A/N: A bit of "behind-the-behind-the scenes" with the Sand Sibs. I hope yal enjoy it, it made me smile while writing it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anyone/thing in this story. Special thanks to Calger's Anime Shrine for the Japanese-English Glossary

Chapter: 1

Kankuro noticed the changes in his sister first. They were having lunch together, and instead of eating, she was pushing her food around on the plate. At first he thought she was sick. But when it persisted for a few days, he wondered if maybe she was just bored. Even though Konoha wasn't much more than an academy, and collection of decent restaurants in his opinion, he had to admit that it's lack of sandstorms made it easier to go out and do things. He could even agree that their training grounds offered a much more diverse layout in terms of trees and small hills, meadows, and marshy areas. There was also the weather. Unlike Suna's constant sunshine and dry heat, Konoha actually had seasons. Temari had written an entire report for Gaara about experiencing snow on one of her trips, promising them both that if it happened again she'd try to bring some back to Suna with her.

She was bored, that had to be it. If it was more than that she'd say something, at least to him. Sharing one's inner thoughts and feelings might be a new experience when it came to Gaara, but Kankuro and Temari had been eachother's confidante for years. Who else knew about his secret fear of teddy bears, or her aversion to figs. He remembered how when he was six and a foreign dignitary presented the children of the Kazekage with teddy bears, Temari had intercepted his as he cowered in fear. He'd paid her back by bumping her arm and making her spill a plate of stuffed figs that their father had forced on her at some fancy dinner. The gratitude in her eyes had been worth being sent to bed early. He smiled, as much as they bickered, the Sabaku siblings had eachother's back. If something was up she'd tell him. No point bothering her now. When she was ready, she'd find him.

o-o-o

Gaara noticed not too long after his older brother. Since he wasn't much for sleeping, he'd long ago taken to haunting the library in their home, something he still enjoyed. He could spend hours in quiet solitude. No one judging, no one whispering, no one calling him "monster". Just mountains of books. Stories he'd read for years but was finally beginning to understand. He'd just settled into a book about the founding of Suna, (something he figured EVERY Kazekage should know by heart) when he heard footsteps going down the hall.

In and of itself, that wouldn't be alarming. Sometimes Kankuro would come home late at night, humming to himself and reeking of unidentifiable perfume. Gaara never asked. He was still new at learning about feelings and attachment. Even though Kankuro was always ready to answer any question he had, Gaara knew himself well enough to know that he wasn't quite ready for a crash-course in "smelling like someone else's perfume".

But it wasn't Kankuro this time. No humming, no smell. In fact, other than footsteps, there was no way to detect that anyone was in the hall. Gaara got up out of his chair and picked up his gourd. If this was some kind of stealth attack he was going to be ready. He made his way down the hall, his sand spreading out before him. When he got to the courtyard he stopped. What he saw made no sense to him. His sister was standing in the middle of the courtyard bathed in moonlight, staring up at the sky.

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