The Tale of Two Women

Rin didn't care for this room, in fact, it wouldn't be too bold to say she didn't like it at all.

Her eyes trailed from one weathered face to the next, each on edge around her and every single one staring at the joined hands that held her fast to Gaara's side.

Their faces looked at her like she was something dirty; a rat that found her way into the palace hall and the cat was the woman who sat in the middle of them, staring her down.

She hated this room.

"Your marriage, Lord Kazekage?"

"OUR marriage." He corrected, sending a small smile to Rin's face.

The councilwoman face hardened.

Rin couldn't remember the names of any other members, but she knew this one.

Kaba, the woman who had been against her from the first day she arrived, who hadn't found a single accomplishment in her stance or her methods.

It was always wise to know the name of your enemy.

"Lord Fifth..."

"Yes?"

"You can't."

"I can't, what, exactly?"

An angry red filled the woman's face, as she gripped the arms of her chair. "You can't be serious! You intend to take a woman of the Sound as your bride? A woman with no political standing, no familial ties to the Sand, no prospect and no value?"

Gaara's hand tightened on his lover. "She has value. More than will ever know."

The councilmembers whispered amongst themselves, one of the men on the right speaking up. "What value is that, Lord Kazekage? Is there a connection we haven't been made aware of? Something that would prove beneficial from this match?"

Rin felt her stomach drop.

If they had any idea what connections she had, it would make her even less desirable than she already was, if such a thing were possible. No one besides Gaara knew about her origins and she wanted to keep it that way.

She was impressed by his calm. The only time he showed a crack in his composure was when they insulted her and she wasn't sure if anyone would notice that besides her.

"While it's true that Ms. Ito possesses no advantages to our village in the traditional fashion, she does provide something no other person in this world can do, something far more valuable."

"What is that?"

He turned to look at her, the proud smile on his face, sending a shiver of pleasure down her spine.

"She loves me for me."

Rin pulled closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder, somewhat hiding her embarrassed face.

Kaba watched the interaction, feeling like an animal was burrowing its way into her abdomen.

Every move they made, the small, private exchanges that spoke volumes without a word, the way he'd moved himself to stand ever so slightly in front of her when she was disparaged, filled her with a rage she thought long forgotten.

"As sweet as that sentiment may be, it's unacceptable. We aren't trading in emotions; we're dealing with real world consequences. Have you stopped to consider them, Lord Kazekage? What ramifications will fall if you choose this woman?"

Rin bit the inside of her cheek.

Temari's words were nearly identical to this woman's and the tone to match. The similarity was almost eerie.

The thought suddenly dawned on her and she looked at her lover with new eyes.

He was standing firm, trying to keep a calm face, despite his happiness being questioned. It felt like this wasn't a new occurrence for him and the way he was scanning their faces confirmed her inner questioning.

Who raised them when their parents passed?

She'd heard of the former Kazekage's distain for his son and his mother's untimely passing when he was a newborn. Who stepped in to guide the Sand siblings?

Tutors and servants, possibly, perhaps a trusted nanny or two, but by the rage on the old woman's face, her answer was clear.

Kaba had been as much of a parent to Gaara as his anyone else.

"Of course, I've thought about consequences. I'm not a child."

"Then stop playing house and run your village, Lord Kazekage. You can't afford to entertain such fantasies about marrying for anything less than what will benefit your people. That's the sacrifice you agreed to make when you took on your father's mantle and his father before that."

Gaara's muscles went rigid and he was about to open his mouth to contest her point, when Rin, as usual, did something surprising.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled out from his protection.

Facing the council, as she had twice before, each with a less-than-favorable result, Rin stood before them.

Their gaze stayed fixed on her movements, making her feel as if she were some dangerous snake that slithered into their midst. Funny how she could transform from a rat to something more deadly, depending on where she stood.

They knew the venom in her tongue and their wounds still stung.

Rin took a deep breath and bowed at the waist. "Fair council, I request to speak on my own behalf, apart from the Kazekage."

All eyes turned to Kaba, regarding her decision.

The councilwoman sat rod-straight, the ends of her fingers white and clutched. "I seem to recall you have a habit of speaking regardless of our permission, Ms. Ito. Why the sudden act of civility now? Surely an attempt to make you seem more suitable in our midst, but I can see it's nothing more."

She's got me there, clever old bat. Rin swallowed the thought and spoke calmly. "I acknowledge our past conflicts."

"Do you? Well, then, aren't we lucky? You seem to have a memory to go along with your insolence."

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.

"I assure you, any disrespect you've met in the past, was due to my own feelings of malcontent from this council. You judged me the moment I set foot in this room, just as I judged you."

There were a few shared glances between members, but no one spoke to deny her claim.

Rin nodded. "Yes, we've judged each other... harshly. You heard the name of my village and assumed I was an assassin. I heard the Sand was nothing, but a collection of harsh, hostile people, who didn't welcome anyone outside their own kind. Glad to see we were both incorrect, weren't we?"

There were a few whispers at her claim, but they let her be.

Kaba didn't take her attention off the intruder into her small kingdom for one second. "What is it you want to say, Ms. Ito? This council's time is precious."

As if mine isn't?

Rin centered herself, biting back the quips that came so easily whenever she was in this kind of situation. She needed to be calm now, mature and composed. Gaara's happiness depended on her reigning her temper in.

She took a step closer and held out her hands, palms up, addressing each of the council members with her claims. "I know what you see when you look at me. You see danger. You see suspicion. You see rubbish."

Her eyes held Kaba's. "And you see fear."

There was a sharp intake of breath and the murmur of whispers.

Gaara gave a small clearing of this throat.

Careful, Rin. Careful.

"What do you think I'm afraid of, Ms. Ito?"

She swallowed the anxiety in the back of her tongue "Me."

The whispers transformed into full blown chaos, all voices speaking their outrage at her claim.

Gaara moved to stand in front of Rin, but she held up a hand to stop him and he complied; an action that didn't go unnoticed by the councilwoman.

"So much for your claims of respect between us."

Rin shook her head, still holding her hands up for them to see. "I say that with the utmost respect, councilwoman. I know you're afraid of me, but not for the reasons the others may think."

She lowered her arms, slow and purposeful. "You're afraid of all the things you've mentioned before; power struggles, unrest in the nations, the people's low opinion of me and those are all valid, however, there is something else, something far more personal."

"And what is that?"

Rin's face softened, her eyes catching Kaba's. "You're afraid I'm not good enough for Gaara."

"The Kazekage."

"No, Gaara, himself."

The room was silent. All eyes fixing on the elder woman, who had gone disturbingly still.

Rin looked back at the love of her life, who was also a statue in the room. She had a talent for surprising the life out of him.

Kaba's voice was low and dangerous. "Explain. Your. Words."

Rin swallowed the lump in her throat and spoke softly, approaching the council members so close that only the table separated them.

Her eyes stayed on the old woman, faded grey matching her gentle expression. "You care about him, don't you? More so than a council or even a villager would for their Kazekage. I know it was unheard of for such a young shinobi to take on the title. Even we in the Sound were shocked when we learned of Gaara's ascension. There had to be talk in the Sand, great bouts of unrest and upheaval at such a notion."

Kaba's mind flashed back to the days spent arguing about it in this very room.

The voices that screamed against his age and his past ringing louder than most.

Rin nodded. "He couldn't have done it without the council's permission and the head of that council is you. It took a strong woman to raise the kind of man Gaara is, the kind of warriors his siblings are. You were that strong woman, weren't you?"

The words crackled through the air like lightning.

They were bold, they were dangerous.... they were true.

Kaba's eyes left Rin's captivating gaze and rested on the young man standing behind her. He'd grown so much.

What she felt for Gaara, wasn't maternal affection, Kaba didn't have it in her, even her own sons had to prove themselves worthy. Their clan demanded such from a young age.

She wasn't a warm woman, but she could have been, in another life.

She was proud of him. That much she knew.

The council was interwoven in the lives of the Kazekage family, each member called to excel for the Sand and to be guided in their roles in doing so.

Kaba remembered the lessons she taught to the three siblings; Temari's rapt attention, Kankuro's day dreaming, Gaara's fury in the back of the room. Even then, she knew he could kill her as easily as if he were swatting a fly, but he didn't.

No matter how she scolded or expected better of him, the young lord never gave her as much as a spared glance and a muttered response.

Rin's voice drew her out of her memory. "What was Gaara's mother like and what 'value' did she hold that you're afraid I'll replace?"