Author's notes
To make parts of this chapter more clear, here are a few notes to help you along.
The brother's sparing partners are: Taro, Daisuke, Norio, Sadao, Keiji, and Arashi (from chapter 2)
Doujutsu and Hijutsu are blood limit jutsu- for example Byakugan or Sharingan
Kekkei Genkai is the Japanese word for blood limit.
I & I Intellegence and Investigation dept
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Temari had to wait for her update from her brothers. Her last day in Nakatsugawa City was spent in bed. It was the fault of her oldest brother. At breakfast the next day the head of the Diplomatic Corp had ask Kankuro about his sister's health. In a fit of contrariness he had told the man that Temari was worse. The man had sent an aide to set with her and the wife of the Innkeeper to check on her. Gaara could feel the killing intent two rooms away. Kankuro on the other hand, laughed his butt off. Gaara washed his hands of both of them.
Shortly after breakfast Yamanoto- san sent for Gaara. He and the other council member were going to visit one of the local lords. They had requested two shinobi to accompany them. Yamanoto wanted Gaara to be one of them. Gaara agreed and soon left with the men. It was late afternoon by the time he returned.
With preparations for the return to Suna beginning, talk about the other mission was put on hold.
A day and a half later the siblings walked in their front door, dropping packs and weapons in the living room.
"Tell me we still have some food." yelled Kankuro. He walked into the kitchen and began to rummage through the cabinets.
Temari grabbed her bags from her purchases and headed up the stairs to her room. "I'll be in the bathtub. Don't interrupt me for any reason. I mean it" she called from the stairs.
Gaara grabbed his pack. He followed Temari up the stairs to his room. He wanted quiet. He had been with too many people for too many days. He emptied his pack, and then sat on his bed to meditate. The quiet started to settle his restlessness. He breathed steadily in and out letting his mind empty from the mission. As his chakra centered, sounds became more distinct. He heard water splash in the bathroom. Temari began to hum to herself. Shukaku began to make comments about a naked woman in the tub…
'What!' damn. There was no way he was listening to that. Gaara hurriedly left his room, heading downstairs. The living room was out. Kankuro was on the couch with the stereo on. He turned left and headed for the Kazekage library. It was a seldom used room in the house. He supposed
that at one time it had doubled as an office, but for as long as he could remember the Kazekage's office had been in the Kazekage building. He didn't bother turning on the lights, his eyes would be closed. He settled into one of the leather chairs. The redhead took in the peace and quiet. He focused on his meditation. His chakra focused. Gaara heard the sound of bird's wings and the gentle tap at the window. The tap got louder, and louder. The stupid bird was pounding into the window.
"Is someone gonna get that?" yelled Kankuro from the living room. His little brother unwound himself from the chair and opened the window. As his sand took the bird in a choke hold it dropped its scroll into the room.
"Sabaku sou sou" he growled angrily. In a burst of feathers and blood, the bird was gone. "Damn it' what now. He picked up the scroll, reading it on the way to the living room. He chucked it at Kankuro's head.
"What is it?" His older brother asked.
"I'm leaving now." growled Gaara walking out the door and into the street. Kankuro opened the scroll and read: Debriefing for mission. My office. One hour. Baki sensei.
"Crap that means I've got to tell Temari." Kankuro knew how pleased she would be when her bath was interrupted. Double crap.
An hour later found the three siblings in Baki's office. Their sensei faced them across his desk.
"The Councilmen and Head of Diplomacy have briefed me on your trip to River Country. They praised you highly for your efforts in defending the contingency against Sound. They were most pleased at how you conducted yourselves during the mission. You bring great honor to your country in this way." Baki addressed them solemnly. "Were you able to learn anything from the nin you interrogated after the battle?" he addressed Kankuro.
"Not really. He mostly babbled about it being a great honor to die for Orochimaru. I had threatened him with Gaara's sand coffin if he didn't talk. I don't get it. Not only does the snake get then in his service, but they want to die for him.
Baki frowned at the Sound nin's stupidity.
"How about your other mission, what were you able to find out?"
Kankuro looked toward his brother, who still seemed to be pissed about something. It looked like it was up to him.
"In talking to the locals we learned that several of the caravans in the area have been attacked by Sound Nin." "Gaara actually put it all together." Kankuro offered.
"There have been seven attacks in the last few weeks." Gaara added. "The caravans have carried medicine, herbs and weapons that we know of.
"It seems that Orochimaru has found a way of getting his supplies without paying." said Kankuro.
"I was told that caravan merchants may sometimes take orders for the products they sell. One of these merchants was from Lightening Country. It would be a small thing to place an order for something and steal it before it makes its destination. They seem to travel a long distance." reported Gaara.
Baki nodded.
"The last day in River Country I was able to meet a policeman. He told me that the caravan trail reaches from Lightening to Wind Country. It's also called the 'Silk Road' because of the silk trade. It runs from Lightening, past Rice Country, across the northern border of Fire, past Waterfall and Rain. There it splits and either goes across Bird Country or across the northern border of River to Wind." Kankuro pulled a small map out of his pocket and spread it on the table.
Temari drew closer. "I went to the local teahouse. I met the Mayor, his wife and several officers from his board. Because they knew who I was I was not able to get all the information I wanted, but I started a conversation on Kekkei Genkai. The Mayor actually seemed to know what he was talking about. They mentioned Rain, Water, Waterfall and Fire as being the Countries with the most Doujutsu. Maybe that's where the teams should focus their information gathering."
Gaara spoke to Kankuro. "Waterfall was were the weapons came from that the armament seller showed you.
"You're right." remembered his brother.
"It would be my recommendation that someone join one of the caravans. Find out who they deliver to. They should head for Lightening Country; however they may find enough information before they go that far. They should pay careful attention to Waterfall Country as they have both weapons masters and Doujutsu. With any hope the caravan would be attacked and the soldiers could be followed to their hide out." Gaara stated concisely in his deep voice.
Temari shook her head in wonder. "Gaara, only you would recommend joining a caravan in the hopes that it would get attacked." Why not follow at a safe distance?"
"It would impede one's ability to gather information." Gaara replied as if Temari hadn't considered all the possibilities.
"Temari pulled herself up to her full height. "I'll have you know…" Kankuro cut her off with a wave of his hand. She'd never win against Gaara anyhow.
"Baki, have you heard any more information from the Investigation and Intelligence office?" he asked cutting through the argument between his sister and brother.
"No Orochimaru still eludes us. We've heard he has plans for a new weapon, but what or who that is we don't know yet. I will be presenting your information to I & I. Then the board will decide on the next step to take. Get some rest while you can." Baki said as he dismissed them
The meeting was over so the three headed toward home.
"Let's eat before we go home." said Kankuro. "All we have left at home are some cans of soup."
"Yea." said Temari tiredly. "I'll get some groceries tomorrow."
They ended up at a small eatery a few blocks from their house. It was where they usually ended up when they ran out of groceries or they were too tired to cook. They had just placed their order when two men entered the restaurant. Kankuro started when the chair beside him was pulled out. He looked up to see Taro and Daisuke grinning at him.
"So the delinquent sparring partners have returned." smiled Taro.
"Hey, what have you guys been up to?" Kankuro smirked back.
Taro plopped into the seat next to Temari. Daisuke grabbed a chair and sat at the end of the table.
"Nothing as exciting as you guys, from what I hear." replied Taro. "The grapevine says you ran into some Sound ninja on the way to River."
"We did indeed." said Kankuro with another smirk. "We took care of them."
"Yes, we heard that two brothers in the fight were taking out Sound ninja right and left," added Daisuke.
"And anyone that got through was put down by the lovely and lethal Temari chan." Taro leaned against Temari's shoulder. She relaxed against him. She knew he didn't mean anything by it. The man was handsome and a born flirt.
"Don't you forget it." She replied with a saucy tilt to her head. She loved to flirt as much as the next girl, but she was no push over. Anyone who had fought her realized this. Taro was one of them.
"Yea, it turned out to be a pretty good little battle." Kankuro conceded. "You should have seen Gaara and his sand." Those were usually words that struck fear into the hearts of Suna's residents, but the men could tell that Kankuro was genuinely proud of his brother's accomplishments. The waitress brought their food and the siblings spent the rest of the dinner hour telling their friends about their trip to River.
Gaara actually found it to be a pleasant experience. He still didn't add much to the conversation. However, he was content to listen. He and Daisuke talked briefly about what to use for sparring the next morning. He would be glad to start sparring again. He hadn't really fought since the battle and he was feeling restless.
All six of their sparring partners were there the next morning, mostly to hear about their trip to River Country Gaara suspected. Between each match they would ask questions. Kankuro made the battle sound more exciting every time he told it. Gaara was practicing his taijutsu with Norio, but he could hear his brother clearly.
"So Gaara," Keiji yelled. "Did all that really happen?"
"He's so full of shit" Gaara huffed ducking a swing from Norio.
"Hey, who's telling this story any way?" Kankuro yelled good naturedly. "You come over here if you can do better." Gaara shook his head, a half smile on his face and turned back to his sparring partner.
The morning ended with Kankuro taking a lot of ribbing from the other nin.
Later Gaara accompanied Temari to the council meeting. Yamanoto san and the other council member gave their report on the treaty signing. From what Gaara could tell not much had been accomplished in either finding Orochimaru or a qualified candidate for Kazekage. It was a disappointing meeting to be sure. As He and Temari were preparing to leave, Baki came up to talk to them.
"The council has another mission for you" said Baki. "You, Temari and Kankuro will be collecting information for the I&I. You did well enough on the last one, we have another for you. You'll be traveling as a family group between here and Lightening Country. You will leave day after tomorrow and be gone for at least two weeks. I will meet you later with your mission scroll." The council meeting broke up and Baki left to supervise the details of the mission.
Temari turned to Gaara,"I guess I won't need to get many groceries than will I."
The siblings were setting down to eat that evening, when there was a knock on the door. Temari answered it to find Baki sensei on their doorstep
"Baki sensei, come in. We're just having dinner. I'll get a plate so you can join us." Temari welcomed him. While she walked into the kitchen, Baki glanced at the brothers. "Is it edible?" Gaara took a hesitant bite and nodded. Kankuro tried his and agreed. "Not too bad". Baki looked relieved as he sat in his chair. Temari had never really had anyone to teach her how to cook. The dishes she was familiar with were usually pretty good. It was the spur of the moment or experimental dishes that turned out badly. Temari came back with a plate and silverware for their sensei.
"So do you need something, Baki?" asked Temari.
"We need to discuss your mission." he replied. "The board was impressed with your recommendation. We will be joining a caravan as travelers under their protection. We will start in the River country and travel through Rain country. Your cover will be that your father has recently died. You are traveling to Lightening to join family there. I thought it best to stick to the truth as much as possible." His three students nodded their understanding.
"In Rain country we will split up. I will be continuing into Bird and Earth country. You three will continue on through the countries of Grass, Waterfall and Rice."
"Baki, why are we splitting up?" asked Temari curiously.
"We believe that one adult and three adolescents will look too much like a Chumin team, especially the closer you get Rice country. The Sound Nins there have been on the alert for possible spies. This has made it very hard for our men to get any information. Teenagers will not be immediately perceived as ninja, especially in a family unit like yourselves. We have the luxury of three people that look like each other. However you will need to make some changes in your appearance."
"What do you have in mind?" asked Kankuro.
"Well Kankuro, you will need to wear something besides your Puppet Nin uniform." replied Baki. Kankuro frowned. At least he had the clothes Temari had bought in Nakatsugawa.
"You'll have to do without your face paint too." Baki added with a smirk.
"I hate that!" grumbled Kankuro in protest. Temari and Gaara snickered at his expression.
"Gaara, you'll need to do a transformation jutsu. Since the Chunin exams more people know who Sabaku no Gaara is, including the Sound Nin especially after the last battle. You need to change the red hair and the tattoo. You're too recognizable." instructed his sensei. Gaara's face looked like a thunder cloud.
"Is that truly necessary?"
"I don't believe the mission will succeed unless you do." said Baki truthfully. As Gaara's sensei, Baki always tried to be absolutely honest with him. It was the only way to gain and keep his trust. He had joined Temari and Kankuro in taking lessons with Baki at a very young age. Gaara had been fearful of people because of their treatment of him as a jinchuriki, but after the first assassination attempt Gaara had been very distrustful of adults. In contrast to his father's schemes and lies, Baki sensei made sure to be completely honest with his student. That was the reason Gaara was willing to listen to his instructions in this matter. Gaara was not happy with the idea of a henge. However, he was willing to listen to Baki for the sake of the mission.
"Alright" Gaara said gruffly.
They were done with dinner, so Temari and Kankuro took the plates into the kitchen while Gaara and Baki sensei talked about Gaara's transformation jutsu.
"Do it now so you can make sure it stays in place for the trip." suggested Baki. Gaara scowled at him. He was trained to do the jutsu. Therefore there would be no problem. However he did it anyway. He performed the hand signs and appeared as a blonde as Temari and Kankuro came back into the room. Temari was carrying cake for dessert and almost dropped it. She turned to look at Kankuro and saw that he had an astonished look on his face too. How do you tell your very touchy younger brother he looks like a girl! With his fair skin and pale green eyes he looked like Temari's younger sister. At twelve Gaara was lithe and had the body of a gymnast, which was to say that he didn't have a lot of bulky muscles.
"Dude, you're going to want to tweak that some." said Kankuro without hesitation.
"What?" asked Gaara with a frown?
"Go look in the mirror." Was all Temari would say about the matter. Gaara turned to Baki who looked a little flabbergasted himself. Gaara knew he had done the jutsu right. He couldn't think what was wrong with his team that they would look at him like that. He shoved his chair back and headed for the bathroom with his temper barely under control. He could hear Kankuro start to laugh as Temari told him to "shut up". Gaara turned the corner into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Temari's face looked back at him. "AAUUGGHH" His siblings heard his yell from the bathroom. Kankuro instantly cracked up and Temari bit her lip to stop the laughter before it could start. Even Baki had a smirk on his face.
Gaara was gone for a long time. Temari finally cut and served the cake while they waited on him. While they had all laughed about the incident, none of them were dumb enough to intrude on Gaara after the yell they had heard come out from the bathroom. He finally came with brown hair about the same shade as Kankuro. The glare on his face dared any of them to comment on the change. Kankuro of course couldn't resist. He walked over to Gaara and put his arm around his shoulder.
"Good choice, Bro. we guys need to stick together." Temari smiled, with his brown hair he and Kankuro looked like two peas in a pod. She had never realized how much the three of them looked alike. With three colors of hair, it was easy to miss.
"You look very handsome." She told Gaara simply. He looked at her in surprise, as if expecting her to make another comment. When she didn't he nodded his head uncertainly. He sat down to eat his cake as Baki began to discuss the mission again.
"Temari, here are your funds for the trip." said Baki handing a wallet to her.
"We will follow the protocol we usually use. Gaara will be team leader, Temari you will take care of the finances, and Kankuro concentrate on information gathering." It was a protocol the three were used to. Although Gaara was the youngest of the siblings, his mind was the most logical. He had proven to be exceptional at planning ahead and reacting to emergencies from a young age. Temari was in charge of the funds. Having a sharp mind, she was always within a few cents of staying on budget. She was not hesitant to haggle over a price that was too high. While her brothers might accept being over charged, Temari would not stand for it. Kankuro was always the best at gathering information. He could talk to anyone, and he loved to talk. He always found the best places to eat and the best roads to travel. Because he looked older than he was he could also go to the surrounding pubs and find out what the locals were talking about. This division of responsibility was a pattern the siblings had fallen into and it worked well. They had used it on other missions and the Chunin exams too.
"You each have your strengths as you've proven on your last mission. Use them to identify Orochimaru's weaknesses. Just keep in mind that he requires; people, money, and weapons. Look for these three things. You know what we need to know. Be especially careful the closer you get to Rice Country. As of now missions to Rice are A and S class. This will be your first true solo mission." He looked each of his students in the eye, seeing that they understood the responsibility the council was bestowing on them. Before we end tonight, I want to tell you that I'm proud of the way you've served your village since the Chunin Day battle. You've each stepped up to help fill the void left by the death of our Kazekage. I know you'll do well."
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I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Poor Gaara. It's funny to picture him looking like Temari.
What do you think? Send me a review and let me know. Thanks, Crystal
