Chapter 2
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not own anything that apart of the Naruto universe. I have only borrowed names and places that purely belong to Kishimoto. Please enjoy this piece of fiction.
Temari returned to her room. She opened the file that she received from Kuuma and pulled out the enclosed sheets. Inside the folder were a list of rules, tips on desert survival, and profiles of the Kunoichis chosen by the council.
She read through each profile and recognized a couple of the names. Tominaga Tomiko was a recognizable name since there was a Tominaga who sat on the council. I can definitely see why she was chosen.
A couple others listed among the chosen were good Kunoichis, but they were better followers than leaders. Could the council be looking for Kunoichis who would be good followers? Those who could take orders well? Could they really be looking for someone they could control?
One of the profiles listed a Kunoichi from Mist. Why would she have been chosen? Temari could not see a Mist Kunoichi being someone who would blindly follow the council and do what they wanted. Who on the council would have chosen her?
Temari thought back to the many past council meetings and what they had discussed. After a moment or two, she remembered one of the council members bringing up trade negotiations with other villages. If the kunoichi from Mist won the trial, the council may be able to negotiate for better trade with them.
Were kunoichis from outside of Suna allowed to participate in the trials? The answer seemed obvious. She couldn't find anywhere in the rules that the Kunoichi needed be from Suna. What is the council up to? She thought to herself.
If the council was looking for someone they could control, then how could she stop this? Could this be the reason the council brought up the trials?
Temari decided to read through the rules again. The one who won the Trials would be given the title of Kazehime. In her opinion, none of the Kunoichis whom the council had chosen would be deserving of that title and none would be good enough for Gaara.
As she thought about this, she decided to start packing for her trip to Konoha. This would mark the fourth month in a row that Gaara would be making a trip there. What could be so important that Gaara needed to talk to Tsunade in person? He couldn't want to see Naruto that much. Then, she remembered the time when she sat in a meeting with Gaara and Tsunade about two months ago.
Sakura had barged into the meeting accidentally. She had wanted to turn in some medical reports to the Hokage. When she starting talking to Tsunade, Sakura noticed that she wasn't alone. She apologized to both Gaara and Temari for interrupting their meeting. When Gaara spoke up and told Sakura that it was "ok," Temari thought she saw the tip of her brother's ear turn bright red.
Temari wouldn't have noticed it if she hadn't been sitting so close to him. His hair covered most of his ears at that time. She also recalled another time she caught him trying to hide a blush on his face when Sakura was talking to him. Could Gaara be harboring a secret crush on Sakura? Could that be why Gaara wanted to go back to Konoha so much? And… could Sakura be the answer she was looking for?
Temari was starting to get a headache. Thinking about the trial was starting to become a pain and she still had so much to do. She decided to go to bed and think more about all these questions in the morning. Gaara would be waiting for answers and she needed to come up with something to tell him. Hopefully, she could come up with a solution by then.
When she woke up the next morning, she grabbed some clothes and entered her bathroom to take a shower. Once Temari was properly showered and dressed, she packed everything she needed for her trip to Konoha. She didn't know how long they would be staying.
But her eyes fell on the folder containing the information for the Trials. She gave a heavy sigh and started thinking about what she needed to do to save her brother from a possible unhappy outcome.
Temari figured she had better leave that kind of thinking until she had some food in her stomach. Even though she kept telling herself she wouldn't think about the trials until after breakfast, she couldn't help herself.
First, she thought of the different Kunoichis that the council had chosen. A good majority of them came from Suna. Not a big problem, but, one of the Kunoichis that was chosen was from Mist. So that meant that the Kunoichi did not necessarily have to be from Suna in order to participate. If that was the case, then why couldn't she, a member of council, choose someone? A certain kunoichi from a certain leaf village? One that her brother may or may not have a secret crush on?
She would have to keep a close eye on her brother when she was in Konoha. The next question was how she could get Sakura to agree to participate in the Trials. And how would she be able to do it without Gaara knowing.
She went downstairs and finally made herself some breakfast. As she ate her breakfast, Kankuro entered the room and told her that Gaara had gone to his office early. He wanted to get as much of his work done as he could before he left for Konoha. "Thanks for letting me know," Temari said.
Kankuro asked if she had found a solution to putting an end to the Trials. Temari shook her head and said, "no, but I may be coming up with a plan that will make Gaara happy and benefit Suna at the same time." She was not ready to confide in her brother about her suspicions regarding the council.
Temari finished her breakfast and said that she was going back to her room and work some more on planning for the Trials. She walked into her room and sat behind her desk. She put her chin in her hands and kept trying to think of a way she could get Sakura to participate in the trials.
What if she looked at this from a different perspective? The trial was going to need a medic. What if she requested to have Sakura come to Suna as a medic? She could spin it to the council that instead of disrupting the medics at the hospital, they could request Sakura's medic abilities for the trials. While Temari was in Konoha she could ask the Hokage to send Sakura to Suna to participate as a medic. Then once Sakura arrived, she could tell her that she was participating in the trials as a medic. Temari knew how formidable a Kunoichi Sakura was and trusted that she would win.
Now that Temari had somewhat of an idea of how to add Sakura as a participant, she just needed to work on planning the rest of the trials. She needed to take a break for now and would have to start on the rest when she got back from Konoha. Right now, she needed to go see the council.
When she entered the Kazekage office, she saw that Matsuri was there. They both said hello to each other and then Matsuri excused herself, telling Temari that she wanted to take some coffee to the Kazekage.
Temari was aware that Matsuri had feelings for Gaara, but she didn't know how her brother felt about the girl. She knew that one day Matsuri may have to accept the fact that Gaara may not return her feelings. The trials would probably prove that to her. When she was done contemplating, she made her way to the council chambers.
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Matsuri headed to Gaara's office with two cups of coffee that she wanted to share with him. She knew he needed a break and had hoped that this would be a great way for her to spend some quality time with him. She arrived at the door to his office and noticed it was partially opened. She overheard Kankuro talking to Gaara about Temari's plan for the Kazehime Trials.
What are the Kazehime Trials, Matsuri thought to herself? I wonder if there is information about the Kazehime Trials at the Suna library. While these questions were running through her mind she remembered she had hot coffee in her hands and didn't want it to get too cold, so she knocked on the door. Gaara called out "Enter." After entering Gaara's office, she handed him the coffee that she had brought for him. He looked up to her and said "thanks" and gave her a smile. She felt her cheeks heat up when he smiled at her.
"I hope the coffee is to your liking, Gaara," she said. Gaara just nodded his head and said, "It is fine. Is there anything that you needed Matsuri?" She shook her head, "I just thought you needed a break and would like something to drink."
While waiting for Gaara to dismiss her she thought back to the conversation she had just overheard. She wanted to get to the library and start doing research. So she decided instead of spending more time with Gaara she would give her coffee to Kankuro and then leave.
When she handed the coffee to Kankuro he winked and thanked her for the coffee. "If you don't need anything else I'll take my leave now," Matursi told both the men. She made a hasty bow and then left the room making her way to the library.
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Temari arrived outside of the council chamber doors and shored up her nerves in order to prepare herself for what she needed to say. She knocked twice and then entered the chambers.
The president of the council saw Temari enter and asked if she needed anything. She nodded and said, "Since the trials may be considered lengthy and we don't want to cause too much disruption to the Suna hospital, I request that we ask Konoha to send Hurano Sakura as a medic for the trials."
The council discussed Temari's request for a couple of minutes. When they were done talking to each other, the president turned to Temari and told her they approved of her idea. She had to quell her excitement over the council's decision. "Since Gaara and I will be going to Konoha in the next few days, I will ask the Hokage personally to allow Sakura to come to Suna," Temari informed them. The council was in full approval of this plan. She thanked them for their time and she left the chambers.
Temari couldn't believe how easily they had agreed to her request. She just hoped that Tsunade would agree just as easily. Temari decided to go visit Gaara next.
She arrived at Gaara's office in a matter of minutes. She knocked on his door and he told her to come in. Temari entered and sat down in front of his desk. Gaara looked up at her and asked if she had found a way to end the trials. Temari shook her head and said, "I think we should just go through with the trials. I have a plan in the works that may be able to benefit you and Suna at the same time. Just trust me Gaara. I think you will like the outcome."
Gaara was not so certain, but he trusted his sister and told her so. He then asked if she was ready to leave for Konoha. They would be leaving at sunrise tomorrow. She nodded her head and said she was ready. Gaara thought she looked excited and attributed it to the fact that she was going to see Nara. He just shook his head at her and went back to his work. Since Gaara had gone back to work, she took it as a dismissal and decided to go back home for lunch.
Temari spent the rest of the day at home doing some cleaning and making sure that Kankuro would have enough prepared dinners to heat up while they were away. When evening came, she got ready for bed and fell asleep thinking of her trip to Konoha. She couldn't wait to get there and to work on the second part of her plan.
Author Notes
Thanks everyone for the reviews. This is my first fanfiction and I am thankful for all and any feedback.
This is a WIP and so I may at times go back and edit previous chapters. I have edited chapter one. So you may want to go back to read it. I also ask that you be patient with me as you may not see updates on a weekly basis.
Concrit Thanks for your positive constructive criticism. I really do appreciate your honesty and will work to improve myself. I have already asked someone (who is not online) to look over this before I post, but I am interested in acquiring a beta. Please don't hesitate to keep challenging me to do better.
I am looking for a beta so if anyone is interested please PM me.