Chapter Text
As the servants loaded their belongings into the carriage, The King of the Land of Wind, Lord Rasa, took it upon himself to see his children off on their trip. The King was usually so bogged down in royal duties that he didn’t see his family until supper, but felt the need to grace them with his presence and, more specifically, chastise them as they waited in the meticulously-kept courtyard garden.
For one reason or another, the arranged marriages set up for Temari never stuck. The King’s daughter always found a way to scare off her suitors. Although striking and personable when she wanted to be, she used intentional tactics to repel the men in question. In addition, her younger brothers gave these men the impression that the whole family was indeed peculiar, with Gaara’s unnerving crystalline stare and Kankuro’s unhealthy interest in puppetry.
After exhausting his options with the other major nations and several of the smaller, Rasa responded to a letter sent by the Fire Daimyo and the leaders of their primary village, Konoha. He agreed to send his daughter to meet several of the village’s eligible bachelors, who happened to be samurai. The need for their samurai to marry stemmed from brewing issues between the lands of Fire and Earth, their neighbor to the northwest, which they feared might result in war. The village required samurai wives to join the other women in keeping the village afloat in the men’s absence. According to Rasa’s advisors, samurai were not noblemen by blood, but were held in a similar regard due to their strict code of honor and sacrifices made for the land. As a last ditch effort to wed his eldest, he agreed, even with the knowledge that she would do everything in her power to foil the opportunity as she had numerous times in the past. The decision to send her younger brothers along to keep her in line was perhaps foolish, as Rasa himself had seen Temari strike fear in their hearts with only a look, however it was unheard of for women to travel alone.
Rasa tried to quell his annoyance as he spoke to his children. “It is imperative that the three of you do your best to fool these people into thinking you’re decent. I’ve already stooped low enough sending you to Konoha. Don’t embarrass me further”.
Temari’s eyes settled just over her father’s shoulder as he carried on, to on the smooth stone walls surrounding the property in the distance. She was being shipped off again without a say in the matter. Whether she married or not, her world would exist within a set of walls: as someone’s property in a foreign land or inside her father’s castle, soon to be forgotten once she failed to produce an heir. Before the festivities of her twenty-third birthday could even come to a close, she caught the end of whispers deeming her an “old maid”.
When she tuned back into the drone of her father’s voice, he was in the middle of a staunch warning.
“—You make this work, or that’s it, Temari. We have no other options. I’d rather you not marry at all than marry a common man”.
She nodded, “Yes, father. Dying alone seems to be the most enjoyable option”.
Rasa shot his daughter a cutting glare, “Your brothers might find you humorous, but I assure you, that attitude of yours will be your downfall. I suggest you act accordingly in Konoha. The least you can do…”. His expression turned sour as he lowered his voice, “…is prove you’re not useless”.
Temari held the Kings’s stare with anger stirring in her gut. He never failed to remind her exactly what she was needed for. In case Kankuro failed to provide an heir to the throne, the duty fell on her shoulders. Before she was a daughter or a sister or even a person, she was a vessel of the throne. She cast her eyes down to the tiled floor of the courtyard, refusing to let the scorn in her father’s eyes affect her further.
Through pursed lips, Rasa bid his sons a curt goodbye and made his way back toward the main tower. Only after he was sure his father was out of earshot, Kankuro tried to break the tension hanging in the air by cracking a joke that the others ultimately lacked the energy to respond to. Temari eventually slapped on a convincing smile and led them across the courtyard.
Baki leaned against the carriage, tall with a sturdy build from years of combat and bandages covering an old injury that spanned the left side of his face. Though rough in appearance, the wrinkles formed by a permanent scowl and deepened by the the desert sun softened without fail in the presence of the three siblings. Baki had been their personal guard since Kankuro was old enough to walk and with so much loss within the royal family, he was the closest thing they had to a relative. He offered a kind smile as they piled into the carriage and took his own seat next to Gaara.
The red-haired son turned to Baki with a curious look, always formal and straight to the point. “What information can you give us on The Land of Fire?”.
Before he could reply, Kankuro interrupted the conversation. “The old man said it’s a last resort”.
“Not to go against the King’s word”, Baki interjected, “However, the Land of Fire is a strong nation, economically and in terms of defense. I think Lord Rasa is… apprehensive… about the arrangement. They are new allies, of course, and quite different from us culturally”.
Temari nodded, “I see… and what is their culture like exactly?”. As nonchalantly as Temari tried to appear, Baki gave her a sideways glance, well aware of her strategies when it came to these arrangements. The eldest made a point to study her potential husbands and act as contrary as possible until they begged her to leave.
“Well Lady Temari, to sum it up, they put a lot of stock in cooperation, courage, honesty, and benevolence among others. You should fit in just fine”.
“What’s benevolence mean?”, Kankuro asked.
“Just a fancy word for kindness”, Baki chuckled. The middle son had obviously not been keeping up with his tutoring sessions.
“But I thought you said Temari would fit in…”. Despite the innocent intent of Gaara’s question, Temari’s hand instinctively curled into a fist.
Before a full-blown brawl could break out in the carriage, a change in the air caused the siblings to fall silent. The temperature dropped and the wind stilled, allowing the group to hear the sounds of the forest that lined the outskirts of the Land of Fire.
Temari snatched back the curtain covering the small side window of the carriage to get a better view. Without realizing, they had already passed the grasslands that softened the sharp contrast between the deserts of their home and the lush landscapes to the east. The horses pulled them along the path where the trees grew closer and closer together, knitting the forest into a blanket of green.
As much as she loathed being sent on journeys to meet a man somehow more repulsive than the last, Temari developed a passion for travel. Experiencing new sights and cultures were small joys in otherwise miserable situations. She’d been places that other noblewomen couldn’t fathom, far from the dunes surrounding their castle, but none were as hypnotic as the forest they currently traversed. She couldn’t wrap her mind around how the trees grew so close together, yet so tall. Back home, even the strongest plants required special attention to thrive in such harsh conditions, but the ferns covering the ground and lichen scaling the trees here weren’t in competition. They grew together.
“Seems we’re nearing Konoha”, Baki sighed and sank back into his seat.
Everyone seemed to relax amid the trees and fresh air, but Temari’s shoulders remained squared and stiff; her posture that of a soldier riding into war.
“Enjoy it while you can”. The corner of her mouth drew up in a crafty smirk. “We won’t be here long”.