Final Chapter

"How are things between you and Temari?" Kankuro asked, approaching his younger brother. With Gaara, he found it was usually best to be direct.

The Kazekage stared at him. "Just fine."

"You know, she didn't mean..."

"I am not angry with her, Kankuro. She has every right to feel as she does."

"Yeah, well..." Kankuro couldn't tell if everything was actually fine or if it was even worse than he thought. Someone once told him middle children were supposed to be the peacemakers. It really wasn't his strong suit. Gaara especially was hard to read. Besides, Temari always took care of that kind of thing a few years back.

"This is going to be hard for everyone, but it doesn't change what we have to do."

"Of course. Temari's just... She's a big sister. She wants to know that she's precious to you."

Gaara seemed to consider this. "Do you think I take the two of your for granted?"

This question took the older brother by surprise. "Yes," he finally admitted. "Sometimes."

"Hmm." Gaara's eyes were turned towards the floor.

"It's just that..." Kankuro couldn't finish. I just wish we could have grown up together. I wish I could have saved you at least once. I want to know that I make a difference with you. If you ever decide to talk about your brother, I want to know for sure that you'll mean me and not Naruto.

Gaara couldn't seem to express the words he wanted to say either.

"You know that whatever happens, we'll both support you."

"I know."

"We are family after all."

"Yes."

Kankuro grew frustrated at this. He wished his brother would give more than a one or two word answer. But that was Gaara. He was rarely expressive, except perhaps when talking about Naruto Uzumaki. This often left him to come up with a topic of conversation.

Gaara surprised him then. "I will need Temari to continue to assist me in diplomatic matters with the other leaders. And I will need your help in planning battle strategy. We must all work together if we are going to win this war."

"You're right. And I know protecting Naruto is vital to that." He sighed. "I can't wait until this is all over and things can get back to normal."

"Do you really believe things will return to normal after this war?"

"I don't know. What do you expect to happen?"

"This feels like a new beginning. It is as if a new age is dawning upon our world."

Kankuro scratched the back of his head. "That's all too deep for me. I just want to work on strengthening our family."

Gaara looked at him quizzically.

"I mean, we've come a long way, but..." He shrugged. "Sometimes it just feels like there's a lot we still need to work on."

Gaara closed his eyes. "Maybe you're right. There is still so much I don't understand about family."

"The scars of the past," Kankuro spoke his thoughts before he could stop himself. He paused, feeling that if they went into uncomfortable territory right then, Gaara would shut down. "But it's just the three of us now. We're in this together."

Gaara nodded. Kankuro studied the expression on his brother's face. He looked... Relieved? Happy? He reached out tentatively and placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder.

They soon parted ways. I will protect my family, Kankuro thought as he went to prepare for the war. I'll make our bonds stronger, and I won't let anything tear us apart.