Chapter 9 Team
Gaara stood in front of the council of elders. His lone small body reminded the old men and women how truly young the ninja is. For their part, many felt uneasy to allow him to continue as a genin with out the aid of his friend Naruto. Gaara watched their debate with rapt attention. The ninja was dismissed after another hour of debates and waited outside the door to the chamber of councilmen.
Gaara had not been sitting idly while waiting for the village to assign him a team. For three weeks, Gaara had been watching the team training fields. He understood he needs to learn how to work with others. It was a flaw that he and Naruto never truly were able to handle. From what Temari and Kankuro had told him. Most teams consisted of four people. For a genin team, it was a teacher and three students. Gaara had remembered the times he had killed ninja who were young, and realized they always came in groups of three as if three was a sacred number that he and Naruto violated.
Gaara's concentration broke when the door opened. "Gaara-sama, if you would please move to the line of shinobi protecting the elders. It would be good to have your first impressions of the team that is coming in."
Gaara nodded while stepping towards the end of the row where it was darker than the center of the room and the large lamps that hung from the ceiling. When the doors opened he saw three teens. He easily recognized them as genin by how they carried themselves. Each of the three had a newly instilled wariness. He wondered at the team when the three knelt in front of the council. "We have returned from our mission. The mission was success with casualties." The leading teen said in a strong voice. Gaara watched two girls behind the boy. One was consoling the other over something. Gaara then noticed that there was no teacher for this team.
"Jounin Seki-sensei died while encountering an S-class ninja from the Hidden Village of the Rock."
The elders nodded before handing the boy a piece of paper. "Team three will be suspended until further notice as we determine what to do with this sad turn of events. Be prepared to return to active duty in seven days." The three teens nodded before turning out. Gaara did not know why be he found himself staring at the girl with blonde hair. Through the conversation, she seemed to have gone through several emotions that were painted across her face as if it was a canvas.
When the group left, Kitomoto turned to Gaara. "What do you think of them Gaara-sama?"
"They will survive. They could handle themselves well with their grief. How long has it been since their sensei had died?"
One of the other elders said at once. "One day."
Gaara watched the council. "Is this the group you want me to join?"
"It is the group. It will be hard for both you and the other three genin. But we believe that you are uniquely qualified to replace their teacher as he himself was a man of a serious mind and calm attitude." Gaara looked at the old men for a moment before leaving. Gaara did not know what to think about the information, but he knew one thing already. He did not have enough information on the three genin.
The sand had already started moving into a full storm when Gaara left the council's building. Gaara remembered the look of the teenaged boy and turned to his left following a faint trail of chakra he had felt in the room. Gaara stopped in front of a house. The sand stone walls stood up into a dome. Gaara let the sand from his gourd shield him as he walked around the house and into the hard winds of the storm. Sand changed into steps. Gaara walked up the newly made steps and knelt in front of a window of the house. He peered inside and watched a fifteen year old boy drop his things and head for the bedroom. When the boy arrived, he lay on his bed and gave a long exhausted sigh. Gaara knew that came from experiencing a hard mission. After a few moments where the boy laid on his bed peacefully, the teen sat up and moved his legs into a lotus position and started to chant. Gaara knew a few of the words, and realized the boy was giving a parting prayer to the fallen. Gaara left the boy to his prayers and started following a path he felt belonged to the blonde haired girl.
The wind finally settled when Gaara arrived in front of sandstone house that was etched into the ground. Gaara himself had only walked by these houses, but now that he saw it, he wondered how he could see the girl. It was the kind of house that was mostly underground. That did not lend to the boys need to observe. His conundrum was answered shortly when the door opened. Gaara disappeared with a gust of sand and wind. The girl looked around slightly confused at what she just saw since the sandstorm had just passed. She shrugged it off and walked down the street. Gaara stood on the side of a building watching her walk away. After a second he started walking after her while still on the building's side.
The teen walked to a small building on the main street and exited shortly with a two desert roses. Gaara followed her already knowing where she was headed. What surprised him was that her two teammates were already there waiting for her. The three bowed to a stone statue that commemorated the lives lost in active duty.
The dark red haired girl suddenly glared at the stone before pulling a kunai and throwing it towards Gaara's hiding spot among the circle of rare trees that protected the stone memorial. Gaara left the position before the sand could react. He watched the girl who threw the kunai and smiled as she got more agitated. "Who the hell are you? Can't you see that we need some time alone?" The boy placed a hand on the girls shoulder as her eyes began to tear. The girl turned back to the stone.
Gaara performed a seal, and the wind was kicked up by his moving sand around the circle of trees. He spoke clearly and his small voice projected into the memorial. "I am just here to observe the fallen." Gaara's sand fell while the three turned around trying to find him. Gaara stood from his position and bowed to the memorial. The three teens just saw a short form bow before they lost sight of him as he moved away. The girl swore, still angry.
"Relax Rina, it's alright. He meant no harm."
The dark haired girl nodded before the blonde girl Tsumi, gave Rina a hug. "Let's go. We still need to train. We have to show Seki-sensei that we will get better for the next time." The two girls nodded at the boy.
-o-
Gaara arrived at his house shortly after his encounter with his future team. Kankuro was complaining loudly to Temari. Gaara ignored the two siblings and went to his room. When the door shut he knew that both of his siblings had stopped talking. If there was anything that made the two of them worried it was when their youngest brother Gaara was quiet. True to form, there was a slight knock on the door and Gaara sighed while thinking about what to do with that team. "Anything wrong Gaara?" Temari's high voice asked.
"There's nothing you can do about it." Came his reply. There was a disappointed pout from behind the closed door before another voice spoke up.
"Is there anything you want to talk about to get whatever's got you down so Temari can stop dragging me over here?" There was a sudden shout of pain followed by shared growls of the two siblings over hitting. Gaara smiled before he looked around his room. He saw his mission bag there and was glad it was always ready to go. He picked it up and slung it over his back. He pulled on his head band that slid off of him while he was sitting, and opened the door. Both Temari and Kankuro were in mid-whispered argument and their embarrassment made the youngest sand child smile.
"I think I am going to take a mission to clear my head. I'll tell you guys about my problem when I get back. I promise." The two split apart when Gaara strode forward between them. The front door closed with both siblings wearing faces of confusion.
Gaara stood in front of the doors of the reception office not expecting one of the elders to
see him. It was rare that an elder would stay at the reception office where shinobi arrive to debrief their mission before officially signing off on the completion of their jobs.
A wizen old man smiled at the boy before opening the gate to let the boy in. "Is there anything I can do for you Gaara-sama." Gaara followed Kalmas. The old man was one of the nicer of the elders and the sand boy was glad to have this man see him.
"I feel I need to go on one more mission before I enter the group you have asked me to join." The old man looked at the boy. After a momentary study of the boy, Kalmas turned towards the cabinet holding missions.
"There was some argument about this mission request. And even if it was against the better judgment of the council as a whole, I think this mission may be what you are looking for." Kalmas handed a small scroll with a cloud symbol embossed on the wax seal. "We have no ranking of this mission. A man has requested your presence in two days time at Dalpei on the northern boarder of Wind Country. He has not given why he needs to speak with you, so we have no parameters to give you on this mission. The mission has been ranked 'class A': for potential dangers, but remember you always have the option to reject the mission he offers."
Gaara took the scroll and nodded. "I'll be on my way. At a slow pace I could still make it on time, and it will allow me to think on the team I have met earlier today." Kalmas smiled again before bowing to the young man. Gaara took it as his cue to leave and promptly left town to head to the north. All the while the new three man team pressed on his mind.
-o-
Rina, Tsumi and Sosan sat quietly at their gathering spot. The desert wind blew around them and up the small alley they always gathered at. Their teacher Seki-sensei would always bring them a meal to eat as they prepared for their training or missions. The four had been together for four years. Sure, they knew of people who had died, but none of their friends or anyone they knew died on active duty. Sosan huffed out exasperatedly before standing. "Come on girls, we need to do some training to get our minds off our last mission. We all knew this was what would happen in missions. We may not like it, but that doesn't mean we can't prevent it in the future." The girls looked up at the teenaged boy and smiled if only a little reluctantly. The three stood up and left to the eastern district. The winds were not as strong there and had become the groups training area for the long years as genin.
When the group arrived they started doing their stretches and Rina groaned at her stiff muscles. Tsumi's melancholy attitude slowly faded away as she gave a joke on Rina's expense. The group slowly began to get into their rhythm when they heard someone singing. The group stopped and looked over the roof they were training on and saw a single white haired old man stumbling slightly.
"Oh woman with the pretty curls…
Take my heart and give me the time of my life.
I don't regret the sake' you had me waste for the curves you have are Dy-no-mite!
-giggle-
"Your tomatoes are ripe! Your buns are nice and warm! Oh, take my money and don't you leave with out my spice!" -belch-
The girls turned their nose in disgust but Sosan chuckled. Rina glared at the old man before she jumped off the room. She landed in front of the man who stumbled backwards and fell on his ass. "Hey you! How dare you sing such a vulgar song in public! Have you no decency to not get so drunk so early in the day?"
The man chuckled before standing up. "Heh, sorry little miss, but when my heart feels good I must sing." The man's white mane of hair fell over his shoulders as he stumbled forward. He took two steps and fell forward. His hand flew as he fell down. Rina jumped back before the offending hand could go near her chest. She glared at the man.
After seconds' thought her fist flew through the air. "Pervert!" The old man felt his face wrap around Rina's face and he flew several feet back laying flat on his back. Rina stood there glaring and breathing hard.
The man started to laugh. He touched his cheek and sat up. "Little miss that was a great feel, do you think we can continue this somewhere nice?" The old man put his thumb and index finger together.
Rina turned red before she started charging the old man. Sosan stood in front of the old man while Tsumi caught up to Rina. "My apologies sir, my team mate is a little on edge. But it would do well to recognize a ninja when you see one." The old man chuckled but waved the young man off. Sosan smiled while looking over to his team mate. "And I think it would be good for you to know she is not going to be sixteen for another two months."
This stopped the man's chuckling. His face was a deep red. "Hoho, I thought she was at least eighteen. My apologies. Hey little miss, when you get to reach eighteen come and see me!" The old man wandered off with Rina turning a deep red in anger.
Sosan turned to his teammate and gave a small laugh. "Come on Rina, he may have been a drunk perv, but you do look old."
"I know I look old damn it! That doesn't give him the right to grope me like I am twenty yen coin!" Tsumi and Sosan chuckled. "It's not funny! What if I look like I am forty when I hit twenty!"
Sosan loudly burst out laughing.
Several blocks away the old man took a swig of his sake bottle and sighed at the tower in front of him. "Heh-hmm. Looks like I found it." After several more swigs the old man stood up and sighed at the young girl he met. "Too bad she was so young."
-o-
Gaara arrived at the appointed town with time to sleep for one night at a hotel before the meeting the client. The scroll message was curt. Just directions and that he would receive further instructions when he arrived. Gaara looked out the window of his room and sighed. The moon was a harvest moon and reminded him of the farms that surrounded the area and were protected inside the Wind Country's wind walls.
Gaara sighed while thinking about the team. He had taken the report of the team with him when he left. The three man team had performed eight D-ranked missions, twelve C ranked missions, and the one C rank that changed to an S ranked mission where their sensei died. Gaara turned the page of the small report in his hand. It gave details of how the teams' teamwork led to their victory of the S-class missing nin. It was the first mission where any one of the members were injured severely and was the only time the three teenagers encountered personal experiences of grief for their deceased comrades. Gaara looked at his new teammates' ages. After an aggravated sigh he just stopped thinking about the fact that they would be just over twice his age. He set down the parchment and slid into his mat and soon fell asleep.
-o-
"Did you just say Dalpei?" Kalmas paled. He whispered to the other old men before he stood up. "We have a single ninja headed in that direction, and he should actually be there now. Gaara of the desert had received a personal request for a mission."
The old man's eyebrow twitched. "I take it you do not know the identity of the employer?"
"No, it is not necessary for us to know a customer's identity for us to carry out a mission."
The old man sighed. "Then I will need to borrow several of your ninja to investigate and insure that the man is not still there. I may be infamous for my abilities, but even I am not above asking for help."
The old men suddenly cursed. "We are spread thin thanks to our Kazekage. We have only two teams, and one is on dismissal."
"Any team will do."
One of the elder woman snapped back. "Both teams are genin. And the ones not on leave will be no help as they just have been recently promoted to genin status."
The old man growled out. "Then give me the one on leave! We have no time!"
-o-
Gaara sat on a bar stool. He let his feet hang while eating his ramen. The café he was in had a bar and Gaara helped himself to ordering food. His early time allowed him to see the area undisturbed as it might be if and when the client arrives. In mid slurp Gaara almost choked as he felt wind stir next to him. He turned his head and saw a tall man shrouded in a black robe with red clouds.
The man's grin could be seen under his hat. "Hello, you must be the Sand Ninja Gaara."
Gaara swallowed then drank a sip of water before answering. "I am. State your business."
The man chuckled under his mouth mask. He pulled out an identical wax seal that matched the cloud on Gaara's scroll and the print on the man's cloak. Gaara relax slightly while maintaining his guard. The man had set him on edge and the boy knew to keep himself aware of his surroundings. "I have come speak with you about a long term mission."
Gaara saw a small family walk into the café. Gaara finished his ramen and set down the bill. "It would be best if we discuss this somewhere else."
The man smiled viciously under his mouth cloth. "The tree line to lightening country is just outside the city. Follow me." The man stood and walked out the front door. Gaara noticed while he was set on edge by the man's presence no one else even looked at the man's direction. It set of another tic in a long list of alarms that were going on in Gaara's mind.
At the tree line Gaara stayed in the open grass. "What is the job sir?"
"Sorry for not giving my name earlier. My name is Sasori, of the red sand." Gaara remembered the name. Kankuro's rebuilt Karasu was made by the man.
"Are you not a missing nin?"
The man chuckled completely at ease. "Yes I am. But you asked about the mission. Your mission is to join the Akastuki and aid us while we collect the tailed beasts."
-o-
Tsumi Rina and Sosan stared at the man they were supposed to be led by.
"This is the genin team I am supposed to take on a S-rank mission?" The old man started laughing. It was the group he ran into when he entered the village.
"They may be a little ragged, but their teamwork is the best for their class."
Jiraiya gave a huff before staring at Tsumi's ample bosom. Tsumi's good nature vanished as she glared killing intent at perverted old man. She took one step forward before she was stopped. "Easy there Tsumi. I thought it would be Rina not you to loose your temper." Sosan turned to the old man. "Sir, could you explain what this is about and who you are."
The man gave a loud laugh before tossing his long white hair over his back. "I am the Sennin that needs no love or money!" The old man jumped on one foot to his left. "The great ninja of the leaf!" The man jumped two steps to his right on the same leg. "The only Frog Hermit Jiraiya!"
The group sighed. Tsumi was the first to recover. "We are all going to die."
"Don't say that little miss, we need to get moving. The S-class missing Nin Sasori has been spotted in Dolpei. Our goal is to capture and restrain him for interrogation." The three teens nodded before Jiraiya performed several seals. Four large toads stood next to the old man. "We will need to get there fast. So we will be riding Gamakuchi and his tribe."
The frog growled at the old man.
"This desert heat is going to wear us out fast Jiraiya."
"Then we will need to make this run fast. We have a days travel to cover in a few hours." The frog nodded.
"That will be easy."
Tsumi and Rina looked uneasily at the frog saddles. Sosan nudged his frog slightly and was rewarded with a loud croak. He chuckled when the two girls eeped in unison.
-o-
"What is my pay for this job?"
The man laughed. "There is none, this is simple recruitment. We have had a position open in the Akastuki for some time. Our goal is to collect the bijuu and integrate them into our plans of making an organization beyond the ninja villages. Recruiting a self sacrifice container like you will greatly aid our cause." Gaara looked at the man in front of him and swallowed hard.
"And if I refuse?"
"It is too dangerous to allow someone with as much potential as you to not join us. I will have to capture you and take you there by force to remove the bijuu you hold."
Gaara's sand shifted around the boy. The red head took a second look at the robe. A sudden thought crossed his mind when he remembered another person laughing at Naruto and himself saying that it was interesting. "The shark face man. Kisame. He is one of your members." Gaara remembered the man saying that he would come again. Gaara watched the man Sasori suddenly wary of his position.
"Yes, he informed out group of your progress and that of Uzumaki Narutos'. We will be visiting him shortly." Gaara felt a slight tinge of panic at Naruto's impending visitation. "The one request we ask you in return for joining us is to sever your ties to the village you hail from."
Gaara stared at the man and sighed. The ground below him turned from earth to sand. Sasori jumped away from the ground and onto a tree as the sand tried to grab him. "I am sorry, but there is no possible way for me to give up my dream of becoming Kazekage." Sasori laughed while a large tail emerged from his robes.
"Do you really think than you can stop me genin?"
Gaara stared at the man already knowing this is only a taste of what he will have to experience in the future. "A genin may not stop you, but the Future Kazekage will." Sand burst out in arms reaching to grab at the man who skillfully dodged each attack.
-o-
Jiraiya cursed under his breath. They were moving as fast as they could. The meeting was a small café in the heart of the town. The meeting should have started several minutes ago. The four stopped on one roof when they heard an explosion. Immediately all four ninja jumped across the town towards the forest line. The ground that should have been solid earth was now a desert with trees pock marking the dunes. Jiraiya heard a stout laugh. After a few moments of searching he cleared a large dune and saw a black robed man circling a small boy. The boy had sand fly around him in extremely fast paces.
When Jiraiya nodded at his team, he said. "We don't have much time. He is a puppet jutsu user. He has taken down countries with his techniques and uses poison. Whatever you do don't touch anything he uses as weapons. Be careful of counter attacks and leave yourself plenty of room to dodge. Sosan, you and I will cover the right. Tsumi, Rina, you two are covering the left. Tsumi I will need you to throw your largest jutsu to get his attention. The boy's techniques are completely defense orientated. He may not be much help in the fight but he can defend himself. Go!" The four split up in a blur.
Gaara saw the movement and jumped into the air with Sand following him to form a platform in mid air. Sasori laughed before launching himself into the air. His puppet tail swung from his robes against the sand shield and poison spilt from the needle at the tip. Gaara jumped off the platform insuring he did not touch the poison. He did not need to be told that he just had to be touched by it, not injected.
The sand parted at the ground and Gaara fell into it with the sand forming into solid stone behind him. Sasori landed on top of the hard ground and pounded his fist on the stone shattering it. He was about to reach his hand into the sand when he felt something behind him. Ninpou: Gyakufu. The Akastuki cleared the ground as sand flew up into the air. Sasori moved his arms to cover his face as sand thrashed against his body. Sosan appeared right behind the man. The teenager placed several blows against Sasori's back forcing him towards the ground. The patch of sand he felt towards turned into a blade pit. Sasori moved his right hand and it extended from the remains of his cloak. The hand launched through the air grabbing onto Rina who created the trap. She gripped against the sudden pulling. But it allowed Sasori to escape the trap.
When Sasori landed he threw down his now destroyed cloak. The group paused a moment to look at the man. The man was covered in thick armor. The monstrosity was a puppet, and the group realized that the user was inside. Jiraiya was the first to recover and charged the enemy.
Sasori moved his tail to block the man before he raised his mechanical left arm. The over sized fore arm launched towards the genin before it exploded into hundreds of projectile needles. The three genin jumped back knowing they would not be able to dodge them all. Tsumi flinched when she thought the needles would hit her. She landed on soft sand. From the new distance, she was able to see sand surrounding the area in front of her. The sand fell and Gaara stood in the middle with the useless fore arm in his hand. He looked over to Sasori and a white haired old man. Gaara's eyes narrowed before sand wrapped around the arm and crushed it. He had questions why the man was leading them. And more questions about why his team was here in the first place. While he did not mind their presence, his new team was something he did not want to endanger. Gaara said in a harsh voice, "This is my fight. Stay out of the way or you will die." Gaara was satisfied with his ultimatum to the teens. Sand burst from behind the red head and pushed him forward after the two fighting men.
Jiraiya dodged the puppet tail. A ball of chakra swirled in his hand while he moved to Sasori's back. "Resengan!" The ball of chakra sank into the plated back destroying the armor there. Jiraiya jumped away from Sasori's free arm. Gaara saw his chance and forced his sand to rise like the girls' jutsu to saw through the tail. Sasori ran out of the way as his tail was cut off at the mid section. He glared at the boy, now no longer laughing. Jiraiya looked around and thought about the genin team.
"I told them to stay out or I will kill them. You should stay out of this too. This is my fight."
Another black wave of air passed above Jiraiya and Gaara glared at the girl who smirked at her target. Sasori was hit into the ground. Sosan appeared again but was wearing metal knuckles. He continually beat against the form of Sasori before he pulled back hands full of chakra strings. Sasori looked down and saw his arms and legs were grounded by the strings. Sasori looked up to see a girl in mid air throwing a kind of shuriken. "Kaze no akai!" The shuriken turned red and hit the front armor and the whole chest and body cracked under the pressure. The string that held Sasori relaxed.
Gaara raised his hands and sand engulfed the area in a thick sand storm. Torrents of sand crushed itself against Jiraiya before he let himself be pushed out of the vortex. He landed on loose sand and the sand genin team ran up to flank him. From inside the sand storm Gaara shouted. "This is my fight! I will handle this."
"Any ideas Jiraiya?"
Jiraiya growled. He made several seals before he spread out his arms. "Katon: Monban no jutsu." Several flames appeared around the area before the connected in long lines of streaming fire. "This is all I can do right now." As he finished he felt blood lust come from the sand tornado. Yellow chakra laced the sand and the winds turned faster. "It is up to the boy. He is determined to make this his fight. Each of you will move to a different flame watch tower. We can't let Sasori escape." The group spilt apart again each knowing that it would not be smart to stay to close to the fight that was rapidly escalating.
Gaara stood in the middle of his sand storm. Sand covered his face in a long muzzle and yellow eyes. Black disfigured pupils saw through the sand as if it was not even a haze. Sasori let the puppet armor fall from his form and he stood forcing his chakra to protect his body. Gaara felt his body at the point of no return. He performed several seals. In an unearthly voice he whispered. "Ninpou hebi-tei." The spinning sand changed direction from spinning up to spinning down. Gaara smiled showing jagged teeth. Sasori's now small body was having trouble staying above the sand that was trying to burry him. He gave an aggravated shout before he moved his real left arm to his side and launched it out of the sand and latching to one of the remaining trees far from the storm. He pulled himself out of the storm and narrowed his eyes at the boy when the sand fell and the air cleared.
"You have made a mistake. We will take your bijuu regardless of your will. You could have saved yourself the trouble by joining our ranks."
Gaara glared at the man. His over sized mouth grounded out, "Abandoning my village is something I could never do. And it is something I will never forgive. I will kill you."
Sasori's laugh returned. "You should have been paying more attention child."
Gaara turned in time to see the boy from his team perform a seal. Dark wind raged against Gaara's natural barrier. The boy was confused for a moment before he realized what happened. Like how Kankuro controlled his puppet, Sasori had taken hold of his teammate. Gaara growled before sand wrapped itself around the teenager. "Let him go Sasori."
Gaara jumped out of the way as another of the genin team ran towards the S-class missing nin. Sasori caught the girls' fist and twisted her arm flinging her towards the boy. Gaara's sand reached out and softened her fall. "Go restrain your team mate. If you have worked with puppets, try and sever Sasori's strings." Gaara stepped forward as the girl dashed to Sosan.
Jiraiya watched the fight from his post at the highest fire pillar. His eyebrows were concentrating and he cursed the impulsiveness of these kids. He pulled out one hand from his hand seal and drew out a scroll from his robes. He threw it into the air in front of him and several over sized stars appeared from it. With a few thoughts of concentration, they flew straight at Sasori.
Gaara saw the projectiles and moved sand around Sasori to prevent the man from seeing them. Gaara felt a sting in his eyes and suddenly realized how tired he was. He knew he couldn't hold out much longer like this. The man had not truly attacked yet, but rather let Gaara exhaust himself. With a dash Gaara forced as much sand as he could to push the puppet master towards the ninja stars.
Sasori tried to move, but found sand gripped his feet. He covered his chest and face with his arms and felt himself being hit with a force that cracked his puppet arms. His body flew for a second before the stars hit their mark. Sasori fell to the ground and the sand subsided. Sosan was in control of his body, and he led his team to stand opposite of Gaara incase the man was able to run. Jiraiya walked to an open side to form a half circle. He closed the gap and knelt next to Sasori's body. He saw Sasori's eyes snap open before a he heard a sizzle. "Shit!" he shouted trying to clear the body.
The teens did not get a warning before they dived for cover as the body exploded. After several moments Sosan got off his team mates and looked around confused as to why he and his team was not dead. Gaara gave a half chuckle and let go of the sand wrapping the area that the puppet masters' body laid.
Jiraiya walked cautiously towards the burned body. He turned quickly and checked his jutsu that surrounded them. "This isn't Sasori." Gaara looked at the body of a puppet with a hollow body. And cracked skull. There were no traces of chakra through it, and nothing that could have sustained chakra if it was alive.
Gaara looked around but shook his head. "Where ever he is, he is long gone now. He likely replaced himself in the opening moments of our fight." Jiraiya swore but cancelled his jutsu when he was satisfied his jutsu had not allowed anything to pass and had not sensed another person in its field.
Jiraiya went to check on his team. "Are you three alright?" The three teens nodded before looking at the boy. Jiraiya turned back towards the small bow with the sand head band around his neck. "Are you alright?"
Gaara rotated his neck feeling aching stiffness. "I will be fine. I have run into his group before. I am not worried about them." Gaara started walking away as a gourd of sand formed at his retreating back. "My mission is complete; I will stay in town to rest and leave in the morning." Gaara turned to the group. "Old man, check those three with a hospital to be sure, then you should all get some rest. Have a good day." With that Gaara casually left as if the whole battle was nothing but a stroll.
The teenagers stared at the boy incredulously. Finally Rina said out loud. "Is he for real?" Sosan grinned at his team before he started leading the group towards town.
-o-
Gaara sat in the ramen house eating the last of his ramen before heading to his room across the street. The chatter of the towns' folk continued ceaselessly as if no one heard the fight just outside their city. But judging the looks many of them held, they thought it was likely ninjas' as a few of them bowed their heading acknowledgment to the young nin. Gaara smiled slightly at this and paid for the two bowls. While he liked ramen, eating more than three large bowls of the noodles was impossible for him.
Outside, Gaara sighed and stretched. The sky was just turning red, and he knew he should sleep off the fight, but with the thought of his future teammates in town he knew he wanted to see them one more time.
It was not hard finding the other group in the town. The several main roads for restaurants and hotels connected together with the shops and stores off to the left and houses to the north. Finally he stopped in front of a barbeque house. He could hear the voices of the two girls laughing about something. While he wanted to speak with the group, he did not know what to say.
"I heard from the Suna Elders, that this was going to be your team in two days."
Gaara grimaced at being caught in an awkward situation. The red head turned around and greeted the old man. "How can I help you Jiraiya of the leaf?"
Jiraiya jumped off the roof of a building he was a look out on. "Oh, and you know who I am. I would have thought with your curiosity that you would have asked me right after the fight why we were sent out here."
Gaara shook his head. He turned back towards the restaurant and moved so he could see his future team. They were happily chatting in much the same way Gaara and his family would. With a weak chuckled Gaara exhaled. "I only know who you are because my friend from the leaf had to study about your history a lot. And I already understood why you were here when you placed the barrier around my fight with Sasori. I am amazed your group arrived so fast."
Jiraiya stood next to the boy and eyed all four members of the new team. "I can move surprisingly fast with the right motivation. So it was true you have run into the Akastuki before?" Gaara looked at him curiously but nodded. Jiraiya groaned and scratched his head. "Alright, thanks for telling me. While their current project isn't collecting the bi-juu, it is likely one that was spurred by the fact that you are so able at such an age. Aside from the eight and nine tailed demons, any of the others would be easier to capture if they were not in a self sacrifice." Gaara nodded while thinking on something.
"I thought that it was going to be Kisame that would come and find me again. This fight with Sasori arrived sooner than I expected."
"I wouldn't worry about it for now. Sasori wanted to find an easy bijuu. Recruiting a young boy was probably the easiest method to succeed their goals. When they come again it will be a few years later, and with more of them. They had lost a few members in recent years, so I was surprised that any of the group would make a move by themselves."
Gaara nodded while remembering the glimpses of Kisame and Sasori's ability to fool them all that the missing nin they fought was nothing but a puppet. "Thank you Jiraiya. I think I seen enough of my team for now. Good night." Gaara walked away from the senin. When the young boy was clear, Jiraiya turned back to the laughing team.
"Maybe this team will help you, Gaara of the sand."
-o-
Gaara arrived home after seven hours of travel. He sighed in relief when he dropped his gear at the door and followed the smell of cooked vegetables to the kitchen. He smiled while Kankuro stood on a stool to reach the high cupboard that Gaara usually placed the plates. He turned and saw Temari at the stove adding something to her pan. It was a pang of disappointment when he realized he would not be a team with his siblings. With the sudden realization he felt better about his reluctance to join a team.
Gaara walked into the kitchen and sand fetched an extra plate from the cupboard Kankuro was done using. "I hope you made enough for me as well."
Temari turned to the boy and smiled. "I suppose." Gaara and Kankuro laughed at an old joke the three of them had. After dinner Gaara looked at his siblings with a smile. When Kankuro looked up he gave his younger brother a look.
"Is there something wrong with my face Gaara." After a moment's hesitation, Gaara told his brother and sister about his mission. How he saw how well his future team worked together and the man named Jiraiya.
"Then I thought right here that I was a little disappointed that we wouldn't be a team… as if I am going to forget you two or something." Temari gave the boy a hug.
"You will just have to find time for both us and your team. I guess you were lucky that Naruto liked to hang around all of us." Kankuro gave an irritated huff.
"To play pranks, yeah." Gaara smiled again.
"Thanks. I think I am going to get some sleep. I meet my team tomorrow." The group said goodnight to each other leaving Kankuro staring at his puppet Karasu.
The puppet was in parts getting its detailed maintenance. After he placed another arm in a socket and testing it with his chakra strings he let it fall to the ground. After a few blank moments Kankuro murmured aloud. "So Sasori-sama fought my brother and is now trying to kill him." Kankuro looked at his puppet that was a masterpiece created by Sasori of the red sands. Kankuro placed a hand on the puppets head. "I am sorry Karasu, but I can't use you anymore." Kankruo stood and moved the individual pieces into its container and shoved the container into the living room closet.
"I'll have to find another way if I want to be a puppet master. I don't need any easy shortcuts that were given to me by father."
-o-
Gaara arrived at the office an hour early. He felt a little anxious at the groups' reaction after seeing him fight a few days ago. A small part of his mind told him that at least they would take him seriously. The elders nodded to the boy when he walked in. "Gaara-sama. If you would be so kind as to stand with the guards, we can wait for your team to arrive while we assign a few other missions."
Gaara stood at attention until his shoulders hurt from the unnatural position. After a while he let his shoulders slump and he gave a slight sigh of relief. They were quickly returned to attention when he saw a head of blonde hair from the group coming in.
Gaara refrained from letting himself turn when the door closed and shuffling their stopped near him. He heard one of the girls voice ask. "Why did you ask us here Elder-sama?"
The elders looked at each other before three conceded their votes by a bowing of their heads. The two centered men turned to the girl and her partner. "Encha Tsumi, Komosubi Rina, Toaen Sosan. Your genin team was sent on a "C" ranked mission. After encountering missing Nin, your mission turned into an "S" rank mission. As the only casualty of your failed mission, Kenta Seki, ensured his charges would survive the encounter. We have come to the decision that we will be disbanding Team Three. You three will be assigned to a new team where you will be working with an experienced Ninja who has worked alone on his missions for some time." Both girls nodded quietly before the blonde girl raised her hand. "Yes Rina?"
"Who is the leader? And does this mean we are not having a teacher anymore?"
One of the old women smiled. She looked right behind the team and at the red headed boy. "Gaara will be your leader and teacher. From here forth you will all report to him as Team Gaara." She grinned wider at Gaara's red face and biting tongue.
Tsumi nodded before she asked. "So where is this Gaara now?"
Gaara turned his head to allow himself to see their curiosity for the first time. The one named Rina was a tall dark red haired girl while Tsumi was a blonde haired girl with long lashes, Sosan was a deeply tanned boy with brown hair. All three of them were in their mid teens, and Gaara wondered again why he was on a team. "I will be your leader." Gaara droned out in a monotoned voice.
Tsumi took one look at the shrimp and bit back a shriek when the boy they saw a few days ago was the one they would report to. After a split second to recover from her shock she grounded out. "What the hell? We are going to report to a cute little kid?" Gaara looked at her oddly at the word 'cute'.
Rina started her objections just as quickly. "Who is going to take us seriously? There is no way I am taking orders from a pipsqueak like that! What's with the red hair? It makes him look like he is pretending to be the Kazekage or something."
Gaara looked at the girl and smiled. He turned to walk away. After a breath of a chuckle escaped his lips he said to the old people while leaving. "They will do well with me. I'll teach them to survive. Especially the loud one." Rina turned to say something in retaliation before Sosan hit her over the head.
The elders laughed. "That couldn't have gone better." Elder Kitomoto said to the group in approval. The teens looked at the old man. "Gaara has completed more A rank missions than your team has performed all ranked missions in your entire career."
The group took the information in. Sosan stood forward. "Where is the meeting post for our team?" An old woman smiled.
-o-
"This is the place we first met him?" The group stood at the memorial. At precisely an hour after sunrise Gaara looked at his team.
"Yes, this is where I first spoke with you. You three were in mourning and I had come to pay my respects." The group looked at the boy in understanding. "We will not take a mission for today; I just want to get to know the people I will be working with." The group sat down in front of the memorial. The talked for much of the morning. It was apparent to the teens that this was the boy their parents had told them to be careful of years ago. It was an odd sensation to remember those painted memories and seeing the eight year old now.
"What is it Tsumi?" The blonde was staring at Gaara for most of the talk.
She turned red before she giggled. "Sorry Shishou, but you are just so cute! You are talking all serious, but I can't help but pinch your cheeks." After the second of warning Gaara could only stare in shock as the girl's hand passed through his sand and pinched his cheek. He stared at her in shock. When he recovered he said nothing to the group about her ability to pass through the sand. He smiled at the girl.
"So I am cute?" Gaara asked in a slightly disbelieving tone. "Can you still take orders from me?"
Tsumi stuck her tongue out at him. "Of course I can, it's why I call you shishou." Her eyes widened. "Can I call you Shishou-chan?" Sosan could not hold his breath any longer and busted out laughing Rina was fast joining him as Tsumi pinched the boys' already bright red cheeks. Around his full cheeks, Gaara sputtered out.
"Lehk goh ov mah cheehks!"
-o-
Gaara watched his team bow to him. He gave an exasperated sigh before waving at them to stand. "What is it Tsumi?" The sixteen year old girl stood and handed a scroll to the red head.
"We just received the message from carrier bird."
Gaara scanned it for a moment before looking at his teammates. "We are heading back. The mission is going to be labeled a failure. The man we were on our way to escort has already been killed."
The team lowered their heads. It was their first failed mission since they reformed as Team Gaara and they had not even reached the person they were supposed to protect. Gaara placed the scroll into his sand and started leading the way back to Suna. It was getting late night during their return run when Gaara's second teammate Tsumi asked. "Shishou-chan?" Gaara gave her an irritated look over the title but nodded his head. "Were we just too slow to respond to the mission?"
Gaara cleared the next sand dune and finally stopped. He was breathing lightly but he saw both girls were breathing hard and the boy had a layer of sweat on his back. The group needed a rest. "No. If anything, the man knew the danger he was in and asked for the strongest shinobi that his money could afford. He likely thought that he was safe enough in that city to wait for us. It was what killed him; his confidence let him lower his guard. Had he been more thoughtful about it, he could have hired a ninja from the leaf who could have been just as effective and gotten there a day and a half earlier."
Rina looked at he small boy with confusion. "But aren't the Leaf our competition?"
Gaara smiled before walking forward content that the team had recovered enough. "Yes they are, but they are also our allies, no one would have begrudged the man for seeking ninja aid from the Leaf." With that, Gaara set the pace again, intent on making his three teammates go at his full pace within the year.
Sosan scratched his head at their leader's comment but continued after him. While no one knew why the boy was in a hurry all the time, they three teenagers understood that if they wanted to keep up, they had to take their training seriously. The grueling pace Gaara set for the team quickly extended through the rest of the night. When Gaara looked up to the sky, the moon was already fading. Gaara smiled at the image, before turning to the rising sun. They would make it into the village right as the tower would open for customers. He started to move forward when he heard one of the girls fall to her knees. Gaara turned to the two girls and scratched his cheek. He forgot to check on their progress during the last stretch. Neither girl looked like they could go much farther with out any rest and Sosan was bending over breathing hard. Gaara sighed for a moment before looking at the girls.
"Tsumi, Rina, Get in."
"Gaara-sama?" Rina looked questioningly at their leader.
Sand burst out of Gaara's gourd and formed into a small skiff. Both girls looked up red faced. When they saw the boat they looked at the boy as if he was insane. Gaara gave the two girls an irritated look. "Get in; you two are too tired to run any further." Rina stood and tried to get her teammate to stand but Gaara's patience wore out and sand flew in a wave picking them both up and dropping them off in the skiff. "Get some rest. We'll get to the outskirts of Suna in two hours." Gaara turned to Sosan, "If you are tired you are welcome to take a rest as well." Sosan nodded but just placed his bag in the skift before Gaara stepped up his pace and the sand boat obediently followed after him. Tsumi looked at the boy with her mouth open slightly in awe. She turned to her friend only to see Rina was already fast asleep. Tsumi grinned over her blonde hair and laid her head down where she promptly fell asleep.
Gaara bade goodbye to his teammates still unsure how to handle the attention they gave him. "At least they don't all call me little master anymore." Gaara walked past the Academy and stopped before turning around and walked through the doors he hadn't been in since he was six. Inside was not much different than he remembered. The floors were still covered in black and gray tiles. Walls were painted a sort of beige color. His siblings were still there. Gaara looked at the opening doors and saw Temari with a head band over her eyebrow and fan strapped to her back. "Gaara!"
The redhead smiled before nodding his head to meet her outside. She followed him and the students flowed around them not aware that the red head was the boy they had flee'ed from short years ago. Temari noticed and looked at Gaara in question.
"If they can forget about me in two years, maybe its better that they do."
Temari nodded before following her brother out of the school yard. Several thuds chased them until Kankuro huffed at the two of them. "Thanks for waiting." He glared at his siblings before the three were led by Temari to their home. When they arrived all three dropped what they were carrying and headed for the kitchen. Gaara got the bowls, Temari the ice cream while Kankuro set the table. When all three were seated Kankuro served the ice cream. The silence was finally broken with Gaara who set his ice cream down. "I failed my first mission today."
Both brother and sister looked at each other. "What happened?"
Gaara shook his head while thinking about the assigned mission. He knew there was nothing he could do, but he still felt that it was a mark he would never get of his record. "It failed before we even arrived. I was considering if I should ask that the mark be removed from my record, but the assignment was given to my team not just me. It would be rude to just ask."
Temari stirred the remains of her ice-cream before she gave a cheeky grin. "Don't worry about it Gaara, the way those two girls worship you. They wouldn't even notice anything."
"At least we are not given any high ranked missions yet. It is nice to not worry about anything serious." Gaara paused at the thought. He thought he was forgetting something. When he looked up he swore.
Loudly.
"Temari, did you ever send those letters to Naruto?" The girl turned bright red. "Never mind." Sand whipped out from his body as he ran up the stairs to her room. He heard her shouting and yelling at him to stop. Gaara blasted sand to cover the door not trusting that he door itself will hold if Temari was determined. After looking for a few seconds, he grabbed the first letter in the small pile of letters the girl never sent and saw the address where Naruto was living at. It was by luck that Shizune sent them a post card with Naruto's address. But it also gave the warning not to give a name, just an address. Gaara grabbed a blank scroll and started writing a quick note.
Naruto, I ran into another member of those guys we fought in the capital. The real strong one. I am fine, but they are after all of the tailed demon containers. They came after me a few weeks ago, and just remembered that they would try and get you too. Be careful. You know these guys are strong. And I think that blue faced guy Kisame might go after you since he didn't show up here. Oh, and Temari misses you. I grabbed one of the letters she is too scared to send and am sending it over.
Gaara
Gaara slid Temari's letter into the rolled up scroll and jumped out the window not daring to cross his sisters path for a few hours. He jumped over several buildings before he landed in front of the ninja communications tower. A jounin recognized the boy.
"How can I help you Gaara-sama?"
"I need this sent to Konoha immediately. Something's come to my attention and my friend needs to be notified."
The man nodded not questioning the statement. He took the scroll and sent it by falcon. Gaara watched the bird fly over the desert sky. "The scroll should arrive to Konoha tower in five hours."
Gaara nodded.
-o-
It was already several days in fire country that the two decided to go to their destination. Neither one had really anything they planned to do, so it was with a little surprise that the loud one of the group suggested it. "So this is Konoha. It smells nice. But it needs more waterscape." A loud thud sounded as he let his sword touch the ground. The man turned towards his companion. "No nostalgia eh?"
"…"
"Fine then. I am just looking for a rematch. You can take him now or later. But I heard that he dragged along a certain Uchiha."
"That is the only reason why I chose to follow you. We are years a head of schedule. Even if we captured him now, we would have to wait at least two years, and the ideal time would be in seven years."
"Like I said before, I just want to have some fun. Akatsuki be damned."
Uchiha Itachi gave a small half laugh. "That is treasonous Kisame. Do you want to end up like that worm Orochimaru?" Kisame shivered. "I am only interested in my brother. To be come strong so soon is something worth my time to watch. If Uzumaki Naruto has truly aided my brother in becoming strong, then he may live awhile longer." Itachi nodded before the two started walking down the main path towards Konoha.
- - - End Chapter 9 Team - - -
A/N: eh, here is another chapter. It was a little hard getting this story arc up and running. Now that this chapter is up, hopefully the next one won't take over a month to write. This one is a little short of the 10k mark but since so many others went over, I thought this was ok.
Shishou-chan : little teacher/master
Ninpou: Gyakufu: ninja arts: head wind
Kaze no akai: wind of red
Katon: Monban no jutsu: Fire element gate watcher
Ninpou hebi-tei: ninja arts heavy air
A/N; I knew that I needed to come back and fix the girls names. After writing Chapter 11 and establishing more of their personalities I was able to fix everything. Thanks for reading throught the confusion. 3/10/07
10/20/2009
