Thank you very much for the comments and adds! I appreciate them a lot! Sorry I haven't updated this recently, the writing mood doesn't strike me super often. I hope this chapter isn't too lengthy, messy or boring. D: And sorry for the lack of interesting action. I'm hoping to post more soon, though!
The archives were dusty - full of neatly-bound books and buzzing electric lights.
For all that Temari enjoyed studying strategy, she much preferred the actual utilization of it on the battlefield, the metal of her fan humming with vibration beneath her fingers while the dust settled. She sighed, focusing, and returned to her work.
There was an entire section dedicated to battle tactics, alone, so she was quite perturbed to find Shikamaru standing nearby, reaching for the same book that she was.
Quickly snatching her hand back, Temari mumbled, "Just take it." to him and strode off. She also noted the almost-inconspicuous glance Maki shot at them from the other side of the shelves.
Of all times, Shikamaru had had to ask her about a serious relationship while the Sand Village was in the middle of a crisis. She nearly felt like going back and punching him, but decided against it - it would only raise more curiosity. Damn him!
It wasn't just the pressure of the current situation, though. She honestly had no idea how to respond to him and she hated how that one tiny question had made things so awkward between them.
Not only that, but she had obligations to her village, to her family. They needed her. She wasn't about to uproot everything, give up her positions or shift her loyalty to the Leaf.
She and her brothers had poured their sweat, blood and tears into their village. They had worked so hard - and they still were working hard. She could never abandon that. That was asking the impossible.
After the Sand and Sounds' invasion of the Leaf, during the Chuunin Exams seven years ago, she, Kankuro, and an unnervingly quiet Gaara had returned to find the Sand Village in chaos and learned that their father had been killed. At the time, she had only felt relief - and not much guilt at that. The former Kazekage had never really been a father to any of them. She had been nothing more than a playing piece on a Go board, to him.
Gaara had shut himself away for a week, until she and Kankuro, quite possibly risking their lives, slowly drew him out, day by day, making sure he at least ate something and was taken care of.
The village elders were utterly unconcerned, wiping their hands of the matter, and the job of governing the village had fallen to the (already unstable) council.
Almost every trace of their father was wiped from the Sand. His ordinances, regulations were dissolved. His war against the Leaf crumbled. His circles and underground followers, eradicated; some assassinated, most jailed.
Many people were still afraid of Gaara, though, and unsure of what 'to do' with him. The weapon. Still, they were pushed out of their home and forced to find (considerably more meager) lodgings.
The Land of Rivers and Stone were threatening their borders and the council grew even more frantic, each wanting the title of Kazekage for themselves. It only resulted in more assassinations.
Finally, Gaara finally started speaking to Temari and Kankuro directly. He apologized so many times they lost count and seemed to be bewildered as to why they would even bother with him. But it was a start. And, while Gaara was still a host to the shukaku, he'd changed. He began changing so much. She could see how much he was struggling for hope and acceptance. And Temari found herself hating her father more and more than she had before.
Gaara asked for their help. He was going to attain the title of chuunin - which the council certainly wouldn't refuse to him - and work up through the ranks. And they would, too.
The three of them had spent many an hour in these same archives, researching administration and policies, civics, economics… And felt glad that they'd already known something of it, even in spite of their father's former, bitter presence in their lives.
In time, and with their help, Gaara began to gain support. He was intelligent and exacting, and a formidable force, though also caring and empathetic. (However, others who knew him less assumed otherwise.) But he was readily gaining respect for his hard work and his genuine words. Ready to repair the damage his predecessor had caused. The siblings had gained the rank of jounin and made their way into the council, and then appealed to them with a petition of one thousand who supported Gaara.
Reluctantly, and with much pushing the council, he gained the title of Fifth Kazekage.
Multiple times, he had made it clear that he hadn't gotten to the position alone, and it wasn't because of his lineage. Temari, Kankuro, Baki, Matsuri, Maki, Chiyo, Ebizo and so many others had been there and taught him and supported him and they deserved just as much credit. After he had practically lost his life in protecting the village from the Akatsuki, he gained even more widespread trust. For once, in the Sand's long, harsh history of tyranny, a Kage of the people now governed the village. Out of the shadow of the Fourth.
After Chiyo's death, Kankuro had accepted the position of the village's head puppeteer.
Temari had applied for the position of liaison immediately after Gaara had been instated. (She'd already been working as an examiner for a while.) The Sand had always been seen as a threat to all surrounding countries - and even more so when they invaded the Leaf. Easing tensions and establishing communication and trade would take a while, and still were, but she felt confident in her work. She wasn't any weakling and, if communications failed, she could easily take care of herself.
Lady Tsunade had quickly accepted an alliance, in spite of the Leaf elders' protests, and, while other villages had been less open to such an idea, Temari still felt that to be one of her life's greater successes.
To think that three small, frightened children could have come so far.
Temari was not going to leave any of that behind. And to think she would amounted to an outright insult.
Somewhat out of the blue, she recalled something her uncle, Yashamaru, had said - to dedicate your life to your village and never abandon it.
Temari snapped out of her reverie, another thought sparking in her mind. Swiftly, she made her way to the cartography shelves, pulling out several books on local geography.
She had found something that might just save the village.