Introduction

The blonde haired ninja sniffed slightly as she stared at her brother's picture, set above his coffin. She was dressed in black, as was everyone else in the dome.

"I don't know where to begin. Maybe the very first day would suffice. The first day that Sabaku No Gaara came into the world. So, shall we start?" Temari turned to the crowd gathered around her in the huge room and began speaking her tale.

Temari's Story

"I was about…three at the time, while Kankuro was two, I think. The day it all started, our father had ordered us to stay as far from the area as possible, so our uncle took us out of the cities limits, where we waited. Just after sunset of the second day in the desert, one of my father's men came to tell us mother had died giving birth. I remember crying for a few days. After a while, though, I realized that living through my mother's death would make me stronger. So I stopped crying, stopped feeling sorry for my self and returned to the world. Kankuro took it a lot worse, but he soon got over it as well. As for our baby brother, we noticed our father's intense interest in him from the beginning. He kept Gaara locked away from the world, keeping us away from the room where he played. He gave Gaara toys and everything he asked for. The entire village hated poor Gaara, for some reason we were not told about."

"Around Gaara's sixth birthday, our father told us exactly why everyone hated our youngest brother. He had the one tailed demon inside him. At the time, we didn't know how important that was to the village, but we soon learned. I awoke one night after Gaara's birthday because I had heard a noise coming from the hall outside. Sneaking to the door, I remember opening It and looking out to see four ninjas dressed in black sneaking for Gaara's room. I watched them open the door, paralyzed with fear. But I never had to be scared, for not a minute had passed after they had entered then they were running out in full panic, tendrils of sand chasing them viciously. I never did see what happened to them, because I had already dove back to my bed. But I did hear them tell Gaara that our father had ordered them to kill my brother. I couldn't believe it, and apparently, neither could Gaara. I heard him sob and run back to his room. I didn't know what to do, so I just stayed in my room."

"The next day, I told Kankuro what happened. We made plans, hoping to get Gaara away from the village to save him. So, five years later, we helped Gaara 'escape' from the village. Of course, we also had other reasons. The chuunin exams for instance. As you know, Gaara was put against two extremely fast ninjas. Now, I only know of three people who have ever succeeded to hit Gaara. And one of them, I am sorry to say, is not here to share this story. Anyway, after the exams, we returned to the sand village, and Gaara became Kazekage. He did some great things for the leaf village. It is unfortunate that he is dead. But he died a hero, so we must honor him as such. To Sabaku No Gaara, Kazegage and son of the sand!" Temari raised her glass in toast, and the ninjas before her mirrored the move. With a soft smile, Temari stepped off the stand to make way for her brother.

Kankuro's Story

Kankuro smiled and gave his sister a pat on the back. She was holding up a lot better than he was. He took her place at the stand and began to speak.

"You may know me as the puppet master. I guess I am. Temari was, and still is queen of fans. Gaara…well, to everyone else, Gaara was ruler of sand, but to me, he was always a little brother. A brother I would always try to watch out for. We all know he didn't like that. Yet I had to make sure Gaara's actions were safe. Safe for others, I mean." That caused a laugh to rumble through the crowd. "When I found out Gaara had died, I really thought my life was over. Gaara, king of sand, Kazekage, dead. But then I remembered what he always used to say. He said that suffering would only make you stronger. So, like Temari has, I'm trying to live through it. So far…it's going well, and Gaara, where ever you are, I hope it's not with dad." The crowd laughed again. Kankuro left the stand as more people filled onto it to share their stories.

Temari stepped up to her brother.

"Hey. You alright?" She whispered softly, hugging him.

"Yeah, you?"

"I'm hanging in there."

"Good. It's going to be alright Tem. Trust me."

"I thought that was my line." Temari joked.

"Oh," Kankuro said with a slight laugh. "Sorry." They hugged for a moment more before moving with the rest of the crowd to Gaara's coffin. He ran his hand over his brother's tattoo. "Love was always something you had trouble with, Gaara, but when it came to saving the ones who loved you, no one was better." He whispered to himself. Temari must have heard him, for she pulled him close. Kankuro felt her shudder as she sobbed. It was going to be a hard day for sure

Gaara's message from beyond

It was a month after Gaara's death. Temari and Kankuro were sorting through his gourd collection. As Kankuro lifted a black gourd off the ground to examine it's markings, the bottom of it swung open and out tumbled half a dozen scrolls. Each was marked with a different letter. "A, B, C, D, E, and F." Temari and her brother stood, stunned, Kankuro still holding the gourd above his head. Temari bent down to look at one of the scrolls when a final one fell from the gourd and hit her on the head. The newest scroll was painted gold, and on it in red ink was, "Temari, Kankuro, I'm not dead."

"Kankuro…can you tell me what I am looking at?"

"I would, but I'm not so sure my self." He put the gourd down and helped his sister open the gold scroll. What they read shattered their peace and thoughts.

"Dear Temari and Kankuro,

By the time you are reading this I will be presumed dead. It must stay that way. I have not yet passed on, but no one can know that. It is for your own safety. Please, do what I tell you. All the information needed is in the six scrolls I gave you. Open them in order, let no one else see them and do not go on to the next one before finishing all steps of the first. I am not sure when you will find this, but let it be heard that if you do not complete scroll "F" by the fifth full moon in the year, it will be too late. Time is wasting, so you must hurry.

Sabaku No Gaara"

…To be continued