Chapter 2
It turns out, the elders are bent to marry her.
Kankuro is unstable, they said. Gaara needs to focus on building alliances and comforting the people of Suna, he can’t add marriage to his responsibilities, they said.
But her?
Oh you’re the perfect candidate, they said.
You’ll do just fine, they said.
It’s just marriage, they said.
It’s not as if we’re asking too much, Temari. Think of Suna, they said.
But what about her?
What part of her screams that she’s the ideal bride?
She hates everyone, men more so.
Is she that repulsive that they don’t want her around? Sure, she’s stubborn. She walks like she’s perfect and she thinks everyone around her are idiots— but the council, the elders, her own siblings are proving her theory correct.
Idiots, all of them.
They couldn’t send her to villages unknown as a diplomat, no. They’ll send her to Konoha where everything is warm and bright— to Konoha where majority of their problems will be solved if she just say yes.
Fuck all of them, she thought. She won’t marry.
They’ll have to make alliances elsewhere.
They’ll have to drag her dead body.
“Do not make this harder for everyone, Temari. You are not a child. You are the Kazekage’s sister and yet you are inclined to waste an opportunity for us..” The rest of Baki’s sentence didn’t register. Her rage, blinding and deafening, that nothing is making sense. No one is making sense.
She will not cry.
She refuses to cry.
But we don’t always get what we want. She started blinking tears that Baki halted his ranting.
Fuck.
“You want a bride?” She spoke quietly as if to no one.
“You want a political marriage? Then I suggest you write to the Hokage that you will be bringing a corpse. Because that’s the only way I’ll agree to this lunacy”
With that, she storms off, leaving three men disappointed and her pride.
“She is my sister. I care about her. I care about her well-being and her happiness. She said no, and I respect that” Gaara addresses his council with authority. Temari has sacrificed a lot for him, for Suna. He will not force her this time around. His mistake was agreeing to the idea in the first place.
But no matter. He will fix it.
“I will meet with Kakashi to settle the matter. I will not change my mind” He says with a finality.
“Admirable as your desire to spare your sister, Kazekage, the Nara Clan has send us a marriage contract. It seems that they agreed” Baki pulls out a scroll and placed it in front of him, the Nara symbol black and clear.
Politics is not Gaara’s strong suit. Making connections, friendships— it’s a challenge. Naruto showed him how easy it was for some people. How charisma naturally flows for the selected, that it is second nature to them to just make a connection.
It took time but he managed it. The bond he has with his siblings is stronger than ever. Once upon a time, they looked at him like a monster, what they have now is a contrast to what he thought they would have.
Unfortunately he cannot put family above his village.
His entire village is his family now. It’s not just Temari and Kankuro, it’s Suna. And what Suna needs are stability, progress and support.
Things that Konoha can give to them.
Things that will come alongside the marriage with the Naras.
He needs time.
Time to think.
To weigh.
To decide.
Slowly he opens the scroll, scanning the words as if he already did made his decision and perhaps he already has a decision.
His arm wrapped around her shoulders lazily and comfortably after all these years. A lifetime ago Ino thought she would have to choose between Choji and Shikamaru, the latter being her choice considering the former has been close to her like a brother. But the idea of marrying Shikamaru Nara has become incestuous along the way much to her father’s disappointment.
“He is a good match for you, Ino. Perhaps sooner than later, your friendship will blossom into love” Her father said over supper.
“Or perhaps you could just tell Shikaku that I am not interested so as his son. Let us have a choice, Father” And that was the end of the conversation. Up until her father’s death, it did not come up.
Looking at her oldest friend, her closest male friend, Ino entertained the idea. Could she pretend to love him? She loves him already, a love shared between two friends. Could she kiss him? That’s easy considering they have experimented during the cold nights where they both nurse alcohols and mourn their dead fathers.
But the rest that comes with a marriage?
Absolutely not.
She is a romantic. She is needy. She wants to be wanted. She demands attention. He cannot give those to her simply because she’s not the one he wants. Nara men are crazy about their women, her father told her. He may adore her and care about her, but she’s not his woman.
She doesn’t plan to be.
“What are you thinking?” He stares at her lazily.
“Oh nothing except a dreadful thought that this marriage to Temari is starting to make sense” She stares up at him wondering where did the time go where once she was the one towering over him and Choji.
“Hmm. And why do we make sense?”
He had the audacity to look annoyed but she knows him, far better than anyone.
“Tell me you did not send her family a marriage contract after talking with Kakashi” She cocks one brow at him.
“I did not send her family a marriage contract after talking with Kakashi” He answers deadpanned.
“Of course you did not. You already sent it before we met with Kakashi”
His small chuckle confirmed her suspicions.
“What does it mean for me, Shika?” A childhood nickname he hates but she couldn’t just let go of.
“It means nothing. You will have a choice so as Choji. You won’t be affected by my decisions. I’ll make sure the rest of your clans knows this is mine alone” He fix his eyes at hers as he try to comfort and convince her but the lie doesn’t come as comforting as he wanted.
“It does not work that way. Ino-Shika-Cho, remember? It always has to be a perfect formation” The truth bearing on them adding more weight to their chest. Ino felt like hers is about to explode.
“We’ll always be a perfect formation”
“And we will do everything we can to keep it that way” she added.
Even if it means entering marriages they don’t like.
They’re Ino-Shika-Cho and like their ancestors before them, they will endure.
The oaths are sacred and have been honored for centuries—they won’t be the ones breaking them.