Chapter 40: Travel Party Pt. 1

"He, he looks so peaceful. . . It's almost unnerving."

That's what Kankuro managed to say as he stood in the doorway of Gaara's bedroom, his eyes wide with awe as he watched his little brother do something that he thought would never be possible for him in his entire life: sleep.

He grew up knowing that Shukaku was always sealed within one of his family members each generation, and when he learned that the One Tails was sealed into his little brother, the puppeteer figured that, at the very least, Gaara would find sleeping difficult, given the tanuki's history.

Kankuro never could have predicted that the redhead would never be able to sleep without worrying about Shukaku trying to take advantage as soon as he closed his eyes. He had grown so used to his sibling's consistent all-nighters that the idea of him sleeping in general simply became foreign to him.

A fairy tale, a myth, a wish that was never coming true. . .

. . . Thanks to Queen Kushina and her skills in the sealing arts, that wish was now a full-blown reality, and he was witnessing it with his very own eyes.

"Yeah, I was shocked too when I first saw him like this," Temari mumbled as she walked up to her brother's side, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Were you?"

". . . Well, okay, no," She admitted, looking off to the side as a grimace crossed her face. "I honestly thought that he was hurt somehow when I saw him get brought in on a stretcher by some of the Fire ANBU. . . I didn't realize he was sleeping till I heard him snoring."

"He snored?!" Kankuro harshly asked, keeping his tone to a whisper so that he wouldn't disturb their sibling.

"It was technically a sudden snort, but it counts. . . It was strange to hear it from him when you're so used to him not sleeping in general, but I found it strangely comforting after a minute," Temari admitted as she stepped into the room. "It proved to me that the procedure worked."

"And Shukaku?" Kankuro asked, looking unsure. "The One Tails shouldn't be giving him any more trouble with his sleeping habits, right?"

"With his new and improved seal, he shouldn't, and considering that we haven't heard a peep from him since Gaara was brought back hours ago, I'd call that a win," Temari mumbled as she adjusted the sleeve of her kimono.

"Unless he's lulling us into a false sense of security so that we'd be ill-prepared for an incoming attack."

Those words only earned Kankuro a smack to his temple, courtesy of his now irritated sister.

"REALLY?!" He reacted, grimacing as he gingerly touched his head. "How could you?! I'm still hurt, you know!"

"Physically, not really. Mentally, you can be such a paranoid idiot at times," Temari grumbled as she walked away. "Shukaku isn't a tailed beast known for cunning and subtlety. Mass destruction, unabashed carnage, that's what the One Tails has been about. . . He wouldn't have the patience to wait this long to pull a trap."

"Okay, fair point," Kankuro mused as he spared one last glance at Gaara before following Temari over to the couch. "Still, it's amazing that Gaara can finally sleep now with no repercussions happening. . . We owe Queen Kushina a huge debt."

"You took the words right out of my mouth. . . I would love to discuss what we could do, but we have more pressing things to worry about," The wind mistress stated as Baki silently entered the room. "So, Baki, have the guards been situated in their rooms?"

"They have, but they are not wasting time," Their sensei admitted as he let out a deep breath. "They are requesting an audience with you and your brothers, as soon as possible."

"An audience huh?" Kankuro grumbled. "Can't they just wait until the morning to make the request, preferably after breakfast?"

"They want to get the discussions to happen as quickly as possible, at least a general overview before going into more thorough specifics," The turban-wearing jonin conceded. "And they won't just listen to me. They want to hear from all three of you."

"Hmm, their hard travel must have not left them in the best of moods then," Temari mused as she tucked her arms into her sleeves. "Who makes up the group exactly?"

"There are eight individuals. Three of them are high ranking officials of the Wind ANBU, two are from the household guard, one is Lord Hijiki Kikuchi-"

"KIKUCHI?!" Kankuro exclaimed as Temari's eyes widened slightly. "A Kikuchi came with the travel party?"

"The Kikuchis are hostile to me being queen," Temari mumbled as she brought a hand to her chin. "The fact that they sent someone along with the travel party, let alone the clan head's younger brother, speaks volumes."

"Indeed," Baki agreed. "And after exchanging words with the man, I am more than certain that the clan's position on the matter certainly hasn't changed."

"Since a Kikuchi made the journey, you know they're only here to give nothing but trouble," Kankuro mumbled. "Especially when they find out that neither me nor Gaara have plans to usurp you, Sis."

"Oh, he'll certainly be quite the nuisance," The young blonde mumbled, already grimacing at their impending interaction. "And the other two?"

"Lady Hiruka Nishimura and Lady Chiyo," Baki finished, noticing how the two siblings' eyes lit up at his words. "Lady Nishimura is a welcome presence. She has always been an ally to your family."

"The entire Nishimura Clan has always been among our closest allies," Kankuro admitted. "After all, they happen to be one of the few that embrace the idea of a female leader."

"They're one of the few in our entire kingdom that allows their women to be clan heads if eligible," Temari added. "It's good that we have her here. She'll help counter whatever petty misogynistic diatribes Lord Hijiki has planned for us."

"And then there's Lady Chiyo," Kankuro mumbled. "Didn't really expect one of the council elders to make the trip, but hey, we can get some long-needed answers from her sooner than we expected."

"Knowing her, she'll put up a fight before she gives up anything. That's not her being disobedient, that's just the kind of person she generally is," Baki advised, shaking his head. "However, you all do deserve answers, and considering the circumstances, it's not like she can easily refuse your requests now."

"Ain't that the truth," Temari declared as she got up from her seat. "Anyway, they want to talk to all three of us, but they'll have to settle for two for now."

"And who would settle for two exactly?"

At the sound of the sleep-heavy voice, Temari, Kankuro, and Baki all turned their heads to find Gaara leaning against the doorway. Instead of looking at a face of stoic indifference, they were looking at the tired, half-lidded eyes of a boy who just woke up from a perfectly good, perfectly long nap.

He even let out a small yawn, the act - a harmless one to many - being another shock to the three's systems.

"Are any of you going to answer me?" He asked as he started to wipe the sleep from his eyes. "Or are you just going to keep staring at me all day?"

"For starters, it's nighttime now, not daylight. You missed dinner by a few hours," Temari corrected him as she pointed at a nearby window, smirking slightly as her brother turned to see that the moon was already high in the sky. "And two, how are you feeling?"

"Like I could sleep a few more hours, or days. Either seems preferable," The redhead mumbled as he stepped forward.

"I'm sure that's to be expected when you've finally gained the ability to sleep peacefully after having not been able to since you were born," Kankuro cut in, grinning cheekily. "But hey! No time like the present . . . Just imagine all the dreams you can have now."

And then his cheeky grin turned mischievous. ". . . Who knows? Maybe you'll even have a few dreams about a certain princess."

"Kankuro, I may be sleepy-eyed, but I'm still alert enough to bury you in a pile of sand," Gaara threatened."

"I'll take that threat as a maybe!"

Yeah, you walked into that one fleshbag!

"Don't add your input Shukaku!"

Jeez, who would have thought you'd be so grumpy after waking up . . . Maybe this wakeup call thing won't be so bad after all?

"Of course, you will twist this into something for your entertainment," Gaara complained before tuning the tanuki out. "A maybe? Really?"

"Hey! You're still not denying it!" Kankuro pointed out, which only made his brother's face start to flush. "Aw look! He's blushing!"

"Leave him alone Kankuro!" Their sister ordered before turning to their youngest sibling. ". . . But yeah, the fact that you haven't denied what he said about the princess is really telling Gaara."

"Not you too Temari. . ." He grumbled as Shukaku cackled in the background of his mind. "You two should be worrying about your own love lives, not mine."

"We're your older siblings Gaara. Of course, we're going to care about your love life!" Temari declared as she stepped forward. "Especially since now that I'm pretty much the queen, I get to have a say on who you can and can't marry. . . That goes for you too, Kankuro."

"Yeah, rub it in our faces, why don't you?" The puppeteer sarcastically mumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I will, especially in your case since you're currently my direct heir," Temari bit back in return, her tone equally as sarcastic though her words were very much the truth. "As for you Gaara, if you do end up pursuing Shizuka, you have my full support! I'm declaring it now!"

"And what about me?!" Kankuro asked as Gaara's lip slightly twitched at their sister's words, though everyone was too distracted by Kankuro to really take notice.

"What about you again?"

"I seriously don't want to talk about this anymore . . ." The redhead griped as his siblings started arguing, again.

Hey, at least you know that you have your sister's approval if you ever decide to pursue the princess, which I definitely think you will . . . You two did seem quite chummy back in the inner dimension.

"Please don't start. . ."

I'm just trying to be helpful here. . .

"I would love for you all to continue this lovely conversation you all are having about Gaara's potential romantic pursuits. . ." Baki cut in, ignoring the scoff that managed to echo from the young redhead. "But I must remind you three, you still have a group of people to address."

"A group of people that you all have still not told me about," Gaara added, looking annoyed. ". . . Is anyone going to fill me in?"

Baki did just that, filling him in on the names that were present in the guard just as he did with Kankuro and Temari earlier. Aside from his eyes widening slightly at the mention of Elder Chiyo, the young prince remained silent until the man finished, closing his eyes once he was done.

"Well, we might as well not keep them waiting. . ."

"Are you sure Gaara?" Kankuro asked. "We can just make them wait till the morning!"

"Though going back to bed is tempting, which is something I never thought I would find myself saying until now," The redhead admitted, his words earning him a snicker from Temari. "It's better if we play nice for now. . . Temari is the queen, but she isn't queen regnant until she's been officially crowned."

"Gaara is right," Baki declared as he stepped forward, his gaze moving toward Temari. "Even now, Lord Kikuchi sees you as the heir presumptive rather than the heir apparent, and while Lady Nishimura holds the opposite opinion, at the very least, Lady Chiyo is neutral in the matter."

"Neutral?" Temari asked.

"She's not against you leading the charge per se," Baki admitted, being careful with his words. "But she still needs to see more. Aside from it being your birthright . . ."

"She wants to see if I'm able to be a good queen on my own merit," Temari concluded, the man nodding his head approvingly at her words. "Well, I must not give her, or the others for that matter, a chance to think otherwise. Let's go, everyone!"

"Eh, I still think we should have saved this till the morning . . ."

"KANKURO!"

"Okay, okay. I'm coming!"

A/N: Please review!