Chapter Text
She looked over the letter once again. A second look wouldn’t hurt; even though this would be at least the fifth time she is reading her words again and again. This needs to be perfect. This letter is her last hope to save her people and she will not miss this chance because of a misspelling. She read the sentences again as not to seem desperate but also to give some mystery to the subject. She knew who she was writing to. To be more honest she knew from rumors and casual advice who she was addressing. Sabaku no Gaara; a genius, the greatest Kazekage in Sunagakure’s history; the feared demon of the sand. She returned from Konoha just a few days ago and after a heart to heart discussion with Tsunade she decided to write to him. There was a lot of pressure; she took the decision to write to him against what her consultant advised her so she was aiming for success. This is the key that can open or close the door toward salvation. She needs him to approve her visit; from there she is sure the plan will be successful; but she needs this entrance first.
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.
“Come in” she said, annoyed.
A small woman entered. Her bright blue hair swinging over her shoulders, with a bright smile on her beautiful face, she nodded and entered quickly. She closed the door softly and turned around to the stressed woman sitting behind the massive wooden desk. She was holding a small box, which smelled amazing. The blue haired woman approached the desk putting the box in front of the tired looking leader.
She took a few minutes to look at the woman across the desk. Viktoria-sama was her best friend since she was 5 years old; she was the person who was always there for her, who helped her, gave advice, asked for opinions and protected her. Now she is 18 and for the past 3 years she was also the leader of the Gold Village, their hometown since forever. Vika-sama was always a casual person, who took things very easily; at first glance you could say she was completely off but she knows her too well to recognise that under the casual, flirty approach there is a bright mind that overpasses her age.
“You look tired Vika-sama” she said with a sad look on her face. She had never seen their leader, her friend, this tired and stressed before. She took a second to look at the young leader once again. Her white thick hair was tied in a messy way with a hair clip, random pencils were shoved here and there in her hair, making her look very funny. Her mismatched eyes, one blue and one green, seemed in desperate need of rest as the glasses she was usually wearing in the office have been long forgotten on her desk under some chocolate wrappers. Even in the state she is now, her friend was a breathtaking beauty. She was loved by everyone, but how could you not like her? So young, so beautiful, so brilliant; the pride of the Gold Village. But Viktoria-sama loves her people and her village even more. To be so young and to lead and make a village prosper was no easy job; but she sparkled from the start, worked hard and proved to everyone she could do it. Viktoria was destined for great things, and she was proud to always be by her side.
“I’m fine, just a bit sleep deprived” the young leader responded with an amused look on her face. She watched her friend snap back from her train of thoughts. Now that she can smell the food Kiko brought, she realizes how hungry she was. She smiled at her dreaming friend and picked up the box placed on her desk and began to slowly eat the spicy chicken and rice her friend brought. She saw her take a seat across her desk and look curiously at the letter on her desk.
“You should send that. It won’t help if you keep staring at it for days.” Kiko said as she looked over to the letter and she placed herself in the chair from across the big ornate desk. She had no idea who she was writing to but it seemed like someone important since she was working on it for a few days now.
“You’re right.” said Viktoria, taking a last look at the letter before pushing it forward towards Kiko with a determined look on her face. “Take it and send it to the Kazekage before I lose another night of sleep because of it, or before I change my mind!” she said as she took another bite of chicken and rice.
The blue haired woman stared shocked at her leader. She heard about the Kazekage of Suna; from the rumors he was a scary person with a dark past full of killings. He was and is feared by people, even by his own ones. Why was Vika-sama writing a letter to that man? She knew that the village was facing some problems, but she never thought that things were that desperate. Kiko nodded quickly and took the letter, shoved it into an envelope, placed the golden seal of the village and shoved it in her small basket. Now she looked at her friend who seemed relieved to see the letter gone.
“Vika-sama, can I ask why you are contacting the Kazekage of Sunagakure?” she asked quickly as she looked into her mismatched eyes. There was a moment of complete silence between them; Victoria’s eyes fell in the box she was holding. She was unsure what to say, she was worried, yes. More worried that she had ever been, but burdening Kiko or any of her people with this was no option. They needed hope, a good plan, a leader who can hold herself tall and show no sign of weakness.
Kiko saw the look on her friend and the concern she was trying so desperately to hide. She knew that no matter what, Vika was always positive, she would keep a strong face and smile through any problem. But now, here she is, tired, stressed and with a desk full of empty chocolate wrappers, fidgeting for two days over an unsent letter. Yes, the man she was contacting was scary, but Vika was not easily intimidated by rumors. She must know some facts from her sources. This is a worrisome view. With a lump in her throat she asked almost in a whisper “Is it that bad Vika-sama?”.
A pair of mismatched eyes focused immediately on her. She shouldn't worry Kiko with this; she will give everything she has, just to make sure her people will be safe. No price is too big, when it comes to her village and the people that live in it. She smiled brightly at her friend. “I won’t lie to you, things are not looking bright and time is our biggest pressure.” she won’t lie to Kiko, she is not stupid, she figured it out that her state is not random. She continued “but, nevertheless I have a plan, a very good one that involves meeting the Kazekage. If it goes well, things will get better and our village will no longer be defenseless; never again.” she finished with a reassuring smile.
Kiko’s eyes brightened at the news. There was hope, Vika was always the one to bring wealth and safety to her village. Holding even tightly at her chest the basket that contained the very important envelope, she shot straight up. “Then there should be no time wasted; I will go right now to the delivering station and send this letter straight to the Kazekage. The fastest bird available! “ she said quickly and she rushed to the door. With a last step before exiting the door she turned around to see her friend shocked and amused at the same time. “You should go home and get some rest, Vika-sama. Soon enough we will be visiting Sunagakure!” she said smiling, as the young leader nodded slowly while getting up and reaching to the door.
“Thank you once again Kiko! Also I would ask you to keep the information regarding the letter just for yourself at the moment. No one else please!” she said as she started walking towards the door. The blue haired woman agreed with a small nod and walked towards the delivery tower.
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*The next day in Suna in Gaara’s view*
“They never end!” the young Kazekage thought as he was looking at the piled up papers on his desk. He never thought that his life would be resumed to paperwork, eating, training, meetings, paperwork, sleep (from time to time and by poor quality) and paperwork again. As for the time being he was grateful that there were no major events, overall things have settled into a peaceful routine and he is grateful to be alive after the beast extraction. He would have expected some major changes, but unfortunately nothing changed that much. Sleeping was as always almost impossible, his abilities, his strength unchanged. It is just that the voice of the beast that usually whispered violent things and kept him on alert was gone. Finally silence. He was grateful for at least this change.
He let out a sight as he signed his name yet again on another report. As he reached the next piece of paper he sensed the sand moving in the building; someone was approaching his office door in a rush. In less than a few seconds there was a knock on the door. He straightened up his posture and said “come in”.
A tall and slender shinobi, with black hair and a generic attire walked in and bowed quickly.
“Kazekage-sama, we received a letter addressed to you. It came straight from the Gold Village!” he said as he handed the young Kage the white envelope with the gold wax seal on the back.
“Thank you” he said as he dismissed the hurried shinobi. Now this was curious; the Gold Village. He heard very few things about it; from memory it was a village whose location was kept secret because of its great fortune. As the name said, gold was something that the village held in large amounts along with other resources that were heavily exported to big nations. He knew the village had a long heritage of leaders who come from royal descents, as the last leader was a king himself as the stories circulate. He scanned the envelope carefully, turning it so that the gold seal was now facing up. The seal was a deep gold,with a single letter engraved in it “V”. He opened it up to be welcomed by a very beautiful and tidy writing. “He must have had a woman write this for him” he taught as he began reading.
To the Kazekage of Sunagakure,
As the leader of the Gold Village, I hereby address to you a proposal in regards to an alliance. The rumors of your leadership have reached our borders and with great honor we would like to take part into the new rising era of Sunagakure.
If there is interest on your side also, I would like to discuss further matters in person. The place of our meeting would be in your choice.
Waiting for your response soon.
With regards,
Princess Viktoria
“Princess?” he thought, while scanning the short content of the letter again. Short, rather to leave matters at hand and lead to curiosity in regards to the proposal. Not the kind of letter he would have expected from a leader coming with a proposal, nonetheless a woman. Now this was intriguing and something that can also prove to be entertaining. An alliance is always a welcomed one, especially with a village that held so many resources that Suna would need. The opportunity should not be wasted. He took from his desk a piece of paper and began to write the response in order to be sent right away. He signed, and quickly scanned once again the written words and placed the letter in an envelope. He sealed the envelope then he sat up and slowly walked to the doors that led to the balcony that offered him the best view upon the village; his village. The people who he once despised, now as a changed man he gave his life to defend, and he would do it once more if needed. He summoned his messenger bird, placed the envelope in the right place and said: “Deliver this to the Gold Village, straight to the princess and return with her response!”. The majestic bird nodded in response and took its flight. As he saw the messenger disappear he wondered how far away the village is, and how soon he would receive an answer from her side.
At least now, he has something to keep him entertained, as he was curious about this mysterious princess’s proposal. “Your move, princess!” he thought as he retreated into his office, once again finding his way in between the piles of paperwork.
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*The next day in Gold Village*
Annoying. That was that sound that she heard in her dream; an annoying knock on glass. She slowly opened her eyes only to realize that the annoying sound was coming from her window. “Fuck off!” she yelled as she took her pillow and threw her head beneath it. The knocking became even louder and automatically more annoying. “I said fuck off!” she yelled as she stood up from her bed and turned over to the window. Then she paused. On her bedroom window there was a big brown hawk that was peeking the glass in annoyance. She quickly stood up and opened the window. The bird flew in immediately and landed on the wooden frame of her bed. She saw a small leather pouch on the bird and quickly retrieved from it a plain envelope. She opened up the envelope and begin to read the contents of the letter:
“Princess,
I am surprised to receive a proposal from your side but nevertheless Suna is interested into any alliances that may prove fruitful. As you asked, I would like to discuss the nature of your proposal in person therefore I would be honored to have you as a guest of our village.
Come as soon as you wish.
Gaara Kazekage of Sunagakure
Notice: the bird will wait to deliver your response.“
Now she was awake. She looked from the letter to the bird, then to the letter again as her eyes scanned once more its contents. Her heart was dangerously pounding in her chest as now she realized that she received a positive answer from his side along with an invitation for negotiations. She was so happy, she could sing, dance or drink something! She definitely needs a drink after this. Then she looked at the expecting bird. “I have to send a response! Now!” she thought as she hurried to the desk in her bedroom to retrieve a paper and an envelope. She then realized that the bird must be hungry, so she reached her drawer and began to scatter around some bags, until she found some seeds to give to the majestic bird. As she poured the content of the bag on the window sill, the bird began to eat happily.
“Now back to the letter! Easier said than done.” She looked over the paper as she remembered that the previous letter took 2 days to “master”, and now she has around 5 minutes to come up with a clever answer. She scanned his words again, smirking at how the Kage chose to address her as “princess”. Fine, two can play this game Kazekage.
“Kazekage-sama,
I am honored by your invitation.
I will arrive 3 days after the letter.
Yours truly,
Princess Viktoria”
She smirked; now this is a gem. “I better send it before I lose confidence in my ability to respond in a politically correct way after I cursed his messenger twice this morning.” She placed the letter in an envelope, placed a seal and put it in the bird’s pouch. The bird then turned expectantly to be told what to do next. She looked a bit confused but then spoke: “Deliver this to the Kazekage! Only to him, no one else!” . The bird nodded and flew away.
*a knock on the door*
“Enter!” she said, turning around to the door.
“Good morning Vika-sama!” Kiko entered happily, still in her pajamas. “Did you sleep well?”.
“No!” she answered quickly, turning back to see that the bird had already disappeared.
“Ow, I’m sorry to hear that!” Kiko said sadly as she approached the white haired girl.
“But, I woke up to great news!” she said as she returned with a big smile on her face.
“He responded?” Kiko said excitedly. Then she quickly saw the letter on the desk and proceeded to read it. She faced her friend with a slight flush on her face. “She called you princess!”.
“That’s my title isn’t it?” she said in a playful tone.
“Yes, but…you don’t like it when men call you that.” she said observing her friend.
“Well, this time is for a good cause!” she said quickly. Now that Kiko mentioned, she hates being called “princess” especially by men; she knows pretty well the implications of them addressing her like that. But this time she was not bothered; maybe because she was happy that she could see the light at the end of the tunnel; and by that a chance to save her village. She saw Kiko nodding suspiciously.
“Well, we have a lot of things to do! Kiko, summon the council, we have homework to do, and pack your things we are going to Suna in 2 days!” she said smiling.
“Haai!” Kiko yelled excitedly. She then ran out of the room causing a lot of commotion on the hallway as she began waking up the other residents of the house.
“My move now Kazekage!” she thought as she walked to the bathroom for a looong shower.