A/N: Here is chapter 3. As always, thank you so much to my beta, Ukrainian Snowstorm for the help! And now, happy reading! :-)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Gaara watched the rosy touch of dawn chase away the darkness that night brought. The pale colors turned to vibrant shades and the light humming of the birds filled his ears.

It was mostly quiet. The village was still asleep so he reveled at the forest slowly waking around him. This is a hobby that he never got tired of, waiting for dawn and watching the sun rise. A new day, a new beginning.

He and his siblings would depart for Sunagakure as soon as possible; they mustn't waste precious time. Traveling the desert can be tricky, even for them. Gaara was already at Konoha's gates but Temari and Kankuro were late. The latter he was used to but not the former.

Gaara's gaze strayed to the slowly rising sun and he contemplated if he should find his siblings so they could go. Surely they had enough time to take care of their business beforehand? He was about to turn to look for them when he heard a feminine voice calling for him.

"Wait, Kazekage-sama!" Gaara recognized her as the girl he met yesterday and she was running towards him.

After a moment, she arrived in front of him, panting heavily. "I finally found you."

Gaara noticed that she was still wearing her clothes from yesterday. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, her bow crooked. When she straightened to properly face him, he saw that she had dark smudges under her eyes.

"Here you go, Kazekage-sama. Thanks for yesterday," she said and held out a medium-sized parcel, wrapped in a white cloth with little cactus printed on it.

Gaara tilted his head in confusion so she explained, "I-I forgot to pay for the ramen I ate, remember? So I made you a bento box."

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

The girl puffed up her cheeks and insisted, "Iye, it was not! I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to leave so suddenly. Please accept this." She shoved the box in his arms.

"This is too much." Gaara started to decline but the girl will have none of it.

"Oh," she pressed his hand firmly on the package, "you can just share you know. And, there are mocha buns inside."

"Oi Gaara, it's time to go! We already wasted enough time because of Temari's goodbyes."

Gaara tilted his head in the direction of his brother's voice. He put away the bento and let out a sigh. It's going to be a long three days.

"What did you say Kankuro?"

Gaara heard his bickering siblings get louder so he nodded at the girl, "Arigato gozaimasu ojou-san."

The girl smiled and shyly waved his thanks away. "Doitashimashite. Safe travels, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara finally approached Temari and Kankuro. They stopped arguing when he got there.

he frowned at the two of them, "You're late."

Kankuro just pointed to their sister.

"I know, I know. Let's just go already!" Temari snapped.

The siblings gave Konoha one last look and then, they set out for home.

The sunlight was hot on their backs and the familiar path to Konoha was miles and miles away. They only saw trees and trees for some time now. The siblings didn't talk, they could have left sooner and they knew it. They're already behind schedule and it will be hard enough to travel to the desert so they all tried to conserve their energy.

Kankuro broke the silence when he said, "We should stop for something to eat soon."

"There's a tea house near here," Temari replied as they jumped from tree branch to tree branch.

"A tea house," Kankuro scoffed. "I could probably eat a whole horse Temari, that's how hungry I am! Just a tea house won't do."

"Well, that's the only place we could eat at for miles so take it or leave it."

"This wouldn't happen if you didn't take your time saying goodbye to Shikamaru."

"I was telling him important things," Temari said and turned quickly to face ahead in order to hide her blush.

"From where I was standing, I didn't see actual talking," Kankuro teased.

Gaara rolled his eyes. He was between them so he saw Temari's hand slowly inch its way to her fan so he quickened his pace and took the lead, leaving his siblings scrambling to catch up.

"Oi Gaara, wait for us!"

"See? You irritated him too."

The siblings had already traveled for half a day. It was now noon and since they started travelling later than their usual time, they didn't have the chance to eat breakfast. The sun was at its highest and they need to find shade to rest and cool down. The thirst and hunger were slowly getting to them.

It's common knowledge that thirst plus hunger equals bad mood. That's bad enough in itself but with the way that Kankuro teased Temari, it was a disaster just waiting to happen.

They caught up to him eventually. Kankuro's stomach growled but before he could say anything, Gaara brought out his bento.

"I know," said Gaara, "I have food."

Temari and Kankuro raised an eyebrow at this but quickly looked for a good place to rest. The siblings found a denser part of the forest and they stopped there. Temari spread some of their blankets on the grass while Kankuro tied the others on trees to make a temporary tent. When they were seated, Gaara placed the bento box at the center. The package is a bit heavy and when he opened it, it revealed a multi-layered box brimming with food.

The smell of fried chicken wafted through the air mixed with the sweet scent of jasmine rice. There were steamed potato balls on one side and fluffy omelets on the other. A portion of ebi tempura filled the other compartment along with coleslaw, and a bag of bread was in the bottommost part.

The smell made their mouth water so the siblings quickly said their thanks and dug in. It was a large parcel so each of them took their fill.

Kankuro tasted the omelet first, "It's delicious."

"This karaage is tasty." Temari was nodding in approval.

"The shrimp is delicious but I prefer the mocha buns."

"What's that," Kankuro asked, "I thought you hate sweets?"

"I do but not this one. It has a bitter taste too so I like it."

"Yeah? Give me some."

Gaara tore a bit of the bun he's eating and gave it to Kankuro.

"Why you greedy little," Kankuro snapped. "I want a whole bread!"

"Sorry, there's nothing left."

The brothers made to grab the paper bag but Temari got it first. She shook her head in annoyance but she couldn't help the smile that made its way to her face. "Both of you finish your rice first then, I'll give you dessert."

Kankuro glared at his younger brother.

Said younger brother looked him in the eyes and popped the bread he was holding in his mouth.

Kankuro's jaw dropped and Temari burst out laughing. A beat, then Kankuro joined her, and Gaara let out a rare smile.

The moment passed and they finished the whole thing in no time. When they were done eating, the siblings decided to relax a bit.

"That was good stuff." Kankuro patted his stomach in satisfaction. "I'll take that over a tea house any day."

"Though it pains me to say it, I agree. By the way Gaara," Temari turned to her younger brother, "where did you buy our food?"

"I didn't."

The older siblings exchanged a glance, "So, where did you get it?" they asked in unison.

"Someone just gave it to me." He shrugged.

"What?" Temari shrieked. "Are you crazy?"

"C'mon Gaara. You do know you have to be careful with these things, right?"

"What you did was reckless," Temari lectured. "What if it's poison huh?"

"Then we'll all die." By Temari's look, his joke was not well received.

Temari's face turned red from anger, her fists were clenching and unclenching, she looks like she wants to strangle Gaara so Kankuro intervened. "Hey hey, there's no need to panic. I know a lot about poisons remember? I'm certain that our food was clear."

Kankuro didn't play the peacemaker role often, usually, it was the other way around. But sometimes it happens, like in this instance.

"If Kankuro's sure then, I guess it's alright." Temari huffed and turned away.

"Who was it anyway? The one that gave you that bento box."

"I don't know," Gaara replied, sounding thoughtful.

"Don't tell us you didn't notice anything, you're the Kazekage," Temari said, her eyes were narrowed into slits. "Is it a boy or a girl? What's this person's distinctive feature?"

Vivid purple flashed in his mind. I didn't ask for her name, he thought.

"Oi Gaara, I'm talking to you!"

Temari's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. His sister looks pissed and from that, he gathered that she won't tolerate his silence so he answered reluctantly. "She's a girl and she's a shinobi from Kirigakure."

"A girl, huh." Kankuro smirked.

"Oh, really. What's her name?"

"Is she pretty?"

"Does she have a clan?"

"How long have you met her?"

Gaara raised a hand so they'd shut up. So many questions for just a bento box. "I don't know, hai, I don't know and not long."

"Wait, I think you were talking to someone earlier, I didn't see who," his smirk became a wide grin, "was it her? Your pretty bento girl?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kankuro."

"Are you blushing? Your face is pink. Look Temari, our baby brother has a crush, isn't that cute?"

Gaara frowned, so what if his cheeks were a bit pink? It's hot. When he heard Temari barely holding in a giggle, he had enough.

Gaara let his sand trickle out of his gourd and form a cloud at his feet and promptly shot out to the sky. He made sure the sand hit Kankuro on the face, hard.

he looked down on his nose at them, "Hurry up." he said and zoomed away. Gaara could still hear their angry curses miles away.

After three days, Gaara and his siblings finally arrived. They passed the Suna gates and headed straight for the Kazekage tower. There, a familiar face greeted them.

A tall shinobi with two distinctive markings on the right side of his face was standing at the entrance. The man is one of Gaara's most loyal supporter, second only to his siblings. Their former sensei bowed, "Welcome back." Baki said as they approached. "Kazekage-sama, you have a meeting with the council in half an hour."

"Dammit. They know that we just got here and they already want Gaara for a meeting?" Snapped Kankuro.

Temari scowled, "What is it now?"

"I'll be there in a moment, Baki."

Temari frowned at her younger brother, "You should rest first."

"Yeah," Kankuro wrapped an arm around his shoulder, "You're not a puppet y'know."

Gaara followed his siblings, "I know." They are right, he needs a quick break before dealing with the council. Especially now that he had a certain proposal to discuss.

They truly had gotten far from what they used to be. Kankuro who used to be afraid of him now showed his affection freely. Kankuro worries, he teases but he listens. The Temari who followed his word is gone and replaced with an older sister who snaps at him from time to time and does not hesitate to call him out.

They are his staunchest supporters and the first to defend him from any perceived threats. They showed him that they care; he just wishes he knew how to do the same.

Gaara was brought out of his thoughts when they arrived at the small room where they'll rest. Refreshments were already there so they sat and ate a bit.

After a quick rest, Gaara stepped into the room and went straight for the head of the long table. The remaining jonins of Suna's council were already there, waiting for him. When he finally sat, they followed his lead.

"Kazekage-sama, we hope you've had a fruitful trip?" Ebizo, one of the honored siblings greeted him, his heavy-lidded eyes alert.

He is Chiyo-baasama's brother, so Gaara feels grateful to the man. He knows what it's like to be lonely and Ebizo lost his sister because of him. But Ebizo moved on and he had been a great help. Oh, and did he mention he's one of the more reasonable members of the council?

"I did," Gaara replied, and decided to cut to the chase, "And I've negotiated a few trade deals between Sunagakure and the other villages in the five great nations as well."

He told Temari and Kankuro that he would handle this meeting and that they should rest. They objected of course but Gaara convinced them eventually. While it would be hard to persuade the council of what he had in mind, it would be almost impossible to do it with them present.

They are pragmatic shinobis but his siblings ultimately want the best for him. Besides, they're still sore from the failed arranged marriage and assassination attempt just a few months before.

"That's good to hear my lord." Ameno, the head of the medical department, smiled.

She's a kunoichi with brown hair and brown eyes. Gaara remembered that she took the chunin exams with Lee and the others. She's the newest member of the council and she proved her worth during the war, firmly cementing her position.

"Indeed. However, we cannot rely on the other villages," the Suna elders voiced their opinion in unison. "What we need, is a definite solution."

This is a usual occurrence, his father's former advisers shutting down his ideas. What's more exasperating, they do it at the same breath. It's like their brains are connected.

"Thank you for stating the obvious," grumbled Maki, her painted face twisting in annoyance.

She was a student of master Pakura, a former member of the council. She has dark hair that reached her shoulders and intelligent blue eyes. She's one of the open-minded jonins and for that fact, Gaara likes her.

"What did you say?" one of them snapped.

Gaara's temples started to hurt so he stepped in, "The time when villages only look out for themselves has passed. We must work together to maintain this peace we've fought desperately to achieve."

"Be that as it may," Sajo, another member of Suna's advisors, frowned, "We still have to stand on our two feet."

Sajo was one of Sunagakure's seniors and his father's former advisers. Therefore, he usually opposed most of Gaara's ideas. Sajo's still afraid of him and he is unlikely to change his mind.

Gaara knew that he can sway the younger members of the council to his side if he only said the right things. They are mostly neutral yet open-minded to new and progressive ideas.

"I am aware of that," said Gaara, "That is why I think we should establish our trades first. Since few things grow here, we should capitalize on our strengths, which is our shinobis."

"What would you have our shinobis do, Kazekage-sama?" Ebizo leaned forward, his interest was piqued.

"Escort a few caravans?" Sajo argued, "We won't survive on that alone."

"You're all talking as if we have anything to sell," Goza said, "Besides the Yondaime's gold dust, what else can we export?"

Goza is one of Sunagakure's seniors. He is logical but he truly cares for the village. He's not as hardheaded as Sajo and at least he listens first before voicing his opinions.

Ryusa sighed, "This wouldn't be a problem if only the daimyo gives us enough funds."

Another member of the Sunagakure's seniors, Ryusa wears their standard attire like a second skin. But that' ends his similarities with Sajo and Goza. Though he is another of his father's former advisers, unlike the other two, Ryusa is open-minded. He supports Suna's progress and he embraced the new shinobi world wholeheartedly.

"There's no use crying over spilled milk," Ebizo raised his voice and glared at the other council members, "What do you propose, Kazekage-sama?"

"We should send some of our shinobis to other villages and have them study," seeing their skeptical looks, Gaara elaborated, "This could be an exchange program between us. We can use the things we learn from them to improve our conditions and it can also advertise our village to the world."

"It's like killing two birds with one stone," Maki said.

"The idea has merit but can we really let outsiders in our village?" Gouza slammed a fist on the table, "Kazekage-sama, you cannot guarantee that they won't betray us. And, what of spies from smaller nations?"

Gouza is the last member of his father's former council. He's mostly quiet but he's very passionate about the village. He prefers the secrecy of the old days and he's reluctant to hear new ideas. Together with Sajo, they're a formidable duo.

Because of their status as elders, they have considerable sway in the council. They still outnumber the younger members after all. Gaara hoped not for long though.

"This will be a lengthy process. First, we will select capable shinobis who have unquestionable loyalty to Sunagakure. Second, we must thoroughly discuss what places can be open to the public. We'll have a trial first with our allies. We have a strong treaty and it will ruin them if they betray us. If it works, then we'll announce it to the rest of the other nations. For the rest, we'll just have to increase our security."

"Looks like you've covered everything, my lord," Ryusa said, "That way, our shinobis will stay sharp."

"We are receiving fewer missions nowadays, so now, we can focus our efforts in other pursuits," Goza said, "Hai hai, I think this could work."

"The council has no more arguments Kazekage-sama," Ebizo concluded, "We will work on the proposals immediately."

"Now that that matter is settled," everyone in the room fixed their gaze on Gaara, "we must move on to your bachelor status Kazekage-sama."

"You cannot stay unattached my lord," Sajo said, "Sunagakure needs an heir."

"Though you are still young, we of the council insist that you think of the future, it is time for you to consider raising your own family." All of the council nodded at this.

Baki scowled, "That again?"

Gaara appreciated Baki's irritation. If he didn't have a plan, he would feel the same.

"About that," most of the members of the council leaned forward, "I plan to search for a bride in other villages."

"Other villages," Gouza was outraged, "Surely that is unnecessary my lord. Why, many kunoichis in Suna have expressed their interest in you over the years."

"But if I meet someone from a different nation, it can improve our outside relations drastically," Gaara reasoned, "Not to mention securing peace as well."

"Temari-sama is already marrying into a clan from another village," Gouza said. "This time, we should focus on our people. Strengthening the bonds with his village is the Kazekage's job after all."

"The people of Suna loves Gaara-sama, we don't have to forge a marriage to prove that," Baki countered.

"Konoha has been our most reliable ally in recent years," Ebizo mused. "However, I think that having another strong hidden village on our side can't hurt."

"You should choose a lady from a noble clan," Ryusa suggested. "The purer the bloodline, the better. The girl will marry into the Kazekage's clan after all."

Sajo countered, "A wealthy bride is preferable. We wouldn't want to be labelled as snobs, do we?"

"Are you really saying that we let an outsider have such a position in our village?" Goza asked, his narrowed eyes speaking volumes.

"How about we hold a contest?" Gouza proposed.

Baki's eyes narrowed into slits, "Excuse me?" he practically growled.

"Gaara-sama is popular, which means the people will be interested in his future," Gouza explained. "Though I can't believe I'm saying this, this is a chance to promote our village and culture."

Baki lost his patience, "Gaara-sama's personal affairs is not for anyone's entertainment!"

"I didn't say that," said Gouza.

"But that's what you meant."

Gaara was glad he didn't let Temari and Kankuro attend this meeting. The council's suggestions were getting more and more ridiculous. Baki is more calm and collected than the two of them and he already snapped twice. If his siblings were here, who knows what would happen.

It still irritates him that finding him a wife is the one topic that all of the members of the council agree on though. Really, can't they find a new hobby? Gaara inwardly sighed. He sincerely hopes that his plan will be successful so they would finally leave him alone.

"I say let Kazekage-sama choose who he'll marry," Ameno interjected and Maki agreed.

"We already tried an arranged marriage and it failed spectacularly. So I think we should let Kazekage-sama choose who he wants this time," she said.

"The woman you chose tried to ran off with her lover," Gaara pinned most of them with a glare, "Had I let her get away, it would have been an embarrassment of Sunagakure's. Other villages wouldn't dare risk such a thing."

"Hai, but that wasn't our intention Gaara-sama," said Goza.

"This time, it's going to be my choice," Gaara made eye contact to be certain that each of them understood. Satisfied by the nods and smiles from the two ladies in the room, he continued. "I plan to write a request to the Kages. All of them may recommend one candidate each and I'll meet her. If I like the lady, I will invite her here."

"I think you should choose two ladies to come here Kazekage-sama," Sajo suggested. "So we-you may still have options?"

"Iye, one is enough," said Gaara.

"And may we test this girl as well?" Gouza asked.

"I' will be surprised if you didn't," Gaara replied. "Hai, but only with me and my siblings' consent."

"And what of lady Temari and lord Kankuro, what's their opinion regarding your search for a wife my lord?" Gouza dared to ask.

"They support my decision of course," Gaara replied smoothly.

He doesn't plan to tell them until the last possible moment but Gouza doesn't have to know that.

"We must ask that you give us time to mull over this Kazekage-sama," Ebizo finally stepped in.

"You have a month. I've proposed the exchange program to the other Kages and they agreed. They invited me to see what their villages have to offer since I was the one who raised the idea."

"We understand," they chorused.

"If there is nothing else to discuss?" When they all shook their heads, Gaara said, "This meeting is now finished,"

He let the council members exit first, Gaara was the last person to leave the room.

A/N: Thanks for reading!