The Flower Shop [A Gaara Love Story]

38: A Cause For Concern

"Such as?"

The room fell silent, and the members of the council shifted their gazes between each other. Kankuro tapped his fingers against the table, his temper more obvious than Gaara's at this moment. Gaara watched the council, his eyes narrowed and a little cold as the men before him stayed quiet. He shifted, then began to collect the papers in front of him, drawing attention back to the head of the table.

"If there are no further objections-"

"There are some concerns," A councilman finally spoke up, seeming a little reluctant that he was the one having to do so, "About your...history."

The answer seemed to startle Gaara for a moment, his brow knotting. Beside him, Temari frowned, her own annoyance starting to get the better of her.

"I beg your pardon?" She spoke up, her arms crossed, "What are you implying?"

"Not implying, my Lady," The same councilman replied, "Considering."

"Considering what, exactly?" Kankuro snapped beside him, and Gaara's gaze drilled holes into his council.

"W-While you have nothing but our utmost trust, my Lord, we worry that if you are to go on your own, once you find the culprits your anger will renew certain habits, if you will."

"Get to the point," Gaara replied coolly, and the councilman visibly shivered.

"Frankly, sir, we're concerned that your desire for revenge may cloud your morality." Another man interjected to take the pressure off his peer, "The culprits need to be tried before a jury for their crimes not against you, but against Sunagakure. As we stated, this is considered a political attack due to Momoko Akiyama's affiliation to you; any attack on the Kazekage is an attack on our village. We cannot allow you to be both judge and jury."

"This is ridiculous!" Kankuro exclaimed, standing from his seat, "I can tell you right now they're all guilty! What's the point in dragging this out just so we can come to the same conclusion in the end?!"

"Because that is the law, Lord Kankuro." A councilman said, "We can overlook missing-nin or bandits, but we cannot overlook a direct attack on the Kazekage's partner. We sympathize with your situation, but we cannot allow feelings to cloud your better judgement."

"Therefore, we ask that you wait until we assemble a qualified squad to go after her, and would prefer if all three of you remain put here."

"Oh fuck you!"

"Lord Kankuro!"

The room erupted in shouts and yells, Kankuro doing most of the arguing against the panel of councilmen that sat around the table. Even Temari stood up to argue, her temper getting the better of her as she debated against them. It was nothing short of chaos, the commotion that filled the room, and it was only until Gaara rose a hand that they all fell silent.

It was quiet for a moment, all eyes turned to him as he pinched the bridge of his nose, his brow knotted as he tried to think. After a moment, he inhaled deeply, tried to collect his temper, then opened his eyes to look at the men that had gathered around him. He gestured to his sibling, Kankuro taking a more reluctant seat than Temari, before he himself stood. Gaara looked around the room, met each of their eyes, before finally speaking.

"Our laws state that in the event I believe it necessary and just, my decision in moving further on a matter can forgo the approval of my council." He spoke evenly, "I have never once taken advantage of this power, as I have trusted each and every one of you wholeheartedly and valued your opinion on each conflict that has arisen. Even if I did not completely agree, I sided with you, my council, because your values and opinions matter greatly to me."