The door closed with an audible click, and Kankuro raised his head, face almost painfully scrunched, from the multitude of stressfully confusing documents strewn all over the table, only to see that his sister had come back to the hotel.
He was a bit surprised at that.
"Huh. I didn't expect you to return tonight." He idly muttered with an unreadable expression, but the resigned distaste in his tone was unmistakable to Temari, who gave him what she hoped was a reassuring grin back.
"Things went well." She sighed in relief as she walked across the room before letting herself fall onto Kankuro's bed with a groan. "The treaty is signed and the negotiation is over."
"You know that's not what I am talking about." Kankuro annoyedly stated and gave her a pointed look. "So? Should I expect to become an uncle in nine months, sis?" He disgruntledly asked with unmistakable curiosity, causing Temari to twitch.
It was no secret that he was vehemently against the marriage alliance. He did not want his sister to be sold to some tree-humper for the greater good of their village. But there was nothing he could do to prevent it, and that made him very bitter in the past few days.
Temari had no idea why he even insisted on being a part of her entourage to Konoha if he felt that way. His mood just got worse the closer to Konoha they got during their travel, enough that they had a few shouting matches about it.
"Ugh." Temari groaned again, not at all in the mood to start another argument with her brother, but she knew him too well to realize that saying nothing would just make him rant at her, no matter if she listened or not.
She was flattered that he cared for her. She truly was. But fuck if he could choose the worst time to show his pushy brotherly concern.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Temari pushed herself into a sitting position on the bed and gave Kankuro a bland look. "No. Much to my surprise, my intended was actually quite the gentleman."
Kankuro opened his mouth in preparation for a retort, but then his mind registered what his sister said, and he deflated. "So, you didn't... He didn't..." He awkwardly stammered, and his eyes watched her with worry written in them.
Temari shuddered. "No. It didn't come to that." She lamely shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant, but Kankuro could see how forced it was from a mile away.
Silence fell between them as neither had any idea what to say next.
One thing Kankuro knew Temari was afraid of was how defenseless this pact would personally make her. Once the documents were signed, her personal freedom in several very important aspects could be just a polite suggestion as far as her future husband was concerned.
And well... the documents were signed today.
He had found her yesterday, a bit away from their camp, sitting on a tree branch and silently crying, trying to wipe her tears with the sleeves of her clothes while stifling her sniffles. He sat next to her, feeling very awkward because he had no idea how to comfort her. In the end, he just put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a half-hug.
That somehow let the floodgates open, and Temari started babbling, complaining, and most importantly, sharing her fears with him. It wasn't a situation Kankuro was very comfortable with, especially because he was utterly powerless to help her. He could only get angry, and that accomplished absolutely nothing.
Temari's biggest fear was that her future husband would not treat her well. It terrified her. And it was a far too reasonable fear for Kankuro's comfort. His precious sister was a Suna kunoichi, and her groom was a Konoha piece of shit.
Worse, he was an S-rank ninja, albeit not a very well-known one. And that meant, if he wanted to grab Temari and bend her over the table, she wouldn't be able to put up much resistance against him. Hell, he would have been within his rights to do that, considering she was his future wife.
Kankuro's mood darkened. 'After all, the documents are signed. Neither village would say anything.' He inwardly seethed.
So, yeah, Kankuro felt immensely relieved it didn't come to that unfortunate conclusion. He still didn't quite manage to put together a plan on how to murder an S-rank ninja without suffering any consequences, after all.
Worst of all, he knew some people in their village would welcome that outcome. Sunagakure could stomach having a Kazekage with a Konoha ninja as a husband, especially if the union is to save the village.
What Sunagakure could absolutely not stomach is a weak Kazekage. And if Temari's future husband decided to force himself on her? That would prove she was too weak.
Politics. Kankuro hated it. He only ever wanted to stay in his workshop, putting together puppets and researching better building methods for them. Yet, there were some assholes who wanted him to end up with the Kazekage hat for some utterly incomprehensible reason.
The less said about the idiots who wanted his just recently cured serial killer of a brother as the next Kazekage, the better. He loved Gaara almost as much as he was terrified of him, but it was obvious his brother would not be a good candidate for the hat. Those who supported him did so only because they knew they could get away with far more than what Temari would allow under her rule.
"I see. That's good." Kankuro tried to give Temari a reassuring smile, but it came off as a small grimace instead because of the bleak thoughts in his mind. Deciding to play it off, he quickly continued. "But didn't you say he was a dick or something?"
"Yes." Temari chuckled and rolled her eyes at Kankuro, "He is a dick. Absolute dick."
"It probably comes with the tree-humper designation," Kankuro mockingly smirked, "Smashing his balls into a log seven days a week would make anybody into a dick."
Temari involuntarily giggled. "Thanks. I needed that." She said as she slowly stood up. "Arguing with the old coots the whole day and trying to get better terms for Suna was stressful as hell. And then the meeting with Ren..." She sighed, "I accomplished nothing there." She gave Kankuro a bland, dissatisfied smile. "I was invited to dinner tomorrow, so I guess we will talk then."
"I see. My day was more productive. I bought some cheap wood and remade Karasu's weaponry systems. Oh, and I went for lunch at that Ichiraku place."
"Heh, got another ramen bath, brother?" Temari teased as she walked around the table and behind him, leaning over to see the documents.
Kankuro scowled and muttered something about 'murdering pretentious little brats,' but Temari didn't pay him much attention as her gaze became pained upon seeing the paperwork on the table.
She took one scroll into her hand and frustratedly ruffled her hair with her other hand, "This is such a mess." She despairingly mumbled.
The content of the scroll was simple. Suna lacked drinking water. And with how many of their ninjas died in Konoha, they lacked personnel for water-fetching missions. They will have to delegate them to higher-ranking ninjas, and that meant lesser payments for them, which was going to lead to dissatisfaction.
On top of that, if the higher-level ninjas were preoccupied with mundane stuff like this, fewer of them would be doing well-paid missions, which meant less revenue for the village that was already financially struggling.
This was going to be yet another major financial hit, but Suna did not have enough underground water for its population, so these water-fetching C-rank missions were essential to the village's survival.
They were damned if they did, and damned if they didn't.
And this was just one document from the round thirty Temari had on the table, while the Suna higher-ups were asking her, of all people, what to do about every single one of the documented issues.
How was she supposed to know that!?
The paper scrumpled in her grasp as her fingers balled into a fist from the sheer stress and frustration that hit her. The only good thing about the Sunagakure's situation was that the Puppet Corps and the War Fan Corps were still fully intact. Both refused to follow Rasa's reckless attack on Konoha and stayed stubborn, no matter the threats. Thanks to that, Sunagakure was still well-defended. But that's where the good news ended.
Suddenly feeling Kankuro's hand on her forearm, Temari pulled her eyes from the accursed scroll and looked at him, suddenly realizing that she was breathing really hard. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down.
"We will find a way." Kankuro firmly said, "We have to."
"Yea-" With a sigh, Temari started nodding, only for Kankuro to interrupt her with a grin.
"Or we can still go rogue?" He playfully suggested, making Temari stumble in her spot before she half-heartedly shoved him in the shoulder, causing him to snicker.
"Shush." She snorted, "Don't be so loud about our nefarious plans, or Suna might take Gaara hostage." She scornfully said, barely managing to keep her face straight after saying such nonsense.
"Right. No running away while our brother is still in Suna. Drat." Kankuro clicked his tongue, but the corners of his lips twitched upward.
With a fond scoff, Temari ruffled Kankuro's hair, much to his vehement protests, before she wistfully spoke, "Thanks for trying to help me with the paperwork."
"You are my sister." Kankuro grumbled, "Of course, I will help you. Even if you are annoying."
Stretching out a bit, Temari slightly shook her head in exasperation instead of retorting. "I am tired. I think I am going to bed now. I just came to tell you, 'Good night.'" She said and started walking toward the door.
"Alright. Good night." Kankuro nodded and waved his hand in a shooing motion at her as he slumped over the paperwork again with the same hopeless energy as before.
As Temari closed the door to his room, she winced and took a deep breath. She... just had to hope things would get better. Maybe the village elders and councilmen will have good news for her once she returns.
A wry smile appeared on her face. Yeah. As if.
Things were most likely going to get a whole lot worse before they got a bit better. But what could she do? Her father made a series of monumental mistakes. Their Daimyo hated them. His nobles were afraid of being associated with them and wouldn't hire their ninja unless absolutely necessary. The same with merchants.
She had inherited a sinking ship.
Realizing that she wouldn't be getting the answers to her questions by blankly staring at the wall, Temari grimaced and walked to the door of her room. She despotently unlocked the lock and walked in. As she closed the door, she put her forehead on it and closed her eyes.
"I hate this. I hate this village. I hate that dick-head who is going to be my husband. And I hate the two scary bitches he fucks." She whispered, trying to harden her determination as she psyched herself up. "But it's okay. You can overcome this, girl. I can do this."
With a long sigh, Temari pulled her reddened forehead away from the door and turned around, only to freeze in her tracks.
"Why, hello there." Ino, who sat cross-legged on the bed, gave her a Cheshire grin as Hinata, with a small, amused smirk, gently waved at her from the chair next to the table.
And Temari went deathly pale.
---
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