Chapter 3 :
Sasori was returning from his mission, he had killed assassins with Pakura and Yashamaru, and it had done him good. He had perfectly fulfilled his duty, and he had almost forgotten what awaited him on his return. Only his kunoichi of partner, who had obviously learned the news, did not hear it that way.
"So like this Sasori you're the sensei of the children of our dear kazekage" she said as if nothing had happened.
The scorpion saw that she slowed down to get to his level. He will have to answer because if he had learned something since he had been placed on the team of Pakura since the promotion of Rasa and the early retirement of Karura, it was that she did not give up before she get what she wanted.
It was a quality during the missions, but when it concerned him, it quickly became annoying.
"Indeed"
"..I must have known that you would not be very talkative on the subject, come on Sasori I want details, it is not nothing for all that, to be a sensei it is already not common for a jonin as impatient as you, but to be the one of the Sabaku No is more than improbable" she added
" Rasa also entrusted a young student to Pakura" intervened Yashamaru for the first time since the beginning of the return journey
''Maki, her name is Maki and she is very promising, if she continues like that she could become genin quickly'' she commented
''You mean if you realize perfectly your role of a sensei'' teased Yashamaru
She turned to the scorpion, inflating her cheeks, sulking. Sometimes she behaved like a baby, amusing or irritating her partners, it depended on who it was.
''Sasori, I will not let you go like this tell me how it is to take care of the formation of the little princess and the little princes of Suna'' she said
''It's tiring, all the work you have to do with your student, is multiplied by three for me and I have to adapt since Gaara is younger than the other two''
''My niece and my nephews love you very much, I would almost be jealous "Yashamaru joked,"this is the first time they have attached themselves to an adult other than someone from their family''
Sasori did not add anything to this compliment, he did not want to destroy his reputation of a hard and detached man, in a country like Suna you had to be as impenetrable as a wall otherwise death never awaited you very far. However what his teammate had said had flattered his ego, he was their new favorite, their hero that was more than pleasant, but he preferred to be bitten by a scorpion rather than admit it. After that, Pakura asked the other shinobi why he did not have any pupils, to which he replied that he was already a medical ANBU, and that his hours at the hospital in the company of Chiyo was enough for him. Yashamaru wanted to be able to sleep and if he had to take care of young ninjas he would not have been able to keep up the rhythm. Sasori gave a fainted smile, his grandmother could be a real tyrant when she wanted, and he easily imagined the treatment inflicted on his partner.
''Suna on the horizon "cried Pakura, accelerating the pace of her race
''Pakura slowly, the village will not disappear,'' Yashamaru shouted, "my god this woman will kill me'', he sighed
''It's your fault, if you had not treated like a princess from the start she would not make you run'' pointed out the scorpion
''I've never treated like her a princess'' he retorted
''You're a poor liar Yashamaru my dear, I hear your heart beating very fast from where I am''
Since childhood Karura's brother was in love with the bicoloured kunoichi and had always passed everything to her, unfortunately for him she was as blind as a mole when it was a question of love feelings, and Sasori, if he had not been one to not to mix in other business would have told everything to the concerned.
''There you are, you are slow "she laughed as she was in the company of Karura, and held Temari against her chest.
''Uncle Yashamaru'' exclaimed Gaara barreling straight to his uncle who caught hm in a reflex as he jumped into his arms
''Sasori-sensei! "cried Kankuro, coming towards him more quickly than usual.
He ruffled him with a natural gesture, and gave him a small smile, the one he reserved for Gaara when he clung to him. If even the big brother of the demon bearer began to make him soft he was lost.
''What are we doing today? "Inquired the little brown boy
''Kankuro'', called out his mother, ''Sasori has things to do, he has a report to pass on to your father, and then he will surely want to rest''
The child pouted, he was so impatient to go back to training with the scorpion. Now that he and his siblings had a professor they wanted only one thing, learn as much as possible, and finally accomplish their first missions.
The little son of Chiyo joined the two women, and noticed that Temari had a bandage on the corner of the lip on the left.
''What did you do to yourself? "he asked.
''Nothing I felt when I ran, it's nothing serious'', she said
He did not answer, but he knew very clearly that it was a lie. She had answered too quickly, as if she had anticipated his question, and had repeated to herself the answer several times so that she was convincing and that she believed it herself. Sabaku No Temari had a reputation for being a foolproof franchise, she always said what she thought and never came back on her word, so it was disconcerting to see her opt for lying, especially if it was to lie very badly
''She trained very hard you know, I had trouble making her stop, confided Karura proud of her daughter
Either she had not detected the lie of her elder, or she had decided to wait until she confessed the truth to her of her own will.
''That's not all, but Rasa-san is not going to wait all day, let's go! "said Pakura in a tone that would not accept a refusal.
She placed Temari on the ground, and Yashamaru returned his nephew to his sister, Kankuro placed himself beside his mother, still sulking. The trio of jonin greeted the little family before resuming their journey to their superior's office. Their report did not take much time, largely because it was the brother-in-law of the kazekage who had taken care of it, Pakura had a tendency to go astray in details, and Sasori hated doing it. Rasa seemed satisfied, and allowed the kunoichi and the doctor to withdraw, the scorpion realized that he wanted to talk to him privately.
''You had the opportunity to train and evaluate my children for several days, and I wanted to know your opinion''
'' I must admit I was pleasantly surprised, despite their youth, which I maintain is a factor to take into account, they demonstrated potential and a real desire to fully participate in this experience. For the moment they have the level I expect from them, but I only make them run, and throw kunais'', he reminded
''I know, thanks to you Temari has improved her endurance, her teacher came to tell me that she was forced to put her with the boys since she was too strong for the other girls"
Sasori heard the pride in the voice of the chief of the country, even though the latter was impassive, Rasa was Temari's father, and as a parent he could never be completely neutral when it came to his children. The puppeteer wondered if he would have felt the same thing if it had been him in his place, would he have been a good father, that was the question.
"Okay, so carry on, if you ever have problems with Shukaku come to see me immediately'', he finished
''I was thinking of having them explore the village a little in a few days, and I would like the traders to help me'', he warned
'' No worries, just tell me if you need help for permissions or anything else'', approved the brown
''Thank you, goodbye kazekage-sama'', he concluded before disappearing
The next evening he took the siblings after school and noticed that the girl of the family had a fresh cut on the other side of the lip. Something was wrong, but he decided to opt for the strategy of patience, she had to feel that she could trust him, and confide to him without fear. As they moved away from school, she relaxed, and seemed to get better, even her brothers seemed less nervous.
''It's been a few days since I've seen you running, so you're going to do the same exercise as the last time, except that this time you'll only have ten rounds Kankuro, since you've been able to hold your tongue,'' he announced
''Understood sensei", they replied with one voice
They complied, knowing too well the impatience of their professor and its consequences. Gaara still well managed his chakra , Shukaku obediently bent to the exercise for the biggest relief of the jonin, he did not want to put the demon with one tail, it was quite susceptible. Kankuro was doing well, happy not to have to do more rounds. Temari, was breathing normally, and did not use more energy than she needed, so she had trained as she had promised.
''So Sasori-sensei, did we succeed? "Gaara asked at the end of the race, after drinking
''It was pretty good, you did not regress in my absence, which is already a good point, you channel your chakra very well", he said addressing to him, "you Kankuro you have a good endurance, and you Temari you have progressed enormously, you have been above my hopes ... But do not slacken!", he forbidden
" Promised", they said before leaving
Sasori watched them leave, amused to see them so enthusiastic. In general children of their age only wanted to have fun and sleep, not to be supervised by a jonin. He suddenly felt chakras approaching those of his protégés. Something was happening, without thinking he rushed into their direction. He slowed down when he heard a conversation.
''Look at it, it is the Sabaku No again Everyone knows that if you have a particular teacher it's because your father is the kazekage" spit a boy a little bigger than Kankuro
''This is not true, it is because we deserve it," replied the middle child
''Shut up, if you were not the princess and the princes of Suna no one would take care of you'', hissed a girl smaller than Temari
''You talk about a princess, you saw how ugly she is, no boy will ever want to marry her, and especially not with her cuts'', sneered another average-sized boy.
''Let's go home'', commanded Temari, deciding to ignore them
'' Who do you think you are, you have not learned the lessons that we gave you, you want some more'', got angry the girl
''Would it not be jealousy that I hear," intervened Sasori interposing from his hiding place
''It is Akasuna no Sasori'', recognized one of the boys
''You are not so clever in front of a jonin, you are silent all of a sudden, "he continued
''Let's go'', advised the other boy
''No, no, stay, I just needed new small puppets, you will do the job perfectly"
''We ... we have to go home", swallowed the girl
''That's it back off and if you ever pick up again on my students you'll regret it! "he threatened
They began to run as if their lives depended on it, not looking back once, frightened by the scorpion.
''Are you all right? "He asked, crouching down.
Sorry for the ending, it's a little rude of me. Next chapter should be post in August.