-Passes out- I did it…I did it…I made it through seventh grade!! In four weeks, I'll be an eighth grader!! I was even able to pass math! –My worst subject- we had finals all this week. That's why I haven't updated. The worst had to have been my choir final. Our teacher is a new one this year, and she made us do an American idol thing for our final. We had to get up and sing something in front of the ENTIRE class!! I sang 'The wizard and I' from Wicked. I think I did pretty well…anyway, enough of my ranting. Onto the chapter!! : D Oh, and this chapter contains spoilers from resent Managa chapters, so if you don't like spoilers, skip this chapter. (You can't really do hat without getting thrown of, but whatever…)


"That's all for now, dismissed," Said Gaara, leaning back in his chair as the ANBU bowed and began to exit his office, "Paku, Kakeru, please stay for a moment." The two waited beside the wall until the rest had left and the door was closed. Gaara leaned forward, placed his elbows on the desk, laced his fingers together, and rested his chin on them.

"What is it, Gaara-sama?" Inquired Paku respectfully.

Gaara watched her fro a moment. Lately, her bright blue eyes had been dulled with a depressed fog, and her normal fiery attitude had been extinguished. His eyes traveled to Kakeru, who was absently staring out the window over Gaara's shoulder.

He sighed and looked back, '"I wanted to know what's going on with Sasuke…"

Both went rigid.

"He's been in a bad mood lately, and when I ask him how he likes being on your team, Paku, he ignores me…" He paused, "Did something happen I should know about?" He looked from one to the other, eyes stopping on Kakeru for a moment, who seemed to be looking at Paku worriedly.

Paku was quiet for a long moment, her eyes on the floor, "N-no sir…"

Silence filled the office.

"…." He sighed, "Then you can go. Kakeru, you stay."

He nodded. Paku bowed and quickly left the office.

Gaara looked at Kakeru expectantly.

"It's hard to explain sir…"

"I don't care," Gaara got up and walked around his desk. He walked right past Kakeru and stopped beside the back wall, examining some pictures, "The three of you are a team, remember? You were working fine with each other before. I don't care if you don't tell me what happened but…at least tell me what I can do to help patch things up."

Kakeru's eyes brightened. This was his chance! He turned to look at the back of the Kazekage's head, "Actually, there is something you could help with sir…"

Gaara glanced at him, "I'm listening…"


"Sasuke!!"

The raven-haired jounin looked around to see Kakeru running up to him. He had just finished talking with Temari about the evening patrols and had figured he'd take a walk before nightfall. "What is it?" He inquired.

"We have a mission," Kakeru told him. "Tomorrow. You, me, and Paku."

Sasuke's eyes dulled and he looked away, "Like she'll ever agree to that…"

"She already did!"

"Huh?"

Kakeru smiled, "I went to her house and told her about it! She seemed pretty pissed," He motioned at a bruise on his cheek, "But she agreed. She'd do anything as long as Gaara-sama asked her to."

"…" He sighed, "Okay. What's the mission then?"

"We're gonna go help out at the leaf village. Aid the securities and stuff…" Kakeru shrugged, "Gaara-sama also mentioned something about you wanting to visit your families grave, since it's almost the same day they were all killed…"

Sasuke's throat went dry as he remembered that the day Itachi had killed the clan was slowly approaching…Itachi…"Fine…" He muttered, "I'll see you tomorrow."

He left Kakeru and resumed his walking, his eyes on the ground. He wondered silently if Gaara had planned to send him to leaf, on that very day. Sasuke shrugged lightly. At least he could burn some incense for his family and…and maybe visit Itachi's grave. His brother had not been given a respectable grave in the Uchiha area…Sasuke had had to burry him himself. The only ones who had joined him in mourning, were Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and even Sai. But that was a long time ago…

Apparently an ANBU had found Itachi's body and taken it back to the village. When Sasuke returned to the village, he buried his brother. He was the only one who knew the truth. He hadn't even told Naruto or the others…

He turned a corner and almost knocked a woman over. He blinked in surprise as he realized what he'd done, "Oh…I'm sorry."

"Ah, it's fine."

He looked at the woman.

She had long, dark blonde hair that shimmered in the evening light. Her pale skin seemed to blend in with the surrounding sand. Her eyes were a pale blue, shaded with a darker azure. They were strangely familiar…

"Are you alright young man?" She asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Ah…yes. I'm fine…"

"….You're…Uchiha Sasuke. Right?"

He blinked, "Um, yeah. I am."

She smiled warmly at him, "Can I buy you some tea, Sasuke-kun?"

Not knowing what to say, Sasuke just followed the woman to the nearest teashop. He didn't know how she knew who he was, but there was something about her that was familiar. Especially her eyes. Those eyes…

They sat down at a tab le in the teashop and a thick silence settled over the two of them.

"How do you know me?" he inquired, "And you are you?"

She giggled lightly, "Oh, everyone knows about you, Sasuke-kun. Naruto-dono's best friend! As for who I am, my name is Akagane."

"Akagane…" He frowned as he repeated her name. It didn't sound familiar, and yet…

"So tell me about yourself," She said, stirring her tea as the waiter gave it to her, "You're teammates with…Kakeru-san and Paku, correct?"

"Yes. How do you know them?"

"I've met them in passing."

"Oh."

"You're lucky to be friends with Gaara-sama," She said suddenly, looking at him admirably.

Sasuke made a face, "he's not my friend. I'm only polite to him because of his rank. When we were younger, he nearly killed me in the chunnin exams."

"Really?" Akagane looked surprised, "But he always spoke so fondly of you. He was always saying how you were a brave shinobi. I herd him telling Hinata-sama."

"Huh…" Sasuke looked away, slightly embarrassed by the praise.

"And you are very popular around the ladies I hear," She said with a teasing smile, "Ino-san, and Sakura-san especially. Right? Do you love anyone as of yet? Anyone?"

Sasuke stared at her for a moment, before giving a very tiny nod, "I do love someone…"

"Oh really? Whom?"

His dark eyes shot up at her in a glare, "It's none of your business."

She looked hurt, "Oh my Sasuke-kun…I'm sorry. I really didn't means to offend you," She shrugged and then smiled, "You young people are so touchy today about who you love. Why just the other day, my eldest daughter was screaming her head of at her house…she doesn't live with me. She was yelling about some boy that had hurt her…hurt her very badly in her heart…"

"Hm…" he didn't know why she was telling him this.

"Kakeru-san is your friend also, right?"

He shrugged, "Sort of…" his eyes narrowed, "He's annoying, but…but so is Naruto. He's not that bad I guess."

"I see…" She looked up, "You know, him and Paku are half-"

"Half brother and sister, I know. I know."

"Oh, well you are very smart!" She smiled approvingly at him.

Sasuke let out a sigh, "Please Akagane… Why did you ask me to have tea with you? What do you want exactly?"

"Want?" She seemed surprised, "I don't want anything. I was just trying to make friendly conversation!"

"…Who's your daughter? The one you were talking about earlier?"

"Oh, she's-"

"Hey-?"

They both looked around.

Paku had entered the tea stand, but had frozen on her way in. Her silver blue eyes were stretched wide as she stared at the pair of them. They slowly went from Akagane to Sasuke, and froze on him.

"What's wrong?" Kakeru walked in behind her and froze as well, "Oh…"

Paku's look of surprise had turned to one of sheer hate," What're you doing?" She asked, venom dripping from every word.

Sasuke wasn't sure if the question was directed at him, or-

"What an ungrateful daughter you are," Muttered Akagane, getting to her feet, 'I was just having tea with this nice young gentleman."

"You-!!" Paku was about to yell, but Kakeru stepped in front of you, "Akagane-san, I suggest you leave."

She stared at him for a moment.

"Now."

Sasuke sat there, confusion causing him to go mute.

She threw Kakeru a look of pure hatred, before looking back at Sasuke, "See you soon, Sasuke-kun. I hope we can have tea again sometime soon." She turned on her heel and walked out past Paku and Kakeru.

Sasuke had gotten to his feet and was staring at the two of them, "Um…" His eyes fell on Paku.

She acted like he wasn't there.

"So…" Kakeru looked at the two of them, "Should we meet at the gate tomorrow then?"

"Sure…" Paku muttered.

"Paku?"

She barely turned to look at Sasuke, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Was that your mo-"

"IT'S ONE OF YOUR BUISNESS!" She turned on her heel and raced out of the teashop and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke looked at Kakeru hesitantly, his dark eyes flickering with a single, silent question.

Kakeru only nodded, his eyes down, "yeah. That was Paku's mother. What'd she want? What was she asking you?"

"I asked the same thing to her."

"Oh?"

He nodded, "But she said she just wanted to talk…"

Kakeru's eyes narrowed, "Don't trust her, Sasuke…"

"….yeah…."


Michiru sat atop of the Kazekage building as the sun began to slip behind the sandy dunes. He could see the villagers retreating to their homes and getting ready for dinner. He looked back up and could almost see the moon, forcing the sun to surrender the sky for the night.

He sighed and glanced at the hospital. Akume had been asleep since she was taken to the hospital, so he hadn't had a chance to speak with her. Amagumo had stayed with her, Sakura as well. Gaara went in there from time to time. Michiru had seen him exit and answer every now and again.

Leaning back he stared up at the clouds and smiled as a small breeze swept across him, blowing his hair in his eyes. It was nice in the evenings in Sunagakure. The mornings were hot, the nights were cold, but the evenings were perfectly comfortable.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Michiru jumped and looked around in time to see Gaara sitting beside him.

"I thought you were at the hospital?"

"I left a little while ago."

"…."

"But I had to station some ANBU before I left," The Kazekage added, glancing the other way, "I don't want anything bad happening within the village. I still don't trust her-"

"Akume CAN be trusted!" Michiru snapped suddenly, "She doesn't need to be watched by ANBU! I've met her before, she's…she's not a bad person! Amagumo could tell you that!"

Gaara blinked in surprise at the sudden anger that burned in Michiru's normally gentle eyes.

"I don't see why you can't trust her!" Michiru continued angrily, "She never attacked the village. She just wanted answers. It wasn't her fault that her father wants her to kill you! She didn't choose it, so you shouldn't be holding that against her will like that!" he looked away, eyes narrowed.

The Kazekage just sat there, to shocked to speak.

"She didn't choose to be the one ordered to kill you," Michiru murmured, shaking his head, "Why are you holding that against her when it wasn't even her choice?"

Again, Gaara herd words that he had once spoken when hew was younger. When he had wondered why people blamed him for being possessed by the Shukaku, when it hadn't even been his choice.

"I just don't want to put any of the village at risk…" Gaara answered quietly, "By putting ANBU at Akume's door, the villagers will feel more comfortable. They're scared enough as it is."

"…."

"I'm not holding it against her personally."

Silence settled over them as the sun sank lower into the golden sand.

"You really are a loyal friend," Gaara said after a moment, "Hinata and the others were right…"

"Huh?" Michiru looked at him.

"In Konohagakure," Gaara began to explain, "They have this thing called the will of fire, which all shinobi in the village are said to posses. It makes them incredibly loyal to their friends, and gives them a burning intensity to protect the ones they love. Well in Sunagakure, we have the Spirit of wind. It makes all of our shinobi extremely powerful, with the racing fighting skills of the wind, and a strong bond with those we grow close to," He looked at the sun, "Hinata's from Konoha as you know, and I'm from here. That means that you and Aki both, have the Will of fire and the Spirit. That will no doubt make you both very powerful shinobi one day."

Michiru stared at him for a moment, before looking away, "I didn't mean to snap…" he muttered.

Gaara sighed. He got to his feet and placed a hand on Michiru's head, "Come on. We'd better get back home before Hinata skins us both."


"AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

Kan knocked over Okayaki, his eyes burning furiously, "What the hell was that for you bastard!?" He snarled.

"Must you be so loud?" Muttered Okayaki dully. He had smacked Kan…hard.

Yogore shook his head. He sat next to Seiyru in the room they were all in. Sora sat at a chair near the back of the room, staring absently out of the window as though nothing was disturbing his thoughts.

"You two really need to cool of," Snapped Seiyru, "You're going to make Kabuto-sama get angry with you…"

"But we're the sound ninja five now!" Cried Kan, "We're invincible!"

"That didn't stop those Suna and Konoha Shinobi from killing our predecessors."

"Oh?" Kan smirked at her, "Last thing I remember, Seiyru, the one that was easiest to bring down was your grandmother."

"Shut up!" Growled Seiyru, picturing Tayuya in her head, "it was that damned blonde sand ninja. Her wind moves were to powerful and were a perfect math for my grandmother's moves."

"That or she was just weak."

"What'd you say!?"

"You herd me!"

"Okay you two, that's enough," Said Sora, not even looking around at them, "You really need to calm down, before we really do get in trouble," he looked back out the window, "I wonder what Rei and Nariko-chan are doing, huh?"

"Who cares?" Asked Kan, "Rei's not to bad, but that Nariko twerp is a bit of a weakling."

"Don't insult her," Snapped Sora in a deadly voice.

They all looked at him.

He stared at them for a moment, before grinning broadly. This was his signature move, "Oh I'm just playing with you guys! HAHAHAHA!!"

"Right…"


Mmmmm…..I like Sora! :3 Anyway, we've met Paku's mom, discovered Kakeru's plan, and ooooooo, family bonding for Gaara and Michiru!! HEEEEE!! I was playing this game called Okami today, I just got it for WII –is the best game ever- and I was cracking up. There's this one character named Waka –he's sexy- and he has these guys that work under him called Tao troopers…and well, I was talking to one of them, the one named Abe, and he said this, "I really admire Captain Waka. That's why I do everything I can to learn EVERYTRHING about him!" and I was all like, OMFG WAKA HAS A STALKER!! –dies- Anyway, see you next chapter! It'll be good. :3