It's Worth The Troubles Chapter 7: A Past Forgotten, A Future Uncertain, a naruto fanfic

IT'S WORTH THE TROUBLES

By ardenilia

Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto-sensei owns Uzumaki Naruto & Company. I'm just an average teenager, trying to achieve great things as many as possible in life.

Author's Note: Before you guys start to read the chapter, I would like to give my deepest apologies to all my readers and especially reviewers for failed to update my story as frequently as possible. I don't wanna give excuses but, although I'm free from all the hassles of studying, I only got my own internet connection at home just this week. So, minna-san, gomen once again. Please don't shoot me in the head or try to rip my heart out just to know whether I'm lying or not. Apart from that, I had a discussion with my very trusted friend, Jewel Green (by the way, where are you dear?) and with her opinions and P.O.V, I decided to expand the storyline just a little bit more. Bwahaha… I kinda started to really love this fic and I'm glad that you guys do too. Well, please enjoy this chapter!

-- WARNING --

This chapter features sloppy action scenes, some crappy jokes, a very "warm" siblings union, some girl-talk, a few suggestions and a very brief history check.

Summary: Both of them did not expect this. More over Shikamaru. What's Temari gotta do? This one, not even Dai Kamaitachi No Jutsu could handle…

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Part 7 : A Past Long Forgotten, A Future Being Uncertain

The four nins continued their journey to finish the rest of half day's worth of traveling to Suna in the early morning light. From where they stood, they could see the end of the greenery area, leading to an opening of the dessert. Lee, Konohamaru and Tenten looked quite enthusiastic and maybe slightly relieved that they will be arriving at the village and be able to meet old acquaintances like the Kazekage and his older brother, Kankurou. They weren't really the best of buddies, not in Lee and Gaara's case however, but you could say that they have been supporting each other's back in terms of diplomatic, security and inter-village political matters ever since the alliance between Konoha and Suna was re-established.

Temari, on the other hand couldn't wash away the nagging feeling inside her heart. Absorbing her surroundings, then she realized that the atmosphere was awkwardly quiet. Too quiet to be normal.

'Something's up.' Her heart cried, as one of her hands moved to her holster. Her heart pounded alarmingly in her ribcage.

"Lee-sensei, how long are we gonna arrive at Suna, huh?" Konohamaru asked, breaking the silence, oblivious to Temari's predicament since she had been moving behind them.

"If my calculation is correct Konohamaru-kun, the latest would be by late afternoon. If we keep this speed up, we could even make it for lunch" Lee replied with a thumbs-up gesture, earning a grin and a shook from his brunette colleague.

"Is eat the only thing the two of you could think of, Lee?" Tenten let out a small laugh. But soon she became conscious of Temari's withdrawal from the conversation.

"Temari…are you alright?"

"Huh? What? You said something Tenten?"

"Yeah, are you alright? I mean, is there something wrong?"

"I just felt…that something's not right. Do you feel like there's someone else besides us?"

"WHAT!" Tenten shrieked, her hands subconsciously grabbed a kunai from her weapons pack.

"Shh…"

"Oh sorry. I was too busy looking out for these guys…" Tenten said, pointing towards both of their teammates upfront. From the corners of her eyes, Temari swore she caught a glimpse of a thin string laid on the ground.

'Oh shit!' She cursed silently as she discovered there were actually several more ahead. Konohamaru and Lee were too focused on moving that they couldn't see the slightly invisible strings.

"Konohamaru, Lee watch yo…" Was all she could managed to say before a large number of handle-less kunais flew straight to the dark-haired Chuunin and Jounin. On impulse, Temari spread the Kyodai Sensu widely, aiming straight to her teammates.

"Dai Kamaitachi No Jutsu!"

A strong gust of cyclone-like wind wiped away the projectiles, cutting some of the nearby trees in the process. Thankfully, she could control her level of damage to prevent injuries to her comrades.

"I'm sorry, minna. Are you alright?" Temari asked as she planted her fan to the earth.

"What was that?" Konohamaru asked, blinking away some dirt from his eyes.

Lee gritted his teeth. "It's a trap"

Suddenly, five figures fully clad in all blacks appeared from the nearby shrubs, throwing several kunais and shurikens to the unsuspecting nins, and one of the assailants was aiming straight for Temari.

Temari was caught off guard as a very sharp kunai pierced through her hands, knocking her metal fan to the ground. As she tried to pick it up, a shadow loomed above her. One of the unidentified ninjas was ready to stab her in her bending position.

'Oh God, I'm not gonna make it in time!' Her heart cried as she tried to reach for her weapons holster instead. At that moment, the sound of clashing metals brought her head upwards only to see that her attacker was now pushed back, with a few kunais stuck at his chest and abdomen.

"That was sneaky, you bastard" Tenten sneered, her hands held a few shuriken and kunais from her pack and her weapons summoning scroll ready to be spread wide. "Try that again and I swear that this 'baby'…" she said, as she spread the scroll. "…gonna stuck other horrifying 'things' to your head after this"

The man cowered in fear, but he managed to stand up albeit hardly to take cover by siding with two of his comrades, who were having quite a rough time with the Taijutsu master and his student. The other one, who was obviously the leader, gave a signal and the rest of them nodded. As they began to take flight, each one of them put several pieces of small square-shaped papers on the nearest tree they could reach in time. The pale yellow-like papers seemed to bear the kanji of…no doubt…

KIBAKU FUDA!

"Everyone take cover!" Lee warned the rest of the team to shelter themselves while they still can.

A loud explosion boomed throughout the forest. Lee managed to drag Konohamaru down with him to the ground while Tenten and Temari were unfortunately thrown back several meters due to the impact. Luckily, Temari managed to use her fan to create a small blast of air and assimilated her chakra to mete out most of the possible perils.

Lee quickly picked himself up to ran after their assailants, but to no avail, as soon as the dust and smoke cleared, all that was revealed was remnants of blown-up trees and scattered rocks, soils and discarded weapons.

"Bastards! I swear if I ever see them again, they're not gonna live another day to regret!" Konohamaru exclaimed with his hands formed into tight fists. Fury palpable in his coal-black orbs.

Tenten picked herself up from the ground. Lee dashed to help her but when she turned her head around, she saw Temari lying face down, motionless on the dirt. "Lee…don't mind me. Help Temari…please"

Lee, with haste made his way to kneel beside the former sand kunoichi. His hands trembled of fear…

"Temari-san…"

…fear of losing a comrade…no, it's impossible…Temari-san is a strong woman. She couldn't easily…

On that moment, Temari's body jerked up, supported by her two now bleeding hands.

"That son of a bitch! HE CUT MY ARM!" She screamed when she looked at her injured limbs. "I swear, when I found him I'm gonna rip his chest open and feed his guts to the dogs and I…"

Three pairs of eyes were fixed at her, all with the same expression.

"And I…" She trailed on and just realized that she had quite embarrassed herself in front of her teammates by screaming like a raving lunatic over some several small cuts.

"And I…think I'm okay now, minna-san. How about you guys?" She came out with a very perfect 'instant' smile when she stood up on her slightly wobbly legs.

"We're glad that you're okay, Temari-san" Konohamaru piped in, switching into a better mode than before, although he was quite unconvinced with Temari's statement. Well, who doesn't with all the blood on her hands, a few fresh cuts on her neck and several on the skin that was slightly exposed by her kimono top AND with a very thin but long gash on her left jaw?

'If Temari-san would go berserk just by the cuts on her hands, I don't think I wanna know what would happened if she found out about the cut on her face!' Konohamaru mulled over wordlessly to himself. He might not be the smartest one in the bunch, but he wasn't stupid enough to understand that women EXTREMELY care about their face.

In contrast, Lee wore a gloomy expression. His head hung low in disappointment. "Gomen nasai, minna-san. I was careless. I should've been more aware of our surroundings"

"Lee-san" Temari said, as she picked the Kyodai Sensu off the soil. "It's not your fault or anybody's fault. Hey, we're all still in one piece" She grinned amusingly, albeit cringing slightly due to the cut while Tenten butted in. "I know this is not a good time to laugh, but cheer up Lee"

The edges of his lips curved into a relieved smile. "But, you really got me freaked out back there, Temari-san. How am I going to my show my face in front of the Kazekage if anything DID happen to you?"

"That depends if you have a will written out already or not"

They all broke into a small laugh, enjoying a diminutive flicker of amusement. Despite all the pressure and intense atmosphere just now, they could still find comfort within the presence of the team members.

"But you know…" Temari said when the laughter subsided. Konohamaru, Tenten and Lee turned their head towards her direction.

"I believed that there's someone who doesn't want us to arrive at Suna in one piece" Her voice sounded bitter and her eyes reflected the color of the desert. And they realized that they actually had reached the end of the forest, as a wide mass of sand become discernible in front of them.

"And I swear this is gonna be a long ride" She whispered low, inaudible to the others, but still cringing her face. 'Ouch, did I break a jaw or something?', she asked to herself.

So, they continued on with the rest of their journey, being more cautious than before.

"Lee-sensei, do you bet we could make it to lunch?"

"I bet we will, Konohamaru" Lee grinned giving the rest a 'nice-guy' pose.

A sweat drop formed on Tenten's forehead. "You guys…"

It was around half past two when the group arrived at Sunagakure No Sato. They cut through the streets of sand and wind; enquiring yet warm smiles from the townsfolk greeted them in return. It's not everyday you have ninjas from a neighboring country came to the village looking all geared up for an official assignation.

"Temari…" A fruity yet low voice spoke up from the clouds of flying sands in front of where they stood.

"What the…." As if in cue, a figure clad in a perceptibly familiar black training gear appeared, with several scrolls hung tightly at his sides and the most memorable intricate designs of face paint appeared.

"Kankurou…?"

"Temari? You…you looked fat!" Her brother shouted, pointing a finger at her. All the same with amusement portrayed on his sneering face.

"Oh, shut up. Is this the way to welcome your guests?" She smirked, although the notion of hitting him hard on the head with her metal companion seems tempting enough.

"Itei-…" The brunette puppeteer yelped in surprise as someone pulled at his painted face. "What was that for!"

Well, no need to do that anymore since it seems that Temari had someone else to do the job.

"Okaeri nasai, Temari-nee-chan." A fair, beautiful girl with locks of chestnut-colored hair framing her heart-shaped face stepped forward from behind Kankurou. Hands evident that the girl had been the one pinching her brother's cheek before.

"Tadaima…Mina-chan" A warm, genuine smile etched upon her face as she looked at her sister-in-law.

'Ahh…' Temari sighed in contentment. It really felt so nice to be back home, where you originally belong.

At the same time, at the Administration Building………

"Kazekage-sama, there's no concrete reason why you should be doubtful of your own council. We, as your advisors have pledged our loyalty in your disposal" Baki's calm yet low tone broke the silence in the meeting court. The atmosphere was a mix of worries, doubts and maybe, a little bit of suspicion in the air.

The 25 year old red-haired Suna shinobi stared into deep space. His hand placed under his chin, as his elbow was rooted firmly on the wooden table. The dark circles around his eyes that were long gone after his "death" at the hands of the Akatsuki had reappeared. It appears that he had been through a few sleepless nights, concerning the matter at hand.

He could not take chances. He knew that there's something amiss with the current politics situation. Just last week he received several reports claiming that there was a protest at the west end of Suna and two days later at a small craftsmen village not very far from the former occurrence. He knew that no sane people would dare to challenge his authority as the Kazekage, but there's certainly a bunch of merry men out to get him and strike at any chance given. And exactly for any reason, at all.

"Such rebellious actions must be caused by a reason and I need to know why. This problem must be settled before it affects the stability of the village" Gaara voiced out his concern, eyes guardedly fixed on each of his council's members as they tried really hard to pick out the right words to say, in fear of provoking the former Bijuu container.

Matsumoto, a man of his early 40's yet looked wiser than his age cleared his throat, having the attention of his peers. "I'm not sure if this information is strongly valid, Kazekage-sama, but a trustable informant reported that there's a rumor lingering around saying that Suna prefers having almost 70 of our economic sector been spent on the goods from Konoha and Iwa. That had somehow evoked the villagers to go out in distrust to the council, claiming that we are playing favorites with our alliances and not exactly helping to help our economic growth. Besides, imported goods can only mean higher tax rate"

Gaara had his hands clasped together to support his face, his eyelids stood low, revealing half of his somewhat tired light green eyes. "Even if the rumor claimed to be true Matsumoto-san, there's a logical explanation for that. Our village's industrial situation has not exactly achieved a satisfying level. It's totally obvious that I'm providing them time, space and finance for them to work on the maturity of their production status until they were ready for us to release into the inter-village transaction" He clarified the situation in a very long sentence, much to the surprise of everyone in presence. It was really awkward when for the first time in history; Sabaku No Gaara had spoken more than two sentences in one time.

Thankfully his former sensei, Baki voluntary decided to summarize his statement in one simple conclusion. "I agree with Gaara-sama. For the mean time, if they don't get their butts off doing such useless antiques and started to really put their heads and hands into work, they aren't going to get anything profitable" The old Jounin with half of his face covered in white cloth looked at Gaara, searching for signs of approval. He released a sigh of relief as he realized that Gaara seems okay with it.

But suddenly, a notion hit him in his mind.

"Gaara-sama, don't you think that it was quite suspicious that such well-kept and discreet information had been leaked out to our citizens?"

"That is what I've been trying to tell you. Such things would not happen if it weren't for the work from the inside" There was a slight pause in his tone with a 'I-told-you-so' expression on his handsome yet vaguely worn out face. "What do you think Haruka-san?" He directed his gaze to the person next to his right, at the opposite of Baki.

The said man leant back on his seat, hands propped casually on the armrest. His beatific, well-sculpted face shone with an indescribable facade as his thin lips tightened into a knowing smile. "I'm honored that my opinion is considered in this situation Gaara-sama. I hope I won't disappoint you" His whispery-like voice responded to their leader's query with a very confident tone.

Baki couldn't help but feel unease and disgusted at the man in front of him. He knew he couldn't ignore the feeling that Haruka was not someone who you could really trust at the first place. Despite the well-groomed and charming demeanor (to most female population in Suna and neighboring villages), there's this impression that screams of vengeance and insatiable desire for power. It is so obvious that he is trying to get on Gaara's good side to his advantage. Baki is very suspicious indeed. Well, who doesn't if that person happened to be 'missing' or in his words, run away during the war between Konoha, Oto and Suna back when the Godaime Kazekage's first S-Rank mission is in disguise of a Chuunin exam.

Haruka was originally the Yondaime Kazekage's most trusted official or in other words apprentice. For a bratty teenager, he seemed to have the wisdom of a grown up, earning him respect and trust by the Yondaime. Back in the old days when Baki was still the teacher of the Yondaime's children namely Gaara, Kankurou and Temari, Haruka had become the favorite of the Sand Siblings' father. Much to his students' disappointment, you could say that the Yondaime Kazekage preferred Haruka more than his own children. While his children were sent off to the ninja academy so they could become useful pawns in his domination games, Haruka was treated like his own son, living a very lavish life, educated with the rules of the game so that one day he would succeed the throne of the Kage. If there's another person who is not that terrified with Gaara, it would be Haruka since he knew he has the upper hand in terms of authority and position.

Unfortunately, the Yondaime Kazekage was murdered by the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru during his journey to Konoha, a few days before the plan of invasion was supposed to be kicking off. And his body or what was left of it was discovered by Baki. So much to his surprise, Haruka's cadaver was nowhere to be found and ever since, he was reported missing.

After 4 years of disappearance, Haruka came back from his so-called "salvation" in Takigakure a year after Gaara hold the title of Kazekage, claiming that he returned to give his support and "experience" to Gaara and Suna in general.

Auspiciously the former atrocious, blood-thirsty young shinobi had learnt to tone down his madness and learnt to trust and accept people around him after his one-on-one encounter with the current Rokudaime Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto sometime 13 years ago. Sorry to say, it seems that his trust had been put on one of the most "untrustworthy" person of all. How ironic can it be?

Baki doesn't know what Gaara's state is in this matter. Hell, until now he never succeeded in understanding what is really going on in the young Kazekage's mind. He couldn't discern what 'poison' that Haruka had put into Gaara to make him trust almost every one of his words.

He could only hope that Gaara's vision would not be clouded with such false charades and he believed that his ex-student would make the best judgment in every situation. But one couldn't be too hopeful. He just hoped that the rat Haruka isn't planning anything behind their backs.

"You looked preoccupied, Baki-san. Is anything amiss?" Haruka's voice broke him from his musings. All different ten pairs of eyes were now fixed at him, causing him to waver a little bit.

'Damn it. That slithering snake' Baki cursed silently, he bared his teeth in aggravation.

Smirking in satisfaction, Haruka continued in presenting his words. "As I was saying that in this situation, we shouldn't lose trust with our own people. If the internal structure is collapsing, then all the more for the 'outsiders' to take this village down. If our political formation is in shambles, then all the more reason for our alliances to take advantage of this situation"

Baki snapped in disagreement. "Are you implying that our alliances, or as you acclaimed the 'outsiders' such as Konoha and Iwa are not reliable?"

Haruka derided Baki's statement boorishly, running one hand through the side of his head hidden under the head cover. His sharp wine-colored eyes stared back with the same intensity as Baki's. "I'm not saying that Konoha and Iwa are not reliable. I was merely stating the fact that we cannot be TOO trusting on others. Surely you could understand this more than I do, Gaara-sama?"

Baki's patience had reached its limit. "Are you saying about them or are you saying about yourself!"

"That's enough you two!" Gaara's loud voice echoed throughout the conference room, stirring the walls a bit in the process. His two most trusted advisors were glaring daggers with the same force that could be enough to light the streets of Suna for a week. The tension in the room has nearly reached its peak, and it could burst at any given time.

Luckily, Baki chose a smarter way to deal with the situation due to a decade of experience in training the young Godaime.

"My apologies, Gaara-sama" Baki's head stood low for he was ashamed to be seen in such weak state in front of his peers and most importantly Gaara. And certainly not in front of that sly and twisted snake that you want to call a comrade.

"This is a very un-professional way to handle important matters. Baki-san, Haruka-san, I understand your concern for the safety of the village but, this is not the time to complicate things further by questioning each other's reliability" Gaara's tone had become calmer and yet still firm. Disappointment unmistakably written on his pale face.

"I think the meeting should be adjourned, but before I do, I'd like to ask a favor from the council…By all means, please be more supportive and professional during our meeting tomorrow, since I do not need to remind you that we will be having a few reps from Konoha with us tomorrow"

"So, I assumed that Kazekage-sama is in a meeting right now?" Lee asked Kankurou while they were lounging in the quite large living room at the mansion. The sand dweller just shrugged in return, before turning his head towards the Konoha Green Beast.

"He should be finishing soon"

"And I thought that you are one of his council members?"

"Yeah, I am. But I don't really want to be there. Kinda 'disturbing', if you have to deal with a few thick-headed numbskulls"

Lee laughed in response. "Would that be including your brother?"

"Whoa…whoa…I never said that. Hey, you want some sake?" Kankurou asked while he stood up to make his way to a wooden cabinet, filled with lots of bottles with brands that he himself couldn't pronounce without twisting his tongue.

A chorus of 'NO!' was heard behind him.

As he turned around, he couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Tenten, crossing both of her arms in an X, Konohamaru holding his hands together like a pray while his sister stood rigid with her hands planted firmly on her slim wai-….no, no,no. Make that slightly not-that-slim waist. "God, Temari, what have you been doing all of these years?" He asked nonchalantly at his sister, his eyes squinted with amusement.

"What!"

"Seriously sis, you need to lose some weight"

"Oh, what's it to you!"

"You really need to watch your figure, if you don't want to lose your man"

Temari's mouth gaped open in disbelief. How dare he? That nerve!

"You're not looking so better yourself!" She darted back in return, although she knew that there wasn't any single truth in her statement, because it is clearly visible that Kankurou looked way much better when they were used to be teenagers. The plump boy had grown into a very well-built man, rugged looks and inches taller than her. Temari hated to say this, but he is an exact carbon copy of their late father.

"Admit it Temari, I looked good and you know it" He beamed mockingly at his sister, revealing those dazzling white pearls.

"You're unbelievable, spoilt brat!"

"And I learnt it from the best" Kankurou laughed, fueling more of her anger. "Hey Lee, you sure you don't wanna have a drink or two?" He completely ignored the ringing voice and turned his back at the fuming statue of a certain blonde hair kunoichi, her hands set to beat her 'loving' brother into a bloody pulp.

Lee waved his hand in a declining manner. "Sorry, Kankurou-san. I really have to pass. I don't want to put you into trouble. And I think you should turn around now, Temari-san's really pissed off"

Kankurou quickly turned around in time for his face to meet with Temari's knuckles.

"AWWW!" He screamed in pure agony as her fist did a great job in inflicting a week's worth of pain. "What was that for!" He bellowed in disbelief at his obviously enraged sister, his left hand in a swift went to cover his yet swollen cheek while his other hand luckily stopped another one of Temari's fist just in the nick of time before it landed on his other body parts.

"That's for telling me that I'm FAT!"

"Aww….C'mon. Where's your sense of humor, sis?"

"Put some ice on that, BRO. That is gonna hurt for a while" She petted her brother's cheek none too gently, educing a painful moan from the brown-haired Jounin.

"It goes the same to you too. You've got one nasty gash on your left jaw. Ooh…that is gonna hurt for a while" Kankurou said, giving her back her last sentence.

"WHAT!"

The room went into utter chaos with Kankurou trying to nurse his cheek, Temari hollering in front of hanging mirror with Tenten trying to comfort her with a packet of ice in her hands. Konohamaru and Lee sat in a similar Indian-style on the couch, sighing for the umpteenth time. Really, the Sabakunos are a very 'happy' bunch indeed.

Minako emerged from behind a big door, looking extremely surprised upon the situation. Just as she was about to ask what happened, she realized that another figure just walked in to the room from the main hallway.

She smiled at the person while bowing slightly in respect. "Okaeri-nasai, Gaara-sama"

"Tadaima, nee-chan. Am I missing something?"

Minako could only shrug her shoulders in return, with a feeble grin on her face.

Temari threw herself onto the four post bed, gently caressing the purple satin sheet as her body bounced back gently. She just got out from a very invigorating hot shower, clad in a simple white yukata. Her golden tresses scattered unevenly on the soft, lumpy surface as she stared at the ceiling above her. Her senses promptly picked up the scents of lavender and she turned to lie on her sides, catching the sight of the freshly picked purple flower in a crystal vase on top of the night stand.

It was really nice of her sister-in-law to prepare her room like she usually does. How long has it been since she last came to this room? Oh yeah, almost four months now, and it was during Kankurou and Minako's wedding. And this room always managed to get Shikamaru "in the mood" for some serious loving, all night long until the break of early dawn. Because of that, there's one time when they "accidentally" woke up extremely late the next day only to get teased by Kankurou, Kiba and the gang of who are exactly the newlyweds in that place that time? Thank God that Naruto wasn't there, if not, they would never hear the last of it.

A loud knock at her bedroom door broke her from her stupor.

"Yes?"

"It's me…-" The door opened to reveal the all familiar sweet face of Minako, holding a tray in her hands. "I just got back from our guests' rooms, to see if they need anything. That's why I came here"

The fan wielder patted on a spot beside her. "Come on in, Mina-chan. Have a seat"

Minako stepped into the room, her movements graceful while she placed the silverware on a nearby dressing table. The young lady smoothen her soft powder blue kimono before she settled herself beside the older woman.

"I brought some ice with me, in case you need them to cool down the wounds a little bit. And, also some bandages too"

"Thanks. I'll bet they're gonna be swollen for the next few days, but, hey, I've suffered through much worst situation. I couldn't understand what drove me into the brink of 'insanity' just because of some minor cuts and bruises"

"Are you sure? I swear you looked really hurt back then. If it's because of Kankurou, I'm really sorry for his behalf"

"No, it's not because of him. It's just something that he said" She drawled unconsciously.

"You really need to watch your figure, if you don't want to lose your man"

"Nee-chan?"

"What? Oh…nah, it's just nothing. Don't worry so much" Temari laughed the notion off before it led to some painful reminiscence. "By the way, how's everyone in Suna?"

"We're doing great, so far. But, I think something's bothering Gaara-sama. Some political stuffs or something like that"

"I could see that, he completely zoned out while we're in the middle of dinner."

"Or, maybe he just got the pre-wedding jitters. Yup, that's a possibility" Temari could imagined that there was a small light bulb blinked with a thinking balloon popped out of nowhere with 'WOMEN'S INTUITION' written all over it on top of the young girl's head.

"You think so?" 'Oh, great. Now, I'm imagining things'

"The wedding's only one month away"

"Wow, I still can't believe that our baby brother's getting married. So, have you seen the bride?"

"I only met Aina-san twice. I usually missed her when she came here to pay Gaara-sama a visit. She's really beautiful, polite and very soft-spoken. I guess her upbringing as a daimyo's daughter shaped the way she carries herself"

"A daimyo's daughter, huh?" Temari let out a small whistle. "So, how did Gaara met her?"

"It was an alliance proposed by the Tsuchikage to strengthen the already severe tie between Iwa and Suna. So, basically one of the daimyos offered his daughter's hand in marriage to Gaara-sama"

"A marriage of convenience. Poor Gaara. But I thought that he should be hating Iwa since he was once kidnapped by one of their missing nins, who was that weirdo? Deidre…Dedra-or something?"

"He should but from what I heard, wasn't his accomplice used to be one of Suna's talented shinobi, Akasuna No Sasori? Does that mean he should be hating our own village too?"

"Yeah…I forgotten about that. That bastard who almost killed your yet-to-be husband"

"Please don't remind me of that" Minako's lips formed into small pout as Temari laughed heartily upon her remark.

"Anyway nee-chan, how about Konoha? How's Kusanagi-chan and Hikaru-chan doing?"

"They're great too, everyone's great"

"How about Shikamaru-san?"

"What about him?"

"…"

"Probably much better now after I left"

"You made it sounded like he hates your presence"

Temari looked away in hopes to conceal her true feelings from the other woman in the room, igniting a very quizzical emotion from the perceptive daughter of the former Sabakuno family doctor.

"-…sorry, nee-chan. I didn't mean for it to sound that way"

"Nah…you're probably right anyway. We just had a small misunderstanding, and we believe that the distance would do us some good"

There was a good silent pause in the conversation, before Minako patted Temari's shoulder gently.

"I hoped that everything would be alright again when you go back to Konoha"

"I really don't know what to feel" 'I highly doubt that it would be that easy, Mina-chan'

Minako's dark brown irises stared back at the eldest sibling of the Sabakuno family. When she took in the blonde's profile in her gaze, somehow she had a very worrying feeling tugging at the edges of her heart. Something is totally bothering her sister-in-law. Well, everyone in the household is troubled by something. Gaara-sama is really disturbed by the current situation in his office while her own husband had been dissatisfied with the fact that his little brother is 'going weak' and his big sister almost succeeded in dislocating his jaw bones the first time they met after a few months.

"Ooh…That's REALLY gonna hurt, anata" Her eyebrows furrowed as she examined the bluish spot on her husband's left cheek. Her dainty fingers tried to caress the blotch, but accidentally jabbed it when Kankurou tried to lean in for a quick kiss.

"AWWW!"

"Sorry. You just can't sit still for a while, can't you? Besides, who told you to push nee-chan's buttons at the first place?"

"Mina, you know how we function, right? We're used to get on each other's nerve ever since the day we were born. But I just can't believe that she could get all touchy because of a small harmless joke"

"In any ways, you shouldn't be doing it again"

"Okay, alright. It's not my fault if it's her 'time-of-the-month'!" Kankurou raised his arms, signaling his defeat. Really, his wife could be really stubborn when she wanted to be. Heck, that was one of the few reasons why he married her at the first place.

Minako rolled her eyes in absolute hopelessness. Kankurou could be such a pain in the neck sometimes. From the first moment they met, she believed that he was the most arrogant, self-conceited, pampered brat she ever met. Goodness! And now she couldn't find herself waking up one morning without him by her side.

"I've never seen Gaara so distressed before. I've been there when he used to go berserk and ran on a killing spree, but, this is actually 'worst' than that. Just plain weird"

Under his tough, loud façade, deep inside Kankurou cared a lot for his siblings. After all, they're what each other had.

"Nee-chan, I think I'll better let you rest for the night" Minako stood up to take her leave.

"Thanks a lot, Mina-chan. It's just so nice to be able to talk with another woman in the family" Temari posed a momentary look to the respective girl, while propping the pillows on her bed. 'I'm really grateful, Mina'

"Hey, that's what sisters are for. Anyway, if you feel like you need to talk about anything at all, you know you can count on me"

The door closed with a soft thud.

The evening cruised into midnight, and most of the occupants in the household were sound asleep. But there are some who couldn't even close their eyes throughout the night. Two siblings, to be exact. One is uptight of her future while the other is disturbed by his present.

The next day, after a hearty breakfast and reviving morning exercise, Rock Lee decided that Temari should be the one representing Konoha in the official court while the rest of the team will travel to the west province of Suna, to gather information and investigate. After having the approval by the young Kage, Lee, Konohamaru and Tenten set off after promising to Temari that they will be back later in the afternoon. Kankurou walked up to her sister, and casually asked her "When are you going to tell me about the ambush yesterday?" He stretched out a little bit before resting his lean body against the mansion's humongous pillar. From the corners of his eyes, he saw Temari's metal fan perched near his sister's feet.

"What? I… don't know what you're talking about" The kunoichi stuttered, as she struggled to avoid answering the unexpected question from the puppeteer shinobi.

"Mina found out about it from that little pip squeak of your team"

"Konohamaru? Oh that brat, I'm really gonna kill him for sure!"

"Nah…he's already scared out of his wits when I asked him about that last night. But, anyway that's not the point here, what I really want to know is, does Gaara knows about this?"

"Kankurou, I don't want to upset him more with a small news of us being attacked. They might just be missing nins or wandering bandits. Just some lowly trash"

He crossed his arms in a reserved manner. "Yeah, but that lowly trash 'trashed' you guys real good. Besides, those type of scum, as lowly they may seem, they would still be wearing their forehead protector. Judging from the kid's descriptions, your goons seemed too 'groomed' don't cha think?"

Temari tried to digest his statement, before urging him to continue. "So, one of the logical possibilities is that someone paid them to attack us. What benefit would this person gets if we got killed or injured and what is his motive?"

"Exactly. And, Gaara's currently torn between trusting his own council or our alliances right now"

"Or, he couldn't trust both"

"What? What makes you say that?"

"Really, Kankurou. How many times have I told you about 'sharpening your kama at sunset'?You should be honing your political analysis or the very least, your BRAIN"

Kankurou scoffed at her. "Cut to the chase, Ms Brilliant"

"Listen, twerp. If our alliance, namely Iwa, because Konoha is certainly out of the case here, wants to disrupt Suna, they certainly been having someone from the inside that's helping them. If not, how on earth did they ever found out about us getting here? Correct?"

"Yeah, your exactly right" Kankurou nodded keenly, once the facts set in. "I need to tell Baki about this. Boy, this could proved his expectations right"

"Prove Sensei's right about what?"

"Apparently, Baki had been contemplating upon his suspicions of a fellow council member. No one knows this except me and him-" He looked at Temari. "-and you. That explains why the council had been undergoing some minor crisis and it seemed to be too much for Gaara to handle, although he won't admit it, Tem. Besides, I need to tell Baki to place some of our ANBUs to patrol the concerned areas. We can't take chances of civilians getting hurt"

"Hey, is he the big, burly looking guy with bushy beard?"

"That council member? Heck no!" He sighed languidly. "You'll find out soon enough, I'm not gonna tell you" With that, Kankurou turned on his heels and walked towards the gate.

"What are you hiding?" She asked as she bent down to pick up the Kyodai Sensu.

"Come on. We need to get to the office. Gaara expects us to be there right now"

"I'm not finished with you yet. Why do the men that I knew keep running away and hiding something from me!" Kankurou turned his head around and shrugged. "What did I do?"

"Aargh! Never mind"

"Relax, sis. Stop acting like your ass is on fire. By the way, I'm still pissed off with yesterday" He bit his tongue. 'Oh shit'

"Kan-Ku-Rou. Better run"

And he doesn't need to turn around to see that Temari had her fan spread wide, face contorted with anger and wrath, hot on his trail. He put his agility to the test by disappearing into a cloud of smoke. An angry Temari's wrath is enough to make ten demons pledge into sainthood. And Lord, have mercy on the people of Suna. For Kankurou had awakened a 'monster' to 'terrorize' the citizens today. Even Sabaku No Gaara couldn't help him with this one.

During the meeting, much to Gaara's delight everything was in the way they should be. His subordinates acting professionally, discussing in a much calmer ambiance compared to yesterday. Having Temari and Kankurou's presence had actually helped him in having a cool and composed feeling. Perhaps, he refused to be seen as susceptible in front of his siblings.

A big, burly man with a bushy beard that goes by the name Keishijiro gave Temari a warm, fatherly smile. "Temari-san, we're very honored that you could be with here today" She blinked her eyes surprisingly at his greeting. "Thank you…er…" She bit her lips, trying to recall the man's name. "Keishijiro-san. I'm quite happy to be back in Suna myself. Besides, Konoha will always give our support to Suna" She laughed silently to herself. 'Pheww! What a close call'

The lips of one certain man cringed when she mentioned the word 'our'. 'So, you really enjoyed living in another village huh, princess?' He muttered wordlessly. He was actually surprised to see that the rep from Konoha is none other than the sister of the Kazekage.

His eyes never left the perfect image of the former Suna's most precious kunoichi. His last encounter with the pig-tailed blonde left a scar on his abs and an unhealed wound in his heart. Back then, she was a feisty, spitfire wild cat. But now…his icy stare drank in her striking, exotic beauty, despite the small bruise on her left cheek and several fresh scars on her neck and the junctures of her collarbone. His gaze went lower.

'My, you've grown into an exquisite creature, Temari-chan'.

The folds of her dark purple kimono clung tightly to her body with the violet sash pulled extremely tight at her waist, hugging every curves on her divine build. Her dewy, sun-kissed skin glowed radiantly.

His eyes darkened when it settled on the platinum wedding band on her right ring finger.

'Damn it'

Temari, on the other hand couldn't shake away the shivers of feelings that she's being watched by somebody.

Kankurou's hands were itching to grab a kunai and slit somebody's throat. 'How dare that prick checking out my sister in front of us!' His small green eyes narrowed into slits as he saw Mitsurugi Haruka, who is shamelessly ogling Temari right under his and Gaara's nose.

The talented puppet controller's anger was boiling deep inside. It is not because of the fact that Mitsurugi was a renowned lady-killer, but more like he was and will always be one of the few reasons why Temari hated their father. He's a blunder in the Sand Siblings' history. Since they were really, really young, that bastard's been trying to get his sister by using their father. What? That prick thought by marrying Temari, he'll inherit the Kage title. Such a sorry excuse. Dammit. Their sister is a noble lady, not an object for power-hungry, political sharks to possess.

The meeting somehow ended without any complications. Temari went to have a discussion with Gaara, and until she disappeared from his sight, Kankurou waited patiently against the door.

When he saw the back of a certain person, he lashed out straight away.

"Stay away from her, punk!"

Haruka turned around and stood straight in front of him. Basically, he was inches taller than the younger shinobi. But, Kankurou is not a person to be underestimated by any aspect.

Haruka stared back with a gleam of menace in his eyes, in contrast with his somewhat angelic face. "Kankurou-kun? Good morning to you too"

"Stop pretending that you don't know what I'm talking about. Stay away from my sister. She doesn't remember who you are, and it's best to stay that way. Thank the heavens that she's forgotten about you, Mitsurugi. She may be softer, but nevertheless stronger than the girl you used to disrespect. I don't know what your intentions with her, and I don't intend to. FYI, she's married to one of the Hokage's prominent advisors and she already had two kids"

"And, your point is?"

"Don't ever try to ruin the perfect picture. Or else…"

Haruka let out a small, mocking laugh. "You must be out of your mind, Kankurou-kun. Tell me, since when do you start to meddle with other people's affairs?"

The kabuki-painted shinobi scorned in reply. "Since you dared to show your shameless face in Suna"

"And what can you do about that? Gaara-sama is the only person with the power to relinquish 'hindrances' and you know that your opinions and your brother's are like oil and water"

"Don't be so great about having Gaara on your good side. We'll be watching you"

"Are you envying the reality that your brother trusted my judgment better than yours?"

"In your dreams" Kankurou seethed with anger upon seeing the bastard's ignorant, smug expression. "You better watch your back, punk" He stomped away, venting out his anger at the nearby wooden poles in the route.

"You should be watching your back too, Kankurou" Haruka hissed back, out from the other shinobi's hearing range.

Later that night, inside a grim, dimly-lit room stood a figure facing the window sill. A loud thud was heard from behind when a man, sporting a new bruise on his left eye was thrown to the floor by another big, giant of a man. Blood was dripping from the lying man's mouth with his hands clutching tightly at his abs, eyes clenching in painful remorse.

"That's enough, Hyottoko" The stoic figure spoke with a stern tone. The giant man draws back from where he stood to one dark corner of the room.

"Do you know what you've done wrong, Takeda?"

"…" The injured could just stare at his superior, helplessly from the corners of his eye.

"I told you to give them a fair warning, not to kill them! And, to top it off, one of your men is injured. That could give out your identities! How stupid can you be!"

"Gomen…taichou" Takeda stood in a kneeling position at the feet of the figure.

The mysterious silhouette turned his back towards his minion. His spiky, tousled platinum colored-hair looked slick under the moonlight. His eyes, the color of wine gleamed with a deadly glare as it reflects the ray of luminosity. At that moment Takeda trembled in fear, because his master for once looked like a devil incarnate, with a wicked grin ready to send him to hell.

"Konoha shinobis are not to be taken lightly, although their deaths would be a favorable option but there would be a later time for that" He glared at all the occupants in the room, as he muttered under his breath. "At least, I want one of them alive"

He walked across the room, where a specially crafted chess set stood. The pieces were organized perfectly but the awkward thing is there's only one side of the game where the pieces of the opponent side were missing. His long fingers touched several pawns on the head and said, "The 'pawns' are moving according to our plan, but still we need to urge them to be more forceful"

"How should we do that, taichou?" Another unidentified man spoke up.

"Cut the food rations or water supply. Use your head, Seta" The man named Seta nodded in understanding.

He fixed his gaze back to the board, moving some pieces forward. "The 'Bishop' and the 'Knight' have started to bare their fangs at me. They would be an obstruction, but we wouldn't have to worry about that, as long as we keep low. Besides, I have the 'King' under my hands. Apparently, there's another piece had caught my eye…"

Hyottoko raised an eyebrow upon his statement. "What do you have in mind, taichou?"

"The 'Queen'. A princess that had blossomed into a very beautiful queen indeed…" He picked up the queen piece, grasping it tightly in his hand as he held it in front of his face.

"This piece will be 'played' by my own hands" He broke into a sinister grin, as he imagined the real image of the said piece, consisting of shattered memories showing golden strands of tumbling hair, pale pink, yet luscious lips and dark, alluring turquoise eyes. All the broken recollection combined to form a very perfect picture of Sabaku No Temari.

Yes, that's the second thing he's after. His own personal prize.

End Of Chapter 7

To Be Continued…

Next Chapter…

Temari and Shikamaru both had been doing separate 'night visits', but the question is to whom? The couple later learnt of how much important they were to each other over the distance between them. Still, when you usually realized the truth, something will come up to shatter the new hope that you just built.

A/N : (shivers) Gomen-gomen, minna-san. Shikamaru's not featured in this chapter. You see, there's so much things happening in Suna that I don't want to bore you with already boring writing. I promise, the first thing you see next chapter is Shikamaru….'s mom. But, he'll be there. See ya! Take care.

Love,

ardenilia