Walking through the village gateway brought back memories of missions I'd gone on with my teammates. I found myself excited to see them, and hoped they weren't on a mission. I made my way to village headquarters in search of Gaara. Mina followed close behind, curious but nervous at being in a new village. Reaching headquarters, I knocked on the door to the Kazekage's office. "Enter!" I opened the door and walked through, Mina hiding behind me.
"Hey," I said nonchalantly, trying to hide my grin.
"Hey," Gaara said, not looking up from his desk. I waited a few moments, and it finally clicked.
Gaara looked up, and exclaimed, "Sayuri!" He stood and walked out from behind his desk, hugging me. Pulling back, I had to look up to see his face.
"Damn you got tall." He chuckled.
"It's good to have you home. Who's this?" I gestured to Mina to come closer, and introduced her.
"This is Mina. She's my student." Gaara raised his eyebrow.
"I thought you didn't want a student. And what did she do to get stuck with you?" I laughed.
"Why does everyone say that? And it's true I didn't want a student, but Mina is an exception." He looked surprised, but didn't ask questions. "Gaara, I have a favour to ask. Could you teach Mina a few things? She's an earth style user, so there are a few things I can't teach her that you could." Gaara smiled.
"Of course. Anything to get out of this office during the day." I smiled.
"Thanks. Do you know where I can find Kamujin and Kiyomi?" Gaara thought for a moment.
"They should be in the training field. Kiyomi has been trying to best Kamujin for a while now." I laughed.
"Thanks again. See you tomorrow for Mina's first lesson." Gaara nodded, and returned to his work. We left, Mina excited about being taught earth style jutsu by the Kazekage. We headed for the training field, where a battle was occurring. I climbed a nearby rock to watch, Mina following me. The battle was intense, but controlled. I saw Hellhound's Bite, and smiled. Kiyomi was really going all out. I spotted Kamujin nearing us, the fiery hellhound on his heels.
He leapt onto the rock we were on, surprised to see us. Suddenly, the hellhound was headed for us. Reacting, I whispered, "Water style, Bubble Shield jutsu." A wall of water formed around Kamujin, Mina and I, protecting us from the flames. Kiyomi released the jutsu, exhausted. Seeing the bubble, she laughed and ran over. I leapt from the rock and hugged Kiyomi, and we squealed like girls do.
"Oh my god, you finally came back! How have you been?" I laughed at her enthusiasm, unable to answer a question before she asked another. She picked me up and spun me around, excited. I gasped in pain, and she put me down. "What is it?" she asked, worried. I smiled weakly.
"It's okay. I'm just a little sore."
"Sayuri, you're bleeding!" Kiyomi exclaimed.
"Maybe you should go to the hospital," Kamujin said from behind me. I nodded.
"Kamujin, could you look after Mina for a while? And whatever you do, don't let her lose her temper." I walked to the hospital, holding my side. I entered the reception area, calm.
"Excuse me, can I see a medic please?" The receptionist looked up, and gasped.
"Right this way," she said, clearly panicking. I followed her, not understanding why she was so worried. It was only a little blood, right? I looked down at my side.
Okay, maybe it was a lot of blood. The receptionist led me into a room and told me to sit. Seconds later, a medic appeared. She patched me up, and wrapped a bandage round my torso. I was free to go, so I headed back to the training field. Kiyomi, Kamujin and Mina were still there, meditating. I sat, waiting patiently. Finally, Kamujin opened his eyes. "Back already?" he whispered. I nodded.
"I just needed to patch up an old wound," I murmured. Kiyomi and Mina opened their eyes.
"Hi," I said cheerfully, grinning.
"What happened?" Kiyomi asked.
"Oh, it's an old injury." I laughed it off, reassuring everyone that I was fine. "Kiyomi, could you spar with Mina for a while? I need to check her skills, but I need to rest at the moment." Kiyomi nodded.
"C'mon Mina, show me what you got!"
Mina grinned. "Bring it!"
Kamujin waited till Mina and Kiyomi were out of earshot, before asking, "What's going on?" I sighed.
"Tsunade requested I take Mina on as a student because I can help her. She's like me, Kamujin. She has a demon, and she's got no idea." Kamujin pondered this.
"Did she cause that injury?" I grimaced. "Yep. She lost her temper and drew her sword on your brother. I just happened to get in the way." Kamujin chuckled.
"You would. But why does the wound still bother you?"
I paused, considering my answer. "Sasuke reopened the wound in one of his attempts on my life. Two days later, Mina attacked me again. She transformed completely, and hit me. I flew 10m." Kamujin gasped.
"What form does she take?"
"Bear." He nodded thoughtfully.
"Kakashi has told me of Mina. She attacked you, but you started it." I nodded.
"I lost control. She lost her temper in retaliation. She's a good girl, really. She just lost her temper, that's all." Kamujin glanced at me.
"Like you did in the Chunin exams. That's why you agreed to this." I smiled.
"Nothing gets by you, does it?" He shook his head, smiling.
"How do you get yourself into these messes?" I grinned.
"It's a talent of mine. Care for a round of light sparring?" He nodded, and we stood.
We leapt at each other, punching, kicking and deflecting each other's blows. Kamujin was going easy on me because of my injury, so I went on the offensive. Our sparring became intense, and our match lasted almost 10 minutes. Finally, I knocked Kamujin to the ground and placed a kunai against his throat. I stood, shocked. I had never beaten Kamujin before. I helped him to his feet. He smiled.
"Well done Sayuri. I was wondering when you would surpass me." I smiled, then realised Kiyomi and Mina were staring. I blushed, embarrassed. Luckily, Gaara showed up and distracted everyone's attention from me.
"I heard you ended up in the hospital. Are you okay?" he asked me. I glanced at Mina, who looked a little guilty.
"I'm fine. It was an old injury. I just needed patching up." Gaara sighed with relief. I glanced at Mina again, who now looked upset. "Enough about me. Gaara, can you show Mina anything now?" Mina looked up, hopeful. Gaara nodded.
"Sure. That is, if you would like me to teach you about the earth style," he said, turning to Mina. She nodded enthusiastically and stood, following Gaara to a quiet area outside the village. I turned to Kiyomi and Kamujin.
"Care to fill me in on what's been happening?" We chatted a while, relaxing on the sand. Soon Gaara returned with Mina, who looked exhausted, but happy. "Have fun?" I asked. She nodded, smiling. I headed home, Mina following me. Knocking on the door, I tried to prepare myself. I hadn't seen my family in months, and wasn't comfortable. Mother opened the door.
"Sayuri," she whispered, shocked. "Honey! Sayuri's home!" She hugged me, squeezing tight. I endured it as long as I could, but soon had to squirm free. Once she had released me, I pressed my hand to my side.
"Hey," I said. "Mum, this is Mina." She shook Mina's hand.
"It's nice to meet you." Father appeared in the doorway. He hugged me too, and I gasped. Pulling back, he looked me over.
"What is it?"
I smiled weakly. "You crushed me with that hug of yours." He grinned. "Father, this is Mina, from the Hidden Leaf village. Tsunade has asked me to teach her. Is it okay for her to stay with us while she's here?" Mother nodded.
"Of course it is. We're glad to have you, Mina."
Mina bowed her head and mumbled, "Thank you."
I lead Mina to the spare room, where she would be sleeping while we were here. After settling in, we headed downstairs for dinner. At the table, Mother tried to keep the atmosphere light, and avoided awkward topics.
"Mina, this is my older brother Ren. Ren, this is Mina, my travelling companion." Mina glanced at Ren, and turned her gaze back to her plate, shy. Ren glanced at Mina, then did a double take. Throughout the rest of dinner, Ren was unable to take his eyes off Mina.
Well what do you know, Yuki said. He isn't gay after all.
I stifled a laugh, knowing I was the only one who heard Yuki. After dinner, we all headed upstairs and went to bed. I pondered Ren's fascination with Mina. This could be a good thing. God knows my brother needs a woman in his life, and Mina can't pursue Kakashi forever. Finally, I fell asleep, fading into bliss.
Early the next morning, Gaara visited, ready to officially start Mina's lessons. I answered the door in my pyjama pants, only the bandages round my torso covering me from waist up. Gaara blushed, and looked away. He left with Mina, and I watched them go, smiling at Mina's eagerness. "Honey, why are you covered in bandages?" I turned, and realised Mother was behind me. Quickly I pulled on my shirt, hiding the bandages from view.
"Oh, it's an old injury. I just got in the way of a sword, that's all." Mother gasped.
"What? What happened?" I sighed.
"I jumped in front of the sword to protect the person I care about most and to stop someone else from doing something they'd regret."
Mother sighed, and smiled. "You always were inclined to doing stupid things. Tell me, why did Mina attack Kakashi?" I laughed.
"How did you know?" It was Mother's turn to laugh.
"I've seen the way you are with him. I was the same way with your father when we were dating. And Mina looked guilty when you got up this morning. Especially when she saw the bandages you're wearing." I sighed.
"It's a long story. Short version is, I lost control and got injured by Mina. Then Sasuke reopened the wound a day later, and Mina attacked again two days later. Just so you know, if Mina loses her temper and transforms completely, run. She hits hard." Mother laughed.
"Find that out the hard way?" I nodded, smiling.
"Oh, I should go. I need to train and plan some lessons for Mina." Mother nodded.
"Have fun!" she called as I left. I found myself a free target and used it for practice. I did target practice until lunch. After lunch I headed to the training field, looking for Mina and Gaara. The closer I got to the training field, the louder the sounds of battle became. I sprinted for the field, fearing Mina had lost her temper.
I arrived at the field to find a Genin running from Mina, who had transformed. Gaara was nowhere to be seen. I raced forwards, transforming as I did so. I leapt onto Mina's back and dug in with my claws, grimly holding on for dear life. Mina shook and bucked, trying to throw me off. She succeeded, and I landed on my feet in the sand. Mina thundered towards me on all fours, and raised her paw. I leapt away just as she lashed out.
I felt her claws brush through my fur, and was thankful she'd missed. Reversing the transformation, I focused my chakra and whispered, "Wind style, Void Wind jutsu." A wall of air formed around Mina, spinning rapidly and cutting off her oxygen. Slowly she collapsed, the transformation reversing. I released the jutsu and knelt beside her. She was unconscious and had small scratches on her back, but wasn't seriously injured. I heard yelling, and turned to see Gaara racing over. "It's okay," I said. "She lost control, but no one got hurt. She's okay. I-" I heard rushing in my head and fainted.