looking away at the clouds that filled the sky. " Time will tell the next move."
He clasped his hands together in his thinking stance and closed his eyes.
Hanabi sat in front of a dressing table, as the maids draped her in white garments – her wedding gown, and traditional ornaments.
Hanabi stared at herself in the mirror. They have coloured her lips red and drawn dark lines around her eyes, she tried to fake a smile – a smile of a bride on her wedding day.
She could not – she had too much on her mind. She thought of her father – somewhere here in Suna; she thought of her sister – locked away in the Palace back in Konoha; she thought of home – the mansion with green trees and flowers, and everyone she cherished.
All of these were running through her mind, as the maids led her to the ceremony.
They arrived at the Suna Royal Temple, as she entered – all eyes were on her.
Kankuro stood there and offered her his arm – he was to give her away, in place of her father.
She nodded and placed her hand on his arm.
The music played – and she walked step by step towards the altar.
Through the chiffon draped on her head, she saw Gaara.
He was dressed in his formal robes, his turquoise eyes looked at her as she walked towards the altar.
As she stepped onto the altar, Kankuro left her side and returned to the audience.
She looked in front and saw Gaara's face, he had no emotion whatsoever – from his expression she detected nothing – no joy, no sadness.
Just nothing.
Her lips pressed against each other uncomfortably. She clutched the garments with her fingers.
"Do you, Sabuku no Gaara, King of Suna, take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife?"
"I do." His voice was cold, even in the heat of the desert.
"And you, Hanabi Hyuga, do you take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?"
She bit her lip. "Yes, I do."
Gaara and Hanabi raised their hands, the priest proceede to tie their writst together using a piece of red silk.
He then proceeded to put their wedding rings onto their finger.
"Gaara-sama," he reminded the King. Gaara already has a ring on his finger – he said nothing and removed the ring, putting it into his pocket.
The priest proceeded and put a silver ring onto their fingers.
"By the gods and the ancestors, I bound you man and wife."
The crowd awaited the sealing kiss, the anticipation filled the air.
Gaara lifted the chiffon headdress, and stared into her eyes as if they were the channel to the void, then he leaned forward and gently pressed his lips onto hers. An obligatory kiss to seal the deal – she is now the wife of a foreign King.
The crowd turned into an uproar, everyone was cheering for the newly weds.
No one noticed a tear rolling down the bride's cheek. Not even one of them.
There was no banquet afterwards – Gaara forbade it; he said since they were at war, they have no time to celebrate any thing except for victories to come.
Hanabi was sent to her new room afterwards, she changed into a nightgown.
She sat there silently, awaiting the return of her new husband. She sighed as she stared at the moon. Gaara was attending a war council meeting – and departed from the temple immediately after their ceremony.
Hanabi stared at the ground, as she heard a familiar voice.
"You should get some sleep." She did not hear footsteps, instead she hear something rolling on the ground.
A servant pushed Temari into her room with a wheelchair.
Hanabi stood up, but Temari signaled her to sit down.
"Gaara won't be coming tonight," said Temari. "He is too tied down with the war council meeting."
"I understand." Hanabi nodded. Temari got closer to the girl.
"I know you had a deal with Yukihanu."
Hanabi's eyes lit up – she stared at Temari. "Will you show me where my father is?"
"Indeed I will," said Temari. "But I am not well rested enough to bring you there yet, you would have to wait."
"It's okay, I have already waited for long, it does not matter if the wait is longer."
"Smart girl," complimented Temari, she placed her hand onto the girl's.
"From what I have learnt, your sister is pregnant again."
"Really? How is she doing?"
"I suppose she is doing fine, since the King has forgiven her and gave her another child, that could only meant she is in good health."
Hanabi smiled for the first time, in a very long time. A genuine smile that seemed to light up the room.
"Temari-san," Hanabi looked into Temari's emerald green eyes. "Can you tell me more about Gaara?"
"Huh, I suppose you would be interested, after all, you would be stuck with him for a very long time." Temari smiled. "But that is a very long story, and I am going to retire, so maybe some other time."
Hanabi nodded, and Temari left the room on her wheelchair.
Instead of heading to bed, Temari headed to the council room.
The doors threw open as she entered, she nodded at her brothers and took a sit next to the table.
"The princess should rest," suggested one of the councilmen,
"And see you send men to death by your stupid mistakes? Never."
She looked at the tactics map, they are intending to send troops through the valley – she knew better – Shikamaru would have anticipated that, and set up an ambush on the spurs. The best thing to do would be …
To be idle.
Time will tell.
Temari smiled to herself.
Shikamaru would probably think the same.
It has been a few weeks since her wedding, Hanabi stood in the middle of the oasis with Temari.
In front of them was an ancient temple – a piece of grand architecture in an unforgiving place.
"He is inside." Temari urged the girl; Hanabi walked towards the temple, into the courtyard and discovered a familiar person sitting next to a pool of water.
"Father?" Her tears well up as she called him, the man turned around, his eyes were hazed; that was when she realized that he was blind. She could not contain her emotions – she dashed forward and hugged the man tightly.
"Father! I thought I would never see you again?"
"Ha- Hanabi?" The man's voice croaked, tears brimming around his milky eyes. He cupped his hands around her face, feeling the features of her face. "It is you! Where is Hinata? And Neji?"
"Father, Hinata nii-chan got married to Naruto- the Prince and became the Queen of Konoha; Neji nii-chan …" She sighed. "Our family waged a civil war against the Crown – and … and Neji nii-san died."
Hiashi remained silent for a while. Hanabi held her father's hand in hers. His hands were rough, dried up by the winds and sand of the desert.
"So … the war is why you ended up in Suna?"
"Yes, father."
"And your current predicament?"
"I … I married the King of Suna, in exchange I got you back."
"Silly girl," he hugged Hanabi, feeling moisture rolling down his face. "You shouldn't have." Hanabi buried her face into his chest, weeping quietly.
"Father, you should return to Konoha – to our family." She said in her tearful voice.
"That would be impossible, Hanabi – I am dead to Konoha. The Twin Suns have both fallen. My place is here, in this foreign temple." Hiashi said sadly, patting on her head. "Unfortunately, your place is here as well. The Sunanians had their plan well set out."
"What do you mean, father?"
"So I have heard – their Queen, is actually your cousin."
"You mean Yukihanu?"
"Yes, her name was Kiko, the elders sent her and her mother away when they realized what your uncle Hizashi has done. I didn't stop them at that time – I suppose he hated me for that, which is why he wanted to take my place."
"Did he take your sight as well?"
"Yes, so that I could never find my way out of the desert." Hiashi said, his voice laced with melancholy. "And you, Hanabi, you were their precious pawn in this game."
Hanabi nodded sadly. "I know father, I know."
The two sat quietly, not saying a word.
Temari looked at them quietly, she was not in a rush – they can enjoy this little moment.
At the same time, Gaara took a break from the military camps and went to a secluded part of the palace.
He entered the room without knocking, quietly, he dismissed the servants in the room.
Yukihanu was sitting there, staring out in the desert.
"Yukihanu." He called her name. She slowly turned around.
"Hello." She smiled at him. He had a small arch on his face – he sat down next to her.
She did not scoot away – that was some progress – a few months ago she would frantically run away from him.
He sat there quietly and looked at her. He remembered something that Temari told him – back in the day, their father, the late King was besotted with Kaori – the concubine; but their mother, she was his closest friend, someone he could not live without.
He understood the feeling now – Hanabi was someone that he was fond of, he was not sure what love was, but he does enjoy her company; but Yukihanu, the mother of his children, the snow lily that led him to where he was right not – she was his Karura, someone that he could not lose.
He gently took her hand in his, and planted a delicate kiss atop her forehead.
She smiled innocently, as if this was something that was normal to them.
To her, he is just Gaara, not the Shukaku, not the King, just Gaara.
He wrapped his arms around her, it was the first time that he felt so close to someone.
Temari sent Hanabi back to her room, before walking to the nursery.
Mari was sound asleep in her cradle; she looked at the child while gently rocking her cradle.
Shikadai was a miniature version of his father – Mari was hers.
Her sandy blonde hair sprouted atop her little head, her eyes were a mixture of her green eyes and his brown ones – they were hazel coloured, and they reminded her everyday that he was real. His face appeared in her mind as she soothed the plump cheeks.
She kissed the infant's forehead before returning to her room.
She sat onto her bed, and suddenly she noticed an envelope protruding from beneath her pillow.
She pulled it out, it was addressed to her.
It was in Yukihanu's handwriting.
She opened the letter – it was quickly scribbled.
Sister,
I would save you, for you and your child are essential to the resurrection of Suna, and salvation of the world.
Goodbye.
Kiko
Temari burned the words into her mind.
Resurrection, salvation. She has yet to understand what it truly meant, but she was pretty sure that what Yukihnau said would eventually come true.
What a burden to be placed on her child, she thought.
Author's Note:
Another chapter! Enjoy the story, and be prepared for a time jump!
Enjoy and review if you enjoy the story!
V.S.V