Second Chance

Summary: Shikamaru is back, war flashbacks and everything. But no matter how much foreknowledge he has, changing the future is not as easy as he thought. He couldn't very well explain why a 6-year-old would try and hunt down S-ranked criminals from an organization that isn't even known yet. His Hokage being set back to a snot nosed brat that reacts bewildered to any form of affection does not help. At all.

Meanwhile, the former Kazekage of Suna, loved by the public and constantly supported by his siblings is thrown back to being treated like a weapon, while said loving siblings look at him fearfully and avoid him as much as they can. And that doesn't even include the voice in his head, urging him to kill every step that he takes. He really needs someone to fix the seal this time around...

Chapter 10

He could feel the air around him getting colder as the sun sank below the village skyline, but Gaara couldn't bring himself to move just yet.

He was at the top of one of Suna's highest buildings besides the Kazekage's residence. It had become routine to come here after his training sessions: both his own and those with his siblings. Not that he necessarily did anything worth mentioning; no, he was content to let his mind wander while overlooking his home village.

Out of sight. Without the risk of someone fearing for their life for no other reason than catching a glimpse of him.

It wasn't like he had many alternatives to spend his time on, anyway. These days, his only options that didn't involve causing a mass panic were pretty much limited to staying in his family's residence (if one could even call the dysfunction that was him, the Kazekage and his siblings a family) and his daily training sessions.

Between his lessons with Rasa and those with Baki, the latter were without question the more interesting ones. Apart from his intervention during the first lesson, he had kept to simply watching his siblings without contributing any advice of his own. After all, Baki was a great teacher, and Gaara had no issues with letting him take the lead.

And while he wouldn't say his siblings had grown comfortable around him just yet, they were at least starting to get used to his presence. Which meant that they no longer gave him wary glances every few minutes and managed to concentrate properly on their training, finally daring to let him out of their sight for a while.

The progress was slow, but it was there.

Gaara was hopeful; he could say that much. Hopeful about earning his siblings' trust eventually, and hopeful that he could befriend them earlier this time around. But even so, he couldn't quite bring himself to mistake the warm, but oh so tiny feeling in his chest for happiness.

The truth was that it was becoming harder and harder for Gaara to ignore the numb sensation of loneliness, a constant companion that seemed to dull his senses like a heavy blanket. He felt a sting in his chest when he thought of his old friends and family, leaving him with a feeling of isolation. He longed for human contact.

Funny how something he couldn't have cared less about Before was affecting him now. Even worse, as it turned out, it was easier for Shukaku to influence him when his negative thoughts dominated the positive ones.

And who was he kidding? They always did, these days.

Perched near the edge of the building, Gaara sighed and let his head drop on his knees. He was tired. So tired.

"Gaara-kun? Are you alright?"

He didn't flinch, having heard the footsteps coming closer easily. Coming up with an acceptable answer felt like too much of an effort, so he didn't bother. Next to him, Yashamaru came to a halt hesitantly. Apparently he didn't know what to say, either.

"I feel like taking a walk through the village. Would you care to join me?"

Gaara lifted his head at that, contemplating. He didn't want to spend more time alone, and while he would have preferred his siblings, a walk with Yashamaru sounded nice. Of course, that didn't mean he wanted to scare the villagers as a result.

"Can we take the rooftops?" he asked.

Gaara still didn't face his uncle, so he couldn't interpret the moment of silence that followed. When Yashamaru spoke, his voice sounded cheerful.

"Of course. Shall we?" He didn't fool Gaara for a second.

Gaara waited for a moment longer, closing his eyes. Then he rose, easily following his uncle as he leaped over to the next building. When Gaara made no move to speak, Yashamaru picked up the conversation they hadn't started. Completely ignoring his charge's worse than usual lack of participation.

"I spoke with Baki-sensei this morning. He said it wouldn't be much longer until you can join your siblings' training routine properly."

They scaled the rounded edge of another building, Yashamaru slowing down as Gaara took a moment to figure out his chakra control. He didn't want to lose his footing on the clay and slip. Choosing a path far from the village center, they moved on.

"How do you like his lessons so far?"

Again, Gaara had trouble coming up with a response, and the silence was prolonged. Yashamaru waited, giving Gaara the chance to work around his issues. He couldn't even say what was wrong with him, at this point.

"They're alright," he mumbled, his eyes focused somewhere before his feet.

The answer was painfully short considering the time it had taken him to come up with it, but Yashamaru accepted it without batting an eyelash. "What about your siblings? Are you three... getting along?"

Gaara nearly wanted to laugh. He supposed that was one way to ask whether his siblings could stand his presence without the urge to run for their lives.

"We're alright," he answered, maybe not quite truthfully. Even so, he allowed himself a soft smile at the thought of his siblings. "They're great, Yashamaru. I wish-"

They could have met earlier. Wished they could have met under different circumstances. That they could have had a normal childhood, as a normal family.

The silence stretched out between them.

Gaara paused as Yashamaru let out a sigh and came to a halt only a moment after his uncle did. Great. Now he'd done it.

"Gaara-kun, please." Yashamaru tried to meet his gaze, but Gaara didn't let him, keeping his eyes trained stubbornly on the ground before him. He couldn't bear it, not right now. Gaara didn't need to look at him to pick up on his concern, anyway. And it didn't make him feel any better.

"Is something wrong?"

Well, and wasn't that a good question? There were quite a few things 'wrong' with him, in Gaara's humble opinion, but he didn't feel the need to tell Yashamaru about any of them. He wouldn't be able to help, anyway. Sage, a therapist would be overwhelmed with his issues, even disregarding the time travel bit.

"You've been acting differently for some time now. Please," he repeated. "Is there something I can help you with? Anything at all?"

As if he needed any more reminder that he had completely messed up the whole 'not raising any suspicion' goal. Admittedly, he had hoped people wouldn't know him well enough to pick up on any differences. But this was Yashamaru. Of course he wasn't like everyone else.

"It's nothing." Yeah, which was exactly the reason he still wouldn't meet his uncle's eyes. Totally.

"Did you change your mind? You can always tell me, you don't have to join your siblings unless you want to-"

"No!" Gaara's eyes widened in shock. "That's not it-"

"-or did something happen in the village? Or with your father?"

Gaara's hands clenched and relaxed at his sides, another weakness betraying how anxious he was. "Nothing- nothing happened, Yashamaru. I'm fine."

He shifted uncomfortably under his uncle's gaze. Of course Yashamaru wanted to make him better, but how could he tell him he was beyond help? "Just let it go. Please."

Yashamaru hesitated. "I can't do that. I'm sorry, but it's my job to take care of you. And I won't hesitate to involve the Kazekage, if I think your health is at stake." Gaara bit his lower lip, trying to come up with an excuse. His mind felt sluggish, unable to concentrate on its task and why couldn't he have an off-day sometime else, why now-

Even though his uncle knew how he felt about Rasa, he was still loyal to him and wouldn't hesitate to go through with his threat. He had to inform the Kage about serious concerns about his son, and Gaara refusing to talk to him after days, if not weeks of unusual behavior? Yeah, that definitely qualified.

If he didn't want Rasa involved, he would have to give his uncle something. Gaara closed his eyes, resigned. He didn't have another choice. Another time, he might have been able to come up with an excuse. Perhaps he would have managed to make his uncle believe nothing was amiss.

But not today.

"Shukaku is being difficult." His voice was nothing but a whisper, and for a moment, he wasn't sure if Yashamaru had even heard him.

"Shukaku?"

Gaara's head snapped up, taking in his uncle's alarmed expression. Damn it.

Damn it.

He couldn't take it back now.

Swallowing didn't do anything to get rid of the sudden dryness in his mouth, so he tried his best not to stumble too much over his words. "Shukaku. It's- it's his name." He clutched the fabric over his stomach, where the faulted seal ached.

Yashamaru tried to stay calm, but Gaara could tell how unsettled he was. "How do you know that?"

"He told me."

"It speaks to you?!"

Gaara flinched, surprised by his uncle's loss of composure and the spark of emotion from inside his mind. Was that irritation? Rage too, but he was used to that. It was good to know that Shukaku wasn't completely shut off, but this was really. Not. The time.

Apparently pulled out of his shock through his ward's defensive reaction, Yashamaru took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Considering what he'd just learned, he did an admirable job.

For a moment it seemed like he wanted to reach out to Gaara, but decided against it after all. "Okay. Please, Gaara-kun. You have to talk to me, alright? What do you know about it? What else- did it tell you anything else?"

"Not, not much." Gaara fumbled with the hem of his shirt. He couldn't allow himself to slip up again, had to be careful about what he told his uncle. "I- I mostly get, feelings from him. Or thoughts, sometimes. Only flashes though."

"'Mostly'?" Yashamaru repeated, his voice carefully neutral.

He swallowed. "It gets worse when I- when I feel bad." It was difficult for him to admit, but Gaara didn't think it was a good idea to outright lie about it. Not right now. "I get vulnerable and Shukaku- Shukaku can influence me more."

Yashamaru opened his mouth, but couldn't seem to find the right words. He swallowed. "'Influence'? Influence how?"

"I." Gaara took a shaky breath. He knew he had to keep going – it was too late to turn back – but he didn't want to. Didn't want to risk losing his uncle's affection, didn't want to risk him leaving him.

"He influences my mood, sometimes." He struggled for a moment, trying to express himself properly. "His, his feelings. They bleed through, and I- I feel what he feels."

"Like?"

Gaara's voice was barely audible, at this point. "Anger. Aggression, if it's bad." For a moment it was silent.

"Does your father know?"

He didn't answer. It told Yashamaru everything he needed to know.

"I have to inform him."

"No!" He straightened up, finally meeting his uncle's eyes. "No, please-"

Yashamaru seemed conflicted. "I have to. If it affects you to this extent, he needs to know." He didn't say anything about the village's safety, but it was implied. This didn't only concern Gaara.

Still, Gaara couldn't allow him to tell anyone. Certainly not Rasa. "I couldn't control it, at first. I was- I was dangerous." He faltered for a moment. "But I learned. I can control him, I can handle it!"

He knew he was begging at this point, but Gaara didn't care. Not as long as Rasa would be kept in the dark.

"Gaara-kun." His face was warped in an unhappy frown, his voice hesitant and regretful. "I can't keep something like this from him. He's your father, and the Kazekage. I have an obligation, towards him as well as to you."

"Please, Yashamaru." When he spoke next, almost none of the desperation in his voice was fake. "If he knows, he- he might not let me see Kankurō and Temari anymore."

Yashamaru paused at that. He could practically see his uncle's inner conflict: He could either decide to not quite betray his Kazekage by keeping valuable information concerning both his son and the village's jinchūriki from him. Or he could ignore Gaara's plea and potentially take away one of the few things that made his ward happy.

The decision wasn't easy to make, and Gaara felt bad for putting his uncle in this position. Still, there was nothing he could do about it now. Nothing but await his answer in tense anticipation.

Then, finally-

"Alright. I will- I will keep silent about it from your father, for now."

Gaara nearly collapsed in relief, the tension leaving his body with a few controlled breaths. It most likely wasn't visible looking at him, but he had been on the verge of a breakdown only seconds ago.

"That being said-"

He focused his attention back on his uncle, not willing to miss anything he had to say.

"I will have to inform Baki. At least of some of it."

That was reasonable. If he was to keep training with his siblings, their teacher would need to know about something significant as this. He could only hope Baki would be as willing to keep quiet about it as Yashamaru was. Even so, he agreed. It would be stupid to let him near his siblings without someone knowing about his little… well. His issue.

He nodded, accepting the condition without complaints.

"Also, I would like to start coming to your sessions as well. If only to watch."

Another good idea. With his newly gained knowledge, Yashamaru would be able to look out for giveaways in his behavior, would hopefully be able to recognize a bad day without having to rely on Gaara's horrendous communication skills.

Hey, at least nobody could accuse Gaara of not being self-aware.

"I see how much you enjoy spending time with your siblings." Gaara felt warmth coursing through his chest at the smile Yashamaru gave him. Even though it seemed a little strained. "I don't want to be the one to take that from you."

His smile froze for only a second, and Gaara was sure he would have missed it, had he not paid closest attention. "But you should be careful."

Gaara hesitated, not sure what to make of that. "Is this about the- about Father?"

He took Yashamaru's silence as confirmation. But he hadn't done anything that could warrant the Kazekage's attention, had he? The only occasions that he and Rasa interacted were during their training sessions, and neither of them were particularly talkative throughout them.

Which only left-

"Is- is Father not satisfied with my performance?"

Yashamaru hesitated. "That's… not it."

Gaara waited, but Yashamaru didn't offer anything else. Chances were he wasn't allowed. He was still loyal to Rasa, despite everything. Deciding he had pushed his uncle's boundaries enough for the day, Gaara didn't push for details.

He had already turned around, about to leap onto the next building, when Yashamaru's voice made him stop in his tracks. "Gaara-kun." He turned, catching a glimpse of worry in his uncle's eyes before he could push it away. "If you ever need help, with- with Shukaku, or with anything else. You can always come to me."

For a moment Gaara didn't move, stunned. Before he could think twice, he had thrown himself at Yashamaru, closing short arms around his lower body. His uncle stiffened in surprise, clearly not expecting the sudden sign of affection.

But after a few tense moments he relaxed. He crouched down to his knees, carefully returning the embrace in a gentle hug.

Gaara couldn't quite stop himself from trembling, but right now he couldn't care less. After weeks of isolation, he was desperate for human contact, was desperate to feel just a little less lonely in his home village. How had he even survived his childhood the first time around?

Well, the few years of insanity sure felt appropriate from this perspective.

For just a few moments he allowed himself to forget about his problems, forget about the new wave of concern he probably caused his uncle, and soaked in the safety of his embrace.

"Come on, Kankurō! It's not a big deal." Temari furrowed her brows, trying to sound dismissive even as she hurried to match her brother's steps. "What's your problem?!"

She shielded her eyes, momentarily blinded by the sun as they stepped out of the shadows of the row of buildings to their left. They had nearly reached the training grounds and yet, Kankurō stubbornly refused to answer her.

She scowled, biting her lip and pushing away a flash of guilt. "Well, if you didn't want anything to happen to it, maybe you shouldn't have left it lying around like that. How is that my fault?"

Finally, Kankurō paused, glaring at Temari with all the fury a nine-year-old could muster. "You're what happened to it. You broke it!"

"So what? It's only a dumb toy."

"It's not! You're just too stupid to see how cool it is!"

Temari snorted, smirking at her brother tauntingly. "You mean that piece of junk? Can you even use it?"

"I could've if you hadn't broken it!"

Kankurō's fists were clenched at his sides and Temari furrowed her brows, hesitating. She had teased her brother all the way since leaving the residence, and was slowly having second thoughts.

But really, it hadn't been her fault!

She'd only been to his workshop to look for him anyway, it wasn't like it was the first time she was inside it on her own. And what if she hadn't paid much attention to where she was going, leaving a half-finished project lying on the ground was just asking for it to break!

Then again, it had also been the first puppet Kankurō had made all on his own, it being damaged before he could even try it out during training...

Alright, so maybe she did feel kind of guilty.

Of course, she would never admit it out loud. Certainly not in front of Kankurō. Admitting her fault meant admitting weakness, and Temari was not weak. So she went on, ignoring the little voice telling her to just apologize and be done with it.

"You're just being childish."

"Oh yeah?" Kankurō muttered, glaring straight ahead. She followed his gaze, catching a glimpse of the training grounds. And their teacher.

Her smirk faltered. "Yeah. Just let it go. Like I said, it's not a big deal."

Her brother didn't answer.

She grabbed his arm, forcing him to a halt and hissed: "You're gonna tell Baki, aren't you?"

Kankurō yanked his arm out of her grip and scowled at her. "So what? It's not a big deal, right?" He turned and kept walking.

"Kankurō, wait!" Temari tried to sound angry, but wasn't quite sure if she succeeded. "Come on, just- I didn't mean it!" No matter what she'd told Kankurō, she didn't know what Baki would say. And didn't want to find out, if she could help it.

"Please don't tell Baki!" Temari refused to think of her request as begging. Temari did not beg. "I'll even let you kick my ass next time we have to spar! Just don't tell him!"

Kankurō actually hesitated at that, at the very least pausing to think about his sister's offer, when-

"Oops!"

Temari startled at the exclamation. She had been too focused on her brother to have noticed the two girls they had nearly run over, and forgot about their argument for a moment.

Smiling, she said: "Sorry, Yome. I didn't see you."

Yome and Sen were two civilian children roughly her age, two of the very few she actually interacted with – and played with, from time to time.

"Oh. It's you."

Temari blinked, not used to the wary tone of voice she was addressed with. "I- Yeah?"

Sen avoided meeting her eyes, badly hiding how uncomfortable she was. "Look, Temari." She looked at her friend, hesitating.

Temari frowned. She wasn't a very patient person, and she certainly didn't like secrets. "What is it?"

"..."

She was just about to tell them to spit it out when Yome sighed. "We don't want to play with you anymore."

Temari paused, taken aback. "O- Okay?"

"When we started, we didn't know you were Kazekage-sama's kid, alright?"

"Ah. Yeah."

"It's not about you, really," Sen added. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Yeah. Sure," Temari muttered, already turning away. She knew how this conversation would end and stalling wouldn't change anything. She couldn't even say she was surprised. Disappointed, yes. Hurt, not as much as she probably should. But surprised?

She had had this conversation much too often for that. It had only been a matter of time.

It wasn't about her father, of course. It was about Gaara. (Wasn't everything?)

Her brother. (And wasn't that a joke. How could he possibly be the same to her as Kankurō?)

"So."

"Yeah."

After another few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Yome and Sen turned away. It didn't take long until Temari and Kankurō were alone again.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Temari started to walk, not even waiting to see if Kankurō was following her. It just wasn't fair! It wasn't like she could choose her family. She hadn't chosen to be the Kazekage's daughter, hadn't chosen to have Gaara as sibling.

"Temari." Kankurō walked next to her, struggling to catch up, so she slowed her pace slightly. She didn't want to fight anymore, so she didn't answer.

"I'm not mad anymore," Kankurō mumbled, awkwardly trailing beside her.

And that was that.

Until they arrived at the training grounds, neither of them mentioned their argument or the two girls, Temari not in the mood to continue and Kankurō just as familiar with the treatment that having both the Kazekage and Gaara as family entitled.

Baki, perceptive as ever, could tell something was amiss, Temari was sure of it. He didn't ask, but the slight hesitation before his order to start their warm-up was telling. Not willing to talk about what happened, Temari made an extra effort to complete her tasks satisfactory, to not give her teacher any reason to question her.

As long as she performed well during their training, she should be fine.

But it was difficult, staying focused. When all she wanted to do was to curl up in her bed and not get up for a few hours. Halfway through their routine, Temari got distracted by voices from the sidelines. She turned, getting a glimpse of Baki, quietly talking to- Yashamaru? When had her uncle gotten here?

And why? Well, now that she thought about it...

Temari turned her head, letting her eyes wander over the training grounds, until- there! At the very end of the grounds was Gaara, just now coming over towards them from one of the entrances.

She hadn't noticed before, but why hadn't he come earlier? Gaara had been joining them for a while now, even participating in some of their exercises. His presence had been difficult, at the beginning. It hadn't been easy to concentrate properly with Gaara being so close, the thought of him, well, going crazy being very distracting indeed.

By now, she and Kankurō had mostly gotten used to it. Still, that didn't mean she wanted to practice with him – Baki could preach about training to become a real team all he wanted.

No, that wasn't what had her hesitating. It was just so unlike Gaara to be late, there had to be a bigger reason behind it. Gaara came to a halt next to Baki and Yashamaru, greeting them quietly. Temari frowned. She couldn't place it, but something in the way Baki looked at him made her feel like there was something she was missing.

She didn't like being left out of things. Especially things that concerned Gaara.

"Alright, that should be enough." Baki's voice made her halt her movement, and she and Kankurō walked over to where their teacher was waiting with Gaara. Yashamaru observed in the background.

Again, Temari wondered what he was doing here.

"Should we get our weapons?" Kankurō asked eagerly, and Temari couldn't help but feel a spark of disappointment when Baki shook his head.

"You won't need them for now. Today I want to do a little chakra exercise."

Kankurō groaned. "Does that mean we'll climb up walls all day again? That's so boring, we can do that by now!" Temari suppressed the urge to tell her brother to shut it, but she had to agree. Wall climbing was boring.

"I know. That's why I think you're ready for something more difficult." Temari blinked. Was that a smirk?

She wouldn't have wasted a second thought with any other person, but this was Baki. He was a great teacher and never asked anything of them they couldn't handle, but he was also strict and serious most of the time.

His expression right now was deeply unsettling. Temari shared a look with Kankurō. Good to know she wasn't the only one who was getting suspicious.

"Gaara, I want you to join in for this."

Gaara nodded hesitantly, while Temari swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump that began to form in her throat. Even though it wouldn't be the first time, she couldn't help but feel nervous.

"For you, it will be a challenge for your sand manipulation-" Temari didn't hear the rest. Her eyes went wide, her breath coming ever so slightly faster. She felt light-headed, her hands cold and sweaty.

Baki was about to make him use his sand?

She could deal with their regular training routines. She could deal with chakra exercises, even though they could be extremely boring. She could even deal with Baki observing Gaara's sand powers separately from them, while she and Kankurō were busy with something else.

But this?

Not only was he about to use his abilities – those that had given him his feared reputation in the first place – he was also going to do so side by side with them. Her anxiety threatened to grow into a full-blown panic attack. She didn't know if she could do this.

"-mari. Temari!"

She looked up, snapping out of her thoughts with a flinch. Baki's eyes were trained on her in a firm glare that told her it hadn't been the first time he had called her name.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

She straightened up, not willing to show weakness in front of her teacher. "Yeah. Of course."

Baki frowned, hesitating. "We'll be starting then." He paused, giving her the chance to change her mind. She nodded.

He waited for a moment longer. Then: "Alright. Take a step back then, both of you."

Temari blinked, taken aback, but followed her brother as he stepped away from the sandy field that served as their training grounds. She must have missed Baki's instructions, because Gaara didn't need any more prompting to step forward, facing the now empty grounds.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Temari couldn't see Gaara's face, but she imagined his eyes were closed in concentration. Then he lifted his arms, slowly, and Temari watched in resignation as the sand rose with them.

Heaps of sand grew out of the field, some reaching just below Temari's knees, some towering far above Baki and Yashamaru as columns. At the same time hollows formed, shaping the once flat grounds into an uneven, rough parkour.

Were her heart not threatening to jump out of her chest, she may even have been impressed.

"Very good," Baki said, inspecting Gaara's work carefully. Then he turned to address Temari and Kankurō. "Now, if you're ready. Your task is simple: Don't fall."

Kankurō frowned, eyeing the parkour skeptically. "How is that even a challenge? We walked up walls much higher than this before."

"Well, yes."

And alright, now Baki was definitely smirking. Or at least doing whatever his equivalent of a smirk was.

"Now, those walls didn't move, did they?"

Silence.

Did he just-?

Temari looked at Kankurō. Kankurō stared back.

"You mean-?" Kankurō turned, aiming disbelieving eyes at their teacher. "You mean we're supposed to be in there while he- when it all moves around?"

Temari was sure that no one had missed Kankurō's slip-up, even though neither Baki nor Yashamaru reacted. Gaara on the other hand?

"I'll be careful," he mumbled and looked like he wanted to be there just as little as they did, his eyes trained firmly on the ground.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't make Temari feel any better. At all.

But she was also the Kazekage's daughter, and both her teacher and her uncle were watching. She wasn't going to show weakness in front of them. She was strong. She was a shinobi.

With the feeling that she was walking into her own doom, she took a step towards the transformed training field, doing her best to keep her body from shaking. She wouldn't deny that she was scared, oh no. But she also wasn't going to let that stop her.

"Temari," Kankurō half-whispered, though it sounded more like a whine. Temari shot her brother a look, and, after holding eye contact for a moment, Kankurō reluctantly followed her.

The first few steps were excruciating. The sandy ground below her feet was firm, but she couldn't help but feel like it was shifting below her feet. Like it could cave in any second, swallow her into its depths, into darkness and trap her, swallow her up, suffocate her-

She had heard the stories, she knew what Gaara was capable of. No one would be able to stop him, not Baki, not Yashamaru. Neither of them would be fast enough. Certainly not Temari. What chance did she have, if Gaara decided she wasn't worth keeping around any longer?

Subconsciously she noticed her breath coming shorter. Black spots danced at the edge of her vision. Darkness was creeping in on her, maybe the sand had already enclosed her-

No. That wasn't right.

She forced herself to take a deep breath, not allowing herself to slow down. She had already reached the first column.

She would not be beaten by her fear. Baki had given her a task and she would complete it, no matter what was standing in her way.

Even if it was Gaara.

Taking another deep breath, she focused her chakra the way Baki had taught them. She concentrated, made it flow into the palms of her hands and into her feet. Not too much, not too little.

She didn't allow herself to think as she touched the column, the chakra making her hand stick to its smooth surface. She hoisted herself up and started to climb with an agility she had always been proud of, and nearly succeeded in telling herself she was scaling a regular wall, the way she and Kankurō had learned it from Baki.

Then the column started to tremble.

Temari froze, barely keeping herself from screaming. And ok, it was sinking, the column was sinking and she would hit the ground if she didn't do anything right now-

She jumped.

Grabbed onto the nearest pillar.

The weight of her body yanked at her as her fall was stopped, the only thing holding her up her chakra infused hands. She took a shaky breath, trying to concentrate.

Somewhere from below Baki was shouting at her – criticism? Encouragement? Advice? She didn't know, but right know she couldn't bring herself to care.

To her left she could see Kankurō, struggling a bit to keep his feet stuck to the surface of his own pillar, but otherwise just as successful as her in mastering the first obstacle. She closed her eyes, trying to keep her breathing calm.

Her hands slipped and she let out a yelp as she tried desperately to regain her footing.

Alright. More concentrating on her chakra flow, less getting distracted by her brother. She could do this.

Temari looked down, and for a second her eyes met Gaara's.

Only now did she realize that the pillar had been still the entire time it had taken her to recover from her slip-up.

Huh.

When the second pillar started to move, she was ready. She took a moment to choose a place for her next landing – a sand pile below her, a bit to her right – then jumped, landing in a crouch and immediately letting chakra flow into her feet.

It had been the right decision, because shortly after she landed, the sand pile shot upwards, nearly throwing her off.

And on it went. She jumped and leaped and bounced, held onto pillars as they tipped over, waiting for the right time to jump off, stuck her feet to sand piles that moved around until she could find a secure place to leap over to, or others that shot into the air with surprising speed. She used anything she could get her hands on to stay in the air, to not fall.

As time went on, her reflexes became faster. She got used to the movements, learned how to choose her next landing spot quicker and quicker.

But as she adapted, so did the sand.

The breaks in between her jumps got shorter as the sand barely stopped moving at all, and at the same time it got harder to anticipate what it would do next. More than once she was taken aback, having prepared to jump from her current sand pile right when it would start sinking, only for it to sweep to the side instead.

But it was fine.

Temari was fine.

The sudden rush of anxiety whenever the sand took her by surprise never completely ceased, but she also couldn't deny the spark of excitement as she succeeded to dodge again and again, managed to stay in the air no matter what the sand threw in her way.

In any other situation she may have even admitted that she was having fun.

Then she slipped.

She yelped, eyes widening in surprise as her hands missed their mark, barely gliding past the rough sand pillar.

No matter how much she learned, Temari also had limits. She had noticed her movement getting slower, her body growing tired because of the highly demanding training exercise. A moment of distraction, a slight miscalculation, that was all it had taken.

Leaving her in the air, falling as in slow motion, no sand pillars close enough to hold onto.

Luckily the parkour wasn't high enough to be dangerous. She started to tense up, move her body to fall in a way Baki had taught them, to minimize the chance of injury.

Before she could finish the movement, sand was closing in on her and Temari froze.

No.

No, this couldn't be happening

Her safe landing was forgotten, the movement abandoned midway.

She didn't want it to end like this. She didn't want to be killed by Gaara, didn't want to end up as his next victim.

Her body started to tremble uncontrollably. It was dark. Had the sand already surrounded her, or were her eyes closed? Temari didn't know anymore. She couldn't suppress a sob and something was squeezing her, only increasing her panic, something- something soft?

Wait.

No. Sand wasn't soft. Sand was rough and itchy, burning hot during the day, or ice cold during the night.

It wasn't soft, wasn't comforting.

But she was surrounded by warmth, pressed against something solid, something with a heartbeat. A rapid, wild heartbeat. She wasn't being crushed. Something – someone? – was hugging her.

"Temari? Are you alright?"

Temari opened her eyes (and there was sunlight shining in her eyes she wasn't buried was still alive), and the first thing she was aware of was Baki. Baki, who held her securely against his chest, arms holding her in a firm embrace.

No. Not an embrace.

He was curled around her, shielding her. Protecting her.

"Y-Yeah."

But- Baki was only human. He wouldn't have been able to stop the sand, he was vulnerable just like her, and he had. Had been willing to-

Temari felt sick.

But he was still here. Still breathing. So what-?

She turned her head, peeking through Baki's arms, down to the sidelines, where she remembered Yashamaru and Gaara standing.

She spotted her uncle first. He had backed off several steps, distancing himself from the sand field and there, cradled firmly in one of his arms, looking disoriented and perplexed, was Kankurō.

How had Yashamaru gotten there this fast, after grabbing Kankurō? Her brother had been right next to her! Then she did a double take. Her uncle's face was blank. Completely and utterly blank, the arm that wasn't holding Kankurō raised and pointed at Gaara.

For a moment Temari didn't know what she was looking at. Then her eyes widened in shock, as she finally managed to take in the situation.

Gaara hadn't moved an inch, arms slack at his sides. Otherwise, the kunai hovering in mid-air around him – the ones controlled by Yashamaru, his caretaker – may have attacked.

"B-Baki-sensei," she whispered, not knowing what she wanted to say.

Her teacher hadn't let go of her yet. "It's alright. Everything's fine."

Temari was barely listening. She couldn't take her eyes away from Gaara, away from his expression.

Because he looked hurt.

That. That didn't fit.

Why would he-? He had been the one to attack her, it didn't make-

Right next to her, Baki took in a sharp breath, finally loosening his grip. Only seconds later, she heard the clatter of several kunai hitting the ground in a pile.

Only now did she take a look around her. Gaara's sand, it wasn't- it didn't look like it should, didn't look like an attack from him was supposed to look like. It didn't look like a coffin in the slightest – and she had heard the stories, all of them were very adamant about that part. It didn't even surround her completely. In fact, the sand didn't seem to reach any higher than the plateau she and Baki were sitting on.

I looked more like- like a hand?

"Gaara-sama." Yashamaru's voice sounded hoarse.

And now that the kunai were no longer threatening him, the sand sunk lower, setting both of them down gently.

Had he-? Had Gaara tried to catch her?

With Baki and Temari safely on the ground, and Kankurō and Yashamaru still frozen – in shock? In surprise? – Gaara turned around, leaving the training ground without another glance back.

As he walked, his sand figures fell apart behind him.

A/N: Happy anniversary! :D Yup, this fic is officially a year old and I'm celebrating with a super long Gaara chapter. Yay! Not that the chapter is in any way kind to him. Eh. ^^'

Thanks as always to the wonderful people who take the time to beta for me and/or listen to me whine during writer's block: Igornerd, PyrothTenka, Monster Cat Music Girl, Infamous Storm, To Mockingbird and lotisflower (over from AO3)!

Again, it's been a while since the last chapter (which is partly because I waited with this one until the anniversary. I really wanted to have something to post today!), but I hope it'll make up for the wait! Bonding time with Yashamaru and his siblings! ...Although the latter didn't really go well. Eh. Hey, at least we know now that Temari was wrong, and Baki and Yashamaru would be able to protect them in an emergency? ^^'

Let me know what you think, will you? Thanks as always for reading!

~Gwen