Gaara donned his Kazekage robe and hat and followed Temari across the village. He left Mizu to sleep against Yoki. Many of the villagers stopped and stared, it wasn't every day he went out in formal attire. I will need every card I have, this deal... What do they want? Walking into the Kazekage building he entered the council room decorated with a simple large round table. The elders of his village were sitting on one side and judging by their looks, they were also apprehensive of what was to come. A woman in a long flowing green kimono and traditional white makeup stood up when he entered. She and her ninja guard bowed.
"Thank you for seeing us, Lord Kazekage. I'm Kitsune, representative of the Yama village," She gave him a superior smile and held out her hand.
Gaara kept his face neutral, but his rage seethed beneath the surface. As he took her hand Shukaku shouted in his head "Kill her." Quiet!The woman put her sleeve over her mouth and batted her eyelashes at him. Is she making fun of me? He remained calm and took his seat.
"What can we do for our neighbor?" Gaara asked. It took his full control not to spit out the last word.
"We've come to offer our assistance. We've heard of your plights with this virus and wished to offer aid." She smiled and lowered her eyes slightly.
"How kind." Gaara could feel his sand moving under the table, itching to crush this woman's legs. "And how do you plan on doing that?"
"We've recently acquired some ingredients I believe is used to make the cure. We'd be more than happy to sell them to you." Kitsune's face didn't change, she kept smiling like a good little business woman.
"I see..." Gaara's sand inched her way under the table and he had to will it back.
"What are your terms of purchase?" One elder, an older man called Sabaku, and one of the few Gaara thought had any sense, interjected.
Kitsune's mouth twitched slightly, but she kept on smiling. "Perhaps you would like to confirm the quality of the ingredients first?"
"Indeed, we'll have to make sure you have what we need first before buying anything." Gaara put his chin on his hands and stared at the woman hard. She didn't waver under his gaze. "If we find they are what we need, what do you want for them?"
The woman hid her lips again and chuckled. "Nothing much, we are interested in the land up north near the cliffs. Do you know of it?"
Figured.
Sabaku interrupted, "We cannot give you that land. We've discussed this multiple times with your village prior—."
"If those terms are unacceptable, we would be willing to trade for something else." She put a seductive finger to her lips and lowered her eyes. Not once had she looked anywhere but Gaara. He could feel Temari's blood lust from over in the corner. The rest of the elders looked surprised at this sudden new offer.
"And what is it you're willing to trade instead?" Gaara kept his voice level, but he felt uneasy about this.
Kitsune tilted her head. "There is a traveling herbalist that came to this village recently, do you know her?"
Gaara's heart stopped and his sand swirled around his feet. Wait, then all the times they attacked Mizu... It wasn't to get at me? Kitsune's smiled deepened. The elders looked around at one another.
"You want the herbalist?" One of the other elders finally spoke up.
"Yes, we'll trade for her." Kitsune's demeanor grew triumphant.
This woman, she started off with something we couldn't accept to make this seem like a better deal. What a sly fox.
"Tell me," Gaara's voice wavered. "Some ninja from the Yama village have tried to abduct this herbalist while she was under our protection. Do you know anything about that?"
Gaara could feel the elders tense at his tone; Kitsune didn't bat an eye at his sudden accusation. "We've had quite a few go rogue recently. Perhaps you ran a crossed some of them?"
Of course that would be her response. By claiming them as rogues those men became disposable to the village and were no longer their responsibility. So if some rogue ninja just happened to bring Mizu back to the village...
"That doesn't seem like a bad deal to—," One of the elder said.
"Idiot!" Temari blurted out. "That herbalist is a guest in our village. If you hand her over, then you're letting the other villages know that we can't protect our own guests."
Gaara resisted a smile. Kitsune wasn't fazed. "We don't intend to make her our prisoner. We would just like her to visit our village for an extended period of time. We're interested in her herbal knowledge."
Shikkan... Do they know? The woman's eyes flashed, she believed she has the advantage in this deal. They do unfortunately... I need something to tip the balance.
"We'll need time to discuss it," Gaara finally spoke.
"I'll await your answer," Kitsune bowed from her seat and stood up, a couple ninja took her and her guard from the room.
"What's there to discuss? She's not from our village. Just evoke her stay and send her on her way," The elder, Baka, chimed in. "Our people are our first priority."
Sabaku shook his head. "That woman is the one who gave us the cure to save our village."
"She was paid well for her help. It's time she was sent on her way. That woman's causing too much trouble. Don't think we didn't hear that you abandoned your duties and went after her Lord Kazukage." Baka pointed a boney finger at him. "It sounds like you put your personal feelings first instead of your village."
I did, but—
"We should just hand her over." The elder woman, Nana, the only one left with a full head of white hair, put in her vote. "You have a responsibility to your people. This woman isn't one of us."
"That is hardly the point!" Sabaku shouted. "You're saying we should hand over someone's life like a prized possession to be traded."
"If it is one life for many, then so be it." Nana huffed.
Slam! Gaara flinched, and he looked over to find Temari's fan on the table. The elders froze.
There looked to be steam coming out of her nostrils. "Listen, you chattering hob monkeys, if you put one scratch on Uta-san, you'll find your heads taking a one-way trip to the top of the cliffs while your bodies chill below."
Gaara laughed at this, Temari glared at him. "And you! How can you tell that sly fox we'd think about it? You just saved Uta-san and now you're going to trade her off?"
"I never said I would trade her. I just said I'd think about it. I've thought about it. I don't intend to hand her over." Gaara chuckled, Temari calmed down, but she turned away from him her face red from embarrassment.
"Lord Kazekage!" Baka shouted. "You can't be serious?"
Gaara's eyes darkened and he let his sand swirl freely about. The elders shrunk under the pressure, except Sabaku who snickered. "I am very serious. I won't hand her over."
"You're prioritizing your personal feelings instead of the village?" Nana asked.
"Not entirely." Gaara's mind was racing. The room looked at him surprised and Temari looked confused. Does Yama know about Shikkan? If so, did Mizu know they were after her? If they get their hands on Shikkan, then they could use its power to take whatever they wanted. We'd be powerless against more disease.
"What do you mean? Is there something special about that woman?" Sabaku looked at him quizzically.
"Maybe, I need time to figure out what they're planning. Handing off Mizu right now wouldn't be..." Gaara stopped when he realized they were all staring open-mouthed at him.
Temari bent down and whispered, "You used her first name."
Oops. He sighed and cleared his throat. "Anyway, handing her over could end badly for us. Give me time to figure this out. In the meantime, we need to confirm they even have what we want. Temari, take Sakura and have her inspect their wares. They should have brought samples with them. That's all for now."
Gaara stood up and left the room, Temari went the opposite way of him to retrieve Sakura from the hospital. He was almost to his office when a voice called out to him, turning around he found Sabaku striding up to him. The older man wrapped his arm around Gaara's neck and pulled him into an armlock. Vigorously he messed up Gaara's hair.
"Sabaku-san!" Gaara pulled away and tried to fix his hair. He soon realized it was futile to mess with the bird's nest. Does Mizu like neater hair? He glared at the older man who just laughed. Sabaku-san had gone on a journey when he was young and returned only a few years ago. Unlike the other elders he was the only one that didn't seem to fear him and his power. I wish he'd stop treating me like a child though! The older man held out two slips of paper to him, Gaara took them confused and inspected them. They were tickets for the Sand Coliseum Theater.
"My wife and I were supposed to see this tonight, but she had to change plans on me at the last minute. I was going to give them to Baka-san, but you might need them more. Good luck." The older man gave him a thumbs up and snickered before leaving Gaara standing in the hallway his face on fire.
That old coot! Gaara looked down at the tickets again and smiled. Does Mizu like plays? He opened his office door, but paused and turned to look down the hallway. It was empty. I could have sworn... Am I being paranoid? He closed the door behind him right as a green shadow flickered around the corner.