The Viper, the Flower, and the Carcass

"What are you looking at?" Temari snapped at Kankurou. It was day eleven in the plan to destroy Konoha and Temari was about to snap Kankurou's neck. Right in two! After Phase I and II of the exams, the siblings and their Sensei were holed up in an apartment provided for them by Konoha to wait out the month it would take for the Phase III to begin.

"Am I not allowed to look around?" Kankurou shot back snobbishly.

"That's it!" Temari stood, knocking the chair out from under her. "You and me. Right here, right now." Kankurou also stood, and met her challenged.

"Anytime, anywhere." He sniggered. Temari nearly face palmed.

"You idiot. I just said the place and time."

"Oh..." Kankurou said and looked around a bit. "I knew that." He cleared his throat.

"Stop bickering, you two. You have to be here another three weeks." Baki silenced them. Temari snorted and started to storm off, but momentarily turned back.

"When he dies in combat," She hissed at Baki. "Don't think any enemy killed him." And she slammed the door behind her.

"Sheesh." Kankurou sat back down. "What's her problem?"

"You." Baki answered as he stood, politely pushed in his chair, and retreated to the back room.

"Why is everyone walking away from me?" Kankurou asked innocently.

Hiniku snuck around the back of Daagana's house, ready to get her a new bag of supplies. She was just a hair shy of opening the door when she heard voices.

"My dear Giia," A male voice lulled. Hiniku cracked the door the tiniest bit, catching a glimpse of the back of a white robe and Giia on the other side of the room. That was weird, Giia shouldn't be at home this time of day. It was almost Happy Hour on Bar street. Surely she wasn't going to miss it. "Won't you accompany me to Konoha? Their destruction could use your...unique abilities." The man said, trailing a finger up Giia's arm. Hiniku sneered. Who in the world was feeding Giia these pathetic and untrue compliments?

"Kazekage-sama, I would be honored, but, you know it will take quite a long time to journey to Konoha, and I would be lonely. Perhaps you and I can share a-"

"Yes, of course." He answered, and advanced towards her.

Hiniku's eyes got very wide as the sight of the Kazekage's head came into view. Pitch-black hair spilled down to his middle back and that exploring hand was white as death. Hiniku stumbled back slightly and tripped over a a crumbling piece of wall. It fell over and smashed into oblivion.

"What was that?" Giia sounded from inside. The door flew open and the man in the Kazekage's dress glared at her. His skin was not white, but gray, and his eyes reminded Hiniku of a snake. His face twisted into a demented smile as he put down his guard.

"Giia, is this your daughter?" His voice...it sent shivers down Hiniku's spine. Giia appeared beside him, wearing next to nothing.

"No." She sneered. "It's that filthy ramen rat." Hiniku knew she has been caught red-handed, but that didn't mean she had to be caught for the right reason.

"Yes," She put on a fake smile. "I'm very sorry about the wall." She said and gestured towards the pieces. "I was just looking for Daagana. Her shift started ten minutes ago and she hasn't shown up." Hiniku lied. She may be just a medical ninja, but that didn't mean she wasn't as quick on her feet as a field ninja.

"So fire her for all I care. Get off my property." Giia waved her hand at her. Hiniku did so quickly, cursing Giia, before she broke out into a run at the street. In every medical textbook she had ever read, there was always a picture of the Kazekage on the back page and that man...was not the Kazekage!

Hiniku didn't know what to do. Was she supposed to report it? But who would believe her? A girl like her going against the Kazekage. And for all she knew, he could have been using a Jutsu. Who knew what kind of twisted things Giia liked?

So she didn't tell anyone...and the next day Giia and the fake Kazekage left for Konoha. Of course the fact that Giia was leaving was enough to boost anyone's spirits. Right after they left, Hiniku went to tell Daagana. She packed a bag, to make up for yesterday's miss and wrote her a short, but sweet message: 'Giia's Gone.'

Next Day

"Hiniku!" I called as I ran down the road towards her house. She popped her head out her window and smiled at me.

"You got my message?"

"Why else do you think I'm here?" I laughed. "Where did she go?" Hiniku's smile sort of turned into an apologetic grimace. "What?" I said quickly.

"Hurry and come inside." She said. I advanced towards the door, and she met me there, pulling me into the living room and down onto a pile of cushions.

"Hiniku, this is no time for a story."

"Yes. This is the perfect time," She said, completely serious. "But it's not about my mother, it's about yours." I cocked my head at her.

"What are you talking about?" I asked nervously.

"When I was going to get your clothes yesterday, Giia was at your house."

"Yeah...so?"

"She wasn't alone. The Kazekage was with her."

"I know she's with the Kazekage. I have no idea how but—"

"Listen to me. I know what the Kazekage looks like, Gana. From all the books I've read. And the man who was with your mom...wasn't the Kazekage." There was a long pause before either of us spoke.

"So what are you saying?" I asked.

"…he wasn't—"

"Are you saying someone is impersonating the Kazekage?" I whispered. As if she had lost the ability to speak, she nodded her head.

"The man was...he scared me. Just by looking at him...I felt...weak."

I was startled to hear her say such a thing. Hiniku was stubborn and most of all proud. Her saying she felt weak, was like saying Gaara wanted to skip around and sing the love song. It didn't happen.

"Hiniku...didn't you do anything? Report it?"

"I was scared. I didn't think anyone would believe me." I didn't know what to say after that. I was a true Hidden Sand villager...but I didn't truly hold my allegiance to the Kazekage. I didn't know him well enough to trust him...all I knew were the rumors, of how he tried to kill his own son. But with someone impersonating the Kazekage...that person could do a lot of damage...and I didn't even know if his intentions were good or not. A better question was how long had he been in office? How long had the real Kazekage been gone? Was the real Kazekage even gone?

My head began to spin with questions, and none of them I could voice. Hiniku was already in a state of panic.

"I need to go back out and-"

"No! Please, Gana. You were out there for almost a week! I can't stand it anymore." She said and grabbed my hand. Then an unlikely thought popped into my head.

"Did that boy ever come back?" She looked at me like I was crazy.

"What boy?"

"They boy who wanted to ask you out. Did he ever?" I saw her head jerk up.

"A boy...wanted to ask me out?" She asked, as if it's never happened before. Which, is because it hadn't.

"Yes," I assured her. "He was tall, and had curly red hair. He had like a zillion freckles-"

"Oh..." Her eyes got really big. "Kanman..."

"Huh?" I asked.

"His name is Aoi Kanman. He's a really strong ninja. He was almost chosen to go to the Chuunin exams!" She said, getting giddier with every word. "And he wanted to ask me out!" She cried, jumping up and hopping around. "Me!" She screamed. While she was occupied with herself, I took the chance to slip away. If the village was in danger, I needed to be ready.

TWO WEEKS LATER

Hiniku convinced me to come back. Yesterday she left me nothing but a note that said 'Come home' and didn't bother to leave any food. Stubborn little girl. Though it would seem while I was gone she went and talked with Kanman. Wherever she was these days, he was right behind her...a bit to close behind for my taste. Today was no different. She was teaching him how to knead dough into noodles, while I sat at the bar...and sulked. I came back just to be with her, and now I was a third wheel. I sighed. I could always use more training.

"Maybe your real color is green." Ojiisan chuckled as came and sat down beside me. "Don't take it to heart, my sabaku no hana. She don't know what she doin'. Boys are a new thing." He said and put his arm around me.

"She always said that love would come and rescue me first." I blurted sadly. "I guess it forgot."

"Now you stop right there." He said sternly. "There ain't no way love could pass up such an opportunity. It's just waitn'. It may be him, or it may be him. We got no way of knowin'. But it'll come, I can guarantee dat." He said and squeezed my shoulder.

"Daagana! Will you come help him? He's a loser and can't even roll noodles." Hiniku leaned over the counter. My Ojiisan's words echoed from my mind all the way down to me heart.

"Yeah. Yeah I will." I smiled, and got up to help.

ONE WEEK LATER

I rested my head on my arms. My neck was stiff from standing all day, and making noodles. There was a window seat in my room that served as my perch. It wasn't really my window or my room, but I had my own room in Hiniku's house. When I bought something that I knew for a fact Giia would take away, I kept it here. The shelves were stacked with books, and pictures. With the money Giia didn't take away, I bought things that I wanted. Not things I needed. I had made a habit of it. A lot of them were medical books Hiniku had ordered me not to buy for her, but I did anyway. I knew she didn't want to be a medical ninja, I could see it in her eyes, but she was so eager to help me, that I couldn't tell her 'no'. There was a bottle of perfume I bought for Giia but then kept for myself. It remained on the ledge, unopened. My kunai pouch was up there as well, along with the rubber shuriken they gave us in the academy. Sometimes, if I'm feeling especially nostalgic, I'll take it down and practice throwing it at a pretend intruder. I never let Hiniku catch me though, because her face always falls so dramatically.

It seems that neither of us are following our dreams. I glanced back up at the moon with a lament. It was a half-moon tonight. Not as pretty as a full or crescent, but it was still the moon.

"What are you looking at?" I accused it. The wind blew across my window and whistled the moon's response. "Do you think love is going to come for me?" The wind whipped by a little stronger and I laughed as goose bumps rose up on my arm. The wind drew back to where even the faintest breeze couldn't be felt. "But who? Who would love me?" I asked. Suddenly, the wind blew so strong that sand blew into my room. It stung at my eyes, and got into my nose and mouth, making me cough and sputter. "What was that supposed to mean?" I cried, and slammed my window door shut.

Next Day

I quietly walked down the streets of my village. Secretly my ears were wide open, hoping to catch any piece of news there was to hear. I knew for a fact that today was the start of Phase III in the Chuunin exams, and I was eager to hear any updates.

Temari stood beside her two brothers. All in shock. Though Gaara didn't show it, and Kankurou didn't sound it, Temari shared their pain. He may not have been any kind of good, and he was even worse as a father...but he was still their father.

Baki stood beside them, all notions of loyalty eradicated. Any Suna ninja that had survived the raid had retreated back to the safety of the desert beyond the Land of Rivers. Waiting for them there was an ambush of Oto Shinobi! Temari, her brothers, and Baki had fled from the battle, and as they ran, they happened upon the body of the real Kazekage, decaying in a small hole in the ground. Baki was disgusted that they had been fooled for so long, fooled enough to go against their allies. It tore his pride in two to think about it. He doubted that the alliance with the Hidden Leaf would ever be forged again.

"We should go." Baki said quietly. Around them, remaining Shinobi fidgeted on the perimeter, weary of an attack. Temari looked over at her Sensei with a face of stone.

"What about the body?"

"Leave it." Baki answered.

Next Day

My hands felt clunky and numb as I pushed and pulled the dough. Though they were working in the now, my mind was far away; so far that I accidentally rubbed a noodle right in half. With an irritated grunt, I slapped a fresh wad of dough down on my board and started to tear off new pieces.

"Stop right der' missy." My ojiisan chided as he came around the bar and grabbed my hands. "You cain't role dem' noodles without chour' mind in it. You ain't all here, so we gonna sit and wait till you are." He pulled me over to the other side of the counter, and we sat...just sat. He would look at me from time to time, while I thought of Temari and Giia. Were they alright? Had they made the trip safely? Did Temari advance? Who was she paired up against? Will Giia have married the Kazekage by the time she got back? She did like to work fast. Then the more disturbing, was that man the actual Kazekage, or was my mother two timing with the most powerful man in the village? When a lonely costumer would come in, Ojiisan would serve them and then come and sit back down beside me. He did this often for us girls, never pushing us to talk about what was going on, but always being willing to listen if we were feeling up to it. It was sheer luck that I had him in my life. Perhaps it was his love that the sacred ramen bar had blessed me with.

Abruptly pulling me from my thoughts, someone began to shout. God knows what they were saying, but as people joined in, I heard two things clearly. "They're back!"

I tore out of the ramen shop and careened into the crowd of people heading towards the village entrance. As we neared the gate I could make out four silhouettes coming along the horizon. People were running, but I was fasted as I bolted straight for the blond pigtails.

Gaara walked slowly...his mind was so burnt out, it barley processed the fact that someone was running towards them. It was only when Temari shouted "Daagana!" did he look up and at me rushing to them. Firstly I flung my arms around Temari, and squeezed.

"You're finally back!" I cried happily. Then I broke away and went...for him. I grabbed his middle and hugged with all my might. "You're alright!"

No one...No one had ever said that to him before. No one had ever cared to see if he was all right or not. He felt like he couldn't breathe, as if something was gripping his heart. He came to the conclusion that the yellow-haired clown was right. Fighting for yourself could only get you so far, but when you had something to fight for...it installed a drive in you that nothing could replace. Gaara's desire to live now meant nothing to him. His new desire was that his family would live.

I don't know why I wasn't terrified that I was touching him, but I felt like something had changed. He was banged up pretty bad, same as Temari and Kankurou. He didn't hug me back and I didn't mind, but after the moment passed, I detached and flung myself at Kankurou.

"Can I hug you? I'm hugging you!" He caught me regardless and spun me around, laughing. Things would be okay now. They were back. Only a few ninja managed to scramble in behind them and a somber mood floated around. News of the real Kazekage's death followed shortly behind my sand nin, but I ignored it. Things would be okay now.

Giia was not among those who had returned. That was not okay.