Characters: Temari, Ē
Summary: It's hard, being the older sibling of a jinchuuriki.
Pairings: None
Author's Note: I can't help but think that they'd be able to bond over this.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"Raikage-sama." Temari dips a bow in respect for the Raikage, who stands, face dark and moody, with his elbow resting on a small balcony, as he stands and stares out over the Land of Iron, surveying the forbidding mountains.

He shoots a single eye at her, plainly abstracted. "Ah… The Kazekage's bodyguard, right?"

"Yes sir." Temari manages a small, slight smirk. "And his sister, too."

The Raikage snorts slightly. "I thought so. I heard he had siblings. Makes sense," he mutters. "The only one's he'd trust enough to be his bodyguards… considering everything." He's more talking to himself than to Temari, but she can't help but hear all the same, growing slightly uncomfortable when she realizes exactly what he's talking about.

But it does open the door to another strain of conversation.

Temari opens her mouth to speak gingerly, throat slightly dry. "I heard… that your own brother, Kirabi-san, was found, and is in fact safe?"

Surprisingly, a small smile steals over the Raikage's forbidding face, sardonic and fondly exasperated. He looks entirely different when he smiles like that. "Yes. The idiot was off gallivanting around, as usual, and didn't even bother to leave a note."

She nods. "Ah."

Silence is uncomfortable and thick, the air growing more still and stale despite the cold wind blowing in through the balcony. Temari wonders if she should leave, then finds herself burning with a question that she realizes that this man, of all men, ought to be able to answer.

"Does it ever get any easier?"

To his credit, he knows what she's talking about immediately, and doesn't take any offense to what is admittedly a fairly personal question.

The Raikage pauses, looking at her with both eyes this time in a piercing gaze that makes Temari feel as though he can see straight past her skin. Then, slowly, he shakes his head. "No, it doesn't. You'll always worry about him, and he'll always do stupid things and be the target for assassination left and right. Danger will always come to him, and you'll always get that sick feeling in your stomach, because you can't stop it."

That odd, exasperated smile comes over his face again. "But he'll always make it worth it."

And, again, Temari understands.

And she agrees with him.