Chapter 10
They had been on the road for several hours, the three children had strength and energy again, and Sasori had been able to limit the number of breaks after lunch. The night would soon fall and as he had foreseen the village was not very far, moreover it was visible a few meters from them.
"We're almost there, slow down" he ordered them.
They yield to his command and stopped even completely when the adult stopped his steps. He scrutinized the surroundings, making sure nothing was wrong and that they were not in danger.
"It's good, we can go" he said after several long minutes that seemed to be an eternity for the Sabaku No.
They finally reached the entrance to Koseki, and this was an opportunity for the future ninjas to observe this village which was the first they visited in their lives. The contrast between where they had lived forever and this one was pretty impressive. The place where they were now was smaller than Sunagakure and the houses were less high. Here all the inhabitants carried a weapon with them, and it was difficult for the children to know who was a civilian and who was a ninja.
"Sasori-san, it's been a long time since we've seen you" a man said when he noted their presence.
"Yokono-san" he greeted him respectfully.
Temari frowned her eyebrows intrigued, her sensei greeted only a few people in this way, the only person who came to her mind was the fourth kazekage, and even though that greeting there seemed more forced than the one he adressed her father, it did not matter because he still did it. She bowed like she had learned and her brothers repeated the same gestures without asking questions. Their sister was more talented than them in everything related to diplomacy.
"I see you became the leader of a team, although I must admit that I find them very young" he commented as he put his eyes on them.
"Talent has no age, and if they had not had the level I would had not bring them with me'' he replied.
"You're right, and knowing you you must be extremely demanding with them" the man in front of him joked.
"I expect them to be strong enough to survive in all situations because if they were to fail, death would not miss them.''
"You do not have to traumatize them right now, Sasori-san" a woman about the same age as the male said .
"This is my wife Yokono Anju and I am Yokono Shinzaburo, we are the leaders of Koseki."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Temari and here are my brothers Kankuro and Gaara" she introduced.
If she had not given their last name it was because she was curious to know how they were treated by inhabitants of the country of the wind who knew only their surname and who did not know what they looked like.
"To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" Anju asked.
"We bring you the package containing what you need" Kankuro explained.
"I see, I see" Shinzaburo said,"I'm going to bring it to our specialist for this kind of work, I'll leave you to my wife's care" he said before starting to leave.
"Please excuse me, but would it be possible to accompany you, my students have never visited a weapons workshop, it would be a good experience for them" the Suna's jonin said.
"Of course, it will be an honor for me to show them our know-how" he agreed.
"Thank you very much sir" Gaara said shyly.
"I will prepare the meal and the rooms during this time" she warned them.
He then led them to the workshop and they entered in it. The place was darkly lit by the flames of a fire in the center of the main room. A small group of people, about ten, were busy with various and more or less complex tasks. Some of them made kunais, others swords of various lengths ... A man, hardly younger than Sasori, noticed them when he entered the main room. He moved closer to them, bowed to his boss and then to them before getting up.
"This is Kasai Kyuso, the head of this place, Kasai, you remember Sasori-san, and here are his students Temari-chan, Kankuro-kun and Gaara-kun, who bring us the material we expected" he inquired.
"Perfect, we will be able to start the creation of this weapon" he said enthusiastically.
The jonin handed the package to Kankuro, who seemed to want to be the one to give it to the individual in front of them. The little brown approached the man who needed it and the latter gently took it from his hands.
"What kind of weapon are you going to make?" the little boy asked.
"At the moment we do not really know, several options appear to us and we will have the opportunity to test them all with this package that you took to us" he confessed.
"You don't know?" he repeated lost and disappointed.
"You know the kazekage wants a revolutionary weapon that allows us to surpass the land of fire, so it is important that we do not waste the resources that you entrust us with, as soon as we have reached it and are sure it works, we'll send a message to Suna to let them know that all our months of effort and reflection have paid off, and I hope you'll be proud of us at that time "he consoled him.
"I'm sure it will be the best weapon ever created and the world will know that the land of the wind is as powerful as the land of fire" he said confidently with his fist raised to the sky.
They stayed a few more minutes to observe the work of the craftsmen, before following Shinzaburo to his home. If the Sabaku No had not known he was the village chief, they would have guessed it just at the front of his house. The storefront was more elegant than their house, and clearly showed who reigned in Koseki. The residence of the family of the kazekage was larger but had been built so as to agree with the surrounding buildings, here aestheticsm was the last of their concern. The strangest thing was surely the interior which was more modest than the outside, and that resembled those of their friends' houses.
Anju had set the table and was watching the baking of the food when they arrived. They put their belongings in the hall, went upstairs to wash their hands as she had told them, and then went downstairs to eat.
After the dinner, which was quite silent, the children who did not know what to talk about were content to answer the questions and their sensei was not the talkative type either, their hostess, after they had resumed their belongings, took them to a guest room. It was rather simple, but spacious, and the only piece of furniture that really interested siblings at this late hour was the huge bed that sat in the middle of the room. The little ones had asked permission to be in the same, as it was the first night they spent away from home.
"This is the place where you will rest the children" Anju said, "Sasori, I'll show you yours."
"No thank you very much, I'll stay with them" he said.
"Are you sure we have one adjacent to it"she clarified.
"Sure thank you"he answered in a determined tone.
"As you wish, I do not insist" she agreed, withdrawing.
The Sabaku No put on their pajamas (Temari changed in the bathroom) and went to bed; Kankuro was sleeping on the left, Gaara was in the middle and their sister on the right. The jonin had sat down at their feet watching over the door in front of them and out of the corner of his eye the window to their right. The siblings were too exhausted to stay awake and although it was not home they soon fell asleep. The puppeteer did not have to turn around to know that his protégés had rocked into the world of dreams, the chakra they began to produce was much lighter, and Sasori was relieved that they had no worries to find sleep. He did not know what he would have done if he had to help them.
The next morning when the sun's rays filtered through the window Sasori stood up and woke the children up. He was sweeter with the youngest because he was suspicious of Shukaku who could get upset and decide to attack. It was better to be careful with the moods of the devil. They struggled to get away from sleep and their first steps towards the door were slow and hesitant.
They all went downstairs and were surprised to find their hostess preparing their breakfast while her husband sat at the table. They say hello to them, hello to which answered the four ninjas of Suna before settling in their turn. Like the dinner of the day before, this meal was relatively silent but the Yokono did not take offense, they had noticed that the eyes of the little ones were not yet fully open. After having swallowed their bowl of cereals and drank their glass of fruit juice both boys and girl went back to get dressed and get their things back. They came down again, thanked the couple and followed their teacher outside to get back home.
It was early and Sasori suspected that they would have a harder time advancing than when they were going to Koseki, because it was two days in a row that they had to get up well before what they were used to. They were still young and long nights of sleep were needed for their growth and good health. Yet they had no choice but to keep the same pace as the previous day. He would have to press them a little so they could make a big part of the road in the morning, they would have less hot, it would be more pleasant for them.