Chapter 11 Leaders
Gaara sat on the top of the Kazekage tower knowing that his teammates could not reach him. The sand storm blew over the city and Gaara enjoyed the sting that originated from the sand as it beat against his face. In the back of his mind Naturo's last letter repeated itself. After deciding there wasn't anything to do about it, it was not like Naruto was asking permission, Gaara thought about his impending situation. Gaara squinted his eyes slightly and gave a mew of disappointment that the sand storm was residing. It would mean he would have to justify his position about the team, and its ultimate future. Gaara stood as the last remnants of air blew the sand up the tower. The gourd that sat next to him burst into sand and it formed into steps that shifted with every clack of Gaara's shoes.
Rina, Tsumi and Sosan waited at their team spot silently wondering how they were going to convince the boy that he should go along with them. Sosan scratched his head, murmuring about actually waiting outside in the storm. Both girls giggled. "Something funny Team Gaara?" The three snapped to attention while Gaara walked passed them to his spot where he had always laid out their missions before heading out of town. There was a sound of 'no sir' and one 'shishou-chan'. Gaara glared at Tsumi. "This will be your second chuunin exam. And I expect all of you to come back alive." The three looked as if they wanted to continue the argument that was cut off by the storm. Finally Gaara exhaled before he asked. "Any questions?"
Immediately Tsumi and Rina asked, "Why can't you come too?"
Gaara smiled slightly. "There are a few reasons, one is the test is a three man team test. I won't take the test before one of you, especially when you three are qualified to be promoted. Another is I can't go as the role of instructor since I am not a jounin. And lastly… well, I just don't want to go to Cloud Village. It's too far and rainy."
The three just scowled at him. "But if one of us passes, we want you to be there to see it at least." Gaara scowled at them but nodded at their complaint.
"I'll be there for the finals, if one of you makes it. If not I'll be here to great you." The three smiled slightly. "You leave for Cloud Village tomorrow at dawn. Baki-san has agreed to over see you as your instructor, although you will still be identified as Team Gaara. Dismissed." The group on the command disappeared in front of him before he issued training exercises. The red haired glared at the ground disappointed. The Gaara knew he was getting worked up over something that made no real difference in the long run. If there was one thing that he and his father cared about, it was the well being of the village. Gaara understood he would make a splendid show case for the village. But the impact would only be a selling point for those dignitaries who will be in traveling distance of the village. There was no point in showing off the village in a place as distant and backwater as the Cloud village.
Gaara watched the group go the next day before turning his back on sand dunes and into his home. Inside the house Gaara looked at his blonde sister who was attaching the paper to her fan. The girl had the fan open wide and slowly moved her palm along the paper as it was attaching itself to the frame. Gaara noticed the faint signs of chakra use and used that as a cue not to disturb her. The next room he saw Kankuro in much the same position as Temari. The brown headed boy shuffled through crafting materials and unconsciously flexing newly made puppet hands. Gaara walked passed him knowing that now would have been the time he would be training with his team. Gaara finally arrived at his room and laid down on the bed suddenly disturbed at how much he relied on them to keep him occupied. He had wondered if this is what Temari went through when Naruto left. Gaara sat up again and walked down the hall intent on leaving the house. He absently waved to his brother and only at his sisters' call did he say, "I was supposed to submit my report on Team Gaara for consideration of Chunnin. I'll be a while."
Temari looked thoughtful at that. It was a wordy way of saying he was going to meet their father.
-o-
It was not often that he spoke to his father, but the number of times where Gaara felt animosity to his creator had decreased over the past few years. It was just a simple fact that he had to accept. He was a threat to the village. Gaara nodded to the two guards at the doors before letting himself in. He knew that his father would only be doing paper work at this time of the day.
Gaara saluted to the Kazekage before returning to his at ease stance. "What do I owe this visitation?" Gaara marginally relaxed when he saw the man was not wearing his hat. It was easier to see his father as a man instead as the Kazekage.
"With my team on mission to participate in the Chuunin exams, I find myself with open time. Is there a secondary mission you need to be fulfilled?"
The older man paused before setting down his papers. "I would be doing a disservice if I had you on a mission before you need to head out for Lightning country to see the finals with me." Gaara looked up at that. "It has finally been decided that I will be attending the finals. I will need security detail." Gaara nodded at the unsaid request. "Is your report ready for review?" The young sand ninja nodded. After several moments of shuffling through paper work Gaara looked up at the sound of a paper stack hitting the desk. "Your team is good Gaara."
When no more was forth coming Gaara realized what he really said. "It is too good."
The Kazekage nodded. "Your entire team consists of genin who have out grown their rank. I would pass them all as Chunnin if it wasn't for your insistence that they actually participate in a public exam."
Gaara nodded. "There is still a problem in their mind set of what is enemy and what is inconsequential." Gaara paused a moment while he tried to find the right words. Finally he looked past his father unfocused. "I would recommend Taoen Sosan for recruitment into the elite ops, if it weren't for the fact that on mission or off, he still sees enemies as enemies. He can't do that as a higher ranking shinobi. He needs to learn for himself that there are only enemies as our mission's conflict with others." The father grunted in understanding before turning a page.
The picture was of a blonde teenager eight years older than Gaara. "What is the hesitation of Encha Tsumi? I heard from Muno's reports that he had noticed great improvement on her ability to maintain focus during their combat exercises."
Gaara spoke before he thought. "Fathers are known for praising their children." Gaara felt his cheeks reddened and bowed his head. Moments passed while Gaara quickly tried to think of something to follow up to that. He was about to say an apology before he heard his father speak.
"I suppose so. From your report, she can easily lead a team, even if she does not show the focus we expect from shinobi of a higher rank."
"With this team? Yes. I don't believe a team outside our team will take her seriously during a critical mission. While her attitude isn't something I discourage, she knows it's not appropriate to 'giggle' during a reconnaissance mission." Gaara finally looked up and noticed a twinge of a smile come from his father before it was hidden among the pile of papers in front of him. Finally the Kazekage looked at the last team member.
"Komosubi Rina. Of the group I expected her to be the first for recommendation. The reports leading up till their tragic mission had her as the leader of the three man team." Gaara's father stared right into the boys eyes.
Gaara looked right back and added confidently, "Chuunin rank reflects a person's ability to lead a team in and out of dire situations. It is my opinion that she is the most prepared for Chuunin, but her experiences on the team's first S rank mission retarded her growth. She is not afraid to make hard decisions; rather, she will wallow in regret later. With out being able to let go, she will fall apart. I have seen it enough times from her after a rough training session or an unexpected mission. It does not affect her performance now, but it will later on." Gaara flexed his fingers thinking of his own regrets. It was one of the rare times he did so.
"Gaara, we are sending only your team to the east Chuunin exam. I have every confidence that they will make it to the finals. Are these the only concerns we need to look for." Gaara nodded still shaking off his anxiety for his teams. While he did not want to break up the team he knew what was coming next. "Provided that any one passes Team Gaara will become a three man team with one former member passed on to a Chuunin team. If you are feeling as if you need to relieve some tension, you may go ahead of our route." The Kazekage pulled out a scroll tied with a red knot. He tossed it to Gaara.
Sand reached out and took the scroll out of mid air before Gaara bowed. Before the boy left, the Kazekage cleared his throat. "If you feel you need company, Kankuro and Temari are looking for an excuse to attend this season's chuunin exam. I believe your scouting mission will do well for their training." Gaara smiled and bowed again.
Gaara sprinted out of the building. The grin would not leave his face as he entered the home of the sand siblings. "Kankuro! Temari!" Both kids came down the stairs and looked at the smiling red head. "Pack your bags, we are going on a trip." Both Temari and Kankuro looked at the youngest brother confused as he ran up the stairs past them. Gaara ran into his room and poked his head back out. "And bring some gear, father wanted you two to have some training exercise while we are on the road." Seconds later both Kankuro and Temari ran into their rooms leaving loud crashing sounds through out the house.
-o-
Sosan concentrated on his breathing. IT was finally lulling him to sleep. The group would arrive in the Lightening Country's first town by the tomorrow night. He knew the group needed rest, and their jounin escort had taken off for go knows what reason. "Baki-san said for us to get some rest Rina. We should do it." Sosan closed his eyes and sighed at the cool brush of air that went through the camp. After a several moments of silence there was giggling and Sosan's blurry red eyes glared at the two girls. The glare faded after he saw the girls huddled over something next to the fire. Finally breaking down, Sosan asked, "What are you two doing?"
Tsumi giggled before she whispered something to Rina who finally laughed. Having enough of being ignored Sosan stood and walked up behind the two girls. After seeing what they ere laughing at he shouted, "Will you two stop that!" On the ground the girls had drawn a small figure with hair matching Sosan's with a pair of x for eyes. Above him was a smaller figure with a familiar looking gourd on his back.
"Why are you drawing that now?" The girls giggled before they ran through a few hand seals. Wind picked up and ran across several trees carving the picture into layers of bark. When the two girls were done, they jumped in joy. From any angle other than the one they stood from, the image looked like a lot of trees were just scrapped. But Sosan sighed from behind them. He saw the perfect copy of their drawing by the fire. Added on the bottom was 'Shishou-chan wins!'
"We are leaving it here for Gaara-sama. I know he'll see it." Rina said.
"Do you think he will like it Sosan?" The teenager in question just glared at the bubbly Tsumi.
"If he doesn't, we are running laps after the exam." Both girls stopped laughing instantly. They both glared at the kill joy.
"That's not even funny." They said in unison.
-o-
Gaara had always wondered what it would be like to be on the same team as his brother and sister. He envisioned that they would all have fun, and it be much like how it was when they had dinner or go to play a game. "Temari stop it! This is my side. Stay on your side." Gaara half lowered his eye lids in annoyance. The two have been bickering three days into their scouting mission and this was their first real stop. "Kankuro, go oil your stuff somewhere else, this is my corner." What Gaara had forgotten was that it was never, ever a good idea to keep them all together in a tight space for an extended period of time. "You started it. I know it smells bad, but I got used to it in a few hours."
Gaara simply stood up and left. Outside the air was getting to be frigid and the open plains with tall yellow grass moved in waves as gusts of air pressed over the ground. Gaara unclasped his gourd and let all of his sand fall to the ground. It was rare for him to feel so light, and he thought back to the letter he had received from Naruto. When Gaara stretched and stood in a small level clearing, he moved his hands to his left and slowly moved over the kata's that he barely remembered from the academy. His body moved differently with out the counter weight of his sand on his back. There was no sand around his feet. He consciously told it to stay in a pile a few yards away. Gaara moved his feet quickly realizing how truly limiting it would be to consciously keep his sand away from him. After a moment of thinking of his friend he heard his sister screech. Gaara shook his head and the sand formed along his back into a gourd. He walked inside the small hut and nodded to himself. He could understand Naruto's dilemma.
The next day the group walked down the main path towards lightning country. There was no point in moving fast but Gaara knew he was supposed to make a training session of the trip. That was why he smiled at his two siblings moaning. Gaara looked below him and saw two pairs of eyes glare back up at him. "Guys its not that heavy. I carry this around with me all the time." Gaara tapped his toe to the large rectangle of sand he was sitting on.
Kankuro grunted out. "It would be easier on us if you didn't have to sit on the sand bar."
Gaara nodded at that, eerily looking like his friend Naruto. "But that doesn't mean I don't have to. Don't worry guys we can rest when we hit the river." Temari and Kankuro sighed glad that they were almost done. Another swimming trip would be just what they needed. Gaara smiled at them while he laid back onto the sand tablet. A half hour later they found the tree line that started just outside of lightning country. Gaara let them stop to give their arms a rest. It was here that the group smelled a fire. "It's a little early for a camp fire." Temari said to the smell.
Gaara nodded before he though to of something. "Guys stay in the trees, I will be right back I want to take a look before we move on."
Temari gave a huff but nodded before dragging her middle brother into the trees. Gaara let the sand form into a his gourd and took off in a sprint.
Kankuro sighed while watching his little brother disappear from their view. "Think its anything?" Kankuro stretched his arms glad to be rid of the extra weight the sand had placed on his shoulders.
"Probably not, Gaara said his team went a head of us, and they would likely notice something."
Kankuro shook his head. "They went straight through I doubt they would have time to slow down and see what's going on. Besides, dad wanted Gaara to do it. So maybe dad just wants the placed tho-rough-ly- checked?" Kankuro ran out of steam.
Temari just laughed. "You forgot what you were trying to say didn't you?" Kankuro just pouted. Temari dangled her feet off a branch and sighed. "Well I don't think we will see anything. This is a training exercise for us to. My Genin exam is going to come up before I know it. And I'll be ready."
Kankuro was about to say something before he heard several people down the road approaching them. Temari nodded and they both moved higher into the trees.
Temari watched the group and narrowed her eyes. A group of people were tied at the wrists with guards spread out the length of the human line. Kankuro glanced up at Temari but she shook her head. As the first of the group was below them Temari knew this wasn't a line of criminals. It looked like a small village was being moved. Temari gasped when a hand reached at her only to see Kankuro pull her off the branch. Temari turned in time to hear the thunk of kunai imbedding themselves into the branch.
"Whoa hey! We are just waiting for our brother!" Shouted Kankuro.
The guard who threw the kunai saw the children and shouted. "Buni, Tomo, get them." Temari grabbed her fan from her back and twisted her body to see the two guards that revealed themselves to be ninja. "Kamaitatchi!" wind blew from her fan breaking apart the trees. Kankuro saw the ninja go around the debri and smiled when they stopped. Both ninja moved to go after them only to loose their footing and began to fall from their trees. Kankuro released his chakra strings and both children ran as fast as they could.
"Buni you go after them, Tomo, erase our presence. We'll keep moving." The man Buni disappeared and Tomo ran through hand seals before the trees looked as if they returned to their original state. "Let's get out of here, before who ever was with them returns."
-o-
"Crap we are going in the opposite direction of Gaara." Temari growled before the two saw a river ahead of them.
Kankruo smirked at his sister before he sped up already feeling who ever was chasing after them catch up. The two turned around and lead their trail up away from the river. They both made their stand and Kankuro twisted his hands and several kunai were produced from his sleeves with exploding tags already attached. "We have to swim for a while to loose their trail."
"What about Gaara?"
"He'll find us." Kankuro shouted confidently. "Give us some more cover." Kankuro tossed his kunai. Temari understood and propelled the knives through the air. The resounding explosion uprooted trees and the winds split the trunks and burst soil into a fine dust fog. Temari returned her fan to her back with a resounding clack before they were both gone, satisfied that they effectively eliminate their trail and stopping their pursuers. The two dove into the water as they felt the cloud of dirt begin to settle behind them. The man ran out of the flying explosion before turning back to the children's trail. The center of the explosion had no trees and twenty meters of forest were cut down. The man whistled before turning back. They got away.
-o-
While he had been in a forest a few times before, it still made him weary of not being able to see all around him with out the trees obstructing his view. Gaara came to a stop in front of a wide clearing used for rice patties. Below the slope were a small village and people running in line towards the river. Gaara ran down the hill recognizing the efforts to put out a fire. He stopped before he entered the village realizing people wouldn't bother talking to a child. His sand wrapped around him and gave himself several inches of height and slightly older features. The new teen ran up to the line. "Do you need assistance?" The villager passed another bucket.
"Yes, get in line, the mill is on fire. The heat wave dried out the grass around it." Gaara nodded at the new information. "Hey wait kid!" Ignoring the mans' orders, the suna nin raised his hands and sand burst from his palms. It was only when the sand reached the water that a few of the villagers saw the metal plate head band. "A sand ninja?" Several others quickly went back to work, not noticing the older image of Gaara fail. Sand turned into a large bowl that scooped up hundreds of gallons of water form the river. Gaara twisted his palms and the sand bowl floated over the villager line over to the mill. The sand near the bottom of the bowl a pipe of sand formed and started spraying water in strategic parts of the mill dousing the fire faster than the villagers could. Ten minutes and three trips to the river passed before the fire was gone. Gaara looked at his sand annoyed he didn't think of how heavy the sand would be before it all dried.
Gaara gave a tight smile to the thankful villagers. "I was passing through investigating the path for my Kage. He is attending the finals for the Chuunin exams that are being held in Air Country." After several more pleasantries Gaara started walking towards the forest line. He had kept his brother and sister waiting long enough. "Hey!" Gaara sighed. He had watched the man stare at him ever since his mission of scouting the area. He turned in time to see the man run up to him with a woman slowly trailing behind him.
"If you are scouting the area, could you route out some bandits for us?"
"Olan!" The woman in a slim dress shouted her disapproval several feet behind the two. The man Gaara assumed was the man's wife scowled at him. "He is just a child. And we don't have the money needed to hire ninja."
Gaara looked at the group and thought about the request. "I will investigate provided that it is along my path. Where is the place you have been attacked?"
While ignoring his wife, "Not far from here. It's back on the main road through those patties." The man pointed to the direction Gaara came from. "There are three small side roads not far north from there. We are not affected but my brothers' rice fields have not been able to send out their grain. They are heavily taxed. The only reason why I know of the problem is because his youngest daughter traveled through here a few days ago. They had been working under the bandits guard."
Gaara thought about it and nodded his agreement. "Who is the girl? Could she show me the path she took to get into the village?"
Olan walked across town with Gaara and a few other villagers following. To a few it was news to see a ninja. Others were curious to the girl. She had been asleep and tired from her run. Gaara was welcomed into the house and led to a room. Olan knocked on the door gently. "Tayuya, it's me, Uncle Ol." Gaara quirked his hairless brow.
A girl with red hair who was likely one or two years older than Gaara answered the door. "Yeah Ol?" The girl looked around and noticed a small boy behind the man.
"A ninja from the land of the Sands has come by and asked if you could show him where you left your home from."
The girl looked at the boy and glared at him. "He's going to get himself killed." Gaara grinned at the girl. He turned away.
"If she does not want to cooperate then I should be on my way. I think I can find the village well enough with out her aid."
The girl just stared at the smaller red head. "Hey! Don't you dare turn your back on me! If you want to die fine!" Tayuya walked right after him slipping on her sandals at the front door. "But that doesn't mean you are going alone."
Gaara looked at the girl. "You are coming with me to die?" Tayuya ground her teeth.
"No I am not going to die, but I won't be fighting them. I want to see my family. It was enough I got the word out we need help." Gaara turned and walked away at a brisk pace. Tayuya followed at a run to match his pace. She scowled at his speed. She had always been the fastest of her village and to be out classed by some runt didn't sit well with her. She gasped when he came to a sudden halt and she slowed into to not run into him.
Tayuya was about to make a snide remark before the glare he was giving the area stopped her. After a second Gaara placed his hand together in a seal. "Kai." The air around the area warped and Tayuya opened her mouth seeing the thick forest change into broken trees and debris that likely blocked the road they stood on. Gaara gave a side glance to the girl before sighing. He wouldn't leave her alone to explore. Sand wrapped around the girl and lifted her into the air. She squealed before she noticed that the boy she had been following was moving much faster. The sand trailed him like a kite with her in the air. Tayuya looked around still not liking the idea of not being able to move.
The boy finally lowered her when the two arrived at a river. After looking both ways Gaara asked, "Which way is your village?" The red head pointed down stream. Gaara smiled before standing on the shore and running up stream.
Tayuya started screeching, "Why the hell are we going in the opposite way!"
"My siblings were attacked; they likely went in the opposite direction in an attempt to destroy any chance of being tracked." The girl scowled in her helpless sand cage.
-o-
Kankuro picked up his travel pack and rotated his shoulder. "Temari, we need to start heading back. This is something Gaara will need to know about."
Temari nodded satisfied that there was no more pursuit. She stood and a twig snapped from under her foot. Cords resounded behind them as a trap was triggered by the girls' foot. The children tensed with weapons in their hands before they both exhaled. Sand splashed into the air, seconds later their brother strolled into the seven foot clearing.
"Nice job with the traps. Baki would be impressed." Temari smiled but it was Kankuro's shrewd eye that noticed the girl.
"Who's the brat?" Tayuya turned red in her sand cage. "Don't whose' the brat me you bastard! I got to be a few years older than you!" Gaara smiled never looking back at the girl.
"This is Tayuya-san. Her village likely being occupied. Were the ninja you met patrolling?" Temari shook her head and described the line of villagers and the formation they moved in.
"It wasn't pretty. Many looked as if they had been walking for days. When we were chased, the ninja that was chasing us didn't think we would be able to out run him. Those guys wont make the mistake again. We were very lucky we were so close to the river." Gaara closed his eyes in thought.
"I don't think I can perform this mission on my own. Temari, Kankuro, I need you both to take Tayuya into her town from what ever route she escaped from. I will lead off the ninja. If they are ninja, they will see me as a threat." Gaara smiled eerily. The sand siblings shivered. "Be careful, I won't be there to save you if you get caught." Gaara gave the three children a serious look then a single glance to the older girl. "Take care of my borther and sister." With a bow he turned towards the villaged and already began building chakra. "With luck, You will just have to disable normal guardsmen." She glared back at the boy who turned into swirls of sand. Finally after a second the boy disappeared.
"Who the hell does that runt think he is!" Kankuro laughed. "What's so funny you pasty faced mascara running freak." Temari stifled a grin while Kankuro looked at the girl with no real concern.
Kankuro nudged his head to the girl. "The only ninja in our group. Lead the way Tayuya-san." The anger in the girls voice deflated at his courteous tone. Tayuya stuffed her fist in her pockets and led the way.
-o-
Gaara took five total sand leaps before he found the village. He was lucky he didn't appear right in the middle of it. One more good sand jump and he would have. Gaara felt sand wrap around him and the tree he stood against. The sand shifted into bark leaving no trace of the boy. In the small compartment Gaara exhaled. He was still unsure if he could do this job. The chakra he needed to gather to pull the stunt off was enourmous. If he drew on Shukaku's chakra it would defeat the purpose of this attack. He would be spotted quickly. Gaara smiled inwardly knowing Naruto would call it a prank regardless of the situation. Gaara placed his hands together collecting chakra and forming sand deep within the earth. Another eery grin crossed his face. A prank in deed.
-o-
Temari settled next to Kankuro with her fan in hand. "Tayuya-san, Kankuro, There is a patrol every ten minutes. We won't get half way through it before being detected."
Kankuro flexed his hands then looked at Temari who nodded in agreement. "Then we wait for Gaara's signal."
"What? He's not dumb enough to do a flare is he." Both sand siblings chuckled.
-o-
Gaara was glad he found the girl Tayuya. When he knew he would have to kill on this mission, he did not want his brother and sister to watch. Especially when they had to ride on his sand so often. "Desert Coffin." Five soldiers fell to the ground dead from the imploding sand that wrapped them. A sixth soldier vomited at the site. Gaara looked at the man annoyed. Vomit was worse than blood. The soldier looked at the boy in horror. Gaara raised his hand. His cold eyes repeated what he said. "Scream for me." The soldier's arm imploded. An echoing scream escaped the man's mouth as one after another, his remaining arm, then his legs imploded. Finally after twenty seconds Gaara bowed his head to the dead man.
"Thank you, your screams just saved the villagers lives."
Gaara wondered at the time it would take ninja of any caliber more than thirty seconds to respond to a scene. He was finally rewarded with a group of ninja appeared. He looked at them all before saying, "Kazekage edict demands I eliminate any ninja that directly threatens the safety of the Sandaime Kazekage's royal family."
Gaara counted three jounin jackets and three chuunin jackets. Sweat rolled down the boy's neck as he realized this wasn't likely the whole force. The Jounin looked at the dead wearily. Gaara noted the sudden chance. The ground below the boy turned to sand and he fell into it. The Jounin jumped into the air. The Chuunin weren't as lucky as they were suddenly gripped by sand from beneath them and sucked under. The jounin looked at the ground as it shook with three muffled screams following.
From above them Gaara projected his voice. "Your group is found guilty of attempted assassination of Temari and Kankuro of the desert." Of the three remaining ninja one cleared the trees as sand few after him. A second began to use his chakra to use earth as a barrier from the sands that reached out form the trees that surrounded him. The remaining Jounin was gripped by a fist made of sand through the tree he was standing on. The Jounin performed several seals forced a technique Gaara never saw before. The man clasped his hands over the arm of sand before it turned brittle and into earth. The man broke the arm and cleared the tree. Another tree not even a meter away burst into sand and encompassed him in mid air. "Your punishment is death." A sudden muffled scream sounded before the lump of blood fell to the ground with a thud. The other two jounin had successfully cleared the trap as their comrade died. They made their escape towards the village intent on bring reinforcements. Gaara nodded in approval. Bring them all to me. Gaara rose out from the sand panting slightly. He started walking confidently as sand flew around him like gusts of air. After thirty seconds Gaara regained his stamina and was satisfied with his preparations. The next part of his plan would be the hardest he had ever pulled.
-o-
The three children noticed the scream and two men from the patrol group they were watching started to run to the sounds. One of the ninja noticed the children. "There are three kids here, get them!" He then ran to investigate the screams.
Temari jumped down from her hiding spot. "Kankuro get her out of here." Temari charged forward her fan already off her back and in her hand. The patrol group was small but with out any ninja to help them, it would be fast. She opened her fan. A large gust of chakra filled air crashed into the first three men. Temari closed her fan and was onto of the next soldier and ruthlessly slammed her fan down on the man's shoulder. When she was satisfied with the broken bones and his slumped form she jumped off of him and opened her fan. With a large spin of her body she threw the fan. It spun in a large arc hit another man slamming him into a tree. Temari reached out with her hands and attached several strings of chakra to the fan pulling it back to her. She caught it one handed and ran after the last man who had started making his retreat. She threw her closed fan a head of her and it arced around to the front of the man forcing him to come to a halt. The man stopped and turned around to see the eleven year old girl. "M-monster…" Temari scowled at him and the fan burst open and the handle hit the man on the head.
"Ninja, jerk." Temari glared at the man and picked up her fan. "Eww there's blood on my fan now." Temari kicked the man only to see he didn't move. Temari's face paled and she started at him before she realized she killed him. "I got dead man's blood on my fan." She shuddered before making her way to find her brother and Tayuya.
-o-
Tayuya hated not knowing what was going on. She just knew that the blonde girl took off. When the blonde shouted at Kankruo Tayuya instantly resisted. Kankruo almost snarled at the girl and instead of dragging her picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She screamed at him all the while desperately trying to kick and bite him to let her go. She got angrier when she saw he didn't even notice her attacks. After Kankuro was confident enough to slow he set the girl down. He looked to his left and saw his sister. Several hand signs later he nodded in grim acknowledgement. "It's safe now Tayuya-san we can go down the main road now. There were only four patrols and they are either dead or investigating the screams we heard earlier." Kankuro looked over and saw Temari slightly green but holding a smug grin. She looked at her fan to make sure it was still in fighting condition and strapped it to her back.
Both children felt another patrol approaching them. That last ninja probably told the patrol to help out the other group. "How are you for another round Temari?" Temari shook her head. Kankuro didn't notice until now she was still out of breath. "I'll take over, watch Tayuya." The girl in question silently fumed at being nothing but cargo to the two kids who were no older than she was.
She glared at Temari who was too exhausted to laugh. "Why can't I at least see what's going on?" The complaint came out as a whine and Tayuya blushed.
Temari shook her head and leaned against a tree and motioned for the girl to follow. The two lay down on the tree covered hill and slowly made there way up it. Temari was about to hand signal tot eh girl but growled when she realized the girl wouldn't' know what she meant. "What ever happens, don't make a sound." Temari placed her fan in her hands and the two moved up to see over the crest of the hill.
-o-
Gaara looked around him. "This seems to be a large operation in opposing territory during the middle of the Chuunin exams." A dozen ninja surrounded him and he felt several more hidden in what they thought was the soil. "Apparently your group forgets." Gaara clenched his fist and the ninja in the earth died. He looked up in time to see a foot connect with his wall of sand. There was a sudden gasp when the wall turned into a clone and snapped the attackers leg and pushing him away. The clone threw several shuriken made of sand at the down man only pausing only enough to see that the man died.
Gaara himself push sand from the reservoir below him to the surface. The sand ninja was glad he mad so much sand to protect him. The boy knew his limitations better than anyone and making the sand several hours ago gave him an extra minute of stamina. He had three more minutes of chakra use before he would be beyond the point of escape. Four ninja physically assaulted the boy in unison only to be stopped in various poses in their attack. Gaara saw two people managed to get past his initial barrier of sand. Gaara produced a long knife and slid chakra down its edge. With two swipes the offending stone nin lost a foot or a fist. Gaara retracted his sand and dodged several long range attacks already knowing the sand around him was getting too soaked with blood.
In his new spot he realized four ninja mistakenly thought the trees they were on were safe. Gaara corrected that assumption and counted that four left. He groaned aloud when he noticed that two of them were the surviors from his last run in. They had been watching the whole time. "I suspect as Jounin you are all confident about your speed." Gaara raised his hands and the four jounin tensed. "Sand Orchestra." Gaara started moving his hands and twelve streams of sand chased after the remaining ninja.
-o-
Kankuro was glad there were only normal people guarding the entrance to the town. He dodged two men's swords and threw a kunai at one man and moved on to the next already hearing the man scream. The sound of slicing air forced Kankuro to jump back, and was rewarded with dodging a large sword triple the width of the previous man's katana.
The man growled and charged the boy. Kankuro held a yelp and scrambled side to side while avoiding each attack. When he saw he was getting cornered he started using his Kunai to deflect the blows, but the boy knew that wouldn't last long, his kunai received a heavy dent with each blow.
Kankuro felt a blow to his side and realized another man was joining the fight. Another kick pushed him into a tree and he dropped his useless kunai. The swordsman charged again and raised his sword over his head. He roared on his impending victory.
From above him Kankuro thought he heard a gasp but ignored it. He ground his teeth and reached out to grab the sword. Kankuro stared at the sword when it impacted his hands with a loud clank. The blow shook his whole body. A second later he saw his elbow buckle before breaking.
"You bastard it took a long time to fix that." Several clanks sounded from Kankuro's right arm before his hand split open. Seven poison needs launched form the new opening piercing the swordsmans' side. He fell quickly.
Kankuro spared a glance at the last man who started at the boy in horror. The Sand sibling sighed while he let the chakra strings in his broken forearm go. The arm fell limply to his side and the elbow joint disconnected. Kankuro glared at the man who so far has been using hand to hand combat. "If you think you can win let's go." Kankuros' detached appendage rustled and blade hidden inside the puppet arm flew into the boys arm. The man saw liquid fly off the blade and realized it was the poison that dropped his fellow guardsmen. The man quickly left.
Kankro looked at his broken fighting arm and then at his functional arm. "You guys can come out now." All of Kankuro's irritation left him when he saw the girl Tayuya staring at his arms.
-o-
Gaara moved his right hand in a tempo. Sand chased after the four shinobi. Gaara glided his left hand in the air and five more streams of sand burst from the ground and converged on a single jounin who died in moments. Gaara felt the ground beneath him shake and knew that he lost attention of a ninja. Earth tried to ram up below the boy but was stopped by Gaara's sphere of sand. Gaara stomped his foot and Sand pushed the man out of the ground where several streams of sand sliced through him. Several tempo beats later Gaara saw that two of the ninja were trying to get closer to him. Gaara narrowed his eyes when he saw that their fists were slowly learning to deflect the streams of sand. Gaara raised both of his hands high into the air and clenched his fists. Enormous amounts of sand jumped out of the ground and converged on the ninja. Gaara felt the sand implode and lowered his hands relieved that all of the threats were accounted for. The bow hunched over panting. He didn't know he was holding his breath.
A sound of sifting sand got his attention. He was saved by his sand. He looked at the man and gasped. The man was turning into sand. "Surprised brat? This is the strongest blood limit of the Village hidden in the Stone. It let's me take on the aspects of what ever kind of earth I absorb."
Gaara saw the man slowly begin to move through the sphere. Gaara jumped back and the man's arm turned to sand and reformed into a long piercing weapon. The remaining stone ninja shouted a battle cry and thrust his arm into the sand sphere that formed around the boy. Gaara felt something pierce his side and blood soak his clothes. The sphere of sand fell and Gaara stepped back. Blood gushed from his wound and the man laughed victoriously. Gaar felt a surge of chakra and knew that his demon was trying to save him.
The Sand sibling snapped his head forward and punched the man in the face throwing him threw several trees. Gaara felt sand climb into his wound stanching the blood flow. Gaara saw the man stare at him. Gaara wondered what the man saw, likely yellow eyes and enormous killing intent. Gaara raised his hand and the man's body flew towards the boy.
Gaara sneered at the man. "For a jounin you are not smart. You should never have told me what your blood limit did." The man struggled realizing now that he was made of sand the boy could control him. He started to swear at the boy. "You are pathetic. Scatter, and never come back." The man screamed in pain as his body did just that. Sand burst apart that mad up the man. A large sigh escaped the boys mouth as he fell back on to his butt. He looked around and grimaced. "I say that and leave clues how I fight all over the place." Gaara felt his side and was satisfied his demon was slowly healing him. With out much concern Gaara felt himself slip into a dreamless sleep.
-o-
"He's here!" Temari shouted behind her. She walked around the sand careful not to touch it. When she found him he was passed out. Sand shifted around him when she walked closer to him. Glad he was alright, Temari reached to Gaara and the sand separeated to allow her to come closer. Gaara gave a slight moan when he was moved. Temari doubled her efforts to carry him carefully. Kankuro looked around to make sure there were no enemy ninja left. With a nod the two rushed back to the village relieved that their brother was alive.
At the small town, the villagers were already organizing themselves free of their oppressors. They had rounded up the men still alive from the fight. Temari herself was glad that the town was so ready to fight back. She had not expected so many more soldiers in town, and the two ninja in town realized their whole squad was wiped out they fled. A villager had informed her before she left that they sent out a message to the capital by bird. When Gaara was safely inside a bed she finally allowed herself to relax. She looked over to Kankuro who was talking to Tayuya's father.
"You sure you can operate as a ninja with one arm?" Kankuro looked at his arm. He had forgotten his fake are was damaged. With out even thinking about it, Kankuro's right arm fell down lifeless. Then his shoulders suddenly slipped forward tearing the cloth as they did so. Tayuya and her father gaped at the sudden movement. Kankuro's arms fell to the ground with a large clank. The boy rotated his neck and his back moved slightly as his real arms moved out from his back.
"Sorry when you have those on for so long you forget. Yeah, my real arms are still here." Kankuro wiggled his fingers at the man. Temari shook her head before leaning back and feeling the last few days of exhaustion catch up to her.
It was less than a day later that Tayuya came into Gaara's room. "Temari, Kankuro! Some people are here, they have your headband." The siblings stood and followed her out. Each had their weapons ready incase. When they walked out. The dropped into their stances. It was there father.
Suspsion flashed through both siblings minds. "Who are you?" Kankuro called out to the man. He stood by himself and each child realized they were surrounded. Tayuya looked on in confusion before she back pedaled into the house again. The man took off his Kazekage hat and looked at the kids appraisingly.
"Are you that distrustful Kankuro?" Kankuro didn't drop his guard. Temari was the one that said, "Prove who you are."
The man just laughed. "Very well Temari." The man pulled a letter from his sleeve and tossed it in the air. Temari looked at it and realized it was a letter from Naruto. Both children spared a side glance. They relaxed slightly. Their father frowned. "Was your situation so bad that Gaara could not handle it?" This got their attention and they stood down. Kankuro put away his kunai and Temari let her fan fall back to her back.
"Have someone look north east of here. There was a drawn out battle." Two sand ninja disappeared. Temari looked at her dad with Kankuro right behind them. Finally they both gave him a hug glad to see their father was here. He patted both their heads.
Finally he asked the question that concerned him the most. "What happened to Gaara." Temari and Kankuro led their father to their brothers' room telling him what they knew. Their father came to a halt outside the room. "You two stay here for a moment." Both children looked at him instantly weary. Their father just chuckled. "It's for your safety, your brother has reason to hate me." When the door opened sand around Gaara lashed in wicked strides around the room. Immediately after the Kazekage took a single step into the room the sand attacked the man. The Kazekage smiled and just knocked each jet of sand out of the way with a wave of his hand.
When he was finally over the boy the sand wrapped itself in a dome around the boy protecting him. Gaara's father looked at the dome with an unreadable expression before his hand touched the dome and pushed the sand away as if it was nothing. The sand tried one more time to weakly stop the man. The fathers' hand reached the boys forehead sand tried to keep the two separate. The adult flowed chakra to his hand and the sand was brushed aside. For several minutes Gaara's father simply rubbed the boys forehead.
When he was finished he stood and left the room. He smiled at his two children and went down stairs.
-o-
When Gaara woke up he found his side bandaged and laying in a warm bed. After a few moments to shake the stiff ness out of his back, the boy got out of bed and noticed that he was only wearing his pants and the bandage. He found his shirt and slid it on before approaching the door. His hand dropped to his side. There was someone on the other side of the door. The door opened to reveal a ninja from the Sand village. Gaara exhaled before he realized it was Baki.
"What are you doing here, what about the Chuunin exams?" The man waved off his concern before escorting the boy outside.
"Gaara!" The boy turned relieved his brother and sister were alright. Temari nearly plowed him over when she hugged him. Kankuro smiled before waving from behind her.
"You guys made it then. That's good." Gaara's face returned to its stoic expression at the sight of his father. The man wore his traditional Kazekage hat but everything else he wore was casual garments. "Father."
"Gaara. Well done." He nodded to the boy before he left. Gaara was dragged to a restaurant where he was forced to trade stories with his brother and sisters with Tayuya there to give oo's and aah's.
-o-
Gaara stood at the stadium of the Chuunin exams three weeks later. He wore the Kazekage's guard badge at his shoulder and stood among the crowd watching the fights below them. He was pleased that all three of his team mates were able to make it tot eh finals. But it was only Sosan who progressed to the second round. Gaara smiled at the sudden sportsmanship he had exhibited through his two rounds. What ever happened finally allowed him to move beyond his limiting views. He sighed knowing he would loose a good friend out of his team.
The day ended with Gaara standing next to his father while he spoke to the Raikage. It had turned out they were they only two Kages to preside over the Chuunin exams. Gaara listened to their conversation and realized that they spoke of his unintended mission. It was here Gaara found out that the Stone ninja were trying to create a large scale spy network by replacing an entire village with their own workers and ninja. Gaara had wondered why there were so many ninja at the site.
When the Raikage realized the person to foil the raid that was going on in his territory he thanked the nine year old for doing Lightening country a great service. Gaara stayed silent and bowed unsure how to gracefully accept the commendation.
The day after the Chuunin exam Sosan sported a chuunin jacket. Amid stories on the way home the group stopped at Tayuya's village. Kankuro has managed to convince their father that they should check to see if the village was still alright.
The village saw the group first and several people including cloud village ninja watched the group enter the town. The Kazekage spoke with the cloud ninja who nervously replied back.
Tayuya had watched the group come in and realized that the three children were looking for her. She jumped out of her room window and ran up to the three. "I thought you guys would be back in Suna Village already." She smirked at the group.
"We couldn't leave with out saying goodbye, the last one was kinda rushed." Temari announced.
Tayuya gave a laugh. "You guys didn't even say good buy, that guy with the wird hat just said it was time to go." That got a smile out of Gaara before the group heard the call to move out.
"It was good meeting you Tayuya. Stay out of trouble." Gaara's walked away trying not to laugh at the girls scowl.
"It was nice having another girl around. Be sure to visit Suna some time." Tayuya and Temari gave each other a hug before Kankuro scratched his head.
"It was good meeting you Tayuya-san." Tayuya gave a nervous smile.
Gaara looked at the two and said, "Don't get charmed, he's a pervert."
"Naruto was right! You love ruining a guys chance with a lady!" Kankuro turned back to Tayuya and noticed they shared matching crimson faces. Gara tilted his head.
"There's nothing wrong with perverts, Temari here likes one." It was Temari's turn to turn red. She refrained from hitting her brother. Her letters with Naruto were nice, but she would like to see him once in a while. After a cautious look at Tayuya and Kankuro, Temari nudged her brothers side and whispered, "Gaara, be nice they probably wont see eachother again." Gaara suddenly realized that and muttered an apology.
The next hour on the road was silent as Temari and Gaara were trying to ignore their brothers' sighs. Gaara was next to his father stopped walking. Several of the guars turned to where the Kazekage was staring. Gaara turned to face him. "Something the matter Kazekage-sama?"
The man just smiled. "Shishou-chan?" Gaara groaned and his team suddenly felt sweat roll down their heads as all four of them turned to the forest. On the main path, the group could plainly see the message, 'Shishou-chan wins'. Gaara glared at his group and said, "Sosan you are lucky that you out rank me." The teenager nodded thankfully before getting back into ranks. Both girls smiled weakly at their leader. "I will have a talk with you two when we get back." Tsumi and Rina thanked what ever god prevented the group from seeing the picture.
The Kazekage watched the scene happen with amusement hiding behind his face cloth.
-o-
The old man sighed at his understudy. "Naruto I have said it plenty of times, you have so much potential but you squander it." The courtyard was covered in yellow and red leaves from Naruto's latest protest about his training.
"Just because I want to fight a certain way doesn't mean that it's a waste of time!" Naruto sat on the floor and crossed his arms.
The old man Chiharu smiled. "Your fighting style is truly something to admire Uzumaki. But there is such a think as growing beyond your limits. You will never reach the next stage of training like your team mates if you don't first let go of what made you who you are." The man patted the boys' shoulder. Naruto ignored the sand that the man rubbed off.
Naruto glared but stayed quiet content to pout in silence. The old man bowed to the child. He then turned away and out of the yard. Down an outdoors passageway, Chiharu exhaled. "Your students are all very troublesome Kakashi."
Kakashi stepped out from behind the pillar he was leaning on. "That is why I am here at the Temple of Fire. Truthfully all three have become amazing. At this rate they may be capable of passing the chuunin exam before I did." Chiharu smiled. Kakashi put away his book and followed the old man. While he enjoyed his students he was hard pressed to motivate Naruto. None of the other instructors or his friends was able to break his stubbornness.
"Asuma said that Hinata is doing well under his tutelage. He says he is regretting it every night with a sore body. Sasuke is on par with his brother when Itatchi made chuunin as much as the boy loathes to admit it. But it seems the one who is the most stubborn is the one who will hold them back."
Chiharu shook his head. "No, I think you should send them back. The children have been our understudies for over a year, and have helped us guard the Daiyamo. Each one bears the sash of Fire Country. Naruto despite his great reluctance to move ahead is still at a spot where he would not endanger himself or his team. Maybe his next few missions working with his team mates will make him admit to what I have been saying to him for the past few months."
"That does me no good Chiharu. I need these three to prove that they are capable ninja's and there is only one way I can do that." Chiharu nodded.
"You are taking them to the Village Hidden in the Sand." Kakashi nodded. Chiharu humm'ed for a moment. "I'll prepare Naruto the best I can. I can allow him some leeway since he has been patient with everything else. Team seven will be ready by the time they leave the Temple."
Kakashi thought about it. "I'll give you three more months."
- - - End Chapter 11 Leaders - - -
A/N: First things first. I am back! Well sorta. I had struggled with this chapter for the simple reason that I hate chapters in stories where it is nothing but a long fighting action scene. No story is accomplished, there is no surprise, especially with a lot of fanfic writers style of writings, and there is no resolve afterwards. If you have noticed, I try to keep my action sequences down to a minimum. Usually only one action sequence per chapter as they are written in the way of one shots. Long fights can lead to dozen pages of nothing but 'blah blah blah no jutsu'. Which I really hate. And they are really no fun to write.
This story has reached a stop a while ago simply because the next few chapters have fights. A lot of fights. And no real story progression. (Both stories are written into this corner, which is why there hasn't been a Harry Potter chapter in a while either.) It took a lot to make each of these fights for the siblings be individual, and this could be considered a filler chapter if it weren't for the progressing of Gaara and his fathers' relationship. And even that's pushing it. O.k. I have vented, back to trying to write a story out of fight scenes for the next chapter. It should be a doozy.