AN: Alright, sorry this took forever. This time it's midterms and projects and signing up for classes. Just 3 more weeks of school. 3 more weeks and then I'm onto my month long break! Give me strength. I'll try to update more. Trust me, I've had my sister and boyfriend hounding me every day about this. So, again, sorry it took so long. Also, 10,000+ views! BOO-YAH!
And to Thomas Drovin, Eh, no Sasuke won't show his ugly mug for a while… well at least a couple chapters.
And to Kazreil, I'm glad you find this so interesting. And yes, I try to delve into the pasts of each character as best I can. Some of them though, their story is mainly in the present or the future, so it just depends on each character.
And to seshoumaruluver1, I'm glad you liked it so much. Hopefully you will find this chapter to be equally enjoyable.
And to Gaaras1girl, Haha yes, Aleera really is legit! And yes, I had to have the Fan-Girl patrol. Someone has to be on it. He's the Kaze-freaking-kage. He can't focus on all his feminine fanatics 24-7 like they want. ^.^ I'm glad you liked it. Hopefully you like this one too, although it's a little more dramatic than the last one.
And to saBL, Yeah, Lynne did go emo. You would too if the man you loved and was hoping would be there for you isn't in your greatest hour of need. And sorry, I can't agree with the loving Sasuke bit, but yes he is a douche. And yes, there is another ass kicking in his future.
And to DantesFreezer, Haha, I could not agree more! But I don't have a gay friend. Could you stand in? Just Kidding! And Kankuro probably does have a Gaara puppet. I wouldn't put it past Gaara to give him one. ^.^
And I to my fav.+ and alerts+, Kaiti Loom, SilverStar56, and Sesshoumaruluver1. Thank you guys sooooo much!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters etc. You know the drill. Oh, and Kirigi belongs to Thomas Drovin, which I'm very grateful he's letting me use. Thanks a bunch!
Chapter Fifteen: The Future Kazekougou
Cordi had gotten back from her meal and said her goodbyes to everyone, well, everyone except Lynne. Rox, Ronni, and Fred had to leave as soon as they said their farewells to tend some more errands. So the Subakus and Cordi were left standing at the North Entrance, waiting for Lynne. They had waited about an hour and a half, due to Cordi's persistence. She couldn't leave without saying goodbye to Lynne, otherwise the guilt would eat at her the entire trip. Even though they were running late, neither Kankuro nor Gaara seemed too troubled by it. Kankuro was bouncing little Yukina in his arms, throwing her up into the air occasionally, making her giggle with delight. Gaara still seemed troubled and perplexed about something. Temari was the only one reminding their party of the time and that they should have left a while ago if they were going to reach the desert at a decent hour.
"Cordi, we need to go," Temari demanded, tapping her foot against the cobblestone road.
"Just another ten minutes," Cordi pleaded. I need to make sure Lynne is alright.
"You said that thirty minutes ago," Temari growled. Cordi looked at the eldest Subaku with a sad, pleading expression, only making Temari scowl more. "We can't waste anymore time. We have a meeting we need to go to."
Cordi could see Gaara instantly tense up, and Kankuro suddenly stopped playing with Yukina to eye Temari warily. "What? What's the meeting about?" Cordi asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
Temari bit her lip and looked down, embarrassed for letting that information slip at such a time. Gaara and Kankuro glared at their sister.
Kankuro then turned to Cordi, forcing a calming smile onto his face and replied, "Oh, nothing you need to worry about; jounin placement and the like." Cordi frowned at him, but nodded her head like she understood and wouldn't press it further. She didn't need any special training to know he was lying through his teeth. She was a big enough fan of the show that she knew a meeting about jounin placement wouldn't be right after they got back. Gaara would have to form the teams first, then they would discuss it in a meeting.
She turned away, still watching them in her peripheral vision, seeing Kankuro glare at Temari and mouth something along the lines, "Way to blow it, you idiot!" or, "I want a tomato sandwich!" She wasn't that great with peripheral lip reading.
But she did see Temari roll her eyes and mouth, "I'm sorry!" Cordi heard Temari let out a sigh muttering, "Geez." Something was up, something they weren't telling her
Suddenly, Cordi shifted her gaze over to Gaara. He seemed more distracted than he was before. Whatever they are discussing in that meeting, it's why Gaara hasn't wanted to talk to me for the past couple days. Then it dawned on her that most likely the reason Kankuro and Temari weren't going to tell her about it was because Gaara asked them not to... but why? Was he afraid of the way she'd handle the news? It had to be. Nothing else made sense. She was in their inner circle, and the Wind Country saw her as a powerful asset. They wouldn't hold something serious away from her, unless they knew she might react poorly to it.
"Anyway, we need to go," Temari stated after a couple of silent minutes. Cordi bit her lip before nodding and walking over to Aleera, who seemed to be ignoring the entire lot of them. It was obvious Aleera was still mad that she was being grounded during the trip.
They're hiding something from you, Aleera stated in almost a bored tone.
I know, Cordi replied, I don't like it.
You're supposed to? Aleera scoffed. Cordi lightly punched her, glaring at her scaly body.
Cordi was about to make a retort, until she heard, "You were going to leave without saying goodbye? I'm hurt!" She spun around to see Lynne, hair dyed black and cut short and wearing a chartreuse sweater. Neji stood a couple meters away, just basically guarding Lynne for some reason. Cordi didn't think twice about it.
"Lynne?" Cordi gasped, running over to one of her best friends, enveloping her in a hug. "What did you do to your hair?"
"What? Oh, yeah that," she chuckled, fingering her short strands of hair. "I dunno. I felt I needed a change." Cordi nodded and smiled, hugging her again. Lynne looked over Cordi's shoulder, feeling some powerful negative emotions, worry mostly. "What's wrong with them?" Lynne whispered, nodding her head over to the Sand siblings.
Cordi looked over then whispered to Lynne, "Actually, could you tell me? They won't say what's going on."
Lynne eyed Cordi weirdly then put her focus on the siblings. "Temari and Kankuro are worried about something, but I can't see it. They keep using vague pronouns, "Lynne explained quietly. Cordi furrowed her brow in confusion. Lynne frowned and added, "You know how they like to do in the comic and show. It's that day, that meeting, and that subject."
Cordi rolled her eyes. "Try Gaara," she offered.
Lynne scowled at the fire-user, muttering, "Bossy-much?" Cordi glowered until Lynne rolled her eyes and shifted her gaze to the Kazekage. "Alright," she started, only to be silent for a bit.
"What?" Cordi snapped.
"He's blocking me. Should have known he'd have some sort of training," Lynne stated.
"Well, what can you get? Any clues?" Cordi pestered, beginning to annoy Lynne.
Lynne frowned at Cordi before saying, "I'm not a magic eight-ball."
"You're my magic eight-ball for the moment," Cordi retorted.
"Try again later," Lynne replied, bored.
"Please?" Cordi begged.
Lynne turned to Cordi, sighed, and stated, "This is all I got. He's worried, extremely worried, about history repeating itself for some reason. He's ashamed to tell you about it and angry he's stuck in this predicament, but he doesn't say what. And he's scared he's out of time. Other than that, I've got nothing."
Cordi bit her lip, eyeing Gaara a little bit, thinking about what could be going through his head. For some reason, Ron's line in the fifth Harry Potter movie about emotions popped in her mind, to which Lynne laughed and said, "'Just because you've got emotional range of a teaspoon?'" Cordi chuckled, before eyeing Gaara, more worried now for his sake. "Look, whatever it is, it'll all be revealed soon during this meeting," Lynne explained, trying to cheer Cordi up.
"Tell me something I don't know," Cordi sighed. She turned to the spirit user, a pitiful half-hearted smile on her face. "Well thanks. I'll write and tell you what it's about."
Lynne smiled, and hugged her. "Thanks. I'll see you later."
"Yeah," Cordi sighed. "You take care of yourself."
Neji walked forward as Lynne nodded. "Don't worry, she will. I'll make sure of it," he stated, placing a hand on Lynne's shoulder. Cordi smiled and nodded, just before she ran back to Aleera.
"Now we can go," Cordi announced. Gaara wordlessly walked over to his oxen-pulled Kazekage carriage. Kankuro walked over to the carriage, carrying Yukina and handing her over to Gaara to ride with. Temari took the reins of the oxen as Kankuro took post behind the caravan next to Cordi, just in front of Aleera. "So," Cordi sighed as they started to leave, "when did you guys start using the actual Kazekage caravan?"
"After Yukina was born," Kankuro stated. "It's difficult to find a babysitter for her."
Cordi shot him a confused look. "Why is that? You'd think people would be clamoring just to babysit her, just because of her relatives," Cordi stated, obviously meaning Gaara.
Kankuro laughed before replying, "Well, originally yes. But she's a very picky girl. Apparently she's a terror to anyone she doesn't like, which is a lot of people. She's got a reputation, and even at the age of two, she's not afraid to uphold it."
"What do you mean?" Cordi asked. "She seems like an angel to me."
"She's only like that with four other people: Gaara, Temari, Fred, and me," Kankuro listed. "Otherwise she apparently scares the crap out of the babysitters by getting in places she shouldn't, like the weapons closet, which I don't understand because it's locked. She'll run off and play hide and seek, which she has gotten really good at. You have no idea how many times I've gotten called back to the house because the babysitter has lost her. And she's practically a genius when it comes to ninja puppeteering. She can cast up to three chakra strings already, which spells trouble for everyone else. If she doesn't like the food she's given, it normally ends up all over the person trying to feed her. And she sets traps to try and scare them. Like once she had a rubber snake sitting up somewhere and the babysitter walked by, making the snake leap onto her shoulder. We had to send that babysitter to the hospital because she had a panic attack. Yukina was laughing the entire time."
Cordi gaped at Kankuro. There was no way that the sweet little angel she had been living with the past couple weeks had done something like that. No words could get out of her mouth.
"Yeah, I know," Kankuro chuckled, "It doesn't seem like her, but hey, I guess she just likes us."
"Yeah," Cordi sighed, eyeing the carriage.
It had been a couple days since the Subakus had left, along with Cordi. Shikamaru had just met up with Rox for lunch, discussing wedding ideas, and most importantly, how they were going to break the news to his parents. They didn't worry about Rox's family because Cordi was basically it, and all of her friends already knew. But this left Shikamaru in a slight dilemma, since he saw his parents on a daily basis and had to pretend that nothing had changed. Shikamaru had gotten back to his house relatively quickly, within a couple minutes, but it felt as if hours had passed because of all the thoughts running through his head. Going home made him nervous, always worrying that something would give him away. He had been happier than usual the last couple days, but more jumpy around his parents. Although, jumpy for him was saying "hm?" too much, so maybe his parents hadn't noticed anything yet.
"Shikamaru," he heard his father call from behind him.
His shoulders jerked very slightly in surprise and let out a small, "Hm?" He mentally berated himself about his surprise. Shikamaru didn't turn to his father, just keeping his eyes on the wooden floorboards.
Shikaku placed a hand on his son's shoulder and sighed, "Let's take a walk." Shikamaru would have turned him down, but the way his father had offered it, the request sounded more like an order than a suggestion. So, Shikamaru followed his father out of the house, slightly peeved that he had to walk some more. It was all so troublesome.
"What's on your mind?" Shikaku asked as they walked onto the cobblestone street outside their house and down to the town's square.
"Nothing," Shikamaru lied, not looking at his dad. Acting as if nothing was wrong was way too troublesome than it was worth. He let the indifference ring through his voice, but his face said something completely different, which he knew his father would notice if he actually showed Shikaku his face.
"Liar," his father muttered under his breath, not even having to look at him. "You know, you can be so troublesome sometimes." Shikamaru frowned at his father's disapproval. He always did get along better with his father than he did with his mother. That's because his mother was a troublesome, xenophobic harpy that would tear him limb from limb for a toe being out of line. "I know it's something to do with Roxanne, which is why I didn't bring this up in front of your mother."
Shikamaru eyed Shikaku warily before nodding, wondering where his father was going to go with it. When his father said nothing, he asked, "What do you want to know?"
"Well," his father muttered, pursing his lips, obviously wondering how he was going to word the next sentence. Without missing a step in his pace, he scratched his beard and sighed, "I was wondering when you were going to tell us you were engaged."
Shikamaru stopped dead in his tracks. His parents knew? Then it hit him. Oh, God, my parents know! Shikaku stopped and looked at his son, a victorious smirk playing on his face. Shikamaru's eyes grew wide and his face paled with dread. "Mom…?" he asked, hoping to whatever higher power there was out there would save him from being eaten alive by his mother, as he knew would be the consequence for his action of getting engaged to a woman she hated.
"She doesn't know," Shikaku stated, crossing his arms, which completely contradicted the cheerful face he currently had. Shikamaru let out a breath of air he hadn't been aware that he was holding.
"Thanks," he muttered, looking down at his feet.
"But, I will say this," Shikaku began, "you will need to tell her, sooner rather than later." Shikamaru bit his lip and nodded. "I'm serious. She knows something is up, but I keep telling her it's nothing. She's beginning to catch on to me, and you."
"Alright, I'll talk to Rox about it," Shikamaru sighed.
Shikaku pursed his lips and nodded, before smiling. "That was all," he stated, walking past his son, back to the Nara house.
The walk to Sunagakure had taken forever. The three days this time seemed to have lasted an eternity. All because Gaara and Temari were abnormally quiet the entire walk. Kankuro would talk, but again, anything about Gaara brought up he would shut up like a clam. Yukina would talk too, but she spent the majority of the time in the Kazekage carriage napping. Aleera hadn't gone hunting in a couple days to stay with the group. She wasn't one for conversation at the moment, unless the person talking to her didn't mind being eaten.
The Sunagakure walls were such a soothing sight. Cordi had been pining for the Sand Village for days. The opening to the city held a very recognizable face.
"Baki," Temari smiled, walking up to their mentor and giving him a hug. He didn't look used to it, but he still patted her on the back.
Baki looked over Temari's shoulder, eyeing Cordi. "You're back," he sighed. Worry was etched on his face as he looked in between Cordi and Gaara, who was stepping out of his carriage, Yukina in his arms. "So, the rumors are true?" he asked, eyeing both of them.
Temari knew what he was referencing and replied, "Yes, they are dating."
Baki quickly turned to her, his eyes shooting back to Gaara every so often nervously. "The meeting …" he started. Temari just shrugged. "Will he be ready?" Temari shrugged again, and they turned to Gaara who nodded somberly.
Cordi eyed everyone confused, not noticing Kankuro walk up after taking Yukina from his brother's arms. He nudged her shoulder to get her attention and asked, "Hey, since we have this meeting, we were wondering if you could watch Yukina for us."
It took Cordi a little while to comprehend what he asked, but laughed and said, "Yeah, no problem. I can do that." Kankuro smiled and nodded, handing Yukina over to her.
"Alright, here are the keys to the house," Kankuro added, pulling the keys out of his pocket and handing them to her. "We need to go ahead to the meeting. So, we'll see you later." With that, Kankuro ran off to catch up with his siblings and mentor who had already begun to make their way to the Kazekage meeting.
Cordi stood there alone, letting out a small sigh as she adjusted Yukina's position on her hip. "Bye bye, Daddy," she heard Yukina say, waving one of her small hands off toward her family. Cordi nodded slowly, realizing she had just been somewhat abandoned for the day and begun to walk to the house, bouncing Yukina lightly.
Ugh, this sucks! Fred groaned, sitting on a rock in the woods.
Cherokee peered her head out from the trees surrounding the opening. Yeah, I haven't been getting that through your mental rants about Kankuro leaving for the past couple days, Cherokee groused through their mental bond.
Fred rolled her eyes at her dragon's response. Well, it does. There is nothing to do around here. Cordi's gone. Ronni's out with Kiba, apparently swooning over wedding venues. I'd hang out with Rox, but she's off doing something with Shikamaru.
What about Lynne? Cherokee inquired.
Who knows? Fred sighed. She's been held up in her apartment with Neji for a while. Ever since everything with Sasuke and the twins, she hasn't really come out for anything.
You just miss Kankuro, Cherokee laughed, her head disappearing from the trees. Fred heard Cherokee's heavy footsteps walking away from the clearing, off into the woods away from Fred.
"Maybe I do," Fred muttered to herself, pondering just how much that statement was probably true.
Cordi walked into the Kazekage building slowly. The Subakus had made it obvious they didn't want to be followed into their meeting. But they had also been extremely conspicuous about the meeting, making Cordi grow more curious and worried by the hour. She had created a shadow clone to watch Yukina as she took her nap, then snuck out. Her heels clicked with every step against the sandy stone floor. She slowly climbed the stairs up to the huge conference room. She had only been there once, and that was when she was slightly drunk and on her way up to the roof with Gaara. But she could still remember her way there.
As she finally reached the doors, she noticed a girl, maybe a couple years younger than her. She had to have been at least eighteen. The girl was sitting just outside the conference room, waiting for something. She looked nervous, but excited.
"Hello," Cordi offered quietly, taking a step toward her.
The girl looked up at Cordi, a smile appearing on her face. "Hi," she replied. Cordi wasn't one to make snap judgments about anyone, but she got a bad vibe from this girl. She had dark brown hair, fair skin, and light brown, almond shaped eyes. She was really pretty, but something in her eyes gave Cordi a malevolent feeling that she wasn't sure of. "Are you going into the meeting?" she asked, a fake smile playing on her face.
"No," Cordi replied, still trying to appear friendly. "No, I'm just waiting for a … a friend." She didn't feel as if this girl deserved the right to know that Cordi was currently dating the Kazekage, himself.
"Oh," the girl chuckled to herself. "I'm going in," she added snobbishly, more to herself, but it was apparent she wanted Cordi to hear her. Cordi shot her a questioning look. This girl honestly didn't seem as if she was anything important; so why did she get to go into the meeting, and Cordi wasn't allowed? The girl smiled and asked, "You're Cordi, right?" Cordi nodded, not saying anything. "Well, listen in. I don't mind. I'm sure they won't care either," the girl stated, shaking her head slightly with a smile on her face, something Cordi didn't like.
Against her better judgment, Cordi leaned toward the door just to hear. She had been curious about it for the past several days, and no one would answer. This was her chance to figure out what the heck was going on.
"So, Lord Gaara," one of the council members started, "we have a woman waiting outside. We have told you for the past several years if you did not find a bride and were married by your twenty-third birthday, which is in a little less than a month, we would find one for you." Cordi's breath caught in her throat, but she continued to listen. "Do you have any objections, so far?"
It was silent for a bit. Then Cordi caught the sound of a chair screeching and heard a woman say, "Please, give Gaara some more time. Surely you all appreciate the troubles and trials Gaara has already been through. Just give him some more time, and I'm sure we can find someone everyone is happy with."
"We gave him five years! He signed that contract that said once he was of legal age, he would take five years, if it was necessary, to find a wife. He has not," the previous councilman argued. "It was the same with your father. It's been a law since this country was created that the Kazekage was to be married by his twenty-third birthday. We have only had to find a bride for one Kazekage before, and that was your father. Maybe it runs in the family."
"Why, you…." the woman growled.
"Temari!" Gaara snapped.
"But …" Temari started, then quickly stopped, probably from a glare from her youngest brother.
It was silent for a bit before the councilman then asked, "Shall we bring her in?" It went silent again, but Cordi figured Gaara must have nodded or something along those lines. She heard several chairs scrape against the stone floor, then the tapping of shoes walking toward the door.
Cordi stood up, her face blank. She looked at the girl next to her who was smiling the biggest smile Cordi had ever seen, to the point that Cordi wanted to punch her in the face. The doors creaked open and her attention shifted to the door where Baki stood, shocked to see her standing there. "Cordi?" Baki muttered. "What are you doing here?" Cordi noticed over Baki's shoulder Gaara had heard him, and was looking directly at her. Shame and sadness was etched all over his face. Everything, all the clues Lynne had given her and even the vibes she had gotten from the girl and the Subakus, it all made sense now.
The rush of information made her stumble backwards a little before running off. She didn't know where she was going, she just had to get away.
AN: And everything blows up in their faces! Anyway, I hoped you guys liked the chapter. Please remember to review. ^.^