I don't remember which chapter this is…oh well….oh well….GAH! Is it really Kaien!? Is Kaien alive!? OMG WTF FTW!?!?!??!?!? –Ahem- sorry, watching Bleach here.

So, onto the chapter!!!

There was somebody in the clearing when he arrived, ten minutes early for the appointment. Sasuke jumped down from the tree and approached the other openly. Presumably this was one of his new team-mates that Gaara had told him about.

Male, around Sasuke's age from his build. The young man was wearing the stylized face of a hawk with two orange slashes similar to Sasuke's. He was leaning against a wall with his head tilted forward and his arms crossed over his chest. Sasuke had the feeling the other had been following his approach for awhile now.

They nodded at each other, and Sasuke dropped into a crouch on a rock nearby.

He examined the other discreetly. He wasn't sure if they would ever be introduced or not. Sasuke didn't know that much about the ANBU's inner workings here in the sand village, nobody did. He knew, because he'd been told during the interview with Gaara, that he'd have to obey his squad leader to the letter. That he'd have to kill without compunction at his village's command. That he could tell no one what he was doing.

...Something about this guy felt familiar. Sasuke hadn't mingled with anybody from the village since he'd come to the sand village, apart from some high-level ANBU and Jounin and those charming sessions with Ibiki. But this feeling of familiarity predated all that.

He was taller than Sasuke by a couple of inches; good build on the lanky side. His hair was blacker even than Sasuke's; it was clear of the mask, pulled back and falling to his shoulders where he'd tied it into a short braid that could be slipped into his collar if need be, to avoid giving an enemy something to grab onto.

His uniform was identical to Sasuke's, but for one exception. His long gloves went up to the forearm, but they stopped at the wrist, and he wore no wrist-guards. His fingers were long, strong yet still looked delicate. There were bandages wrapped around his knuckles to give him some minimal protection, but it didn't look like he ever expected to throw a punch.

"You're Sasuke, right?" Muttered the ANBU, glancing his way, "The deploy from the hidden leaf that is joining my team under Gaara-sama's commands, correct?"

Sasuke gave a short nod.

"Hn…you're shorter then I expected…" Muttered the ANBU.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes under his mask.

"I'm Kakeru," He added, giving a small wave of his hand, "I'll be your superior on the team."

"Yay for me…" Muttered Sasuke.

He herd Kakeru snicker under his mask.

"You're funny kid, I like you!"

"Don't call me, 'kid," Growled Sasuke, "I am the heir to the Uchiha clan!"

"Awwwww, Uchiha, Uchiha…" Kakeru waved his hand in the air, "Gaara-sama warned me about you. He said that you were pretty full of yourself."

I'm gonna kill that runt…Sasuke frowned.

"Oh, looks like out captain is here," Said Kakeru suddenly, looking up.

Sasuke looked around, and saw nobody.

"Ooooooy, is this Uchiha-kun?"

Sasuke looked up the wall that Kakeru was leaning on. The person had a slender form, hands on their hips. Their hair was in a long flowing braid and was the color of copper. A woman…She leapt down from the wall and landed in front of Sasuke. He saw a flicker of bright blue from the mask eyeholes.

The woman straightened up and crossed her arms, "So you're Uchiha Sasuke-kun, ey?"

"Yeah I guess…" He muttered, looking away.

He felt a hand grab his shoulder, and the woman whirled him around to face her. "Listen here pal…" The woman hissed, "People may treat you like royalty back in the leaf, but here, you're just another little maggot that I can play with! Got that?" She shoved him away and turned her back on him.

Sasuke stared at the back of her head, his eyes wide.

"Oy Paku, you can't be nice to our new teammate?" Muttered Kakeru.

"Gaara-sama told me to let him on my team, not be nice to him!" The woman, Paku, snapped. She leapt onto a nearby roof.

"Don't let Paku get to you," Kakeru told Sasuke, "She has a nasty temper, but under her hard exterior, she is a really beautiful woman."

"Tsk…whatever," Muttered Sasuke, shoving his hands in his pockets, "I could really care less." He looked up at the roof where Paku was standing.

The slight afternoon breeze pushed her long copper hair back so it flew through the wind gracefully, like a river flowing through its path. The light of her bright blue eyes under the mask glinted from the sunlight.

He frowned and looked away.

Damn that Gaara…

"So Paku," Said Kakeru, looking up at the woman, "What's our mission?"

She shook her head, "No mission. I just wanted to meet our new chew toy…" She glanced at Sasuke, "And give him a warning."

"If you want to fight, I'll fight you," Sasuke growled.

"Sorry," Said Paku shrugging, "But I don't hit girls."

"Ouch…"

"Why don't you say that to my face?" Sasuke snapped, taking a step forward.

She leapt down from the rook and walked up to him. "Oh? Do you want to be taught a lesson?"

"Hey now, hey now," Said Kakeru, pushing his way in between them, "That's no way to talk! We're on the same team now, right you guys? We should be buddies!"

"Like I'd ever be 'buddies' with a pansy like him!" Snapped Paku.

"Oh look, we agree on something!" Snarled Sasuke.

The turned away from each other angrily.

Kakeru sighed and rubbed his head.

The hawk shifted on its perch. It gave Gaara a suspicious stare, then it looked fixedly at the meat between his fingers. Just as it was starting to stretch its neck out cautiously, Gaara tossed it the morsel; the meat was instantly snatched out of midair. The hawk made a huffy noise, swallowed, and then glared at Gaara arrogantly.

Hinata, still on the stairs up to the Communication room and trying not to startle either the Kazekage or the hawk, decided it was safe to call out now.

"Hello, Gaara. Taking care of the birds?"

Gaara barely glanced over his shoulder in acknowledgement, as if to say, 'What does it look like I'm doing'. It was Gaara's standard behavior; Hinata didn't bat an eye.

"Hey, where's the Chunnin in charge?" she asked in surprise as she approached the Information Desk.

"Several urgent messages came in. He was out of runners, so he went to Crypto himself. He should be back in an hour at the latest," Gaara answered, reaching into the bucket for some more meat. One of the other hawks hopped along its perch eagerly, its jesses jingling.

A lot of people avoided being alone in the same room as Gaara if they didn't have any official business with him. This reaction was due in part to some remaining fear, particularly from the civilians, but it was also born of deference; Gaara always had an air about him of someone who didn't want to be disturbed. Add to that a thread of embarrassment at being in the presence of the most important man in the village, someone they all owed their lives to, and being unable to think of a single subject of conversation that was likely to fly in the face of those cold green eyes…

Hinata watched as Gaara tossed another chunk of meat at the hawks. It was a Chuunin's job to feed the birds kept for inter-village communication, but Gaara did it from time to time, for no reason he cared to explain.

"I was talking to Amagumo earlier," She said in a hushed voice, as not to scare the birds.

"Oh?" Gaara muttered without turning around, his eyes on one of the hawks which was apparently trying to outstare him (Hinata's money wasn't on the bird).

She nodded, "Apparently that boy, Arai, is giving him a right time," she shrugged, "He said that Arai keeps saying…odd and inappropriate things."

"Inappropriate?"

"Yes…I'm not going to say it…"

As Hinata glanced at him, Gaara slowly extended a finger towards one of the hawk's he'd fed. The bird bobbed its head and clicked its beak - Hinata tensed - but finally it let Gaara gently smooth the feathers along its chest.

According to Kankuro, the first time Gaara had set foot in the aviary the whole flock had gone absolutely berserk. It might have been the smell of blood in the sand, or it might have simply been instinct.

With the new determination he'd acquired after his fight with Naruto, Gaara had persisted. The doves and pigeons still went crazy if he got too close, but the predators let him feed them now, and the bolder ones even took the meat from his fingers and let him handle them.

Gaara looked at the hawk leaning into his touch with something like grim recognition in his eyes. Hinata didn't think Gaara was capable of joy through animals, but the Kazekage could acknowledge his achievements; he'd formed a small bond with a living creature; he'd eradicated a bit of fear. And…he had made a bond with her…

She smiled.

"What are you smiling about?"

Hinata opened her eyes and looked around. The hawk that Gaara has been handling has stepped onto the Kazekage's hand and was now allowing Gaara to brush his finger along it's head. Gaara's eyes however, were focused on Hinata.

"No reason," She answered, shrugging.

"Liar."

She looked back at him to see a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. She smiled, "Oh, and you can tell?"

"Yes, because lying doesn't suit your voice," He answered dolefully.

"Oh?" She thought for a moment, "I think I recall you saying something like that where we were younger."

No reply.

She looked around to see that Gaara was no longer there. The hawk he had been petting was staring at her from its perch. Hinata frowned. Where had he-

"I think I recall saying something like that all those years ago…" Whispered a voice in her ear. Hands wrapped around her waist and held her close.

"See? I told you…" She whispered, smiling. She lifted her hand and placed it on the side of his face, "You repeat things to much…"

"Hm…do I now…" It was a blunt statement, not a question.

Hinata sighed heavily, "Damn this war…" She felt his muscles tense a bit. "I still blame that Kumoashi fellow."

"I don't think anyone's to blame for it," He murmured into her hair, "That's why it is called war."

"Hm…" She turned her head and met his lips.

For now, while they were safe in the village, and Michiru was safe, the war didn't matter to her. She had everything she wanted right here in the sand village, even if some of it was torn…

"Oy Ishida, pass a hard workin jounin a sandwich," Muttered Kakashi, not looking up from his Iccha Iccha Paradise book.

Ishida, a young jounin with stone gray hair and black eyes, glared over at the older ninja. "Can't you get it yourself, Hatake-san?"

"Nah."

Ishida rolled his eyes. In his opinion, older people were so lazy. He stared out of the window of the Konoha aviary, and of in the distance, saw the mountains of the hidden sand village. He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What's with the face?" Muttered Kakashi, peeking up from his book.

"No face," Ishida growled, "I just…" He shook his head.

"Aw, you boys are so pathetic," Commented Nanao, a female jounin. Her black hair was tied up in a bun, and her silver eyes glinted with experience.

"Aw Nanao, you can be so mean," Said Kakashi sarcastically.

She narrowed her eyes and looked away indignantly.

Ishida sighed and looked back out the window.

Michiru tossed and turned on the bed, trying to block out Arai talking and teasing Amagumo. He was lost in thought about what he was supposed to do next. He liked it here in the sand village, but he wanted to become a Kage and explore! This village had a young, healthy, and powerful Kage! He wouldn't be able to fulfill his dream here…

But his friends here…Hiraku and Debu, what would they say if he told them that he wanted to leave this wonderful village. He sighed. He opened his eyes quickly as he herd Amagumo leave the house for the day. It was almost night time. He sat up and looked around, "Hiraku, Debu," He said.

They looked around at hurried over to him.

Arai stayed where he was, staring out of the window.

"Ok, I know this village is nice and everything," Michiru said quietly, "But we can't fulfill our dreams here."

Hiraku frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Well…" He sighed, "This place, we're just a burden to them. We're orphans and they don't need us. It would really be better if we just left this village all together, and find a village that we could make our dreams come true in!"

"So…so you think we should run away from the village?" Said Debu, "Even though everyone has been so nice to us here?"

He nodded.

"But, but I like this place…" Muttered Hiraku.

"I don't want to leave you guys," Said Michiru in a whisper, "But I have a feeling that my fate lies beyond this and only this village. I want to have adventure, and explore! I want you two to be with me, but…"

"Ok, then we will," Said Hiraku, looking up. Michiru and Debu looked at her.

Arai glanced slightly at them.

"Me to!" declared Debu.

Michiru smiled, "Thanks guys. Okay, we'll leave tonight, once everyone is asleep…."

Bumbumbuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum! Cliffy! Well, if you've been reading since the violet rose, you'd know I love doing cliff hangers! So we met some new characters. I know it was kinda of topic, but team Paku is gonna be coming back and playin a big part.

The next chapter is gonna be really angsty! –Evil smile-