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Things are about to get really interesting for our two heroes. Enjoy!

DROH

Chapter Five:

Power

Ground. Scroll. Ground. Scroll.

Kira's eyes nearly rolled in her head as she glanced repeatedly from the old worn scroll in her hands to the image she'd tried to duplicate on the ground. Every Shinobi could draw simple sigils, but it had never been one of her strengths.

She couldn't even draw a straight line.

It had taken her over an hour, and her fingers were sore from where she had nearly rubbed them raw when scrubbing away her mistakes.

It was a good thing this was a one-time thing, or else Kira would have been doomed.

Either way, it was done. Well, mostly. All that was left was the final piece, and then all of that work would dissolve away. Kira felt her eye twitch at the thought. Nice! Settling back on her haunches, she rested her arms on her thighs and gave her work a nice, long look over. The complicated circle, swirls, and kanji spanned a two-foot radius, the only blank spot being a smaller empty circle for her hand.

Her eyes wandered over to the scroll now sitting on the ground, its worn, yellow edges nearly blending in with the color of the sandstone. She wasn't sure why she bothered to look at it. She'd spent the last two hours memorizing every inch of readable information left on it, and had been able to fill in some of the blanks. She hoped the rest wasn't too important.

She wished she'd invited Aya now; her friend and teammate was better than Kira ever could be at these things. She shook the thought from her head quick as it came. She needed to do this herself. This was her job, her challenge, and her opportunity.

She needed more options in battle, needed to be stronger so she could prove herself to Gaara, and this, if it worked, would do just that. Thinking about the red haired leader instantly brought back every thought she'd been having for the past two days, ever since he'd spoken to her.

She still couldn't believe she'd been able to say all that; her past had been locked away such a long time ago. He'd taken the information well, though that didn't surprise Kira in the least. There was so much more, though, and she wondered, if he ever found out, how he would react to just what his father had been doing, what he'd had her trained for.

At some point, the truth would have to come out. It would need to if Gaara were to ever really trust her.

"Small steps," Kira muttered to herself, shaking the thoughts away for now. Thinking too far ahead like that would get her nowhere; there were too many things that could change. Slipping a kunai from a pouch at her waist she flipped the handle around in her hand and easily sliced open the pad of her left thumb. Wincing slightly she quickly dabbed the freshly surfacing blood onto each finger of her left hand, making bloody fingerprints.

It didn't hurt as much as she had thought, though she was sure she'd still wince every time she saw Aya bite her own thumb to summon her friend. Biting seemed so much more brutal.

Taking a deep breath she turned her attention to the circle once more and then quickly gathered chakra into her hands before shifting them into the pattern of signs she'd memorized from the scroll. When she finished the final hand seal, she slammed her left hand into the open space of the summoning rune with more force than was needed.

"Summon Justu, Earth Familiar Bonding Ritual!"

There was no smoke, no brilliant light like what came when she watched other ninja summon ninja animals, not even a bit of steam rose from the ground. Kira waited, and waited, staring at her own hand and the lines around it not sure what to do.

Had it failed then? The scroll had said the spirits didn't always take to the person, but she had been so sure… Sighing, Kira slowly and dejectedly pulled her hand away, rubbing at her sore thumb.

She would try again, she thought, moving to stand so she could retrieve more water to start over. It was when she stood, beginning to turn away, that she heard the small tittering of laughter. There were two voices, high, yet different and very, very close to her.

"Oh look, she's going to try again! Such spirit she has, don't you think sister?"

"Yes, yes! Worn rough and built strong!"

Spinning on her feet Kira turned back around, her kunai once again in hand, pointed outward this time. What she found left her staring in quiet wonder, the knife in her hand barely staying in place.

As she stared, the markings she had drawn on the ground, along with her red fingerprints, dissolved away as if the stone were a sponge. Above where it had been, seeming to float in the way only fireflies could, were two small lights, no bigger than her palm. One was a dark green while the other a pale, golden yellow much like Kira's own eyes. They bobbed to and fro in the space where the circle had been, missing one another by a hair's breath.

"I...did it?" she asked warily, eyeing the lights as if they were paper bombs.

"Yes, yes! You have done it, little human." The yellow one pulsed, the light brightening, and Kira saw that it blinked with every syllable that came from its nonexistent mouth.

"With your blood, you called to us, and it sang so sweetly to us, so now we are here," the green one continued.

"We are bound to you," both said in unison, and Kira could only blink with wide eyes. This wasn't at all what she had thought they would look like.

"You're the…earth spirits?" she muttered, not wanting to offend them.

"Good, good, you're catching on," crooned the yellow light, and Kira would have thought it was teasing her except the tone only held a bright joy to it, like a small radiant sun.

"But you're just….lights?" Kira tested and saw the green one bob again, weaving around its sister light easily.

"Did you not read the scroll?" it asked and Kira glanced down at the old roll of paper.

"I read what I could. I'm afraid some of the information has been lost. " She hadn't realized how sad that made her until she spoke the words. So much knowledge was lost over time, forgotten when it should not have been. The green spirit made a huffing sound, her light flaring up with it, before quieting once more.

"Spirits do not have forms as other summons do, at least not the first time we meet. It is why we have a bonding ritual. Then we conform to the shape seen in our partner's soul and the earth makes it for us," it explained. "Next time you summon us, we shall be in that form, Kira."

"You know my name?"

" Yes, your blood has shown us all," it replied, and that made the ANBU grimace. Great, well that was comforting. Kira found her eyes on the yellow one as it bounced about. It seemed much like her friend Aya, full of energy and always moving. If they knew everything, then at least that saved them a long awkward round of introductions.

"What are your names then?" she asked finally, her eyes shifting from one to the other. "I can call you whatever you prefer."

"I am known as Ryoko," the green light said, bobbing slowly up and down.

"And I am Ru!" the yellow one chirped. Absently Kira nodded her head. She would remember that. Taking in a deep breath, she blew it out slowly. She'd done it, now came the rest. There was just the small problem that she had no clue what 'the rest ' was. That part of the scroll had been nothing but curling, yellowing paper. The ink was gone, along with any information that had to do with what happened after the summoning.

She'd have to figure it out; having a pact with orbs of light wouldn't do much good. Though they had said they would change…how though she didn't understand.

Mind buzzing she resisted the need to groan and ruffle her hair in annoyance.

Small steps, she reminded herself. Small steps.

She eyed the dancing green and yellow fireflies before stepping forward and carefully, as to not startle them – if they could be startled – and raised her hands. She reached out, each hand moving to hover under one of the 'sisters'. Then she curled her fingers slightly and felt the warmth of a summer day on the pads of them. Curiously, she slowly moved her hands and found the lights moved with them. The yellow one, Ru, giggled, and she stilled her hands once more with a start. She once again hoped what Ryoko had said was true. Talking, giggling, lights. That would take some getting use to.

Smiling sheepishly Kira stepped into the area where her summon circle had been and took in another deep breath.

"So, what's next?"

…

When Gaara had finished up early at the meeting and made his way home, he'd expected the house to be empty. His siblings had been released from duty earlier because of the meeting and quite often they were off elsewhere during the day. Kankurō was more than likely with Kira because her team was off today as well if he remembered right anyway.

All this considered the Kazekage prepared himself for a quite afternoon as he entered his family's quarters. It was to his surprise that upon entering the main room he found a girl lounging on the sofa, eyes closed, humming quietly to herself. Surprise echoed through him as his mind picked out her features and came up with a name. Long blond hair in two ponytails, tanned skin and a long green ninja dress with mesh armor down the sides. Aya Shinto, a member of the ANBU, was almost as young as Kira and was also on her team. From what he could remember, she'd been picked up by the ANBU for her exceptional skills in sealing.

But why was she in his home?

"Temari come on!" the blond shouted from her spot, not even opening her eyes as she sat up and turned, planting her feet on the ground. Upon hearing the distant muffled reply of his sister, she blinked, her eyes opening and finding the redhead as he stood there, still bewildered by the entire scene. She bowed her head in respect but didn't bother to stand. "Welcome home Lord Gaara."

Gaara nodded, realizing that his sister must know the girl. It made him realize he really didn't know much about his siblings' personal lives. He'd never really met either of their friends until recently and while he knew his siblings well, he couldn't say he knew what they did in their spare time except that they were hardly ever home.

Being the leader of a village, he tried to pay attention to the whole of it, but details, like the people and their lives, had slipped through the cracks. He should try to get better at that, he thought, just as hurried footsteps made their way towards him. Temari appeared moments later, her gear on and her giant fan strapped to her back. She gave him a smile when she saw him and Aya stood to greet her.

"Hey, Gaara."

"Temari. What are you doing?" the redhead asked, mentally flipping through reasons for her attire. Given that Aya was in gear too, he had a few solid ideas.

"Aya invited Kankurō and me to spar with her team. Where is our brother anyway?" she asked, half grumbling the second part and glancing around the room as if she expected him to appear on her command. Aya giggled, placing a hand in front of her mouth to muffle it.

"He left a little while ago. As soon as I told him I left Kira and Sensei sparring together in fact." Another giggle passed her lips and Gaara raised a pale eyebrow. This girl was nothing at all like Kira, and it made him wonder how well they got along. He assumed well as he'd seen them together in passing before, but he might have been wrong.

"Why do you call him that?" Temari asked smiling. " Shura never seemed like one to put up with nicknames."

"Well, we don't call him that when he'd hear, but he does act like our teacher quite often. Given the age difference, it just kind of fits," Aya answered and Gaara's sister nodded her head. That was true. Gaara remembered thinking it was odd when Shura had requested to be a team leader to two young girls, but at the time had been too busy to really think too much on it. Perhaps the older man had thought they would need guidance in the coming years.

If Shura had known about Kira's training under Korin, it could be assumed he knew why Kira had been training in such a manner. Whether that small bit of information would be of any use, Gaara didn't know, but he hoped the girl would simply, over time, just tell him. Going behind people's backs wasn't the best way to gain someone's trust.

"Gaara?" His sister voice snapped him back to the present and he looked at her in silent question like he did so often. She raised a brow and smirked. "You want to come along? I'm sure they wouldn't mind," she asked turning her gaze to Aya.

The ANBU member shrugged her shoulders. "We're just sparing in the normal training grounds, not like we can tell people to leave."

At first, the redhead wasn't sure how to answer that. It was true he didn't really have any plans other than to check on the cacti growing in the greenhouse, but Gaara had never really sparred with anyone. His style of fighting didn't incorporate sparring with others much. Now as Kazekage, being seen doing such a thing seemed somehow impossible. No one wanted to spar with their leader and risk hurting them; it was an unspoken taboo. He was curious, though. Most ANBU didn't train in groups together, and even less in public places. Of course, not many people knew they were ANBU either, only higher ranked ninja.

"I will watch," he said finally, and his sister grinned. He'd had a feeling she wanted to show off. Aya smiled, nodding and then started walking, passing him easily without so much as hesitating. His sister followed after her and a moment later, Gaara fell in beside her, crossing his arms loosely over his vest.

The trek to the outdoor training area was quiet, and Gaara easily surveyed the village as they moved towards the overhang of sandstone, the training place under its cover to help with the heat of the sun. A few people bowed or waved in greeting, to which he simply nodded his head. It still amazed him how the people had accepted him so fast. It had gotten even easier once Shikaku was gone, and he often wondered on whether that was a good thing or not. In the end, it really didn't matter.

He heard the sounds of battle before they arrived. The clanking of metal and the ruff sound of shoes scuffing against the stone. He also picked up on his brother's voice, but it was muffled into noise by the wind. Once under the shadow of the overhang the three of them stopped and took in the scene around them. There were several ninja out training today, many of them still in the academy or on newly formed teams. The targets were being used by some, but for the most part, they stood along the edges, watching or speaking as the center sparring ring was used.

They moved as if the entire encounter was planned, a stage act instead of a sparring match. Shura was taller then Kira by far, at least two heads more. He wore normal sand ninja armor, tan and white, with his headband tied tightly around his forehead, the silver metal gleaming in the threads of light peaking around the stone overhang. His hair was black just like his opponent's, and his signature veil mask laid against his face, hanging past his chin and hiding everything from ear to ear. The black metal staff in his hands moved swiftly, raising up to block a downward cut from a tonfa in his younger teammate's hand.

Kira's other weapon was moving moments later, swinging out from the side, her braided and tailed hair swinging with the jerk from her shoulder. Metal rang in the air again as her team leader blocked once more, the thin hidden blade on the tonfa scraping along the staff before she drew back and jumped a foot away. Her pale skin was wet from what Gaara could see, and parts of the sky blue fabric of her gear darker. They had been at this a while then.

He watched as her stance changed and she flipped one of her weapons around, letting go of the lever on the handle that kept the blade out and turning the long end around so quickly it left an afterimage of a circle. She raised the arm – tonfa firmly laid against it – just in time for Shura's staff to hit it.

Gaara watched with a calmness that came from years of training, much like his sister and every other shinobi that watched the pair with calculating expressions, rather than ones of excitement or wonder like the freshly graduated genin. For the trained eye it was easy to see that this was no act, nor was it simply training. They were trying to hit each other and not with soft blows, but with the full force of the attack behind it. He watched as Kira swung her free tonfa, spinning it to the position of the other one and punching forward. Shura moved his staff, skillfully still pinning her other hand and using the opposite to block the butt end of her attack.

Quick as a whip the raven haired girl dropped both her arms and at the same moment she jerked a leg up, smashing the top of her thigh into the bottom of Shura's weapon. The staff shuddered and his arms raised slightly, recoiling from the blow, but the older man quickly angled one end out, striking Kira's bare upper arm, just as she straightened her raised leg and drove it into her leader's stomach.

The redhead blinked, everything happening in an instant as Shura staggered backward, barely catching himself. He could see Kira's face twist into a wince as she dropped one tonfa and touched her reddening arm.

Just like that, the match was over.

He was slightly surprised, pleased maybe to see such strength in his people.. Kankurō had said when he had first met her, Kira had been less than promising in Taijutsu. Now though, because of her weapon choice, it appeared she had steadily improved to become excelled at it so that she could use them.

"Ouch…" Her quiet mutter hardly reached his ears as she rubbed the skin.

"Nice one, Kira! Hey, you alright?" Kankurō's voice echoed as he pushed past two younger students. Gaara blinked, suddenly remembering that his brother had been there the whole time; the redhead had just never spotted him, only heard him. The puppet master moved to Kira's side as Gaara watched, and peered down at her with a grin. She narrowed her eyes at him, and even though the height difference was rather clear, she didn't shy away from him as his brother leaned closer, saying something he couldn't hear over the wind.

"Kankurō, don't tease her!" Temari snapped from Gaara's side and he followed her with his gaze as she stalked forward, assuming the worst in their sibling as always. His brother took a small step back and raised his hands in front of him, denying any such thing. He caught Kira's small smile at the scene; and then she looked to the side and her eyes widened when she saw him. She looked at him for only a moment, blinking twice before hastily looking away and bending down to retrieve her fallen weapon.

Gaara wondered if she'd ever look at him with the same eyes she gave his brother – ones that weren't averted from years of rules Esley and his father had drilled into her.

"Hey, Lord Gaara?" Aya's voice startled him slightly, mostly because the young leader had forgotten she was still standing next to him. He'd thought she would have moved to her teammates by now, but she hadn't. Instead, her eyes simply flickered over her leader before moving to Kira. When she nodded at the raven-haired girl and smiled, Gaara looked that way as well. "I know she's not very good about looking people in the eyes," she started, watching as his brother tried to hide from his sister, behind Kira. "And she fidgets way too much." Kira quickly stepped to the side and walked over to Shura, leaving Gaara's family to themselves. Kankurō grumbled at her for being a traitor. "But you won't meet another person who wants to protect their home as much as she does."

Gaara nodded slightly, looking at the blond again. "I'm aware."

"Are you?" she retorted quietly, looking Gaara in the eyes before appearing to think better of whatever else she might have said. "Forgive me, my Lord, that was…" She frowned for the first time and Gaara let out a small sigh.

"It is fine," he assured her. After all, it may have been overstepping, but at least she was doing it for the right reasons. She gave a small nod and without another word, left to join her teammates.

Gaara watched her go, and he wondered if it really did look like he didn't trust Kira. He supposed it might have, seeing as he surveyed her from a distance. Had she told her teammate about their conversation? It seemed like a likely reason for the blond to feel the need to say something, but Kira - from what he had seen - didn't seem like someone who would tell others about private conversations.

As those present began to disperse, seeing as the attraction had stopped for the moment, Gaara watched from between passing people as Aya arrived at her teammates' sides and quickly jumped the raven haired girl, encircling her arms around her and peering at the spot on Kira's arm where she'd been hit. He watched Kira stiffen at the action, but then she relaxed saying something that was lost over the distance. Aya answered her, and looked at their leader where Shura gestured to where Kira had kicked him.

Shaking his head, Gaara turned and walked towards his siblings. Now that he saw them together, his earlier comment seemed strangely wrong. He wasn't sure why, but they worked well together. Stepping next to Kankurō, Gaara pushed those thoughts away and tried to figure out what his family was talking about.

"-did you want to spar with?" Temari was asking and Kankurō scratched his head before shrugging.

"Don't really care. I was going to see if Kira wanted to, but after that, I think maybe a break is in order for those two. Had no idea they'd be so intense."

"They are ANBU," his sister pointed out, staring at Kira's arm and rubbing her own sympathetically.

"Yeah, yeah," Kankurō grumbled back. If anything, at least his siblings were predictable. Letting their conversation run over him, the redhead turned to look around the training grounds again. Everyone had gone back to training for the most part. Team Fukurō was still bunched up off to the side talking. A pair of boys just a little ways further off – from the lack of headbands he guessed they were still in training – were talking animatedly over by the target range, one holding what looked like an oddly shaped kunai.

Their body positions told him the one with the weapon was bragging while the other looked at him in annoyance. As he watched idly, his siblings spoke to each other, their conversation a low murmur in the back of his mind. Something prickled at the back of his neck as he watched the first boy toss his kunai up and catch it.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

On the forth one his friend got annoyed and tried to take it from him, making the first one throw it too high. It wasn't 'till he saw the weapon fully for more than a few seconds in the air that he realized what was different. There was a paper bomb wound around it, like so many ninja in combat used.

Except this was not a mission, and it was not air that the weapon flew into.

It was the ceiling.

The area around the knife exploded, sandstone cracking and breaking apart just as aggressively. There were gasps and shouts around him, but Gaara was already willing the nearby sand to life. The two boys, shell shocked by the event, stood there frozen as rock descended on them.

"Oh shit!" Kankurō snapped and his sister echoed his words. Sand rushed forward at Gaara's command, but the chunks of rock were already falling across the grounds and sand could only move so fast.

He wouldn't make it.

He blinked for just a moment and she was there. From out of nowhere, darkness seemed to birth her and Kira lunged forward. Something was different about her; her colors looked muted and she seemed somehow darker than the two genin she was rushing towards. Her arms hooked both boys by the torso and with one final last moment of effort, threw both of them feet away. They rolled and Kira fell on her hurt arm. That was all Gaara saw before the rubble hit and dust and sand blotted out the light.

-Grin- Cliff hanger anyone?

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