Thanks for the reviews guys. I fixed an error in this chapter. Thanks Gaaraswifey!
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Chapter 2
Gaara stood at the window of the Silver Village castle awaiting his bride-to-be. The council had decided that he should take a bride in order to improve his image among the citizens of sand. They figured that if the villagers saw that he could get one woman to love him, than maybe they wouldn't think of him as such a monster. It was obvious to Gaara that the council had other motives in mind as well. They were hoping that marriage and the possibility of family life would soften him… and maybe expose some weaknesses. After all he's done for them…. Sacrificing himself… they still didn't completely trust him. To them, he was still a double edged sword.
After Shukaku had been extracted, everyone expected Gaara to grow weaker. Such a consequence was never seen. After battling Naruto, Gaara had decided not to rely on Shukaku's chakra to fight. Unlike Naruto, he never borrowed the chakra of the monster inside of him to increase his attack. Every clash he's won after the Chuunin exams, he did so out of his own strength. After Shukaku was taken, the village expected his to lose his uncanny ability to control the sand. Gaara had not lost this ability. It seemed that developmentally, his mastery of sand had infused into his being. Shukaku had helped him learn to use the sand, and Gaara would not forget. The neuronal pathways were already established in his brain. He didn't even lose his automatic barrier. His chakra instinctively knew how to protect him.
No, Gaara wasn't weakened by the Akatsuki. Gaara could not be physically weakened. It was for this reason that the council tried to instil in him an emotional weakness. It was for this reason that they found him a bride. Knowing all too well that no sane woman in the village would take him for a husband, they went to outside sources. When they found out that Silver Village was in desperate need to strengthen their alliance, the council suggested the arrangement. Gaara didn't care one way or the other. He wasn't exactly looking forward to the arranged marriage, but he wasn't exactly opposed to it either. Other than with Temari and Kankuro, he hadn't exactly made any significant social connections. Naruto had helped him a lot over the past years, but it wasn't exactly like Gaara actually phoned him up to hang out.
There was a girl at one point. The girl who had given him that Teddy Bear he carried around with him. She had been nice to him when no one else was. She played with him on the playground when all the other kids were afraid to. She had only been there a week, and when she left, she gave him the bear and made him promise to return it to her in the future. Ino Yamanaka. That was the name on a drawing she had given him. This had happened before his uncle tried to kill him. For one reason or another, the memory of the girl had been lost to him until one daunting night when his insomnia was particularly callous. At the time, Shukaku was still roaming his mind, so falling asleep would have been disastrous. To distract himself, Gaara explored the storage unit of sand's Kage tower. He came across some of his childhood items. Among those items were his worn-out teddy bear and an old drawing. Ino's drawing.
Ino Yamanaka.
Gaara had remembered that name from the Chuunin Exams. She had fought the pink haired girl from Naruto's team. She had been weak, but it didn't really matter. Gaara had thought about talking to her. He had thought about confronting her about their brief past. Ino and her team had visited Sand a couple of times while Temari's boyfriend visited. She smelt like wildflowers... not that Gaara had intentionally leaned in to take a sniff of her. Shukaku had caused him to develop a hypersensitive nose. It wasn't common knowledge, but he had learned to recognize everyone by their smell. Gaara had wanted to talk to her, but in the end, he didn't. They never spoke a word to each other. What would he have said to her? 'Hi. You were nice to me for a week 10 years ago. Wanna be friends?'
Gaara had given up on the idea of him and Ino connecting. She had her own life. She had friends and a family that loved her. She wasn't alone. Gaara had almost kicked himself for succumbing to such petty matters. He had to concentrate on protecting his village. He would now have to concentrate his efforts on acting at least civil to this bride-to-be. The Princess of one of sand's allied nations. Imagine his surprise when his betrothed turned out to be none-other than Ino Yamanaka.
The situation was confusing at best. The 'Princess' was definitely Ino. No one else could smell so much like flowers. It was a little insulting that Silver Village decided to offer him a fake. Did the real Princess refuse the arrangement? Did something happen to her? Did the Village not trust Sand enough to risk their royal blood?
The blonde girl smiled at him, seemingly unaware that her cover had already been blown. Gaara was at a dilemma. The right thing to do would have been to expose her right away. It would probably save both villages a lot of grief in the end. The alliance could be worked out in other ways. Ino would be able to end whatever mission she was on, and go home to her friends. This logical argument, however, was quickly shadowed by his strong desire to see where the events would lead.
The 'Princess' spoke. "Welcome to our humble Kingdom, Kazekage-sama".
The only sentence the Kazekage could muster up was "The name is Gaara".