I woke up, ate breakfast that was waiting for me and was told to go for a run with my teammates. We had twenty laps to finish, we were working on speed today, not endurance. Which meant we had a time limit. I was finally getting to the point where I could run twenty laps without feeling like I was dying, now I had to do it in less than two hours! This was going to hurt.

When we were done, Baki-sensei left instructions for us to work on some of the techniques inside a scroll given to us by the Desk shinobi. These techniques were primarily stealth and sneak techniques, mostly ways to silence your steps, hide your chakra and other skills that would be needed by someone gathering intelligence.

"Why do we need these?" Amagi asked.

"That should not be the question you ask yourself," Hideo said.

"Oh really? And what questions should I ask?"

"How will we be tested on these techniques."

I groan, "It is going to be bad, isn't it?" I asked the Desk Shinobi.

The unhelpful woman just smiled and went back to her paperwork.

"Does this mean we are not doing missions today?" Amagi asked.

"What is our count?" I asked.

"Fifteen," Hideo answered.

I smile, "Only five more and we can start doing C-ranks, which means we can leave the village."

"And that is where the hard work will begin," the Desk shinobi told us.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Easy, so far all of your training has been to increase your endurance and to work on your chakra control. You have been working on simple ways to disguise yourself during a mission. Which means someone wants to train you to be in Intelligence and not Interrogation. That means that you will have to act like you have no skills, all the while having massive amounts of chakra, control and jutsus in your arsenal."

I frown, "You really think that is what is going on?"

The Desk Shinobi grinned, "I do. I have been doing this a long time, the training is all the same, although they don't normally have you go through so many missions at one time."

"Oh that is my fault," I said. "I want to make chūnin as quickly as possible. Since I am the youngest and least experienced of everyone, I am rushing to get as much experience as possible. I don't want to be a burden to my team." Hideo and Amagi kept their faces blank, not betraying the slight surprise I saw flash through their eyes when I started talking.

"That is a good thought, Tsukio. But most genin don't make chūnin on their first try," the Desk Shinobi said gently.

I nod, "I know, but I still want to try."

Hideo grabbed my arm and pulled me into the hallway, up the stairs and into our classroom.

The three of us sat around the scroll and started reading it. We read through it together, we read through it separately. We read it out loud. We read through it slowly.

I stood up and sighed, "This is hard!" I complained.

Hideo nodded, "It isn't supposed to be easy."

"Well I was hoping that at least one of us could do at least one of the new techniques, that way we would have a snowball's chance in Suna to complete the test!" I complained.

Amagi smiled, "How about we each choose one, and try to complete it?"

"Fine." I say.

"I'll take silent walking," Hideo called out.

"I'll take enhanced listening," Amagi said.

I sighed, "I guess that means I get chakra concealment."

"Cheer up, Tsukio, at least we are not babysitting today." Hideo said.

I did perk up at that thought. It had been two days and already I was sick of Yamanaka's complaining about the heat. Akimichi's complaint about the lack of decent barbeque restaurants, and how would he know? He has only been in Suna for two days. TWO DAYS! Nara wasn't annoying because mostly he kept quiet.

"When do you think Yamanaka is going to ask you to go shopping with her, so she has something to wear during the festival?" Hideo asked.

"Whenever she remembers that the festival is going to happen," I reply, looking over the requirements of chakra concealment.

There aren't any hand signs, there isn't any specifics on how to do it. There are lots of theories on how to get it done. Thinking of your chakra as a blanket and wrapping it around you. Or concentrating on tucking all of your chakra away, like you do when braiding your hair. Or my personal favorite, thinking of your chakra like a second skin and you cover it up like you would getting dressed. Whoever made this scroll was either drunk or had a failed career as a poet.

The first thing we learned at the Academy was how to feel our chakra, so first I would try pushing my chakra to cover my skin. If I can do one, then I can do the opposite, right? I concentrated, I could feel my chakra growing, similar to when I focus it into my hands or feet.

I don't know what it feels like for other people, but my chakra feels like the warm wind of the desert. It can be harsh and painful when I am angry, or it can be a calm and comforting breeze. At the moment, it was warm and moderate breeze. I could feel the potential power behind the wind, but it wasn't tipping into dangerous yet. I could feel my chakra covering my entire body. Okay, now to try and conceal it.

I focused on taking all of my chakra and tucking it into a box. Making the box large enough to fit my largest cloak in. In theory it should be easy, I made it grow, I should be able to shrink it, right?

Have you tried to contain wind? It doesn't work well. I continued to work with that idea, making the box bigger. Then making the box smaller. I also tried picturing a box big enough for me to stand in and then shrinking the box with my chakra inside it. I think that was my most successful attempt.

After about two hours of working steadily, I took a small break and asked a question that just popped into my head, "Hey guys, how will we know when we mastered these techniques?"

Hideo looks down at me from the ceiling where he has been practicing his silent walking, which is harder than you think. "Well I would think it is one of those ideas where we know it when we get it."

I sigh, "So you don't know either?"

"Would you two stop yelling?" Amagi whispered from across the room.

"Huh?" I asked.

"We are not yelling, we are talking at a reasonable, even lower than normal level." Hideo said.

Amagi's eyes widened and he whispered, "So you mean I got it?"

"Can you turn it off?" Hideo whispered.

Amagi was silent for a minute his eyebrows still furrowed in concentration. His features a little pinched as he focused on something. Then he nodded, "Say something."

"Hey Amagi, did you turn off your enhanced hearing?" Hideo asked at a normal voice level.

Amagi gave us a grin that lit up his face, "I did!"

"Hurray! Now how did you do it?" Hideo asked, dropping from the ceiling, twisting in the air and landing on his feet.

"Of course," Amagi started to say.

Before Amagi could finish, the door opened and Baki-sensei walked in. "How are those techniques working out?"

"Not great," I say.

"We divided the techniques up, one for each of us to work on," Hideo says his back straightening until he is close to attention, "I am working on the Silent Walking technique, Tsukio is working on Chakra Concealment and Amagi is working on Enhanced Listening. Amagi was able to complete the technique and cancel the technique just before you walked in." Hideo finished the report without changing his voice.

"Very good. You can continue to work on them later. Right now, the Konoha shinobi have asked you for a friendly spar," Baki said.

I frowned, "What do they mean by a friendly spar?"

"I guess their sensei saw something in your training session that he liked and he suggested to Lord Kankuro that it might be fun to see the two teams spar, since both of you have good teamwork."

I glance at Hideo and Amagi, "How is everyone doing on chakra? I will need to eat and rest before I'm back at full."

"I could use some food and rest," Hideo replied.

"Me too," Amagi called.

Baki-sensei nodded, "We can schedule to sparring session for just before sundown."

The three of us nod.

"Now I want you three to rest up, and learn what you can about your opponents."

"Yes Baki-sensei."

Baki-sensei nodded, "To start you off, this team competed in the chūnin exams held in Konoha a year ago. There was only one Suna team who was able to watch them fight, in fact one member of that team actually fought this Konoha team."

"Did that team see the whole Konoha team fight?" Hideo asked.

Baki just nodded and walked out of the room.

"Well it looks like we get to practice some Intelligence gathering now," I sighed.

"It could be worse," Amagi said.

I rolled my eyes, "How so?"

"We could have to dig through the previous records to figure out who was on that genin team," Amagi replied.

"Oh really? And you know who was on that team?" I asked.

"Of course, it is the infamous Sand Siblings," Amagi said with a smug smile.

"So how did you want to get our information?" Hideo asked.

"We could hurry and ask Lord Kankuro or Lady Temari," Amagi replied, "Or of course we could practice our information gathering skills and see if we can get one of the Konoha shinobi to talk."

"Why don't we do both?" Hideo asked.

"It would make it more difficult, but also would increase our success rate," I said.

"Good, then Amagi and I will take Lord Kankuro and Lady Temari and you will take Yamanaka," Hideo said, as he walked towards the door.

"Wait! What?" I yelled.

"Good plan," Amagi said as he followed Hideo out the door.

"I hate you both!" I yelled at the closed door. "Why me?" I ask the empty room.

I tuck the forgotten scroll into my belt and walk out the door to go find an outfit that says I just want to spend some time with a girl and go shopping and gossip. Maybe Mother would have an idea. I make my way to the merchant apartments and glance in the door to see if Mother is there. Since she is, I walk in.

"Hello Mother," I say, walking up and leaning on the counter.

Mother straightens up and smiles at me, "Hello Tsukio, what brings you here so early? I thought for sure that you and your teammates would be busy training."

"We would be, but the boys have another mission to do, so I am left by myself," I sigh, might as well lay the groundwork for getting to spend time with Yamanaka.

"Oh? Normally you would be training by yourself," Mother said, she knows me so well.

I grin, "I will once the sun is higher, I need to practice running in the hottest time of the day."

Mother sighs, "Make sure you have plenty of water."

"I will, Mother," I tilt my head towards the stairs, did I hear a noise? "Since I had some free time, I thought I would be helpful and see if our guests needed anything. However I am hoping they don't because then I could go shopping for a new dress for the festival."

Mother frowned, she knows how much I hate shopping.

Before she could say anything, I put my finger to my lips, "I need to go and put my robes on, I don't want to go shopping in my training clothes," I say.

I walk over to my room and pull on the robe I wore the first day the Konoha shinobi came. I made sure to take my braids out and my hair was brushed and pulled over my shoulders. I put on a little bit of pink lipstick and some extra lotion on my hands before deciding I looked ready for a day of shopping. I changed my shinobi boots for a pair of comfortable, but still functional in a pinch, soft leather shoes. Frowning, I looked in the mirror, I looked the part, but I was wearing my normal clothes under my robe. Should I worry about it? Would it look better if I was wearing more civilian looking clothes?

I shook my head, it doesn't matter what I'm wearing under my robe, all anyone would see is my robe and the shoes I put on. I straightened my back and pulled my shoulders back. Time to go and ask Yamanaka if she wanted to go shopping. Hopefully the boys wouldn't want to go.

Mother was standing at the counter with Yamanaka who was waving her hands as something she was saying. Mother just smiled and nodded. Her smile grew when she saw me and waved me forward.

"Good, you are ready, Tsukio. Yamanaka-san was just telling me that she had nothing to wear to the festival at the end of the week. It is lucky that you were just telling me that you wanted to go shopping," Mother said.

I smothered a grin, my Mother was really smart, "It is most fortunate indeed. Yamanaka-san, would you like to join me in a shopping trip to the bazaar? The merchants will have only their best and finest festival clothes on display right now."

Yamanaka grinned, it had a slight unhinged quality to it and nodded, "I would love to go shopping with you."

"Wonderful! Are you ready to go now? Or do you need a little bit to get ready?" I studied Yamanaka, her hair was flatter than it was when we went to dinner, I could see the tracks of sweat in the slight dirt from where she must have wiped her hands across her face to clear the sweat. I watched as her eyes narrowed slightly at me and she took my appearance in. I knew I lacked the sweat and I smelled fresh, my hair was freshly brushed and fell loosely around my shoulders. My cheeks had a hint of pink from excitement. In other words, I looked fresh and clean, while she bore signs of being outside in the heat and not handling it well.

"I just need a minute to freshen up," Yamanaka decided and walked up the stairs.

"I'll wait right here for you," I called after her.

Waiting until we both heard the distinct click of the door closing, Mother looked at me, "What is really going on? You hate shopping and you hate wearing makeup."

I smile at her, "I am helping a guest, who happens to think she is going to get one up on me. I am sure she is convinced that I have no idea about the spar we are supposed to have later this evening. Did she ask about my teammates?"

"When I told her that you were just here saying you wanted to go shopping, she asked why you were not training with your teammates," Mother paused and looked at me, "Did I say too much?"

I nodded, grateful I didn't tell Mother the whole truth, "That's okay, Mother, she was bound to ask anyway. No you didn't say too much, hopefully it was just enough."

"Do you know what you are doing?" Mother asked.

"I hope so, or else I am going to spend the afternoon with Yamanaka, shopping," I said the last word with complete disgust in my voice and a shiver down my spine.

Mother grinned, "It could be worse, my daughter, at least you are going shopping with a fellow shinobi and not a noble woman."

My mouth fell open in horror at the thought, "Have you done that before?"

"Of course, sometimes your father needs me to distract the wife while he conducts business."

I laughed, "Sounds like Father. I just hope I am as successful as you are."

Yamanaka walked down the stairs, her hair freshly brushed and pulled back into a high ponytail. Her face was clean of all dirt and sweat and she was wearing a fresh purple shirt and skirt with a pair of black shorts under it.

I paste a friendly smile on my face, wave to Mother and walk out of the building. Yamanaka followed me for a few steps before moving up next to me.

"So where are your teammates?" She asked.

I shrug, "They were given a mission that I am not qualified for, so it probably had to do with their rooms or the sand baths."

"Sand baths?"

I glance over at her and nod, "A sand bath is where you are buried in volcanically heated sand, it is supposed to be very relaxing, similar to a soak in a hot spring."

Yamanaka looked confused, "How can being buried in the sand be the same as soaking in a nice hot pool of water?"

"I'm told that the warm steam created by the sand has a therapeutic quality to it. I know that many who are injured swear by the healing effects."

"Hmm, I might have to try them out while I'm here."

"I will be happy to show you the way," while we were talking, I quickly made my way over to the bazaar. I waved or nodded to the merchants I knew. I walked through the main area, passing the different food and goods vendors, looking for a specific merchant. After a minute of looking, I walked over to the nearest merchant and asked, "Do you know where Ai set up?"

The merchant smiled, "Near the end of the inside row, close to the purple fruit stand."

I smile back, bowing my head slightly, "Thank you."

When we were out of earshot, Yamanaka looked at me, "How do you know all of these people?"

I glanced at her, "My Father is one of the more prominent members of the merchant's guild. Most people know my family."

"The Merchant's Guild?"

"It is a group of merchants that meet to discuss different issues that affect merchants, both those who call Suna their home and those who travel to and from Suna. This group also meets with the Council of Elders to discuss important matters concerning the city. Do you not have something like this in Konoha?"

"I don't know, my clan is made of mostly shinobi and those that are civilians work in our family store."

"Oh, what type of store is your family store?" I asked, just making polite conversation, of course.

"We own Yamanaka Flowers."

"So you must know a lot about flowers then, huh?" I asked.

"I know everything about flowers," she replied.

"Maybe you would like to see our greenhouses before you leave. I am sure it is nothing like what you have in Konoha, but we are very proud of the plants we are able to cultivate in the desert."

"I might have time to go and look."

I walk past the fruit stand that is painted purple, displayed was some of the more exotic fruits, such as cactus fruit and something called a star fruit, which is yummy by the way. I smiled at the merchant at the fruit stand.

"Fresh star fruit, Tsukio, did you want some?"

"Maybe after I am done with the rest of my shopping," I tell him.

"I'll save my best fruit for you then."

"Thank you," I say as I walk over to Ai's stand.

"I'll be right with you!" A husky female voice called out as I rang a small bell on the counter of the stand. A few minutes later, a short woman with gray hair walked out of the back. She was wearing the traditional Suna robes, but her's were not brown, but green. Her hair was down and pulled over her shoulders, just like mine was at the moment and her brown eyes lit up when she saw me. "Tsukio! What a surprise! I didn't expect to see you. Have you come looking for a gift for your friend?"

I smile, "No Grandmother Ai. I am here with a guest of our Lord Kazekage and we are looking for some festival clothes. I knew if we came here, you would not let us down."

Ai's eyes flickered to Yamanaka when I said she was a guest of Lord Kazekage, and while truthful, it also served as a warning that this visit is closely monitored. Ai put her salesman smile on her face, "Of course, anyone who is a guest of Lord Kazekage is most welcome to my humble establishment. I am only at this stand during festival times, so more people can find me."

"I normally go to Ai's shop to order my clothes, but she makes some very special items for festivals that are only available when she opens this stand," I confirm before leaning over the counter a little, "What do you have for me?"

Ai looked at Yamanaka first then at me, she held up a finger and walked into the back again. A few minutes later, she walked back out and had an arm full of fabrics. She set them on the counter in front of us and held up a short kimono type dress, it was sleeveless with a deep v neck, a skirt that would only reach mid thigh and slits halfway up the skirt. It was a deep dark blue in color, with silver trim. The slight variations in the dark blue mirrored the night sky, with the silver looking very similar to the moon and stars. Ai moved the dress over to the side and held up a long skirt made out of the same dark blue material, this time it was trimmed in a deep gold color, more like the sun reflected off the sand. The blue looked more like the deep waters of an oasis. She set that over next to the dress. Next came a dark pink dress, this was also sleeveless, it had a high neck and would end at the knee. It had long slits up the sides of the skirt of the dress ending just below the midpoint between midthigh and the top of the thigh. The dark pink had a delicate light pink pattern of flowers.

The next outfit was a skirt and shirt combo, the top was a fitted tank top with large buttons up the front and the skirt was a simple a-line skirt with enough of a flare to not need any slits for movement. What made this outfit stand out was the colors. It was a swirl of different shades of purple and gold. The swirls were random, but it all created a beautiful mesh of color and pattern. After setting that outfit to the side, Ai held up a long black dress, it was an off the shoulder knee length dress. With long sleeves, this dress looked to be the simplest dress Ai had shown them, that was until Ai shook the dress. I was pleasantly surprised to see the skirt of the dress wasn't attached at the right side and when it moved, a vibrant mixture of different shades of red peek out from the exposed underside of fabric.

Yamanaka gasped at the shock of color and reached out to touch the dress.

Ai smiled, "I have this same dress in different colors, however none are as dramatic as this one. But for you girls, I think less dramatic would be better." Having finished showing us the clothing Ai thought would work for us, she went back into the hidden part of the stand and came back with different colors of the last dress. After studying Yamanaka, Ai started to shuffle through her selection. "Ah, here we are, for you, honored guest of our Lord Kazekage, I think staying with the purple you prefer is a good option." Ai held up a dark purple dress and held the skirt out and showed the different light purple and lavender hidden by the skirt.

Yamanaka grinned and held her hands, once she had the dress, she held it up to her shoulders, and squealed, "This will look perfect on me, don't you think?"

I gave her dress a critical look, "I think the colors suit you well, however before I can tell if the dress will work, you should try it on."

Ai nodded, "Of course, Tsukio. Your mother has taught you well. This way, honored guest, I have a small curtained area for you to use." Ai motioned Yamanaka to follow and took her to a much smaller curtain that was hung up in the corner of the stand. Yamanaka walked behind the curtain and Ai came back to me. "Did you see something you liked?"

I grinned, "You knew I would love the first dress you pulled out, which is why you put it on top."

"Of course, child. I haven't helped you dress for festivals for years without knowing what you would like. Besides, I think the festival is always a good time to change things up."

I laughed, "You and Matsuri, always trying to get me into some blue, I don't understand why, pink is a perfectly acceptable color for me."

"Yes it is, but you were named after the moon, why not embrace that?"

"Because everyone expects me to?"

Ai laughed, "Of course, you have always been a contrary child. Why make things easier for the rest of us?"

I picked up the first dress and shook it slightly, I noticed that it was sized perfectly for me, I raised my gaze to stare at Ai, a small suspicion blooming in my mind, "Grandmother Ai, did you make this especially for me?"

Ai gave me a large grin, knowing she had been caught she just grinned at me.

I sighed, "You and Matsuri."

Yamanaka walked out from behind the curtain, "What do you think?"

Ai and I walked over to her, the dress was a little long, it reached about two inches below her knee, and the top needed to be smaller so she wouldn't have to worry about showing something she wouldn't want to show.

Ai picked up her pincushion and started to pinch fabric and pin it, "Just a few minor adjustments will be needed," kneeling down, Ai started to fold the fabric up to make the skirt shorter, "I can have the adjustments completed by the end of the day."

I nod, "I think with the small adjustments, this will be a beautiful festival dress, Yamanaka-san. However you will need some different shoes to go with it."

Yamanaka looked down at her sandals, "What would you recommend?"

"Hmm," I tap my lower lip with my finger and think, "Something with a small heel, I think. Maybe something with an open toe, since it is for the festival and open toes are always a good way to say you are not on duty."

"I'm not sure," Yamanaka said.

"Oh I think a small heel would be wonderful, something with lots of straps to keep the shoe on your foot." Ai chimed in.

"It wouldn't hurt to look," I finish.

"True," Yamanaka stretched the word out.

"Wonderful, then after you get changed, we can look for some shoes."

"Wait!" Yamanaka cried out, "What about your outfit?"

"Oh," I turn and grab the dress Ai made for me, "I am going to get this one."

"Well try it on at least," Yamanaka said.

"After you change, Grandmother Ai only has one changing area," I say, trying to lighten my tone and hopefully add a teasing lilt to it.

Not sure if I succeeded or not, but Yamanaka walked back into the changing area.

I quickly look at the dress, trying to figure out a way to make it look like it wasn't made for me. I found a small string near the bottom hem and pulled out a kunai hidden in the sleeve of my robe and quickly cut a couple more strings and with a swift tug, the hem fell down.

"What?" Ai asked before I quickly put my finger over her lips.

As the curtain shifted, I tucked the kunai back into my sleeve and took the dress into the changing room. I rushed pulling my clothes off, leaving my chest bound and the mesh armor on. I slowly moved the dress over my head and had to carefully pull it down to cover me. I then took the belt and tied it around my waist. I came out pulling at the hem and tugging at the neckline. "Grandmother Ai, I think you will need to do something about the neckline, it is a little low for me."

Ai nodded and pulled out her pincushion again and started with the hem and worked her way up to the neck. "The neck seems fine."

"It won't be once I unbind my chest."

"Ah that is true, you will want a much higher neckline then. I can do that and get your friend's dress completed also."

I smiled, nodded and once Ai was finished, I walked back into the changing area and quickly pulled the dress over my head and put my clothes back on. A quick finger to comb my hair and I was ready again. I walked out, handed Ai my dress and smiled at Yamanaka.

"I will see you two before closing, right?" Ai leveled a glare at us.

"Of course, honored grandmother," I replied.

Ai laughed and waved us away.

I walked out of the small stand area and once Yamanaka was with me I walked further into the bazaar, looking for one of the more permanent businesses there. I glanced at Yamanaka from the side of my eye and asked, "My teammate said you have already participated in a chūnin exam, is that how Nara-san was promoted?"

Yamanaka nodded, "I'm not sure why he was made chūnin, I was told it was because Shikamaru showed strategic thinking. But you know he did beat Temari, at least until he gave up."

"He beat Lady Temari?" I asked, not having to fake the surprise in my voice.

Yamanaka nodded enthusiastically, her hair bouncing as she did, "But he did give up in the end, so I'm not sure that counts."

"But to beat Lady Temari is a huge accomplishment. She is one of our strongest kunoichi in Suna. Nara-san must be very strong."

"He might be strong, but he is also very lazy, he wants to do nothing but watch clouds all the time."

"Oh?" I paused thoughtfully, "Maybe he would like to watch the stars while he is here. Hideo says it is very relaxing to do from the cliffs."

"Is Hideo lazy too?"

"I wouldn't call him lazy, he just likes to get things done with the least amount of effort." I say.

"And what about your other teammate?"

I sent a quick prayer asking my ancestors for forgiveness for lying to an ally and said, "Amagi has a quick temper and doesn't like me very much," I shrug, "You see I'm younger than both Hideo and Amagi, so they are not happy with the fact that I am on their team."

"But you three were able to spar just fine the other day," Yamanaka asked, looking confused, if it wasn't for the gleam in her eye, I would have been fooled.

I shrug, "Baki-sensei was there, and this is our only shot at being able to take the chūnin exams, so we have to get along." I stopped at a small shop with some shoes on display, "What about your team?"

"What about them?"

"Have you known each other long? Do they like you? Do they like each other?" I held up a simple black slip on with a small heel and a little bit of a shine along the straps over the bridge of the foot. "What do you think of this one?"

Yamanaka picked the shoe up and looked at it, "I'm not sure that is fancy enough for the dress."

"Of course," I took the shoe from Yamanaka and set it back on the rack, "So what about your team?"

"Huh?" Yamanaka asked, looking over her shoulder to the shoe, "Oh, yeah. So me, Shikamaru and Choji have known each other forever! Our parents are friends and we practically grew up together."

"Oh that must be nice, to be on a team with people you know that well," I said.

"It can be, but most of the time, it is like being on a team with two brothers who don't want to do anything! I mean Choji wants to eat all the time and Shikamaru just wants to nap, I mean what kind of shinobi wants to eat and sleep all the time?"

I made an appropriate sympathy noise. I still need to know what they do! Or at least something to be able to use against them. I will not fail this mission!

"Besides, it isn't like they hate me or anything, after all, we are the newest Ino-Shika-Cho formation, so we have to be on the same team."

"Ino-Shika-Cho?" I asked, the name sounding very familiar from the history books, something about a permanent team. One specialized in information gathering, one in some sort of possession and I don't remember what the last one did.

"That is what our father's called themselves and what we are called now too. Our jutsus work very well together so it works for us."

"I think I remember reading something like that in the history books, something about a family and their permanent teams?"

Yamanaka frowned, "Well I guess you could say it is like that, our father's don't go out on missions like they used to, but that could also be because they are old, but when they do, they normally go out together."

"That must be nice, in Suna we usually only get onto teams just before the chūnin exams, since a genin team is entered into the exams."

"Really?" Yamanaka asked.

I stop and look at some more shoes, I pick up a black shoe with lots of straps across the top and a small buckle at the ankle to keep the shoe on. It was a matte black with a single flowered jewel at the center of the shoe, where all the straps would meet. "This is pretty," I hold it up so she can see.

"Ohh, it is! I wonder if it comes in my size."

I take the shoe from her and knock on the counter, "Pardon me, we have a question."

A young man walked out holding a small glass of tea and smiled when he saw me. He set the tea down and bowed his head in my direction, "I will answer any question you have for me, Tsukio. How is your father doing?"

I turn to Yamanaka, "We were wondering if this comes in size..?" I pause.

"Six," Yamanaka said with a smile and a flip of her hair. I don't roll my eyes at her attempts at flirting, at least that is what I think she is trying to do.

"A size six. My father is due home from the capital before the festival starts. I am told he is bringing something special for Mother."

The young man's eyes lit up at this small piece of gossip I give him, "Let me see if we have it. I am almost positive that we do, but let me double check. While I look, please let me know if you see anything else that catches your eye."

"Of course," I give him a small shy smile and laugh inside as his cheeks turn pink and his ears turn red. Then he ducks his head and moves to the closed area of the stand.

"I think he likes you," Yamanaka said in a sing song voice.

"I doubt it," I shrug again, at this point I am used to boys acting like this around me, this is why I prefer to walk around with my forehead protector firmly around my head, so that people look at the Sunagakure symbol and not at a pretty face, or worse, my father's position. "Do you and your team practice your throwing like we do?"

Yamanaka grimaced, "No, we don't spar like that where we can get that hurt. Right now we are working on our combined jutsus, which means running a lot of simulations on different ways to be able to do our thing."

I nod, "If you three are stronger as a team, then it makes sense to perfect your combined jutsu. Since I am newly graduated from the Academy, I have a lot of catching up to do to my teammates."

Yamanaka grinned at me, "You are a new genin? I remember that time, I had a hard time getting Shika and Choji to do anything! Also everything was much harder than at the Academy."

I nodded, "Yes, things are more difficult, but then again, I only have to worry about bandits and rogues trying to kill me, which means I am fairly safe in the village. Unlike when I was a fresh Academy student. Thankfully, Lord Kazekage has changed the Academy structure so it is less kill or be killed and more similar to a civilian Academy." I said another prayer for telling a lie against Lord Kazekage.

Although, if you look at it, the Academy has gotten much safer since Lord Gaara became Kazekage, it is still hard, but fewer students are killed, so that must be a good thing… Right?

"Kill or be killed?" Yamanaka asked, horrified.

"I guess that would be the best way of putting it, being a shinobi is not a safe profession, and it is important to ensure that the village doesn't waste resources on something that isn't going to work." I frown at her expression, "I did say it was better now, right? Lord Kazekage has brought many changes to the Academy and we are having more graduates than ever before."

"Here they are! I also brought a six and a half, because this shoe can be a little on the small side," the young man sang out as he walked out from the back room.

I smile at him, "Wonderful!"

The young man pointed to a small stool next to the shoe rack, "Sit and let's see how they fit."

Yamanaka sat down and pulled her shinobi sandals off and the young man gently placed the shoe on her foot. He then reached around the back of her foot and gently bucked the shoe, Yamanaka held her foot and started to twist it, looking at it from many different angles.

"What do you think?" she asked, looking up at me.

"I think it is the best one we have found so far, it is too bad that the jewel has a gold back and not a silver one," I sighed softly, "It would probably be just perfect."

Yamanaka grinned at me, but when she spoke her voice showed her disappointment, "You are right, Tsukio. These could have been perfect," setting her foot down and gently pulling at the buckle, "Oh, well I guess we will have to continue looking."

The young man grinned, the bargaining had begun, "The jewels are interchangeable, so we can easily change it to a silver one."

"Do you have a silver jewel?" I asked.

The young man tilted his head, "Let me check."

Once he was in the back, Yamanaka started to giggle, "The look on his face when you started to talk about how the shoe is perfect, it was so funny. I thought he was going to burst he was so happy."

I smiled at her and gave a small giggle myself, "I know, but thankfully he knows how to play the game, or else I would have felt bad for how quickly his face fell."

Before we could say anything else, the young man walked out and held out his hands, "Which of these is the silver you are looking for?" In his hands were two different jewels, one was exactly the same flower design as the one currently on the shoe, only it was pasted onto a silver colored metal, while the second was a circle of delicate-looking stars, connected by the thinnest piece of silver.

"Ooo," I cooed, looking at the stars, "That one is beautiful, do you know who did the work?"

The young man shrugged his shoulders, "My mother found them on her travels."

"Ah, I will have to have Father talk to your mother."

"I am sure she will like that."

"Yamanaka-san, which one do you like?" I asked, but from the way she was staring at the flower, I figured she would want that one.

"As pretty as the stars are, I would like to stick with the flower."

"Excellent! Where would you like me to send the completed shoes?"

"The merchant's apartments please. Whoever is at the front desk will be able to sign for them."

The young man nodded, "Very good, Tsukio. I shall leave the bill with them too."

"I would expect nothing less, however I want you to know, I will not be paying for the purchase," I waved a hand towards Yamanaka, "Our Lord Kazekage's most honored guest will be."

I watched as his face paled a fraction before he nodded, "Of course, a guest of our Lord Kazekage is a most welcome customer. I will be sure that the bill will reflect our joy at serving the Lord Kazekage's guest."

I smile, "Of that I have no doubt."

Yamanaka put her sandal back on and the two of us walked out of the stand.

I glanced up at the sun, "It is almost lunch time, would you like to get something to eat?"

"What do you have in mind?" Yamanaka asked.

"When I have some free time, there is a small tea house that I like to frequent, if you want something light, however if you are looking for a fuller meal, then we can go to a couple barbeque places I know, or a small yakitori stand."

"I think the tea house would be nice."

I smile, "Right this way then," I say, walking towards the main road in Suna. I wasn't going to take her to my favorite tea shop, but there is one off the main road that is still small and has wonderful food. They also have some main dish type foods, like gyoza. We walk in the door and I smile at the woman behind the counter. She waves a hand to an empty table and I go and sit down.

"Do you have any recommendations?" Yamanaka asked.

"I would recommend any of the meatballs, gyoza or the sweets. The yakitori isn't the best Suna has to offer, but it is still very good." I stopped speaking as the waitress set a tea cup in front of each of us, "What did you bring me today?"

The waitress grinned, "A simple white tea today, the weather is so calm, that a light tea was required."

I take a small sip, "Mmm, it is delicious," I glance over at Yamanaka, "Is there something special cooking for lunch today? My friend and I have been shopping for most of the morning and could use a little pick me up."

The waitress laughed, "For you, I am sure we can figure something out. I know Mother will be happy to make you something."

I smile brightly, "Only if it isn't too much trouble."

"Nonsense, you know Mother is always happy to make you something, and of course Lord Kazekage's guest must have sustenance to continue to shop in weather unlike one she is used to."

"If it isn't any trouble," I bow my head slightly, "Then please whatever your Mother wishes for us to eat."

The waitress left and Yamanaka stared at me, "How does everyone know who I am? And why do they keep calling me Lord Kazekage's guest, or honored guest?"

I look at her, "Most people know who you are because not many people come to visit Suna during this time of year, the festival to honor our ancestors is starting tomorrow, which is a time of mourning, not a time to visit. Most people who show up are from families that live here. Also you are with me, and it is not a secret that the merchant's quarters are housing Lord Kazekage's guests from the Hidden Leaf Village. It is also known that my mother is watching the front desk of the merchant's quarters, so it is an easy assumption that I would show you around."

I pause taking another sip of my tea, "As for calling you Lord Kazekage's guest, well since most do not know your name, it is easier to call you by a title they understand. You are a guest of Lord Kazekage's, so there shouldn't be any offense taken by calling you that."

"So why do you keep calling Gaara, Lord Kazekage?"

I choke on my mouthful of tea and blink at her for a moment, "Do you call Lady Hokage by her given name?"

"Lady Tsunade? Sure sometimes, although most of us just call her Lady Tsunade."

I think about that for a moment, "The Hidden Leaf has a different way of talking about their kage, I guess that makes sense. However we call Lord Kazekage, Lord Kazekage, because that is what he is. Before he was Lord Kazekage, he was Lord Gaara, just as his siblings are Lady Temari and Lord Kankuro."

"Oh I guess that makes sense, but it is just weird to hear everyone calling someone who is my age Lord anything." Yamanaka said, looking down at her tea.

"If I remember my history, Konoha has clans as the prominent family grouping?"

"Yes," Yamanaka asked, drawing out the word as if asking another question.

"If it isn't rude, do you belong to a clan?"

The waitress brought out two plates full of food, and two soup bowls. The plate had a small pile of rice, a small serving of pickled vegetables and sliced grilled chicken. The bowl had some miso soup in it, with some greens and tofu floating around in the liquid. She then set down a medium sized plate that had many different types of sweets on it. She also filled up our tea cups.

Once the waitress was gone, I picked up my chopsticks and started to eat, I let the silence fill our space, letting my question hang in the air.

"I do belong to a clan, it is the Yamanaka clan, my father is the Clan Head."

"The Clan Head? Is that like a leader within the clan?"

"It is, other people within the clan come and ask him questions and he is supposed to handle all of the clan disputes. This allows most things to stay within the clan and not continue out into the formal justice system."

I frown, "So he is like a father, but on a larger scale?"

"I guess that is one way to look at it."

"So if you are the Clan Head's daughter, does that make you his heir?"

Yamanaka frowned, "Why?"

I shrugged before eating some soup, "I don't know that many shinobi families, much less ones that are big enough to be called a clan or family. Most of the shinobi I know have three maybe four branches, but that is about it. I was just curious what it is like being in such a big family."

"Oh, well it isn't that bad, it is nice that Shikamaru, Choji and my parents all like each other, or else this could be strange."

"Strange?" I asked, then nodded, "Oh, because your mother is looking to marry you to either of them?"

"What? No! I mean that because our families are friends, we can work within the system to make sure the three of us are always on a team with each other. Also it means that both Shikamaru's family and Choji's family are more like family to me."

I continue to frown, "So your teammates are also clan heirs?"

Yamanaka shrugged, "I guess."

We continued to eat in silence, I was thinking about what I had learned, really most of it wasn't even relevant to the spar later, but it was still very interesting and worth the shopping experience. After we were finished eating, Yamanaka and I headed back towards the apartments, I stopped a child running past and asked him to tell Grandmother Ai to have the altered dress sent over to the apartments, since I had to go home for a little while and Yamanaka wasn't sure she would be able to find the stand again. Watching the boy nod and run away, I continued to move towards the apartments.

"I'm going to Kage tower, to see if my teammates are done with their mission, because maybe we could get one more mission in before dinner," I told Yamanaka. "Thank you for coming with me, shopping. It has been a long time since I went shopping just for fun with another girl."

"I had a great time too, you really know a lot of the merchants around here. I would never have found those shoes if you hadn't stopped there."

I smile, "I am glad I could help."

I waved as I left Yamanaka at the door of the apartments and headed towards Kage tower. Once I was out of sight of the apartments, I jumped onto the roof and continued towards Kage tower. Once I was there, I asked around and learned my teammates were still out with the Sand Siblings. I let a couple people know that I was waiting for them at their place and made my way over to their rooms in the dormitory. I grinned as I walked in, the place smelling clean with only a few dirty clothes on the floor. I picked them up and moved them over to the laundry area and sat down on one of the chairs in the living area and promptly fell asleep. I woke up to the sound of the door opening. I opened my eyes and saw Hideo and Amagi walking in with Baki right behind them. I smiled at the three males and closed my eyes again.

"So what did you learn?" Baki asked.

A couple hours later, after making sure I had extra poison senbon, and twice as many weapons as I normally would have, my team and I were ready. We were armed with extra weapons, to keep Choji at a distance, and throwing weapons would allow the three of us to keep moving, which should lessen Yamanaka's ability to catch us in her mind transfer jutsu. While the boys learned the most about their abilities, I was able to learn a little about their personalities. Nara would be the one to watch out for, while he was lazy, that didn't mean he was stupid, in fact his ability to strategize had Lady Temari excited. Akamichi was very sensitive about his weight, so it would be best to not mention that unless we needed him to stop thinking and just react. Yamanaka was a girl, she worried about makeup, dirt and broken nails. But she could focus if she felt the need to. The question was if she would feel the need to or not.

I stood between my teammates, I was shorter than Hideo by a full head and I barely reached Amagi's shoulder, but that didn't matter, because I was fast. When the Konoha team arrived with Sarutobi trailing behind with the Sand Siblings, Hideo whispered, "Stick to the plan."

Amagi and I nodded.

Once everyone was on the field, I bowed deeply to Lord Kazekage, "Thank you Lord Kazekage this rare opportunity to try our skills against such skilled opponents. I only hope that we do not bring shame to our village with our lack of skill."

Baki-sensei coughed into his hand and looked away.

"Do your best in this friendly spar and you will never bring shame to Suna," Lord Kazekage replied in his monotone voice.

As I straightened back up, I could see the look of shock on the Konoha shinobi's face, I bit my lip to keep from smiling. I turned to Hideo and Amagi and nodded, then I stepped behind the two and they moved to create a human wall. I moved to take off my robes, this would be the first step of our plan, hopefully it would work.

At this point, Baki-sensei and the other sensei had moved over to the boundary of the training ground. I heard Lord Kankuro call out, "Non lethal force, no permanent scars or maiming. Keep this a friendly spar. Ready?"

Amagi and Hideo both called out, "Ready!"

The Konoha team replied, "Ready!"

"Begin!"

When Lord Kankuro called out, I used a small burst of wind to cause my robe to fly over our heads and towards the adults. "Oh no!" I cried and jumped from behind the boys.

"Just leave it!" Amagi said, as he dropped into a defensive stance.

"But my Grandmother gave that to me," I said, my voice breaking on the word grandmother.

"We can go and find it after," Hideo said, also dropping into a defensive stance.

"But.." my lower lip trembled and I started to blink rapidly.

I heard a sigh from the Konoha team, I glanced over from under my eyelashes and saw Lord Kankuro and Lady Temari looking very confused, while Sarutobi sighed.

"Oh fine!" Amagi yelled as he pulled out a kunai and threw it at my robe.

I gasp loudly, "My robe!"

"Cry," Hideo whispered.

I stare at the robe and feel the horror run across my face, "You ruined it Amagi!" My eyes filled with water and I felt a single tear go down my cheek.

Yamanaka looked ready to start yelling but was shushed by Nara.

"It is just a robe," Amagi said, backing away from me, as if I was going to get him wet with my tears.

"My grandmother made me that robe!" I yelled at him, letting a few more tears fall down my cheeks. I pulled a brace of shuriken out of my bag and threw them at him.

Amagi ducked, and I let a single shuriken drop from my hand into the sand next to him. Amagi picked up the shuriken and grinned at me. He then threw that shuriken at me. Instead of ducking I jumped straight up and flipped over to behind Hideo. As I landed, I quickly threw my hands together and started to go through the hand signs needed. I watched the shuriken I avoided move closer to the mark Amagi left on the ground when we first walked in.

"Now," Hideo said.

At once, Amagi slammed his hands into the ground and a thin layer of dirt flew into the air, I used the air currents to start moving the dirt around, forming it into a swirling vortex of dirt heading straight towards the Konoha team.

"Move!" Akamichi yelled as the three of them scattered.

The shuriken I originally threw were sticking out of the ground, marking the areas where the sand was thinning, and easier for us to create sand storms with.

Hideo, using the dirt vortex as cover, ran towards Yamanaka. Catching her off guard, Hideo's hand slammed into the side of her head. For a second it looked like she was going down, but she quickly righted herself and engaged Hideo.

Amagi and I had to keep Akamichi off of us and to keep him occupied. It was more difficult than we had planned. Ducking a large hand or arm that was being used to sweep the area was difficult. However, doing that, and avoiding the shadows was proving to be more difficult, especially with Nara able to split his shadow to chase after both Amagi and myself.

Finally we got the three Konoha shinobi close to where my shuriken were located. "Amagi," I yelled, jumping backwards to avoid yet another large arm sweep, "Now!"

Amagi pulled out his special kunai and threw it at the three team members. Hideo spit out three fireballs, and I used the air currents to feed the fire into becoming huge fireballs. The three Konoha shinobi moved out of the way, and I grinned as I moved half of my focus to the air currents around the loose sand and started to move it around. Once the Konoha shinobi were safe from our fireball infernal, Amagi threw his hands onto the ground and three walls of dirt appeared behind the Konoha team. Amagi used wire to pull the kunai around, while Hideo created more fireballs and I kept the wind moving.

Using the three earth walls, we created a ricochet movement with the fireballs, allowing the fireballs to gain strength and move to a different direction to hit the Konoha shinobi who were busy looking at the moving kunai.

I grinned, when I heard Yamanaka yell, "My hair!"

I fell back to where Amagi was and together we moved towards Nara. Hideo was busy moving Yamanaka to be closer to Nara, just so we could try and trap them. The earth walls collapsed as we threw more weapons at the shadow user, trying to keep him moving. Once he stopped moving, we would be in trouble.

Akamichi came out of nowhere and the large boulder that was himself moved between Hideo and us. Amagi gave me a different kunai, a more common one. A glance showed me that there was some wire attached to the ring.

"Up and over?" He asked.

I nodded and took a couple steps back, Amagi linked his hands together and bent his knees. I ran towards him, planted my foot in his hand and felt myself be thrown into the air. I twisted so that I would land on my feet and dropped next to Hideo. I felt the kunai pull tight, the other end anchored. The trip wire was in place. I slammed the kunai into the ground next to my feet and moved in to take over for Hideo. He would need to help Amagi for this next part.

The spar continued, each team trading blows. I was proud of myself for catching some of Yamanaka's hair in the trip wire when we sprung that trap. Nara was getting tired, we kept him moving. Akamichi was doing his body expansion jutsu for shorter and shorter times. Yamanaka was curing us and yelling at Nara to get one of us with his shadows.

The match was called a draw, with no clear winner. My team and I were definitely the ones closer to chakra exhaustion, while the Konoha was physically tired, we kept them moving. Thank kami for explosion tags and trip wires attached to them. At the end of the match, I was bent over gulping in air, Amagi was binding up a wound on Hideo's arm that would not stop bleeding.

I straighten and look over at Baki-sensei, "I hope we didn't fail you, Baki-sensei. I hope we brought honor to you and your teaching."

"What was that?!" Yamanaka yelled.

I look over at her confused, "What?"

"You said you had just graduated the academy!" She accused.

"I did."

"You said you didn't come from a shinobi family."

"I don't."

"You said that you three have only been a team for a little under a month."

"We have."

"Less than that," Amagi helpfully butted in.

"Then how were you able to have a team jutsu?!" Yamanaka screeched.

"A what?" I asked, very confused.

"You three worked together to combine your jutsus to create one that is more powerful together than alone," Akamichi said.

I look over at Baki-sensei, hoping his face could give me some answers, because this was just the same jutsu we had worked out in the few minutes we had before our first test began.

"I believe what the young Yamanaka wants to know," Lady Temari said, "is how you three were able to combine your jutsus with being a team for such a short time."

I glanced over to Amagi and Hideo, who waved a hand. I guess I was the team spokesperson, thanks guys. "When we first met, we were told we would have a test. So not knowing what the test was, we told each other what our strengths were. After we talked about our ninjutsu, we came up with a quick plan. Wind feeds fire, which makes the fire stronger, while it is a common idea to use earth to funnel or focus fire into the places you want it to go." I shrugged, "I am not sure we can call it a team jutsu, since it is just common sense to use what we are good at to our advantage."

Yamanaka's head tipped back as she sighed in frustration, "I still don't get it!"

I shrug my shoulders, "I don't know how to help you."

Amagi brought over the robe that started the whole thing, "And that is another thing! You were playing us with the whole throwing a fit over the robe!" Yamanaka yelled.

"Of course," I shrugged, "Your team has worked together longer than we have, and are known for having a combined jutsu. We needed every advantage we could get."

Lord Kankuro started to laugh, "Forced you to underestimate them, didn't they? Tsukio is very good at that, she just looks like a delicate little girl who would rather be spending her time making paper cranes or tending her flowers. That is part of the reason she is teamed up with Amagi and Hideo, they can look stronger and they are bigger than she is. It evens out the team, if I do say so myself."

Lady Temari shoved him, "Stop showing off."

While they were talking, I slipped my robe back on and pulled my hair down, making myself look more like a civilian.

I bow to the adults in front of us, "Thank you again for the opportunity to engage in a friendly spar with our allies from the Leaf Village. We have learned much through this and will train even harder to be able to beat them."

"You did well," Sarutobi said, "Much better than I anticipated, given your ages and the newness of your team."

Baki-sensei grinned, "They may be new, but they have a drive that most genin teams do not."

"Oh?" Sarutobi asked, "What drives them?"

Baki looked over at me and nodded, "We want to be the next Sand Siblings," I said.

"You want to be what?" Yamanaka asked.

"The Leaf has the Sannin, the team that is held up as the best example of what a team should be, in Suna we have the Sand Siblings as an example of the best a shinobi team should be."

Yamanaka frowned, "How do you plan on being that?"

"Through hard work and dedication," Amagi replied.

"What a drag," Nara said.

I shrugged, "High goals require hard work and dedication. Therefore we have to work hard."

"Seems like a drag," Nara repeated.

Lord Kazekage turned and nodded to Baki-sensei, "Your students have progressed well in the few weeks they have been formally a team. You have done well. Feel free to move onto the next portion of their training after the festival."

"Thank you Lord Kazekage," Baki-sensei bowed. Then turning to us, "Go home, clean up, you will be on patrol duty during the festival. Dress like a civilian and you will be on the main grounds of the festival tonight."

"Yes Baki-sensei," we chorused and with another bow, we turned and walked back towards the apartment where we were staying.

"We did well," Hideo said as we walked down the road.

"Well we didn't make fools of ourselves," Amagi replied.

"It could have been worse for sure," I added.

"You mean we could be more than bruised and bloodied?" Amagi asked, his voice full of laughter.

"Of course," I replied.

"Let's get cleaned up, what do we need to wear for our patrol duty for the festival?"

"Sensei said we should blend into the crowd, so I'm going to wear something not shinobi related," I said, "You can wear robes if you want, or you can dress up a little."

"What are you going to be wearing?" Hideo asked.

"Since I went shopping with Yamanaka, I found a dress that I'm going to wear, it is very different from my normal clothes, but it is fancy enough to be considered a best dress type dress."

"Well that is unhelpful," Hideo said.

"I'll see if Mother has some ideas for you two, unless you have some clothes you want to wear for the festival?" I asked.

"I normally wear my shinobi clothes, or a robe if I have too," Amagi replied.

I sighed, "How about this, after we get cleaned up, let's head over to your place and we can pick something out, if all else fails, we can see if Mother has an idea."

Hideo shivered, "Let's hope you can find something in our closets, I have seen what your mother calls appropriate clothing for you, I shudder at the thought of what would be appropriate for me and Amagi."

I start to laugh, "You boys have it easy, you don't have to worry about being ready for a marriage match like I do. So you will have a much easier time that I will, for sure."

Hideo stared at me, "If you are sure then."

I nod, "I'm sure, besides you boys must have something in your closets that are not shinobi wear."

We walked into the apartment building, I waved to the boys and rushed into my room to be able to get clean and ready for the festival tonight. Thankfully it was just the first night of the celebration, when the girls and boys dance down the streets to kick off the two night party that ends with the wishes and dreams being released to the ancestors.

After my shower I put on the dress that Grandmother Ai made for me and walked over to the mirror and started to braid a small section of hair around the front of my face starting at my left ear and moving to the right ear. I then brushed the rest of my hair to fall down my back. I nodded at my reflection in the mirror, I would pass. I then pulled on a simple brown robe to cover my dress, slipped on a pair of heeled sandals and walked out the door and over the boys' room.

I knocked on the door, and when I didn't get an answer I walked right in. I could hear the shower on in both rooms, so I made myself comfortable, getting a glass of water and putting the kettle on for tea. I put some tea into the tea pot and waited, hopefully the boys wouldn't take too long.

After the water boiled in the tea kettle, I added the hot water to the pot and heard one of the showers turn off. I sat on a stool and waited. From the room to my left I heard, "Tsukio? Is that you?"

I smiled, "Yep, it's me. You boys were taking too long so I came over to wait and make some tea. It should be ready in a few more minutes, you have time to get dressed."

"Umm, sure, thanks," he called from his room. I heard the swish of a door closing and the faint footsteps of Hideo walking around.

I filled my cup with tea and moved over to the couch and relaxed and just let my mind and body relax, tonight was going to be a busy night.

Eventually Hideo and Amagi came out of their rooms, clean and ready to get ready for tonight. I handed them their cup of tea, which Amagi gulped down and grabbed a small bag of some snack food to eat.

"Let's go," Hideo said and together we walked out of the room.

"Your sensei said to remind you that you will be patrolling tonight and to meet at Kage tower to get the area you will be patrolling," Mother told us.

"Thank you, Mother," I called out as we hurried outside.

A few minutes and many rooftop jumps later, we arrived at the barracks. Hideo and Amagi studied the area, looking for something.

"What are you looking for?" I asked, confused as to why we were not just walking in the front door.

"Sajin," Amagi hissed, "He is still after me, so Hideo and I try to avoid him."

"Did you leave a window unlocked, we could just sneak in that way," I asked.

"No, we didn't know how long we would be gone and we didn't want anyone else to be able to get into the window." Hideo said.

"Maybe we should put a chakra lock on the window, like there is on the doors, so you can just enter through the windows if needed." I paused for a second, "Although constantly going through the windows is something that would look suspicious."

"I don't see him," Hideo said.

"Neither do I," Amagi agreed.

"Let's go," Hideo said. The three of us jumped off the roof and landed on the hard packed dirt with a soft thump.

The three of us walked into the barracks and up the stairs to their room. Hideo quickly unlocked the door and we all stepped inside. After a small glance around to make sure that nothing was disturbed while they were gone, Hideo walked into his room, "Come on in, Tsukio. Let's see if you can find something that looks civilian enough to pass."

I grin and start to look through Hideo's closet. It is a small closet, mostly filled with brown and black uniforms. I do see a black pair of pants and a black shirt that looks to be his funeral clothing. I flipped through the uniforms, set them off to the side, then I took out the funeral clothes and set them apart. "You can wear those pants, easily enough. Now you just need a shirt that isn't too somber. Do you have anything with color?"

Hideo pulled out a small stack of colored tee shirts.

"These could work, boys don't dress up as much as girls do. So pick your favorite shirt and put them on with either the loose black pants you have there," I pointed to the funeral pants, "Or you could wear your uniform pants, just without all of the bandages and pouches."

"Are you sure?" Hideo asked.

"I won't know for sure until you are changed, but I think that should work."

"Okay, Amagi has probably cleaned up his room enough for you by now," Hideo said, his voice fading as he motioned towards the door.

I smile at him and move towards Amagi's room. I glance behind me as Hideo's door snicked shut, I peek into Amagi's open door and ask, "Ready for me?"

"As read as I will ever be, I guess," came the frustrated reply.

"Well Hideo is wearing a pair of pants and a tee shirt, if you have something similar, you can wear that. I can always go and change into something less festive and formal."

"What are you wearing?" Amagi asked.

I frowned at him, "I will show you when we have finished with your clothes. I am convinced Mother will have plenty of other options for me to choose from if this is too fancy, so don't worry about it." I saw that Amagi's clothes looked very similar to Hideo's selection. Mostly uniforms, a set of black clothes for funerals and some tee shirts and two tank tops. I frowned at those, unless we could find a way to cover his arms, tank tops will not work.

"Pick a pair of plain black pants and your favorite tee shirt, we will see what happens then."

"Okay," Amagi said as he pulled out a couple different shirts and two pairs of pants.

I walked back out the door and closing it behind me. I pulled my robe over my head and looked at my dress, it almost looked too formal now, compared to my teammates. I would have to go home and change into something else. Maybe I could borrow a skirt from Matsuri and wear a tank top, something simple that I can dress up with jewelry or something.

"Damn! You look all grown up," Hideo's voice came from behind me.

I turned around, my hair flying around my shoulders and the skirt of my dress flaring out as I turned around.

"I was planning on going home to change, this might be too formal for tonight," I said, running my hand over my thighs, straightening the dress.

"Nah, I think you look good. I will just need something over my tee shirt and I should be good," Hideo paused, "Don't you think?"

I take a critical look at Hideo's clothes, the pants are just simple black pants, tailored to fit him, the tee shirt was a plain blue shirt but it was fitted to his chest and arms. It accented the muscles that were continuing to develop, the corded muscles on his arms stood out as he held his arms out to the side. I nod, "What were you thinking of putting over your shirt?"

"I have a button up shirt somewhere, and if I can't find it, I know that Intel has a few in the extra clothing room."

I nod, "Do you think they will have something like that in Amagi's size? Since the two of you are dressing similar, it wouldn't hurt for him to also have a shirt over. It will also help hide any weapons you want to bring with you."

"Where are your weapons hidden?" Amagi asked as he walked out of his bedroom door.

I take in the change in Amagi's appearance. He always has a face that could look very feminine if he wanted it too, and with his hair down around his face, he looked very feminine. At least until you looked past the face, then his lean muscles were prominently featured on his arms and the hint of muscles on his chest. He was wearing a dark orange and black shirt untucked and a pair of black pants. The pants were a little baggy, but nothing that couldn't be explained as just for comfort.

"I will have a couple senbons in my hair and I have a kunai tucked under my belt." I answered Amagi's question.

"I was just telling Tsukio that we should head over to the clothing department of Intel and see if they have a button up shirt for the two of us, or something similar to dress up our looks a little. And as Tsukio pointed out, having something over our shirts would also give us plenty of places to hide weapons."

"Okay, and Tsukio, you look nice in that dress." Amagi said.

I grin, "Thank you Amagi and Hideo. We should hurry, we still need to meet up with Baki-sensei and get our patrol assignments."

"Agreed."

With that, the three of us walked out the door, stopping briefly to reset the chakra locks and we rushed out of the building. Since I put my robe back on, I could take to the roofs if we needed to, but for now, we kept to the streets. We arrived at the Intel building five minutes later, much slower than if we had been traveling in our usual style, but still not a bad time. Walking in Hideo told the Desk Shinobi what we were here for and we were told to go and look, there should be something for us.

I walked with them, stopping briefly in the locker room to go and grab some senbon from my locker. While the boys were looking through the closets of clothing, I set about changing my hairstyle. I took the headband braid out, letting the small waves mingle with the rest of my straight hair. I then divided my hair in a top half and a bottom half, then taking the top half and dividing it in half again and creating a twisted crown that met in the middle of the back of my head. I took a few pins and secured the hair, then I brushed the rest of my hair, adding some volume when I could. Finally I took the two senbons and wove them through the twisted braid.

"How do we look?" Amagi asked. I glanced in the mirror and saw my teammates standing behind me.

I turned around the rest of the way and studied my teammates. Hideo had added a short sleeved button up shirt in different blues and greens. He had buttoned the shirt up until just a little of his tee shirt showed at the neck. The black pants had been replaced by a pair of light brown khaki pants and a pair of black shoes. Amagi added a dark colored vest with it zipped up halfway. He kept his black pants on, but changed out of shinobi sandals and was wearing a pair of simple black shoes.

"You two look nice, I think you will blend it wonderfully."

"Do we looked good enough to be part of the festival?" Hideo asked.

I look them over again and nod, "You look perfect for the festival. You have the perfect balance of formal and casual. And you have managed to cover up without using a robe, so I'm going to call it a good thing."

"Should we wear our robes?" Hideo asked.

"Not tonight, tonight the young people will want to be able to dance and enjoy the fun. Robes get in the way of that," I answered.

Amagi and Hideo nodded.

"We should go," Hideo said.

"Yes," Amagi and I said.

The three of us walked out of the building, after another brief stop to put my plain brown robe in my locker. We walked as quickly as we could, considering I was now wearing a short dress with no shorts underneath it and heeled sandals and the boys were wearing slippery civilian shoes. The roads were starting to fill up with people waiting for the parade to start. I waved to the few people I knew in the crowd.

Ten minutes later we arrived at Kage tower. We walked in and found Baki-sensei. He was easy to spot, he was close to Lord Kankuro and Lord Kazekage. We wove through the crowd, Hideo in the front moving through with Amagi and I trailing close behind him.

Lord Kankuro looked at the three of us as we stood in front of him, "You three are going to be civilians out to enjoy the festival. I want you three to follow the parade and patrol around the main dance square. ANBU will be on the rooftops and other shinobi will be around. If there is a problem that you can't handle, send up a quick flare and you will have every shinobi and ANBU in sight heading towards you. So be careful if and when you use it."

"Yes Lord Kankuro," we chorused.

Baki-sensei handed us each a flare and the boys tucked it into the shirts and I slipped mine under my dress, into the discrete garter belt I was wearing that already had a brace of shuriken held against my leg. Lord Kankuro raised his eyebrow at me while Amagi and Hideo both gaped open mouthed at my actions. I look at my teammates and shrug, they both nod their heads and we wait to be dismissed.

"Dismissed," Baki-sensei said once the three of us were finished moving.

"Yes sir," we chorused again. Then we turned around and walked out to the gates were the parade would start.

"I think we should stay a little ways apart, but within eyesight of each other in case one of us needs help," Hideo said.

I nodded.

"I think we should stay close together, simply because the festival is going to be crowded and we don't want to accidentally get separated," Amagi said.

I nodded again.

Hideo stared at me, "What is with the nodding?"

I scan the growing crowd, "Both ideas are good and have merit. Which idea do you think will allow us to best complete this mission?"

Amagi shrugged, "Well since we are not the only ones who are patrolling during the festival, I doubt either will affect the mission."

"That is true."

I open my mouth to ask again, what they wanted to do when I felt something warm move up the back of my thigh. I whipped my head around, "Hey!" I yelled at the glassy eyed man whose hand was still on my leg. "Remove your hand from my leg!" I yelled as I pushed his hand away.

Hideo very quickly shoved the man away from us, "Get lost, old man. Find yourself another girl. This one is taken."

Amagi moved to stand next to me and he placed his hand on my lower back. This was a familiar position, we had to practice one such position while in kunoichi class. It was a position that spoke of intimacy and familiarity. Amagi fixed the man with a glare.

The man held his hands up, "No harm done fellows, you should make your claim louder if you don't want people to touch, or maybe you should make her dress differently," his eyes roamed up and down my exposed skin.

I suppressed a shudder of revulsion.

"The way she is dressed is screaming for someone to touch her."

This time Amagi kicked up some dirt into the man's face, "We said get lost!"

"Okay, okay. You can't blame a man for wanting something as pretty as she is, but I will respect your claim." Turning the man stumbled away, stopping occasionally to take a drink from the flask in his hand.

I rolled my eyes, "It is a little early for him to be that drunk, isn't it?" I asked no one in particular.

"Well that answers the question of what we will be doing. One of us will be with Tsukio at all times and the other can walk a short ways away, but not too far," Hideo said.

I sighed, "I really don't need you guys to watch over me like a hawk. I can take care of myself, you know."

"I know, but we are also supposed to be civilians, which means you can't use the more forceful methods you know to get rid of a creep," Amagi argued.

I sighed again, "I really don't need a babysitter guys. I have attended many festivals and this is not the first time some guy thought he could touch without asking first."

"Doesn't matter," Hideo interrupted, "You are our teammate and we will protect you, especially since this is part of our mission. You know making sure all the population is celebrating in a safe manner."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not going to argue, but I will get very upset if I am not able to enjoy the little parts of the festival that I can enjoy."

Amagi and Hideo both nodded.

"Then let's get to the gate quickly, the sun is almost in a position to start the parade," I said. The three of us kept weaving through the crowd to get into position. We made it to the gate with no more incidents, however I knew that as the evening wore on and the alcohol flowed more freely, I would be fending off more unwanted hands. But that was just part of the festival and this was part of my mission.

Normally I would leave before the alcohol was too bad, but since I was on a patrol mission, I had to endure. I was not looking forward to this part, but I figured it would be good practice.

The low rumble of drums herald the start of the parade. Young girls and young women appeared in the gate and slowly danced their way into the village. I watched as the girls waved their arms in time to the drums, while the women moved their hips. The beat started slow, thump, thump, thump. As the dancers moved through the city, the crowd followed. The drum would slowly pick up speed as we got closer and closer to the final square. As the first girl crossed into the open area around the stage, the drum beat stopped for a moment. The whole area was silent.

The long pause was broken by the crash of cymbals. The girls started to giggle and run up to the stage, while the women's hips started to move in time with the bells on their wrists. The crowd clapped along with the women. As one the women moved towards the stage where the girls were already doing their dance. I moved my feet to the beat, remembering the dance from the many years I participated. Hideo glanced at me when I started to move in time to the music, he smiled at me and took a small step back to give me some more room.

The dancing didn't last as long as I remember it lasting, but quickly the girls threw up handfuls of flower petals, signaling the end of the time of mourning and remembrance, now it was time to celebrate the life our ancestors lived. Amagi started to move towards the games, I grabbed his arm and let him pull me through the crowd.

We played a few games, laughing at the signs that said "No Ninja allowed" as we still played the games. However we worked hard to ensure that we didn't do too well on the games. It wouldn't do for us to give ourselves away. We also ate some festival foods and walked the main square. There weren't any major incidents, so it was a very relaxing evening. We continued to mingle and talk to different people as we moved through the crowds. I was able to keep wondering hands from going beyond an occasional grope and a slight slip of the hand. Mainly I was able to keep the boys from realizing what was going on.

We did cross paths with the Konoha team, Yamanaka was busy comparing our festivals with the ones held in Konoha. I was very proud of myself for not rolling my eyes until after we had walked away from them. Akamichi was happy with the food selection and was enjoying the games and music. Nara kept looking around for something. When I asked him about it, he asked if I knew where Lady Temari was. I pointed to the main stage area where Lord Kazekage was talking to some of the people around.

When Nara turned to walk towards where I pointed, I nodded my head in Nara's direction and Hideo sighed and went for a walk with him. Yamanaka started to tell me all about how cute my dress was and how she loved her outfit. She kept talking about her shoes and I could feel Amagi rolling his eyes at her. I elbowed him in the side and laughed softly at his grunt of pain.

Trying to distract Yamanaka, I asked, "Akamichi-san, have you tried our sweet plum kakigori?"

"Sweet plum kakigori?" he asked.

"Yes it is a shaved ice we serve especially during festivals."

"I haven't tried it, do you know where I can get some?" he asked.

I gave him a big and bright grin and looped my arm through his, "Let me show you the best place to get the kakigori. If you don't want sweet plum," I continued talking over my shoulder to Amagi and Yamanaka behind us, "There are many different flavors, my favorite is green tea with sweetened milk on top."

"That sounds good," Akamichi said.

We wove through the thinning crowd and made it to the kakigori vendor I was looking for.

"Tsukio!" the older man at the stall called out from where he was turning a crank while holding a paper bowl under the spout.

"Hello! How is business?"

"Good, good! Festival days are always good. Did you want some?"

"Of course."

"Wonderful, wonderful! This is my last block of ice, so you are in luck."

I smile at him and then I point to the syrups along the edge of the stall, "Pick your flavor, or flavors, you can have up to three if you want. I would like green tea and sweet plum with some sweet milk, please."

"Coming right up!" The man's arm started to turn the crank and the block of ice started to move. Placing a paper bowl under the spout, shaved ice started to fall out of the spout and into the cup. When the cup was filled with a mound of fresh ice, the man stopped. Handing the bowl to a young girl, she quickly turned the dark purple syrup over and covered half of the ice mound, then she did the same with the green tea and covered the other half of the ice. Finally she took a small bottle of sweetened milk and drizzled some over the top of the entire thing. Placing a couple cookie wafers on the edge of the mound, she then grabbed a spoon and handed both the spoon and the bowl to me.

"Thank you!" I said, before digging my spoon into the sweet plum side and taking a small bite. "Mmm, delicious."

I wait while the rest of the group gets a bowl, at which time I am almost finished with mine. "Amagi? Should we get some for Hideo?"

Amagi shrugs.

"Can I have one with sweet plum, cherry and green tea with some fruit?"

"Coming right up!"

After collecting Hideo's I hand the young girl a handful of paper bills, she smiled and tucked the money away. Then we started to weave our way back through the crowd to where I could see Nara and Hideo were standing.

"Here," I hand Hideo his kakigori, "I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I got a mixture of your usual and sweet plum, because sweet plum is yummy."

"Thank you, Tsukio."

"Amagi!" Lord Kankuro called out.

"Yes Lord Kankuro?"

"You and your team are done for the evening. Baki said that you are supposed to meet up in the usual place for training at the normal time."

I groan, I was really hoping to be able to sleep in a little bit, to be honest.

"Yes Lord Kankuro," Amagi called out, "Ready to go?"

"Yes please," I said with a sigh.

Hideo just nods, his mouth full of kakigori.

After saying goodnight to the Konoha group and the Sand siblings, we started to walk slowly back to our temporary home. When we walked in the door, I sighed, took off my shoes and moved towards my door.

"If I'm not awake by 5 am, come and wake me up. I'm so tired." I said slowly walking towards my door.

"Same," Amagi said, also slowly walking to his door.

"Why do I have to be the responsible one?" Hideo asked.

"Because you are the oldest?" I asked.

Amagi laughed softly.

Not waiting for any sort of answer, I opened my door, waved good night and shut the door behind me. I walked into my room, took my dress off and hung it up so it wouldn't wrinkle then I fell onto the bed, and promptly fell asleep.

AN: Hello all, I'm sorry this took longer than 2 weeks, but time just flew away from me. I hope this makes up for it, a much longer chapter. A lot happened to our poor genin. But that's okay, they are growing stronger, for the better. I hope you all continue to enjoy. See you all in two weeks, I mean it this time :)