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Shogi Anyone?	By : Shortcake Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 13933 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything Naruto related. I make no profit from this story.

Chapter List
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Kankuro stretched the muscles in his arms as he walked briskly down the hallway, his muscles stiff from the combination of late night exertion and posturing through tedious morning meetings. His thoughts raced through the past 24 hours again, the possible outcomes and strategies consuming his attention. He needed to talk to Gaara alone. They had to get their heads straight and together before she got back from the hospital. She had no idea the effect she had on them. Sakura was so damn sexy sometimes it hurt to look at her. He knocked on the door only to be greeted by a vaguely familiar teenage boy.
“I’m sorry, sir. The Kazekage is resting…” the young shinobi began.
Kankuro interrupted, “Gaara, it’s me.”
“Let him in, Kenji, it’s Kankuro.” Came the simple command.
The chunin stepped aside as the puppet master stepped into Gaara’s quarters. “Yes, sir. I know it’s your brother, but the boss’s instructions were clear.”
Kankuro chuckled, “‘The boss?’ … Kenji, is it? Please explain to me who this ‘boss’ is.” The brothers exchanged a sideways glance at the concept.
The young chunin shuffled his feet, hanging his head slightly so his wispy brown bangs fell over his face. “I apologize, Lord Kazekage, Kankuro.” The nervous shinobi bowed, “It’s …ummm… just what we call Doctor Haruno. I meant no disrespect. Please don’t tell her we call her that. Please.” He’d seen what her fist could do, and he did not want his face to feel Sakura’s fury.
Gaara suppressed a laugh while Kankuro’s smile widened, “Son, I certainly understand your predicament. I assure you that I’m simply here to lift my brother’s spirits. Could you please head down to the kitchen? I’m sure Jiro will have lunch nearly ready by now.”
Kenji nodded, “In other words, you want to speak with the kazekage privately before the boss gets here.”
Gaara allowed a wry smile to raise the corners of his mouth just a bit, “Kenji, I must say, Sakura was right about you.”
This assignment was quickly becoming more than he’d bargained for. Kenji’s voice warbled with nervous energy, “Sir? I’m sure I don’t understand.”
Gaara stood, patting the youth on the back, “She said I’d like you. You’re an observant young man. Now go.” He shooed his babysitter out the door. “Don’t worry, if I have any symptoms at all, my brother is with me.” He closed the door behind the flustered medic and turned to Kankuro. “We have much to discuss.”
Kankuro simply nodded his assent as the two powerful shinobi sat down at the small table, a shogi game in progress. “I see you are about to win, brother.”
Gaara shrugged, “Yes, but he is a thoughtful player. He’ll be good one day. But enough of the medic. Where are we with the council?”
Kankuro went step by step through the current councilmen, the status of each, and the agenda for the afternoon meeting as it was twenty-four hours earlier. Then he turned to the kazekage, “Tell me, where are you brother?”
Gaara breathed deeply closing his eyes a moment before he chose his words, “I know every day I’ve had since Shikaku left has been on borrowed time. I’ve been dead before; I don’t fear it, Kankuro. But I love her so much. So much I can hardly breathe when I see her walk in the room. She agreed to marry me. Me! Can you believe it?” His eyes misted with tears he refused to shed. “She’s with child. My child. I want to live.”
The puppeteer felt the depths of the sand shinobi’s heart, but there were hard choices to make. “There’s a council meeting in three hours Gaara. Sakura will be here soon, though I’ve arranged for her to run a little late.” He smiled at his own cunning. “What do you want?”
Gaara knew the implications. What did he want today and what did he want if he died? “We must hedge our bets and have every contingency covered. Best case scenario is we have easy negotiations with the hokage while she’s here and I can marry Sakura shortly after the surgery. You’ll need to get together a list of every bargaining chip we have with Tsunade; and remember Temari’s in the mix. See what you can wrangle out of the council and the staff, discretely, of course. I understand that’s a tall order with my… health issue. Pin Sakura’s behavior at dinner on this brain chakra… what the hell did she call it?”
Kankuro supplied the answer, “Torn chakra patch in your occipital lobe.”
Gaara waved a hand, “Hmmm. Yes. That. Anyway, pin her interruption of dinner and everything after it on this illness. Normally I’d want to conceal any weakness from those bastards on the council, but considering the overall situation and the odds, I don’t think it’s wise to keep much from them. It’s more important to protect the secrecy of Sakura’s condition. Just make them pay for every scrap of information so we have cards to play later.”
Kankuro scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Hn. Yes, of course…What do you want if things don’t go well?” He hated this part, but they could not be caught off guard in any possibility; the stakes were too high.
The red head closed his eyes again briefly, then he locked his gaze with Kankuro, his iron will palpable. “There are two things you must promise me. First, if I am brain damaged and made a fool, you will arrange my accidental death.”
“Of course, Gaara. I understand. That is a fate worse than death.” Kankuro prayed it wouldn’t go that way, but he loved his brother enough to honor that wish.
Gaara’s steel gaze persisted, “If I die, you will be kazekage, marry Sakura and raise my child as your own.”
Kankuro’s eyes widened and he gasped at his brother’s words.
“Promise me!” The younger brother demanded. He leaned toward the dark-haired man he’d known his entire life, “You must promise me you’ll raise my son.”
The complex rush of thoughts and emotions dizzied the puppet master. Reaching deep within his own soul, he found the resolve to speak. “Yes Gaara. If you die, I will take my place as kazekage. I’ll marry Sakura and claim the child as my own. I will not fail you or our village.”
The words were barely out of his mouth when the disharmonious sounds of a student and teacher came from the corridor. “What were my orders, Kenji?!?” The sharp tongue of a raging medic echoed down the hall.
“You said to monitor him continuously, but…” The cowed teenager replied timidly.
“Then please explain to me how he is not in your sight, chunin! I should bust your ass back into the academy for this insubordination and incompetence!” A loud smack resounded through the house as her fist collided with the youth’s gut.
Sakura burst through the bedroom door a second later carrying the lunch tray followed by a doubled over Kenji. “Please… Doctor Haruno…” the boy pled weakly.
Her eyes cut daggers into the hapless shinobi, her anger slightly restrained as she realized her audience, “Consider this a lesson in healing blunt trauma to the abdomen, Kenji. Don’t make me teach you twice.”
“Yes ma’am!” His voice still filled with pain, he forced himself to stand straight.
“You are dismissed.” She waved him off, closing the door as the wounded man made his way back down the hall. She set the tray down next to the shogi set. “Kankuro, I thought you played better than this.” Her voice suddenly lacking the fire of a few seconds earlier.
Kankuro waved at the board, “Oh that was Kenji, not me.”
Sakura brushed imaginary dirt from her palms as she sat between them, “Ah. That makes sense. I take it you two forced my medic to abandon his post so you could conspire without him or me around?”
Gaara picked up her left hand and kissed it gently, caressing her fingers as he spoke softly, “it’s not like that darling. Kankuro needed to speak to me privately about a couple of intricate matters on this afternoon’s council meeting agenda. I’m passing him the baton for a while, Sakura. We just want the village to run smoothly.” He kissed the back of her hand again, then held it loosely in his lap. “It’s good to see you, darling.”
Sakura melted. It was impossible for her to stay angry with Gaara. Of course, they needed a private conversation. Still, she couldn’t have her subordinates disregarding orders so easily. “I understand, Gaara. Please respect my medics. They have orders that are for your health. If you won’t follow them willingly, I’ll have no option but to put you in the hospital, my love.” She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips, letting go of the remains of her ill temper at the warm greeting. “I’m happy to see you too.” She smiled as she sat back watching Kankuro unpack their meal of sandwiches and fruit. She poured the tea, “I’d have been here sooner, but this genin spilled her tea on me and I had to clean up first.” It was barely perceptible, but Kankuro had the tiniest smirk at her tale. She set the teapot down, her hands planted firmly on her hips. “How much did you pay her, Kankuro?”
The face paint wearer feigned ignorance, “Sakura! I swear, I didn’t pay anyone to spill tea on you.” He wasn’t lying. He’d simply called in a favor.
The medic eyed her future brother in law suspiciously. He wasn’t lying… still… “Forgive me Kankuro. I’m afraid I’m a bit out of sorts today.”
“There’s nothing to forgive.” He assured her, handing her a lunch plate.
The trio ate quietly for several minutes each quietly processing their own thoughts. Sakura prayed Tsunade would come quickly and that she’d be too wrapped up in treating Gaara to notice her pregnancy. Gaara simply watched her every move, captivated by her beauty. He noticed the way her brow furrowed slightly when she set her tea cup down with those delicate hands. Did she even know she had such a tell? Did she know what she did to him? Kankuro had given the promise of a lifetime, to step in and fill Gaara’s shoes in every way if he died. Marrying Sakura would be easy enough, she was beautiful, brilliant, and strong. Genetically, he and Gaara were enough alike, it would be easy to pass the child off as his own. But being kazekage… he’d filled in for Gaara enough to know how hard that row would be to hoe. He’d never let the village down, but damn it all, Gaara had better come through this in one piece.
Sakura finally broke the silence. “So, gentlemen, what is the plan?” She looked at them each in turn.
Gaara replied, “Kankuro is filling in for me until after the surgery. He meets with the council this afternoon. We should hear back from Konoha tomorrow. Is there anything else?” he looked to his brother.
“Shishio is bringing a bed for Sakura sometime this afternoon. And I’ll see you both at dinner.” He folded his napkin and stood to leave.
“Wait.” Sakura grabbed his wrist. “What about… What if… what happens if…” She couldn’t make herself say it.
Kankuro took her hand in both of his. “We have a contingency plan, Sakura. Don’t worry about it.”
The strength and clarity of his voice was reassuring, but her position felt precarious, “But – “
Gaara took her other hand in his gently, “Sakura, didn’t we agree that you would be the medic and I would be the kazekage?”
Sakura looked back at her sweetheart seeing only love in his eyes. “Yes, but…”
Gaara smiled for her. It was one of his rare full smiles that only emerged in private moments. “Then be the medic and let Kankuro do my job. Everything is properly arranged.” He could only pray that the worst never came to pass.
Sakura sighed. “Alright. I trust you.” She closed her eyes and sat back.
The brothers exchanged a knowing look as Kankuro set out to tame the council of elders.
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Shogi Anyone?