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The Longest Road

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Chapter 10. The hope

It's been ten days since Gaara showed up in the hut for the last time, and Temari wondered if he was gone for good. Actually, she had no idea if he would listen to them, or he would just come back one day to wipe them off. Whatever he would do, they had to inform the Kazekage. Kankurō agreed with her on that, and she ended up walking up and down the sand dunes again, dragging herself towards the village which she learned to detest. She didn't want to think about how Gaara must have felt about Suna but those unwelcome thoughts were still there, at the back of her mind. She could understand him better, now, when even the very sight of the cliffs protecting the village sparked an anger in her heart. She wasn't welcome there. She didn't belong there anymore. She was pushed away after everything she had done as a ninja for the village's sake.

Just like Gaara.

Temari ground her teeth, and told herself to calm down. She couldn't afford facing the Kazekage while being furious like that. He would suspect something. It was bad enough she had to lie to him, and she knew he was good at recognizing a lie once he heard one. But still, there was a hope that he would let them into the village again, if he would confirm that Gaara was truly gone.

Clinging to that hope, Temari went to the Kazekage's office, and reported on her youngest brother's absence. Baki was suspicious, just like she thought he would be. Apparently, he didn't believe her when she told him that she had never admitted to Gaara that she and Kankurō were assigned to the mission 1023098. However, Baki didn't accuse her of the treason, at least not openly. Maybe he was just relieved he got rid of the problem. Or maybe he was secretly glad that Gaara disappeared while his siblings survived.

Temari knew she would never know an answer to those questions. She thought she had to tell the Kazekage about the girl Gaara had spared but she still couldn't bring herself to do that. Instead, she asked about spies. Who would be the one to finish them once Gaara was gone?

"It's not your problem," Baki admonished her. "We're going to take care of it."

Temari nodded slowly, while he crossed his arms over his chest, and instructed her to go back to the hut. She was supposed to wait there together with Kankurō for the next two weeks. If Gaara didn't come back, still, his siblings would be allowed to live in the village again. That was Baki's final order.

Temari wasn't quite sure if she was happy about it. She knew that even if she would be allowed to return, Sunagakure would never be as it had been before. But still, she had no other choice than to obey, because leaving the village would mean becoming a nukenin, and she didn't want to live such a life. At least she could find comfort in the thought that Kankurō was still by her side, because without him she would be lost.

It took her four hours to get to the village, and then she had to walk for another four hours until she reached the hut. Cautiously, she sneaked closer but Gaara wasn't anywhere in her sight. Instead, Matsuri went out from the hut, tripping towards the well, her small frame encircled by the red halo from the sunset glow. Temari watched the girl for a few minutes before she approached the hut and went inside.

Kankurō was seated on the floor, one of his puppets lying in front of him. He slanted a glance at his sister, and resumed working.

"How did it go?" he inquired, his eyes sticking to the puppet as his hands manipulated it carefully.

"Quite as expected," Temari replied with a sigh, taking her fan off and settling herself by the wall. "We have to wait for the next two weeks. If Gaara won't appear, we're going back to the village."

"What about spies? Do we have to take care of them in Gaara's stead?"

Temari hesitated.

"Actually—"

"They were not spies," the puppeteer finished.

Both of the siblings looked at each other in silence.

"We've known for a long time that taking Kazekage position strips people of their morality," Kankurō remarked dryly.

"It was Jōseki who assigned the mission," Temari reminded him.

"Do you think he would have done it without Baki's permission? He would be announced a traitor."

"I'm not so sure."

Kankurō pondered over her words in silence.

"I'm only sure Baki is not the person we once knew," Temari continued, slowly relaxing against the wall. She threw her head back and let out a long breath. "And Gaara... Gaara was killing innocent people."

"Not that it makes any difference to him," Kankurō commented grimly.

"But it does make a difference to me."

"I know."

The two went silent again, watching Matsuri who trudged into the hut, carrying the bucket. Yes, the girl was the ultimate proof of the council's abominable cruelty. Temari assumed that Jōseki had decided to keep Gaara occupied with killing people chosen by elders. Better that than let him wander down the streets and murder random ninjas.

Ignorant, old scoundrels! They knew nothing about her youngest brother! Slaughtering so-called spies could satisfy Shukaku's bloodthirst but definitely not Gaara's, and Temari knew Baki was aware of that, either. That was why she believed he didn't initially know about Jōseki's messing. After he found out about it - if he found out - he most likely ordered the councilman to stop. Obviously, they had come to an agreement to poison Gaara and his siblings. The plan had failed but there was still another option up their sleeve; the mission 1023098. This or either way, Temari, Kankurō, and Gaara weren't supposed to survive. But now, when Gaara was gone, could it be there was still a hope for the two?

The end of chapter 10.

The next chapter: The homecoming