Chapter 37

"What are you doing here?" asked Temari, surprised.

"Can't I visit my only sister?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in Suna, helping Baki during Gaara's absence?"

"He's doing fine without me. How ARE you?"

"... I'm fine! How else would I be?"

Kankuro watched her sister, paused and grinned.

"Shikamaru has been away for some time now, just thought I'd check on you."

She lifted her eyes to the sky. "You don't have to, baka! I've got plenty of friends here to take care of me. Not that I need caring for!"

"Sure. Hey, how's that girl, er ... what's her name again?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Sofia?"

"YEEEES! That's the one! How is she doing?"

"Still stays at the same place, Kankuro."

"Oh really? Good for her. I don't think I'll run into her, although I should say Hi to Kaskashi and pay my respect, you know, so who knows. Nice to see you sis. Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

She put her hand on her mouth and took a deep breath, frowning. Her nausea had been more severe these last few days. Kankuro watched her with concern as he was leaving.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, just some nausea I'm dealing with." she met his inquiring gaze. "I … ate something yesterday that didn't sit right with my stomach. Don't worry about me. You're not asking about her other friends?" she added, changing the subject with a smirk.

"OH! Well, sure, might as well, I mean, I was going to, duh! How are they?"

"They're fine," she said laughing. "Just go see her already, I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."

"Who?" he said overly disinterested.

"Sofia!

"That totally wasn't part of my plans! I've got more serious things to do. I mean she's a nice girl, but I was only asking about her because ... you know, she has a tendency to put herself in trouble, so … thought I might ask how she was doing."

"She said she was going to a picnic with the brats at the river …"

"Okay I'm gonna leave you to your stuff now, I wouldn't want to disturb you any longer."

"You're not dis—"

"Bye Sis! Love you!" he yelled, already walking out of the garden gate."

Temari smiled, shook her head, closed the door and went back to her nap.

She grabbed Shikamaru's pillow, took a good sniff and hugged it tight.

"I miss you."


Shikamaru leaned on the rail of the ship while watching the other ship disappearing over the horizon.

Sai joined him.

"I just sent a note to Sasuke."

They watched the ship disappearing over the horizon.

"Killer B and his men should reach the Land of Lightning within a few days?"

"About four days according to their captain." answered Shikamaru.

"The waters seem calmer than when we started out, they might get there sooner."

"I'm sure they calculated accordingly," Shikamaru said, shrugging his shoulders. "How's the Kazekage doing?"

"Still out."

Shikamaru sighed and made his way across the deck to get inside where the temp was warmer. Sai followed, noticing their captain seemingly whistling from his cabin.

The difference of the sea's temperament from when they left was astounding. They spoke of missing ships, creatures and storms when they left for the Land of Snow; now the sea was as quiet as the dormant volcano below. The fog was still thick, but the air wasn't threatening anymore.

Sai pushed through the door after Shikamaru and sat at the small round table.

"I wonder if all the trouble those fishermen were having was because of the dragons." he said.

Shikamaru laid back in his chair, a frown on his brows, his knee bouncing up and down as new theory formed in his mind.

"If I remember well, they said the ships started to disappear a few weeks ago."

"And? Do you think those thugs back at the village were involved?"

Shikamaru shook his head, still in contemplation.

"Not directly. The dragons were obviously the culprits, though maybe not intentionally. The young dragon must have been getting caught in the fisherman's net or something like that, and the mother kept on trying to protect her youngster."

"Yeah, I know a few moms who can turn into beasts to protect their babies!" Sai said.

Shikamaru spared a glance at him and allowed a thin and quick grin, thinking about Temari. He was sure she would be no different …

"The thugs," he continued, "also appeared a few weeks ago. So did Abigail and her friends. I think the dragons consequently came around the same time."

Sai's eyes grew big. "They sensed Abigail!"

"Or at least the young dragon did. It's possible; especially if they're supposed to have a connection. What did she name it again?"

"Brent."

"See, all things related seem to be showing up around her … for her. She's got everything she needs here …"

"We just need to find them."

"The only thing we're missing is the staff, according to Akio."

"Why do I feel a staff will be the most difficult to find?" asked Sai, shaking his head.

"It doesn't help that a staff is not a living thing. It's probably lying somewhere in the middle of nowhere. The question is, where do we start looking?"

"That's a mission we were not allotted yet." Sai warned.

Shikamaru chuckled and sighed.

"It's one that will come soon enough. Dammit! I just hope we can have some rest in the warmth of Konoha before we get to that mission." he said, putting his feet on the table. "What a drag."


Gaara felt the weight of his body shift in different directions in a slow, steady rhythm. He couldn't hear anything but a "whoosh whish" that came with the shift of the weight. The whole thing was soothing. He heard the occasional sound of voices far away, barely audible. He embraced the quietness of the moment with bliss. Something he wasn't used to. He was at peace.

The deep breath he took to take all the blissful feeling in, revealed a sharp pain in his chest; reminding him suddenly of all that has transpired. He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to put the pain back to sleep, but nope; it was here to stay. At least, it wasn't so strong if he laid still. He didn't want to open his eyes, desperate to go back to his previous peaceful state.

The thin blanket that was covering him was disturbed lightly. He felt a hand reach his under the cover. He removed it, startled. But the fingers gently stroked him once more. He felt them lace through his. They were soft and warm, and he thought he didn't mind them after all.

He squeezed a little harder and opened his eyes.

Her pale face had a bruise on the left, but her big brown, shiny eyes were smiling softly. She was surrounded by a halo of light, coming from a small round window behind her head. She didn't speak. She just smiled, and she was beautiful.

Abigail felt overjoyed. She didn't need to say anything. She just wanted to look at him looking at her. He was okay. He was alive. He was … so lost.

She held a chuckle in her throat. His beautiful, half opened turquoise eyes didn't waver from hers, searching for something. Her sudden appearance must have confused him and messed with his memory after all this time asleep.

She leaned in closer and brushed his hair with her fingers. He lightly closed his eyes at her touch and she planted a soft kiss on his lips.

His eyes lit up after a few seconds.

"Ohhhh,"

She laughed softly. "Hi,"

"Hi," He paused and gathered his thoughts. "How long was I out?

"Two days," she answered, still caressing his deep earthy red hair. "Shukaku and Gyūki graciously gave us a ride to the ships. Before that though … Do you remember the lady and her little girl who were scared to death? We all spent the night there, after the bad guys were taken care of. She told us everything." She paused a second and drew back. "Gaara, these guys were awful! They raped a lot of girls in the village. Her husband had been killed because he tried to stop them. The rest of the village was too afraid to help. He had no chance."

Gaara slowly raised himself in a sitting position with her help. He breathed with relief when he leaned back against the pillow, and returned his attention to her.

"What did they want?"

She held a glass of water to his mouth for him to drink. Thankful that the rocking of the ship was slow and steady.

"They're still not sure. They appeared weeks ago, and settled in their village without a care. The bartender said they had dealt with several earthquakes and seen a pillar of light coming down from the stars, far, within the land of Lightning"

Gaara lifted his eyes up and frowned when she spoke of the beam of light.

"They appeared about a week later," she continued. "Those three guys from my world were looking for someone …" she stopped there, lowering her eyes to their laced fingers.

"For you," he said. She nodded.

"Anyway, them and the other shinobis just started to make themselves at home and trashed the whole place, terrifying the villagers, abusing their powers over them."

"You knew them, the three guys,"

"Yes, they're the ones who beat up Toshiko at the Onsen we were staying at."

"Oh, it makes sense that they would have been sucked into this world if they were near you." He looked up at her, since she did not answer. Something was bothering her. "What's wrong?"

"The guy said that they were asked to not kill me."

Gaara nodded, suspecting she was starting to understand the suspicions he had all along.

"Which means they knew about me from the beginning. The only other person we know in common is … Chris. But it doesn't make sense.'

"Why not?"

"He lived in Main, in the US, just like me and my friends. His mother was in Japan, he just happened to be there that day." She raised her head to look at him. "Maybe it's his mom!"

His face showed doubt.

"Or," she added, "maybe it was Yashiko all along, and they were waiting for his instructions all this time, maybe they didn't know he was dead? Maybe they were still waiting for his cue for them to go to Konoha!"

"But that guy wasn't from Japan, you said he was from your country."

"Right," she conceded. "Okay, but does this plan need to originate from Japan? It could have been from the U.S!"

"Which means," started Gaara cautiously, "that it could also have been Chris."

The ship rocked back and forth in silence. Only the waves made their "whoosh whish" sound outside.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked quietly. "Why are you so against the idea that Chris could have something to do with it?"

She didn't answer.

"Do you still like him, Aby?"

She turned around to face him and shook her head. "No, I promise. It's not that."

He sighed heavily and closed his eyes.

"It's just," she started, "I can't help but think that I drove him that way."

"Huh?!" he opened his eyes and stared.

"Am I … do you think I might have pushed him to do that? Do you think that I was a tease, without knowing it, and he got mad and hurt and he did something stupid like stealing the key to get back at me?"

Gaara was gobsmacked. He couldn't believe she was asking such a question.

"Are you really still on that?! No!"

"Be honest,"

"Abigail! No! Of course not! I'm so mad you would even think that!" he hissed between his teeth. "Why would you …"

He groaned in pain, being too agitated. She steadied him with her hands, her chin was slightly trembling, trying to bite the emotion that threatened to leak out.

"Aby, we've been through this already. You are NOT a tease! You did NOT lead him into something bad. If anything, he did! He's the idiot here!" he hissed between his teeth.

"It's just … everything leads to him and it doesn't make sense!" she said with red eyes. "We barely knew him, he was nice and helpful; he came to the kid's rescue back then …"

"He left you alone with thugs. You almost got raped Abigail!"

"He didn't know, we got separated, he thought I came back …"

"I don't believe that for one second!" he shouted. "You know something? I even think he knew exactly what he was doing!"

"I would have ended up dead! What good am I, dead, to these guys who are trying to keep me alive?"

"Would they really have killed you?"

She opened her mouth but didn't say anything. They did say they would kill her after they were done with her, but maybe that was just bluff. Still …

"It doesn't make sense," she said.

"Aby," Gaara said with a more gentle tone, searching for words. He had to make her understand. "Yashiko has been by my side for much longer than you have known Chris. And I never saw it coming. Never! Does that seem like it makes sense?"

He waited for her to answer. He continued when she shrugged her shoulders.

"You don't know the guy that well. You don't know what he's capable of, so please, PLEASE! STOP. BLAMING. YOURSELF! He's not worth it! You didn't push him toward evil!"

She nodded and watched him pressing on his chest wound, catching his breath.

"This was too close. I need to find that stupid staff."

"You saved me," he said. "I remember," he added with a grimace, remembering the pain.

"I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do about the pain."

He observed her for a moment, reddened, and turned away.

Abigail smirked. She was sure she knew what he was thinking about. The GREAT GAARA OF THE SAND had a moment of carnal weakness and he was trying to hide it. The more she looked at him, the more the temptation grew. He was stranded on a bed, helpless, hurt, in need of attention and as handsome as ever.

"Poor baby," she caught herself thinking.

She bit her lower lip, looking at his chest, partly bandaged and pictured her fingers lightly brushing over it. Last time's memories resurfaced and sent shivers up her neck. His demanding hands, his short breaths, his bronzed skin, his beautiful jade pleading eyes in the dark.

A few knocks on the door startled them.

"Hey Aby," Naruto whispered on the other side. "How's he doing?"

She looked towards Gaara who looked between her and the door.

"Aby?" Naruto repeated

He started to push the door open and Abigail quickly closed it back and locked it, puzzled by her own reaction.

"He's still sleeping!" she said in a quick beat.

Naruto looked at the closed door, puzzled. Why did she lock it?! He shrugged as if to say 'oh well' and went away.

Aby's eyes went back to the bed and slowly rose to Gaara, her fingers sliding off the door knob one by one.

They exchanged a glance and Gaara watched her making her way toward him, feeling his heart race again.

She climbed on the bed and kissed him, long and sweet. She broke away and looked into his longing eyes, feeling each quick breath on her face. God she wanted him.

"Gaara," she started to whisper, "I think I need a little bit of you again,"

He let his passion take over and kissed her back, his tongue looking for hers with a sudden insatiable hunger. In an attempt to quench it, he flexed his abs to get even closer, which resulted in another sharp pain in his chest. Abigail pulled away, concerned.

"Dammit! Naruto closed the wound, but the pain …"

Aby put a little pressure on his chest to try to ease the pain.

"Aby," he started, panting. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can …" he said before kissing her hard again.

She pulled away again and forced him to lay back and smiled.

"It's okay, let me try to take over for this one," she said with what she thought would be a sexy grin.


Sasuke read the piece of paper Sai had sent him.

"They're coming back already," he said to Sakura. "I didn't think it would be so fast, but that's good. We can take you back to Konoha faster this way."

"Not too fast I hope."

Sasuke looked at her, surprised.

"You want to stay here?"

"Yes and no. I want to go back home, but I don't like the idea of going through that," she said, pointing at the heavy snow.

"With a little luck, we'll leave on a clear day, but we can't escape the cold. It'll be about two days of cold and then it will get better. Maybe we can get something warm for you and Abigail," he said, remembering her struggle.

"Why did she want to come all the way here again?"

"To find some kind of acolyte. Some animal that's supposed to be helpful to her."

Sasuke had filled her on their mission and who Abigail was. Apparently she used to be aware of all that. She didn't remember, but somehow, it felt familiar. Like an old story in her memory.

She put a hand on her forehead to try and ease a thin headache. Sasuke, aware of this, suddenly turned around and rushed to her, his face very close to hers. She thought for a second that he was going to kiss her, but he put his hand on her forehead and felt the temp, then on his forehead, to compare both temperatures.

"Deja vu," she whispered.

"What?" he said, his hand still on her forehead.

"This feels like I've seen that before, you rushing to me and checking my head."

He searched her eyes with a frown. He never did that with anyone. In fact, it was the first time he was compelled to do that, concerned for her, this protective behavior. She was usually the one who always … ohhhhhhh.

He smiled, for the second time. Again, it gave her fuzzy feelings in her stomach. He had such a beautiful smile. He was already very handsome, but his smile brought her weak to her knees. She was working hard not to let it show. Why was that? Why didn't she want to let him know that he made her feel weak in the knees? She would understand with any other men, but for some reason, she thought it shouldn't matter with this one.

"You did that to me a long time ago," he explained. "You asked me if I was okay, I said that I felt dizzy, you turned around so fast and came to me and put your hand on my forehead to check my temp. You're a medic ninja, so that's your stuff." he paused and laughed. "You surprised me so much that I thought you were going to kiss me."

"You remember all that?" she asked.

"I guess I do," he answered after a pause.

"Why did you think I was going to kiss you?" she asked, looking up to him with her big bright green eyes.

It was happening again. He felt his heart skip a beat. Her hair looked so soft. He wanted to touch them.

She pushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear. The light, familiar cherry blossom sweet aroma of her pale skin reached him.

"... I don't know, I guess, you came very close to me, very fast ... You don't seem to have a fever," he said to try to change the subject.

"I thought that too," she said before he moved away.

"What?"

"I thought you were going to kiss me, just now."

"..."

"Why are we thinking about the same thing? What are you not telling me?"

"... I don't know."

"I think you do," she replied without losing a beat.

"... Sakura—"

"Do you know what I'm thinking about right now? Are you thinking about the same?"

"I want to kiss you," was his first thought. He couldn't move his eyes from hers. He didn't know what to answer. He felt cornered.

"I didn't know how to tell you," she said out of the blue. She waited for a reaction, but he only stared back at her. "I don't know the sense of it," she continued, "but this sentence just came to me with your picture in my head; 'I didn't know how to tell you'. Did you tell me this once, Sasuke?"

His heart beat hastened further. Like a magic spell, he was suddenly entranced. Everything around her was fuzzy. Her pure bright eyes were just staring into his, looking for an answer, for a clarification.

"I want to kiss you," he thought again.

"Yes, I did, a long time ago," he said, powerless.

"Why?"

"I was sick, you got angry, very angry. You asked me why I didn't tell you that I was sick." he replied, swallowing accumulated saliva

Sakura paused, nodding, as if she was starting to understand.

"What is it that you didn't know how to tell me, Sasuke?" she whispered with soft pink lips.

I want to kiss you, so, so bad …

He felt his legs weakened. His eyes were getting tired. But there was no way he would look away.

"Sasuke?"

He finally surrendered. And this time he wasn't sick. This time he had all his head. He didn't have any excuses for this behavior. And it felt … oh God. It felt as if he had been starving for a long, long time. It felt as if life was brought back to him. It felt like divine light exploded and swallowed the deepest of darkness.

She put her arms around his neck. Kissed him back. Kissed again. She could taste the colors of the rainbow. She could hear distant memories playing in her head, though she didn't quite know where they came from. She didn't know why she was crying, but she felt such peace overwhelm her.

Thank you, is what she thought. Thank you for this breath of life.

Sasuke brushed her hair with his only hand. He gently pulled her head as close as she could possibly be, kissing her, tasting her. He needed her. She was his. She had to be. God, she absolutely had to be!


Tori had removed her socks, lifted her pants and was now playing with the fish in the shallow part of the river. Toshiko and Matthew were experimenting how far they could throw the pebbles.

Sofia and Hazel were sitting on the blanket, a basket filled with sandwiches, fruits and juice boxes. Hazel was sipping a green tea, watching Matt showing Toshiko how to throw the rocks.

"You must be missing your matcha tea," observed Sofia.

"Nah … I got used to it," she said smiling. "You must be missing your teal hair," she said with a wink.

Sofia snorted. "A little," she lifted the tip of her ponytail. Only the tip of the recently cut hair remained a faded teal color. The rest from the roots was now brown. Just brown. A dull brown. She rolled her eyes and let the ponytail fall back behind her shoulders.

"I don't know what you find wrong with your hair; they're nice and shiny."

"They're boring," she answered.

"I don't think they are!" shouted Kankuro from the path behind them.

Sofia smiled and blushed, which was not unnoticed by Hazel. She looked back and forth between them.

"Hey Kangaroo!" Sofia said, "Haven't seen you in a while!" She felt giddy whenever he appeared, which wasn't often, since he was mostly in Suna. "What wind brought you here?"

Hazel watched her friend with a raised eyebrow.

"You know? Because he's from the Land of Wind? So 'what wind brought you here'?" Sofia tried to explain to her friend. "Oh forget about it."

"You know, just visiting my sis."

Sofia nodded.

"How have you been?" he asked her. "I mean all of you, how have you all been?" he added.

Hazel stood up and walked away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Sofia asked, pulling on her sleeve as she stood up.

"Nowhere honey, I just miss my man, gonna go throw rocks with them," she said smiling. "I'm good, thank you, you mind keeping her company for a few minutes?"

"Not at all! Although I do have a few errands to do but I'm sure I can spare a few minutes!"

"Awesome! It's nice to see you Kankuro!"

"Yeah, you too!"

He turned his gaze back to Sofia who was still smiling and sat beside her. They kept silent for a moment, looking for something to say. They had not seen each other a lot since that time, and everytime, they were never alone.

"So," he started, "how's your training?"

She took a small shuriken and threw it on an apple, splitting it open right in the center.

"It took me two weeks to be able to be that precise."

"Wow! You're a natural!"

"How long did it take you?"

"..."

"..."

"About two days, but still! It's impressive! I mean, I was practically born a ninja, you weren't! So yeah! That was very good!"

Sofia laughed out loud and took the shuriken and the apple back. She gave half of the apple to Kankuro and ate the other one.

"Seriously though," he said between two bites. "Your hair's nice like that."

"You really do prefer normal hair over colored hair?"

"Not particularly. I'm just saying you don't have to change anything to stand out."

She sighed. "I just like bright colors. Is that so wrong?"

He swallowed the apple and studied her.

"If it's so important to color your hair, why did you stop?"

She eyed him, puzzled. Didn't he criticize the way her hair looked? No … he actually did not, she realized. He noticed her hair, said she stood out, but he never actually said anything against it.

"It's not like you can't find places where to dye your hair!" he continued, seeing that she was lost in her thoughts.

"I just thought …"

"What?"

"I was under the impression that you …" she stopped herself before admitting her sudden realization. Did she actually agree to drop the color thing because she thought HE was against it? "... that people thought that girls with colored hair meant trouble."

He laughed. "Look around you! Half of the population has vibrant color hair! Half of the population are shinobis! You won't find anything more serious than a shinobi! Except maybe Naruto," he laughed at this last thought.

She eyed him, curious.

"You said I stood out with my teal hair."

"You did, it was pretty!"

He smiled when she blushed. She looked down, as if the red would go away if she looked away. He gently placed a strand of hair back behind her ear.

"You still stand out without the teal hair, is all I'm saying." He mirrored her smile, even if she would not look at him. "Any news from your friend yet?" he said to change the subject.

"Not yet," she answered.

"I'm sure she's fine," he shrugged.

She was not particularly worried; Abigail was in good hands, especially with the eyeliner guy and Naruto in the same team. She was more curious to see what she would bring back to Konoha.

She watched Hazel embrace Matthew from behind after he sent a pebble gliding a couple of times on the surface of the river. He put his arm around her while encouraging Toshiko as he threw his pebble who just landed in the water with a small flop.

"I'm wondering what she's gonna bring back from that trip."

"I'm wondering why she had to go all the way north for her pet!"

She laughed at the word "pet".

"It had to be a creature from the ice cold land! Hopefully it will not melt away when they get here!" he continued.

"If they succeed."

"Good point."

"You wanna go for a walk, Kangaroo?"

The sudden change of subject took him by surprise, but he stood up and offered a hand, which she took with a smile.

"Where to?"

"Eh, just follow the river, I guess,"

They did so, speaking about frivolous stuff, trying to mask the awkwardness between them. The river soon led them to the memorial where they took their time walking through. Sofia observed as Kankuro made a little salute towards the monument sheltering the long fallen shinobis; a salute she thought that must have been deeply rooted in his muscle memory.

"What was that you did just now?"

"Oh that? Just showing my respect. Something like a tradition, almost a superstition. You've got to honor the dead who fought for your country. Well, all countries"

For a second she thought he sounded just like an American. An American with a slight exotic accent.

"Do all shinobis do that?"

"Don't know. Probably not. We were taught from a young age, something that the Kazekage's family is expected to do. Although way back then, we'd only do that for our own people. Something I personally changed since the fourth great war."

"Right, the great war. I'm still not very familiar with that."

"All nations came together to defeat a common, powerful enemy. We would not be here today if all nations didn't join forces."

They kept walking in silence to the other side of the memorial ground, where they assumed the river would appear again. The small path within the forest was narrower, forcing them to draw closer to each other.

The trees finally gave way to the river, leaving the path even narrower. Sofia took the lead and decided to change course, crossing the river. She stepped over the two stones sticking out of the narrow river. Kankuro watched her perplexed.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

She made her way to a deep green bush, where she started picking up something.

"They look like berries; they smell good too!" she said, looking towards Kankuro who suddenly crossed the river, bouncing from a rock to the other side.

"HEY! DON'T EAT THAT!"

He reached her before she could put one in her mouth and studied him, puzzled.

"But, they smell like strawberries!"

"Do they look like strawberries to you?"

"Well…"

"Do they?!"

"No but,"

"Then don't be stupid and eat something that smells like something it's not! Baka!"

"Hey now! Don't be rude." she said, putting her hands on her waist.

He looked at the berries closely and shuddered.

"You almost got yourself a trip to the hospital. You're welcome! Unbelievable," he mumbled to himself. "What would you do without me!"

"Excuse me! I managed to survive for a whole month and a half without your presence!"

He spinned around with a puzzled face.

"How did you?!"

She grimaced and crossed back on the river rocks. Kankuro followed closely ang grabbed her hand when she slipped on the last rock, steadying her. She dared not look back to him to thank him, fearing he would have another snarky comment to say about her survival skills. Instead, she gave a grunt of frustration in her inability to save face and stepped back to the other side.

When she did look back, giving in to the curiosity, she only saw him grin. She pulled her tongue at him and faced back forward.

Kankuro rolled his eyes and took her hand, pulling toward the stone path going up, opposite the memorial ground. The trees created a wall that separated the cemetery from the Yamanaka clan region.

"If you're hungry, I know that little road stand that sells some dangos. They're more like mochis but satisfying if you're into sweet stuff."

"How do you know? You don't even live here!"

"I've been around a few times."

He bought two skewers and led them back to the path they were taken back.

Sofia took a mouthful and was reminded slightly of the fruit snack they had with Temari way back when. She stopped in her tracks.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I just realized … it feels like I've been here for such a long time. I'm used to Konoha now. It's just …"

He tilted his head, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

"It's hard to believe I'll be leaving eventually, to go back home. My home."

"Don't you want to?"

She paused for a moment, frowning. "Of course! I miss my family …"

"Is that it?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she kept walking. Was that all she missed? Yet, her heart was beating hard. The thought of going back, made her heart ache.

"Look I'm sorry," he said out of the blue while they were walking. He threw the napkin in a waste basket a few meters away. "I've been a little harsh. I just can't help it. To me it's stupid that people fall for traps like that, when it could so easily be avoided! Look, rule of thumb: very simple. Don't touch berries you don't know! Especially when they smell something there not!"

She looked at him and smiled at his comical mime.

"Strawberry smells like a strawberry? Good. Weird wild berry smelling like strawberry? BAD! Very bad! Hospital bad!"

"OK, OK," she said laughing. "I'll stay clear of wild berries altogether."

"Wisest decision I've heard you say! That should keep you alive for an extra 2 months."

He removed his hat and uncovered a full set of wet hair.

"Damn it's hot!"

It wasn't that hot. Suna was way hotter. She knew he was probably just trying to find something to say before it became awkward again.

"I don't think I ever saw you without your hat before …"

He looked at her and she blushed by her own comment. Yes she had! In fact, last time she saw him without the hat, he was also without makeup and without a shirt and without …

She looked down, realizing for the first time what she would be missing the most.

"I miss my family," she started, "but if I leave, I'll be missing much more."

He nodded and started walking again.

"Are we gonna talk about it?" she suddenly asked.

Kankuro sighed.

"Look, we can pretend all we want, it's not going away," she added.

"I was hoping it would."

"Why?" she asked.

"I'm the last person you want to be with,"

"No you're not. Don't decide for me who I want to be with and not."

"You need someone steady for a change."

"Well! Look who's deciding what's best for me!"

He turned around to face her.

"I told you not to fall for me."

"Again, don't tell me who I want to be with and not. Beside it's not like I had a choice! I can't deny my feelings for you!" She remembered what Abigail said to Akio some time ago. "It's not a switch! I can't turn those feelings off like a robot!"

"You can be smart about it before it happens, though!"

He paused, seeing that she was puzzled, before continuing.

"You know you have to leave eventually! What good will that do to us then?"

"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?"

Now it was Kankuro who was gobsmacked. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find any words. He turned his face away with another sigh.

"Kankuro," she said while walking to him. She laced her fingers with his, relieved that he did not attempt to remove it. "I'd rather spend a few real moments with someone real then denying me these moments, in the hope that I'll find it later in my life. Don't you?"

Kankuro looked in her eyes with a hint of surprise. It was the first time that she referred to him as someone real.

"Well, when you put it like that," he said with a gentle smile. He brought her hand to his lips and frowned when she smiled back. "Wait … what's your name again?"

She jerked her hand free and punched his shoulder, her mouth wide open in consternation. He backed away three steps and grinned, massaging his shoulder.

"You don't deserve this hand," she said, displaying her hand with her fingers spread out.

"What?" he chuckled, "I've got many girls at the moment, the least I can do is call you by the right name!"

She gave him the finger without even turning around. She shook her head and couldn't contain a chuckle, knowing he was just teasing her.

"You're such a jerk, Kankuro!" she said with a grin, rolling her eyes. He caught up to her and pulled her back by the hand.

He planted a soft kiss on her lips, which made her flush and weak in the knees, moved with emotion flowing between them.

She tenderly brushed her forehead against his cheek when he broke away.

"I just love when you call me by my name," he whispered.

The sound of twigs cracking a few meters from them suddenly caught their attention. They both turned toward the sound at the same time, but didn't see anyone there.

"What the …"

Kankuro broke away from Sofia to investigate the area. Sofia stood on her guard, looking around. It could have been anyone, but the fact that the sound didn't come with a person made her uneasy.

"It was probably an animal," Kankuro said, rather unconvinced. The cracking was pretty loud. If it was an animal, it would have been a big one, and yet, there was no creature in sight beside squirrels.

He joined Sofia's side with a reassuring smile. "Probably just a squirrel."

"Some squirrel," she said.

They walked back towards the picnic place, where they left Hazel, Matthew and the children. Sofia couldn't smile. The glee she felt while being with Kankuro was robbed by the incessant feeling that they were being watched. She kept close to Kankuro who smiled as if nothing was amiss. But his composure was stiff and on high alert.


The Tick Tock of the simple wooden clock on the wall was interrupted by the 3rd hour gong echoing in the room.

Akio turned the page of the old grimoire he had been reading for a few weeks now. It was not something easy to read. It was definitely made for the Grand Gatekeepers. Perhaps a council? The yellowed pages were crumbling under his fingers and he found it hard to keep them whole. He turned the pages one by one with his fingertips, ever so gently; discovering some illegible pages where the ink was smudged over the years.

Some of the letters seemed to have been an old writing, lost to common knowledge. The drawings were some clues of the message the pages had to deliver. Many uncommon creatures were featured, but none of them were indicating an official "companion" for the Grand Gatekeeper. Unless … all of them were suggested as possible companions? Some looked like known animals; canines, reptiles, rodents; some others were more like something coming from outer space. One of them was like some sort of "jelly blob". He would have thought it would have been just some unusual "goo" if it was not part of all the creatures advertised in this grimoire.

He'd been shuddering at the thought that those varied creatures were roaming the earth, unnoticed. Perhaps those Grand Gatekeepers were tasked to keep them at bay?

At this time, he was studying some sort of staff. A humanoid shape was holding it in a casual way, one end resting on the floor, the other about a feet above the head, slightly tilted. The shape was smudged, giving it the illusion of being a creature made of smoke, but the next page had it with more detail.

The Staff had some druid vibes to it; It's wooden end had four branches sprouting on one side. The top was curved inward, in an incomplete circle. Within the circle, a rock or gem seemed to be floating.

This was not the only one. Several other pages had some different types of staff. One had a spiral at the upper end. One had the tip shaped like a hollow diamond. All of them had some sort of stone within them.

He took a break and laid back in his chair. He couldn't recall seeing any of these staff, or any animal sidekicks for that matter. In fact, he was pretty much in the dark when it came to anything that was considered higher than his own position as a gatekeeper.

"And I thought I was cool!" he thought, grinning.

He had realized for some time now that, contrary to what he first believed, he had only a small position in this whole keeper business. And the more he looked into that book, the more he was humbled.

A knock at the door brought him out of his wonders.

"Come in."

Kakashi opened the door and let himself in.

"I hope I'm not …"

"Oh no. I need a break from … all of this," he answered, waving his hand toward the grimoire.

Kakashi grinned behind his mask and sat on the other side of the small table.

"So do I! I thought I'd come to check on ya!"

"The honor! I could've come to you if you would've summoned me!"

"Nah … I needed a little walk. In fact, I'm planning on going for some ramen after. I'm afraid Naruto is rubbing off on me."

Akio laughed.

"So, are you making any progress in your research?

"Mmm, not really. I see many things, but I can't figure out where and how to get those."

"Well, time will tell. On the bright side, I've received a note from Sai! They have found Sakura! Or rather, Sakura found them."

Akio straightened himself on his chair, curious.

"Was she … did she …"

"Oh not much was said. Only that she was in a bad shape and Sasuke was staying behind with her while the others went on. Sai mentioned that they had "fixed" her. Whatever that meant … I just hope she's OK."

"I'm sure she is," Akio said. "Wait … she followed them all the way there? That means that she must have been here all this time before they departed."

Kakashi's hidden face became serious.

"Yeah. It probably means that whoever was controlling her was also here. I'm wondering if he has been following them as well, or if he's still here somewhere.