The wrong brother...

Chapter 1 - Bitter surprise

It's a nice, Sunday afternoon and you're lying on your bed. You've just finished training with your little cousin, Ao. The kid definitely has talent, but it cannot be compared to you. But you were trained to be a ninja since you remember, he started quite late. Still, making good progress.

"Iki, can you come downstairs?" You hear your father's voice. Rolling your eyes while you roll out of bed, you cannot help but wonder what is happening. You were down there a few minutes ago. Why he couldn't talk to you back then?

"Coming!" You yell as you quickly run downstairs. In the middle of the staircase, you stop. Your father is handing you a letter in an official-looking envelope. You open it and read.

Dear Ikigai,

We would like to invite you and your father for a meeting with Elders of Sunagakure at your earliest convenience.

Please get back to us as soon as you can, so we can arrange everything for you.

It has been signed off by Elders and Kazekage. What can they possibly want from you?

You have replied straight away, feeling a bit of excitement. Will Gaara be there? You met him only a few times, but every time your heart skipped a small beat. One day in Konoha you treated Naruto to ramen and he ate so much, he was almost in a coma. You have taken advantage of that and asked him a few questions about Gaara, in the most casual voice possible.

He told you quite a lot. You were really surprised to hear that he used to be so vicious and deadly when he was a Jinchuuriki. The Gaara you met was a quiet, thoughtful man who could kill every single argument with a single line.

He was always so mysterious and every time he looked at you, you just melted. Too bad you never had enough courage to go and talk to him. On the other hand, he is a Kazekage! To just talk to him you may need to make an appointment. And you ain't about that life.

***

A couple of hours later, you are getting dressed in your room. You wear your classic ninja outfit, but put a nice cloak on top. Your hair is in two braided ponytails, as always.

As you and your father walk to Suna with few other jonins accompanying you (not sure why), you start to feel a bit nervous. Why are you acting like this when it comes to Gaara? Is this how all those girls feel when they see Sasuke? If yes, then you're in trouble. Because those girls are crazy and do anything. Well, technically, that's a perfect description of you.

But you are not a fangirl! You can't be! You just admire Kazekage who is really cute. That's it.

***

You are in front of Kazekage's office and you see Baki there. You know him quite well, so you smile at him. He smiles back.

"Baki? What is going on? Am I in trouble?" you ask straight away as you approach him.

He just shakes his head.

"No, you are not in any trouble I know of. Unless there is something you are hiding." He starts to suspiciously eye you, but you can tell he is doing it for pure fun, not to actually question you.

"Oh, you must be Ikigai! Come inside, miss." The old man is staring at you from Kazekage's office and shows you inside.

As you walk in, you can see Elders standing around, chatting. They go silent the moment they see you.

In the back of the room there is Kankuro, smiling widely. You just nod your head towards him and he nods back. You dare to look at Gaara, who is sitting at his table, just staring blankly at the amount of paperwork in front of him.

You are not sure if you should say something, or greet him...I mean, great them, Elders...you are not there because of Gaara! But before you can start overthinking, door shuts close and everyone except of Gaara is staring at you.

"Yes?" You say in a low voice, almost a whisper.

"Ikigai, we are so delighted to see you. You and your father have been a massive help to Sunagakure in the past few years. We want you to know that we truly appreciate your help."

"That's okay, that's absolutely okay." You hear your father saying and smiling at everyone, almost bowing, truly pleased.

"Surely there must be something else, this could have waited, couldn't it?" You say slowly, as there is no way the congress would call you and escort you in the evening just to thank you.

"Ikigai!" you hear your father hushing you, but Elders are smiling at you.

"You are smart. Pretty and smart. Unusual combination nowadays. With such exceptional skills, a great reputation, you are a whole package." An older woman smiles at you as everyone else is nodding.

This is creepy. What the heck is going on? You look again at Kankuro, who is just staring at you, grinning, and at Gaara, who is still blankly eyeing the paperwork.

"We have a favour to ask you, miss Ikigai." One of them starts carefully. It's getting more and more weird.

"As you know, our Temari has left and resided in Konoha. And as in Suna, the title is passed down from generation to generation, we need to make sure there is an heir. And as you may have noticed, the remaining two siblings are not really excelling in this field."

As she speaks, you start to feel nervous again. Is this really what you think it is? Are they trying to hook you up? With Gaara? No! No way!!! I mean...yes, definitely! But...really? Is this happening?

You start to blush as you imagine spending more and more time with Gaara, getting to know each other more, getting more close. Your breath starts to be a bit shallow. This is a dream coming true.

"So we were thinking if you would be willing to help us out. You are by far the best candidate as there can be. And you already have a bit of friendship foundation built. We are not asking you to marry or anything, simply to see if there would be an opportunity for such a thing in the future."

She is wording it really carefully, but there is no mistake in what she's saying. They are trying to hook you up. But why so subtly? You were expecting them to say to marry Gaara and that's it.

"And it is not only council thinking it, but also him."

Wait...what? No, this can't be true. I must be dreaming.

"In the last few months, we've been through a lot. And we've realized we cannot force it. Otherwise, there may be more embarrassment and...well, let's be honest, humiliation coming towards Kazekage thanks to his actions and behaviour." Her voice suddenly changes and you are in shock. It is so harsh.

What on Earth has happened lately? All the Elders are bitterly looking at Gaara, who is still just blankly staring at paperwork. You look at Kankuro who is trying his best not to laugh. But there are definitely tears of laughter in his eyes. Same with Baki, who is standing next to the door.

"So we were thinking if you would be willing to give it a go and see how it goes..."

As she speaks to you again, her voice is back to being nice and soft.

...yes yes yes yes yes... you are screaming in your head

"With Kankuro." As she finishes, your brain takes a while to process it.

"NOOOOO!" You yell loudly and quickly cover your mouth.

No way! There is no chance you...no! Why???! And just when you started to plan what you will wear and what to talk about, this happens. You like Kankuro, but mostly as a friend! That's the most you can imagine happening with the two of you. That's the top-level where this relationship can escalate to.

Suddenly, you realize everyone stares at you. Kankuro's laughter disappeared and his expression is more bitter, but there is no hatred or disgust in his face. Elders look a bit worried. You dare to look at Gaara, who quickly looks at you, grinning.

Does he find the situation funny, or is he just happy he has escaped it?