Disclaimer:The Naruto world and its characters are not mine.

Also, a little heads up, this story will contain male/male, female/male, and female/female moments of sexual tension and innuendo. Nothing too extreme, but with a main character that can switch from male to female and back again, a little confusion is only natural. Hence, the M rating.

Don't worry; this is a Sasu/Saku fanfic!

Now, on with the story.


Chapter 2: Life in Suna

Temeki pushed her hair out of her eyes as she warily stared at her opponents. She was outnumbered 15 to 1 and her orders were strict. She was forbidden to harm them. But they did have the ability to harm her. They stood in front of her in a line, kunai drawn, as she stood in a battle stance with her back to a wooden wall.

Ryouken, the self-appointed leader of the group, held up his kunai and yelled, "GO!"

Temeki tensed and moved quickly to dodge the many kunai thrown at her. She ducked and weaved as she tried to evade the projectiles, but with so many, she felt some of them hit her armor. She pivoted on one foot, intending to drop and roll, but one of the kunai hit her shin dead on.

She fell to the ground and looked up at the sky.

That's it, she thought. I'm done for.

She felt the ground shake as her attackers ran to her position.

"Temeki-sensei!" they screamed. "Are you okay?"

Temeki sat up and smiled at her students. "Oi, I'm okay," she reassured the fifteen ten year olds she had been assigned to teach today. She stood up and carefully removed the armor from her body.

"Why don't you all collect the practice kunai and place them in their appropriate containers, hmm?" she asked. "While you're doing that, I'll write your grades down."

She ignored the groans from most of the class and heard Korena shout at Ryouken, "Just shut up and pick up your kunai, baka!"

Temeki smiled as she placed the armor on a table and brought out her grade book. Korena is sounding more and more like Sakura every day, she thought. She shook her head and stared unseeingly at the lines of names and letters in front of her. She had been thinking of the pink haired kunoichi more and more often lately. She dreamt of her, too.

But right now, she had to work.

The light blue eyes of Temeki looked over the armor and counted the number of dark green paint stains on it. She looked at a sheet of paper next to the armor and smiled.

Shinkirou Touken: 4 hits—B

Temeki wrote down the information in her grade book and continued on to the next color and the next student.

The practice kunais that Kina had designed were a complete success.

Her idea had been to create hollow metal kunais that had the same weight and size of real ones. But were filled with a water soluble paint that smeared onto whatever came into contact with the kunai's dulled edges. The problem had been the fact that the paint, which was a liquid, kept spinning in the kunais and causing them to wobble when they were thrown.

Sabaku no Kinabuhi, Temeki's sister, had thought about it for a long while before she came up with a solution. Instead of the kunai being totally hollow, she decided to put a small depression in the center of each kunai. A dry paint packet could be placed inside the depression by pushing one into the kunai's removable handle and after twisting the handle back on, the packet would burst. The special dust immediately turns into liquid when it touches metal and the paint would be able to flow out of the kunai's edges.

All of the taijutsu teachers were glad for the new teaching tool. It made it easier for them to keep track of the skill and accuracy levels of each student and also cut down the time it took to test and grade the young wanna-be ninjas.

Everyone praised Kina for the invention. The teachers especially were fond of saying, "The Kazekage's wife is truly amazing."

Temeki was happy for her sister. They both taught at Suna's Ninja Academy and had been teaching there for almost 6 years. Kina had been Head of the Taijutsu Department for one whole school year before Temeki arrived and took over the position for her. Now, Kina was the Genjutsu teacher and also taught the special class that only future kunoichis took. Temeki, besides running the Taijutsu Department, also taught Advanced Ninjutsu, but only after the old teacher had been killed on a mission.

When she had first arrived in Suna, Temeki had been dismayed by the assignment the Kazekage had given her.

In the first place, Temeki had argued, she didn't even like kids. Secondly, if she was going to teach a class, it should be a ninjutsu one, since that was where her strength lay. And thirdly, she had come to Suna to train and become stronger, not teach.

Gaara had remained silent during her argument and when she was finished, answered and shot down each and every one of her complaints.

"Firstly," he'd said. "You don't have to like kids to teach them how to fight. In fact, it's better. That way you won't go easy on them."

Temeki couldn't argue with that point.

"Secondly, teaching ninjutsu would be too easy for you. The taijutsu class will be a challenge."

"It will also hone your reflexes," her foster sister, Kina, added, smiling maliciously. (1)

"Thirdly," the Kazekage had stated. "Since you are in Suna to train, you will think of me as your sensei. This is the training schedule I've thought up for you and if you want to become a shinobi of Suna, then you will follow it!"

Temeki'd given in to Gaara's demands and become a teacher. For the first few months, she'd resented the boy for his threat. He knew that Temeki was no longer considered a Konoha ninja and that she didn't want to take up the mantle of missing nin ever again.

The only option left to her was to become a Sand nin like her sister.

It was a fact that Gaara knew and exploited at every opportunity.

But by the time the winter break had come around, Temeki found that she enjoyed teaching. Something about the smiles the children gave when they completed a maneuver correctly warmed something in Temeki's heart that had been long frozen. She also realized that her sister was right and her reflexes had sharpened with the assignment.

Having to constantly dodge sharp objects thrown by inexperienced hands tended to do that.

"Temeki-sensei!" Korena yelled into her teacher's ear.

Temeki wanted to jump in surprise, but forced herself to remain still. She slowly turned to her student and lifted an eyebrow. "And why are you yelling at me, Korena-san?" she asked in a cold voice.

Korena stepped back and gulped. She heard Ryouken-baka laugh behind her and saw Touken smirk out of the corner of her eye. Stupid, Ryouken, she thought. Now Touken-kun thinks I'm a wimp!

"It's been 15 minutes, Temeki-sensei," she said. "Can we be dismissed now?"

Temeki was surprised by the time. Shit, I promised to help Kina with paperwork today! While her sister was a great teacher, polite hostess, and loving wife and mother, Kina was not the most patient of people when it came to punctuality. She's gonna kill me.

"Class dismissed!" she yelled. "Korena, you and Touken take the kunais back to the storage closet." The girl beamed while the Shinkirou boy simply shrugged his shoulders. "Ryouken, help them and then report to room 2c for your detention. If you don't, I'll know and then you will have detention with me for the next two days."

Temeki left the field as Ryouken loudly complained about the detention and Korena tried to get Touken's attention for the fortieth time that day. She smiled and remembered a similar trio of students.

They act so much like Naruto, Sakura, and myself once did, she thought. A frown ghosted over her face and she shook her head. I just hope things don't work out the same way for them.

As Temeki headed for the Kazekage's Mansion where her sister and her family lived, thoughts of the person she once was and the name she had sold her soul to avenge filled her mind.

Uchiha Sasuke.

00000000000000000

"You're late," Kina growled, tapping her foot. She stood in the entryway of the Kazekage's Mansion and stared at the taijutsu teacher.

Temeki's sister was a beautiful 19-year-old with strange dark purple eyes, pale skin, ridiculously long black hair, a wicked sense of humor, and a fondness for pandas, flamingos, and hand fans.

She was also a Suna jounin, a genjutsu master, Escrima fighter, and dedicated healer. (2)

Not to mention the fact that she was the wife of the Kazekage, Gaara, and the mother of their three-year-old daughter, Lilith.

Oh, and she was the human vessel for the eagle demoness, Tsubakiri.

All things considering, Sabaku no Kinabuhi was a very unique woman. (3)

"Well?"

Temeki cringed inwardly at the sharp sound of her sister's voice. "Got held up at the Academy," she explained. "You know how it is."

Kina dropped her hands to her sides and nodded. "Yes," she said. "I do know. C'mon. Knowing you, you haven't eaten yet. There's tea and sandwiches in the drawing room."

Temeki followed her sister and sat down in one of the Mansion's many drawing rooms. Her hair fell into her eyes again and she quickly braided the long mane of dark hair. Kina noticed the movement and smiled.

"You could cut it short again," she joked.

"Don't ever mention that incident again," Temeki growled. Five years ago, when she had first arrived in Suna, Temeki cut her waist length hair. The village's constant winds kept on blowing the stupid strands and she had had enough.

So, she cut the black locks into the style that she had kept it in before the jutsu Tsunade placed on her transformed her from Uchiha Sasuke: the boy and into Yawa Temeki: the girl.

The only thing she hadn't counted on was the fact that because of the dryness of Suna's atmosphere and the shortness of her hair, Temeki's head ended up looking like a dysfunctional hedgehog.

Kina had nicknamed her "Brillo-head" and the name stuck, along with the other embarrassing nicknames she already had. Needless to say, she grew her hair long after that.

"So how're the little monsters in your taijutsu class doing?" Kina asked, grabbing a sandwich.

"Fine," Temeki answered. "Everyone's singing your praises thanks to your kunai. It's getting kind of old."

Kina turned to her foster sister and smiled. "Don't worry," she said. "You'll probably teach the kids some new ninjutsu or hit twenty targets blindfolded and they'll start singing about you again."

"Those are the kids," Temeki waved away. "It's the other teachers I was talking about."

Kina's smile dimmed and she looked at the former Uchiha with a serious look on her face. "You're not forming an inferiority complex now are you, Temeki?" she asked. "Cause if you are, I might have to hurt you."

Light blue eyes met dark purple and held for a few long moments.

"Don't worry, Kina," Temeki finally said. "I'm not chasing anyone anymore. At least, not without the Kazekage's permission."

Whatever Kina was about to say was cut short by a small redheaded whirlwind that ran into the room.

"Mama!" the whirlwind screamed and jumped into the air right above the tea table.

Seven years of dealing with children, three of which she spent raising a child of her own, gave Kina the sharp reflexes to catch her daughter before her nose touched the pile of sandwiches. She held Lilith there for a few moments and then sat her down on her knee.

"Lilith," she calmly said. "Unless there is an emergency, there are only three rooms in this Mansion you can run in. They are…"

"My room, yours and Daddy's room, and the dojo," the three-year-old recited. The girl raised dark purple eyes to her mother and smiled. "But Daddy and I just got back from visiting Naruto-kun and Sakura-neechan! I have to tell you what she said to Hyuuga Tenten-san!"

Kina laughed at her daughter's enthusiasm and smiled. "And you just couldn't wait until later, imp?" she asked. "You know that school just started and I always have 'and junk' to do when that happens."

The girl nodded at her mother's nickname for the piles of paper that she had to take care of and sign. "But I have to tell you!" she said. "You're not doing 'and junk' stuff now…"

"Maybe it should wait until dinner…" Kina drawled.

"You should listen to your mother, Lilith-chan," a low voice said from the doorway.

"Gaara-kun!" Kina quickly placed her daughter in Temeki's lap and raced to her husband's side. "It's been too long…"

The redhead nodded and looked at his wife of 5 years. "Too long, indeed," he said before capturing her lips in a deep kiss.

"Eeewwww…" Lilith said, covering her eyes. "They keep doing that! Why do they have to keep doing that?"

Temeki covered her eyes as well. "Why, indeed, Lilith-chan," she said. She turned away from the couple, ignoring the small pang of envy in her heart as she did so, and smiled at the child. "Why don't you tell me the thing Sakura said to Tenten? Your Mama's busy right now anyway."

The little girl with her father's coloring and her mother's eyes and smile looked at her aunt and grinned. "Well…" she said, cupping her hand around Temeki's ear. "It's…"

Kina and Gaara were sharing their third kiss when Temeki's voice jarred them out of their trance.

"Sakura's gonna what to Shino?" she yelled.

The Kazekage and his wife turned to the woman and little girl and listened carefully.

"Sakura-neechan told Tenten-san that she was tired of waiting and so she was going to give it to Aburame Shino-san," the child dutifully repeated.

"Give it?" Kina gasped, holding a hand to her mouth.

"Sakura-neechan said that she was damned if she was going to die a virgin and so was going to give it to Shino-san. What's a virgin?" Lilith asked, her purple eyes wide with curiosity.

Gaara choked as he heard his little girl ask what a virgin was. In his head, Shukaku was roaring and crying with his usual funky flare.

She's only THREE years old, for God's sake, the feared raccoon-dog demon sobbed. Our baby is too young to know that!

Kina got a similar response from her demon.

I'm going to kill that cotton-candied freak! Tsubakiri cried, talons shredding an imaginary picture of Sakura. That's the last time we let Gaara and Shukaku take Lilith anywhere without us with them! Those tontos probably just left Lilith with Sakura and thought that everything would be okay! (3)

"Then what happened, imp?" Kina asked calmly from the doorway.

Lilith looked at her mother and smiled, glad that she had stopped kissing Daddy long enough to listen to her. "Tenten-san asked why now and Sakura-neechan said that she was getting tired of her fingers."

Lilith wasn't sure why what she said got the reaction it did. She just knew that it was funny.

Temeki started choking while both she and Kina turned bright red. Gaara just stood there with a blank look on his face as he dropped his arms from around Kina's waist. Unfortunately, his arms supported most of Kina's weight. So when he removed them, she fell onto her butt on the hardwood floor. None of the adults moved though. It was as if they were frozen.

Lilith, ever the smart one, took the opportunity to take out the small camera her godfather Uzumaki Naruto had given her for her birthday present and snapped several photographs of each of the adults. She was definitely going to keep them—if only to laugh at them later.

Temari and Shikamaru entered the room from another door and halted at the sight before them.

Temeki sat on one of the couches, her face so red that Temari feared that the woman's limbs had gone numb from lack of circulation. Shikamaru noted that Kina was in a similar state on the floor by Gaara's feet. Lilith sat on the tea table in front of the platter of sandwiches and was happily devouring the entire pile.

And Gaara…

"Gaara?" Temari asked, stepping up to her brother. Where the two women's faces were bright red, Gaara's was pale white. His eyes stared sightlessly into the distance and his lips were moving as if he was saying something, but no sound came from his mouth.

Temari turned to her boyfriend and asked, "Can you read lips?"

The shadow user looked at Gaara and smirked. "'Stupid pink kunoichi,'" he repeated what Gaara mouthed. "'Can't she keep her mouth shut? Why does she have to corrupt my little girl, my sweet innocent, precious little girl? Why did I leave them there to watch her while she napped? What prompted her to talk about her se—'"

Temari punched Shikamaru on the shoulder when he stopped in the middle a word. "What?" she asked. "What did Sakura talk about?"

Shikamaru glanced at the happily eating Lilith and remained silent.

"Shika!"

"Sakura-neechan's sick of being a virgin and is tired of her fingers!" Lilith said through her fourth sandwich. "She's going to give it to Shino-san!"

The girl watched as her aunt and her honorary uncle froze and became as still and silly as the others. She smiled through the mayonnaise on her lips and brought the camera to her eye once more.

I'm gonna tell everyone my news! Lilith decided as she continued to press the shutter button. These pictures are gonna be great!


A/N:

I am aware that a three-year-old would not have the thought processes or motor skills to do what Lilith does, but she's the daughter of two demons! C'mon…literary license here people!

(1) In my last fanfic, Kina claimed Temeki was her sister in front of Tsunade, Ibiki, and Kakashi.

(2) Escrima is a form of martial arts from the Philippines.

(3) This name worked out better than I had planned…Kinabuhi means 'life' in Cebuano, so the name means 'Life of the Desert' and since Gaara's found peace and Suna is flourishing, it's very appropriate.

(4) Tonto means 'fool' or 'idiot' in Cebuano…and in Spanish as I have been informed…Tsubakiri has been 'active' for five years, some of Kina's mannerisms seem to have rubbed off on her.